The Role of Visual Storytelling in Business: A Conversation with Shawn Shepard

Dr. Lisa:
Hello everyone and welcome back to season two of Biz Over Tea. I’m Dr. Lisa and today with me I have the fabulous Shawn Shepard who is my brand photographer, and we are going to talk about visual storytelling, what that says about your brand, and how you can control the story that your images tell. Shawn, thank you for being here. 

Shawn:
Thank you.

Dr. Lisa:
Please tell us a little bit about yourself.

Shawn:
you. Yes, thank you for having me. My name is Shawn. I’m the owner of Triple S Shots of Photography. We’re based out of Atlanta, but I tell everybody I have a passport, so hey Paris.

Dr. Lisa:
Okay.

Shawn:
So I’m originally from Savannah, Georgia. I grew up in a military home. And my dad always had a camera on him and it kind of just rubbed off on me. And I picked up a camera one day and was like, Hey, pretty good at this. In 2020 I pivoted my company from weddings and families to weddings and businesses and brands.

Dr. Lisa:
Mm-hmm.

Shawn:
And, uh, that’s how I got to where I am now and how I met Dr. Lisa.

Dr. Lisa:
And I am so happy about that because you have, I know that we talk about the changes that take place. When I started being dedicated to having a photographer, come hell or high water.

Shawn:
Mm-hmm. Thank you.

Dr. Lisa:
But it really is thinking about yourself whether you’re a personal brand or building a business brand, the images that you see of yourself. not to mention the images that your audience sees of you, really dictate who you are to your public. And that in turn gives you the confidence to keep going.

Shawn:
Yes, indeed.

Dr. Lisa:
So let’s talk about this visual storytelling and the visual narrative. What is, let’s define it first, what is visual storytelling in the context of actual brand photography?

Shawn:
Okay.

Shawn:
Yes, so it’s so funny that you asked that question because the term visual story, visual narrative, as a photographer who is self-taught, who’s been in the industry for a while, these are fairly newer terms, right?

We might have heard them outside of photography in like theater or television, graphics and magazines, but now that everybody…has a brand, is a brand, uses the word brand.
So, I’m gonna go ahead and start with the first one. The visual story is really what you want your audience to visually see that’s going to tell the most about who you are, what you stand for, what do you sell, what are you about, your morals and your values. And it’s us taking the physical visuals of that and conveying that in the best possible way. to whomever your audience is.

Dr. Lisa:
That was incredibly clear. Good job.

Shawn:
Thank you!

Dr. Lisa:
And with that perception of your brand that’s driven by your images, what kind of elements should we be thinking about when we decide what our story is gonna be?

Shawn:
Wow, that’s a really great question. And the key word that you just said was the word perception. It’s all a perception. And if I could just say one thing before I jump into that is that a lot of people get caught up with like, oh, I don’t wanna seem one way or I don’t wanna seem another way, cause that’s not me. And who you are and who your brand is, don’t always align. right? Sometimes you might be a laid-back person, a tomboy if you will, but your brand is exuding professionalism and next level and elevation and those two things don’t necessarily exist in the same space, right? So tell me the question again.

Dr. Lisa:
Not a problem. What elements should you be considering when you’re creating your brand story?

Shawn:
So the elements is I always like to take the start back and work your way back. So look at the future. What is it that you want people to take away from you? What is it the feeling that you want them to have when they work with you or when they’ve seen your logo, when they’ve seen your photos? Like what is the end result?

And then work your way back from that. So that’s looking at everything from your outfits that you wear in your photo. to the scenes that you decide to take video or photos in, to even down to the wording and the font that you use in your text, in your logo, in your emails, anything that a consumer could possibly look at, you want to consider those things.

And most people, we’re not gonna think about, what type of font should I be using on my website, color scheme should I be wearing in my photo shoot. But all of these things play a major key role because a lot of it is psychology.

A lot of it has to do with what goes on in the mind. And you don’t necessarily have to be a psychologist in order to win in the visual story and game. But you do want to be familiar with what does red mean to most people in America because we know culturally different colors mean different things too.

Or we may not know that. Different colors, different fonts, different hand gestures, different things mean different things for different people in different cultures. So yeah, all of those things. But I mean, if you’re looking at it, it’s a factor that can be manipulated in a way that’s gonna best represent you as a brand.

Dr. Lisa:
Mm-hmm.

Dr. Lisa:
And I like that you said that if you’re looking at it, it matters.

Shawn:
Yeah. Ha ha ha.

Dr. Lisa:
Because really you might think that, I remember I read somewhere before we got together that think about what state your shoes are in when you’re going to a brand shoot.

Shawn:
Mm-hmm.

Dr. Lisa:
And I’m gonna tell on myself here now. So I haven’t worn heels in years of various issues with my back and my legs.

Shawn:
Right.

Dr. Lisa:
And so I’ve got, you know, tons of shoes that I, you know, wore through college and, you know, early professional. They’re not hot anymore. And, you know, sitting in my closet is, you know, not the best place for them.

Shawn:
Mm-hmm.

Dr. Lisa:
So, you know, you got to think about, well, what, how is that going to look if, A, if you’re in pain? B, if the state of the shoe is not great, you know, that’s all part, you can see how you feel in your face. I mean, as, you know, that’s, unless you’re a really good actor, in which case, you know, go with that.

Shawn:
Yes.

Shawn:
I’m sorry.

Dr. Lisa:
But, you know, if you’re looking at it, it matters.

Shawn:
Yes.

Dr. Lisa:
And so, how can we take those factors and then shape our brand perception? How do we create the actual story we want?

Shawn:
Yes, so a lot of it is planning and strategizing. I like to build a vision board. And that’s where you take the time to, first you have to have an honest conversation on who you wanna be as a brand, who you are. who you want to be and who you really are, right?

So a lot of times when I first started, I wanted to be this light and airy. photographer. I think my brand colors were like green of all things because it reminded me of nature and I had leaves and it was it was the whole thing right

Dr. Lisa:
Mm-hmm.

Shawn:
That’s what I saw other photographers who were successful that’s what I saw them doing but me as a person and the way that I shoot and the way that I edit I have a lot of bright colors very saturated a lot of blacks you know I’m just a vibrant colorful person in general and I chose for my brand to also be along with my personality. You don’t always have to choose that, but I made that conscious decision that I am my brand, and therefore if it comes naturally to me if it’s something that I naturally want and I’m also a pretty fun outgoing person.

Dr. Lisa:
I’m gonna say yes to that.

Shawn:
What? You know, I’m the person that’s always dancing, when the music’s on. I’m grabbing other people to come to the dance floor. I love to laugh. I grew up in a family where we’re just loud and we laugh and all these things, right? And so that’s the kind of experience I want my customers to have when they’re with me and that’s what I want them to walk away with. So when they come to my website, they see Shout out to my new website, which was built, okay, by Dr. Lisa. Can we come back to that? Okay.

Dr. Lisa:
Hehehehe

Shawn:
We’ll come back to that shameless plug. Dr. Lisa hooked me up. Anyway.

Dr. Lisa:
You’re welcome.

Shawn:
Well, when you come to my website, you see. My main colors now are pink, orange, yellow, bright purple, blue. You see people with big smiles on their faces, and backdrops that are just colorful. And so I’m always thinking about what experience do I want people to have?

You might be a person that wants a subdued, peaceful experience for your clientele. You want them to come in your strength, your confidence. You know, that might be the thing that you want people to feel and experience when they are working with you or when they’re on something that you are associated with.

And so I think about those type of things like, okay… When a person comes to my website, what do I want them to feel when they’re there and when they leave? What do I want them to say to other folks? And sometimes that does require a professional opinion because, look, I ain’t gonna say my website was bad before, but it wasn’t this good!

Dr. Lisa:
Hehehehe

Shawn:
You gotta work with what you got, right? We all gotta start somewhere. And let’s just say. Ha ha ha.

Dr. Lisa:
You started and now you stepped up, you stepped forward.

Shawn:
I stepped up. Yeah, so you got to start somewhere but when you’re starting I work with a lot of people that want you to tell them who they are as a brand and we just can’t do that. You know, as a supporter of other businesses, when you’re in a business of supporting other business, you have to draw that line of saying, like, look, I can’t make that decision for you, but I can help cultivate so that you can get to where you need to go. Where you want to be. I hope that answered your question. Okay.

Dr. Lisa:
That was very good. I mean, it’s important to understand who you are when you’re creating your brand so that you know what you wanna communicate. And sometimes, yes, it is easier for some folks than others when they’ve kind of really aligned with their brand with who they are.

Shawn:
Mm-hmm.

Dr. Lisa:
When your brand is not necessarily who you are as a person, then there can be a little bit more disconnect. I’m sure about that.

Shawn:
Absolutely. And

Dr. Lisa:
Mm-hmm.

Shawn:
So that’s where it matters to have your company culture, your company vision, something that’s going to constantly bring you back to, you know, who you are. And you know, nobody’s perfect. We see major corporations try new things all the time, right?

Dr. Lisa:
Mm-hmm, and they get it wrong, almost as much as we do.

Shawn:
And they don’t

Shawn:
Yeah, I recently just saw Gatorade try some like really sexualized sort of advertisement and I was like, Gatorade’s for athletes. What are we doing?

Dr. Lisa:
Exactly.

Shawn:
Neither here nor there, but everybody tries something different at some point in time and that’s okay,

Dr. Lisa:
Mm-hmm.

Shawn:
but you still have to know who you are at the core.

Dr. Lisa:
Absolutely. All right, so we’ve talked a lot about mainly personal brands and individuals as brands. What role does the visual narrative play when you’re building a company or a, not necessarily a corporation, but a larger entity, a company that’s more than just yourself?

Shawn:
Yes, so when there’s a company that’s larger than yourself, it helps sets the tone across the board for all departments really, because it’s again going back to that company culture.

And the reason why culture is important is because every day as a company, you’re going to be faced with decisions and circumstances that they don’t necessarily train you for.
But if you have a base to start with, then you know what to fall back on. And so let’s take an example of advertisement, right? So as a corporation, when you’re creating your visual story through ads through events, through PR, different things like that.

We live in an internet age where at any given moment something controversial could be thrown at you, right? And as companies, we have to decide how we’re going to respond to them, if we’re going to jump on that bandwagon, if we’re going to change whatever our… thing is or if it’s in alignment to what we already have going.

And so having that common core ideal of like this is what we sound like, this is what we feel like, this is what we look like, can help you make better decisions as a whole corporation to say okay we’re going to jump on this trend and we’re going to use it to the fullest or we’re going to kind of stay away from that because that has nothing to do with us.

Dr. Lisa:
Mm-hmm.

Shawn:
me and think that I would only be able to help them with their social media or with their advertisement with their marketing but it goes so far deeper than that when you’re taking a client out right because you’re trying to get their business.

Are you taking them to the strip club? Are you taking them to Chuck E. Cheese with their family? You got to understand who you’re with the theme of or who you are as a company, right? The visual aspects of what does this look like to them.

So it goes deeper than just what we put up on advertisements. It also goes down to like, how are we hosting events? How are we, what type of conferences are we putting on as a corporation? What type of retreat?

What are we doing for our employees on a day-to-day basis? Do we want them to wear uniforms? Do we want them to dress casually? These are all the optics that come into play from a corporation standpoint that matter because when you’re larger, that means you have less control over what’s happening in your company, right?

So if you can’t… visually see what everybody is doing, you have to set the standards so that you can trust, hopefully, that they’re gonna stay within that standard.

Dr. Lisa:
Mm-hmm.

Shawn:
And that’s what visual storytelling, it contributes to all of those things. It’s not just, okay, we gotta put this ad in this magazine and it has to look a certain way, or we have to have a photo shoot, or even down to what you’re doing, Dr. Lisa, with these interviews, like, with this podcast, it’s a beautiful thing, but even you’re looking at the optics, who are you interviewing?

What topics are you covering, right? Even down to the software that you’re using, it all matters. Now, am I gonna advise people on all those different things? No, but I can definitely help people create this, either create what your visual story will be or help push what you already have in place.

Dr. Lisa:
Mm-hmm.

Shawn:
Help solidify even more what you already have in place. And that’s tendency what I, usually if you’ve made corporate status, you’ve already figured out. Hopefully, who you are as a brand,

Dr. Lisa:
Hehehe…Hopefully.

Shawn:
what you want to visually look at and feel like. And it’s just up to somebody like me to come in and just support that and maybe even elevate it to the next level.

Dr. Lisa:
Got you. So now as you say that, because we do hope that by the time you reach corporate level that you’ve got it, that you’ve got your brand. Of course, there are corporate brands that started out as one person operations. And maybe that one person, the brand that you started out with isn’t the brand that you grow into.

Shawn:
Mm-hmm.

Dr. Lisa:
So what would you suggest in terms of if you’ve got to change, either change your original brand or refine it so that you differentiate yourself in a market that happens to be crowded?

Shawn:
That’s a good question. My knee jerk reaction is complete overhaul. Overhaul.

Dr. Lisa:
[laughing]

Shawn:
Overhaul everything. Get rid of everything. Start new. New colors, new this, new that. A whole, like, create a campaign, a full-on campaign, to let the world know that this is who we are. I think when you kinda tweak things, or if you’re kinda subtle, people don’t grasp that there’s a change.

Dr. Lisa:
Mm-hmm.

Shawn:
They might think it’s just a temporary thing. that you’re doing but when you create a massive overhaul and a change in your business and how you’re visually being seen I think that makes it the most effective to kind of jerk people out of what they’re used to so what does that mean that might mean having a full-on branding shoot where all new stylists, all new this, we’re going to places that you’ve never, you know, visually been before.

Dr. Lisa:
Mm-hmm.

Shawn:
If you’re, we’re going to the complete opposite or something that’s so totally different than what you’re used to portraying. We’re, we’re… type of wording that you’re using and we’re looking at who we can collaborate with that may be where you’re going, right, versus where you’ve been.

So I always think that people should just, if you’re wanting to really make a change in what your image is to your industry, you gotta go full out. You can’t change a flyer here, change a logo there, have a quick little headshot session here.

Yeah, I mean, you can, honestly, if that’s what your life has. you know, constraints that you have in your life. But if you can make a complete overhaul and change everything, that’s the most successful I’ve seen. I follow a couple of people, obviously, on Instagram, and there’s this one particular young lady who is a marketing specialist.

And when I tell you she overhauled everything about her brand all in one day, like she released the new website, she released new graphics on her Instagram, Like all these things were all launched all at the same time to the point that I don’t even remember what her old brand looked like. And she hasn’t stopped. So she’s consistent afterward to keep that same visual story going.

Dr. Lisa:
Mm-hmm.

Shawn:
So that’s my advice to anybody who wants to like change.

Dr. Lisa:
You know, and it’s funny you say that because I’ve seen that happen live also.

Shawn:
Mm-hmm.

Dr. Lisa:
And here’s my follow-up question.

Shawn:
Mm-hmm

Dr. Lisa:
When you have to make such a drastic change, visually, story-wise, both your verbal story and your visual story, what happens to… So I, okay, so… Having done it, I know what happens, but let’s tell the audience what happens to your old followers or your older clients when you have to make that kind of change.

Shawn:
OK.

Shawn:
So it depends. It depends if visually you’re just changing but you’re still the same at the core what you do for people or are we talking about what you do for people changes and visual changes?

Dr. Lisa:
Sometimes one or the other, a lot of times both.

Shawn:
Yeah. So, you run the risk of losing people, right? You run the risk of people that’s like, uh, I don’t know about all this. I didn’t sign up for this. You know, we all

Dr. Lisa:
We do.

Shawn:
have that one singer, Pink. Pink came out with the R&B album, her first album, and immediately

Dr. Lisa:
Mm-hmm.

Shawn:
after that, she went to rock and roll. And I, for one, was not with it.

Dr. Lisa:
[Laughing]

Shawn:
I wanted R&B pink all day. And when she decided to go to who she truly is, which is a rock star, no love lost, but I just wasn’t, I was no longer interested, right? In her as an artist.

And so our audience is the same way. If we decide to abruptly change or change, we’re gonna lose some people, right?

Dr. Lisa:
Mm-hmm.

Shawn:
But that’s okay. That’s okay. Because… It’s not a popularity contest.

Dr. Lisa:
Thank you.

Shawn:

Dr. Lisa:
Hehehehehehehehe

Shawn:
It’s not about every single person that’s ever supported you should be on this journey with you for foreverdom. That’s never that’s never the case. See in any ways even if you were to stay the same people jump ship all the time, right?

Dr. Lisa:
Mm-hmm.

Shawn:
You just have to know and have to trust that your tribe will find you your people will find you. some, they’re just making room for more and better that’s coming your way. So it can be disheartening at times when you make that switch and you’re like, yo where’s everybody at? Or you know I’m not getting the same response

Dr. Lisa:
Mm-hmm.

Shawn:
to my post or people are not you know spending you know on me as they were before but it’s just like that’s just a way for you know I believe in God. Sometimes that’s a way for God to clear the room so that

Dr. Lisa:
Mm-hmm.

Shawn:
more could come. You know that the old way of how you were doing things may not have been sustainable for the longevity of your business and

Dr. Lisa:
Mm-hmm.

Shawn:
therefore may have held you back and so it’s just part of growing pains really.

Dr. Lisa:
Fair enough. All right. We’ve talked about the brand perception, but you know I’m in marketing and operations, so we need to do the actual work.

Shawn:
Okay.

Dr. Lisa:
So what role does that visual storytelling, that visual narrative play in the overall content strategy for your business?

Shawn:
I would say… Can you ask that same question a little differently?

Dr. Lisa:
Say again?

Shawn:
Can you ask the same question differently? I’m not sure if I understand.

Dr. Lisa:
Sure. So what role do your images, and the actual visual storytelling play in the overall content strategy? So for example, when you do your brand shoot, when you get the images, what do you do with them? How does that drive the strategy that the ultimate goal of marketing, of course, is to bring business in? How do you use those images effectively?

Shawn:
Yes, that is a great question. So the session that we had together, what is that called?

Dr. Lisa:
We have our regular brand shoot.

Shawn:
No, no, the one that you did for me.

Dr. Lisa:
Oh, okay. So the Square One.

Shawn:
Square One, I didn’t wanna call it by the wrong name.

Dr. Lisa:
Yes.

Shawn:
Okay, so in the Square One session, we broke down what my ideal client is, we made a persona of her, gave her a name. And we talked about where she hangs out, what she does, her income, different things like that.

Dr. Lisa:
Mm-hmm.

Dr. Lisa:
Mm-hmm.

Shawn:
Then we broke down even more, like what are some of the pain points that my client would deal with, right? What are some of the topics that they’re researching to this day, right?

And we really broke down all this information the market and you know we looked at the optics of my website and the traffic that’s coming there we looked at different topics of like what am I talking about on my social media do I have a blog do I have a newsletter do I have all these things so we literally broke my business apart right outside of like taxes and accounting and stuff like that. We didn’t talk about that but we broke up my business in such small pieces, viable pieces and so I used that example because it gave me all the information I needed on how to use these visuals.

Dr. Lisa:
Mm-hmm.

Shawn:
I knew that okay this is the person that I’m talking to and this is what they’re looking for on the internet. So therefore, I need to create a brand shoot that’s going to create this exact visual so that when they go in to type in Google, when they’re looking on Instagram, TikTok, LinkedIn, I pop up and when they see it, they identify as this is something I need in my life, right?

I could not have had that had I not taken the time to really dissect what my business was, who I’m talking to, and different things. And so that’s how we use the visual story. We look at the client’s Story and we look at their experience through how we can help them from start A all the way to Point Z right?

Dr. Lisa:
Mm-hmm.

Shawn:
and so then from that information, that’s how you know. Okay. I’ve taken these photos. I’ve had this full-on marketing campaign I’ve created these reels but also I know what reels to create.

Dr. Lisa:
Mm-hmm.

Shawn:
And now I’m gonna put them in the place that my client is going to be able to find them the easiest way. And I think this is not what you asked me, but I’m going to the next question in my head, is, I think people just create visuals and they don’t know what to do with them.

Dr. Lisa:
Mm-hmm.

Dr. Lisa:
Okay.

Dr. Lisa:
Mm-hmm.

Shawn:
And so they just throw them out into the internet and they don’t get the results that they hoped to get or they don’t even know what results to look for, right? And then they feel like they did it wrong or that they wasted their time or that they didn’t get the right help from the right person, but a person can only help you as much as you can help yourself.

So… So yes, that’s how we use those visuals. We’re putting them out into spaces and places where we can speak to the person who we want to attract and thus get them to come and sit down and talk to us or buy our product or whatever. I’m sorry.

Dr. Lisa:
Well, yes, when you know what your strategy is or what you’re supposed to be doing with it, it’s easier to insert those images effectively. So, all right, so we are just over 30 minutes. So one more and then I want people to know how they can find you.

Shawn:
Okay.

Dr. Lisa:
All right. So. We just talked about where the images fit in the strategy.

Shawn:
Mm-hmm.

Dr. Lisa:
How do you measure the success or the effectiveness of those images?

Shawn:
Mm-hmm.

Dr. Lisa:
So how do you know it’s working apart from making more money?

Shawn:
Right, because like when you first get into business, it’s like, am I making more money? Am I making more money? That’s the only gauge you have for success, right? And I think it starts off when you have the whole definition of strategy is, or not the whole definition, but the whole, the way it works is you have to have a starting point.

You have to have an objective or goal. right, that you’re trying to accomplish. And you have to be really clear on what that is. And then you can create measurable things to determine if it’s being successful. But success, ultimately success can be measured in so many different ways.

It doesn’t necessarily mean does somebody buy your product. A lot of times as a new business, you just want people to be aware of who you are. that you even exist.

Dr. Lisa:
Thank you.

Shawn:
So that might mean, you know, looking at how many people are traveling to your website every month, every week, that might mean how many views are you getting on your Reels and your TikToks. It might mean how many people are commenting underneath your posts. It might mean how many, if you have a blog, it might mean how many people are responding to your blog.
So, you have to approach like, what do I want at this time.

A lot of times it’s awareness. I used to work for a company where this is before I did anything that I do now, but my boss would always say, if you get me in front of people, I know I can make a sale. I know that I can get the job. But he needed me to get him in front of people. So my success was how many bookings that I booked for the week, right? Not that we made a sale, that was his job.

Dr. Lisa:
Right.

Shawn:
So, how we measure success is basically we figure out what our objectives are to begin with and then we take the steps to say, okay, is it awareness? Is it getting people to sign up for your mailing list? Is it getting people to DM you a question? Is it getting people to share your post? How many shares do you want in your post?

And yes, it all goes down to the dollar bill. There are steps that we can achieve before we get to making the sale that make it a little less daunting If if your ultimate goal is just the sale you’ve missed so many other mile points mile maker points I don’t know. I’m trying to say

Dr. Lisa:
Hehehehe

Shawn:
There’s other goals that you have to hit to get there and that’s all part of the buying process, right? People have to the science behind it and people got to see your ad at least nine or seven times before they just they determine if they want to even work with you, and then they have to go to your website A number of times before they decide they want to make a sale.

And so there’s all these different points in between that get you to the sale. Well, we want to break those things down so that we can find success throughout the journey, right? Because the sale the sales journey is not linear.

Dr. Lisa:
Mm-hmm.

Shawn:
Sometimes you have to come back multiple times before they decide they want to do business with you and sometimes people skip over all those steps and they’re like here’s my money take it.

Dr. Lisa:
We like those people.

Shawn:
We love those people. Yeah, we absolutely love those people. But yeah, those are the different measurements of success that we can find along the way.

Dr. Lisa:
Well, Shawn, I know that you have an opportunity coming up for folks to get the images that they need so that they can apply a true strategy to telling their story and ultimately getting the dollars in the door. So tell us what’s coming up.

Shawn:
Yes. So what is coming up is called The Content Brunch. And this is going to be our second year doing the Content Brunch. Yes, last year was so successful, so amazing that we had to bring it back. I wanna actually point out the fact that a lot of photographers just wanna take photos and send you on your way.

But I have found it to be more fulfilling along their journey and to see people be successful along their journey. So I created the Content Brunch so that not only can you get a ridiculous amount of photos in one particular day, but you can also get support through the help of experts like a social media manager, a wardrobe stylist, and myself, so that you’re walking into the Content Brunch with a plan and with action plan.

You still have, like I said a ridiculous amount of photos so that when you do get a plan you can disseminate it. So let’s talk about what the Content Brunch is. It is a day where we begin with a fabulous brunch of course, and we split up into smaller groups. Each group is going to go to one of the four photographers and each photographer is gonna have their own station and that station is gonna have its own aesthetic.

So it’s gonna have a different backdrop, different colors, different themes, so that you can spend time with that photographer to create content that you need for your brand. I will say that people who went to the content branch in October of last year are literally still using those photos. They have not used all of the photos from the Content Brunch.

They have evenly spread it out throughout the year. They’re using it for Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, you know, sales, Fourth of July sales. They’re gonna use it in the fall. They used it over the winter break.

We made sure that we had a Christmas tree there so that people can create videos and photos where they can sell their product or their service for the holidays. If you need updated headshots, a headshot station is there and so you’re gonna go to each photographer in a different scene and you’re gonna create the content.

Now a lot of people get overwhelmed with that but no worries I’ve literally thought of everything! There’s gonna be models there, male and female models. So if you don’t necessarily want to seem like your brand is a one-man show or if you don’t want to be in all of the photos, we’ll have people there to throw in your logo, or hold your product or whatever you decide that you need them to do.

There are also going to be people there to get behind-the-scenes footage. So you can create reels and TikToks for your social media.

Dr. Lisa:
Mmm.

Shawn:
This year, which is going to be way different than last year, we are going to actually have a Reels and TikTok workshop, where we’re gonna come up with some pre-thought-of reels and TikToks.

We’re gonna show them to you. You’re gonna create them, save them on your phone, and then you’ll be able to spread them out, however long you wanna spread them out. Different things like that.

So we wanted to support people in that way. One of the feedbacks I got was, okay I have all this footage but I don’t know what to do with it.

Dr. Lisa:
Mm-hmm.

Shawn:
So that’s why we created this Reels and TikTok workshop where we can actually show you exactly what to do with all the footage that you have on your phones.

What else? I mean it is a day of getting it done. That’s what it’s about. It’s a day of getting it done. You’re gonna get all of the photos from all four photographers with light retouching.

If you get our VIP ticket, you’re gonna get 45 fully retouched photos included in your packet. The VIP also gets a 30-minute consultation with the social media specialist. They get a 30-minute consultation with the fashion stylist.

Know what to wear, if you’re not a fashionable person, you’re going to get a consultation where you and that stylist sit and talk and then they’ll shoot you out suggestions of what you should either purchase or wear, right?

And if you want to further the conversation and actually hire them to be your stylist the day of, you can too, but that’s separate.

Dr. Lisa:
Mm-hmm.

Shawn:
My whole point is that I want you to walk into the Content Branch knowing exactly what you’re going to do and executing it. And then once you get all of your materials back you should not have to unless you want to schedule another brand photography shoot for a year. I can stand by that.
I have seen it done.

Dr. Lisa:
Hehehehe

Shawn:
I can stand by that. Imagine getting it all done in one day. People don’t believe that it’s possible, but it literally is. You’re bringing multiple outfits.

So you’re gonna get different looks. It is so possible. And the one thing that was unexpected for me that I could not have planned for at the content branch is the level of camaraderie. sisterhood. I mean, we had guys there too, but there was just this level of togetherness where people were encouraging one another. They were helping each other. Here, let me fix your collar for you. You know, they could have just been focused on themselves, but

Dr. Lisa:
Mm-hmm.

Shawn:
there was such an atmosphere of just… wanting to see each and every person win in that room that I did not anticipate for it to happen but It’s something about being in that environment Where everybody’s kind of nervous every day, you know people don’t know what you know what to expect.

But people come together, and when I tell you we had lawyers there, we had tax accountants there, we had Realtors there, entrepreneurs there, we had a soap and skincare line there. Everybody from all types of industries were there. Book writers, authors, a DJ was there and everybody walked away so elated and relieved that they got all the content that they needed in one day.

Dr. Lisa:
Mm-hmm.

Shawn:
So it’s not limited to any one industry. It’s not limited to any one person. This year we’re allowing people to bring their assistants. So if you have an assistant, we have an assistant ticket that’s less than the normal ticket because they’re there to assist you, but they do also get to participate in the wonderful brunch. So if you have a team of people, you can bring them in on your assistant tickets.

Dr. Lisa:
Mm-hmm.

Shawn:
We’re gonna have a makeup artist there to just do touch-ups. It’s not really the time to get your makeup done. You’ll need to get your makeup done before you get there, but we’ll have somebody there for touch-ups and to kind of keep you going. And it’s the greatest thing I’ve ever been a part of, and I’m so excited to bring it back. And it’s very exclusive, only 20 tickets. Only 20 tickets.

Dr. Lisa:
Mm-hmm.

Dr. Lisa:
Okay.

Shawn:
We want to make sure that each and every person gets the attention that they deserve So if you want to learn more about that, you can go to my website I’m sure you guys will include it, but it’s www.triplesshots.com.
That’s where you can get your ticket. Bring a friend. Make sure you invite your best colleague.

Dr. Lisa:
Mm-hmm.

Shawn:
So whether that be another entrepreneur or a coworker, it’s better to do it with friends because you’ll have somebody there that you know. But even if you come and you don’t know anybody, I promise you you’ll make fast friends with everybody there and people still I still see people commenting under other people’s post on Instagram and I’m like, “Look at them still talking all this time.”

Dr. Lisa:
That’s a great thing, building good connections.

Shawn:
Yes, building good connections. So that is the Content Brunch. I created this logo [on the sweatshirt] because of the Content Brunch.
It says ‘I am the Content’ because you are the content, you are the brand, and you are the face of your company. And this was birthed out of the Content Brunch. And so I sell these too. And yeah, that’s what I got going on. Thank you.

Dr. Lisa:
That is awesome. And as someone who works with a few of your clients from the Content Brunch, I know that there are still images that have not seen the light of day yet.

Shawn:
Yeah.

Dr. Lisa:
And they’re all amazing.

Shawn:
Thank you.

Dr. Lisa:
So Shawn, thank you, thank you, thank you for joining us for the kickoff episode of season two of Biz Over Tea.

Shawn:
Thank you for having me. This was fun!

Dr. Lisa:
Woohoo! And I know that the Content Brunch is gonna be amazing. If I wasn’t already an annual client, I’d probably jump on in there, even if it’s just for the brunch. But I get to have you two myself all year round, so I don’t think I’m gonna mess with that.

Shawn:
Thanks.

Dr. Lisa:
But yes, I absolutely recommend it. I have seen the images, they are amazing. As I said, I’ve worked with a few of the folks who have taken advantage of it. So I urge you to grab your seat. Get yourself one of those 20 seats before they’re gone.

Shawn:
And if I may, really quickly, when you live in the city of Atlanta, a branding session can cost you well over $1,500 for one branding session, and you may walk away with 25 photos.
So putting that into perspective that you’re getting hundreds of photos plus 45 retouched photos if you get the VIP ticket plus a brunch plus networking opportunities plus Reels and TikTok workshop it is by far the most amazing offer that I think anybody’s offering right now.

Dr. Lisa:
Absolutely. Right?

Shawn:
I would like to put in a little shameless plug. Some people don’t feel comfortable around crowds of people and I totally get that. So I also created the ultimate content day, which is basically like the Content Brunch, but it’s just you and I.

We work one-on-one with each other. We go over strategy together. We create the concept. We go find a space that has multiple backdrops and we give you the reels and the TikToks and all that stuff like that. So if the Content Brunch group setting is not your thing, and you would like to have like a one-on-one working with me, then you can do that too with my Ultimate Content Day.

And if you’re a person who would love to work with me on an ongoing basis then I do have a monthly subscription that’s what me and Dr. Lisa do we get together quarterly we used to get together monthly but that can be a little daunting.

Dr. Lisa:
It can be. It can be.

Shawn:
For a lot of people, hair and makeup every month is a lot. So if month-to-month’s not your thing, we could get together quarterly and keep your content fresh and revolving. So those are the main things that I offer and I wanna put it out there, because I literally have something for everybody.

Dr. Lisa:
All right, folks, that is a wrap for Biz Over Tea, season two, episode six.

Shawn:
Bye!

Dr. Lisa:
We’ll see you next time.