Mike Craddock, co-founder & CEO at NewGen, explores the rise of FinTok and how financial services providers can build trust using influencers.
Let’s face it—financial services aren’t the sexiest topic. We’ve all seen eyes glaze over when talk turns to investment and financial planning, especially when trying to educate young people. For brands in the sector, engaging the next generation is, and always has been, a huge challenge.
But things are changing. Gen Z, with their entrepreneurial mindset, are more eager to understand and take control of their finances than ever before. As reported by the World Economic Forum, Gen Z are 45% more likely to start investing by the age of 21 than millennials were and two to four times more likely than older generations like Gen X and baby boomers. For the first time in generations, young people are interested in hearing what finance brands have to say.
What’s driving this shift? Two words: social media.
The rise of #FinTok
Platforms like TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube have revolutionised the way people consume and respond to financial content, and that interest is only growing. Earlier this year, TikTok reported a staggering 275% year-on-year increase in #FinTok video views, while 16% of UK users claim to have opened or switched banking products after seeing content on the platform. It’s a very similar story across the other social channels.
This explosion of content shows a clear appetite for financial education and insight, and therefore an enormous opportunity for brands to take advantage of. And of course, they can do so by creating their own content and posting it on these platforms—to a point.
But as we all know, the real power of social media is the opportunity to watch, listen to, and interact with real people. So to truly supercharge their efforts and engage the younger, digitally-native generations, financial brands need to tap into the influence of influencers.
‘Finfluencers’, trust, and humanisation
In finance, trust is everything. No one wants to risk putting their hard earned cash in the wrong hands.
Influencers—or ‘finfluencers’, as those creating financial content are now known—already have a trusted relationship with their audiences. They offer that crucial bridge between brands and their consumers, and an opportunity to build rapport with younger generations in ways that traditional advertising simply can’t.
And according to research by Intuit Credit Karma, financial influencers are the second most popular source of financial advice for people under 25, just behind advice from family members. Over a third (36%) of young people in this age bracket turn to finfluencers for money-related guidance, while less than 10% seek advice directly from financial services providers.
Part of the magic of these influencers is their ability to simplify often complex and abstract financial concepts and services, making them more relatable and easier to digest. Their ability to humanise topics such as savings, investments, or credit management is also crucial to engage Gen Z, who are well known for valuing authenticity and transparency.
TikTok data shows that creator-made content drives substantial brand results for businesses in the finance sector, including a 26% increase in brand favorability, 21% uplift in recommendation, and 18% rise in purchase intent. Clearly, tapping into the influencer economy can unlock significant value for those looking to capture the attention of younger audiences.
That said, we can’t ignore the negative noise that has surrounded financial influencers as of late. As with anything, there are some bad actors in the market, and the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is currently investigating those posting illegal promotions and offering unqualified financial advice. But this shouldn’t put brands off. It’s about choosing your brand partners wisely and investigating them carefully, ensuring you know who they are, why you’re working with them, and what credibility they have.
Think bigger and drive fame
Finfluencers are a natural first step, but they still have a relatively limited reach. To really make the most of influencers, brands need to think bigger. It’s not all about taking your message to your consumers; often, the biggest impact comes when you bring your consumers to you.
The biggest influencers are modern-day celebrities. They command massive platforms, highly engaged fan bases, and often extremely dedicated and loyal fan bases. From a pure reach perspective, that’s an unmissable tool for finance brands to utilise.
But the power of popular influencers goes beyond reach. Work with the right ones, and you can transform perceptions of your brand among younger audiences from fusty finance firm to must-have lifestyle brand.
Revolut’s ‘Defy Expectations’ campaign is a case in point. The neobank wanted to excite the younger generations about banking, and ultimately drive app installs and registrations. So, we worked with the brand on a partnership with Sidemen, a global creator group with over 33.9 billion views collectively.
The Sidemen have heavy penetration among millennial and Gen Z consumer groups, thanks to their comedy sketches, challenge videos, podcasts and video game commentaries. They’re loud, they’re cool, and working with them resulted in Revolut’s most successful acquisition campaign to date, with over 70 million impressions in three months and more than 100,000 app installs.
Revolut is far from the only brand in the finance sector to have capitalised on the power of influencers. Paris Hilton (27 million Instagram followers) starred in Klarna’s global campaign last year. Teen banking app Step launched in 2020 with TikTok star Charli D’Amelio at the forefront of a massive partnership. The list goes on.
Financial services may not have the glamour of fashion or entertainment, but by leveraging influencers, brands can make finance more accessible, engaging, and relevant for younger generations. That opportunity is only set to grow.
