As Instagram continues to explode in popularity - it hit one billion users in 2018 - so does the visibility and reach of influencers. Amongst these you can find your lifestyle influencer that has attracted a large, engaged audience due to the great content and voice of the creator.

Many times, these accounts have a very specific niche that makes them attractive to a certain demographic profile, most of the times they are lifestyle influencers.

For example, there are accounts that post nothing but delicious, beautifully presented food. Even within a certain category, some accounts take it even further, focusing only on baked goods or artfully arranged cheese boards.

Because they have such tailored content, they attract a very specific audience. Additionally, these lifestyle influencer accounts are very appealing for brands that also align.

If you're a company that sells cookies, working with an influencer who only posts about baked goods makes a lot of sense.  

While this makes a lot of sense, it means that brands sometimes pass up the opportunity to work with great lifestyle influencer accounts because they’re too “general.”

Nothing could be further from the truth! Lifestyle influencers can be incredibly versatile accounts to work with that make them the perfect partners fro just about any brand.

Even better, since they have a wide-ranging audience, these accounts are great for helping your brand gain exposure and reach new consumers. 

Who is a lifestyle influencer? 

The simple answer? Just about anyone can be a lifestyle influencer! Lifestyle influencers are accounts that dedicate themselves to posting a variety of content, ranging from food to #ootd’s, to upcoming vacation plans. 

Basically, they are simply documenting their daily lives, be it a trip to Disney with their kids, a new diet they’re trying out, or the challenges of juggling a busy professional life.

This candid look into their daily life makes them incredibly relatable and authentic accounts. They’re sharing the good, the bad and the ugly and not trying to gloss over any of it. 

Of course, these accounts aren’t just about breadth - there’s also plenty of depth. 

The reason these accounts attract such a large following even though they don’t have a clearly defined niche is because of what they do have: impeccable taste and trust with their audience. 

They attract their audience because of their unique style and beautifully shot content. As a result, these accounts become go-to places for ideas, tips, inspiration and so much more - in sum, they build a community of thousands of people that also hope to emulate their lifestyle.  

Additionally, the relatability and authenticity that are a hallmark of lifestyle influencers create something invaluable: trust with their followers.  

As a result, followers listen to these lifestyle influencers when they recommend products, be it their favorite mattress or headphones or protein bars. You know, things that are part of their lifestyle.

Like I mentioned previously, a great benefit of lifestyle influencers ends up being how versatile they are.

They are a natural fit for most brands. To use the example above, it would not make sense for a foodie account to create sponsored content with a headphone brand. Their audience is there for one specific thing: food. 

Even if the image itself were outstanding, the post would be poorly received and have little engagement since it does not align or resonate with the audience. 

This versatility is especially important for niche brands that may not have a ready-built community of influencers on Instagram. 

Of course, when I say that lifestyle accounts are versatile, that does not mean that they are are just some one-size-fits-all account that can promote anything.

On the contrary, just like there are many types of lifestyles that people in the U.S live out, there are many different types of lifestyle accounts on Instagram. 

What’s important to understand is that even though they lean in a certain direction, they are broad enough to promote multiple verticals as opposed to being trapped in a specific one the way food, fashion, beauty or pet accounts (to name just a few) are. 

Let’s talk about moms. A popular type of lifestyle account is one run by a mom, where she shares photos and stories of her family’s daily life.

This could be everything from that trip to Disney with the kids I mentioned earlier, to driving everyone to soccer practice, to arts and crafts activities over summer vacation.

Her audience is other moms - needless to say, this is an incredibly broad category and it’s why a mom lifestyle account can work across multiple verticals. 

To use the examples I just mentioned, a mom account could have easily partnered with Tide for the soccer post (dirty jersey’s that need to be washed) or Michael’s (where they got the materials for the arts and craft project). 

Meanwhile, the moms that follow the influencer might be looking for ideas on how to keep the kids busy for the summer and see the great arts and crafts project that was just posted on one of her favorite accounts.

Guess who’s going to Michael’s to buy some crafts?

That, in a nutshell, is what’s so great about lifestyles accounts - it would very difficult for Tide or Michael’s to partner with, say, a fashion influencer. Or a pet influencer. You get the picture. 

But like I said, there are plenty of other type of lifestyle influencers that lean in a different direction, such as a young adult hustling in the city.

Their content may place more of an emphasis on balancing professional and personal lives, ideas to prevent burnout, etc. You can be sure that not as many moms follow this account.

They may be a great partnership for meal delivery services. Their audience is fellow young professionals, which means they lack the time to cook their own meals everyday but have the money to actually afford a meal delivery subscription. 

Again, what’s important to understand is that even though they have an angle, they don’t have a niche. 

Slowly but surely, brands are starting to realize that lifestyle influencers make amazing, well-rounded partners - in one 2016 survey, 48% of marketers said that a ‘lifestyle expert” is currently the most in-demand type of influencer they’re looking to work with. 

How do you work with lifestyle influencers?

There are a few ways! One of the simplest is to reach out to them directly and try to negotiate a partnership. Unfortunately, this involves a lot of time and back-and-forward.

Even worse, as this category of influencer has skyrocketed in popularity, so have their rates. 

You could always pay someone else to negotiate for you, be it hiring a dedicated social media manager or paying an agency.

These options can be even more expensive though, and fundamentally, they’re still doing the same thing - spending a lot of time sourcing influencers, reaching out manually, negotiating rates, post schedules, and then tracking it all on some horrifyingly large spreadsheet. 

And finally, you can always use a curated network like Trend, which automates the vast majority of the process.