Defining your brand with lifestyle content
One key trait of a successful brand can be how well it develops a particular personality and promotes a lifestyle rather than a product.
What we’re describing is the friendliness and comfort of a product; or content that isn’t aggressively attempting to sell something, but rather presents a concept— something engaging and tailored to the individual.
How lifestyle content works
Lifestyle content works by developing a rapport with your client, customer or visitor. It is important to treat this like you are entering into a dialogue with a friend, rather than an impersonal and rigid brand. So creating a dialogue and maintaining a personal, humanised tone in content is key. Lifestyle content is more like reading a blog post or article that your customer would already choose, or talking to a friend. So initial engagement with the lifestyle brand is key. Consider crafting a survey, something that asks specific questions to give the effect of interpersonal communication and dialogue. You can also use this information to tailor your content to attract the highest volume of traffic within your target demographic.
Targeting an audience
Once you have that information, create a style guide in order to stay on brand and create a lifestyle that best reflects your target demographic. Supply options and flexibility, look outside your brand and product, and explore related things that your lifestyle encourages. Think music, concerts, other products that pair well with yours; or clothing suggestions and television show recommendations to accompany your brand. This is about cultivating a personality more than just directly engaging with a single product.
Diversity in promotional material
When it comes to creating lifestyle content and promoting it, there are a number of available options. Some companies that specialise in lifestyle brand engagement have been pursuing outreach by creating physical magazines or partnering with large scale events to bring their lifestyle brands to life (Entrepreneur). What does a rock show have to do with your brand? If there’s a correlation between a person who would enjoy your product or brand and that particular musical act, promote the musical act as an aspect of the lifestyle that your brand encourages.
Cultivating an ethos, beyond a singular personality is key in developing a lifestyle brand. In order to maintain a casual, personal voice, invite other people to blog or post about your lifestyle. Having real, humanised people living and participating with your lifestyle encourages others to engage as well. For more suggestions and tips on creating and engaging through a lifestyle brand, visit ALHAUS.