{"id":220640,"date":"2025-10-17T21:04:07","date_gmt":"2025-10-17T21:04:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/220640\/"},"modified":"2025-10-17T21:04:07","modified_gmt":"2025-10-17T21:04:07","slug":"founder-led-marketing-versus-faceless-brand-accounts-which-wins-out-for-small-businesses","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/220640\/","title":{"rendered":"Founder-led marketing versus faceless brand accounts: Which wins out for small businesses?"},"content":{"rendered":"

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A founder-led approach to social media was the most natural fit for the co-founders of Toronto-based snack company Rawcology. (Left to right: Laura Powadiuk, Tara Tomulka and Megan Loach Tomulka)David Pike<\/p>\n

A social-media presence for a small business is practically non-negotiable in our chronically online world. Less clear is whether founders should be front-and-centre on those accounts, or if a faceless brand is the better option for entrepreneurs who always have too much on their plates.<\/p>\n

A founder-led approach was the most natural fit for Toronto-based snack company Rawcology: The brand launched after co-founder Tara Tomulka\u2019s transition from corporate burnout to holistic nutritionist, and it featured Ms. Tomulka sharing her plant-based recipes from the early stages.<\/p>\n

\u201cRawcology was started to share the message that nutrition can be powerful and life-changing,\u201d Ms. Tomulka says. \u201cHaving that personal approach connected with the audience, and from the beginning we had such a great community of supporters.\u201d<\/p>\n

Her co-owner and sister-in-law Megan Loach Tomulka, also Rawcology\u2019s chief marketing officer and head of sales, credits \u2018vulnerability\u2019 for part of that success. \u201cI remember there were some posts in the early days where (Tara) had even shared on Mental Health Awareness Day that (she) suffered from anxiety, and this was how (she was) dealing with it.\u201d<\/p>\n

As the brand grew, its community has followed the journey from Ms. Tomulka\u2019s kitchen to being stocked in Costco. \u201cWe got to a point where we were big enough that we could pull back and have a really stylized grid, have it be very product-focused or user-generated content. But I don\u2019t think that speaks to our product story, our why,\u201d Ms. Loach Tomulka says.<\/p>\n

It comes down to a \u201cstorytelling mentality,\u2019 she adds, that helps the company connect with its customers on a deeper level. \u201cAnd as a small or medium-sized business, the only way to do that is to connect from a very human place.\u201d <\/p>\n

It\u2019s also why their faces are on their product bags.<\/p>\n

For other small businesses, the \u201cfaceless\u201d approach works. Hamilton, Ont.-based Lootacris<\/a>, which makes party loot bags, with clients that include rappers, reality stars and Justin Bieber\u2019s half-sister. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe wanted Lootacris to be about the products we provide for celebrations rather than on us as individuals. That said, our personalities still come through in the way we design, interact with clients and share behind-the-scenes moments,\u201d founders Elissa Yeardsley and Stefania De Martino wrote by email. \u201cIt\u2019s less about our faces and more about building a fun, creative brand.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Hamilton, Ont.-based party loot bag company Lootacris has built up a client list that includes rappers and reality stars, without their founders stepping in front of the camera.Lootacris<\/p>\n

Being \u201cfaceless\u201d doesn\u2019t necessarily mean sticking to static images. \u201cInterestingly, our most popular post was a very short, four-second reel of a Simpsons-themed chip wrapper coming out of our printer,\u201d the founders wrote. \u201cWe think it resonated because it was colorful, nostalgic and \u2026 kept people watching.\u201d<\/p>\n

The strategy works for Lootacris given the nature of its business: Content is more about the making of the loot bags \u2013 which are customized for each client using items sourced on Temu \u2013 and less about the people who make them. Ms. Yeardsley and Ms. De Martino, who run this as a side-hustle while parenting and working full-time, find social success with strategies such as trending audios and hashtags, and posting at times when they know more people are scrolling. <\/p>\n

That\u2019s not to say people don\u2019t matter in a faceless brand, they add. \u201cWe reached out to Cheyenne from MTV\u2019s Teen Mom to create favours for her son\u2019s second birthday. After she tagged us in her post, we gained U.S. followers who placed orders,\u201d they wrote. \u201cWe also used giveaways to grow our following and boost engagement. People love the chance to win something, and that was a big chunk for our following in the beginning.\u201d<\/p>\n

One thing is clear: Without social media, they wouldn\u2019t have much of a business. \u201cIt is the only way our customers find us beyond word-of-mouth. It\u2019s hard to promote our business locally through markets or craft shows because our products are customized, making it difficult to showcase everything in person. Our Instagram lets people see real-life examples through customer orders, inspiring them for their own upcoming events.\u201d <\/p>\n

\u201cMore and more people make their decisions based on that trust factor, and it\u2019s hard to do that without having some sort of a social media presence,\u201d says Sarah Francis, vice president of partnerships at influencer marketing firm Platform Media & Management. \u201cIt\u2019s all about who that person is. Are they authentic? Trustworthy? Are they speaking from the heart?\u201d <\/p>\n

For Ms. Francis, being able to put a face to a brand will always be her first choice when advising a client. Knowing that many founders tend to be passionate about their businesses, she says being the face of social media marketing can be a natural way to let that show. <\/p>\n

\u201cThat can really be used to the business owner\u2019s advantage if they\u2019re comfortable with putting themselves online,\u201d she says. \u201cAnd most of that is just practice, getting out there and doing it.\u201d <\/p>\n

She also points out that consumers are increasingly turned off by slick aesthetics and facades projecting perfection, offering another opportunity for the brave founder to break through with authenticity. <\/p>\n

\u201cWhen your customers can see you\u2019re a real person behind a product, we\u2019re more likely to purchase because we don\u2019t just like the product but we like what it stands for,\u201d she says. With the advent of AI, Ms. Francis adds, this will likely become increasingly important as we all wade through a mire of digital slop. <\/p>\n

There also doesn\u2019t have to be such a binary between founder-led versus faceless, she says. There\u2019s a third option, which is getting other faces and personalities \u2013 whether that\u2019s someone else on your team, an influencer or even user generated content created by customers for you \u2013 to lend that crucial human touch to your feeds. <\/p>\n

\u201cMaybe it\u2019s the people who are creating the product, or you are proud to be made in Canada, and you want to show the behind-the-scenes,\u201d she suggests. \u201cIt\u2019s important for people to see, \u2018is there authenticity from a 360-degree, holistic approach to your DNA as a brand?\u2019<\/p>\n

\u201cAs a founder, I think it\u2019s really important to show who you are and what you believe in.\u201d<\/p>\n

As CMO, it\u2019s part of Ms. Loach Tomulka\u2019s job to wrangle Rawcology\u2019s other co-founders to hop in front of the camera, which can be tough when there are so many competing priorities for time and attention. \u201cWe all wear so many different hats and it\u2019s a very fast paced world,\u201d she says, adding the company is constantly looking to finesse the process. Sometimes that involves getting better at editing or exploring how AI tools could help make work easier. <\/p>\n

There\u2019s also the practical fact that the company does not have a large marketing budget, and getting influencers or paid actors to tell its story is not where it wants to spend money. \u201cAnd no one sells or tells your story like you do,\u201d adds Ms. Loach Tomulka. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe get the most likes when it\u2019s our faces in the posts or it\u2019s us speaking. That\u2019s when we get the most traction and comments.\u201d <\/p>\n