027 - How to Create Visual Content That Sells with Daisi Pollard

Want to improve your online sales? You need better visual content. Raise those pinkies because today we’re going to discuss what makes a great photo. 

Daisi Pollar

Instagram.com/daisijo

https://www.linkedin.com/in/daisijopollard

https://www.facebook.com/daisijopollardsepulveda/

Brian Meert
https://www.linkedin.com/in/brianmeert

Duke of Digital
https://www.dukeofdigital.com/
https://www.instagram.com/dukeofdigital/

AdvertiseMint
https://www.advertisemint.com
https://business.facebook.com/advertisemint/
https://www.facebook.com/groups/advertisemint/
https://www.instagram.com/advertisemint

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:00

All right. Do you want to improve your online sales? Will you need better photos? Raise your pinky because today we're going to walk you through

Speaker 2: 0:09

how to create amazing content presented by advertisement. The Duke of digital will guide you through the rapidly changing landscape of digital marketing, social media, and how to grow your business online. To submit a question for the show, text(323) 821-2044 or visit Duke of digital.com if you need an expert to fix your ads, the friendly team at advertisement is ready to help visit advertisement. That's M I N t.com or call(844) 236-4686 to grow your business.

Speaker 1: 0:46

Here's your host, Brian Mitt. All right, I'm here today in the studio with Daisy Pollard. I am a really excited today because I think we, you know, content is something that's so big in the world of sales and online business to be able to, you know, do, do things online. I really think unique, great content. So I want to thank you so much for being on the show. Oh, thank you for having me. I'm like really excited. I can't stop cheesing God, this is great. We can choose the whole time. Okay, so I, there's a couple of things. You are an author, you're a business woman. Ah, you're a model. You've, you've worked for gap when 800 flowers, Hanes pawns and Amazon. Is that right? Hey, you keep busy. You are the former miss Jamaica earth. Miss Jamaica earth. Mr. make it international. Miss Jamaica, Asia Pacific international. So these are international pageants that are held in different countries. This earth is held in the Philippines and miss international is in Japan and miss Asia Pacific international originated in China. It's always, now from my understanding, you were the first Jamaican candidate in history to compete in miss earth. Miss Asia Pacific and miss beauty queen world. Yes. And I won miss pedia coming worlds. That's amazing. Which you know, it's kind of like rest in peace because this is, it's an organization that's no longer around, but you, you have the title forever. You don't have to give it away. You're like, dad, I think there was, yeah, there was a queen after the year after me, but that, I think that was it. Okay. Yeah. And it went on the pageant is like over 20 years old to, you know, it ran its course and uh, then so ms earth. Yeah. So it was the first miss Jamaica to go to ms earth and it's very exciting. It's actually one of my favorite pageants ever. I feel like I'm like really promoting ms earthier, but it was like one of my, the best experiences I've ever had. And um, there's, it's arguably better than, I hate to say this miss universe, but arguably, but you know, miss universe has been around a lot longer, so I've, you know, I've seen a couple, but I always feel like the most nerve wracking part is right at the end where they're about to announce the winner and they may get everyone they're like, and now the winner is dah, dah, dah. And like, I'm like, man, that's rough to just like you're standing there waiting to be, is it going to be me? What's going to happen? Yeah. It does feel like your stomach's going to fall out. Yeah. And it's really, so like when you go through preliminaries, like a lot of people don't know that before that big like coronation night with the big stage show, which is televised. There is a whole preliminary process. And so there's smaller competitions that you win, like swim, ms swimsuit or best national costume, um, talent if there's a talent portion. And so you kind of know out of your group because there are really big pageants. So 90 countries is I think was miss universe for example this year. And so, and I think, uh, ms earth is close to that, like 80, 90 countries. And so you could get broken down into groups and the preliminaries are normally done in smaller groups. And then like coronation night is like when the big, you know, everything is announced. So you know, you go through all these smaller competitions along the way and you just really don't know what's going to happen. Yeah. Just keep going and you just keep going and going through the process while yeah, it's so fascinating. Now, in addition to that, you're also a lifelong entrepreneur. You've owned a martial arts gym, a limousine service, a bed and breakfast, a modeling school and an agency. And I'm like, man, I almost feel like I've got one or two companies that I run. And I was like, Oh man, you've got me beat by three. Like that's incredible. Well, I started young, so like really young. I mean I came out the wound like you're about to have a baby. And I'm like, I came up them when your daughter might come out, like just ready to like start making some money. Yeah. And that was like, that was me. So it was just from your parents at all, like let's go hustle or did you just come out and it was, you know, like it was your natural ability that you're like, let's, let's, uh, let's start making some cash. I do think that some of it is genetic. Um, so my mom, both side of my family, they're very entrepreneurial. My mom's side of the family, they have like a long legacy of entrepreneurial-ism and you know, big business and so forth. And so that, I think it's kind of like an honorary thing. Like a lot of the women in my fit in that side of the family just are just ballers. Like they're just like what my great, great grandmother was an oil heiress. And then just like, you know, Howard Hughes like Gerald on her land. So it's like, it's dark. Yeah, it's really like major. So I think that kind of just got passed through the generations. Um, my mom was very creative, so she was into sewing, painting. She could call book, like a cobbler. She could be a milliner, she could just like renovate your whole house, like herself. Um, so very creative, very industrious. Um, my dad was in the military, so lots of discipline. And my, his mom, my grandmother, my paternal grandmother, she was very entrepreneurial. She spent most of her career in corporate and then later, um, B into like real estate and you know, foreclosures, flipping houses and stuff like that before there was all the TV shows about it. So yeah. Oh, so you, you've just, you've been in it for awhile and it for a while. Yeah. And I was very like, especially with my grandmother, I was just there like following her around all the time. So the Scott to see the ins and outs of it and like really participate even though I was a teenager, just like really participate. So, and she was always very encouraging of like whatever I wanted to do. And so she got me into modeling and then I was like, Oh this is a thing and I can make money. And then I was like really into makeup and I tried to like sell, like make my own makeup at home, which doesn't seem strange today, but in 1995 it was probably a little weird and I would like repurpose containers and then make like colored and flavored lip gloss and try to sell it and school. So awesome. No, I like you hear stories like that and I just, you know, I didn't grow up in an environment where I was like, let me go hustle for money. It was just be a kid and have fun and watch TV and play video games I guess. But those little things, like when I see other people doing it, I'm like, yes. Like it's such an empowering thing when you're like, you can create anything and make a life for yourself. Um, at, to some extent any age at any age. It's really, if your kids have an idea and they're like, I want to try, I would be like, go do it. Go try. Where do we pick up supplies and how do we, you know, do a first run or a sample or try it out and see if it works. And I definitely, I mean my grandmother, I wouldn't say she was very encouraging, she'd much rather me focus on school, but I just was bored with like all the other things that everybody else was doing. And so this was just my thing. I mean I would wake up at like four 30 in the morning to work out and then to like do pre-work before I would go to school. And then I would study like workout videos and magazines and I mean it was just like really in, in deep and I would just, yeah, it was just my thing. You know, and then I would go to school and then I'd come home and then I'd have something else that I was just like really into, uh, what would Daisy, now I heard an internet rumor and I'm hoping you can help tell me if this is true. When I was, when I was doing my research now, and I've heard, and you tell me if it's true that you throw[inaudible] and shoot again and come calm, calm, calm, calm us. Yeah. So I Google this and I pull up Google images and they've got all these, what looked like kind of like Chinese throwing stars a little bit. And then just stars, stars and the Batman throwing like he's got his own Batman shaped throwing stars that he uses in the movie. And I was like, Oh, that's so awesome. Like so how did you get into this? You been doing that for a while. Is it true? Yes, it's true. There's videos of me throwing. So this is not something I started when I was younger. So I was married to someone and there were very well known in the martial arts community and I learned from him and uh, and then I just kept throwing and making and I did some live performances and it just, and it's something I was like really good at and then I realized that it's not just the throwing stars, it's all, it's just like anything that has precision, like percentage precision sports. Yeah. Which makes sense now as an adult because I used to want to be a race car driver, so, and that's actually a precision sport.

Speaker 3: 9:14

A race car driver wall you through Ninja stars, they're all precision double awesome. They're all precision

Speaker 1: 9:23

board. So I'm just really good at like hand eye coordination and it just became a hobby. So I mean now it's more of a hobby than anything. Um, because I'm not like immersed in that world. And when it's around you all the time, it's something like, it's like, Hey, you want to go throw up? You want to go throw, let's go throw. Now it's kind of like, man, I haven't thrown in awhile. Let me find someplace that I can go throw. Oh, it's awesome.

Speaker 3: 9:44

So I feel like if I were to just dress like a Ninja, I feel like I would be able to do a lot better. There's a lot of costumes. That's right. It's a couple of ninjas walking around the street. Um, all right, well did, did I miss anything about you or anything that, you know, an introduction that I got over? There's a lot there. Um, I don't know. We can just go with it and it'll come up in our car. I want to make sure anyone listening has, can be able to find you. What are the best ways that they can be able to connect with you or follow you? So today in today's world, Instagram is like the number one place.

Speaker 1: 10:22

So my Instagram, my personal one is Daisy, Joe D, a I S I, J O and I'm there. You can follow me and you can keep up with everything literally that I do. That's my main feed and I am constantly posting and promoting something.

Speaker 3: 10:37

Oh yeah, for sure. I was running through your stories and it's like red carpet, a launch party, another red carpet, a modeling shoe. Like I was like, Oh man, like you're, you keep busy. Definitely keep it.

Speaker 1: 10:52

It's what I enjoy. You know, some people like to like, I don't know, I dunno, like, uh, don't like to work I guess is the category that it falls in. And for me it's like a hobby. I mean not, I don't want to say that. Like, if you do what you love, you'll never work a day in your life. That's not, I don't think that's actually true. There are some days when I am like, Oh, I got to get up today and I'm really struggling through the day. It doesn't mean that I don't enjoy what I do in the process. It just means that I'm tired that day or, you know, I need a break or something. Right. I think it's important to, to distinguish between the two. Um, but yeah, I just, I just love creating and putting things out into the world. Things that I want to see. Um, and I like working with other people and it's fun and I learn things. And I think the biggest like common denominators, I love to learn things. So anything like just talking to people, working with people, you know, being onset, learning about marketing, like actually practicing and doing it is, there's a lot of fun to me. Creating content is a lot of fun to me. Okay. Now I

Speaker 3: 11:54

am, the reason I'm so excited is because you all also authored a book called uh, my product model success guide. Uh, and the premise that this book is all around, um, product and that product photography, but photography and visual content and the difference between good visual content and bad visual content, which is something that I think a lot of times can get overlooked. Where people are like, look, I took a photo of something and my job is done. It's on the internet. People just, people will run through my website and buy this because I took a photo of it. Um, and I've just seen so many examples where that's not the case at all. It really does take good product photography or good photography in general. So this is what I wanted to be able to talk about a bit on the show and I've got a couple of questions, um, after reading through your book. So you know, one of the things that you quote in your book is you say it's no longer competitive, uh, to just say, here's my product. I'm selling this thing. Um, you know, what was your thoughts behind that? Like just taking a photo of it and being like, there it is. What is changed in the world of the internet that now makes content so vital?

Speaker 1: 13:11

Well, so I think the, the internet like democratize the world and so many different ways, you know, and I think we don't really think about how our process of consumption has changed and how it's been influenced. Um, we think about politics and all the other things, but we don't think about just like something that we do on everyday basis, which is buy stuff, right? Or sell stuff. And sometimes you're on both sides. Um, and so we don't think, we don't think about like that so many companies are, so many sites are selling the same products and they're using the same photos, for example, they're just manufacturer photos or they're just putting it on their counter and taking a picture of it and saying, look, this is different because I'm selling it and there's like 100,000 other people selling the same products. So I think that's really important and it's, and some people do inherently realize it. Some people, it takes a long time for them to realize it. And so, and as we go, more and more people are becoming aware of the fact that like there's that most of the products come from manufacturers in China and they're all the same thing. And there's really no difference. And you know, everyone's trying to say, but mine is better because of this or because of that. There's very few products that succeed because they are really differentiated from other products. And those are unicorns.

Speaker 3: 14:25

Yeah. Okay. So now one of the things that you talk about is being able to communicate the value in purchasing your products. Right? And so, I mean, that's what you just said before. That's a great example. And a lot of products are very similar. If you were to take, uh, you know, lipstick for example, right? You know, there's a lot of different kinds of lipstick, there's a lot of brands that sell lipstick. You know, how if someone else was in that industry, would

Speaker 1: 14:51

advise them on how to communicate the value in, in purchasing their products. Okay. So this is actually a really common thing that's happening now because there's so many beauty brands that have launched on Instagram, right? And then on YouTube and Instagram, but we'll take Instagram for example. Um, so you know, you have your everyday influencer, right? That has a following as like, Oh, I want to create my own beauty cosmetic line. And they find a manufacturer or find, you know, private label. There's tons of them. You can just go on Alibaba. You can even download a course for how to find the products that you want to sell and you have little control over the manufacturing product. That product is processed, that product is already made, right? And so basically you're just customizing the packaging, maybe tweaking the color a little bit, but you have no influence in what is actually going into the product, what the ingredients that are going into the product is. And so now like cosmetic brands, I mean the cosmetic industry has changed so much in the last few years because companies are innovating with getting rid of like artificial ingredients and things that are harmful and that um, that affect your hormones and stuff like that. And they're going on natural and even cruelty free, right? And even vegan and so beyond. And then there's manufacturers that are also producing those things like private label. So if you're going to create something that's, well, first of all, you got to figure out what is a really original and that's really getting more and more difficult to do because outside of like finding some non invasive way to tattoo your lips. I mean, it's just getting really, really, really hard. And so we're seeing brands, you know, people that is trying to start brands like say, Oh, mine is CBD or mine is a TV hour. Mine has a hobo oil. Or not, and that's not even enough. Um, and so you really have to figure out like what your message is, who your demographic is. If you are trying to start a beauty, a beauty brand or lipstick, right? It's more about making the packaging and the colors too tailored to your audience than it is about really being different in the product itself. Such a good tip. You know, I think with the barriers to entry for production coming down, meaning, you know, 30 years ago there was an Ali Baba or there weren't courses that say, Hey, go do these three, you know, these are the 10 steps to be able to create your own product and get it back here. It was a little bit more difficult to figure out how to be able to walk down that path. So now is more people are able to produce or manufacture items. I think what you're talking about is going to become so much more critical is it really is, what are these companies stand for? What makes them different? How do they impact me? You know, in your book you talk about the difference between communicating, um, and there's two kind of areas that you break this down, two camps. The first is quality and details of your product. And then the second one was, you know, image, lifestyle and culture. And I think from my experience, what I've seen a lot of times people come is they're like quality and details that they focus on that like, Oh, here are the specs, here's the, my job is done. As long as I get that up online, people will see that and they'll be able to look through and eventually make their decision. But a lot of times there's that emotional side, which is, you know, the image, the lifestyle, the culture and the specs may not be as good, but people will want to buy that. And a lot of times we'll pay a premium as well. Yes. Because they're like, I like the way that product makes me feel. Yeah. Because those are, it's their people, right? As we say, right. It's their people. And that's becoming more and more of what like these communities are about. I mean you take big fashion brands like eCommerce brands like fashion NOLA and fashion Nova versus like Boohoo for example, completely different audience. There's some crossover there, but in some times and in some ways it's essentially the same products but come Wheatley different audience like one doesn't have anything to do with the other, you know, and, and Boohoo was taking like fast fashion and gone upstream with it a bit. They've gotten really sexy, very youthful, right. Fashion Nova is all about the urban woman, the curvaceous woman, the woman that is like, this is me, I'm a batty, you know, a new slang word. I learned Patty batty. And it's just very different demographics, you know. Um, and you know, essentially boot was a little bit different in their manufacturing process, but they manufacture all their own, own all their own stuff and you know, they had the whole European thing. So, but you know, fashion Novo, she's just in the media about their own labor issues, but they manufacture China and also here in the U S and you know, their whole branding process is like so different from the other, but it's like the diconomy of the same type of woman. Right? It's like the batty that's youthful, you know, it's kind of more like what we identify with as like the ideal Instagram look, right? With fashion Nova it's more urbanized and that's essentially, you know, the differences. I think in your book you have an example where you're talking about fashion Nova, I think hot Miami styles and CV and you were like, what's interesting is all three of these companies, a lot of their products are very similar, very similar. They'll have either the exact same product or very similar products, but you know, in that they all are, are trying to reach different audiences. Um, you know, how does that come into play? I mean, just some extent. Do you, is it all about the company and just defining who you are before you even begin creating photos that you kind of have a mission or a North star and you're like, and you know your audience. I think for like for like Boohoo I think that was their emo, right? I mean because they were in the game for like as a manufacturer and they did like discount retail or like a fast fashion, but like really cheap. I can't remember the name of the store in Europe, but it's basically like our version of like, you know, fires Perez. Have you seen those? They're like, uh, uh, the Hispanic version of like a Ross or Marshall like off-brands, you know, off-price stuff. Um, and so they started there and they actually own their whole supply chain. Um, and then they bought nasty gal and they launched Boohoo and they have like, I think pretty little things as well. Um, and so they're able to manufacture their own stuff. It's all vertical. And so I think they had time to think about how they wanted their image to look and like pretty little things. They definitely had a lot of time. That was like one of the son's projects. It started off with like little dresses. So they had time to think about the process and, and how they want to be seen and who their target audiences. Um, and they all started like pretty little things started with like a influencers. So that was their big thing is influencer generated, um, fashion, uh, with fashion Nova. So they started as brick and mortar and I think they evolved and figured out who their audience was over time. And, um, with LA being in LA and having like the locations and seeing their customers come in, who's coming in to look like the hip hop stars, the female hip hop stars, right. Who's coming in to look like the video girls. And then you figure then you kind of know those are the indicators that that's your audience. And then just being able to interpret that online. Yeah.

Speaker 3: 21:57

Yeah. Um, you know, when you mentioned really quick vertical content, um, you know, do you have a say on what you recommend creating for, I mean, vertical definitely works best for the mobile phone. I know a lot of times, you know, square images are kind of the best to kind of work across the board. Do you have any, uh, say on what you've seen kind of the trend go towards recently? You mean and what platforms now I know I've terms of what type of content when you're, when they're uploading it. Um, you know, do you, do you create content primarily for story formats? Uh, do you create it for, you know, square, newsfeed kind of formats? So

Speaker 1: 22:35

I think that there's an answer for both. Right? Um, I think that people are built at making content for their feet and also for their stories, right? Like, uh, one thing that I think is actually really great and I have not had a chance to like really I've watched it and I broke it down. I was like, the way that like big brands are making the content for the stories and you know, for like IGT V then, and I think Snapchat kind of fits into that same category because it's the vertical, right? And the, but they're making it specifically for stories, which is awesome. And as opposed to the feed, right. It doesn't even go into the feed. So if you watch the stories you're watching at different content, like different messaging you get, it's the same brand, which of course makes sense. But it just, the feel of it is very specific for that. Um, and I, I think it's amazing to see how brands are able to like break it down for themselves and figure out how they can tell their story across, uh, stories versus the feed. You know, I think the feed is really good for, uh, now for e-commerce, for point of purchase, especially like with like fashion over jewelry brands, you know, beauty brands and stuff. But I think the story is, it's more of like a narrative, right? They're becoming like media companies and telling a story. Like I think, uh, I think it was fashion over that did the series for their jeans and it was all about like how flexible and a stretchy but fit their jeans are. And it originally only appeared in the stories and the model like comes in one frame and she's putting on the jeans and stretching, you know, and it was like squatting and you know, and she's very curvaceous. So it was like really a perfect example and it was just like a diff, you're just entered into a different world. And so it's like watching Netflix. Yeah. Yeah. But for e-commerce, yeah. You know, in a way. And I think people are generally curious to see how products could, I mean in that example, you know, wait, are these jeans better than the jeans I have? Like they're stretchy or what is this? Or how do they work? Um, it's, it's just so fascinating when it comes to content creation. You know, what happens is as these new platforms emerge, as people are creating more and more and more, you know, the elements, it comes into play a lot of times this time. Yeah. The time needed to create this, which is your double double the time. You know, we were generally doing, you know, one foot photo shoot here and there and now we'd be doing more. We need to create lifestyle and product photos. We need to create ones for stories and for eCommerce, like it just continually grows. Is that just in your opinion, something that is the way it is now? Or what would you say to a business owner that's trying to grow their business and be like, how do I, how do I do everything that I need to? Yeah, so this is a big plug for me. So I think brands, if you're serious about your brand, then you need to have a content partner. Okay. Like absolutely hands down. You need to have a content partner if you're going to take this seriously. If you're experimenting and you're trying to put your foot in the water, I think you still need a content partner. But I understand more of like why you're trying to do it on your own. Right. Um, you cannot, we're never going to get to a point where we go, Oh man, remember that decade we'll, all we did was take pictures and video to sell things on the internet. Man, I'm so glad that's over with. That's where we're never going to get there. 2020 is not going to be about less content creation and Instagram stuff. It's going to be about more and I think video is really front and center for 2020. Um, and so, but yes to, to circle back, yes, you need a content partner. We do that. Our, my company is my product model.com. You can find this on Instagram, my product model, uh, at my product model. Right. Um, and you know, with a content partner what we do is help you, help you develop your brand in terms of like what your image looks like, what your models look like. For example, if it's uh, if it's fashion or beauty, right? Um, what, how to create consistent content or create that consistent content for you. Um, help you seed it out to your, an audience so that you can get customers, um, and help with like what your pro product details, what's special about your product, um, who your, what the environment of that your product needs to be shot in and all that kind of stuff. Yeah,

Speaker 3: 26:59

yeah. Now, there is a quote in your book, I got a couple more that as I was going through, um, that you said potential customers need to visualize what they're getting in order to be convinced to take the risk and trust that their product will do what it says. Yeah. So I mean, I think this is one of the biggest things with e-commerce that a lot of people forget is you can't touch, you can't, you have to watch videos to be able to, to get a gauge of what it will, how it will work and if it will work for you and what it does. Um, and so I think in terms of that, because someone isn't coming in and physically touching or feeling a product or are using it on their own, you've got to be able to focus on really good content that can do that. Um, what are your thoughts in terms of, you know, creating content that helps overcome those objectives or build that trust with a person that says, I believe this product does what it says it will do.

Speaker 1: 28:01

You have to really be able to show that on camera, whether it's in photos or video. I think, you know, from a B2B standpoint, what we're getting really good at with video is the deception of a product being more than what it is. So you're seeing that a lot in fashion because you know, there was a time when Nvidia, you can kind of tell the fabric a little bit better. You could tell that it like whether it was good fabric or not at the seams were sewn properly or not. And now we're learning, you know, as a, as a world, we're learning about lighting and camera technique, right? And, and how to hide the flaws of things, right? And so the opposite is true for when you want to sell, when you want to sell a product, you have to figure out how to hide the flaws and how to accentuate the best aspects of the product. Um, what a product can really do versus what it can't really do. And you know, it's just because it's not like the perfect, perfect, perfect, perfect product. Doesn't mean it's not sellable and doesn't mean it doesn't have an audience. And so we break that down for you. Like, okay, what does this really good at? Right? Who is this really for? And can we stretch it a little bit and say that it's also for this audience or this also for this audience because that's going to give you more cut, more reach and more customers. Um, and so like if you're a brand and you're thinking about like what content you need to create, well first I think you, you do need a soundboard. You can't do it in a bubble by yourself, right? Number one. I think a lot of people try to do that. They try to like do it in their kitchen and the kitchen table with like no soundboard, no feedback. Now number two is like being out in the world. So one of the things that I do is I'm a people observer, people watcher, right? And so I, it really do take in like your whole face and like clothing and everything. And I, I can't help it. It's just something that I naturally do. I've always done it, but I sit and I watch people like going about their day to day life like, okay, do those, does she have to keep pulling up her jeans every two seconds while she's walking? Um, what's, what could be better about that, right? Um, how do people actually use and where the things in the world that they use and where, like how do people really do use AirPods for example versus how the commercial tells us we should use them. Right. And I know one thing like AirPods are not really good for working out for most people. Right. And so those fitness videos, I understand where they're going. That's how they got me to buy it

Speaker 3: 30:22

fall off

Speaker 1: 30:22

all the time. All the time. Right. But like how I see people using them a lot is on calls. Right. And in on calls and not in motion, just actually like in a enclosed environment like this where they can move around a little bit, but they don't have to worry about not being able to hear what's going on around them. And also the AirPods falling out because there's a big disc distance between here and here and when you're walking with the AirPods and trying to talk, it's annoying when you're outside like in the elements, especially if you live in the city, it's annoying. All right. And so just really being able to observe that like with people and do they use one versus two? Like what do they normally do with themselves? How do they normally like utilize their products? Yeah.

Speaker 3: 31:03

Now there was one um, element, one thing that you said in the book that I was like, Oh, it's so good because when most, a lot of times when companies are creating photos for their products, they're imagining how do we take great photos of the product and make it look good. Right. That's what they're thinking through their mind. In the book you had a statement where you were like, great images help customers solve problems. And I was like, Oh I love that. Like I highlighted it and I was like, I'm gonna print that out and keep it on my desk. Cause I was like, it really is a key that it isn't when you're, when a lot of times people are taking photos of their products to put on the internet, they're thinking about how do we make it look good? Yeah. And you were like, no, it needs to be able to resonate with a person. Yes. That this will solve a problem in their life. And I love that. So I mean, can you add anything to that?

Speaker 1: 31:58

We're like a hyper like problem solving culture now, right? And so we want everything to solve our problem. We want our Allbirds to solve our problems. We want our, I, we want to have permanent long eyelashes so we don't have to use mascara. Right? And so you have to think about like our brand, you know, like all this stuff that I'm talking about, right? We want our, our lives. I think this is just part of like the evolution of humanity is that our lives are going to be to make our lives problem-free right? And to make ourselves beautiful to the point of where we've evolved fully as humans. Right? And so if you're a brand, you're trying to like help someone better there, you know you made a product because it solves a problem. Have to really show that in the images in the video, which means that you're really creating a narrative, right? Woman comes home and Oh husband didn't take out the trash. Right. What's your, what is the product? Is it like a deodorizer or something? Well, you know, it automatically, luckily, fortunately I'm, I'm making up an infomercial on my head. Fortunately, you know, they, I, because I use this like natural air, natural organic, vegan air freshener that you just plug into the wall and it just, you know, or maybe it's like a powerless or something and I don't smell the fish we ate last night. I don't know. I mean it, and you create that narrative of like, what does it feel like to come home to a smelly house? Right? And so that's a great actress, right? Or great model walking into the door and Oh God, this is awful. The before picture, the before video. Oh this is awful. You know, then you have the second version where the problem is solved. She comes in and, and it's all, this is a really haphazard example, but it's all fresh and it's all clean, you know, and yeah. Um, so we're just through the create. The point is to create the narrative of what your problem, what's your product, the problem your product is solving. Um, and you have to do that through photos, through videos. You have to keep iterating, reiterating that like, uh, uh, one of the call, one of my clients does this very well. Truman, you know, Truman cleaning, I don't know. They're um, an all natural, uh, like plastic, like almost plastic free, um, cleaning product and they send you these VI like concentrates, cleaning, concentrates. There are organic, uh, nontoxic. You put it in a water bottle that they send you. They send you four water bottles, one for, uh, I think your floor, your kitchen, your bathroom and your mirrors. And then they send you a four vials. Uh, cons of concentrate. You put the vial, um, in the, in the, uh, in the bigger bottle and the bigger bottle of spray bottle and the concentration saturates the water, so dilutes in the water and then you can use it. And then, um, you keep the bottles, right, the plastic bottles and then they send you the refills and the refills come in like a little box. It's like this big, it's really great because you know, it's like no waste almost. Right. And all you're wasting is like the little tube plastics and they're recyclable. Um, and it's really, you know, revolutionary in the sense that well, you're not using toxic products. It's less plastic. Right. Uh, and so I've created a lot of content for them like this past year and every time it's the same thing. Like, Oh, you know, it's just the different versions of the same thing of like cleaning your house had not worrying about toxic products in your house. Right. Not worrying about so much waste. Like we went through a process earlier this year where we got rid of all excess plastic and we, we got rid of it not only for like our health because like, you know, those plastic Tupperware things that you, you know, you eat out of you putting a microwave and stuff. So we wanted to get rid of all that stuff. And then that's when Truman kind of came into my life is around the same time. It's like serendipity. And I was like, Oh yeah, I totally understand this. Because every time I buy some, like when windshield wiper, uh, like Windex or whatever, I throw away the whole plastic bottle and then I go buy another plastic bottle and I don't even know what's in this stuff. You know? It's like Adam, terrible, right? I'm cleaning everything. And then there's our houses, like smells like fumes, you know? And so this is like a natural way of solving that problem. And I don't feel bad about it and it doesn't smell bad, you know? And so every time I create content for them, it's basically the same thing. I'm living a better, cleaner, happier lifestyle. And that solves a problem of like, uh, plastics, you know, eating all the news that's out about like eating how we consume plastic and the impact of plastic in our daily lives. It's fantastic advice. You know, what, what are your thoughts when it comes to consumer generated media or you know, getting celebrities to hold a product? Um, I know you have some thoughts on that. What would, uh, what do you think? So I've had a lot of clients come to me and say, well, if you can just help me get this one, you know, influencer, it has a million followers or this one celebrity, I heard that you know, this person and can you get them to like hold my product and take a picture and then I'll, that it'll be made, my life will be made, my business will be made, it will be so successful. And it doesn't work that way. So if you're at home and you're thinking, Oh, if I could just get so and so and so and so to hold my product on her Instagram and then I'll never have a problem in the world, that's not true. You still have to sell. You still have to make content for your own feed or have content made for your own feed. You still have to run ads, you still have to create content and get a newsletter, go all of this stuff. You still have to do all the things. Um, it's not, there's no, there's no trick right to it. There's no one person on one celebrity, uh, one influencer that can hold your product as far as user generated content. I think that's fantastic. I think it's the most authentic, um, in terms of, you know, showing people that use your product and in influencers that use your products. Right. I think that is the most impactful thing. You can do. The, I think there's some like brand safety and brand control that you have to do around that. Um, because you know, consumer that uses your product and then poses on it and pulses a derogatory, you know, caption or something. There's all those kinds of things that you have to think about and consider. But I think like a feed, like a lot of beauty brands do this very well. They use their, their customers, um, photos and they ask, Hey, can we, if we tag you in this or maybe we'll pay you but we'll buy the content from you. Um, I think that's very powerful, especially if you can do before and afters, you know, especially if it's a product that can, allows you to do before and afters. I think it's very impactful. We've seen before and after it's worked very well because they're able to at least, you know, show the story of, um, how the product works and then people to see this is, you know, in a split second what, uh, what can happen or what the value of the product can be from, um, you know, do you use the same photos for e-commerce that you use for social media or do you create different content for both? Um, different content for both. Okay. Um, I have seen a few, I think it's been awhile, a few years ago maybe where brands have been successful. I use in customer or not customer content, but you know, uh, Instagram content on their eCommerce site. But, um, in terms of like the product slot, you know, that product photo slot, but it looks really janky and as we kind of go upstream and get more sophisticated with content in the eCommerce space and on the social media space, I think it's very important to make content for separate channels. Um, I think we're gonna just see, be able to tell the difference between a legit brand and somebody that just threw some stuff up on somewhere. Um, you know, more and more as we go. I'm thinking the customers just getting more and more educated and as I think like, you know, that uh, street photography that is not in continuity with your brand, you know, using that Instagram photo as your eCommerce photo is going to be out of style very soon for sure. You know, it's, it's, it's interesting because there is that real, that kind of foundational component of people want consistency with a website where it's like, we want to be able to look and operate on a store like a store, but we want something else that shows that our, that's our imagination run wild where we can see how it impacts us, see how it works, see how our lives might be improved from it. You know, it's just like, sorry to interrupt you. I was gonna say it's just like a, you know, fashion, right? So like we could talk about like, you know, con home consumer goods and stuff, but like, and how that solves a problem, you know, the before and after and it's kind of a no brainer. Like you think about, you know, having an Alexa or something in your house and how that solves problems, right? But with fashion, you know, people think, well, how is that solving a problem? How is another dress solving a problem? Well, it's all about your aspirations, right? And it's an emotional neurological trigger of like we're how you see yourself or how you want to see yourself in the world. And so we have a, uh, as a culture and obsession with that. Right? And so when you go on fashion over Boohoo or any of these dress sites, right, and do you see the women and they look really glamorous, right? And their boss paving it, but they're also wearing their mini dress in their eyelashes and all their other stuff. And what does that message, why is that resonating with our culture so much to the point that they're selling millions a month? Right? And, and so I think that it's like a neurological trigger about like how we want to be in the world. And so if you're trying to sell clothes, you have to think about that your audience is not just selling some warm fuzzy socks. It's really targeting like how that person that's going to wear your socks, how they see themselves, what problem are you solving for them and, or what fantasy are you creating or helping them believe in. Right. Further invest in. Cause that's also part of it.

Speaker 3: 41:48

Oh, I love it. I love it. It's such wonderful advice. You know, as we kind of come to a close here, uh, for this podcast, is there any final piece of advice you would give to other business owners in regards to creating amazing content that's going to help their product sell better?

Speaker 1: 42:05

Yes. Um, you need a process, right? Um, a process because day one, you know, you're going to get excited about it, right? I think I talk about this in my book too. You're going to excited about them. Get my friend to model for me. I'm going to get home. I'm going to take pictures of my iPhone and I'm going to do all these things right and I'm going to do it all myself. It's a job. It's a full time job. By the end of the week F creating content, you're going to be exhausted and burnt out and it's no longer fun because your attention is being diverted from something else that you could be doing. Like reaching out to new customers, finding new customers, buying new inventory, right? Buying new inventory of whatever products you're trying to sell is a job within itself. There's like someone else in a bigger company that does that or multiple people that do that. So if you're trying to do everything yourself from day one, you're going to burn out very fast. So coming up, having someone help you come up with a content strategy that's going to give you a runway, not just like every week you're running into a wall on Sunday night like crap, I have no content for next week and I got to keep my feeds going. Um, someone to run your feeds, right? Like doing it all yourself. Like Instagram, Facebook, Snapchat, you know, ads, this, that, like all of it. You can't, you're going to drive yourself crazy. And I think that is the biggest part of like the burnout with a lot of entrepreneurs that actually have good ideas and they actually have a lot of potential and you know, get some traction in the beginning is that they're on that adrenaline. They're on coffee and adrenaline the first week, the first month, and then they're like, I don't know what happened. I was doing so well and then everything just fell apart because you're, you're, you can't do it all yourself. And the, the, the struggle or the balance is in finding the money a lot of times with a lot of entrepreneurs and the time, you know, freeing up your time, but you have to have money to do. Right. And so you got to have people that, you know, you can work with, you have to find solutions. That's what entrepreneurship is really about. Whether you're in the eCommerce space or any space, it is really just being a problem solver. And so if you don't have any problems, you're not an entrepreneur because you're going to have problems. That is, if you don't like problems, then you need to get off the game. It's not a real place for you. Yeah. But get a content partner where around. I was model my product, model.com and Instagram at my product model. Um, and we can definitely help you out.

Speaker 3: 44:28

I love it. I love it. Thank you so much for being here. For all the listeners. Get good content. Start creating, you know, amazing content. Don't be a bad baddies[inaudible]. I want to see where I fit into. I said, well, that's it. So thank you so much for being here. It's wonderful. Please check out our website and we will catch you guys on the next episode.

Speaker 2: 44:50

Thank you for listening to the Duke of digital podcast with Brian Mitt. Want to network with other business owners. Join our exclusive group at facebook.com/groups/duke of digital fancy the Duke. Leave a five star review on your favorite podcast app and you can be mentioned on the show. The Duke of digital was produced by advertisement and recorded in Hollywood, California. All rights reserved.