Faceless digital marketing: What is it and are brands turning to it?

When did brand content switch to something resembling a TV sitcom? Consumers are tuned in to watch employee-generated content (EGC), whether that be LinkedIn thought leaders or staff-turned-comedians on TikTok. The aim? Authentic posts to build relatability, trust and visibility – “Yes, we’re a brand, but we’re just like you!”

But is there a fatigue around personal branding? Have we seen some employees take part in a TikTok trend one too many times?

Reputational risk and the pressure to constantly ‘show up’ online has caused a shift in the way brands are approaching digital marketing. After all, it could start to feel like there is an expectation to be ‘camera ready’ when applying for jobs – in any sector.

This has led to the rise of ‘faceless’ digital marketing.

Instead of having people as the focus of branded content, faceless marketing relies on strong brand identity. In essence, it’s performance-led rather than personality-led.

Faceless digital marketing is a strategy where brands create content without relying on a personality or influencer as the primary driver. 

Rather than building content around an individual, it focuses on:

• Strong brand positioning
• Platform-native content
• Search visibility

Examples of this can include blogs and articles, B2C short-form video content highlighting products rather than showing faces, or graphic-led social assets. This strategy can still inform, educate and entertain consumers – but it doesn’t rely on personal brand building. 

Brands are adopting a different approach largely for a reduced dependency on founders, influencers and staff. For example, if a key person leaves the company or faces reputational issues, the brand won’t be exposed or affected as much if faceless marketing has been used. The same goes from a brand consistency perspective. 

Likewise, ecommerce and B2B brands may find that faceless marketing is the best approach for them. Performance and credibility often matter more, in contrast to reliability and personal storytelling. It’s important for consumers to like and trust the brand, not just the brand face.

Faceless digital marketing can also be beneficial for brands that want to efficiently post content across multiple platforms – even email or for SEO purposes. When it comes to personality-led face-to-camera pieces, what works on TikTok probably won’t capture the attention of your LinkedIn followers or newsletter subscribers, and vice versa. 

However, faceless marketing does have certain limitations. Employee-generated content gained popularity for a reason: human connection. Removing a face could make emotional engagement that much more difficult, and brand messaging or positioning becomes more important than ever. Plus, with every brand trying to ‘cut through’, particularly on social, leaving personality out of the strategy could affect its ‘edge’. It’s important to consider whether faceless assets will differentiate you from your competitors.

• Define audience and objectives: You need to be clear when it comes to who you’re targeting and what you want to achieve
• Choose platforms: Paid media and SEO combined with a clear strategy works best when starting with faceless digital marketing
• Build brand identity: When you don’t lead with personality, brand identity becomes all that much more important
• Develop a content system: It may be beneficial to create content at scale – think videos, blogs etc
• Track performance: Faceless digital marketing is performance-led, rather than personality-led, so it’s important to track The results

There’s no right or wrong answer here.

Faceless digital marketing is great for brands without a natural spokesperson, or those prioritising performance marketing, but it’s important to have a clear strategy and defined audience in place before considering it as an option. 

Likewise, it could be beneficial to opt for a blended approach. This could mean faceless digital marketing, with a focus on paid media and SEO, paired with the occasional thought leadership piece with a founder, or case studies featuring clients and customers.