Hummingbirds Raises Over $10 Million in Seed Funding to Scale Hyperlocal Influencer Marketing

DES MOINES, Iowa, October 30, 2024 (Newswire.com) - Hummingbirds, a SaaS platform that connects local content creators with emerging national and local brands to produce authentic, city-specific social media content, today announced the successful closure of its oversubscribed seed funding round, raising over $10 million. The round saw participation from both existing backers and new strategic investors specializing in hyperlocal marketing platforms.

"We're on a mission to revolutionize how brands connect with people in the communities they serve," said Charise Flynn, COO and co-founder of Hummingbirds. "This investment and our rapid growth show how powerful everyday people — or 'nano-influencers' — can be in building genuine connections and engagement for brands."

Addressing the Shift in Local Advertising

According to Statista, businesses in the United States spend over $175 billion annually on traditional local advertising. However, the effectiveness of these methods is waning, particularly in reaching today's most influential consumers — millennials that spend 2.5 hours a day on social media. 

David Kerr, Managing Director at Hummingbirds’ investor Allos Ventures and former executive at Groupon and Angie's List, highlighted this shift. “Despite significant investments in local advertising, brands — especially national consumer packaged goods (CPGs) — are finding it harder to achieve the same effectiveness these channels once delivered,” said Kerr. "Hummingbirds taps into local word of mouth at scale by leveraging an amazing community of nano-influencers who have genuine relationships within their city."

The Power of Hyperlocal Nano-Influencers and Leading With Community

Nano-influencers — those with fewer than 10,000 followers — offer brands a unique opportunity to engage with audiences through trusted voices. According to Nielsen, 88% of consumers trust recommendations from friends over traditional media. Research highlighted in the Harvard Business Review revealed that nano-influencers yield an average return of more than $1,000 on a mere $50 investment — the typical value of the free products they receive. In contrast, macro-influencers with over 100,000 followers deliver a return of only $6,000 despite commanding fees well over $1,000.

What sets Hummingbirds apart is its thriving online and offline community built around helping local creators connect to grow their skills, networks, and neighborhoods. Last quarter, Hummingbirds doubled its network of hyperlocal creators, called hummingbirds, across 20 cities and is on track to quadruple its revenue by year-end. The community-led approach fosters sustainable user growth, authenticity, and content quality that other platforms can't match.

“Large influencers target audiences on a national or global scale, making it hard for brands to connect with customers in local markets,” said Emily Steele, CEO and co-founder of Hummingbirds. “Hummingbirds takes a different approach by linking brands with local voices — PTA moms, weekend warriors, and those friends who always seem to know what’s happening — who are trusted within their communities.”

Use Cases and Market Traction

Growing CPGs, like Olipop and Goodles, as well as local brands, like Fareway and ChopLocal, use Hummingbirds to test markets, increase sales velocity, and generate city-specific user-generated content that results in substantial lifts in local engagement and return on investment, with some customers seeing up to a 14x lift in local sales.

"Hummingbirds has completely transformed how we approach local marketing forever," said Nola Morris, Chief Marketing Officer at Thelma’s Treats. "Not only does the authenticity and engagement that we’ve seen impress us, but the ability to quickly spin up highly targeted campaigns in various markets at the drop of a hat means everything to a rapidly growing business, like ours."

About Hummingbirds

Hummingbirds is a creative community and marketplace that connects passionate local creators with brands right in their own backyard to create authentic, hyperlocal social media content that resonates deeply within their communities. In return, they receive exclusive perks like products, experiences, and services from the brands they showcase. Together, we're fostering genuine connections and boosting local engagement.

To date, Hummingbirds has raised over $10 million from investors including Allos Ventures, Ground Game, M25 Fund, InnoVenture Iowa Fund, ISA Ventures, Next Level Ventures, AltiVentures, and Homegrown Capital.

Source: Hummingbirds