✌️ Brands in incognito mode

This has probably happened to you. You're scrolling, and a post makes you stop. It looks like an ordinary person sharing their day, down to the ingredients they use for their lasagna... aaand you're so in (because lasagna).

What you don't see is the brand behind it.

That's the whole point. You connect with the content because it doesn't feel like an ad. It feels like someone telling you something real, and no catalogue of product photos can build that kind of trust.

When the tone is warm and human instead of a packaged sales pitch, people respond. They see a face, not a voiceover. And it shows up in the metrics.

This week we're looking at accounts that carry branded content without looking like brands. Profiles that feel personal, content that works, and a brand behind all of it.

Josiah Varghese is one of Starbucks' baristas and also one of the main faces behind its "Global Coffee Creator" role. Besides promoting the brand's products, he also posts videos creating new drinks with what you can find at Starbucks, traveling to tell the story behind coffee's origins, or teaming up with people like NBA player Jared McCain.

Starbucks no longer does collaborations or posts a carousel of drinks you can make; Josiah has become the face of its coffee.

➜ Sometimes the best content creator you can find is already working inside your company. Josiah has the charisma and personality to bring in new customers through his personal account, all while wearing a Starbucks apron.

Kathryn Turner opened her first TikTok account in May, going from M&S's Director of Product Development to someone who might show up on your For You page sharing content about the brand. She shares behind-the-scenes secrets, bakery life, farm visits, and how products get developed.

Kathryn doesn't hide the brand or her name, and her bio states her job title outright, something you don't usually see on social media. In fact, she starts every video by introducing herself and her role at the company.

➜ Sometimes you don't need to be part of the social media team to create content that brings in new people and puts your brand in the spotlight. Tap the person in charge of your product and let them run with it.

Kaeden Rowland went from working at a Staples store to becoming the Staples girl, picking up a camera to make videos about the products and services you'll find there.

That's how Kaeden started creating content about her job, uniform and all, and became the biggest Staples presence on social media. Just look at the comments to see what it means when someone on your own team can pull in that kind of audience by showing your content.

➜ Kaeden didn't have a script or a strategy behind her, just her larger-than-life, genuine personality to win people over on social media. That kind of closeness carries more weight than any polished campaign or influencer partnership.

Caitlin Campbell runs Street Brew Coffee, a family coffee roaster in Toronto that she founded with her father in 2017 and runs out of a mobile trailer. The business has its own brand account, @street.brew, with 65,100 Instagram followers. Caitlin's personal account, @cc.campbell, has 1.3 million followers on TikTok and 235K on Instagram.

Her personal account is 20 times bigger.

One interesting detail is that the brand account's bio links straight to her own link in bio. It's the brand pointing to the person, not the other way around.

➜ When your business doesn't have a storefront for people to walk past, the person becomes the storefront. If your brand account performs worse than your visible face, let the face lead and have the brand account follow.

Posts cooked well-done

Kevin Smith (not the film director) is a butcher by trade, and in 2019 he opened a butcher shop with a small grill next door. His bio on @the_english_butcher (38K followers) doesn't hide anything; it reads "The Peasant Owner of @beastandcleaver (59K) & @littlebeastballard (9K)."

And notice that here, the personal account isn't the biggest one. What's interesting is how the two split the work.

His personal account carries content about his everyday life (workouts, nature) along with his craft (menu tastings, butchery cuts, raw ingredients), while the business account holds everything that wouldn't fit on a personal profile at all, like promotions, hours, and announcements.

What I like most is how he uses collab posts to get his content in front of both audiences without posting twice.

➜ Even with a strong personal brand, the business account still earns its place. One carries the face and the craft, the other handles the logistics. And collab posts let you give the smaller account a push.