As social media users get more aware of influencer marketing, the effectiveness of micro-influencers increases. While some are getting put off by bigger influencers, micro-influencers boast a smaller audience with higher engagement rates. In plain terms, micro-influencers get engagement rates that are roughly 60% higher than bigger social media presences as it establishes a better level of trust with consumers.
Hyperlocal influencers are a type of micro-influencer that determine their audience not only from a shared interest but by geographical area. Below, we detail how to spot a hyperlocal influencer, how they can help your campaigns, and why they are seeing rising importance in influencer marketing.
So, What Makes Hyperlocal Influencers Different?
These influencers have attained notoriety or respect by being a voice in their community – they could be local artists, campaigners, volunteers, sports coaches, etc. Follower counts can vary, but in rough numbers, you’ll usually find them sitting between 800 and 5,000. These people are not professional influencers, nor are they trying to be. They are defined by their position or profession in the community first.
What makes hyperlocal influencers different is their ability to communicate information about your brand or product on a personal level in areas that can easily be missed by bigger campaigns. For example, imagine a gym chain that is opening in a smaller town. How could this business use influencers in order to promote awareness? By using, for example, popular sports coaches in the area, they could then share this information in a personal way to the exact people who will likely use the gym.
Think of traditional influencer marketing as a big fishing net, whereas hyperlocal marketing is more like a quietly efficient fishing rod; at times, traditional marketing campaigns cast a net that is simply too wide.
In essence, using regular influencers shows a brand to a large number of people, whereas hyperlocal influencers ensure the brand hits the exact people it needs.
How To Use Hyperlocal Influencers In Campaigns
The gym example used earlier is just one way you can approach hyperlocal influencers in your campaigns. However, to really make it pop, you need to embed it into a hyperlocal marketing strategy that includes:
- Optimising Google My Business
- A location-based keyword strategy
- Up-to-date contact information
- Local content
- A full local SEO strategy, geographically-specific landing pages, etc.
You simply cannot place all of your hopes on a few hyperlocal influencers and hope that works. You need to ensure the exposure they are getting you is backed up with evidence that you really care about their community.
To do this, you need to form a content strategy that resonates with the community you’re targeting. Asking these influencers to contribute or respond to this content is a good strategy.
Hyperlocal influencers can inspire people to get involved in your campaign too. As they’re a trusted voice, the probability of them seeing your marketing campaign as merely fluff or background noise is lessened.
Is The Concept Of “Local” And “Community” Changing?
While geography is still important for hyperlocal influencer marketing, in terms of appealing to the local community, these definitions are slowly being whittled away.
With the increase of mobile search, the concept of local communities is changing from a geographically-shared space to one of shared interests, hobbies and experiences. In this way, a future hyperlocal influencer may not be relevant in their geographical area, but be a pillar of a smaller, tightly-knit internet community.
Research by Mitchell shows that 74% of millennial and Gen Z people do not factor geographical locations in with their definition of “community”. For these people, who hold the majority of the spending power in the current economy, “local” is a place where connections are made.
While this may initially sound like hyperlocal marketing is living on a shortened lifespan, it’s actually the opposite. Thanks to how these local communities can branch out of geographical restrictions, brands can build personal relationships on a smaller scale, directly to people who are even more likely to engage based on interest.
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