When a product makes your life better, even in small ways, that’s a big deal. But as a company, it can often be hard to tell those stories and truly communicate how impactful you are in the lives of your customers.
Whether it’s a life-saving surgeon who works at your favorite hospital, or a pair of shoes that makes standing at work all day easier – these stories are gold for marketers and can lead to huge boosts in purchases and conversions.
As a marketer, you can use these stories to form stronger bonds with your customers and convince potential customers to take the plunge. But how do you take these stories and turn them into engaging content your users will actually love?
This is where video comes in!
A day in the life video can frame one of your customer’s stories perfectly, allowing them to share their experience, show off how they use your product or service, and brag about you and your company in their own words.
Let’s break down day in the life videos a little further and get you started on the right foot.
What’s a day in the life video?
A day in the life video is a video that walks the viewer through a typical day in the life of someone using your product or service. They’re meant to help viewers envision themselves using your product by showing the ease and benefits it provides, but they’re also narrative in nature, embedding your brand in a personal story.
That story can vary, but is driven forward by the star of your video: one of your real customers or users. This adds authenticity and credibility. Since the story is not in your brand’s words, it’s less promotional and more entertaining, but still offers real anecdotal evidence about the quality of your product.
Plus, it should resonate strongly with the viewer. They should see something in the person profiled or the routine that reminds them of themselves and their lives. It should help them see their problem or obstacle clearly, and give them a solution in the form of your product.
When should I use a day in the life video?
Day in the life videos can be used almost any time – honestly, they’re a powerful piece of content that’s helpful along every stage of the buyer’s journey and can be distributed through numerous channels.
But they’re especially useful in further engaging a receptive audience.
In the engage stage of the buyer’s journey, your audience realizes they have a problem, but aren’t totally convinced they need your help. It’s your job now to engage them, showing them the value of your brand and how you differ from your competition.
And day in the life videos can help you do just that. They’re the perfect middle-of-the-funnel tool to help you interact with users who already know who you are (they don’t need an introduction), but aren’t yet ready to close the deal.
Use these videos wisely as you continue to engage with those who have already visited your website, already liked or engaged with your brand on social media, or are on the brink of providing you with their contact info.
What makes a good day in the life video?
Beyond high-quality footage and a great script, a day in the life video can be brought to life with a few other key elements.
A Relatable Protagonist
A relatable main character is essential in ensuring your video is authentic and effective. Yes, they should represent your target audience, maybe because of shared interests or similar pain points, but they should also represent the best version of your target audience. This means your product or service made a clear difference in their lives and they’re now living happily as one of your brand ambassadors.
A Great Story
What was your main character’s life like before your brand came along? What was a typical day like? How has their life changed after investing in your product or service? What are their days like now?
These are a few of the crucial questions that will get at the heart of your story.
A Tie to Your Product or Service
The heart of your video will be the story, yes – but for the story to effectively connect back to you as a company, you’ve got to build in a tie to your product or service. Doing this well is difficult. Your tie-in can be too subtle to be effective, or it can be too blatant to resonate at all. Finding the right balance is essential and can make or break your video.
How to Create a Day in the Life Video
The most effective day in the life videos are about two minutes long. Though they tend to cover a longer period of time throughout the day in the life of your protagonist, the video itself should contain quotes in a narrative structure, a bit of interview footage, and b-roll.
Here are a few tips to help you organize and plan your next project.
1. Find the perfect person to profile.
Again, this person should closely match your typical buyer’s persona so your viewers can relate to the story. They should be energetic and passionate about your company and they should be natural on camera.
Find someone who’s had a lot of interaction with your brand, maybe a regular or someone who’s left a glowing review about you or your services. Reach out to them and see if they’d be open to sharing their story and their day. You might not know a lot about them initially (Are they good on camera? Who knows!) but, after some research and a few phone calls and/or meetings, you’ll have a good sense of how they’ll do.
Once they’re on board, have them fill out the proper paperwork and walk them through what your shoot day will be like. If there’s a script or questions you’d like them to answer, have them review and practice their answers so they’re not flustered come production day.
And if they don’t seem right for the project, keep looking! Search social media, ask your sales reps, even reach out to family and friends to find someone who will be genuinely excited to talk your company up.
2. Have questions or directions ready for them.
Day in the life videos aren’t typically scripted, but you do want a shot list and some questions planned out ahead of time so you can capture the exact scenes and emotions you want to. Again, giving these to your talent ahead of time will give them time to prepare.
You’ll also want to film some unplanned scenes. In these, you can capture closer, more intimate snapshots and great b-roll of your star in their natural environment.
3. Start filming!
Once you’ve got your pre-production steps ready and set, it’s time for production! You may be filming everything with your in-house team or you may have hired a video production agency to film and edit all your footage, but either way, you’ll want to ensure everyone involved knows their schedule and what’s expected of them.
One day of filming should be enough to capture what you need, unless your video calls for an especially complicated or complex location or stunt.
4. Hire an experienced editor.
The right editor can totally transform your video. From cutting the perfect quotes and snippets from your interview footage to finding that perfect emotional moment that really drives the video home, an editor can work magic with the footage you capture.
5. Start distributing your video.
You won’t know the power of your video until you actually start distributing it!
Day in the life videos are excellent on your website, where they serve as part customer testimonial and part lifestyle narrative. They’re also great sent via email campaigns to audience segments in the engage and nurture stages of the buyer’s journey. They can even make a huge impact on your social platforms, where real fans and followers can see and share in the experience of a fellow user.
So no matter where you share your video, start sharing! Track the right metrics and start repurposing your day-in-the-life content so your footage gets even more reach and value.