Learning how to find local influencers gives you a competitive edge that will send your content soaring. Incorporating local influencers into your influencer marketing strategy adds a layer of authenticity to your campaigns. When your audience spots a familiar face, it’s enough to “stop the scroll” and get them to tune in.
Harnessing the power of local influencers can breathe life into your campaign and set you apart from the crowd. It helps you stand out in a sea of sponsored posts and ads that all start to blend together.
Let’s explore how you can elevate your brand message by honing one essential skill: learning how to find local influencers in your own backyard.
Contents:
Understanding Local Influencers
Methods for Finding Local Influencers
Effective Collaboration with Local Influencers
Crafting a Local Influencer Marketing Strategy
Tracking and Analyzing Local Influencer Performance
Using Klear for Staying Ahead in the Influencer Marketing Landscape
Understanding Local Influencers
A local influencer is someone who is well known in a specific city, area, or region. They have a sizable social media following (between 1K and 10K), but they’re also known for having an authentic connection to their community.
Examples might include radio personalities, local musicians, thought leaders, or local athletes. Or, in some cases, influencers can be popular social media accounts that focus on local topics or points of interest.
What sets local influencers apart is how they create genuine connections with residents and businesses in their area. They’re not just promoting products and services; they’re supporting the community around them.
Tip: There are many different types of influencers and it can get confusing. Luckily, we've got you covered. Check out our articles on nano-influencers, micro-influencers, and macro-influencers for all of the information you need.
Methods for Finding Local Influencers
Now that you know what local influencers look like, your next priority is to learn how to find influencers in your area. These influencers might be hidden gems, but they’re much easier to find than Atlantis or El Dorado.
Let’s explore a few methods.
Check your own social media accounts
You might have some local influencers in your own social circle and didn’t realize it. Use audience insight tools like Meltwater to learn more about your followers’ geographic locations.
Dig a layer deeper and see which followers are already actively promoting you. Your most engaged fans might be local influencers who would be happy to collaborate with you on a formal campaign.
Do a Google search
Google is the quintessential tool for finding just about anything, including local influencers. Just as you’d search for a new pair of shoes or the closest McDonald’s, you can do a simple search to find influencers by location.
Simply type “your industry + influencers in my area” and see who pops up.
The best part of this method is that in addition to seeing individual accounts, you’re likely to see round-up articles featuring lots of influencers in a given area. Talk about hitting the influencer jackpot!
Search for local hashtags
The exact names of cities and regions are also targets for hashtags. Do a hashtag search on your social media platforms. You’ll see who’s using those hashtags in their content, which will give you a good jumping-off point for shortlisting local influencers.
Also, you can check their content for other less obvious local hashtags. Let’s look at how to find local influencers on Instagram as an example.
Searching Instagram for Miami, we find the account and hashtag #miamibucketlist.
Clicking on the hashtag, we see tons of other content using the same hashtag.
Clicking through the various posts, we can find local influencers who are part of the Miami scene.
Use influencer databases like Klear
The most direct way to find the right influencers by location is to use a purpose-built influencer database like Klear. Discovery tools let you search for influencers based on specific criteria, like audience size, engagement rates, and geographic location.
You can log into Klear, define your location, and get a list of potential influencers in seconds. From there, you can dig deeper into their content to see how they present themselves, the hashtags they’re using, and their level of influence.
Effective Collaboration with Local Influencers
Working with local influencers is similar to working with non-local influencers — its success hinges on good communication, clear expectations, and authentic relationships.
However, there are a few differences to keep in mind:
- Your target market is significantly smaller.
- Metrics like true reach and clicks will also be lower compared to national campaigns.
- Influencing likely isn’t their full-time job.
When working with local influencers, it’s essential to be upfront about what you’re asking for. It might be a brand mention on social media, using a branded hashtag, or outwardly promoting your product or service to their audience.
Because influencing likely isn’t their full-time job, you’ll need to craft a good influencer proposal to spark a partnership. Remember, they’re local influencers because they have an authentic connection to the places they promote. This means you’ll want to approach them with just as much authenticity. Show why you’re a good fit for each other rather than offering a hollow sponsorship.
Crafting a Local Influencer Marketing Strategy
Local influencer campaigns are smaller scale than celebrity or mega influencer collabs, but they still require careful planning. Let’s look at how you can create a local influencer marketing strategy that feels authentic.
Define your goals
Be specific about what you want to get from a local influencer campaign. Do you want to increase brand awareness? Drive sales? Grow your social media following? Clear goals will guide the rest of your strategy.
Identify your audience
Know who your local audience is and where they hang out online. This will help you find influencers who can reach the right people.
Find the right local influencers
We’ve already touched on how to do this. Put those ideas into practice to find influencers who align with your brand values and culture.
Engage before reaching out
A good way to catch their eye before you introduce yourself is to show you’re a fan of their content. Start engaging by liking posts, sharing content, and leaving positive comments. This helps you build a connection and makes your eventual outreach feel more authentic.
Personalize your pitch
When you’re ready to reach out, make your pitch personal. Mention specific things you love about their content, why you chose them, and why they’re a great fit for your brand.
Offer a win-win proposal
Great influencer collaborations aren’t one-sided. They offer something of value to each party. Be clear about what you’re offering in return, whether it’s monetary compensation, free products, exclusive discounts, or something else. Whatever it is, it should excite them and offer value to their work.
Set clear expectations
Discuss the details of the collaboration upfront. Influencers should have some creative freedom, but they also need to know your end game. Make sure they’re up to speed on your brand culture, values, and style guides.
Monitor and measure
Once the campaign goes live, keep an eye on how people respond to it. Monitor things like reach and engagement rates. See if people are sharing the content, and watch your own following grow. These insights will help you see what’s working and what isn’t.
Show appreciation
It’s always best to end a collaboration on a high note, especially if you might work with the influencer again. Always thank the influencer for their efforts and provide feedback on the campaign’s success. A little gratitude goes a long way in building positive and lasting relationships.
Tracking and Analyzing Local Influencer Performance
Keep in mind local influencer campaign performance will look drastically different than large-scale campaigns. You're focusing on smaller markets, which automatically means less potential for engagement.
Here are some ways you can track and analyze local influencer performance and know whether your collaborations are successful.
Monitor customer sentiment and share of voice
Use social listening tools like Meltwater to understand how people are talking about your brand during the campaign. Analyze sentiments and share of voice for insights into what people are saying and how they feel about the influencer’s content and your brand.
Measure website traffic
Local influencers might directly or indirectly drive people to your website. You can check your website traffic analytics to see how traffic changes before, during, and after the campaign.
Review engagement metrics
Look at likes, shares, and comments on the influencers’ posts. High engagement rates indicate the content resonated with the influencer’s audience.
Keep an eye on follower growth
Watch how your social media following evolves. Check your follower count before and after the campaign to see if you acquired any new fans. Growth indicates the influencer’s audience is interested in your brand.
Using Klear for Staying Ahead in the Influencer Marketing Landscape
Local influencer marketing combines many moving parts before, during, and after a campaign. Klear helps you keep these parts in one place to make campaign management easier and more effective.
Klear helps you discover local influencers based on geographic location and other criteria. You can find influencers in your niche, check out their content, and monitor engagement before you reach out to them. Once you’re ready to introduce yourself, you can connect with them directly through Klear, share contracts, send payments, and track campaign deliverables.
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