Skip to main content
4 min read

How to Leverage Micro-Influencers for Local Marketing

The internet has been a game changer for small businesses looking to reach a bigger, global audience. But – Goliath will probably empathise most with this point – big, doesn’t always mean better. In fact, the ‘go big or go home’ mantra is a dangerous one, as you risk spreading yourself too thin, over-promising and trying to be everything to everyone. Focusing your efforts on a niche audience or a specific business goal can prove more effective than throwing large sums of money at competitive PPC campaigns or the pursuit of thousands of Instagram followers. Sometimes – the best marketing opportunities are, in fact, much closer to home…

Local marketing can be highly effective for small businesses. We’ve compiled a list of effective local marketing techniques before – but an area we want to add to this list and explore in more detail is the rising trend of micro-influencer marketing, and how small businesses can harness this technique to increase their local customer base, while raising their profile amongst their community.

The noticeable rise in this marketing trend is due to several factors:

  • Community engagement: Many small businesses understand the value of connecting with their local communities. Collaborating with local micro-influencers helps them tap into existing community networks and establish stronger connections with their target audience.
  • Personalisation: Local micro-influencers often share a closer connection with their followers due to their shared locality. This enables small businesses to deliver more personalised and relevant marketing messages to their local audience.
  • Trust and credibility: Local micro-influencers are often seen as trusted members of the community. Their endorsements and recommendations carry more weight and credibility among their local followers, which can positively impact a small business’s reputation.
  • Supporting the local economy: Both small businesses and local micro-influencers benefit from supporting each other. Collaborations between them contribute to the growth of the local economy and strengthen the overall business ecosystem.
  • Hyper-targeting: Local micro-influencers allow small businesses to hyper-target their marketing efforts. They can focus on engaging with individuals who are more likely to become loyal customers due to their geographic proximity.
  • Word-of-mouth impact: Recommendations from local micro-influencers tend to spread quickly through word-of-mouth within local communities. Positive experiences shared by micro-influencers can lead to increased foot traffic and sales for local businesses.
  • Cost-effectiveness: Collaborating with local micro-influencers can be cost-effective for small businesses with limited budgets. The cost of working with local influencers is often more affordable compared to macro influencers or larger marketing campaigns.
  • Event promotion: For events, promotions and local campaigns, collaborating with local micro-influencers can help generate buzz and increase attendance or participation.
  • Cultural relevance: Local micro-influencers understand the local culture, customs and trends. They can create content that resonates deeply with the local audience, making marketing efforts more relevant and relatable.
  • Local SEO: Partnering with local micro-influencers can also contribute to a small business’s local SEO efforts, helping them appear in local search results and directories.

Given the strong sense of community throughout the UK and the importance of supporting local businesses, the continued rise of local micro-influencer marketing is a natural progression for small businesses looking to connect with their immediate communities and cities.

Micro-influencers: Quality over quantity

Sounds almost oxymoron-like doesn’t it? How can you influence people, if your reach is small? Here’s how…

‘Micro’ influencers on social media are in fact those that have between 1,000-100,000 followers. That’s still a lot. While considered relatively ‘small’ compared to mega and macro-influencers (see table below), micro-influencers typically focus on a specific niche or topic (e.g. a certain location, or even a specific subject within a location e.g. family-friendly days out in Rye!). This creates a highly engaged audience.

Micro-influencers can have a significant impact on their audience’s opinions and purchasing decisions as they are generally regarded as an industry expert or topic specialist. For example, a quick search online and you’ll likely discover a number of micro-influencers focused on your location/community that hold social sway.

Micro-influencers don’t often boast celebrity status. Because of this, brands can bank on their followers being interested in whatever made the micro-influencer “internet famous” – usually their expertise or hobby they’re passionate about.

From a follower perspective, it’s very much a case of quality over quantity. Rather 1,000 engaged followers than 150,000 not-so-fussed followers. Engagement = loyalty and trust (you can see where we’re going here!).

Influencer Type

Number of Followers

Mega-Influencer

 1 million+

Macro-Influencer

 100,000 – 1 million

Micro-Influencer

 1,000 – 100,000

Nano-Influencer

 Less than 1,000

So, how do you run a local marketing campaign with a micro-influencer?

Working with micro-influencers to promote your small business locally can be a cost-effective and impactful strategy to reach a targeted audience. But, what’s the process? How do you find the right micro-influencer/s to work with? How do you approach them? How do you know if a campaign’s been a success? Here’s how:

  • Identify your target audience: Understand who your target audience is and what platforms they use the most. This will help you identify micro-influencers who have followers that align with your potential customers.
  • Research and identify micro-influencers: Look for micro-influencers in your local area who have a strong online presence and are relevant to your industry. Tools including social media platforms, influencer marketing platforms or even a simple Google search can help you discover potential candidates.
  • Engagement and authenticity: Prioritise micro-influencers who have high engagement rates (likes, comments, shares) and demonstrate authenticity in their content. Authenticity is key to building trust with their audience, which will reflect positively on your brand.
  • Establish a connection: Reach out to the selected micro-influencers through direct messages or emails. Personalise your message and explain why you believe a collaboration would be mutually beneficial. Highlight how your product or service aligns with their content and audience.
  • Propose a partnership: Clearly outline the terms of the collaboration, including the type of content you’d like them to create (e.g., Instagram posts, stories, blog posts), the frequency of posts and any compensation or incentives you’re offering.
  • Promotion strategy: Discuss the promotional strategy with the micro-influencer. Are you looking for product reviews, unboxing videos, tutorials, or something else? Make sure the content they create provides value to their audience while showcasing your product or service.
  • Local integration: Since you’re targeting a local audience, encourage the micro-influencer to integrate local elements into their content. This could include mentioning local landmarks, events or using locally relevant hashtags.
  • Monitor and engage: Once the collaboration starts, closely monitor the content the micro-influencer creates. Engage with their posts by responding to comments and engaging with their audience. This will show that you’re actively participating in the conversation.
  • Track results: Keep track of key performance indicators (KPIs) such as engagement rates, reach, website traffic and conversion rates. This will help you assess the effectiveness of the campaign and make adjustments if needed.
  • Long-term relationships: If the collaboration proves successful, consider establishing long-term relationships with micro-influencers. This can lead to more consistent brand exposure and stronger connections with their audience.
  • Legal and ethical considerations: Ensure that any sponsored content follows relevant disclosure guidelines. In many countries, influencers are required to disclose their relationship with brands in their posts.
  • Test and iterate: Not every collaboration will yield the same results. Experiment with different micro-influencers, content types, and messaging strategies to refine your approach over time.

Top tip: The key to success with micro-influencer marketing is to build authentic relationships, provide value to their audience and create content that resonates with both the influencer’s followers and your local business’s values. Be genuine and you can achieve greatness!

Examples

Here are some ways that small businesses can collaborate with local micro-influencers:

Example 1: Local Café and Food Blogger Collaboration

Business: A small, independently owned café in London known for its unique menu items and cosy atmosphere.

Micro-influencer: A local food blogger with a modest following on Instagram, known for posting about food trends and hidden gems in the city.

Collaboration details: The café partners with the food blogger to create a collaborative event called “Taste of the Neighbourhood.” The food blogger visits the café, tries different menu items, and shares their experience on their Instagram stories and posts. They also host a giveaway for their followers, offering a free coffee and pastry from the café to a lucky winner. The café provides the giveaway items and offers a special discount for the food blogger’s followers who visit the café during the event week. The collaboration is promoted on both the café’s and the influencer’s social media platforms using a unique hashtag.

Impact: The collaboration generates excitement among the food blogger’s followers, resulting in increased foot traffic to the café during the event week. The café gains exposure to the food blogger’s audience, many of whom are local residents. The event generates user-generated content as customers share their café experiences using the hashtag, creating a sense of community engagement and boosting the café’s online presence.

Example 2: Fitness Studio and Wellness Micro-Influencer Collaboration

Business: A small fitness studio in Edinburgh offering a range of classes, from yoga to HIIT workouts.

Micro-influencer: A local wellness micro-influencer with a passion for fitness, mindfulness and holistic wellness practices.

Collaboration details: The fitness studio partners with the wellness micro-influencer for a “Mindful Movement Challenge.” The influencer participates in a week-long challenge, attending various classes at the studio and sharing their experience on their social media platforms. They post daily updates, discussing the physical and mental benefits of each class, along with insights into their wellness journey. The influencer also hosts a live Q&A session on Instagram, where they answer questions about fitness and mindfulness.

Impact: The collaboration brings attention to the fitness studio’s diverse class offerings and its focus on holistic well-being. The influencer’s posts inspire their audience to participate in the challenge and try out different classes at the studio. The challenge generates engagement through comments and direct messages, creating a sense of community among the influencer’s followers. The fitness studio gains new clients who are drawn to its approach to fitness and wellness, while the micro-influencer becomes (further) established as a local wellness authority.

When it’s not a good fit

While micro-influencers can be effective for many businesses and industries, there are certain scenarios and industries where collaborating with micro-influencers might not be the best fit. Here are a few examples:

  • Highly regulated industries: Businesses in heavily regulated industries such as pharmaceuticals, finance and legal services may face challenges when collaborating with micro-influencers. The need for compliance, accuracy and avoiding potential conflicts of interest can be more complex in these industries.
  • Luxury brands: Luxury brands that aim to maintain an exclusive and premium image might find it difficult to align with micro-influencers, who often focus on relatability and authenticity. Collaborating with micro-influencers could potentially dilute the brand’s perceived exclusivity.
  • B2B companies: Micro-influencers tend to have a more consumer-oriented audience. Business-to-business (B2B) companies targeting other businesses might not find micro-influencers as effective for their marketing, as their content may not resonate with the B2B audience’s needs and preferences.
  • Niche industries that have a very limited audience: While focusing on a niche is helpful, if a business operates within a very narrow and specialised niche with a limited audience size, it might be challenging to find micro-influencers with a relevant following. In such cases, the pool of potential influencers may be too small to make a meaningful impact.
  • Highly technical or complex products/services: Businesses that offer highly technical, complex or specialised products/services might struggle to effectively communicate the value and nuances of their offerings through micro-influencer content, which tends to be more casual and relatable.
  • Controversial topics or sensitive issues: Brands dealing with controversial topics or sensitive issues might find it risky to collaborate with micro-influencers, as misinterpretation or misrepresentation of their messaging could lead to backlash or negative publicity.
  • Local businesses with limited online presence: If a local business has limited online or social media presence, working with micro-influencers might not yield significant results. Micro-influencers often amplify a brand’s online presence, but this may not be as impactful for businesses with minimal digital visibility.
  • Short-term promotions: If a business is running a short-term promotional campaign or event, the time required to establish a relationship with micro-influencers and create meaningful content might not align with the campaign’s timeline.

Ultimately, the decision to collaborate with micro-influencers depends on the specific goals, target audience and nature of your business. It’s important to carefully evaluate whether the influencer’s audience aligns with your brand’s values and goals, and whether the content created will resonate with the intended audience.

So, there you have it! Lots of opportunities for small businesses to raise their local profile through smart collaboration with micro-influencers in their area. And if you choose to offer something back to the community as part of it, all the better. After all, everybody needs good neighbours. “With a little understanding, you can find the perfect blend.” – Never were truer words spoken in the world of marketing!

Share this content
Jenny Lambert

Jenny Lambert is a freelance writer, interiors blogger and Etsy shop owner with extensive experience working in marketing, digital and publishing roles.

Leave a Reply

Register with Informi today:

  • Join over 30,000 like-minded business professionals.
  • Create your own personalised account with curated reading lists and checklists.
  • Access exclusive resources including business plans, templates, and tax calculators.
  • Receive the latest business advice and insights from Informi.
  • Join in the discussion through the comments section.

or