“Going Tiny with AARP” tells real-life stories about how people 50+ are using tiny homes and Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs) to help with life’s transitions, improve quality of life, and make closer connections. The personality-driven YouTube series was produced to showcase real-life examples at the core of AARP’s work, which is to create safe and accessible places to live for people of all ages. The digi-docuseries takes a look at that moment where downsizing one’s home brings big possibilities. “Going Tiny” was promoted across AARP channels, including placement on AARP.org, our social channels, through AARP’s digital newsletters, in the AARP Now app, and through earned media.
The goal of “Going Tiny with AARP” is to tell stories about tiny homes that other brands and media outlets are not. We craft each episode to focus on themes such as downsizing, caregiving, and aging-in-place in addition to the design of tiny homes. The YouTube series features real-life, character-driven stories, an approach that is very effective for YouTube-first content. From a strategy perspective, the series provides a strong vehicle to accomplish our goal of diversifying our YouTube audience (traditionally 55+ men) and work with broader AARP communications priorities. We show viewers the typical decision points that go into tiny home living, and illustrate the benefits and challenges. We show how people evaluate their lives and make tough choices that are right for them. Plus, we show how these very special homes have brought people together in meaningful ways.
“Going Tiny with AARP” is becoming the series that viewers engage with the most on AARP’s YouTube channel. In just four+ months (as of December 2023), the series has added over 1,000 new subscribers and has received over 354,000 views with an average percentage viewed of 49%. Community engagement has been overwhelmingly positive with over 4,600 likes and comments that reflect how deeply the stories resonate.
