@itshannahzhang
Instagram · Greenscreen Talking Head
@itshannahzhang sorry for being a hater but expecting a brand to pop off in a single year with a few hundred $ of paid marketing is truly CRAZY work and then throwing shade at ppl who dare build a brand like the hardworking @getsourmilk @couchwoman was truly the cherry on top starting a business is HARD esp if you’re doing it in your 5-9, I’ve been doing it for 2 years! follow if you’re doing this and we’ll commiserate together
Performance
Video #48952 · Greenscreen Talking Head
[01]
The creator critiques a New York Times opinion piece written by an investor whose new business is failing. She breaks down the author's flawed understanding of modern marketing and ad spend, refutes the author's disdain for personal branding by using the successful yogurt brand Sourmilk as a positive case study, and argues that the author missed a key opportunity to build her own brand by documenting her journey.
[02]
[03]
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[05]
What stops the scroll in the first 3 seconds
Verbal hook · 80%
It never ceases to amaze me how little some people who have only worked in finance or investing know about marketing a business and just how much disdain they have for founders that build a personal brand.
Visual hook · 20%
A speaker is positioned in front of a screenshot of a New York Times article with the large, bold headline 'I Started a Business Last Year. Now I'm Getting Crushed.'
[06]
Steal this for your own video
It never ceases to amaze me how little some people who have only know about , and how much disdain they have for .
[07]
The promise the opener makes, and how the video pays it back
Hook
Start with a strong, polarizing 'us vs. them' observation that validates a specific niche audience's frustrations with an outside group.
Payoff
Conclude with a direct call to action that invites the validated audience to form a community around their shared experience or goals, positioning the creator as a supportive leader.
[08]
The structural pattern this video runs on
Framework
The Expert Deconstruction
Establish authority and build community by publicly deconstructing a flawed argument or case study, championing an unfairly criticized 'hero,' and presenting a superior alternative framework.
The Case Study Introduction
Introduce a specific piece of public media (e.g., an article, post, video) that will serve as the primary evidence for the initial observation.
The Flawed Logic Breakdown
Systematically summarize the subject's actions and highlight their naive expectations and subsequent failures, demonstrating a fundamental misunderstanding of the topic.
The Unjust Accusation
Pinpoint the moment the subject of the case study unfairly criticizes or derides a more successful peer, framing them as not just naive but also resentful.
The Counter-Example Defense
Champion the unfairly criticized party by reframing their supposedly 'cringe' or simplistic actions as strategic, difficult, and worthy of respect, creating a hero for the audience to root for.
The Personal Credibility Bridge
Briefly state the creator's own credentials or experience that spans the opposing worlds of the critic and the creator, justifying their authority to make the judgment.
The 'Yes, But' Synthesis
Concede a minor, agreeable point from the original argument ('Yes, it's hard') before immediately pivoting to the larger, more critical missed opportunity ('But you missed the point').
The Superior Blueprint
Provide a constructive 'what if' scenario, outlining the more effective strategy the subject could have employed, which simultaneously showcases the creator's expertise and offers value to the audience.
The Empowering Reframe
Redefine the core misunderstood concept (e.g., 'personal branding') in a positive, strategic light, stripping it of the negative connotations assigned by the critic.
sorry for being a hater but expecting a brand to pop off in a single year with a few hundred $ of paid marketing is truly CRAZY work and then throwing shade at ppl who dare build a brand like the hardworking @getsourmilk @couchwoman was truly the cherry on top starting a business is HARD esp if you’re doing it in your 5-9, I’ve been doing it for 2 years! follow if you’re doing this and we’ll commiserate together
It never ceases to amaze me how little some people who have only worked in finance or investing know about marketing a business and just how much disdain they have for founders that build a personal brand. So I read this New York Times opinion piece by an investor who started a pillowcase business. She found a cool product that her friends loved, made a website, did a whimsical photoshoot, got a subtext shout out, and despite doing all of that, struggled to make money. She was shocked that a $100 in ads brought in only a $100 in sales, which, yes, is true that Amazon and Meta charge a lot for ads, but ecommerce founders and small business owners have been talking about this since 2021. Then she complains about how unjust it is that founders have to build a personal brand rank derogatorily calls the founder of Sour Milk, a yogurt brand that's done well in the last two years, a founder turned smartphone star who puts on stunts like hand delivering 8,000 yogurts by Citi Bike. I have worked in finance and tech, pivoted to marketing, and now run a creator business, which no one from my previous industries thinks is serious, and this is proof. There is this whole attitude that marketing and especially consumer are easy and that founders building a personal brand are just making cute videos. But justice for Kiki from sour milk, who also used to be a private equity best because she talks about the long worst, stocking stores, delivering products by hand in her content. You can do the work and build a brand too. There are also still brands that make it where people have never heard of the founder because, no, putting your face on TikTok doesn't guarantee your business will succeed, like sleep or die, and Poppy, which blew up long before people knew who Alison Ellsworth was. All in all, yes, this opinion piece is right that it is really freaking hard to start a small business, but I think she missed a huge opportunity to build a brand. She could good talked about how she's using all her finance best skills to build a small business, what she's learning along the way, why she saw an opportunity in the space, and, yes, how hard all of it is. Building a brand is not always this cringe thing you do for attention. You can do it too. Show the behind the scenes, document your progress, learn from other people along the way. Let me know if you agree, and if you're building a business or a brand, I would love to support you.