As you think about your digital marketing strategy, don’t forget to consider using local influencers. This can be a very useful and cost-effective way to promote your company. Additionally, even small businesses likely have the budget to work with local influencers. You simply have to know which influencers to focus on.
Understanding Local Influencers
First, what are local influencers? They are localized and sometimes called nano influencers because their audiences tend to be much smaller. Expect an audience of about 1,000 to 10,000 people.
While this may seem like a small number, local influencers have the advantage of being focused in your area. This means that nearly every single one of those followers is in your community. This is especially important for small businesses that want to attract local customers.
Their smaller audience size also means that local influencers are much more affordable than those with larger audiences. So, you get to stick to your budget while taking advantage of an audience that is much more likely to be close to your store.
You Get the Same Benefits as With Any Other Type of Influencer Marketing
When you use local influencers, you get the same benefits you would if you used an influencer with a wider audience. The difference is, they are more affordable, and a higher proportion of their audience lives nearby.
Remember that with any influencer marketing, the influencer becomes your spokesperson. Think of them as a brand ambassador who refers your company to a wide audience.
People looking for recommendations are likely to turn to influencers, especially if the influencer in question has built a strong reputation for providing good recommendations.
Simply put, influencers of any size will generate creative content, deliver recommendations, promote your brand, and boost engagement.
As with any other type of brand ambassador, you can also look for a local influencer who fits into a certain niche. So, maybe you sell jewelry or makeup and look for a beauty influencer. Or maybe you are with a gym and look for a fitness influencer. Some local influencers may also straddle multiple niches.
But You Also Get Other Benefits
But using local influencers doesn’t just give you the same advantages you would get with a larger influencer. We’ve already touched on some of the advantages, such as their affordability and localized audience that’s more likely to be close to your business, but don’t forget that local influencers also likely have a higher level of engagement than larger influencers because of their smaller audiences.
Make Sure the Content Is Relatable and Transparent
When using local influencers, you want to make sure that they post content that is relatable and transparent. Don’t encourage influencers to lie about your products, as this will lead to disappointed customers and a bad reputation. It could also get you in legal trouble if your influencers misrepresent your product.
You also want them to post relatable content. This helps their audience connect with them. If their content is more relatable, the influencer starts to seem like a friend. This makes the audience give their recommendations more weight than they would otherwise.
How to Choose Local Influencers
It is also crucial to know how to choose which local influencers to work with. Since you want their posts to be relatable and transparent, look for people who already have those traits in their posts. This will help ensure a natural fit.
Overall, you want your influencer to have common values. They should also have interests that are relevant to your company in some way.
When it comes time to narrow down your influencers, you want to pay more attention to engagement than to their follower count. Remember that the more engaged their audience is, the more likely they are to convert. And remember that local influencers won’t necessarily have massive audiences, as their audience will be mostly local.
Don’t Forget to Evaluate the Campaigns
As with any other marketing campaign, be sure to collect data so you can evaluate your influencer marketing campaign. This will help you decide if it is worth the cost and spot areas for improvement.
Conclusion
Using local influencers is a cost-effective alternative to choosing influencers with larger audiences. You get the added benefits of improved engagement and a local audience in addition to the other assets of using influencers such as recommendations and more content.
