The idea of an anonymous social media account has been unpopular for a long time in the circles of social media creators.
One of the fundamental aspects of successful content creation is getting personal and showing your audience who you are.
Yes, a personal account that reveals certain details of a creator's life can be easier to maintain successfully. On the other hand, it will take more work, consistency and planning from someone who's not showing their face online to build and maintain success.
Nothing is impossible, though!
Hit record because media update's Joreke Kleynhans will guide you through the must-haves for any faceless account that wants to be successful.
To have a successful account, whether it is anonymous or not, requires a creator to connect with their audience and keep them close in multiple ways.
The reason why personal social media brands often succeed is that showing your face online can sometimes pull the weight of a few other components where you might not fare as strongly.
Having a faceless social media account is demanding in all of its aspects, and you need to ensure that the components of your account work together perfectly to create an engaging account — even with a less personal, individual identity.
Messaging
A brand message is the value proposition you will communicate to your audience at any chance you get. In other words, it's the reason why you created this account in the first place.
Make your message apparent by either stating it loud and clear, or implying it in the content you share. Always ask yourself what a user would assume your account is about if they were to only ever see the one post you are about to share.
It's important to know why you created your account and the goals you're hoping to achieve with it. Your message as an anonymous social media creator will be what your followers connect with instead of your face.
For that reason, your message should be conveyed in every post your account delivers.
It also must be specific enough to stand out uniquely in the sea of content at users' disposal. Remember, showing your face automatically makes your account unique, because every person is unique!
Without that boost, you will need to work extra hard to set yourself apart.
Aesthetics
Social media aesthetics existed long before we knew what to call them.
Only recently were the Clean Girl Aesthetic, Cottagecore Aesthetic, Coastal Grandmother — and multiple other coastal family members — given names. And if you have no idea whose grandmother and what cottage we're talking about, you're not alone.
The point is that social media aesthetics have always existed, and that's how you know they will continue to rule the online sphere for at least the foreseeable future.
To put it simply, people will always like what they like, and that makes them resonate with a certain look and feel of content more than others.
All you need to do is find what you like and create content that visually aligns with your preference.
You're bound to reach an audience that also likes what you prefer, and the best way to keep them coming back is by sticking to what drew them in in the first place.
Aesthetics are also often what people notice about your account the first time they see it. And first impressions are important, remember?
If you have a recognisable aesthetic and can uphold it, you will ensure that your account has a distinct familiarity to it.
If done effectively, you can foster the same familiarity using your account's aesthetic as other creators do with their voices and appearances.
Consistency
Just like other types of social media accounts, an anonymous account can gain a lot of traction by simply staying consistent in its content creation and sharing.
Consistency lets your audience know that they can depend on you. Dependability is key to building a loyal and trusting audience. Whether you are dependable for skincare advice or funny memes, your audience needs to know that they can log onto a social media platform and find you where they want you.
A consistent social media account creates a snowball effect by linking your current followers or viewers to people in their networks who may be interested in your content. Not to mention, algorithms are like pet dragons — as long as you feed them, you don't have to worry that much about being swallowed whole!
Did you enjoy this article? Let us know your thoughts on the topic in the comment section below.
In the world of social media, it's easy to get stuck in the numbers. Read this article about How social media is more than a numbers game.
*Image courtesy of Canva.