The Rise of “Faceless” Reels: Creating Instagram Reels without Showing Your Face
Reels have skyrocketed in popularity on Instagram over the last couple years. These short, entertaining videos allow creators and small business owners to showcase their talents through short form videos with everything from comedy skits to informative explainers.
One REALLY intriguing Reels trend that’s emerging is the rise of so-called “faceless” Reels.
These are Reels where the creator hides their face - the videos feature overlaid text commentary and other dynamic visuals without ever showing the person behind the content. There are a ton of different ways to achieve the look of this style of content through B-roll videos, stock videos, or using other visual elements.
“Faceless” Reels represent a fascinating shift happening on today’s social platforms. Gen Z in particular seems more drawn towards anonymously-created material online. TikTok helped pioneer this interest via the app’s text-to-speech features and abundance of unnamed, enigmatic creators amassing millions of followers.
Now, Instagram Reels is catching on to this craze. “Faceless” videos allow creators to develop an audience based far more on their actual content rather than their physical appearance or identity on camera... which, as a small business owner, sounds really intrguing!
No need to feel the pressure to do our hair and makeup, and try to show up "perfectly" on camera?? SOUNDS AMAZING!
Now, before we dive into the specifics here, we want to note that we do believe that you should show your face in your content. It really helps you connect with your ideal audience members, and potential customers. But we do understand the constant pressure to who up, and the ease of this current trend. So yes, tap into creating faceless Reels - but just know, showing up as yourself will never go out of style like trends do.
Why People Can’t Get Enough of of “Faceless” Content
So what’s driving the appeal of “faceless” videos online? For one, keeping anonymous relieves creators of any pressures related to being on camera. Filming yourself for YouTube, Twitch streaming, or standard Instagram influencer content demands looks, lighting, sets, equipment and plenty of other potential stressors.
But with text-based Reels content, it's just you and the editing tools. This opens the door for many more people creating online without worrying how videos might portray them visually.
There’s also the desire that many social media users have for more privacy today, especially younger generations wary of putting too much out publicly that could impact professional lives later on.
“Faceless” accounts allow you to amass an invested following while revealing little in the way of biographical information in the process through only showcasing a persona crafted through a consistent posting style and branding.
And one last benefit... “Faceless” videos place more importance on being engaging and compelling enough through written commentary with your video footage being secondary. There’s less reliance on personality or celebrity status drawing viewers in.
Faceless videos let creators focused on a niche passion or with a specific perspective stand out through conveying that directly. Many viral “faceless” accounts center around niche interests like gaming “tea,” athlete drama commentary, fashion takes, and poking fun at online subcultures.
And YOU can tap into these benefits as a small business owner too!
Crafting Share-Worthy “Faceless” Reels
Want to get in on the “faceless” Reels action gaining more buzz by the day on Instagram? Here are some key tips to make your videos pop:
Take Advantage of Music and Trends
By creating Reels content around popular songs, audio clips, or certain trends or challenges gives them built-in discoverability. Viewers already seek out media around certain music or topics, so latch onto emerging viral tracks making the rounds on TikTok and Reels all the time.
Text Commentary is King
Perfect the pacing, text placement overlays, and make sure you have enough text to convey your personality and perspectives without overloading the visuals. Lean on your writing chops and sense of humor or informed POV to come across effectively to strangers discovering your content.
Get Creative With Editing
Add visual interest to the video portion of your Reel through filters, graphics, stickers, green screen effects, transitions, and text animations to amplify the shareability of your short form video. Trendy editing tailored to social media aesthetics help in capturing viewer interest fast while they scroll through their feed.
Film Satisfying and Interesting Footage
And even though you aren't showing your face in the video, compelling footage is crucial too! Lean into your inner influencer and film video content that people would want to watch even without your added commentary with text on the screen. And if you aren't great at filming and editing video content, lean into stock content platforms:
Canva: If you have Canva Pro you can tap into, what feels like an unlimited amount, of video stock content. This is where we get vast majority of our video content from, and what we use in all of our Canva templates.
Free Stock Videos: Use websites like Pexels and Unsplash to find videos to use in your Faceless Reels, but keep in mind that a LOT of people use this content, and can sometimes be overwhelming to find the perfect video
Paid Stock Videos: Look into sites or memberships like Social Stocks, Content Vault, or Packsia for beautifully crafted videos. While these sites do come with a heftier price tag, you might find that it will be worth it for the exclusivity and production value.
Build Consistency and Community
Regularly post Reels focused around similar topics, commentary styles, editing approaches, etc. Respond to commenters and any DMs received from followers too. Creating an invested community pays dividends through loyal viewers actively seeking out your new videos as part of their daily scrolling routine.
Getting Views with “Faceless” Reels = Showing Personality Without Showing Your Face
“Faceless” Reels represent an emerging shift in social media entertainment preferences - especially amongst Generation Z. The anonymity, privacy, editing craft potential, and spotlight on written creative commentary appeal to both viewers and creators alike compared to their face front-and-center counterparts.
It is lowering barriers to create voluminous engaging content centered more on perspectives, jokes, informed commentary, niche interests, trend analysis, and generally making observations instead of presenting your personal image and likeness.
So here is the thing: you shouldn't rely on this entirely as a Reels strategy for your business, BUT you can tap into this trend and get great engagement. And if you aren't sure where to start, what to say, or how to design your Faceless Reels... tap into some of our Canva templates.
want to create “faceless” reels in Canva?
Inside of Your Template Club we have 3000+ designs, and a TON of Reels templates you can create without using your face, quickly edit and customize them in Canva, and get your Faceless Reel posted in minutes... not hours.
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Manu Muraro is the founder of Your Social Team, an Instagram training membership and template shop that help social media managers and Instagram-savvy small business owners to grow engagement and sales using Instagram and content marketing, without the overwhelm. Born and raised in Brazil, Manu moved to the U.S. in 2000 right out of college to work for Cartoon Network, where she made an award winning career in creative and strategy. In 2021, Manu started Your Template Club, a Canva template subscription service to help social media professionals and Canva-savvy business owners to create content that performs on Instagram, add more Instagram features into their strategy, such as Instagram Lives and Reels, and save time.