In the Eye of the Beholder: Why Lo-fi Video Content is Taking Over the Beauty Industry.
The beauty industry isn’t exactly known for being scrappy. I mean, Rihanna’s Fenty Beauty? Scrappy? I feel sinful even suggesting it.
And yet, “scrappy” is the exact aesthetic the “lo-fi” video trend is aiming to achieve.
In the beauty industry, lo-fi video that’s shot on a smartphone just like the one you have in your pocket sees an effectiveness rate of 164.5%, versus 32.6% for hi-fi video content. There are similarly encouraging stats for the fashion too, with lo-fi effectiveness at 52.9% versus hi-fi’s 21.7%.
This budget way of shooting content takes everything you think you know about the success of glossy, high-quality, big-money video campaigns and turns it upside down.
It turns out that just because the footage you get might be a bit grainy, slightly shaky or a little unsaturated, that doesn’t mean it’s not social media gold dust.
Sure, low-fi video is a way of creating video content without needing a huge budget, but the appeal to brands (especially those in the beauty and fashion industries) isn’t just in cutting down on production costs.
From breakout cult beauty brand Glossier to established names like Estée Lauder, the visually-driven beauty industry has embraced video content. It’s a natural fit.
Just take a look at YouTube in 2018, where beauty-related content like tutorials and reviews generated more than 169 billion views.
The brands that are knocking their competitors out of the water are the ones who are creating content that’s tailored for the right audience, on the right platform, at the right time. And in the right format.
So what’s the appeal of the lo-fi format to consumers? Authenticity.
Content that isn’t edited to within an inch of its life comes across as more “authentic”.
As a consumer, it’s near impossible to imagine that you are that woman you’ve seen in the commercials, effortlessly shimmying through the streets of Shanghai in a dress made of orchids while Robert Pattinson, your snubbed love interest, chases you on a stallion made of liquid gold. (Maybe I’m exaggerating, but I swear this is the plot of 90% of perfume adverts.)
But it is possible to see yourself applying Full Frontal Mascara in a mirror in a slightly gloomy room, à la Rihanna, or prepping your curls in the morning like Function of Beauty’s Creative Director, or doing your best not to get glitter in your eyes from your latest smokey eye experiment (girl, we’ve all been there).
Beauty fans are used to viewing lower-quality video when they watch user-generated content that they trust, such as product reviews, unboxing videos and tutorials.
But you don’t have to wait for excitable customers to create content for you. You can make it yourself, or recruit your colleagues to get comfortable with wielding a smartphone, which also gives you complete creative control.
By mimicking the visual style of user-generated content, brands can make the most of those subconscious connections between lo-fi video and authenticity.
Suddenly, the products are more tangible. The looks are achievable. Users can see how colours look in real, unedited life. They can see how products really appear when applied to the skin. They can go on journeys with you behind-the-scenes and feel like they’re getting a real glimpse into the inner workings of your headquarters or your factory.
So, should you ditch your creative team and start snapping your next TV commercial campaign on your smartphone?
Well, no, it’s not quite that simple. For lo-fi content to work, you need to be creating and promoting it on the right platforms.
Unsurprisingly, in the beauty and fashion industries, Instagram is leading the way. It’s designed to showcase things (and people) that look good. Brands use it to promote things that will make you look good and feel good. It’s a match made in marketing heaven.
But, despite it’s aspirational, heavily-curated appearance, this is the channel where lo-fi video gets its chance to shine.
Like many social platforms targeted at young Millenials and Gen-Z’s, Instagram is designed for “micro-moments” — bite-sized morsels of content aimed at catching the audience’s attention and being consumed at speed, mostly on a smartphone.
Instagram feed videos can be a maximum of 60 seconds long and story videos a maximum of 15 seconds long — unless you stitch a bunch of them together — but IG stories simply aren’t designed for long-form content.
And it’s this devotion to short-form, easy-to-consume content that’s perfect for lo-fi videos. Users won’t get tired by lower-quality videos, because they simply won’t have the time to.
Not to mention that Instagram is a mobile-first platform. Sure, you can upload from a desktop, but the user interface is clunky and uninspiring to use. It’s supposed to be used on an app on your phone — with content that’s been shot on your phone.
Even IGTV, Instagram’s (admittedly low-performing) answer to YouTube was designed with lo-fi video in mind, initially launching with vertical video uploads as the sole option — vertical videos like the ones you shoot every day on your phone.
As a side-note, maybe it’s this unusual blend of long-form content and lo-fi quality that’s been the downfall of IGTV, with only 1% of Instagram’s users downloading the dedicated app and the IGTV icon being removed from the main home page in early 2020.
But you can’t exclusively pack your Instagram feed with grainy video footage. It’s all about striking a balance between lo-fi and hi-fi content.
Take the IG feed of makeup artist Pat McGrath as an example. The quality of some of the videos on her feed can only be described as, well, shit. They’re too blurry and shot way too close to the models.
But she’s got 3 million followers, so she must be doing something right.
And what she’s got right is the balance of content. Her lo-fi video feed posts are interspersed with perfectly edited, high-quality images. Her stories are packed with minimally unedited, vertical videos that show her working at fashion shows, backstage footage of models and in-store product launches.
She’s found the right balance for her product and her audience, and despite looking ad-hoc, her lo-fi content is carefully planned, shot and published.
If you’re just starting out with lo-fi content, test and see what placement works for you. IG stories are prime for content that feels like it’s been uploaded “in-the-moment”. Videos for the feed may need to be placed more carefully. Perhaps start out with one in every five posts being shot on a smartphone, and see how your audience reacts.
And don’t just stick with Instagram. More and more brands are jumping on the TikTok wagon every day. Just look at what Rihanna’s Fenty Beauty is doing on the platform — with over 300k followers, they’ve found a perfect platform for lo-fi video.
When it comes to social content, there’s not a “one-size-fits-all” solution. You have to find out what works for you, how you blend different types of content and what proportion of social space you dedicate to lo-fi and to hi-fi video.
Creating content that looks effortless takes a lot of effort and expertise to get right.
But I can say with certainty that properly executed lo-fi video is going to be making a big splash in 2020.
Come hang with me in Amsterdam at the Colourcake office. We’re a creative production agency, and we have good coffee ☕️
