What is Faceless Marketing & Why Does it Work?

In the grand scheme of marketing trends, we all know “authentic” is the key word of century. Millennials and (especially) Gen Z are more likely to buy a product from a brand that feels genuine in their marketing. There are lots of ways to go about this. But today, I’m writing about faceless marketing.

Faceless marketing embraces the idea of an actual 1st person perspective as if to offer the viewer the experience of the exact point of view of the person who is actually in the scene. It’s primarily a digital content marketing strategy employed by a new wave of creators using a viewpoint that is easy for anyone to adopt.

How Does Faceless Marketing Work?

Psychologically speaking, your brain actually simulates emotions and creates a sense of personal involvement when presented with this perspective. As you can imagine, this creates an impactful connection because of the increased relatability and prompting of the imagination. You could be looking through literally anyone’s eyes and you don’t know whose. It’s completely anonymous. And that redefines how brands are able to engage their audiences.

The goal isn’t to connect with the person in the scene. You as the viewer become the person in the scene. Faceless marketing focuses on surrounding the audience with a brand’s visual voice. (Azura) This is in pretty stark contrast to influencer marketing which, let’s face it, revolves around the audience identifying with the famous person, and then potentially the brand.

As someone who originally shot in the photojournalism arena, this POV concept and style of storytelling isn’t new to me. However, the way it is becoming wedged into social media marketing is notable due to the current reign of influencers in the marketing sphere today.

Authenticity and inherent value are the key pillars in faceless marketing.

The primary complaint against faceless marketing seems to be that it is bland and boring. Well of course it is if you buy it from a stock agency because that’s the inexpensive way to go. But, as is the general rule with content, there is real loyalty driving value in faceless marketing if you get it done right.

A winning faceless marketing campaign zeros in on brand identity, values, and storytelling quality. Consumers connect with the narrative and visual voice of a brand. So if you choose to exercise the faceless marketing tactic for your brand’s marketing strategy, what you want to do is give them a portal into your brand story and let their imagination fill in the rest. Talk about engaging. 🖤