12 Engaging Map Ideas for Local Influencers: Guide, Inspire, and Explore!

Connect with your community with 12 captivating map ideas. From hidden gems to outdoor adventures, engage and inspire your audience.

Maps are a great way to connect with your community. Do you know a great little spot that you just want to tell the world about? Or maybe you’re a dog-lover who wants to help people know where they can hang out with their four-legged bestie.

If you’re a local influencer, then you know the importance of community connection. A local influencer is somebody who’s developed an important following and influence within a specific area. Maybe you’re known for the best guide to the city, or you post beautiful spots in a specific region.

Unlike national or international influencers who cater to a broad audience, local influencers focus on engaging and connecting with their local community. If you’re a local influencer, you’re typically creating content related to your city, town, or area, including local events, businesses, attractions, culture, or lifestyle.

Local influencers can play a vital role in supporting and promoting local businesses, initiatives, and causes. Their endorsements and recommendations hold weight within the community, often resulting in increased visibility, brand awareness, and customer engagement for the entities they collaborate with.

Using Maps as a Local Influencer

Local influencers need to be able to serve valuable content to their followers. You want people to view your content and come away with ideas about things to do or try. Providing a map to some of the neatest local amenities and activities is a great way for you to make your followers feel like they’re getting the real inside scoop about the best activities in the area.

But how to show them where to go? Highlighting one location at a time is great, but if you want to provide a more comprehensive guide to the community, an interactive map is a great way to engage and assist your followers. A map can help people plan a day trip or a whole weekend and be a great, easy way to find something to do for an afternoon.

Here are our 12 favorite map ideas for local influencers

1. Happy Hour Maps

Happy hour maps highlight popular local bars and restaurants that offer happy hour deals. For this type of map, make sure that you emphasize the importance of timing. Happy hour deals are limited-time offers, and your audience needs to know exactly when these deals are offered. You can also highlight deals and special offers– you could even work with local hotspots to offer a special deal to people who use the map.

For happy hour maps, it’s important to create filter options that let people filter by location, drink preferences, and dietary options. Adding in features that make it easier to find places that offer mocktails or special dietary options makes your map more inclusive and useful.

2. Dog-Friendly Store Maps

More and more people take their dogs everywhere with them these days– but not every establishment is pet-friendly. Solve this little pet peeve with a map that identifies pet-friendly stores, boutiques, restaurants, and other establishments in the area.

A map that highlights dog-friendly locations should include information about leash policies, pet amenities like treats, water bowls, pet menus, and any restrictions. For example, some restaurants have pet-friendly patios but don’t allow dogs in the dining room.

3. Places to Eat

This type of map really lets you show off your personality. For this map, you’ll curate a list of must-visit local eateries, cafés, bakeries, restaurants, and other places to grab a bite. You can categorize this list by cuisine type or ambiance for easy navigation– for example, you can flag the restaurants that are best for kids or restaurants that have the best vibe for date night.

You can add your personal recommendations and reviews for each location. Sharing favorite menu items and pictures of the food will increase enthusiasm for the locations!

4. Events

From summer festivals to winter markets, a local event map will be helpful for your local audience and tourists alike. You can highlight upcoming events, festivals, concerts, performances, and other key public events.  You will need to update this map regularly to keep it up to date.


In addition to events, you can include event details, ticket information, links to local box offices, and links for online registration. If people can register to attend right from a link in your map, it will be easier for them to attend.

5. Kid-Friendly Places

It can be hard to find the best activities for kids, so help your audience out by identifying family-friendly attractions, parks, playgrounds, and entertainment centers. You can include information like age suitability, facilities, amenities, and entry fees. Another key piece of information to include in a kid-friendly map is the location of public bathrooms, especially if they have changing stations.

Half of all parents under 25 are likely to trust an influencer, so add your personal experiences and recommendations to engage your audience and make them feel secure.

6. Farmers’ Markets

Fresh produce, homemade treats, and other unique offerings are a huge draw for farmers’ markets. If you list local farmers’ markets and their operating days and hours and provide information about the type of goods on offer, your audience will greatly appreciate it.

For even better audience value, you can suggest tips for parking and the best times to visit.

7. Outdoor Activities Map

What are the most beautiful, fun locations in your area? Share them on a map! Highlight popular hiking trails, nature trails, parks, bike paths, and scenic spots. Be sure to include details on trail amenities, such as water refill stations and recommended activities.

If you want to be inclusive, offer tips on accessibility. What trails are good for wheelchairs? How about areas that include interpretive signs or sensory activities? It can also be helpful to pin lots of pictures to your map to get people excited.

8. Hidden Gems Map

This is the perfect map to highlight lesser-known attractions, secret spots, and the coolest places off the beaten path. You can showcase local businesses, street arts, or awesome scenic overlooks and viewpoints.

To help people understand these hidden gems, share your experiences and pictures. What makes each site unique and significant? Share it! And share follower submissions that highlight these places, too– it will make your followers feel engaged and appreciated and attract more people to these hidden gems.

9. Coffee Shop Map

About 74% of Americans drink coffee each day, and 79% of those coffee drinkers have two or more cups. If you provide a map of your area’s best coffee spots, your audience will use it. You can feature details about each location’s atmosphere, specialties, and must-try drinks. You can also provide information about table space, Wi-Fi, restrooms, and other amenities that make it convenient for people to work there.

Another way to categorize a coffee map is by coffee style. If you can highlight specialty styles like layered drinks, a good tea selection, Greek coffee, or Italian espresso, to name a few, people will find your map even more useful.

10. Photo Locations and Selfie Spots

A highly visual type of map, this map has you identifying picturesque locations and the most insta-worthy spots for photography lovers. This can include landmarks, scenic spots, murals, street art, and other aesthetically pleasing spots.

Encourage people to share their own pictures from these spots and tag you on Instagram, Facebook, or other social media. That way, they can help create buzz around the map and connect with other people who visit these spots.

11. Shopping Guide Map

A shopping guide is an incredibly useful type of map. You can feature popular shopping districts, local markets, and unique boutiques. This type of map benefits from heavy categorization so that people can find the exact type of store they’re looking for. This could include fashion, vintage, home decor, food, and specialty stores. Be sure to update this map frequently with operating hours, sales, and discounts.

12. Historical Landmarks Map

People love connecting with the past. Whether you live in a city or are tracking historic locations in a rural county, you can provide a valuable connection to your area’s history with this type of map. Highlight important landmarks and sites by providing historical context, stories, and interesting facts about each landmark.

For extra information, you can engage with local historians and share personal anecdotes about these places. For example, you can talk about some of the area’s original settlers, famous people from its history, or the history of its economic development.

Building A Local Map

If you’re building a local map, you don’t have to work alone. Restaurant owners, Airbnb hosts, and local tourism boards may be very enthusiastic about providing information, discounts, specials, and more for people who use your map. An interactive map that promotes local tourism can be a valuable resource for you, your audience, and anybody who visits your area.

You should also use the best tools for creating your map. Our easy map-making tools are perfect for creating a local map for your audience to use. Get started today with our are guide template below! 

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