Local versus regional influencer marketing
As brands look to become more targeted with their influencer marketing strategies, one trend that’s emerging is engagement of regional and local influencers. These creators have strong connections in specific regions or cities and a concentrated audience in those locations.
When you want to bring awareness to your brand in a specific geographic area, turn to a regional or local influencer, but what’s the difference and why would you choose one or the other? Let’s get into it!
What’s a local influencer?
A local influencer is someone whose influence is highly concentrated in their local community. They reside in a specific area and their audience that’s typically 500-5000+ followers, is made up of friends, family and people in their community.
Chances are if you scroll your Instagram feed, you’re likely to see more than a handful of local influencers. These are people who are regularly sharing about a local live band they saw, a coffee shop they tried out or a new fitness studio that just opened its doors.
Here are two examples of local influencers we adore:
Alexandria Porter - Cincinnati
Alyssa Renae - Omaha
What’s a regional influencer?
A regional influencer is someone whose influence is concentrated in a region rather than a specific community or city. Their regional base could be as broad as a country or as small as a collection of cities. Regional influencers vary greatly in follower counts but often have anywhere from 5,000 to 100k or more followers.
A regional influencer typically creates content surrounding a certain topic within a region. For example, they could be a creator sharing about local brands and experiences you can specifically discover in Ohio. Another example is a creator sharing memes and comedy content that’s relevant to those who live in a certain region like the Midwest.
Check out these regional influencers:
Hannah Hines - Cincinnati
Midwest Ope - Midwest
💡Regional Marketing
When you’re exploring regional and local influencers, it’s also important to define a specific marketing strategy known as regional marketing. Regional marketing is when a brand tailors their content or marketing strategy to accommodate the nuances or unique flavor of a specific community or geographic region. Engaging with regional or local influencers would both fall under this category.
For example, a CPG brand hoping to drive product off the shelves in a specific area may tailor an Instagram post to call out a particular grocery store in that city that’s hosting a promotion for their product. This is a great example from Goodles.
Any time a marketing strategy or tactic is tweaked to accommodate a regional flair, it’s an exercise in regional marketing. It’s a powerful way to increase trust and cut through the noise by reaching consumers in a way that feels more customized.
What are the pros and cons of working with each type?
Local influencer pros
Transparency & Accessibility - Smaller follower counts allow them to respond to all messages they receive, ensuring questions that arise from your collaboration (what size did you get? What were their hours again?, etc.) are answered in a timely manner
Authenticity - Local influencers create incredibly authentic content because the localized nature of their influence demands it. When they might see a follower at the school-pick-up line or grocery store, they have to be honest & selective about their recommendations when there’s a chance they could be asked about it IRL.
Local Expert - A local influencer will be able to speak to the people in their community about your brand better than anyone else because they actually live there. They can recommend a local park to take your brand’s pickleball set to in their post or reference a district of downtown in their caption that only residents would understand. Their understanding of the local lingo and nuances are your expertise to borrow when you work with local influencers
Local influencer cons
Smaller Audience Sizes - Local influencers typically do not have high follower counts so if you’re looking for big numbers in reach and comments, a local influencer isn’t going to fit the bill
Not Their Full-Time Gig - Much of the time, local influencers do not create content on a full-time basis which can mean you’ll need to allow for a little more flexibility in deliverable timelines and content briefs
Limited Offerings for Specific Niche - It can be difficult to find a wide batch of influencers in a specific city or region who are interested in a very niche product or experience
Regional influencer pros
Higher regional reach - Due to the regional nature of their audience, you’ll be able to capture attention from a larger audience in a targeted geographic area.
Regional knowledge - They offer you the ability to tap in to their knowledge and trust built as an authority in their region.
Content quality - Since they create content on a regular basis, they’re more likely to create higher quality, professional content for your brand.
Regional influencer cons
Content can feel like an ad - Regional influencers typically engage with multiple paid partners at a time, so your content can get lost in a sea of sponsored posts, making it feel less authentic.
Price can be a barrier - Because of their large follower counts, you’ll likely spend anywhere from $200 - $2500 for a single post.
Impersonal connection - With higher follower counts and a more regular gig of creating content, regional influencers may have less time for interacting with their followers and responding to questions.
Should your business work with regional or local influencers?
Once you’ve established that you’d like to incorporate influencers into your marketing campaign and you’d like to target a specific area, it’s time to decide whether you should work with local influencers or regional influencers.
Brands who should work with local influencers
Local influencers should be chosen for marketing strategies that are targeted to specific cities or concentrated areas. They’re best for brands who want content created that feels authentic, less staged and taps into localized expertise. They should not be used for brands with very specific, niche products or experiences, unless you plan to engage them across multiple cities.
A great example of localized influence in action is Thelma’s Treats. They worked with local influencers on Instagram to drive their ice cream sandwiches directly off the shelves of retailers in cities like Milwaukee, Madison and Minneapolis. The local creators they partnered with shared about the location where they bought their treats. By doing this, they reaches thousands of people in a much more customized way and through people they trust.
Brands who should work with regional influencers
When your goal is to create awareness or inspire action across an entire region rather than a targeted area, work with regional influencers. Brands with a dedicated budget should also select them if they're looking for more polished and professional content.
For example, Outlets at the Dells worked with Hannah to create content around visiting Outlets at the Dells around the holidays. Since Hannah is a creator primarily focused on lifestyle and Wisconsin content, Outlets at the Dells was able to reach her regional audience through someone they trust.
How to start working with influencers
Once you’ve decided what type of influencer you need, you’re ready to start your next collaboration. We recommend first deciding how influencers are going to fit into your overall strategy. Then it’s time to decide which of the four ways to work with influencers you will use to find your influencers.
