Give Your Brand A Face – Docu-style Videos and How They Benefit Your Brand

Take The Documentary Approach to Humanize Your Brand

Strengthening your brand’s videos is a big deal—especially if you hope to put your best foot forward and outdo the competition. So here’s a piece of advice I picked up from marketing 101: give your brand a face.

What I mean by that is include people in your brand videos (especially yourself). It’s an effective way to humanize your business and studies back this up. It’s been reported that ads with faces gain 11 times more engagement than ads that don’t.

When you (and your employees) interact with your audience through video, you build a deeper connection with them. You establish a deeper sense of trust and authenticity in their eyes.

Example of a Documentary Style Video… Give Your Brand a Face!

How can you apply this in your branded content? One of my favorite ways to accomplish this is through documentary style videos that introduce you on-screen as the owner of your business. In fact, docu-style content happens to be a specialty of mine!

When clients request this kind of video from me, I sit with them and ask them questions about their origin story, their values, and other aspects of their brand’s story. I like that these answers can be woven into brand overview videos, adding another layer.

Video footage of Tabrizi Productions client: Kim Scott, author of Radical Candor and Just Work: Get Shit Done Fast and Fair

As former Fortune 500 executive and business coach James A. Autry wisely puts it: “There is no business, there are only people. Business exists only among people and for people.

Why let me interview you instead of reading off a pre-planned script?

Some brand owners come to me requesting a pre-planned script, but there are a few reasons I tend to suggest starting with an outline and then expanding into conversational interviews instead.

Most importantly, scripted lines can be hard to remember and can come off a bit stiff (often, we don’t write in the same conversational way we speak). However, when I sit down with owners and ask them questions about their business, it comes off much more naturally. As my conversation with my client continues, they forget about the camera and grow more comfortable. That’s when the information really starts to flow. Some of the best footage I record comes from the last few minutes of those interviews.

Documentary style interview with Candice of gaming startup Cat Duo

Interviews help me guide my clients in stepping beyond any PR-lingo. It’s natural to want to put your best foot forward, but your audience will tune out when they hear cliches like “Our brand is special because we are like a family” or “We pursue excellence in everything we do.” They’ve heard the statement so many times, it no longer carries much significance.

So instead, let’s explore how your brand excels and what that tangibly looks like. Let’s discuss what family looks like to you and how it connects to the atmosphere surrounding your brand. As we explore these ideas together, you’ll also get to view your own brand from a different angle and perspective. Sometimes the right question can get you considering your company, your business decisions, and your values in interesting new ways.

Ready to give your brand a face? Reach out and let’s start fleshing out your new video!

If you like what you’ve heard and you want to learn more about how to create video for Instagram, Facebook, Youtube, or TikTok then don't leave without signing up for my * newsletter * to gain more "quickie" video tips, course content and exclusive video coaching offers that will give you the confidence to do it on camera.

Covid-19 Safe Video Production

September 2019 was an exciting time for me,
I had just come out of a trip to Guatemala with a bunch of fellow Bosses, launched a rebrand on my birthday and was having my biggest year yet as a business. It was such an exhilarating time, I thought 2020 was going to be even better...

This year I spent the eave of my birthday looking out my window at the red sky of impending doom, wondering how my 36th birthday was going to go down. Since Shelter In Place, we had been improving our backyard for our family so that we had more to do at home. A play structure, pool and BBQ setup (thank you Craigslist), all in time to have an AQI of 200, which meant no outside fun. This birthday was looking pretty grim, which I’m sure ALL of you can relate. First the pandemic, now the whole state of CA is on fire. Could this world get any scarier??

Birthday plans may have been canceled but the outpour of love through phone calls, texts and gifts reminded me of all the people that love me. As sh!tty as this pandemic may be, I think being on lockdown has given us a greater appreciation for the people in our lives and we’re reverting back to the “olden days” when people would just pick up the phone to check in with friends or family. I may not have been able to physically see anyone, but I felt the love tenfold because of the extra effort people made to connect with me that day. 

With business slowed down and coming out of my maternity leave, I’ve had a lot of time to reflect on how I can help others right now. I’ve been working on some resources to help businesses and teachers during the pandemic and have compiled them on my website, Covid-19 Safe Production. Which is basically a compilation of zero-contact video remedies, ranging from animated video to remote video consulting. 

30 Minutes to Quality VIdeo

And what I’m most excited about is my new course, 30 Minutes to Quality Video: A comprehensive, to the point, no-frills course that will give you a leg up in any video you’re creating; whether it’s for your business, a Zoom call or a lesson plan. This course will break it down from preparing your content, lighting and sound using the technology that you have.

Take a moment to check out these resources, and let me know what you think! I’d love to get your feedback and know how I can help you. Shoot me back an email or schedule a call. We can all use a little face time, right? Work related or not. What have you been up to? What’s new on your Netflix queue? What music have you been listening too? 

---

I just binged The Last Dance, the Michael Jordan series on Netflix.
Super Inspiring! Check out the soundtrack for some major throwback moments.

If you read to the end of this, I hope you found some useful info or at the very least a new show to watch :)

Stay Safe and Be Well,

Farran

Introducing Ace Falcon (left) born July 9th.
One amazing thing that happened to me in 2020. 

Action is the Antidote to Fear

“Action is the antidote to fear.”

— Marie Forleo

Are you afraid of getting in front of the camera but know it’s the best move for your business. Or maybe you’ve been playing around with FB and IG Lives and want to figure out how to gain more traction from them. I’m going to get real with you, you don’t have to be a pro to make good video content. Sure, there’s a time and place to hire a professional, like your website homepage, ads or product demos. But technology today has made the tools for video creation more and more accessible. So let’s embrace it.

When the pandemic hit a few months back it became more and more clear that there was a need to help people improve their video presence. I realized this could be done with some simple planning and tweaks with the equipment you already have at home when used properly. I created a couple casual videos to improve your presence when video conferencing, then a friend suggested I create a course that covers ALL of the basics (thank you Lia Pinelli). Then💡 DING!

I’m here today to tell you that the course is LIVE. It was crucial for me to get it out ASAP during the pandemic, but the more I got into it, the more I realized that this is a new direction for video. DIY (do it yourself) and I think it's here to stay. Video needs consistent build up, it needs to grow beyond 1-2 great high-production videos a year. With the influx of content on social media, that 1 video will get buried quickly. You need to create content on a more regular basis to grab people's attention, drive them to your site and act NOW. It’s also an incredible way for your audience to get to know you (the brains behind your biz).

What's covered:

• Preparing your content

• Choosing a platform

• Setting up your tech
  (everything from which camera to use, setting up your backdrop, lighting, audio and more)

• Getting camera ready

So here it is:

30 Minutes to Quality Video.
It covers all of the basics and is delivered in an engaging video format. PLUS, each module is accompanied with a worksheet to help you put the course into action today.  If you already have a computer or a phone, you’re already half-way there!

All this for only $97 

And once you’re in, you’re in. I will keep you in the know with any course updates and materials we create along the way. PLUS, since you’re already an email subscriber, I will include a 30 minute video consult after completion of the course to answer any questions and help you optimize your setup.

So let me break this down once more and talk investment. Video production packages with Tabrizi Productions usually start around $2500. Ease into video for your business with this course at only $97. And if you need help with editing and branding your videos, there are à la carte services that I can offer you with along the way.

Are you ready to make the investment in yourself and create video content people actually want to watch?

If I haven’t convinced you enough, let me leave you with this quick case study that happened during the creation of this course:

OB Hospitalist Group wanted to create a video tool for their sales team to use since they were no longer able to travel to clients and meet in-person. They didn’t want their leads, prior to Covid-19, to dry up. So they called me! They wrote a script, I recommended a light and microphone for them to purchase (under $100), we selected a location in their home to shoot, and voila! The video turned out great! Then they handed it over to me for some final editing, branding and stock footage to make it look even more polished and professional. The process was seamless.

So quit being afraid of that camera and take action today!

The World Has Punched Us In The Face 😳

“The world has punched us in the face and yet it also needs our help.”

- Mike Michalowicz

WHOA! Right? I’ve spent the past 3 days hanging out with fellow bosses (virtually) at the Being Boss Conference and today’s keynote was Mike Michalowicz, author of Profit First and Clockwork. He said this twice today and I was like 🤯. With small businesses making 90% of the market, it is imperative that we do what we can and work together to come up on the right side when all of this is over.

From toilet paper shortages, to quarantine, from work from home schedules, to countless virtual happy hours, the past few weeks have given me a lot of time to reflect on my business and how I can help all of you. So I’ve put together some videos and information that you can start utilizing today!

Content Without A Camera
There has been a huge spike in social media usage during quarantine; now is NOT the time to slow down your Instagram presence! And as we all know, video is some of the most effective content you can post, as it’s eye catching and has a high retention rate. I’ve put together a quick video that shows you what can be done without ever leaving the house.

Conferencing With Class
How many video conference calls have you been on and you can’t see the other person’s face or can’t hear them? I put together 2 quick (and fun) videos that show you how to properly setup your webcam so you can ‘Conference with Class’. These tips also work great if you’re conducting FB Lives or IG Stories for your business.

Quick Tip

Are you training folks on using new systems to help with remote productivity?
Try using video screen capture!
If you’re trying to teach coworkers a new function within Asana, Slack, Zoom, etc. Instead of a time-consuming training or multiple conference calls, take a screen capture video demoing it with narration.

- If you’re on a Mac, video screen capture is really easy in Quicktime. 

- If you’re using a PC, Android or iPad, here’s several options worth looking at.

Now you have documentation that can be shared with others, saving time indefinitely!

Stay Safe and Be Well Friends ❤️

The New Tabrizi Productions

Alright, this is going to get a little

personal, but it’s my birthday so I

can cry if I want to… right?

But don’t worry, there’s a happy

ending so read on...

I want to tell you all a little story about the last 9 months, and NO the big reveal is not that I’m about to have a baby. Although much of this started when I first got pregnant with Axl in 2017. For the past few years, I had been solely running my business, Tabrizi Productions, and it was a struggle. I didn’t fully know what I was doing. Yes, I had the skills to make videos and connect with my clients, but as far as growing a viable business... I was pretty clueless.  Things were more or less moving in the right direction, but at a slow pace that wasn’t sustainable for my Bay Area lifestyle. I got into debt. A LOT OF IT. Things were looking pretty bleak. I even considered throwing in the cards and settling for another job where I could, at the very least, make debt payments and have a steady paycheck again. Where life would be, well, more predictable. But was that enough for me???

In September 2017 (almost exactly 2 years ago to this date) I got pregnant. Business had been moving along, debt was disappearing at a sloth-like pace, but now I had the biggest responsibility of all looming ahead of me. I was about to be a mother!! A parent!! Another human being was about to start relying on me. Something had to change. Something about having this tiny human growing inside me triggered me to become more disciplined and focused with my work. And that was the first year I really started to see the benefits. Business started rolling in on the regular. I was able to invest in some marketing. Things were starting to really pay off. And by pay off, I mean pay off my debt. I wasn’t fully able to enjoy the fruits of my labor just yet. I wasn’t able to save money or re-invest in my business. I was still living paycheck to paycheck, more or less. Thank goodness for my husband Ashton’s emotional and financial support or I would have never been able to pull any of this off as quickly as I did. 

And with business finally feeling legitimate, our son, Axl, arrived. There was a huge adjustment period of finding a work-life-mother balance while also trying to maintain who I AM as a person—and at first, I wasn’t all that successful. I gained a lot of extra weight and felt unmotivated to fix that. Business was moving along, but my portfolio of clients was limited. I was in constant fear that with one client pulling out would mean the end for Tabrizi Productions. Something had to change, and it needed to be bigger than a workout, a cold-call or a new diet. That change was in mindset. And this is where I want to get into the last 9 months.

Earlier this year, I got to know Lia Pinelli. She’s a weight loss and life coach, but more importantly she's grown her business successfully while simultaneously balancing  motherhood and a job in education (like a badass)...I was skeptical of the term “coach,” but she inspired me to give it a go. 

If you’ve seen me lately, you probably noticed I’ve shed some weight (25 pounds to be exact) and, WHOA, I’ve been through a total mind-fuck, but in a GOOD way. You see, working with Lia didn’t only teach me tricks on food and intermittent fasting, but she opened me up to transform into the person I WANT TO BE. What’s more, she showed me I have total control over achieving that. Lia also introduced me to a fantastic podcast called “Being Boss.”  Listening to that first episode on a long drive home from visiting family, my brain felt like it had been cracked open to a whole world I hadn’t previously realized existed. In this world, creative entrepreneurs (just like me!) were going through the same struggles. Needless to say, I was hooked. I still am. I started listening to at least one of their episodes a day, and still do!

I met with the fabulous ladies behind Being Boss and a dozen more badass women on a trip to Guatemala. I started buying business books, and scheduling accountability calls with my real estate girlfriend Jennifer Dean to discuss new ideas and insights. Most importantly, I started Doing The Work. Where was all of this 5 years ago, when I first branched out to do my own thing??  In fact, it had been there all along—only I hadn’t been open to it yet. 

So where am I today?  I may be 25 pounds lighter physically, but I’m 50 pounds heavier in knowledge, curiosity and so much expectation for the future. I’m waking up early every morning to read and taking an hour in the middle of my day to go workout. I’ve never felt more focused on the business I’m building for my family’s future.  And most importantly, I really like who I’m becoming. 

And that leads me to my big reveal. A part of this process was realizing that my business was my brand. And when you choose Tabrizi Productions, you’re choosing to work with Farran Tabrizi. Before, that wasn’t the focus of my brand. So after much debate and a not so successful DIY attempt, I enlisted top-notch branding team Curious & Co. to help me revamp my brand. I am now revealing the new brand for Tabrizi Productions. I’m still producing awesome video content—but I want to help fellow baddasses who are ready to grow their business by taking that next step of investing in themselves by telling their stories through video (#videostorytellers). This new brand is much more than just a sexy website with a kick-ass logo (though those are delightful bonuses). This new brand reflects my personal growth over the last 35 years and embraces my story.

So without further ado, allow me to share with you one exciting byproduct of my inner transformation...

www.tabriziproductions.com