Influencer marketing is today’s media spokesperson, albeit one with more perceived authenticity. Instead of just using celebrities or well-known personas in commercials, brands collaborate with these content creators to influence an audience. Big and small businesses alike can benefit from these campaigns, including your advertisers. Local influencers can drive awareness, trust and credibility.
In this post, we’ll explain the value of local influencers with ideas for putting together these social media campaigns.
Does Influencer Marketing Deliver Returns?
Influencer marketing is not a new concept, so many data sources are related to its growth and ROI. A study determined that businesses earn an average of $5.20 for every $1 spent on the tactic.
Why is it so impactful? In general, consumers trust the recommendations of influencers much more than a company itself. Earning this trust isn’t as easy as having a well-known figure appear in a campaign. Rather, that influencer needs to have local appeal and have a following and expertise in that industry. You want to help advertisers find influencers with the ear of their target customers.
The key to returns is about three things: authenticity, targeted audiences and emotional responses. If campaigns contain these attributes, consumers will respond.
This type of advertising can work when all the pieces fit together logically. So, what types of local influencers and campaigns can be winners for your advertisers?
Ideas for Local Influencer Social Media Campaigns
How you approach pitching these campaigns will depend on the company’s industry, products and audience. Another factor is that these businesses should have at least some visibility on the social media channels used.
Here are some idea starters to consider.
Health and Fitness
The health and fitness industry requires proof points for people to engage. It’s a vertical that’s big into before-and-after pictures for weight loss and skin treatments. Those images can be compelling. If they involve a local influencer, they may be even more so.
Famous faces have long been part of weight loss and beauty brand promotions, and the same format can happen locally. The influencer could be a local athlete, for example, suffering from acne due to their profession. If a dermatologist or medical spa resolved these challenges, that’s a great story!
As you talk to advertisers in this category, ask them about any “famous” clients they have who would represent their brand well.
Home Improvement and Interior Design
For this campaign, you’d want to match a local home improvement store with a local influencer prominent in the design space. It could be someone with a well-followed blog or vlog who shares design tips and inspiration. When they do this, they often recommend products that tie into what the hardware store offers. It could be mutually beneficial to both parties, and it’s not a commercial — it’s a genuine product recommendation.
Specialty Retail and Fashion
Fashion is one of the most popular categories for social media ads due to it being so visual. Collaborations between boutiques and specialty retail with local influencers can drive e-commerce and in-store sales. The type of influencer to bring to these advertisers may be a local who already has a relationship with the business. It needs to be someone who is big into fashion and is always showing off new looks to their followers. It could be a local social media star or someone in the fashion industry, like an emerging designer or model with roots in your area.
The type of campaign you develop could be a promotion with a unique code for the influencer’s fans. They could also show off your latest arrivals for the season in quick videos on TikTok, Snapchat or Instagram. If the retailer hosts events, the influencer could drive registrations and appear at them.
Automotive
Dealerships have long had relationships with local personas, and the recent change for college athletes to receive endorsements has made this easier and more cost-effective. This could be an excellent campaign if your location has a university with devoted fans and star players. You’ll need to follow any rules regarding promotions and choose people who are active on social media and interested in cars.
Nonprofits
Nonprofits are often community-based organizations and can see impressive performance when teaming with a local influencer, such as a well-known business leader or a professional athlete or public figure with ties to the nonprofit. A campaign can raise the charity’s visibility and engage people to donate, volunteer or attend events. Being associated with someone many admire could give the nonprofit a lot of credibility.
Travel, Tourism and Hospitality
Is your city a haven for tourism? Now that the industry has rebounded, there’s much pent-up demand. A campaign that involves a local and includes advertisers and what they offer visitors — entertainment, hotels, attractions, food, etc. — could influence travelers. The ideal influencer would be a seasoned industry vet known for their love of your city. Such a campaign could draw locals to events and expand to geos that have a lot of traffic to your region.
For example, local Las Vegas entertainers could pitch the experience of a casino, show, restaurant or hotel. You could target specific areas in California and Arizona, where many visitors to the city live, to entice them to come and stay.
Local Influencers Can Boost Social Media Campaigns
If you’re looking for reasons to get local advertisers excited about social media advertising, influencer campaigns could push them toward a yes. Have an idea in mind to pitch them, so it’s not abstract. These are just a few examples of what you can do with the tactic.
Learn more about social media advertising with these resources:
Social Media Advertising 101: Explore Which Platforms Are Most Effective
Social Media Live Streaming: Making It Work for You and Your Advertisers
