Benefits of Working With Local Business Influencers

With influencer marketing spend predicted to grow to more than $6 billion this year, brands that skimp on the tool could struggle to keep up with the competition. Local business influencers can help brands drive traffic to brick-and-mortar stores, promote service-industry businesses, and advertise in-person events. If you’re toying with launching a local influencer marketing campaign, it’s time to get off the fence. Read on to learn some of the advantages of using local influencers, as well as how you can find and hire micro-influencers. 

Increased authenticity

Local influencer marketing is similar to word-of-mouth marketing in that it can build credibility and trust for the brand. Relying on a real customer’s experience with not only the brand’s product or service but also in-person shopping provides your target audience with a unique and honest opinion about your brand.

By authentically sharing excitement about a business or upcoming event, local influencers’ content tends to feel less salesy. In addition, by speaking to their own audience, which already is likely to have a built-in bond, these less-scripted local influencers are likely trusted local experts. 

Greater engagement

Considering that a large following doesn’t necessarily translate into high engagement, it’s easy to understand why local influencers might create a greater ROI than, say, mega-influencers. 

Research points to significantly higher engagement rates for nano- and micro-influencers compared to other tiers. The relatability and authenticity of nano-influencers often put them close to 7% engagement, which larger influencers can’t compete against, with engagement rates closer to 1.6%. 

Access to new followers

Because most local businesses will draw customers from the same area, local influencers will typically share the same audience. 

Beyond simply tallying immediate sales from an influencer campaign, your marketing team should measure the number of new followers picked up from partnering with the local influencer. 

It’s also important to remember that not every local influencer marketing campaign will lead to a sudden influx of new customers on the day of or after the content is posted. Brand awareness may be just as important in influencing purchases or event attendance later.

Cost-effectiveness

There are many KPIs to measure an influencer marketing campaign’s effectiveness: affiliate links, web traffic, discount codes, engagement, and impressions, among many others. 

But measuring return on investment requires you to also account for the costs of the campaign. When working with a local influencer, these costs might include:

• Product discounts
• Free samples (to the influencer or followers)
• Compensation to the influencer (commission or flat fee)
• Shipping and wrapping products
• Cost of Goods Sold (COGS)

Considering that most local influencers will have smaller followings than national or global influencers, your campaign costs are less likely to eat away at your marketing budget. Just look at these 2022 average costs per post by influencer tier:

• Nano-influencers: $1,105
• Micro-influencers: $1,600
• Mid-tier influencers: $3,500
• Macro influencers: $5,000
• Mega influencers: $5,500
• Web celebrities: $6,500

And when you consider that some of the top celebrity influencers charge as much as $1 million per post, it’s easy to see why local influencers are a relatively low-risk gamble for marketers.

Opportunities for in-person events

Turn your local influencer into a local celebrity by inviting them to appear in person for ribbon cuttings, holiday celebrations, seminars, and pop-up events. If the establishment hasn’t opened yet, consider giving the influencer early access with an in-store tour on camera to build excitement before the grand opening. 

Tips for finding local influencers

Ready to get started on your first local influencer marketing campaign? Use these tips to find a nearby content creator.

Look among your promoters.

Look for customers that already believe in your brand or product. 

Where to start: Your customer relationship management system should provide you with promoters who live in the area around the local business you’ll be marketing. Look for positive reviews that were submitted through your website or sent via email too.

Search your preferred platforms.

Check each platform to find local influencers who create great content, have good engagement, and whose audience and values align with your brand’s values.

Where to start: Check the social media platforms where you plan to host your local campaigns. Use local search terms like Chicago or Windy City to find and research possible influencers.

Search for local hashtags.

Hashtags can provide a useful filter when searching for local influencers. Just be prepared to narrow down your results if you live in a metropolitan area. While #NYCfashioninfluencer turns up 2,314 posts on Instagram, #BrooklynFashionInfluencer brings the number of posts down to 26.

Where to start: Head to the social media platform where your campaign will be hosted and start with a broad hashtag search that includes the city name and industry, such as #TampaBayStreetwear.

Use an influencer marketing platform. 

Influencer marketing isn’t going anywhere, and the sooner you invest in the tools you’ll need to master your campaigns, the better the payoff in terms of time and money.

Where to start: Compare the solutions provided by influencer marketing platforms, like IZEA’s Flex, an end-to-end solution that can help you find influencers, visualize campaign concepts, manage content, pay creators, integrate systems, draft contracts and analyze your campaigns.

If you’ve got a local establishment to promote, few marketing tactics will give you the ROI of a local influencer marketing campaign. Find a great content creator who loves your brand and start investing in a long-term partnership to grow your business.