Brands in industries like fashion, beauty, and travel have worked with influencers for years now to give their brands a real face that people relate to, stand out from the noise, and connect to consumers. People are increasingly turning to social media for guidance on a wide variety of topics, including finance. A “finfluencer” is an influencer who creates finance-related content that advises consumers on topics such as personal finance, stock market trading, and mutual funds.
Rise in Self-Directed Investing
“DIY” is an increasingly popular approach to investing. Inyova conducted one of the largest Swiss research projects on investment habits to date. When asked, “Who manages your investments?” 55% selected, “I manage it myself.”
Unfortunately, self-directed investing isn’t always conducted with a solid data-based strategy. According to a survey commissioned by the German financial regulator BaFin, 30% of people under 40 had invested money using “copy trading” in the past two years (copying the trading strategies of supposedly successful investors.)
There has been very little financial education geared toward helping the average consumer get up to speed, leaving people struggling with a lack of financial literacy. Finfluencers have been stepping in to fill this need. The Financial Times writes, “A jump in self-directed investing has been partly propelled by a surge in the sway of financial influencers.
Cynthia Hofmann, Senior Marketing Manager at PostFinance: We have noticed a growing interest in financial topics at PostFinance. This has been particularly evident in recent years with the increased focus on “women and finance”. At the same time, the crypto boom has also awakened young people’s interest in financial matters. The availability of numerous neobanks, which are primarily accessible via apps, has made banking simpler and cheaper. For example, pension accounts or funds can be opened with just a few clicks, often on more favorable terms than with traditional banks. The rising cost of living is also forcing many people to take a closer look at financial matters.
Significant Need for Financial Guidance
Income, assets, and savings rates have increased in Switzerland in recent years. According to a ZHAW study, three-quarters of Swiss people also feel comfortable with their financial situation. However, a staggering 44% of Swiss people have never made financial investment, despite 86% of Swiss people being willing to save and plan. 70% state their reason for not investing is a lack of financial literacy.
Brands can fill this gap by serving as that trusted source of knowledge, which can empower consumers to feel comfortable making investments. By partnering with an established finfluencer, brands can benefit from their accessibility, trust, and reach to educate their target audience and turn them into customers.
Significant Need for Financial Guidance
Income, assets, and savings rates have increased in Switzerland in recent years. According to a ZHAW study, three-quarters of Swiss people also feel comfortable with their financial situation. However, a staggering 44% of Swiss people have never made financial investment, despite 86% of Swiss people being willing to save and plan. 70% state their reason for not investing is a lack of financial literacy.
Brands can fill this gap by serving as that trusted source of knowledge, which can empower consumers to feel comfortable making investments. By partnering with an established finfluencer, brands can benefit from their accessibility, trust, and reach to educate their target audience and turn them into customers.
Finance Chat is Taboo
How to manage and grow your personal wealth can be a complex topic, one which many people are uncomfortable discussing. Only 26% of respondents to the ZHAW study would like to talk about finance, even with good acquaintances.These substantial gaps in both investments, finance knowledge, and trusted sources of advice represent huge opportunities for brands that can help educate consumers. Influencers who provide easily digestible pieces of content can help audiences gradually climb the learning curve.
Finfluencers Provide Needed Advice
Many influencers are already supporting their followers’ journeys to financial wellness for free. According to an October 2021 Bloomberg article, “Wall Street ‘finfluencers’ are earning more than bankers.” For example, UK-based “Self-made millionaire” Mark Tilbury provides “money and success tips” to 7.1M followers on TikTok and 2.25M subscribers on YouTube.
With people hungry for insights and guidance, finfluencers such as Faares Quadri can grow large followings. Quadri has over 2.7M followers on TikTok where he breaks common financial concepts and instruments down and walks his audience through the specifics.
ellexx founder Patrizia Laeri shared her views on the advantage of finfluencers compared to traditional financial education: “At ellexx, we comprehensively empower women financially and guide them without any financial jargon, always at eye level with lovingly designed, appealing, and stirring articles, research, checklists, and tools.”
The SIX Group, which operates the infrastructure for Swiss financial centers including the Swiss exchange, has recognized the value of finfluencers. SIX asked Swiss financial bloggers, Stefan Huser, Melina Scheuber, Reto Stalder and Fabio Marchesin to participate in a panel discussion at the 2022 BörsenTalk Flagship Event with the mission of introducing the audience to their “infotainment” work. The group shared origin stories and discussed various, sometimes controversial, topics such as the tension between independence and commerce, and why the most important blog articles are not the most successful.
Cynthia Hofmann, Senior Marketing Manager at PostFinance: Finfluencers have become a central figure in the field of financial education. With information flooding the internet, they differentiate themselves through their independence and reputation for neutral opinion. This makes them a valued resource for many individuals. In contrast to traditional banks, which are often perceived as distant, finfluencers communicate in a way that is familiar to their followers.
Financial Feminism
The Inyova survey found that 65% of Swiss women have never invested, compared to just 20% of men – a fact that numerous finfluencers are working to rectify. This social shift inspired the establishment of companies like ellexx universe AG, who are focusing on closing the gender investment gap by encouraging women to learn to invest. The fintech company offers coaching, money hacks courses, checklists, financial products, and daily articles.
Kingfluencers asked Patrizia Laeri about the increasing public interest in finance. “When we launched our platform two and a half years ago, ‘women and finance’ were hardly a topic in Switzerland. Now, more and more traditional banks are jumping on the bandwagon, trying to appeal to women. However, their executive boards and boards of directors remain predominantly male. This is ‘pinkwashing’ and not credible. In Western Europe and North America, women control 75 percent of purchasing decisions. Consumption means influence. And investing means even greater influence. Nonetheless, a lot has changed. The topic is present and the offerings for women are increasing. ”
Finfluencers Must be Credible
All influencers must disclose when posts are paid brand promotions, but financial content brings added complexity. Stylish influencers can recommend products such as eyeglasses, food, and makeup, sharing their photos and recipes. Exaltations that a product is comfortable, delicious, or beautiful are all personal opinions, but finfluencers are making statements which could be factually incorrect, particularly if they run afoul of investing laws.
Sortlist surveyed 1,000 users who follow health and financial influencers to understand their impact on purchasing decisions compared to the recommendations of experts from those sectors.
1 in 5 users trust influencers more than their doctors and financial advisors. 46.51% of German respondents said that the help of financial influencers had a positive impact on their investment decisions.
The Sortlist study described the role specialists and influencers can both play in helping communities. “Overall, the easy access to influencers makes them the ideal source of inspiration, sparking the first desire to change lifestyle or develop a routine.” People turn to professionals for more details as well as the personalized service they can provide.
Money expert Tori Dunlap is a successful, inspiring finfluencer who doesn’t have a traditional financial background. Tori founded Her First $100K with a mission of leading the financial feminist movement. With a best-selling book, popular podcast, social media campaigns, and live speaking engagements, Tori and her team guide audiences through making more, spending less, and feeling financially confident.
Tips for Working with Finfluencers
Kingfluencers recently wrote about how to select and work with an expert influencer. When considering partnering with any influencer, it’s important to view their track record. With experts, including finfluencers, you should additionally evaluate their formal credentials. Do they have the requisite education?
Formal certifications give a finfluencer more credibility. However, a variety of laws cover what financial advice finance professionals are permitted to give publicly. Many finfluencers are simply individuals proficient in personal finance. In this landscape, it’s difficult for brands to determine who would be a good potential partner. Working with an experienced influencer marketing agency like Kingfluencers substantially lowers your risk of collaborating with someone short on credibility and ending up in a PR disaster.Brands may also want to consider providing some compliance training for finfluencers prior to campaign kick-off. CFA advises, “Investment companies that use finfluencers should provide them with compliance training if not already doing so and ensure that finfluencers clearly disclose when they are promoting content or are sponsored.”
Brands Succeed Partnering with Finfluencers
CFA took a deep dive into the world of finfluencers and wrote that some financial firms are hiring finfluencers to engage with young investors (those aged 18–25). The NAGA platform, a German fintech company, says it cooperates with up to a hundred finfluencers.
In India, the top finfluencers have more YouTube subscribers than new-age broking firms. Considering India’s low financial literacy rate of 27%, these content creators play a vital role in educating citizens. Leading broking firms are engaging popular finfluencers to reach out to potential investors.
A Swiss Success Story
Credit Suisse is a recent Kingfluencers success story with CSX App, a secure remote banking solution
- Impressions: More than 2.2 M
- Reach: More than 1.3 M
- Engagement-Rate: 3.2%
- The campaign reached 3.7k link clicks
Mobiliar with combining a creative contest with Influencer Marketing.
- Impressions: More than 500 K
- Reach: +26% vs forecasted
- The inclusion of the creative contest generated more than 80k website visits.
Generali insurance’s podcast episode about women and pension.
- Impressions: More than 240 K
- Reach: More than 130 K
- The campaign reached +70% vs forecasted on link clicks.
View the case study to see successful campaigns from numerous Kingfluencers’ clients in the banking and insurance sectors.