What are the best practices for local businesses to use influencer marketing?

1 Identify your goals and metrics

Before you start looking for influencers, you need to have a clear idea of what you want to achieve and how you will measure your success. Do you want to increase your website traffic, your social media followers, your leads, or your conversions? What kind of return on investment (ROI) are you expecting from your influencer campaign? How will you track and analyze your results? Having specific and realistic goals and metrics will help you choose the right influencers, create the right content, and optimize your campaign.

2 Find relevant and authentic influencers

The next step is to find influencers who are relevant to your niche, your location, and your audience. You don't need to work with celebrities or mega-influencers who have millions of followers. In fact, for local businesses, it's better to focus on micro-influencers or nano-influencers who have a smaller but more engaged and loyal fan base. These influencers are more likely to have a genuine interest in your product or service, and to have a strong connection with their followers. They are also more affordable and easier to work with. You can use tools like BuzzSumo, Upfluence, or AspireIQ to find and contact influencers who match your criteria.

3 Collaborate and co-create content

Once you have found your ideal influencers, you need to establish a mutually beneficial relationship with them. Don't treat them as mere advertisers or spokespersons for your brand. Instead, respect their creativity, expertise, and voice, and involve them in the content creation process. Let them showcase your product or service in their own style and tone, and give them some freedom and flexibility to adapt to their audience's preferences. You can also co-create content with them, such as blog posts, videos, podcasts, or live events, where you can share your insights, stories, and value proposition.

4 Disclose and comply with the rules

Influencer marketing is not a free-for-all. There are rules and regulations that you and your influencers need to follow to avoid legal troubles and ethical issues. The most important one is to disclose your partnership clearly and conspicuously, using hashtags like #ad, #sponsored, or #partner. This will ensure that you are transparent and honest with your audience, and that you comply with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) guidelines. You also need to respect the intellectual property rights of your influencers, and avoid making any false or misleading claims about your product or service.

5 Monitor and optimize your campaign

The last step is to monitor and optimize your campaign, using the goals and metrics that you defined earlier. You need to track and measure how your influencer content is performing, how your audience is reacting, and how your business is benefiting. You can use tools like Google Analytics, Facebook Insights, or Instagram Insights to collect and analyze data such as impressions, reach, engagement, clicks, conversions, and ROI. You can also ask your influencers for feedback and suggestions on how to improve your campaign. Based on your findings, you can adjust your budget, your content, your influencers, or your strategy to achieve better results.

6 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?