Today is a great time to be alive! It’s a time when having a little creativity can earn money and create an entirely new income stream simply by engaging online.
I’ll admit, at first I wasn’t so optimistic about the growth of social media. For me… Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, etc. were all just over-hyped networks, that I felt would eventually fade away. You know, similar to MySpace.
Boy was I wrong! Social media isn’t just here to stay, it’s also here to PAY.
Did you know that in 2017 (2 years ago from the date of this writing), eMarketer reported that $570 million dollars was spent on influencer marketing globally. And now, influencer marketing is estimated to be a $5 to $10 billion dollar industry?
MarketsandMarkets forecasted that the “Influencer Marketing Platform Market” will reach $22.3 billion by 2024. A compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 32.4%!
Right at this moment, Influencer Marketing is positioned as the #1 fastest growing online customer acquisition method.
It demolished the returns of organic search, email marketing and paid search; making influencer marketing the most preferred strategy to promote a business.
The recipients of all that influencer ad spend isn’t just hitting the pockets of TV celebrities or famous personalities. Anyone with an engaged following of social media fans, large or small, can partner with brands and earn money.
To be frank, marketers have found that the audiences of micro influencers are far more engaged than those of the mammoth super celebrities.
This higher level of engagement ultimately translates into increased conversions and sales.
You can say that influencer marketing has itself, “gone viral” in corporate America. Big companies like () are all employing social media influencers to share brand messaging with their followers.
If you’re old enough to remember, it was around the early 2000’s when the large corporations began setting up websites on this thing called the Internet.
The majority of local community small businesses didn’t follow suit until a decade later. In fact, there are thousands of small businesses that still don’t have a website.
If a similar trend of adaptation unfolds with influencer marketing, it won’t be until the year 2025 that small business owners actively begin incorporating local micro influencers into their promotional strategies.
So if being ahead of the market is something you enjoy… “Now is the perfect time for anyone wanting to earn money as a micro influencer to establish their brand and following within their own local community.”
The Opportunity You Have To Earn Money
As A Local Community Micro Influencer
A micro influencer has been defined as someone having 1,000 to 10,000 followers on at least one social media platform. The preferred platforms are Instagram, YouTube, Facebook, LinkedIn & Twitter. (Tik Tok is also an upcoming player as well.)
As a local micro influencer, the bulk of your followers should obviously be from your own neighborhood.
For an example, let’s say you have a YouTube channel with 3,000 local subscribers. You post great content regularly and many of your followers trust your suggestions and recommendations.
If your followers qualify as a prospective audience for a particular local small business, wouldn’t make sense for that business to advertise on your channel? Of course it would!
Better yet, let’s say your YouTube channel focuses on “Home Improvement Projects” as a niche topic. How much value could you offer a local contractor, a roofing company, plumber, etc.?
If you’ve done a good job of developing quality content, then your followers will see you as an authority and will likely act on any credible referral you recommend when they’re in the market.
What a way for local business to get the upper hand over their competitors. By partnering with you, they can receive a positive recommendation and increase brand awareness by reaching out to your engaged audience. And you can get paid handsomely just for making a post.
3 Major Advantages Local Micro Influencers Have
That National Influencers Don’t.
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Little to No competition –
Timing plays an important role in success. And while most social influencers are preoccupied with becoming National celebrities, now is the time for you to take the throne in your local community.
Before I mentioned that small businesses tend to adopt new advancements at a much slower pace than large corporations.
You can use that as an advantage by beginning to establish your brand and following now.
This way, your foundation can be properly set by the time small business owners begin seeking out local influencers to help promote their brands.
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You Can Offer Extra Services –
Being a local micro influencer can open up opportunities to provide small businesses with additional high ticket services.
Most large corporations have their own marketing teams, so if they hire you as an Influencer, you can bet that’s all you’ll be.
Small businesses however, are normally operated by a single owner having minimal marketing know how.
If you have other digital marketing services that you can offer such as web design, event blogging, social media management, PPC advertising, etc. You could create a long term client and earn money on a monthly basis.
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Become A Local Celebrity –
It’s just plain easier to become an authority locally than it is to compete with the drove of national influencers.
Even though influencer marketing has only hit its stride in the last 5 to 10 years, the market is already extremely competitive on a national level.
According to this report from CNBC, 86% of Gen Z and Millennials want to post social media content for money.
That alone will create massive competition for influencers desiring national recognition. And I still haven’t mentioned the 350+ new influencer marketing agencies that startup yearly.
I’m not saying this to discourage you from growing your brand nationally. By all means, you should always shoot for the moon.
I just feel, you will build much more traction by establishing your local celebrity first and then expanding your brand nationally.
How To Get Started As A Local
Micro-Influencer In Your Community
Establishing a following as a local community influencer requires nothing more than being yourself.
The topics that you post, the way you engage, how you present yourself, the entertainment you deliver, all will reflect your personal interests and values.
However, if your aim is to earn money from small local businesses, there are a few core components in place to help make your micro influencer services professional and appealing.
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Choose Your Favorite Local Niche –
A niche is the specific market you’d like to target as a local micro influencer. It is a small segment of a larger market that has its own needs or preferences.
For example, if you’re an expert on cars, creating one-of-a-kind content that targets the automotive market might be your thing. However, there are a many segments of this market that you can use to further “niche down” your topic.
Maybe your true expertise is in auto repair, selling cars, flipping used cars, automotive makeovers, reviewing the latest hot models, etc. These are all niche topics within the automotive market.
Choosing a specific niche allows you to frame the scope of your content. Most importantly, your chosen niche will determine the types of businesses you intend to service as a micro influencer.
Picking “automotive makeovers” as a theme for your influencer brand would be suitable for auto body & repair shops. Whereas posting “car reviews” on the latest models would indeed be fitting partnership for new car dealerships.
One blunder to be aware of, as you’re choosing a local niche, is not to go too narrow. You don’t want to exclude potential advertisers because your niche fails to align with their services. Give yourself plenty of room to accept multiple types of businesses within your industry.
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Build Your Influencer Brand –
After you’ve identified the niche you’d like to serve, it’s time to build a strong online presence and grow your following.
For starters, you’re going to need to select a social platform that attract people who best fit the demographics of your niche. Are you focused on fashion? Then Instagram and Pinterest might be your best choices. You’re a Comedian? Then put your act on YouTube.
I will say this… For local communities, Facebook is easily a top pick. It should definitely be at least ONE of the platforms you choose to build on.
You don’t have to take my word for it. Survey a few “prospective followers” who fit the characteristics your audience. Ask them which social platforms they use and take notes.
Your brand is who you are online. This is crucial! Every piece of content you create, your logo, graphic designs and even the people you partner with, all should impact your brand in a positive way.
Why?
Because small business owners will get their first impression of you by looking at your online brand. And their decision to partner with you, or not, will weigh on whether they want their brand to collaborate with yours.
So be sure to set up your social platforms completely and professionally. Once you do, you’ll be ready to crush the next topic…
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Create & Deliver Awesome Content –
It’s what being an influencer is about, right? Delivering exceptional, entertaining, engaging and unique content that attracts loads of followers.
If you treat this like a business, it will earn you money. Otherwise don’t waste your time.
As a local community micro influencer, your only job is to form a real, trusting relationship with your audience. If you can do that, they will act when you suggest the services of local businesses.
But building trust takes WORK! You’ve gotta research to learn what makes your audience tick. Create high quality content that resonates. And do it DAILY. Not kidding.
You see… Everyone wants to earn money as an influencer, but most don’t understand that type of work paid influencers put in to get to where they’ve gotten.
Most have been at it for years before they made any substantial income. They didn’t just wake up, make a couple of posts, and BOOM… SUCCESS! Nope. They put in hours. Posting multiple times a day without compromising the integrity of great content.
If anything, I hope I’ve communicated the phenomenal benefits you can have by becoming a local community micro influencer. It’s virtually an untapped industry primed and ready for you to plant your flag.
This year, I’ve made a personal commitment to test and research new strategies that help local micro influencers earn money in their communities. And I invite you to follow me on YouTube, Instagram, Facebook & LinkedIn to stay updated on my progress.
