Rising Trend: Slow Living (and how to play it into your marketing strategy)
It’s no secret that keeping Google happy is the linchpin to the success of your online business (hello SEO) but did you know that Google frequently share trends, ideas and inspiration based on actual trending topics? Let us tell you more.
Think With Google is a digital marketeers dream. Spurred on by actual Google trends, Google regularly shares insights that allow you to fine tune your marketing tactics to the things that real people are searching for. And the best bit? It’s completely free!
The latest article about the rise in the slow living movement is a great example of something tangible to hook into your business’ marketing materials. Having the world on lockdown has forced us to embrace a slower pace and consumers are very much embracing it. This trend is actively presenting itself in what consumers are buying and how they’re choosing to spend their time and it’s important that your marketing assets talk directly to this shift.
Themes linked to the slow living movement include simple living and a drive for minimalism. According to the Trends article, “slow living has been growing exponentially on YouTube. There’s a 4X increase in views of videos with “slow living” in the title in 2020 compared to 2019. The data indicates many of us have been inspired to take up hobbies and explore interests that we previously considered too time consuming.”
Slow living content is centred around activities that require more commitment from the consumer. As a result, there’s been a drive in take up of “slow” activities like baking, DIY, gardening, cooking and yoga/meditation/breathing techniques too. Consumers are actively seeking content they can learn a skill from or achieve something with. We’ve all been thrown into a world where we’ve had to reassess how we spend our time and discovering the aspects of our lives that make us truly happy. Having been living lockdown life for well over a year now, the changes consumers have faced have become new habits, and once embedded, habits are difficult to change.
As the roadmap to emerging out of lockdown begins to be laid out in front of us, there is a strong upward trend of professionals being more willing to work remotely long-term. Office culture could soon become a thing of the past and slow living is propelled out of this shift as removing the commute time allows professionals to have more time to spend on the things they truly love doing. People (particularly the millennial generation) are opting for slower lives away from bigger cities. They’re taking the plunge and moving to smaller towns and suburbs, not just to beautify their Instagram but to fully embrace the 'less-is-more' ideology. It’s important to note that slowing down does not mean falling behind in action and achievement, but developing a transformation in the mind. It’s about being more rooted, seeking content, products or experiences which are more earnest and real.
It’s a movement which, like many of our Doers, we’ve fully bought into. Jess has become a master sourdough baker since the pandemic started and Laura’s regularly out and about on nature walks with her family. Both Jess and Laura are big foodies anyway, but with the doors to their favourite cafes closed and the need to feed themselves at home for all mealtimes, the amount of recipe swapping between them has increased exponentially since the pandemic started. Their mutual love of houseplants has also been exacerbated. We are wholly invested in slow living.
Since travel has been knocked off our agendas (and getting further than a 10 mile radius of our homes), as consumers we’ve looked more intently at what our home space is delivering us. We’re actively seeking to be inspired and with less new experiences available to us, that very much starts within our four walls. Brands that can tap into DIY tips and easy makeover ideas will be winning at consumer interest because of this. The mind needs escapism as much as we need something to aspire to post-pandemic - “not all of us have gardens or coffee machines, but watching this content lets us retreat into a different world and mindset”.
Despite our best efforts to go out on daily walks, most of us are leading more sedentary lives and that can bring with it a sense of under achievement. This is another reason why we’re leaning more heavily into slow living - baking, gardening, cooking, making etc, all bring with them a sense of achievement. Feeding your consumers with content that gives them something to achieve is really important here - DIY tips, how-to content and general inspiration to get them doing something will create a positive experience for them and consequently attach a positive sentiment in their minds towards your brand.
Here’s an example for you. London candle-makers Earl of East have been running candle-making workshops via Zoom with a kit they send out beforehand. Jess took part in one of these virtual workshops back in January. After a well guided 45 min Zoom session from one of the team, it showed her how easy it is to make her own (the magic is in the mixing of scents, which is a skill that takes much longer to hone than a Zoom session). As a result, she’s been actively breathing new life into her old candle holders and thinking of Earl of East every time she’s done it. Not only has she actively recommended the workshop to friends but she has also gifted an Earl of East candle to friends as they have been front and centre of her mind since doing it.
Let’s face it, much of the activities that sit under the slow living movement aren’t new. They’re a reflection of days gone by and for many, are attached to a remarkable sense of nostalgia for many of us. Nostalgia is playing a more prominent role in consumer marketing in the pandemic lifestyle because so many of us have experienced the loss of loved ones or have had to watch the elderly generations in our family battle either illness or isolation. As a result of this, we’ve got a renewed sense of respect for the things precious to them and how they live their lives. An example of this can be seen through TikTok content - everything from Italian-born Nonnas cooking up a feast and sharing their carefully honed recipes with followers to grandparents recreating trending dances, showing us all up in how to be living our best lives. This trend translates really well if you have a heritage brand or business - showing your audience how your business did it “back in the day” and tapping in to that sense of nostalgia will positively impact how your customers view your business.
Most importantly, as marketeers we need to recognise that this shift in the way we’re living is far more than just a marketing fad or script for us to follow with a new pandemic-centric narrative. We have a fundamental job to walk the talk in slowing down. As you build out your marketing strategy for the remainder of the year, remind yourself that it should be built around earnest and honest relationships and experiences that are adding true value to your consumers.
Ideas on how to use the Slow Living movement in your marketing
Create how-to guides in video format - longer form videos are performing well when they tap into walkthroughs or guides that people want to see. You’re at an advantage here if your business naturally leans into topics that fall into the slow living movement - for example, cooking, baking, gardening etc. But if it doesn’t, there’s no reason why you can’t create content that speaks to the movement regardless. Can you put the spotlight on the people within your business and how they are tapping in to the slow living movement for example? Whilst it might not be directly linked to your product or service, it will create connection with your consumer.
Set achievable challenges for your consumers - by buying into the slow living movement, your consumers are actively wanting something to inspire them and something they are able to achieve. That sense of achievement will place your brand or business into the positive mindset of your consumer. An example here could be a Baking Bingo - 3 baking recipes you challenge your consumer to make. The benefit of doing a challenge like this, is that you can encourage them to share their experience and journey on their social media platforms, tapping in to new audiences.
Avoid the “fluffy” stuff - a rise in slow living means that your consumers are wanting things that matter more to them. Generic and wishy-washy content is going to be something they see straight through. Give them more of your story, what makes your business matter and content that feels a bit meatier to the true values of what you do. This might take a bit longer to achieve and might require more legwork than you’re used to but if you’re in it for the long game and not seeking quick wins only (the antithesis of the Slow Movement, it’ll be well worth it.
Encourage your internal team to get involved - we almost guarantee that many of your team will have been following a slower pace of living since the pandemic began and are very likely to have adopted some of the core elements of a slow living movement in their own lives. Encouraging them to share their experiences with it may well provide you with some great content to use that will speak to your consumers.
Demonstrate connection - communicate more actively with your consumers. Many brands/businesses ask their consumers for feedback or reviews - show them you listen to them either by surprise/delight efforts with good comments or communicating change based on feedback for example. Use your consumer’s voice within your marketing - give them a platform to shine with Q&As on your brand blog, invite them to be part of a testing panel or build out a loyalty programme that gives back.
