The rise of reels on Instagram seemed to hit like a tsunami, and it doesn’t seem like the tide will be going out on this mini-video format any time soon. If you aren’t a strong swimmer in the Reels ocean, you might find yourself avoiding creating this kind of content because you don’t want to be on camera...
Instagram seems to be awash with confident, put-together business owners dancing and lip-synching with sass, and if this doesn’t feel aligned with your brand or personality it can be tricky to know how to navigate these seas. But fear not! I have put together a list of 10 faceless Reels ideas to save you from endlessly surfing Google or Instagram for inspiration, and you can start with them straight away. Get ready to conquer reels, your way!
Ten Faceless Reels Ideas 👇
1. A Slideshow With Text
First up on my list of faceless Reels ideas is one that requires absolutely no video footage at all! You can still make a splash on Reels by putting together a little slideshow of text. Think about advertising a new offer, sharing a testimonial or walking your followers through a step-by-step of your process. Canva is a shell-rific tool for this, with its animation feature. Choose from lots of templates and create mini videos with your text, which you can then export and upload as reels!
2. A Gif With ‘POV’ (point of view) Text
If you’re not familiar with gifs, they are those mini videos that loop around on repeat. You’ve probably seen them used as funny or satirical content pieces across the Internet and maybe even in your group chats. You can create your own gifs without too much technical expertise using a website like Giphy. You just upload an image or images, follow the instructions and it turns them into a gif for you! It’s also perfectly fine to extract gifs from elsewhere on the internet and make them your own, by adding some relevant text. A good way to do this is a ‘POV’ quip - check out my example below to make this smooth sailing!
3. An Industry-Relevant Quote
Keep it simple and the Reels life will be just beachy. Find (or create) a quote that will speak to your ideal audience and get creative using Reels tools. You can overlay the quote onto a video or image of something on-brand (for me, this could be some crashing waves for example), or use your imagination to find a new way to deliver your message. Remember, just because something has been done a certain way before doesn’t mean you have to follow suit. And guess which tool is wavy for this? Yep, Canva again! It's the tool with it all...
4. Use A Stock Video and Add A Tip or Quote
This one is Reel-y easy! Ride the wave of short and sweet Reels content that is currently sweeping Instagram, and grab yourself a stock video using Canva or another royalty-free source. Then simply add a top tip, fact or quote about your industry or niche over the top, and watch as the sun rises on a new era of content creation for you and your brand!
5. A Simple But Sassy Transition
This Reel type works when you have something visual to ‘transform’ in your business - for example, a before and after of a product or process. Simply take a little video before you get started, thinking about how you’ll join it to the ‘after’ part. Stay in shallow waters, to begin with, playing with something simple like a ‘zoom in’ and ‘zoom out’ transition, then get creative with hand movements and swiping actions. Once you have your finished product, take another video and then trim them and add them together! Your fans love to see your processes, so this one will keep things buoyant.
6. Set Sail With A Showreel
Showreels are often used in media professions to showcase somebody’s previous work, but they’re an easy addition to this list of faceless Reels ideas too. Make sure to take mini videos or images of your work or past projects, then stitch them together with some trending audio…et voila!
7. Process, Process, Process
What you may lack in-camera confidence, you more than make up for in talent at what you do, so do what you do best and film it, then think about creating a time lapse or simply focus on one part of the process you think your clients will find interesting. Propping up your phone with whatever you have to hand and pressing ‘record’ will give you oceans of amazing footage, without any extra effort on your part!
8. Simple Videos
Back at number 4 on this list of faceless Reels ideas was sharing a tip or fact using videos, but we can tweak this one to make it even more simple. Grab a stock video from Canva or your own video library (something simple, ambient and aesthetic works best) and pair it with some mellow trending audio, grabbing your audience’s attention. All you need to do next is to wow them in the caption!
9. Photos With Text
In case you haven’t realised yet, I’m very much on board with using text on Reels! They’re a great way to deliver short, punchy messages quickly and you can use the photos already in your camera roll to help. Look for audio tutorial Reels on Instagram, which can show you how to put together great photo format reels of your own. There are lots of features within Reels itself to help you with this now too, so make the most of it and get ready to dive in.
10. A Day In The Life
Showing behind the scenes of your business can help your audience get to know you better and make you more human and relatable, especially if you’re not one for showing your face on camera. If you’re feeling adventurous, put together a day-in-the-life reel full of little snippets of your work day - you can even throw in a few personal bits and bobs that your audience might enjoy too! For a simpler take on the same concept, film just a short part of your day and let people see what’s below the water.
To the next step!
Here’s hoping these faceless Reels ideas help you paddle confidently in the video waters. The key is simplicity - it’s so easy to get caught in a riptide of anguish over creating Reels, which ultimately leads you to produce none at all. Start with something from this list of 10 and see how you go - you may even find you’re ready to take the next step eventually and get in front of the camera yourself! If you need some more inspiration to fall back in love with your social media, head to my blog.
Happy Reel-ing Islanders 🌺
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