How to Become a Social Media Manager in Nigeria

Did you land on this page after searching Google for how to become a social media manager?

Well, you are in luck today as I will be leaving no stone untouched.

I will do well to cover everything you need to know on how to become a social media manager with no experience.

In fact, I will walk you through some of the skill sets you should build in order to become an effective social media manager.

In this definitive post, you will not only learn how to make money as a social media manager, but you will also learn how much social media managers charge per month in case you’d love to work with a corporate organization.

Lastly, I will share with you examples of a freelance social media manager portfolio and easy steps to create yours.

However, before I jump into sharing all that, I think it’s important to learn who a social media manager is, their duties, and why WE are important.

Let’s dive in…

Who is a Social Media Manager?

According to Sprout Social, social media managers are in charge of representing a company across social channels as the sole voice of the brand. They respond to comments, compile campaigns, and create content.

Simply put, a social media manager is one who manages social media pages for a living.

That said, let’s check some of the responsibilities and duties of a social media manager.

Day-to-Day Activities of a Social Media Manager

Actually, a social media manager is not just someone who manages social media pages…

…H/She is actually involved in a lot of other activities, such as;

Creating/updating social media strategy

Creating/tweaking social media content calendar

Generating content/marketing ideas

Creating effective hashtag strategies

Designing visual content (Image, Video, Infographic, or even Audio)

Publishing across social channels

Analyzing engagement data

Identifying trends in customer interactions, and

Planning digital campaigns to build community online.

The truth is the fact that there are various duties and responsibilities of a social media manager or community manager.

Your role is mostly determined by the organization or individual seeking your social media management expertise.

However, more often than not, I’ve found out that hiring managers or entrepreneurs looking for extra hands prefer to work with experts who have a well-rounded experience than folks who can only design and publish posts.

This means you will need to be able to do all of the above or even more to succeed or make more money as a social media manager.

How Much Do Social Media Managers Charge Per Month

One of the most frequently asked questions (FAQs) I get from people trying to jump on the social media management bandwagon has always been, “How much do social media managers make?” Sometimes, social media newbies will ask, “Sam, as starters, how much do you think I can or should charge my social media management clients?”

The truth is there’s no one-size-fits-all approach to charging as a social media manager.

You can charge whatever you feel or think you deserve.

However, there are some things you need to consider when trying to figure out your social media management pricing.

Your geographical location, your years of experience, level of education, company or industry, the services you’re offering, will you be charging an hourly rate or monthly rate (aka retainer), your cost of living, and wage bills are some important factors to consider when piecing together your social media management pricing model.

Tell you what, some months ago, I turned down a job at a Fintech company.

This was a remote job, and they were going to pay 150,000 monthly.

However, I couldn’t accept the offer because 1) I know I have all of the necessary skills required for the job 2) I have plenty of years of experience in digital marketing which is under the umbrella of social media marketing/management 3) what they were offering is pretty minute compare to the job requirements 4) the salary did not meet my future financial expectations

Here’s the truth, I knew if I had accepted that offer, I would be shooting myself in the leg.

And guess what, that offer might work well with another expert.

Especially someone with an entry-level experience of say 1 or 2 years.

That said, if you are a social media newbie, you might want to kickstart with a price range of say $50 – $100. That’s roughly 46,250 – 92,500 Nigerian currency.

As you grow your competence and skills, you can graduate to earn more from your social media management adventures.

Don’t miss this: Unlocking $6000: A Blueprint for Successful Blogging Earnings in Nigeria

How to Become a Social Media Manager with no Experience

The other day on Twitter, I got a message from this guy who had seen and reacted to the post I made about turning down a 150,000-naira social media management job.

“Sam, how do I become a social media manager with no experience?”

Hopefully, he’s reading this now…

…yes, it’s quite possible.

I will share with you some really easy steps to take from the get-go 👇

How to Become a Social Media Manager in Nigeria

1. Get Educated by Learning Social Media Marketing
2. Build a Social Media Presence
3. Build a Portfolio
4. Market Yourself Unashamedly by Creating Branded Social Media Content
5. Learn How to Use Social Media and General Marketing Analytics
6. Learn How to Use Social Media Marketing Tools
7. Establish Your Processes
8. Define Your Services
9. Find Jobs and Clients

1. Get Educated by Learning Social Media Marketing

In today’s world, education is the singular most important aspect of becoming an efficient social media manager or community manager.

When we say get educated, we do not necessarily mean going to college to get a degree, no, because, in the real sense, you can become a social media manager without a degree.

Getting an education is as simple as reading blogs or watching YouTube videos about social media marketing.

There is a truckload of content already published on the internet web about social media and how to make money as a social media manager.

You just have to be willing to search and be ready to consume that content. That’s all.

If you are interested in getting educated on social media marketing, below, I share some good FREE resources to learn how to become a social media manager in Nigeria.

Hubspot Academy

Facebook Blueprint

Linkedin

Hootsuite

Merakee Digital Solutions

Skillshare

Udemy

Youtube

Pro Tip: Always be on top of learning!

2. Build a Social Media Presence

Building a social media presence is one of the most important ingredients of showing hiring managers that you truly know your onions.

Simply create a Facebook, Instagram, and maybe an account on Twitter and Quora.

There are plenty of social media networks out there, but the ones I shared above, along with WhatsApp are a good social media channel to kickstart your social media journey.

Why?

There is already half of the world on Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp, which simply means you will mostly find your audience and community on these apps.

Twitter and Quora are two other social channels where you can display your awesomeness simply by sharing your thoughts.

You can quickly become popular and maybe get social media management clients with a platform like Quora if you are constantly answering questions about your niche industry.

The idea of being on all these social media platforms is simply to announce yourself or a social media management agency strategically with thoughtful, very helpful, and useful content.

3. Do Free Portfolio Projects

As a social media manager, one of the things that will stand you out from the rest of the crowds is having a social media manager portfolio.

If you’re a starter, with little or no experience, hiring managers might find it difficult to hire you.

The best thing to do will simply be to do free portfolio jobs such as helping your friend(s) set up their social media pages or designing free graphics for that church down the road.

This doesn’t mean you should consistently work for free.

“Okay I heard you, Sam, but please how do I go about this?”

Simply reach out to businesses on social media through hashtags in your niche or simply go on Google to search.

Once you find them, reach out to them with a message like this:

Hello, [name]! 👋

My name is [introduce yourself and what you do] Sam Adeyinka, and I’m the creative lead for Merakee Digital Solutions, a fast-growing Social Media Management Agency in Lagos. We help our clients create social media strategies and content calendars, and at the same time help them execute and monitor their marketing campaigns.

I noticed your last five posts on Instagram had no captions, and even the few ones that had captions weren’t thoughtfully written. If you don’t mind, I would love to help you write an engaging caption for your next five (5) posts.

If you love the captions, we can schedule a call thereafter and see how my team can start writing your social media captions just so you can get more social buzz, earn more sales, and make more profits.

Thanks for the audience, do have a lovely day ahead.

Sam
CL – Merakee Digital Solutions
IG & Twitter: @merakeedigital
Tel: +2348161646027

Pro Advice: Always make sure to mention the name of your prospective lead. People love it when you mention their names as opposed to just saying “Hey, there!” Also, don’t forget to end with “a regard”, your business name, and how to reach you.

Read this: How to Start a Successful Blog in Nigeria Without Losing Your Mind!

4. Market Yourself Unashamedly by Creating Branded Social Media Content

A long time ago, I was opportune to sit in a mentoring session with my coach, Emeka Nobis, where he had categorically stated;

“Guys! To thrive and achieve social media domination, you will need to embrace the idea of selling yourself unashamedly!”

From then till now, I have always been selling myself online through branded content.

If you check out my company’s Instagram page, you’ll see the way we brand our content and how strategically we’ve been making noise on social media.

This is what you need to do if you were to become an effective social media manager in 2023 and beyond.

Pro Tips: Choose a color for your brand. Two colors at most. Check out this resource to understand color psychology in branding. Also, have a particular font(s) you use for your brand designs. No more than two. By all means, make sure you have a core message and be sure to stick with it every time you show up online. Lastly, be sure to create a simple portfolio website to further market yourself and your brand.

5. Learn How to Use Social Media and General Marketing Analytics

Listen, you can’t be called a social media manager if you don’t understand the concept of social media.

You’ve got to know and be able to use social media apps, and most importantly, you need to know how to study and explain analytics.

For instance, social media sites like Facebook and Instagram have a tool embedded inside their apps known as Insights which helps to know which of your posts are currently doing well and ones which aren’t.

As a good social media manager, merely looking at these social media insights, you should be able to know what next steps to take; which might be to promote the post currently doing well organically or to create more of that kind of posts seeing that the users love and have interests in that content.

Make sense?

6. Learn How to Use Social Media Marketing Tools

There are plenty of tools out there, and to be very honest you won’t need most of them.

However, for the few ones you use, you’ve got to know how to use them well.

For instance, at Merakee Digital Solutions, some of the tools we use to supercharge our clients’ social media pages are:

Powerpoint – for visual designs (documents, graphics & videos)

CapCut & InShot – for video creation

Znaplink – Onepager website creation

Facebook Business Suite – for planning out and scheduling content

Facebook Business Manager – for running Facebook & Instagram ads

Freepik & Unsplash & Canva & Pixels – for slick and very clean pictures

Photoshop – for removing picture backgrounds or editing pictures

Bitly – for shortening URLs

WhatsApp – for back-and-forth conversations with clients

Zoom – For onboarding clients

DocuSign – for online signatures

Aweber – for leads generation

Listen, there are plenty more of these kinds of tools. I will surely put up a post soon on social media marketing tools that will give you an unfair advantage as a social media manager.

Don’t miss this: Best Affiliate Marketing Platforms and Programs for [2023]

7. Establish Your Processes

Like it or not, guys, the process is the bread and butter of an effective social media management agency.

If you don’t have a standard operating procedure or SOP, you will find it really difficult to grow your business.

SOP helps in making your business run efficiently whilst minimizing the impact of turnovers. It also improves accountability and teamwork in case you’re working with a group of people.

At Merakee Digital Solutions, we’ve made a thorough decision to work with just Instagram and Twitter for our brand. Why? Instagram is visual and it helps us create really branded content. With Twitter, on the other hand, we share lots of text-based content such as quotes or educative threads.

For your business to dominate social media, you will have to make a strategic decision on which social media platforms your business should be on and what social media tools you would love to use to supercharge your business on social.

For onboarding clients at Merakee Digital Solutions, one of the things we’ve done is to create important documents like a social media questionnaire, social media portfolio, social media proposal, and a social media contract, all of which are shared with every new client.

These documents are all well-branded with our brand’s architecture.

And guess what, our pricing and why we charge what we charge are boldly presented on pages in our social media proposal.

In fact, we’ve got three different tiers our clients can choose from, which makes it a win-win for them and for us.

8. Define Your Services

As a professional social media manager, one of the things that you need to harm yourself with is the idea of niching down.

You can’t experience social media domination if you are involved with all the social media interventions out there.

For instance, at Merakee Digital Solutions, we offer just graphic design, paid advertising campaigns on Facebook & Instagram, community management, website design, and email marketing.

Although we have ample knowledge of every aspect of digital marketing, we only focus on the above social media marketing activities.

Some of the services you can choose to specialize in include:

• Paid advertising campaigns
• Graphic design
• Setting up and optimizing profiles
• Customer service and community engagement
• Creating and curating content
• Caption writing
• Social media auditing

Pro Tips: When you’re just starting out as a freelance social media manager, it’s important to focus on 2-3 social media marketing activities, and as you grow your brand, you can add other marketing services to your work scope.

9. Find Jobs and Clients

So, you have set up your social media accounts and are already creating content on each platform.

Next up, start looking for jobs and clients who will be happy to pay you to manage their social media accounts.

However, before you go out on your searching adventure, make sure to ask yourself these two very important questions: Do I want to work in a corporate organization, or do I want to work as a freelance social media manager?

Your answer to the above questions will cut out all the future headaches that might stem from finding yourself in a place you really dread.

I hope you know what I mean. 😊

Okay, the next step would be to start setting up accounts on online marketplaces like Upwork, Fiverr, PeoplePerHour, and Freelancer.com – where you can sell yourself as a freelance social media manager. By the way, if you would love to get some heads up about how to create a UK Fiverr account in Nigeria or anywhere else in the world, then you might want to watch this walkthrough video I made for digital freelancers.

At this juncture, I will be upfront with you.

See, jumping on all of the above online marketplaces for “talents” isn’t enough.

Moreso, it’s not a system that makes you rich immediately.

You see,  these platforms are just a place to showcase your skills and portfolio. Nothing more.

They are not going to help you get projects (maybe it was possible back in the days) immediately, but trust me you’d be happy you jumped on a platform like Fiverr or Upwork if you could press in by standing out from the rest of the crowd with your brand and strategically promoting and marketing your gigs outside of the platform.

Note: Some good places to promote your gigs are Quora and Twitter.

“Sam, what if I don’t want to work as a freelance social media manager?”

Oh! That’s fine too.

There is a truckload of websites online that connects employees to employers.

You just have to carefully choose the best ones and line up a summary of your profile, skills, education, qualifications, achievements, and pretty much anything that would incite an employer to want to give you a job.

For instance, sites like LinkedIn, Jobberman, and Indeed are great places to start frequenting if you truly want to work as a social media manager with a corporate organization.

Read this: 5 Surefire Ways To Make Money Blogging

You Will Earn More with These Social Media Manager Skills Set

As a forward-thinking individual and one who hopes to thrive and make lots of money with social media management, you will need to learn and develop some of these social media manager skills highlighted below:

Social media – To be a social media manager, you will need to love and know how to effectively use social media to communicate with people through texts, images, videos, audio, or even infographics.

Communication – To effectively fill a social media manager position in any enterprising organization, you will need to gain mastery of both verbal and written communication. As a social media manager, you will sometimes be required to communicate with team members in the organization you serve – might be with writers, developers, webmasters, customers, the head of operations, or senior management personnel. As good communicators, you will find new trends online, it’s important to be able to identify which ones suit the overall company’s strategies and effectively leverage such trends.

Copywriting – As a professional social media manager, it is important to know how to weave words together for marketing purposes. Good social media managers write the best social media captions that get people highly engaged.

Creativity – Creativity is a very important skill set that can help social media managers earn more in their jobs. You need to possess the ability to find trending topics, craft a piece of content that captures the attention of people, and get them to keep sharing.

Graphic design – The job of a social media manager, as I said before, is not just about managing pages, you will need to also learn and know how to create interesting and visually appealing designs for your organization’s social media channels.

Using the right tools – Tools are not so important, but they are exactly what makes the life of a social media manager much easier. You need to find the right tools that will constantly help you get the job done. For instance, I make use of Facebook Business Suite to schedule my clients’ content weekly, sometimes monthly.

Customer service – Proactiveness is the name of the game. As a social media manager, your job aside from strategizing, generating ideas, writing, designing, and publishing content, is to listen to what people are saying about the brands you manage on social and you need to proactively respond to them, whether it’s a complaint or a message praising your brand.

Research skills – To effectively manage your clients’ social media presence, you will need to have learned how to research and leverage new trends – might be SEO, Email Marketing, Video Creation and Editing, or Photography. The idea is you’ve got to be willing to learn new technology just so you’re able to grow your clients’ businesses and yours too in the process.

SEO knowledge – You might be wondering why you need to have knowledge of SEO as a social media manager. It’s a plus. Social media and search engine is interwoven with each other in the sense that you need both phenomenon to rank your content high. In other words, as a social media manager, you need to have a grasp of how to write SEO-optimized content that will help people find your content when they are searching for keyword terms related to your business or topics.

Understanding data and analytics – As a social media manager who knows his onions well, you need to have a good understanding of how to read and interpret data and analytics such that you are able to improve on what is working whilst intercepting and improving what isn’t working with your client’s social media pages.

Keeping up with the latest trends – Social media is an evolving channel in that every passing day, there’s a new concept, a new philosophy, a new tool, a new platform… there’s always something new in the world of social media. As a good social media manager, you need to always be on top of marketing trends in other to grow your influence and earning capabilities.

Time management – Time management skills are very important skills every professional social media manager should build. You’ve got to be able to learn to organize tasks to meet deadlines. Also, you’ve got to learn how to effectively map out time for conversing with prospects or your clients, and for project deliverables.

Read this: How to Create Unique Content for Blog – My Complete Guide

How to Make Money as a Social Media Manager

The other day, I was invited to train a group of people on the subject of “Digital Marketing”.

That day, I shared a lot of tips and tricks on how to thrive and become a global brand through digital marketing.

I remember saying something along these lines: A brand or business will thrive and become formidable only if it can coordinatively and strategically dominate and exact great influence on social media.

It was then this lady who I sensed had been listening ever so closely and attentively, raised her hand to ask a question: “Sir, in your calculations, how much do social media managers make? Plus, how do they make all this money?”

I laughed and shared with her and the rest of the class tips on how to make money as a social media manager whilst also touching on the different types of social media managers we have in our world today, and how what “Mr. A” makes might be different from what “Mr. B” makes.

Quick one; there are two major ways I believe social media managers could help themselves to make some money online.

They are:

Services

Products

Someone said once, “Business growth involves learning to productize your services”, and trust me, I second those thoughts.

As a social media manager, you’ve got two major options to make money doing what you do.

The first is service-based, which simply means, that for you to make money, you will need to tackle projects for different clients.

This method is good but is however very limited in the sense that you won’t be able to make as much money as you hope to make because, of course, you can’t work with 30 different clients at the same time.

Except, of course, you’ve got a team of experts under your belt, and that is not very possible unless you are a Fortune 500 company.

Now, the other way is to earn via creating invaluable products. This might be video training, software, a short report, or a definitive guide detailing concepts and strategies for thriving in your niche or industry. It can be anything really!

All you need to do here is to set up a system that looks something like this: your product >> a landing or squeeze page >> traffic = sales!

That’s pretty much the funnel you need to build to keep earning as a social manager even in your sleep.

Freelance Social Media Manager Portfolio [Easy Steps to Create Yours]

I cannot stress enough the importance of having a portfolio as an internet marketer or social media manager.

It’s a must-have document or webpage you need to put together as a forward-thinking social media manager.

Why?

Recruiters or individuals looking to hire extra hands for their social media projects tend to always ask to see what you’ve done before.

The reason for the ask is simple; they’d love to know and check balance the quality of your work.

I mean it’s not just enough to say you are good or that you are the best thing after bread and butter, you’ve got to have something to back up your claims.

So, you say you are a social media management expert? Fine. Go ahead and present what makes you the best expert for hire.

What are the Steps Involved in Creating the Best Freelance Social Media Manager Portfolio?

What to include:

And pretty much any screenshots that cement your authority as a social media management expert.

3 Portfolio Examples to Model Right Away!

These 3 portfolio examples are from very active social media managers out there.

Two are folks I stumbled on their profiles and portfolio online.

The last guy is ME. 😜

Juli Anna’s Portfolio Example

Juli Anna’s portfolio can be viewed as a PDF simply by clicking the image below.

I particularly love Juli’s freelance social media portfolio not just because it is really detailed, but also for how highly branded and simplistic it is.

The portfolio is a highlight of Juli Anna, her resume, and samples of her works and services, with a strategic call to action that mentions her rates and what people have to say about her service.

The lady did a great job at using one stone to kill multiple birds. 😊

Julia Babicheva’s Portfolio Example

Like Anna’s, Julia’s portfolio can be viewed as a PDF by clicking the image below.

Her approach is not so different from Anna’s, but in any case, it is uniquely unique to her brand and her personality, which is cute.

She introduces herself to her reader, then moves on to share her experience, followed by examples of her completed works and her expertise, of course, she includes a clever call to action which is to “get in touch” with her.

Sam Adeyinka’s Portfolio Example

Well, you know I’m Sam Adeyinka and Sam Adeyinka is me, right? 😂

Good. So, go ahead, and click the image below to get a copy of my freelance social media manager portfolio to model yours.

In my portfolio, I did well in inserting my CTA right above the fold of the header page. I shared some of my works and social media analytics.

I introduced myself whilst also sharing an overview of my experience and journey through digital marketing and social media management.

I did well to highlight the industries I’ve worked in and I also shared web pages I helped my clients to build. I included testimonials, my expertise, and a call to action.

Pro Advice: Whatever you do, make sure to have your CV, Cover Letter, and Portfolio up-to-date and share-worthy.

Recommended: SEO Friendly Content: 5 Creative Ways to Increase Website Traffic

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

What is another name for a social media manager?

A social media manager is often referred to as a “digital brand strategist” or “online community manager.” These alternative titles emphasize their role in shaping and managing a brand’s online presence.

How much does a social media manager earn in Lagos?

In Lagos, the earnings of a social media manager can vary widely depending on factors like experience, industry, and the size of the company. On average, social media managers in Lagos can earn anywhere from ₦100,000 to ₦500,000 per month, but experienced professionals with a proven track record can command higher salaries.

What qualifications do you need to be a social media manager?

While formal qualifications can be beneficial, they are not always a strict requirement. What’s more important is a deep understanding of social media platforms, creativity, strong communication skills, and the ability to analyze data. Many social media managers have degrees in marketing, communications, or related fields.

Who are some famous social media managers in Nigeria?

Nigeria boasts a growing community of talented social media managers. Some notable names in the field include Bolaji Billions, Sisilizzy, Ifedayo Agoro, and Sam Adeyinka, who have successfully managed the online presence of prominent brands and influencers.

Who do social media managers work with?

Social media managers collaborate with a diverse range of individuals and teams within a company. They work closely with marketing departments, content creators, graphic designers, and often report to the marketing manager or director.

What should I charge as a new social media manager?

As a new social media manager, it’s essential to strike a balance between gaining experience and setting a fair rate. Starting with a range of ₦30,000 to ₦60,000 per month is reasonable. As your skills and portfolio grow, you can increase your rates accordingly.

Do you need to be creative to be a social media manager?

Creativity is a valuable asset for a social media manager. Crafting engaging content, eye-catching visuals, and innovative strategies are key aspects of the role. However, it’s also essential to balance creativity with data-driven decision-making for optimal results.

Can an introvert become a social media manager?

Absolutely! Introverts can excel as social media managers. While the role involves communication and engagement, introverts often bring thoughtful and strategic approaches to content creation and community management. It’s all about finding your unique strengths.

Can a student be a social media manager?

Yes, students can pursue a career as social media managers. Many companies offer part-time or freelance opportunities that can fit around a student’s schedule. It’s a great way to gain valuable experience while studying.

How much do social media managers charge in Nigeria?

The rates for social media managers in Nigeria can vary widely. Freelancers might charge ₦20,000 to ₦100,000 per month per client, while agencies may have more complex pricing structures. Rates often depend on factors like experience, workload, and the specific services provided.

How many hours do social media managers work?

The work hours of a social media manager can be flexible but may extend beyond the typical 9-5 schedule. Monitoring social media platforms, responding to comments, and tracking campaigns can require attention outside regular office hours. However, it’s often balanced by the ability to work remotely.

What skills should a social media manager put on a CV?

An effective CV for a social media manager should highlight skills such as social media strategy development, content creation, data analysis, community management, and proficiency in relevant tools like social media scheduling and analytics platforms.

Wrapping Up: How to Become a Social Media Manager in Nigeria

That’s it, guys!

I’ve shared with you all there’s to know about how to become a social media manager without a degree.

All you need to do is get out there and start digging and consuming all that needs to be consumed.

But as much as you are learning through reading and watching videos, be sure to also take MASSIVE action because, without that, there can be no success.

Remember this statement, “Do more to become more”.

Your Turn!

After consuming this kind of definitive guide, what or where are you willing to start? Share with me in the comment session. Don’t be afraid to ask me questions in case you’d love for me to help clear more doubts you have that are left out of this article.