How To Create Lifestyle Videos That Inspire and Convert

Thinking about putting out video content for your brand? It's now or never. By 2022, it is estimated that more than 80% of all internet traffic will be video consumption.

A great video format to consider including in your marketing arsenal is lifestyle video content. While you may not be a lifestyle brand like Apple or Nike, you can still produce lifestyle videos to appeal to your customers by helping them visualize the quality of life associated with your product. You want them to get a picture of what’s in store for them after making a purchase or how your product fits into their existing way of life.

Here are a few tips to consider when creating lifestyle videos.

Don’t focus on the sale

You probably already have a website with your company description, an online store with your catalog and pricing information, maybe even some video ads talking about the benefits of your products. Lifestyle videos need none of that.

One example of this is the Razer Raiju Ultimate: Freedom to Move campaign. It doesn’t even really discuss what the product features are, but the video communicated the lifestyle associated with using their PlayStation controller: your friends hanging out with you at your apartment, playing video games, making snacks, and drinking booze.

Use the power of video to appeal to your customer’s ideal lifestyle—the sale will come if they feel it’s the right fit.

Tap into emotions

Emotion is a major component of the consumer’s purchasing decision. In fact, one study found that out of 1,400 successful ad campaigns, those with solely emotional content performed about twice as well versus those with only rational content.

Red Bull is known to use emotions to drive their lifestyle content. Their campaign Red Bull Gives You Wings (like many of their commercials) features successful athletes during intense career moments. It gives the viewer feelings of passion, excitement, and hope that one day, you can reach your goals, too.

As a brand, think about what emotions you want your customers to associate you with. Use lifestyle videos to let the audience feel good and put your brand in a positive light.

Feature the community

People crave community. For businesses, this means you need to find ways to make your customers feel like they are part of one—and you can do that with lifestyle videos.

Refinery29, a lifestyle media brand, does this with their apartment tour series, Sweet Digs. They get submissions from their viewers and they get to be featured in the videos. Every episode shows the pains of high rent in big cities, making the most out of every inch in tiny apartments, and the joys of living in one’s own home—all of which their target audience can relate to.

You don’t have to do a video series like Refinery29, but find ways to incorporate your community in your lifestyle videos so they can feel better connected to your brand.

Forget the call-to-action

It may sound counter-intuitive when the goal is to convert the viewer into a customer, but lifestyle content generally doesn’t require a call-to-action.

The goal is to give your audience a break from the hard sell. Using lifestyle videos, show them what your brand is about, and give them something they can relate to or a lifestyle they aspire to have.

Starbucks does this with their Starbucks at Home campaign, where they show people (their baristas included) enjoying an at-home Starbucks experience. It’s about the emotional connection that Starbucks has with the customer or barista beyond the boundaries of their physical store.

If your lifestyle video does what its meant to achieve, your viewer will feel engaged and when they are ready to make a purchase, they’ll know which brand to turn to.

As with any lifestyle content, lifestyle videos are a part of a long-term content marketing strategy. It’s about publishing regularly so your brand stays at the top of your mind and they see how relevant your product is in their lives.

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