Finding 30 local micro-influencers in 60 minutes

Yesterday you defined your target customer. Today we find creators whose audiences match. We are going to use four methods — three free, one cheap — and you should be able to identify 30 prospects in about 60 minutes.

Method 1: The geotag walk. (Free, 20 minutes)

On Instagram, search the geotag for your neighborhood or a nearby landmark. Browse the "Recent" tab. Look for accounts that: - Have between 1,000 and 50,000 followers - Post regularly (at least 1x/week) - Have content that matches your target customer's interests - Live in your area (look at their bio and tagged locations)

Example: a wine bar in Echo Park, LA would search "Echo Park" geotag, then "Silver Lake," "Echo Park Lake," "Sunset Junction." 20 minutes of scrolling produces 15-25 candidates.

Method 2: The hashtag scan. (Free, 15 minutes)

Search hashtags that match your niche + location. Examples: - #echoparkfood, #silverlakeeats, #lacafes — for an LA coffee shop - #brooklynyoga, #williamsburgwellness — for a yoga studio in Brooklyn - #austinstyle, #atxfashion — for a boutique in Austin

Top posts and recent posts under each tag. Look for the same patterns — 1K-50K followers, regular posting, audience match.

Method 3: The customer follower scan. (Free, 15 minutes)

Look at your own existing followers on Instagram. Sort by who has the most followers themselves. Some of your customers are already small creators — they're the easiest, warmest leads because they already love your business.

How to find: go to your followers list, click on a follower, check their follower count. Tedious but effective. Tools like Followerwonk or Heepsy can automate this if you have over 5,000 followers and want to scale.

Method 4: A creator search tool. (Free or $20-30/month)

Tools like Modash, Heepsy, Phlanx, or Social Perks' built-in creator search let you filter by location, follower count, engagement rate, and niche. Most have free tiers that show 5-10 results per search.

For your first campaign, free tier is enough. Search: - Location: your metro - Follower count: 1K-50K - Niche: matches your target customer - Engagement rate: above 3%

Save 30 results.

Building the prospect spreadsheet. Open a Google Sheet with these columns: - Handle (e.g., @creator) - Platform - Follower count - Average likes per post (sample last 6 posts) - Niche/vibe (one sentence) - Location (city/neighborhood if visible) - Last posted (date) - DM responded? (yes/no/no DM) - Notes

Fill in the first three columns for all 30 prospects. The remaining columns get filled in during vetting (tomorrow).

The "vibe match" criterion. Skim each prospect's last 9 posts and ask: does their visual aesthetic, tone, and content match my brand? A formal fine-dining restaurant pairing with a chaotic-fun creator will feel forced. A laid-back wine bar pairing with a polished luxury creator will feel forced.

Examples of strong matches: - Indie coffee shop + creator who posts "specialty coffee + plants + minimalist" content - Tattoo shop + creator who posts "alt fashion + art + tattoos" content - Yoga studio + creator who posts "wellness + plant-based + slow living" content

Filter your 30 down to the 15-20 that feel like a match. Save the others as backup.

The local hierarchy. Within your 15-20 list, prioritize in this order: 1. Creators who live within 2 miles of your business 2. Creators who live within 5 miles 3. Creators in your metro who frequently visit your neighborhood 4. Creators in your metro 5. Creators outside your metro (skip for this campaign)

Proximity matters because their followers are usually clustered near them, which means their followers can actually walk in your door.

What to ignore (the engagement-rate trap). You'll see lots of advice to "filter by 3%+ engagement rate." It's a useful filter but don't over-index on it. Some highly engaged creators have small but loyal audiences who actually convert; some lower-engagement creators have larger reach that compounds. We'll cover this in detail tomorrow.

A note on platform consolidation. Once you find a great creator on Instagram, check if they're also on TikTok. Cross-platform creators can give you content on both for a small additional fee.

A note on hidden gems. Some of the highest-converting creators in our data have 800-2,000 followers — too small for most tools to surface. They're the "neighborhood food blogger" with 1,400 followers who personally knows every regular at every café in a 6-block radius. Their endorsement converts at 8-12%. Find these by walking the geotag method carefully and looking for accounts that talk specifically about your neighborhood.

Tomorrow: vetting. We'll go through the 15-20 prospects and score them on six dimensions to pick the final 5-8 you'll actually reach out to.