Nigeria’s tech space is gradually filling up with startups. And there’s the general assumption that you need to know how to code to work in one of these. Well, you don’t! Digital marketing is a career path that can get you a job in the tech space. This article tells you how much it costs to learn digital marketing in Nigeria.
In order to learn digital marketing in Nigeria, it could cost you between ₦6,000 and ₦400,000. The price you pay for digital marketing training in Nigeria depends on the standard of the lesson you want.
Read more: Website Maintenance Cost in Nigeria | A Full pricing breakdown
Is Digital Marketing a Great Career Path in Nigeria?
Yes, digital marketing can be a great career path for you if you are passionate about promoting businesses and generating results. Digital marketing itself is embedded in several industries where what happens in each industry depends on that industry. However, these are some career paths you can take as a digital marketer along with how much you can earn annually from each;
| Career Path | Earnings (annually) |
| Social Media Management | ₦600,000 – ₦3,000,000 |
| Facebook Ad Management | ₦1,800,000 – ₦4,800,000 |
| Pay Per Click – | ₦1,800,000 – ₦6,000,000 |
| Search Engine Optimization | ₦1,800,000 – ₦6,000,000 |
| Content Development | ₦480,000 – ₦2,400,000 |
- Social Media Management – ₦600,000 and ₦3,000,000 per anum
- Facebook Ad Management – ₦1,800,000 and ₦4,800,000 per anum
- Pay Per Click – ₦1,800,000 and ₦6,000,000 per anum
- Search Engine Optimization – ₦1,800,000 and ₦6,000,000 per anum
- Content Development – ₦480,000 and ₦2,400,000 per anum
In reality, how much digital marketers in Nigeria make depends on several factors like;
- Level of experience
- Location
- Employment or entrepreneurship
. A great career is what you make of it.
What are the benefits of a digital marketing career in Nigeria?
Job Secure, Everyone Needs You
Provided you know your stuff as a digital marketer, you will always have a job.
This is because promotion is vital at every stage of any business.
Even when the business is not working out, promotion is the only way to make things work out.
And with the gradual shift of leisure to online spaces, digital marketing is now crucial to businesses that want to thrive.
Yes, the business owner either has to find the money to hire a digital marketer or learn how to promote the business online.
A business does not thrive on marketing alone. Therefore, most business owners hire digital marketers or outsource their marketing.
They need you.
Low Barrier of Entry, You Don’t Need a Big Degree
Learning digital marketing has never been structured in Nigeria and most other countries across the world.
Tertiary institutions in Nigeria do not offer digital marketing as a course, therefore, most companies judge digital marketing job candidates based on experience.
This means you can learn from a digital marketing course on YouTube, apply for a digital marketing intern job and launch your digital marketing career.
Just be sure to hone your skills and master the craft.
Every Business Needs It, You Can Work Anywhere
Regardless of industry (field, discipline) or location (geographical), every business needs to promote itself to an audience online.
Therefore, as a digital marketer, you can work in industries like;
- Tech
- Finance
- Fashion
- FMCG
- Oil and Gas
- Real Estate
- eCommerce
- Agriculture
- And lots more.
If you wish, you can build a career as a digital marketing freelancer and gain a wealth of experience working across industries
Launching a Business, Good For You
Building a stellar career working for one or several countries is ‘it’ for some people.
However, the other people (you?) prefer to be worked for and not work for someone, therefore, they dream about building their own business.
A career in digital marketing lends you a great hand when you finally start your business.
This is because the bedrock of a successful business is the number of people exposed to the product within the confines of the business’s promotional budget.
A crucial part of digital marketing is being able to get great exposure for every effort you make or every amount you spend.
Online promotion is difficult to master for business owners with no knowledge or background in digital marketing.
How can I start digital marketing in Nigeria?
Starting digital marketing in Nigeria could be mean either;
- I want to learn digital marketing to become a professional
- Or I want to learn in order to promote my business.
Whatever goal you wish to achieve with digital marketing, you can launch a successful career (professional or business) in digital marketing on YouTube.
There are several free courses on there to help you understand the basics
In addition to these basics, you need skills in graphics design or web design to thrive in the digital marketing industry.
When you have these down;
As a professional
You can apply for digital marketing intern positions in order to use the skills you acquired.
They probably won’t pay much but see this as an opportunity to practice for the jobs you want.
If you are passionate enough, you can acquire over 5 years of experience in a year and move on comfortably from the intern position.
Also, you can make yourself a better candidate for top digital marketing job positions by acquiring global certifications from world-class organizations like Digital Marketing Institute.
As a business owner
Practise your newly acquired digital marketing skills in your business.
Don’t let the 300K revenue from 5K ad people fool you, it is actually difficult to build a business online.
Fail forward, and learn how to make sense of what works and what does not.
Follow business owners and creators walk their talk.
Build a system that guarantees you revenue over time, then look into hiring digital marketers to work for you.
The difference is, that you know the right person to hire and what to expect as result.
How long does it take to learn digital marketing?
How long it takes you to learn digital marketing depends on your specific needs for learning.
You could spend as little as 3 hours on a YouTube course to learn.
This works if you are looking to graze the fundamentals.
However, if you are looking to build a career in digital marketing you need to invest in courses that run from 3 – 8 months.
This gives you enough time to learn, practice, ask questions and get that crucial mentorship.
In truth, digital marketing is more about doing than learning.
You learn by doing!
How much does it cost to learn digital marketing in Nigeria?
If you are looking to learn digital marketing in Nigeria, there are several factors that affect the amount you spend. Factors like;
- How long the course takes
- The platform on which you take the course
- If you are learning generally or you want specific digital marketing skills
- If there is a certification involved
You can learn digital marketing for free.
Yes, you read right.
There are a lot of YouTube videos you can learn digital ranging from 30 minutes to upwards of 11 hours.
These videos usually give you a complete understanding of fundamentals using case studies by the video creator.
Since these videos are meant to cater for a wide range of audiences, what you learn might not work for the environment you reside.
Also, you probably won’t find YouTube videos valuable for learning digital marketing because you got them for free.
Therefore, I will advise you to pay to learn. I don’t sell digital marketing training, this is my honest opinion.
You won’t place a premium on it if you don’t pay for it.
In addition to YouTube, you can also take specialized courses from tech companies like Google (digital skills for Africa), Hubspot (content marketing), Copyblogger (Copywriting), SEMRush (SEO), etc.
If you wish to pay to learn digital marketing in Nigeria, there are two ways;
- Virtual learning
- and Physical learning
You can buy courses from online platforms like Udemy, EDX, Udacity or Coursera. These platforms charge from as low as ₦6,000 (Udemy) to as high as ₦250,000 (Coursera).
As you probably guessed, the quality depends on the price.
Udemy courses are created by the ‘general public’ and uploaded for Udemy to sell for a commission.
Coursera uses university professors or renowned experts from top tech companies.
These people don’t come cheap.
If you wish to see your tutors face to face, you might want to train with the numerous training companies in Nigeria offering digital marketing training.
This includes;
- Digital Marketing Skill Institute
- Kong Marketing
- Haelsoft
- Chartered Institute of Social Media and Digital Marketing
- Piston and Fusion
- Nerdy Eye
These companies generally charge between ₦30,000 to as high as ₦200,000 to teach you digital marketing.
If you wish to take world-class certification exams in digital marketing from bodies like the Chartered Institute of Marketing – CIM or Digital Marketing Institute – DMI.
These certifications drive up your learning costs. However, they distinguish you from your peers during job interviews and increase your chances of getting hired even with little experience.
These certifications can cost as much as ₦700,000. However, working with their vendor in Nigeria could reduce your cost significantly.
Conclusion
If you are looking to build a career in digital marketing or run a digital marketing agency in Nigeria, then you need to learn your craft well.
However, if you are a business owner looking to expand your business using online tools and platforms, learning digital marketing could be tedious.
In truth, you have several other aspects of your business needing your attention. Therefore, if you have the budget, it would be sensible to outsource your online marketing to a digital marketing freelancer in Lagos.
I offer services in social media management, Facebook and Google Ads setup, Search Engine Optimization and lots more.
Let’s scale your business with digital marketing, contact me now.
