How is the fintech industry using influencer marketing to its advantage?

What links today’s fintech companies to the original banks from the 13th century is hyper-personalization. It has been a strategy for both. The applications are diametrically opposed.

Back then, services were tailored to a single customer because banks chose one and only served them, such as the Medici family. Bank standardization gradually eroded personalisation.

Fintechs are now using it as a marketing strategy. Instead of cut and dried mass marketing, they embrace influencer marketing.

Fintechs are getting serious about influencers

People usually associate influencer marketing with lifestyle or beauty brands. But any industry, and this includes fintech, can leverage it as a channel to flavor marketing.

Influencers help to sprinkle some glitter on the otherwise unimaginative and monotonous topic of personal finance. As a result, you can reach a wider audience, attract more users and increase app downloads.

As a distribution mechanism

Combined, Millennials and Gen Z make up a hefty slice of our population pie. In the near future, they will be significant economic drivers and the bracket looking for loans and searching for investments. To capture this target audience, fintechs need to be where they are. Since both generations are digital natives, that means social media.

56% of Gen Z and Millennials intentionally seek financial advice through social platforms, according to a Qualtrics and Credit Karma study. And 51% of Gen Z admit they’ve taken financial advice from someone they didn’t know online, proving that influencers have a stronger hold on this demographic.

Take Stashfin. The fintech firm reached out to young adults, homemakers and first-timers using a simple concept. Financial services are part of everyday life. It’s not limited to where your paycheck goes or where you withdraw money. It has become a lifestyle choice for how people pay bills or split the cost of a meal out with friends. So the brand leaned into it, partnering with everyday creators Tanya Khanijow, Rajiv Mahkni and Shivesh Bhatia to drive brand awareness and get app installs.

As content creators

Compared to their predecessors, Millennials and Gen Z are more aware of the need to exercise caution in financial matters. Yet they retain the generational and unconscious bias of not talking about personal finances. Add in their staggeringly short attention spans and gigantic aversion to jargon-heavy messaging, and traditional user acquisition advertising is out of the picture.

But while conventional communication alienates them, influencer marketing is a solid tactic. Fintech players do not use influencers only as distributors of brand communication. They also leverage the ability to create content. It has become the most valuable resource for Fintechs to capture and hold consumer attention.

When Apple holds an event for an iPhone launch or Adidas releases a new shoe, it’s glamorous. People flock to it without much marketing effort. When a fintech company introduces a new feature, it’s boring. But creators make it a little more interesting to open accounts, take loans or invest in crypto.

The #DoubleBenefitFromRBLBank campaign is one example.

In collaboration with Sameera Reddy and Ujjawal Pahwa, the fintech influencer marketing campaign targeted working professionals and the home team across India to impressive effect. The campaign reached almost 670,000 people and received over 770,000 engagements.

As trust builders

Money is a sensitive topic, which makes trust and credibility central. There is another way fintech players are using influencer marketing. They are betting on consumer behavior, which finds content generated by creators honest and trustworthy.

This trust transfers to the fintech firm the creator is advocating, building brand affinity and ensuring the campaign brings in warm leads. FinancePeer’s #FeeFinancing campaign is proof that a creator’s opinion has great influence over users. With micro-creators like Rashi Vohra, Resham Kukreja and Jasmeet Kaur Deep alone, it led to 15,000 app downloads.

Fintech influencer marketing campaign caveats

Millennials and Gen Z are more aware of personal finances and are actively taking steps to stay informed. Social media, along with influencers, play a strong role in that. It has made influencer marketing provably effective for fintechs, with campaigns reaching a whopping 126% engagement rate.

Nevertheless, there are caveats attached. First, the industry is highly regulated, so both brands and creators are required to review them before broadcasting any content live. Second, the right influencer partner makes all the difference. A campaign with a creator who has never discussed money matters has little chance of success.

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