How to Make 3 Faceless Reels in 30 Minutes to Promote Your Music

Lately I've been talking with musicians about their marketing plan before they release their first single.

They're doing well on social media with covers, but there's one thing that might become an obstacle when they start sharing original music. They don't want to show their face.

And that's something a lot of musicians deal with. They're not trying to be influencers, they just want to put their music out there.

But here's the thing. Showing your face builds trust and connection, and that's what helps turn casual listeners into fans.

Still, in the short term, you can promote your music online without showing your face. And that's what I want to help you do today.

What is B-roll, and why is it your best friend?

B-roll is a simple video of you doing something. Playing your instrument, walking, cooking, staring out the window, whatever.

In Reels, B-roll is usually muted and paired with text and music.

It's your best friend because it takes almost zero effort to make, and it can still blow up. There are tons of viral Reels where it looks like the person did nothing special. There's no face and no perfect lighting, just a mood and a message.

And that's where you win: faceless, low-effort videos that still get your music out there.

Before we start

Every video you post should serve one (or more) of three purposes:

• Get discovered
• Nurture your audience
• Sell your music

Ideally, you post one of each every week. So I'll show you how to make one faceless B-roll Reel for each purpose.

15 minutes: film 3 B-roll videos

Let's make this easy. All you need is your phone. A tripod helps, and good lighting helps even more.

Here are 8 faceless B-roll ideas you can film in 15 minutes or less:

• A close-up of your hands playing an instrument
• Typing lyrics on a laptop
• Walking through nature or the city
• Flipping through a notebook
• Pressing play on a speaker with your song on
• Lighting a candle or setting a vibe in your studio
• Your hands scrolling through your Spotify artist page or playlist
• Singing into a microphone with your back to the camera

10 minutes: write 3 on-screen hooks

Now let's write the text for your Reels, one for each type of content.

Reel 1: get discovered

Before you start promoting your music, you can share it in a more subtle way that helps you grow followers first. Later, those same followers will be the ones you introduce to your music and your story.

The idea I want to give you here is something I've seen work very well, and it brings strong engagement, which is exactly what fuels the algorithm. I call it "Please help me define my genre." The text on screen can look like one of these:

• "Trying to find my target audience but this genre doesn't even exist yet"
• "I made this but have no idea what genre it is. Help?"
• "If you had to put this in a playlist, what would you call it?"

It invites people to comment, and those comments push the video to more people.

Reel 2: nurture your audience

Now that you have some attention, help people get to know you, still without showing your face. Text ideas:

• "Congrats, you've stumbled across a [your age] year old artist who hasn't blown up yet, which makes you a Day 1 fan."
• "Hi, I'm [Name]. I make [genre] music because [a short story about what inspires you or why you started]."

It's simple, honest and human, and that's how fans connect.

Reel 3: promote your song

Now it's time to tell them, "I have this song, please listen." Text options:

• "If you like [Artist] (or [genre]), this song might be your new obsession."
• "If you've ever felt [emotion], this song is for you."
• "This is what it would sound like if [X] and [Y] made a song together."
• "You'll relate to this if you've ever _______."

Need more hooks? Paste these into ChatGPT and ask for variations. And if you want finished ideas with examples, I keep 308 of them in The Content Vault.

5 minutes: edit and post

You don't need CapCut or fancy software for this. Just:

• Upload your video to Instagram or TikTok.
• Trim it to 7 to 10 seconds (use a time-lapse if you need to).
• Add the text on screen, centered or placed clearly.
• Use your most recent release as the background music.

And that's it.

"But Finch, my Reels only got 100 views!"

I hear you. B-roll (and all content, honestly) is hit or miss.

But if you commit to posting these 3 types of faceless Reels every week, that's over 150 Reels a year. And I promise you, if you stick with it, the results will come.

If your views stay low for a long time, I wrote about 10 reasons nobody is watching your content and how to fix each one.

Stay consistent, keep showing up, and don't give up. I believe in you, and in your faceless Reels.