Words By – Yemisi Suleiman

Social media, no doubt, has created new opportunities for marketers to expand their strategy beyond traditional mass-media channels. It is the era where corporate organisations and individuals alike use celebrities or persons with a huge following on social media platforms, particularly Instagram (for its visuals and edge) to create awareness for their brands. These social media influencers offer advice on what products or services to use, and what lifestyle choices to make. And of course, if the followers trust the personality, it’s a done deal.

We have listed 7 of today’s most popular influencers on social media, who became famous mostly because of their expertise, and have had the most success at making a living off the social media scene.

While our list might not be made up of the most-followed celebrities you can find across Instagram, there is no denying that a few people  have succeeded at hustling the Instagram game.

Erica Nlewedim

Ex Big Brother Naija Lockdown star Erica Nlewedim  is the most marketable lockdown star at the moment. 

Though disqualified from the reality TV show earlier than expected, Erica’s profile has continued to rise, thanks to her die-hard fans who vowed to keep her going no matter the circumstances. 

Focusing more on marketing, travel and adventure, she has a daily post which documents her life, products and brands she is promoting, as well as the places she has traveled to, for the pleasure of her millions of followers. 

Star girl as she is fondly called, Erica has positively influenced consumer choices for some top brands including; Star Radler, Kukus hair, Swarosvky Nigeria, Legend Nigeria Travel Beta amongst others.

Laura Ikeji Kanu

Owner Laura Ikeji fashion store, Author and YouTube creator, Laura is one of the earliest and most prominent Instagram influencers in their niche. With close to 3 million followers, she’s hustling the Instagram scene with her dance moves and attractive beauty and fashion photos, while constantly filling our feeds with fascinating insights into her life. Having established her own fashion store and YouTube channel, her influence on the social media platforms is far-reaching, allowing her to promote her own products as well as those of her sponsors to millions of people every day. Laura is the author of the book, How to make Money on Instagram.

Nengi Hampson

Nengi Hampson is  one influencer who became famous, again, thanks to social media. Gaining stardom with the Big Brother Naija Lockdown edition, Nengi has managed to maintain her supporters on Instagram. With millions of dedicated followers, this reality star turned actress, certainly gained the support necessary to grow her audience.  Nengi who is Senior Special Assistant to Bayelsa State Government on the Girl Child,  is also a well-known ambassador for beauty brands and teams up with a number of other lifestyle brands, to make the perfect content for her followers.

Maryam Apaokagi

One of the youngest influencers on this list, Maryam Apaokagi known professionally as Taaoma,  has worked her way up to becoming one of  the foremost social media comedians to watch today.  Her keys to success have been showing off  her talent with her very creative, educative and absolutely witty contents. Taking on multiple characters, Taaoma creates brand awareness for her clients via short comedy skits, which are often quite entertaining and informative to her followers. Her work has earned her about 2million followers on Instagram and more than a million on YouTube and still going strong.

Dabo Adebayo

Dabo Adebayo, known by his stage name  Mr Macaroni is the definition of internet success. Before YouTube, Facebook, and Instagram, no one had ever heard of this creator. Today he’s one of the most popular people on social media, best known for his comedy skits on Instagram and Facebook.  He is also famous for marketing brands, products and services through his comedy skits, while passing the message to his numerous followers across various social media platforms

Toke Makinwa

Media girl, author and entrepreneur, Toke Makinwa has become a powerful influencer thanks to her dedicated 4.3 million followers. Also known as a fashion influencer, filling our instagram feed with bold, eye-catching images, Toke’s feed is the place to be for fashion inspiration. Bringing on her social intellect, she created the vlog ‘Moments with Toke’ where she engages her followers on different lifestyle issues, which endeared her to many and gained more followers as a result. 

Being a versatile woman, she flaunts her socialite status, and fashion and beauty line through her Instagram posts. She also makes good money off sponsored posts.

Samuel Perry

Another internet personality  who found fame through his comic videos on Instagram, Samuel Perry also known as Broda Shaggi with over 7 million  followers, thanks to his posts that make people laugh. The University of Lagos theatre arts graduate, is famous for his comedy skits and other fun visuals. Everything he posts is designed to get you to laugh or smile, making life’s stresses easier to contend with.  

Today, Samuel is a strong influencer sponsored by many brands, and his fame has given him success offline, with him being a part of television adverts for communications giant Glo Nigeria amongst other top brands. His hilarious online antics have also landed him several movie roles in Nollywood. He is also known as one of the most influential personalities on Instagram.