Influencers use their profiles to showcase interesting and relatable parts of their lives. However, these high-profile content creators go beyond posting selfies and food pics with authentic digital storytelling. Every aspect of their profiles, from the filters they use on their photos to the catchy taglines at the end of their videos, are elegantly and strategically woven together to form the tapestry of their personal brand. Simply put: Lifestyle content is created by a micro-influencer who embodies and showcases a certain way of living. As people with thousands of interested and emotionally invested followers, influencers are true lifestyle experts—they curate highlights of their own lives and express it with personality and style. Their posts become a narrative about a certain way of living. When the story is compelling, it not only captures people’s attention, but it also becomes a guiding force for opinions, purchasing decisions, and lifestyle choices. While you may think this level of impact could only come from celebs, social influencers are often relatable individuals with a knack for great storytelling. For instance, they could be:
- A fit mom balancing her yoga practice with raising her children
- An automobile enthusiast restoring and racing sports cars
- A vegan college student creating quick, nutritious, mouth-watering meals
- A fashion-forward lawyer living in the city, showing off comfortable and professional clothing
- An adventure-hungry bohemian couple roadtripping out of their renovated school bus
What all of these people have in common is the ability to portray their way of life with appeal and uniqueness. Through visually captivating content, these bloggers, vloggers, and Instagrammers engage with their followers and build connections, trust, and relationships.
Influencers Connect With Their Audiences
Organically, micro-influencers develop a deeper level of trust with their audiences by showcasing an authentic lifestyle. However, unlike an advertisement, where content is often intrusive, an influencer’s content is regarded by only those who are genuinely interested, as social media users make a conscious decision to follow these content creators. Over time, influencers build connections with their followers by sharing personal moments of their lives, be it the places they go, the food they cook, or the brands they love. For example, a dapper gentleman might snap a shot of his clean-shaven face, freshly-styled hair, sleek business casual ensemble, or an office meeting with his nine-to-five cohorts. His content consistently showcases an elevated sense of fashion, an enviable work-life balance, and a distinguished palate for food and drink. With continued content, the products and services he highlights become synonymous with his lifestyle, which his followers aspire to replicate. So when he endorses his choice of luxury whiskey, his followers trust that he is indulging in the best whiskey out there.
By producing engaging content and an exceptional level of social networking savviness, micro-influencers are skilled at building an avid following. The audiences of these content creators often share a similar set of interests, passions, and tastes, much like a community. As such, these social content creators become a guiding force for those interested in a similar lifestyle, similar to a political or entrepreneurial thought leader. In conjunction with building relationships and making connections with their followers, influencers can use their platforms to drive positive change within their digital communities. Many social media users who subscribe within these niche networks (fitness, food, luxury, etc.) find a level of support or inspiration from the like-minded people with whom they’ve chosen to follow. These feel-good moments add an extra level of confidence in an influencer's taste when recommendations and opinions are provided.
How To Use A Lifestyle Expert to Showcase Your Brand
When choosing a lifestyle expert to market your product, you first have to understand your customers and the greater context of their lifestyle. This is to say, if you’re selling yoga mats, your ideal customers don’t exist in a vacuum—they’re cooking, traveling, reading, celebrating. Yoga is one facet of their lifestyle, so the key is not only to understand your customer in the confines of using your product but outside of it. The more information you can obtain about your target audience, the better your chances of partnering with micro-influencers who align with a variety of your customers’ interests. When the connection is right, their followers can become your lifelong buyers. Relevant demographic information to know about your audience includes:
- Special interests
- Spare time activities
- Complete age range
- Leisure time locations
- Friendships and other important relationships
If this sounds overwhelming, consider hiring a micro-influencer agency, so you don’t have to figure out all this information by yourself. Your account manager will contextually match your brand with lifestyle artists that best represent your message.
It’s All About Scale
Most times in marketing, a broader reach means everything. But with influencer marketing, the higher the number of followers, the lower the ROI. In fact, according to a report by NoGRE, micro-influencers are four times more likely than celebrity macro-influencers to have engagement on a post. So what does this tell you about contemporary consumers? They’re exceptionally picky, and they accept authentic recommendations from sources they trust. Once you’ve learned about your ideal audience, you must then decide what type of person would best exemplify your brand. This is no easy task, and a brand that chooses the wrong influencer is a lot like advertising a college course to a child: heard, but not well received. If you need help defining your audience, find an influencer marketing agency that can help you identify your demographic.
Find Your Lifestyle Expert
Micro-influencers tell a story, a distillation of the life your customers want. Through their narrative, your products become essential characters—they elicit action, evoke emotion, and instill confidence. At ApexDrop, we pair brands and influencers according to context and scale, in order to match each product to its optimal audience. We specialize in micro-influencer marketing campaigns to better connect brands with their intended audiences. For more information on showcasing your brand through a trusted micro-influencer, contact us today.
