I watched three coffee shops close on Main Street last year. Good coffee, nice people, zero customers.
Know who’s still packed every morning? The place with mediocre coffee and a barista who can’t spell “macchiato.” Why? Because Jenny Chen keeps posting about their lavender latte. Jenny’s got 2,000 followers, all within walking distance. She’s not an influencer. She just really likes purple drinks and telling people about them.
That’s the game now. While you’re dropping $500 on Facebook ads that everyone scrolls past, your competitor’s getting featured in every local foodie’s Instagram story. For free. Or close enough.
I don’t particularly like the word “influencer outreach strategies” because it sounds like something a LinkedIn guru would sell you for $997. But I love what it does for local businesses when you stop overthinking it and just connect with people who already love your neighborhood.
Forget Everything You Think You Know About Influencers
When I say influencer, you think yoga pants and green juice, right? Some 22-year-old with abs telling you about supplements.
That’s not who moves the needle for local businesses.
I’m talking about Mike, who posts every sandwich he eats. The mom who documents playground visits. The college kid reviewing study spots. These people have maybe 500-5,000 followers. But those followers? They all live within ten minutes of you.
A friend owns a vintage clothing store. She spent two years trying to get noticed by fashion influencers with 100K+ followers. Nothing. Then she invited three local thrift bloggers to check out her new arrivals. One had 800 followers. Sounds pathetic, right?
That blogger’s post led to her biggest sales day ever. Because those 800 people lived in the neighborhood, loved vintage, and had money to spend.
The Truth About Why This Works
Google’s gotten weird about local rankings. It used to be simple. Stuff keywords on your site, get some reviews, you’re golden.
Now? Google wants proof you’re part of the community. Multiple people talking about you. Photos from different accounts. Check-ins, tags, mentions across platforms. Basically, Google wants to see you’re not just another business, you’re THE business locals choose.
I tried explaining this to a hardware store owner. He kept asking about keywords and backlinks. So I showed him something simple. His competitor had worse reviews, an uglier website, and half his inventory. But they ranked #1.
Why? Three local DIY bloggers featured them regularly. One guy just posts about his weekend projects. Never sponsored content. He just likes their paint selection. But Google sees those authentic mentions and thinks, “This must be where locals actually shop.”
The hardware store owner got it. Started building relationships instead of buying links. Six months later, he outranked everyone.
Before You Message Anyone
Know What You Want
“I want more customers” isn’t a strategy. Every jackass with a business wants that.
Get specific. I mean really specific:
- Fill Tuesday lunch shifts
- Sell more of that weird product gathering dust
- Get young professionals to notice you exist
- Make Google understand you’re the best option for [specific thing]
I worked with a yoga studio that kept saying they wanted “brand awareness.” After three meetings and too much kombucha, the owner finally admitted she just wanted to fill her 6 AM classes.
Once we knew that, everything changed. We found early-morning fitness bloggers, runners who needed stretching, people documenting their “morning routine.” Targeted as hell. Her 6 AM classes filled up in three weeks.
Find the Right People
Stop searching #foodblogger and messaging everyone. That’s how amateurs work.
Here’s my process:
Go to Instagram. Type your neighborhood + what you do. “#Williamsburgpizza” or “#Boulderbikerepair” or whatever fits.
Look for people who post regularly. Not during campaigns. Not when they’re paid. People who genuinely document their local life.
Click their followers. This is crucial. If someone has 10K followers but they’re spread across the country, they’re useless to you. You want creators whose comments are full of “omg I live right there!” and “see you at the farmer’s market!”
The best local creators I’ve found:
- Retirees documenting every restaurant within walking distance
- Parents hunting kid-friendly spots
- Students on a budget finding deals
- Anyone who unironically calls things “hidden gems”
Money Talk
Local creators work for less than you think. Way less.
Real examples from last year:
- Coffee shop: Free coffee for a month ($50 value)
- Boutique: First pick during sales ($0 actual cost)
- Restaurant: Monthly dinner for creator + one friend ($100/month)
- Gym: Three-month membership ($300 value)
- Cash: $100-500 per post (only when nothing else works)
Best deal I ever saw? A ramen place gives food bloggers a permanent 25% discount. Costs them barely anything. Those bloggers eat there weekly and post constantly. Not because they have to. Because 25% off good ramen is a lifestyle choice.
Outreach That Doesn’t Make People Hate You
Finding Their Contact
Check their bio for email. No email? Send a DM. But don’t pitch immediately like some desperate weirdo.
“Hey, loved your post about the bagel place on 5th. I run [business] around the corner. Better to chat over email?”
Simple. Not salesy. Most will give you their email. If they don’t, they probably suck at communication anyway.
Writing Messages People Read
I’ve sent hundreds of these. Here’s what works without sounding like a template.
Reference something specific they posted. “Your rant about the construction on Oak Street killing foot traffic hit close to home.” Not “love your content!” That’s what bots say.
Explain who you are without the corporate BS. “I opened this place because I got tired of driving 30 minutes for decent Mexican food. Been here two years, still figuring out this neighborhood.”
Make an offer that fits their life. Fashion blogger? Don’t offer free tacos. Parent blogger? Don’t offer late-night cocktails. Think for two seconds about what they’d want.
Close without being needy. “If this isn’t your thing, all good. Keep doing what you do.”
The Follow-Up Game
Influencers suck at email. It’s not personal. They’re drowning in pitches for teeth whiteners and workout apps.
Two weeks later, send this: “Hey, know your inbox is a nightmare. Still here if you want to talk about [specific thing].”
After three tries over two months, stop emailing. But keep engaging with their content. Like posts. Leave real comments. Not “great post!” but “that tip about parking behind the library saved my ass yesterday.”
Half the time, they’ll message YOU months later. “Wait, are you the bike shop that keeps commenting? We should talk.”
Playing the Long Game
One sponsored post won’t save your business. Sorry if you wanted a magic bullet.
Good partnerships grow slowly. There’s a wine bar near me that gets this. They invited a local wine blogger to their soft opening. Didn’t ask for coverage. Just said “you know wine, want to try our selection?”
She posted because she wanted to. They kept the relationship alive. Rare bottle comes in? They text her. She has an event? They offer a discount without being asked.
Three years later, she probably drives 30% of their weekend traffic. Not through paid posts. Through genuine excitement about what they’re doing.
That’s the goal. Not transactions. Actual relationships with people who cares about your business.
Skip the Fancy Tools
Everyone wants to sell you software. You don’t need it.
You need:
- A basic spreadsheet to track who you contacted
- Instagram and TikTok (where creators live)
- Google Alerts for when people mention you
- Phone reminders to follow up
I wasted money on Buffer, Hootsuite, some “influencer platform” that cost $300/month. All overkill for local businesses. Keep your money. Buy better coffee for creators instead.
What Success Looks Like
Month 1: Maybe 10-20 new faces mention they saw you online. Don’t quit your day job yet.
Month 3: Your Google Business Profile gets more action. More photo views. More “get directions” clicks. You’ll notice but barely.
Month 6: You start showing up higher for “[your thing] near me” searches. Regulars say they see you everywhere. You’re not everywhere. Just in the right places.
Year 1: You can draw a straight line from specific creators to revenue. You know who drives business and who just takes free food. You’ve probably killed most other marketing.
How to Mess This Up
Being a control freak. Give creators a novel about how to photograph your burger, they’ll half-ass it and never work with you again.
Going wide instead of deep. Manhattan influencer for your Brooklyn shop? Worthless. I don’t care if they have a million followers.
Expecting overnight miracles. This builds slowly. If you need customers tomorrow, buy ads and pray.
Ghosting after the post. The post starts the relationship. Disappearing after, ends it.
Forgetting they’re creative people. You make pizza. They make content. Let them do their job while you do yours.
The Part Where I Tell You What We Do
You found this because you’re googling ways to get more local customers. Smart.
Influencer outreach is one piece. The boring technical stuff matters too. Your Google Business Profile needs optimizing. Your website needs to rank. You need reviews, citations, all the SEO groundwork that nobody wants to do but everybody needs.
That’s what we handle at Localseo.net. The technical foundation that makes everything else work better. We’ve helped hundreds of local businesses rank higher and get found by actual customers in their neighborhood.
But honestly? Start with the relationship building. Reach out to a few local creators. See what happens. Worst case, you meet some people who love your neighborhood as much as you do.
The technical stuff can wait a few weeks. Real connections with your community can’t.