Facebook saw the rise of the mummy bloggers, Instagram became the go-to for beauty bloggers and today, with 800 million active users worldwide, TikTok has become the home of the ‘fin-fluencer’. Fin-fluencers are financially savvy influencers that are driving the FIRE movement (Financial Independence, Retire Early) and making finance cool for millennials and Gen Z. Hubspot reports that “roughly 50% of TikTok’s global audience is under the age of 34, with 26% between 18 and 24”, and with a spending power of US$2.5 trillion and US$140 billion respectively, millenials and Gen Z certainly have financial marketers’ attention. We take a look at some of the fin-fluencers creating big waves on the video sharing platform, and what finance brands can learn from them.
MrsDowJones uses TikTok to unpack finance news for millennials
The recent Gamestop scandal has led many millenials and Gen Zs to turn to TikTok to help them understand how it all happened and break down the jargon. With the likes of MrsDowJones creating explainer video content on what stock shorting is and how retail investors have gone up against Wall Street, TikTok is delivering finance news in a way that’s relatable and understandable for younger generations.
Hayley Sacks, the mastermind behind Mrs Dow Jones, aims to “make finance cool for the masses. Through memes, videos and articles – Mrs. Dow Jones disrupts Wall Street by making keeping up with the Dow Joneses as fun as Keeping Up With The Kardashians!”. Finance marketers could consider adopting Sack’s accessible content style that uses humour and pop culture to teach her millennial and Gen Z audience about money.
Equity Mates are helping young investors get started
One Australian duo who have risen to fame with their Get Started Investing podcast is Bryce Leske and Alec Renehan, famously known as Equity Mates. Now with their sights set on building a TikTok community, the pair are providing jargon-free information covering all the fundamentals millennials and Gen Z need to get started on their investing journey. Equity Mates joins the tribe of fin-fluencers offering help and resources that were often inaccessible to younger audiences via traditional institutions. Business Insider reports, “The TikTok hashtag “#investing” has amassed over 1 billion views on the mobile video app as more and more young people are turning to the platform to learn about the stock market.” Finance marketers should take note: if you want to capture younger audiences and convert them into long-term customers or clients, TikTok could be the lead nurture platform your finance brand needs.
“ The TikTok hashtag “#investing” has amassed over 1 billion views on the mobile video app as more and more young people are turning to the platform to learn about the stock market.”
While Equity Mates’ following on TikTok doesn’t look strong yet, it’s a platform that’s set to grow and it won’t be long before it rivals their podcast which boasts 350,000 downloads a month!
Rachel Riley is helping people #LearnonTikTok
With COVID-19 lockdowns in the UK coming into greater force over the course of 2020, TikTok launched #LearnOnTikTok, an initiative collaborating with educators, experts, real-world skills creators and non-profits to deliver creative, educational content. Partnering with mathematician Rachel Riley, the Countdown TV show presenter shares visual maths skills and tips as bite size videos on her TikTok page. Finance marketers could adopt Riley’s short cutaway style that uses humour and animation to bring concepts to life. #LearnOnTikTok demonstrates that educational content isn’t only relegated to the most obvious format of editorial and that consumers are truly looking to social platforms to help understand money matters. Talking Influence reports, “the #LearnOnTikTok discover tag on TikTok is reaching over 56.3 billion views,” making it a highly viable solution for finance brands looking to reach new audiences and help tackle the financial literacy gap.
While TikTok is a new platform for a lot of seasoned influencers, it’s definitely not one that seems to be going away. And while individual content creators are leading the pack in terms of followers and engagement, we predict that’s just for now.
At the time of writing, no financial institution is smashing it on TikTok as yet, leaving the platform wide open for a creative brand to commandeer the attention of younger audiences, build their financial understanding and a relationship for the long-term. If you’re looking for ways to get Gen Z on side, or need help creating TikTok content with cut-through, get in touch with The Dubs.
