When was the last time you saw an under-30 year old in the bank? Or asking to book a financial planning consultation? It just doesn’t happen! Younger audiences engage with money matters very differently than previous generations. 18–34 year olds spend an average of 2.5 to 3 hours daily on social media – turning to them for financial advice that’s bite-sized, relatable, and far from traditional corporate messaging.
This shift has fuelled the rise of the “finfluencer” – social media creators who break down finance in real-world, engaging ways. You’ve all heard of Martin Lewis, but what about Tim Paul (@timpaul), Mr. MoneyJar (@MrMoneyJar), or Gabriel Nussbaum (@GabrielNussbaum)? Collectively, they reach over 2.4 million young followers with content on saving, investing, and planning. There are now an estimated 500–600 UK finfluencers—and that number keeps growing.
So, if you’re considering embracing this behavioural shift, what are the things you need to know before building out your influencer marketing strategy? Let’s look at the risks and benefits.
The Pros & Cons of partnering with Finfluencers
Before thinking about working with finfluencers, let’s consider the benefits and risks.
The pros;
1. Building brand authenticity amongst digital natives: The FCA found that 62% of UK social media users trust financial content from creators more than traditional advertising – they are often sceptical of polished brand messaging and can quickly see through brands attempting to appear “edgy” on social media. But engaging finfluencers to share their personal financial successes, failures, and lessons via a two-way conversation provides a credible shortcut.
2. Capturing Early Financial Journeys: A young adult’s first interaction with personal finance may be through a finfluencer explaining the importance of credit scores, budgeting, or investing and this early guidance can foster long-term relationships the provide huge lifetime value returns. (It’s the digital equivalent of the piggybanks and junior bank accounts given out at schools that many of us still have way into adulthood!) Monzo recently targeted university students via budget-focused creators, promoting features like budgeting tools and fee-free international spending to build long-term customer loyalty.
3. Simplifying complex financial topics: finfluencers break down intimidating jargon and ideas into digestible, engaging content. Instead of explaining compound interest via a brochure, a human explanation is so much more relatable.
4. Leveraging peer recommendations: Peer influence is powerful, and a finfluencer’s endorsement feels like advice from a knowledgeable friend rather than a sales pitch. Just in the way that Tiger Woods used to endorse Nike and sales would go through the roof, jumping on board with an emerging and sharable finfluencer can make a huge impact to your brand.
The Cons
1. Regulatory and Compliance risks: Financial services are tightly regulated, and most finfluencers aren’t qualified to give financial advice so their content must be treated as educational rather than prescriptive. The FCA holds brands accountable for ensuring influencer content is accurate and compliant. So be sure to vet your influencers and set clear guidelines to stay on the right side of the rules by providing clear guidelines and reviewing scripts and content ahead of time.
2. Reputation risk: It takes just one poorly informed recommendation—or an influencer involved in controversy—to quickly damage a brand’s reputation. While authenticity is an asset, miscommunication can lead to confusion or backlash which you’ll need your PR teams to help navigate – you’ll need to research your content creators and set guidelines.
3. AI content depleting trust in content: Influencer marketing thrives on authenticity—but the rise of convincing (& cost effective) AI-generated content is making it harder to maintain this trust. Your audiences could very quickly turn their backs on your brand if they sense fake content, so don’t be tempted. The key to staying credible is to focus on genuine storytelling and real-life moments that AI can’t fake.
4. Measuring success: This can be tricky. Metrics like views and likes don’t always translate to meaningful business results. Instead, focus on KPIs that balance reach, engagement, and responsible financial guidance. (Think quality over quantity!).
How to work with Finfluencers
You’ve chosen to work with a finfluencer and have internal approval—now what? Here are key points to kick off planning with your team and agency.
- First be clear on what your finfluencer strategy is and where in the funnel you will use it. Are you wanting to;
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- Boost financial literacy with educational and awareness content? In this case you’ll need to consider formats like explainer reels, live Q&As or bite sized demos?
- Use it to position your brand as a trusted ally using the authentic story-driven content we discussed earlier, tapping into life milestones (with little to no sales messaging)
- Promote or launch products through ‘how to’ use cases or trial offers for instance to ‘close the deal’.
- Drive brand engagement – using finfluencers to encourage audience participation in branded challenges for example.
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- Decide the type of collaboration which best meets your goals. For instance, you might want to engage a group of ‘micro influencers’ to drive word of mouth across their niche audiences which can be cost effective. Or a more concentrated partnership with a single, well-established mega influencer which can offer broader reach and greater visibility, especially when launching a major campaign or product. You can also explore hybrid strategies, such as ambassador programs, affiliate partnerships, or content co-creation, to build long-term relationships. Each option has its benefits, so consider your budget, target audience, and campaign objectives when deciding.
- Next, research the right influencers – check what their broader activity is outside of their financial content. Review their past posts and audience demographics. A scoring matrix might also help you decide, with criteria such as audience size, ‘personality fit’ with your brand, tone of voice, frequency of posting etc.
- Collaboration is key – influencers come with loads of fresh perspectives, so include them in the content ideation process – they’ll already know what has worked well for them in the past, and the kinds of content their audiences prefer. Educate them on your products, have them meet the team and get a sense of your culture and brand personality first-hand.
- Content guardrails – set boundaries by spelling out the do’s and don’ts upfront. Set up pre-approvals of content and scripts before they go out to ensure accuracy. Agree on the mix of educational vs promotional content for balance (we suggest prioritising financial literacy content).
- Monitor the conversation – finfluencer campaigns can spark fresh, unexpected dialogue. Keep an eye on live comments to spot opportunities for engagement, real time insights on audience sentiment and quickly respond to any questions or concerns. Have someone in the team who’s responsible for this.
- Measure and keep records – Keep a constant eye on the kind of engagement they are getting, track brand trust and sentiment, not just vanity metrics like clicks. Again, quality vs quantity! And set up an archive process for the content in case it’s ever needed for regulatory review.
Final thoughts
There’s a lot more to building a successful finfluencer strategy than we’ve touched upon here, but we hope this quick intro has sparked some ideas on how partnering with the right voices can help you connect with younger audiences. When done well, finfluencer collaborations can elevate brand credibility, improve financial literacy, and drive engagement in ways traditional marketing can’t match.
Curious about how finfluencer partnerships could work for your brand? Let’s chat. Get in touch with Moreish, FSF Agency of the Year 2024, to explore your digital marketing strategy.