The Ultimate Guide to Local Influencer Marketing
Who's the most influential person on the internet? Is it Kim Kardashian? Elon Musk? Or a Midwest mom who knows everyone in her community and loves posting online?
Most celebrities on social media work with brands. There are influencer hype houses and sci-fi-style AI influencers, and even Barbie herself did a collab with drink brand Olipop.
But the most effective influencers are less well-known. They fly under the radar, reaching audiences in their own communities by word of mouth.
Local influencer marketing is built on the idea that our closest contacts have the most influence. It's a cost-effective strategy that's highly effective for smaller brands.
In this blog post, we'll explain how it works and why you should use local influencers in your marketing strategy.
Who are local influencers?
Local influencers are the newest type of influencer. They’ve existed for years but were never in the limelight like flashy celebrity and career-focused influencers.
Local influencers are residents of a specific city or area.
They typically have 500–5,000 followers.
Their audience is made up of friends, family, and people in their communities.
Most local influencers have full-time careers or day jobs apart from social media.
More people are local influencers than you might think. Your friend who runs marathons and volunteers at the local animal rescue? She's an influencer. Your kid's best friend's mom who always has the best restaurant recommendations? She's an influencer. You might even be a local influencer yourself!
How do local influencers compare to other types of influencers?
There are six different types of influencers:
Celebrity influencers: Public figures who typically have 1M+ social media followers
Macro-influencers: Influencers with 500k–1M followers who take on paid brand collabs
Mid-tier influencers: Mostly paid influencers with a 50k–500k follower count
Micro-influencers: Influencers with 10k–50k followers who typically collaborate on brand deals
Nano-influencers: Influencers with 1k–10k followers who occasionally collaborate on brand deals
Local influencers: These are everyday people with influence in their local community or region. They're often rewarded with a brand's product or similar incentives.
Out of the six types, local and nano-influencers have the most in common — but there are some key differences.
Nano-influencers typically create content about a specific topic. They can have influence in a specific region, nationally, or worldwide.
In contrast, local influencers tap into their local or statewide network. They're not specialists — they just like sharing events, brands, and products where they live.
what is local influencer marketing
Local influencer marketing is when a business works with local influencers to promote their brand. It's often a good fit for small businesses because it's authentic, trustworthy, cost-effective, and targeted.
Authentic: Local influencers are real people embedded in their home communities. They post about local brands and local events in their own words.
Trustworthy: 40% of consumers say they prefer to interact with micro- and nano-influencers. Because local influencers are well-known in their communities, people trust what they say.
Cost-effective: Local influencers often work for gifts and trade, rather than financial rewards.
Targeted: The greatest power of local influencers is that targeting is already built in. Their followers are your target market, so you don't have to pay for ad targeting.
what brands should use local influencers?
Any brand can and should work with local influencers! They have a knack for promoting products, they bring an engaged audience with them, and they’re likely to become loyal customers themselves.
How do I find local influencers?
You can find local influencers in a few ways:
Reach out to influencers directly: The top channels for influencers are Instagram, YouTube, TikTok, and Facebook. But you might also find them hanging out on NextDoor, Discord, or even a local podcast.
Leverage an influencer marketing agency: You can also tap into an agency's network and expertise. However, be aware that influencer agencies tend to focus on specific verticals or industries instead of locations, and their pricing can be high.
Use local influencer marketing platforms: Influencer marketing platforms can help you find influencers based on their location, verify their follower and engagement counts, make contact, and work out a deal.
Let’s take a closer look at how you can execute these strategies.
1. Find local influencers on Instagram
Instagram is still the top social media platform for influencers. There are several ways you can search for high-quality creators, including locations, hashtags, and business pages.
You can also peruse the followers of local businesses. Look at comments on their posts, as well as posts that the business is tagged in.
2. Turn your current customers into influencers
Ask your regulars to post about their experience with your brand on their own social media accounts. Then thank them with a gift card to your business, swag, or something else they’ll enjoy.
3. Tools to find local influencers
There are a lot of influencer marketing platforms available these days. They range from simple databases and job boards to sophisticated, enterprise-level software that comes with a full suite of digital marketing tools and agency assistance.
However, these platforms are usually built for a larger-scale influencer marketing strategy. So they’re not great for connecting and engaging with local influencers.
If you want to work with hyperlocal creators, try Hummingbirds. It's a marketing platform that's designed specifically to pair local creators with place-based brands. Hummingbirds is currently operating in 15 cities (and growing)!
3 of our favorite local influencer marketing campaigns
Hummingbirds works with genuine local people who create content in their own relatable style. Best of all, you don't need a big budget to attract them — just enjoyable rewards.
Here are three of our favorite campaigns from brands that worked with Hummingbirds.
1. Lola’s Fine Hot Sauce
Lola's Fine Hot Sauce is a local brand that got started in farmer's markets in Des Moines, Iowa. They wanted to spread great taste across the Midwest, so they enlisted a flock of our hummingbirds.
Local content creators received gift cards (so they could choose which products to try) and posted their honest reviews online. The campaign was simple but effective, with new customers flooding to Lola's.
With Hummingbirds, Lola’s grew their average weekly turns by up to 16x in some locations, and saw nearly 80% growth for three months after the campaign.
2. destination madison
Local influencers are a rising trend in destination marketing — and Madison, Wisconsin, is already enjoying the results.
Destination Madison invited hummingbirds from nearby cities to come and explore the area, offering perks like free rentals and local gift cards. Campaigns were run in cities and states close enough for quick weekend trips, and the result? A boost for local tourism and brands in the area!
3. FACE FOUNDRIÉ
FACE FOUNDRIÉ is a franchised facial bar that started out in Des Moines, Iowa, and now has locations in multiple states.
They ran a fun campaign that offered a free facial and product recommendations to hummingbirds. Creators shared posts about their experience during and after the appointment, drawing in new followers and customers.
Find local influencers and start planning your next campaign!
Influencer marketing platforms are an easy way to find content creators who match your brand, values, and target audience. However, while local influencer marketing is a highly effective strategy, not many platforms cater to it.
Hummingbirds is the first and only platform for local influencer marketing. You can target individual cities and areas, and it uses a unique double opt-in system where influencers and brands choose each other, so you don't waste any time on outreach. Plus, you can manage the whole campaign in one place.
Book a call today to launch your own local influencer marketing campaign.