EP.22 - Short-Form Content with Francesca Baccarella
SHOW NOTES:
In today's world of digital media, short-form content has become the go-to medium for delivering information and captivating audiences.
What makes short-form content stand out and make an impact?
Francesca Baccarella, a talented content creator and video producer, highlights the importance of storytelling and always starting with a purpose.
She emphasises the need to understand your target audience and tailor your content to their preferences to capture their attention and stand out in the crowded digital world.
Join me and Francesca as we explore the art of short-form content creation and share with you valuable tips and tricks on how to make videos that inform and engage your audience.
Here are the key takeaways from this episode:
02:24 - Make videos that make your soul feel ignited.
03:42 - Video content is so interactive and gets people engaged.
09:12 - The key is to do what you love.
12:42 - People respond so well to authenticity, especially through short form content.
15:00 - Before shooting a video, always start with a purpose.
20:30 - Feel the fear, but do it anyway.
25:09 - Everyone should have a cherry on top of their life.
ABOUT OUR GUEST
Francesca Baccarella is the founder of Cherry On Top Agency, a short-form video marketing agency that helps brands achieve extraordinary growth through the power of video.
Her personal story of adversity during the pandemic led her to discover her passion for combining her love of acting and marketing. She took a risk by leaving her Content Creator job at another digital marketing agency in London to start her own agency.
Despite facing the stereotype of being too young to run a business, Francesca is determined to disrupt the industry and offer a valuable perspective to her clients.
When she's not busy running her business, she enjoys dancing, performing stand-up comedy, and going to the cinema with a gin and tonic in hand.
Connect with Francesca through her Instagram page @cherryontopagency or her LinkedIn account and learn more about what she does on her website cherryota.co.uk
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About Me:
I help you lead with fearless authenticity by smashing the self-imposed heteronormative stereotypes that keep you playing small through emotional healing inner child and inherited intergenerational trauma. Create a purposeful life of your unique design by disrupting societal norms and expectations of who you should be. Explore mindfulness, fearless curiosity and loving kindness through the lens of Human Design to thrive as the person you are born to be.
Learn more about my coaching method and join my emotional healing, mindfulness, and music community at melissaindot.com.
TRANSCRIPT
0:00
Francesca: A lot of people forget it's about community. And it's about bringing people together. Video is so interactive. And it's the most powerful tool we have on social media to connect with people. It gets people engaged, gets people talking, sharing, feeling like they're part of something. And it's the best way to really show your personality and who you are.
0:28
Melissa: Hey there. Welcome to the Fearlessly Curious Podcast, your safe space. Listen, lean in and learn the diversity of human experiences through the lens of fearless curiosity. When we learn more about each other, we also learn more about ourselves. How? Because when we listen to each other's curiosities and experiences, we relate to that which is in common, and that which sets us apart, gives us something to reflect on. We learn through and with each other. I'm grateful to you, the global community, for your curious questions. The Fearlessly Curious Podcast cannot exist without you.
1:17
Melissa: Oh, my goodness, I have been waiting for this interview. And she turns up in the very colour that represents her personal brand. Today on The Fearlessly Curious podcast, I have my friend Francesca, from Cherry On Top Agency. And I'm just going to cut to the chase. Francesca? Do you want to just introduce yourself to everybody and just let them know? What is it you're most passionate about in life right now? not deep at all. I'll just throw you straight.
1:48
Francesca: Yeah, let's do it. Love it. So I'm Francesca, founder of Cherry On Top Agency, I create short form video content for brands and teach people how to create short form video content. It's "what am I passionate about?" that's deep. I would say being creative in a way that makes you feel passionate. I suppose sort of not putting any blockers in your way and letting your creativity take over and not listening to what people want. But just doing what you think makes you happy. So making videos that make your soul feel ignited.
2:29
Melissa: I mean, this is why I was naturally kind of magnetised to you. Because for me that speaks about helping people show up exactly as they are, right? Because as a creative being. So just being who we are is already a creation itself. What I understand is you're helping them get rid of any blocks that are preventing them from doing that, so in terms of short form video. But I imagine as you do that for them, there's a lot of mindset work there, you're actually helping them realise the gift of who they are. And could you just tell for some people here like me, if I wasn't doing this, I probably wouldn't really know what short form video is. Could you give an example of what short form video is?
3:06
Francesca: Yeah, of course. So we've got TikTok, of course, which is the biggest platforms out there for short form content, Instagram videos, YouTube shorts, all of the sort of bite-sized, little videos, you know, whether they've got music on whether it's about just talking to camera, whether it's like behind the scenes, all of those.
3:25
Melissa: Okay, and why would a brand need that? Why would they want that? Even though I thought TikTok, most people think that TikTok in the short form video platforms, Instagram and YouTube are doing shorts. And like, as you mentioned, Facebook, these are social platforms, right? Why would a brand need this?
3:42
Francesca: Well, I think a lot of people forget, it's about community. And it's about bringing people together. Video is so interactive. And it's the most powerful tool we have on social media to connect with people. To get super engaged, get people talking, sharing, feeling like they're part of something, and it's the best way to really show your personality and who you are.
4:06
Melissa: I love that. I never thought of it that way actually. Which is, you know, when we read texts, it's visual. Not visual. Well, yeah, kind of gets in the brain. We're just thinking, right? And we need to imagine the feelings or imagine the scenario. But with video, we actually get to have an experience. So it kind of takes, right. Yeah, so massive. Okay, why is community so important from your perspective? Because I love community, right? And I know why I love community. And I'd love to know why you feel community is important.
4:37
Francesca: I feel it's important because it makes people feel closer to you. It gives them brand loyalty, instils trust. If they're going to be buying a product, especially if it's expensive products, they need to be able to trust in you. And it means they're more likely to talk about you too. And you know, the best recommendation you can get is word of mouth. So if you can get people talking about you to people that they trust, then you're winning.
5:01
Melissa: Okay, obviously, you're not needed to have a chat. So I'm curious. How did you get into doing this?
5:08
Francesca: So it really started with sort of my curiosity as a teenager making videos on my own. I'd make music videos, and I like to make videos out of our family trips, family holidays, and things like that. So I self taught my editing skills through that and had lots of fun, people really enjoyed them. And they made me feel really happy. I didn't create them for any other purpose than I enjoyed watching them. And I used to find that when I was making them, four hours would pass and I just wouldn't notice. So that's how I knew that it was something that made me happy. I actually trained as an actor. So I went off to drama school in East London, and it was a screen acting school. So we would make a lot of films, and how best to practise reenacting than to make your own films, right. So we actually learned a lot about filmmaking while we were there. A lot about using cameras and composition, lighting editing are one of the best practices on set. And I really enjoyed it. And when the pandemic hit shortly after I graduated, it was very difficult to break into the acting industry, as I'm sure you know, it was for many industries. So I kind of took a look at my life. And I thought, okay, I might have to find some other ways of making income at the moment. But I don't want to do anything that doesn't light me up and make me feel passionate.
6:28
Melissa: Can I just pause for a second, Francesca. And then just pause you just for a moment because I just need to describe this for our listeners, for those of people who are watching the video podcast, awesome. But for the listeners, you need to know what you missed. When Francesca was describing making these videos herself putting the compilations together with family holidays and stuff, you know, how four hours would just pass by and she didn't know it, the joy in your face, just telling us sharing this was everything. And let's face it, you just said that you went to sort of film school, right, and you're an actor. So that was acting, if you could see this video, so go watch the video podcast. Maybe you could even hear it in her voice. It is your joy, if you could bottle that. And I'm guessing in a way, that's what you're helping people do, which is to bottle the joy that they have but through the screen of their service, or their product, or whatever it is, is a personal brand that they're presenting to the world. I mean, what a beautiful gift you're providing. So sorry, I just need this intro because I needed to very selfishly just paint that picture of the joy that you feel just by telling the story. So I interrupted you about how you got to do this. So you mentioned the pandemic. You mentioned, obviously, everybody while you're struggling, or rather, you need to think about how you're going to pay the bills. And there was no work around in the acting industry film screening industry, so to speak. So I'll leave it for you to continue.
7:52
Francesca: Yeah, no worries, it was really nice to hear. So yeah, I've always had an interest in marketing too, the business studies at a level and I started doing some online courses. And I guess I always thought when I was creating videos, it'd be so cool if this was a job, but I never thought it could be a job. And then with the rise of TikTok in the pandemic, I saw the opportunity. You know, there's the marketing that I was interested in, but then there was all the filmmaking and the acting skills that I could bring into that too. And it just made perfect sense. So yeah, I started just learning as much as I can, consuming everything I could to make myself an expert in it. And fast forward, here we are.
8:30
Melissa: Oh, my goodness. And here you are, you have your own agency. And I get to interview you on this podcast. And I just want to say your story is so inspiring, because I don't know if you realise it, but the amount of resilience that you have been navigating, and probably still are, because you're still fairly new in the market, which is even more exciting. Resilience of having the ability to connect with that which fills you with joy writes of making videos, and then marketing and acting and being wanting to be in that industry. And then finding yourself not being able to do it, the resilience and the built in it, being able to just flip that pivot, literally pivot and create something out of nothing. And I think you hold the key. The key is to do what you love. And you're modelling that you're modelling to all these other people who are listening, that if they've been told, right, that you can't do what you love, because that's indulging, you gotta do what everybody says you must do to earn a living, you're just proving to everybody that is totally not true, that you can do what you love and show with what you love. So amazing. Amazing. What was one of the hardest things you'd say you've experienced so far in this journey of creating Cherry On Top and providing the services that you do? Two part question. What's been the hardest struggle of getting here? And what struggles are you helping other people to overcome?
9:53
Francesca: Okay, well, I spoke there's quite a few struggles that people have when creating any startup. I think one of the big ones is of course, impostor syndrome, you kind of like, what am I doing certainly. I think, especially at my age, I'm 24. A lot of people tend to look at me and kind of think, hang on, haven't you just got out of university or something? Or, you know, do you know what you're doing? But I think especially in the industry I've chosen, I think that gives me a huge advantage, because a lot of the platforms we're talking about are sort of dominated by my generation. And therefore, I'm able to give a unique perspective on what that audience actually wants to see and what that audience responds to. I think another challenge is getting your name out there. You know.
10:41
Melissa: Everybody, pay attention to Cherry On Top agency. Here. You heard it here. And by Francesca's first podcast, right here, if you're listening, curious audience, we got her further first. Sorry.
10:57
Francesca: Yeah, this is my first podcast. So I didn't know what to expect. But having a good time talking about what I love. So yeah, and getting your name out, there is another one, as I'm sure you will appreciate just talking to everyone about it. And I think that's why it's really important to enjoy it. Because otherwise, you're just gonna get fatigued, right? There's gonna be I'm better for talking about it. But if it's something you're passionate about, then you just keep going.
11:24
Melissa: Yes, the key she has to. She has to get there as well, by moving these blocks out the way I love it, Francesca. And just anything else? Yeah, you name two big ones, right? Imposter syndrome, and then getting your name out there?
11:38
Francesca: Yeah. I suppose picking a direction, because I think I had quite a lot of passions going into this. And it's like, which one do I want to pursue, and which one is going to be profitable? So kind of narrowing that down to something specific was difficult in the beginning, but the more I spoke to people and got out there and found out what works and what people wanted, then it became a lot clearer.
12:06
Melissa: So the second part of that question was, what struggles do you help your potential clients and your current clients with when it comes to making short form video?
12:15
Francesca: Yeah, well, I suppose it kind of comes back to what you're saying about purpose and passion is remembering what is your purpose of turning to short form content, right? What's the purpose of your business? Why did you start here in the first place, and it's going back, and stripping away all of the marketing phrases, and all of the sparkle and shine that people put on front and going back to your authentic self, and just showing that to the world, really. Because that's what people really want to see nowadays, we don't want to see perfect, modelled, well-thought through pristine ads. We want to know what's behind the company, who's talking, why you're there, and what you can do. And people respond so well to authenticity, especially through short form content. And I think that's really what the platform TikTok is built on. So I suppose I help people realise that it's not intimidating to go in and make short form content. It's just realising the purpose of why.
13:19
Melissa: Wow, that's really making me think as of now how I show up, and I know in reflection, I mean, you use authenticity. And that's definitely another reason why I feel that my message resonates with what you're doing. Me too, I'm all about helping people show up with fearless authenticity, because there's only one of us in the world, each of us, right if we don't show up as ourselves. And half the time, honestly, I have no idea who I am until the moment I'm asked the question. And then when the answer comes out, like oh that's who I am. And that's who I am today. And at this moment, if you asked me the question tomorrow, I might have a different answer, because I would have experienced a whole bunch of different things since the last time you asked me right. But I forget to show up when I'm making content as me. Meaning as my personal experience, a lot of the time I show up as the information that I've gained, but I don't tell the whole story. So you're really making me think, thank you. I had another really important question. I want to ask what's important to me, which is what would be three? And then this might be an annoying question, but I'm gonna ask it anyway. What are the three quick tips to just shoot a quick short form video because I know that I get inspired. And then the minute I let myself overthink it, I can't do it anymore. So if you've got like a little workflow, like a quick tip workflow that you could just give people I'm really putting on the spot right now. Everyone, I didn't prepare her for this.
13:26
Francesca: Yeah. Oh, so that is quite a tongue twister, isn't it? You wouldn't want to say that after a drink. Yeah. Okay. Well, I guess. So again, it comes back to that sort of purpose. Are you shooting that video? What is it that you want people to gain? And what is it that you want them to feel? Even if it's information that you're teaching them? You know, do you want to empower them? Do you want to inspire them, it comes back to that. So I think that really helps you stay on track when shooting something because it's not just about us getting caught up in being self conscious, how do I look if my hair is in place? You know, like, at the end of the day, it's not about that when people watch your content, it's how you make them feel. So that was my first tip. Think about your purpose. My second tip would probably be keeping it simple.
15:36
Melissa: I struggle with that one. Keeping things simple. But thank you. Go on.
15:41
Francesca: It is tricky. My dad always says to me, it's easier to write a long essay than a short paragraph. It's short form content, people want information quickly, they want it concisely, and they want to be entertained. So you know, if you can sort of keep it to around 30 seconds, if you can tell them what they're going to learn, teach them without any waffle and then come to a conclusion, then that's the formula really. And then a third tip, or
16:07
Melissa: Maybe it's maybe you don't need to do it in three, you just do it when you're too old.
16:14
Francesca: Bonus one, maybe a little bonus one. So this is some advice that I've recently learned that it's so crazy, right? There's no space or time to take a breath on camera. So when you come to editing, the short breaths that you're taking, and the short rests, cut them out, don't need them. People don't want to sit and watch and wait for you to do that. It's short and snappy. People don't have time.
16:39
Melissa: Wow. Okay, so that's a tip. But I'm curious to know if you actually subscribe to that.
16:46
Francesca: Well, I've seen it a lot occurring recently, where people just sort of chop up their videos and put it together quickly. And you know what I think I dig it.
16:56
Melissa: Okay, you do dig it. Okay. Well, I have to say, if I'm being authentic, I'd have to say I get it, I get it, people actually have less and less time, right? They're just scrolling, scrolling, scrolling. But I come from a different perspective, which is that those may not be my ideal people. And so because I'm all about yes, authenticity, but part of authenticity is about giving yourself the space. So when you said waffle, I was like, but I love waffles. That was so cheesy. So the space allows for the information to drop. But I understand why the sort of quick cuts work as well, because it's called grabbing people's attention and holding their attention. And I guess once you've got them in, then you can probably afford to have more gaps once they're in, right. So it's more like just to get people's attention and pull them in.
17:45
Francesca: Yeah, well, there's definitely places that you can create that as part of the process. I mean, a great way to practise is to turn the camera on, and then just sit in front of the camera and see what happens. Really getting used to just, you know, having a camera in front of you, because you think it's easy, but then suddenly you press record and it feels like everything changes.
18:10
Francesca: I know. So if you can just, you know, have some time to sit down and just put the camera in front of you and talk you'll find yourself getting much more used to it. And so that's where you can allow yourself to have the room to have the thoughts occur to you and give yourself the space. And then when it comes to the edit, it's going on the short form platforms, then sort of, that's when you can sort of make it more concise.
18:32
Melissa: Okay, thank you. That's a good, great tip you've given us today. You've been so amazing, because I literally just threw you out of the line of fire as you do. You talked about how you pivoted right, you pivoted from being an actor now to helping people make short form content. How did you kind of take that? And how easy and how difficult was that transition?
18:53
Francesca: Yeah, I kind of got sort of thrown into creating my own agency really, it was quite scary. I'd worked really hard to find a job in which I could create video content because not not very many places were doing it right. And I came across a job and it just ticked all my boxes. So I went to work at another agency for about three months. And it was amazing. And I learned a lot very fast paced, it was very stressful. But unfortunately they went through some financial troubles and had to let a lot of their staff go and me being only there for three months. There was no redundancy pay or anything so it was a really scary time.
19:35
Melissa: By the way, by the way again, to everybody's listening. She's saying she's saying all this with a really crazy scary time and she's smiling. I mean, just amazing. Anyways, I had to just let the people listening on audio only just realise when looking at us smiling while telling us a incredible story.
19:54
Francesca: I suppose I know. It turns out all okay. I'm happy now. Yeah, yeah, I just I just moved. So I spent all of my savings on a deposit and fellowship. So it was pretty scary. And I did search for other jobs. But I just got to a point where I was like, I just know what I want. And I know what I want to do. And I just feel like it makes so much sense that I don't think I can work for anyone anymore. It took me three days, I think to think of the name, I think I was out of work for a week, and I've got it set up. So it happened really quickly. And I guess that was sort of where the imposter syndrome started to creep in. But I just kept doing things that really scared me, like, I know, I seem confident now. And on screen, I'm great at pretending that I am. But when it comes to in person interactions, I get quite bad social anxiety. So for me going to networking events, and talking to strangers all alone, it was just something that I would never consider doing. However, I just decided to not let myself have any overthinking and jump in and do it before I can talk myself out of it. And the more I've done, the better I've got. And yeah, I guess I'm good at it now. So it works.
21:09
Melissa: I love it. So you've walked it, you've walked this path and everything that you've shared so far, you know, impostor syndrome, and you know, feeling the fear of doing it anyway. And so many of the other aspects that you covered, I imagine qualities that you're there to support your clients on, right with their personal video.
21:28
Francesca: Yeah, it's easy to know, just say that you can do it. But you know, I had those thoughts. And I've been through those things. And it's very human, and it's very natural. And that's something I've never judged anyone on, you know, it's something that we can sort of develop together. And it's still things that I struggle with. So it doesn't go away, you just find better ways of tackling it.
21:48
Melissa: Can you describe your ideal client?
21:50
Francesca: Well, I think part of my name Cherry On Top kind of alludes to the sort of fun bowls, happy kind of personality of a brand that I would love to work with. They would definitely be curious into experimenting with content, and seeing what works for their audience and a good sense of humour, because that's something that's really big to me. I actually do stand up comedy as a hobby, part time. So having a sense of humour is something absolutely massive to me, and I couldn't imagine my life without it. So there's different tones, you can take the comedy, it doesn't have to be too outrageous. You don't have to rock the boat too much. But I think the willingness to go along and wanting to make people smile and wanting to make people laugh would be a great bonus.
22:36
Melissa: I love that. About that. Final question. Final curiosity. I had asked you, if you were a song, what song would you be? And I would love you to describe to people why you chose this song. Like, what is it? To me, the title of the song says it all but I want to go deeper. Okay, so over to you.
23:00
Francesca: Okay, so the song I said, you might find it a bit cliche, but we love the cliche. It's called Boss Bitch by Doja Cat. And it's a very upbeat song. I think within it, you might hear a particular name from a particular agency.
23:19
Melissa: Now he's gotta go, this is good for royalties for her. I'm gonna send people over to listen to this.
23:25
Francesca: Exactly, sponsored. And as you might recognise, my cousin sent someone to be inspired. Yeah, I guess it's very fun. There's a bit of humour to it. And there's a lot of empowerment to it too, a strong female empowerment song. But it's all about her having fun. And you know, that's what I want to do with my work. And they say if you do a job you love, never have to work a day in your life. And that's the goal, really.
23:51
Melissa: Amazing. I love that. I really listen, just saying, for your future clients that you have, if they need a song for them, so that that represents their brand. You can call me anytime Francesca. Totally shameless by putting this in the podcast. But why not? That's what we're here to do. So I just want to say a big, big thank you for joining me today on the fearlessly curious podcast and not just sharing your joy, sharing your mischief, reminding us of why we're here and this life, right? It's to have fun. It's really fun. And to get our message out there in the world. Whatever that message is, in a way that cultivates community right connects people through laughter. There's no greater medicine than that and creates impact. And before we close out today, once again, Francesca thanks for showing up with fearless authenticity, you know, and doing what you do to help others do the same. To get their message out. Do you have anything you'd like to close this session with? And final message to your listeners?
24:59
Francesca: Well, I suppose before we close, I would like to say thank you very much Melissa for having me on because I've really enjoyed chatting with you. And I guess to the listeners, I would love to say that everyone should have a cherry on top in their life. You should have that fun and you should have that tree treat yourself. Enjoy your life.
25:18
Melissa: Okay, let's do this until the next episode, don't forget to stay fearlessly curious, and we'll see you next week. Bye bye.
25:30
Melissa: If you want more, make sure to subscribe so you never miss a new episode every Friday. And please leave a review if you enjoy this episode. Don't forget to send me your curious questions and experiences as inspiration for future episodes. Your anonymity will be respected. If that's what you prefer. For more guidance and support, join my emotional healing, mindfulness and music community over at melissaindot.com. See you next week.
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