How To Find Local Influencers for Sales and UGC

People are used to seeing online ads and thinking, “That’s not for me.” However, finding local influencers can help your ads rise above the noise.

For example, if you sell products in the UK, you must hire regional influencers from the UK. It wouldn’t make sense to hire only US-based influencers.

Unfortunately, if you’re looking for local influencers, you can’t just Google “local influencers near me” and find a ready-made list of influencers in your area.

That’s why we’re here. We’ll walk you through how to find local influencers, including the more challenging task of how to find local micro-influencers. We’ll also teach you how to vet them, connect with them, and brief them.

Let’s go! 🚀

What are the best ways to find local influencers?

Don’t worry–there’s no need to wander the streets looking for girls doing photoshoots. You can do your influencer search much more efficiently using the following:

1. Use an influencer platform

The best way to find influencers for your brand is to use an influencer platform like Social Cat. You can find local content creators on our influencer search platform in just three steps:

Step 1: Start a FREE trial and log into your new account. (If you’re an existing customer, just log in.)

Step 2: Search for influencers in your niche. This is how to find local influencers who are likely a good fit for your brand. For example, if you’re looking for local influencers to promote your clothing brand, you will start by looking for fashion influencers.

Step 3: Next, filter your results by location. You can do this by clicking the arrow next to “location” underneath the search bar. For example, if you’re looking for fashion influencers in New York City, you’d select that.

And just like that, you’ll have a list of local influencers who could promote your product. Now, all you have to do is message them on our platform and start collaborating!

Using an influencer platform to search for influencers is quick and painless. You’ll also have the option to look at some of their metrics before you reach out so you can see if their engagement rate and content quality match what you’re looking for.

However, there are downsides to using an influencer platform. The main one is cost. If your budget prevents you from using an influencer platform, keep reading for more options.

2. Use local #hashtags

You can use local hashtags to find influencers in your area–just be prepared to spend a lot of time scrolling on Instagram and TikTok.

Here’s how: First, pull up the search tab and type in a local hashtag. This could be your location, what people in your area call themselves, promotional messaging, etc. You’ll know some of these and discover more when you search.

For example, suppose you want to find an influencer from Los Angeles. You could search for #losangeles or #LA.

We selected #losangeles for this example since it had the most posts. Once you’ve clicked on a hashtag, it’s time to start sorting through the results. You’re looking for:

• Good-quality posts. You have to like their style.
• Great engagement.
• No evidence of fake engagement (no follow-for-follow loops or buying followers).
• Evidence that they’re local
• Finding local micro-influencers (people with 1-50K followers) is a plus. They’re more likely to respond.

Here’s how to figure that out from their profile:

If everything seems good, start to develop a relationship. Commenting on their posts, sending free products, and giving them shout-outs are great places to begin. Then, if you decide they’re a good fit, it’s time to do some influencer outreach.

Then, rinse and repeat this process with other profiles and hashtags while you wait for a response. Hiring local influencers using hashtags takes a long time, but it can be done.

3. Finding local influencers on TikTok using #hashtags

This process doesn’t just work on Instagram! You can use it on TikTok, too. Here’s how to find local social media influencers on TikTok:

Step 1: Type your local search term into TikTok’s search bar

Step 2: See top posts, users, and videos for your location

Using local hashtag search to find local influencers has a few advantages: You can do it on your own time, for free. You get a feel for what the influencer scene is like in your area. You can also get inspired by what local influencers and brands post.

But, it’s not a sustainable solution if you want to create a pipeline of influencers near you. It just takes too much time. So, let’s explore other options!

4. Use geotags

Instagram and TikTok have a feature that makes it easy to find content creators near you: geotags. Whenever you post, you have the option to tag your location. This makes all the posts in this location searchable… Excellent news for brands building relationships with local influencers!

Here’s how to find local influencers on Instagram using geotags:

Step 1: Search for your location on Instagram and click “places”

Step 2: Select a location, and a map with geotagged images will appear. Click on images or specific locations to find local influencers.

Using geotags also has pros and cons similar to local hashtags. It’s a great way to connect with your community, but you’ll need other options to find more than 2 or 3 social media influencers near you.

5. Network in person or online

Local influencer marketing is driven by relationships even more than regular influencer marketing.

If the idea of an in-person networking event makes you nervous, take small steps at first:

• Find Slack, Discord, and Facebook groups dedicated to local influencers and start making online connections with a few.
• Dive into local Reddit and Quora conversations to see what you can find.

Then, take the plunge and go to in-person networking events.

Check community bulletin boards, digital marketing agencies, and anyone interested in hosting events for influencers and brands. You can also host your local influencer events yourself.

Heck, if you can’t find an influencer-specific event and don’t feel like hosting your own, just go to a local event. There are bound to be influencers there creating content for their next post. Get a booth and give away prizes to local influencers!

Nothing beats an in-person connection. If you’re used to being ghosted on social media when you find influencers near you, meeting them in person will make everything easier.

6. Use influencer marketing databases

Wait… When we say you can use an influencer database, are we saying to use Social Cat again?

No! Social Cat is an influencer marketing platform, not a database. All the influencers on Social Cat opt-in–which means they sign up and are vetted by our team.

A database of influencers doesn’t work the same way. Database companies scrape the internet for information on influencers. That’s why they have millions of influencer profiles you can browse. However, you’ll still need to DM or email every influencer.

Plus, they are expensive.

An opt-in platform gives you the best chances of success at a fraction of the price. However, many brands love influencer databases, too. Here are a couple of the ways you can find influencers for your brand using influencer databases:

• They have advanced search filters like we do at Social Cat.
• Their influencer pools are HUGE. The number of influencers on these platforms means you’ll always be able to find another local influencer.

Finding influencers who can get results for your brand is almost always a struggle–so knowing what options are out there can help you make the best choices. Let’s look at another option:

7. Use a local influencer marketing agency

Using a local influencer marketing agency is another option. Agencies have a roster of social media influencers in your area. They handle the entire process for you–you’ll just need to approve the final content.

When you hire an influencer agency to help you create local influencer partnerships, you pay for three main things: time, expertise, and connections.

All of that comes at a cost. Agency fees, retainers, and influencer fees add up. Ensure you know what’s involved and can afford it before you sign a contract.

We don’t recommend that most brands start here–after all, you need to know about influencer marketing to evaluate if your agency is doing a great job. But it is an option as you scale.

8. Partner with or check on what other local businesses are doing

At least one business has figured out how to find influencers in your area. If they’re not a direct competitor, partner with them to find social media influencers. Here are a few ways you can do that:

• Pitch in on shared advertising. Contribute to influencer campaigns promoting your city.
• Brainstorm ways you can cross-promote each other’s businesses. If you and other businesses are local micro-influencers in your own right, cross-posting can be especially helpful. You can also hire local influencers to promote multiple brands.
• Offer affiliate deals to other businesses.
• Help host an influencer event.

If none of those will work for you, you can always learn by watching their actions. See who your competitors tag on social media in their posts. What sort of campaigns are they running? What tools are they using to find these people? You’ll learn a lot.

9. Use Google and search operators

Remember how we said you can’t just Google “local influencers near me” and expect to get a list of results? While that’s true, it doesn’t mean you can’t use Google. You just have to be smart about how you search.

Enter search operators.

Search operators refine your search using specific symbols and phrases. Here’s how you can use them:

Start with a basic search that includes your niche and your city. For example, “Long Island fitness influencers.”

If you want to see more specific results, use quotation marks around any words that MUST be included in the results. When you’re hoping to find local influencers, a good option for quotation marks is your location.

Refining a Google

using quotes

Here are a few other search operators you can use to help you find local influencers:

• Use the plus symbol (+) or the word AND in all capitals to indicate that a specific string of words needs to be included in the search results.
• Put a minus symbol (-) before any words you don’t want to show up in your search results.
• If you’re looking for influencers that use a specific website–for example, if you want to find local TikTok influencers–you can use the search operator “site:” to narrow your results to ONLY posts on that website. Make sure you use the ENTIRE site address–Tiktok.com, not just TikTok.

10. Use influencer networks

If you’ve done a good job keeping the local influencers you’ve hired happy and make it clear that you’re not looking to replace them, they may have some great suggestions for you.

Also, if you live in an area with formal networks for influencers, take advantage of that. Advertise in their newsletters. Sponsor and attend their events. Pay for access to their directory.

Bottom line: Anything you can do to leverage the power of other people’s networks will help.

11. Host contests or giveaways to turn your customers into influencers

Hashtag contests or other social media giveaways can turn your existing customers into an army of local micro-influencers.

The problem with this approach is that most people don’t have enough influence to bring you many new customers. You want people who can get you in front of new, local audiences.

Hosting contests or giveaways can also get expensive if you don’t do it right, so use this idea sparingly. But there is value in having posts from happy, regular customers. That’s called UGC or user-generated content, which validates what your influencers say about your brand.

12. Look for online recommendations

You may have to think outside Instagram and TikTok. Even if you’re interested in finding micro-influencers on Instagram, you need to check out websites that talk about Instagram influencers near you to get fresh perspectives. Look at:

• Reddit. Look for conversations about influencers in the thread for your city, such as r/Austin. If you can’t find any, start your own.
• YouTube. Look up guides to your city, and see 1) who’s making them and where they live, and 2) where they got their information. They’re bound to mention local influencers who recommended places to visit.
• Local Blogs. Search to see what local blogs say about your city. They’ll probably mention where they heard about things–usually local influencers! These bloggers may be local micro-influencers in their own right, too.
• Travel Influencers who aren’t from your city. If you find travel bloggers who’ve visited your city, see who inspired their visit.

How do you vet influencers in your area?

Of course, not every local influencer who happens to serve your niche will deliver high-performing content. Here’s what to check:

• Content quality. Check their feed to get a sense of what they create. Do they speak in front of the camera with ease? What’s your overall feeling or impression of their style? If you’re on Social Cat, you can see their portfolio and reviews from other brands.
• Follower demographics and metrics. If you’re trying to reach a local audience, make sure you ALSO look at the influencer’s audience. Are their followers local? We import all this information directly from Meta on Social Cat, so it’s easy to check. Also, check their engagement rate, average likes, average comments, and other metrics to ensure their account is healthy.
• Audience. Look at their posts: Who engages with them? Are they primarily dodgy profiles with zero posts and little activity? If so, this is a sign of fake engagement, and you should avoid working with this local influencer.

How can you connect with local influencers?

Finding local influencers for your brand is just the beginning–you must connect with them. If you can’t, you won’t get the responses and results you’re hoping for.

So, how do you build relationships with local influencers? It’s like connecting with anyone else: You must make it about them.

Yes, you have a business to run. Local influencers do, too. But if you want them to respond when you reach out, do good-quality work, and be enthusiastic about your brand, then creating a good relationship is a must.

Here are some ways to do that:

• Compliment their style and skills.
• Leave comments.
• Tag them on your social media.
• Give them free stuff, no strings attached.
• Ask for their opinion on your products and implement it.
• Give them exclusive access to new products when you can.
• Thank them for collaborating with you.

Cultivating a good relationship with influencers doesn’t start when you sign a contract. It has to happen way before that. Without a pre-existing relationship, hiring an influencer locally can be a challenge.

How to set up a successful local influencer campaign

To set up a successful local influencer campaign, you need to follow some best practices when it comes to influencer marketing:

1. Know your audience. If your audience spends the most time on Instagram, you need to know how to find Instagram influencers in your niche. If your audience is only on TikTok, you must find TikTok influencers in your niche. You’d be surprised how many people don’t do this step.
2. Know your goals for the campaign: brand awareness, sales, or UGC. Pick influencers who are likely to succeed. If you’re hoping for sales, pay attention to their engagement rate. Engaged audiences buy more.
3. Track your goals. If you want sales, find a way to track sales by giving out unique discount codes. If you want brand awareness, keep track of how your post reach grows. If you want UGC, track how many usable pieces you get.
4. Create detailed briefs. If you know exactly what you want from your influencers, tell them. Provide examples, calls to action, and talking points if you have them.
5. Keep track of what worked–and didn’t. Each paid advertising campaign will teach you more about your audience. Don’t forget to pass these insights on to your local influencers!

UGC from influencers near you

Another excellent goal for working with local influencers is getting UGC or user-generated content. UGC is the golden standard for ads because it allows you to connect with audiences.

To do this, you’ll need to know how to find content creators near you who can make amazing UGC. To be most impactful, UGC needs to:

• Have crisp video and audio, with the influencer speaking directly into the camera.
• Start with a GREAT hook.
• Tell a personal story–how has your product made their life better?
• Be succinct and easy to understand.
• Have a clear call to action.
• Bonus: bring in other social proof, like reviews.

If they incorporate these elements, you’ll have killer UGC.

Conclusion: Promote your brand with local influencers

In this article, we’ve provided nine strategies for finding local influencers. There are plenty of options, whether you’re wondering how to find Instagram influencers in your area or how to find local TikTok users.

An influencer marketing platform like Social Cat is the best value. When you start a free trial, you can filter your search by location and anything else you desire–this is how to find local micro-influencers without all the worry, hassle, and expense.

Thousands of influencers are actively looking for new brands to work with on our platform, so you can find micro-influencers with just a few clicks.

From there, you’ll want to figure out which influencers you’d like to work with and then reach out with a great offer. After that, the sky’s the limit.

If you need a few more details about where to find local influencers, you can check out these articles:

• How to find influencers on Instagram
• Hire TikTok influencers who drive sales
• TikTok vs. Instagram Influencers