If you’re a brand marketer trying to connect with influencers, you may be wondering how to find the right ones. Should you seek specialists with a devoted following in one industry such as beauty, food, fashion or healthy living? Or, should you go with lifestyle creators who post about a wide range of topics and appeal to a broader audience?
In this blog post, we’ll look at lifestyle creators, why they are beneficial to brands, and when they should be preferred over niche influencers.
What exactly is a lifestyle influencer?
A lifestyle influencer creates social media content about their everyday life, interests, hobbies, and passions. As they open up about their life, they attract and build an audience of followers who engage with them and trust their opinions. Lifestyle influencers do not limit themselves to one topic or category but rather share broadly about their daily life with their followers. They become a trusted source of information and inspiration.
According to Shopify, a lifestyle business is "a passion-centered company that generates enough profit to allow an entrepreneur to work and live from anywhere, earning an income on their own terms." Similarly, a lifestyle creator is someone who uses their skills and hobbies to create content about their personal life. With their ability to influence their followers, lifestyle influencers can generate income to allow them to live the life they want.
Lifestyle creators can cover a wide range of subjects, such as fashion, health, house and home decor, personal finances, fitness, green living, cosmetics, cooking, interior design, gardening, hobbies, work-life balance, parenting and more. They can also mix and match different topics depending on their mood and preferences.
Why should brands consider lifestyle creators?
Lifestyle creators offer several benefits for brands who collaborate with them:
- They have a diverse and engaged audience. Lifestyle creators attract followers who are interested in different aspects of their life and personality. This means that they can reach a wider and more varied audience than niche influencers who only focus on one topic. Moreover, lifestyle creators tend to have very authentic and meaningful interactions with their followers who relate to their personal stories and values.
- They have more creative freedom and flexibility. Lifestyle creators do not have to follow strict guidelines or expectations from their audience or industry. They can experiment with different types of content, formats, platforms, and collaborations that suit their style and vision. This allows them to showcase their versatility and originality as content creators.
- They can align with multiple brand categories and values. Lifestyle creators can work with brands from different industries and niches that match their interests and passions. They can also promote products or services that fit into their lifestyle and resonate with their followers. For example, a lifestyle creator who loves traveling can partner with a travel agency, a luggage brand, a hotel chain, or a clothing line.
- They can tell compelling stories that inspire action. Lifestyle creators can use their content to share their personal experiences, opinions, and tips.
When to choose lifestyle creators over niche influencers?
While niche influencers have their own advantages, there are certain situations where partnering with lifestyle creators can be more advantageous.
Consider lifestyle influencers if the following is true.
You’re targeting a broader audience: If your brand appeals to a wide range of people or if you want to reach a diverse demographic, collaborating with lifestyle creators can help you connect with a larger audience. Their versatility and ability to cover various topics make them an excellent choice for brands aiming for mass appeal.
You’re promoting a lifestyle-oriented product: Lifestyle creators excel at showcasing products or services that seamlessly integrate into their daily lives. If your brand offers a product or service that aligns with the lifestyle and interests of a lifestyle creator, collaborating with them can result in authentic and impactful promotion.
You’re seeking creative and unique content: If you're looking for fresh ideas and innovative content formats, lifestyle creators can offer a wealth of creativity. Their ability to experiment and think outside the box can bring a unique perspective to your brand's messaging.
You don’t need a specialist to deliver the message effectively: A niche influencer may be more effective if a specific expertise is required. If you’re unsure, try testing. For example, would a beauty brand get more benefit from features by a beauty influencer who has expertise or by a lifestyle influencer who is more loyal to a small number of beauty brands. Would a spice brand get more benefit from “foodie” accounts or from lifestyle influencers who occasionally features recipes they prepare for their family.
Lifestyle creators represent a new frontier in influencer marketing. Their ability to engage diverse audiences, exercise creative freedom, align with multiple brand categories, and tell compelling stories makes them an attractive choice for brands.
Meet 5 up and coming lifestyle influencers
Still unsure if lifestyle influencers are right for your brand? Check out these five up-and-coming lifestyle influencers. What do you think? Would your brand benefit from being featured by these lifestyle influencers?
Karen Lake @raisingwildkeikis
Karen is a veteran of the ApexDrop network. Her account is versatile, overlapping into many categories including fashion, skincare, adult beverages, kid brands, travel products, home goods, outdoor goods, and food. When you collab with “Ren” you can expect beautiful content. She has worked with brands like Ole Smoky Distillery, Corona USA, Telic Footwear, Gato Negro wine, Marukan vinegar, Fizzy Beez, Kevin’s Natural Foods, barebones living, Sof Body Care, Omaha Steak, and many more.
Crystal Aurelia @sixth.tractate
Crystal delivers creative and great high-quality content for all of the campaigns she has been involved with through ApexDrop. Crystal has worked with brands like: Sole Toscana, Lloyd Cellars, Sky Wellness, Fuchsia Shoes, Giovanni Cosmetics, Oakridge Winery, ecosmetics, and many more
Jonathan Acevedo @theregoesjonathan
Jonathan delivers high-quality reels with a balance of lifestyle, foodie, and outdoor content on his account. Not only loves to share his daily life with his daughter but also his favorite outdoors/fitness activities such as family bonfires and Brazilian jiu-jitsu. Jonathan has worked with brands like: Chosen Foods, Fresh Express, Kirk’s Soap and Barebones Living.
Jennifer Prince @travellikeaprince
Jennifer’s account showcases a captivating blend of lifestyle, travel, and outdoor content. With her high engagement, she offers great content for campaigns of different themes such as food, outdoors, fashion, and lifestyle. Jennifer worked with brands like: Fuchsias Shoes, Barebones Living,and Cleveland Whiskey.
HilLesha O'Nan @hillesha
HilLesha is a diverse content creator who loves nature and photography. As another ApexDrop Creator Network Veteran, HilLesha produces beautiful evergreen content for her brand collabs. She sas worked with brands like: Ole Smoky Distillery, Telic Footwear, Izzo Smile, Baker and Olive, Coffee Toppers, Sake One Oregon, Kirk’s Soap, Bare Organics, and many more.
About The Author
Annie Ayala is a digital marketer at ApexDrop. She’s trilingual (Spanish, French and English), has a bachelor’s degree in marketing and international business and work experience across multiple industries and companies. She lives on the beautiful island of Roatan. So when she’s not working, she enjoys spending time at the beach where she loves sunsets, wine and a good book. Annie also loves to travel and try to new restaurants. You can connect with her on LinkedIn.
About ApexDrop
ApexDrop, a micro influencer agency, promotes consumer brands in the United States. Our private network of 18,000+ creators accept product gifts only–not paychecks. We offer product seeding campaigns with the highest posting rates in the industry, plus tons of license-free user-generated content. Why pay for a do-it-yourself influencer software tool when you can hire a team to do the work for you. Follow ApexDrop on LinkedIn. Schedule a quick chat to learn more.
