Influencer marketing isn’t reserved for big brands; it’s also an effective tool for small businesses. Whether you run a local sandwich shop or a budding online store run from your home, collaborating with an influencer is a great way to expand your reach, increase brand awareness, and bump your sales. Many small businesses start by working with nano-influencers (fewer than 1,000 followers) or micro-influencers (with 1,000-10,000 followers). So, if you’re a small business looking for influencers, where do you find them? Take a look at the best way to find local creators to work with:
Mine the comments on your brand’s social channel
Sometimes, the best influencers are current customers. Look at the social media channel that you plan to launch a campaign on, be it Instagram, TikTok, or YouTube. Look at top contributors. Are there customers that comment on your posts regularly?
Make a shortlist of engaged customers and review their social profiles to see if they’d make a good influencer to partner with.
Look for brand advocates on review sites
Take a minute to review your Google My Business page or any site where you collect reviews. Is there a local customer who recently left a glowing review of your product or service? Jot their name down and see if they have a social media presence that aligns with your brand.
Search for local influencers on social channels
Brands looking for influencers can also search social media channels. Search terms would likely include your city name and “influencer,” so you could search for “Chicago influencer” or “Dallas influencer.”
You can also add a keyword that describes your industry, like “fashion” or “food and drink.” So you’d run searches like “Chicago fashion influencer.” If the location isn’t important, you can drop that keyword.
You might be surprised by the number of small business influencers on Instagram or TikTok that you can discover by simply running a quick keyword search.
Connect with influencers at local networking events
A lot of owners belong to local organizations like the Chamber of Commerce, for example, which often hosts networking events. Brands looking for small influencers might already know a good candidate from networking gatherings.
With a candidate in mind, research his or her social media profiles, and if it’s a good fit, chat with him or her about collaboration at your next event.
Use an influencer marketing platform
Influencer marketing platforms, like our Marketplace, are a great way to find nano- or micro-influencers. Influencer platforms have a large database of influencers that you can easily search.
If you have a brick-and-mortar store and want to work with a city-specific influencer to encourage people to visit your business, you’ll search for your city.
If you run an online business and don’t need a location-based influencer, you can search for your industry, like sporting goods or hair products.
If you use an influencer marketing platform, you can:
- Access thousands of influencers who are open to working with brands
- Identify hard-to-find influencers within a rare niche
- Review influencer profiles with links to their social channels
- Explore meaningful statistics like the engagement rate of each influencer
- Explore pricing, if an influencer lists it
When you find an influencer you like, you can even reach out to him or her right through the platform.
Post an “influencer wanted” ad
If you’d rather not sift through your social channels or run searches, you can post an ad and have influencers come to you.
On The Creator Marketplace, you can list ads known as Casting Calls. You’ll write a quick description of the campaign you’d like to launch and ask influencers to answer specific questions in their responses.
Here’s a snapshot of a Casting Call listed by Tyson Foods. The company is looking for influencers to endorse its new Maple Griddle Cakes as a quick breakfast solution in the morning.
There’s a due date listed, along with the intended social platform and how an influencer will be compensated.
To respond, interested influencers simply hit the “I’d like to Submit a Pitch” button.
Interested? You can create a Casting Call within minutes.
If you’re a small business looking for influencers, as you can see, there are several ways to find and connect with creators. As you conduct your search, look for influencers who cater to a similar audience and share your brand values. Nano influencer brand deals are struck every day; there’s no reason your brand can’t initiate one today
Influencers:
Looking to partner with industry-leading brands? Create your free profile today.
Marketers:
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