TikTok’s finance tags have become a go-to for financial advice and side-hustle tips. But can brands battle through red tape to compete with the creators? For The Drum’s finance & utilities focus, Redpill’s Lija Rahman says… Maybe.
#FinTok, the tag at the center of TikTok’s enormous and still-growing community of finance creators, has captivated millions of users, gathering more than 500 million views.
Clearly, gen Z has an appetite for financial literacy. This presents a huge opportunity for finance brands looking to reach their next generation of customers, but how can they effectively (and responsibly) engage on TikTok?
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The rise of #Fintok
Where previous risk-averse generations were focused on saving, gen Z has an appetite for making money work for them. You may have seen videos about creating a ‘side hustle’ or additional ‘income streams’. Examples include investing in housing and Bitcoin, or becoming an Amazon affiliate. Some viewers even seek to replace their entire 9-to-5 income with these less conventional options.
Collectively, gen Z seems to be, increasingly, refusing to be another generation of cogs in the bureaucratic system. Rather, they seek to disrupt the status quo with innovation and creativity.
But #FinTok isn’t just side-hustlers. Many creators there come from finance backgrounds, or have experience of making money from money. These creators often focus on improving financial literacy – many don’t sell products, but rather advise on how to manage your current finances, how to decide if financial products are right for you, or how to achieve financial goals.
This has helped to transform educational financial content from boring and difficult to engage with, into bitesize, engaging, and entertaining videos that appeal to gen Z.
But for financial brands, jumping on the #Fintok bandwagon involves more than simply posting advice. There are strict rules and guidelines to follow, not to mention the challenge of standing out in a sea of creators who are nailing it, from Nischa to Dave Ramsey.
Get it wrong, and finance brands risk looking desperate. Financial advice online can come across as a scam and gen Z is skeptical of brands pushing the hard sell.
Playing by the rules
Marketing on TikTok, especially in the financial sector, comes with a new set of rules. Before you even get to the legal implications of offering financial advice online, authenticity is key. Gen Z can spot inauthenticity from a mile away, and traditional polished ads are unlikely to perform well on a platform where unfiltered, relatable content thrives.
If brands are going to join FinTok, they need to embrace the platform’s true culture. That means loosening the reins on formal corporate language and opting for a more conversational, engaging tone. Avoid big claims or ‘click bait’ lines, offer generic advice, ensure you focus on the key criteria, and always end with a caveat, to stay compliant. You could explore, for example, how to create your own limited company, or how to pool all your pension pots.
To avoid being seen as scam, it’s important to ensure that there is a lot of support and transparency beyond the posts made on TikTok. An up-to-date website, links to official websites and posting on other social media goes a long way to show that you are a legitimate business.
Leveraging finfluencers
Financial influencers have already established credibility and trust with their audience. They often speak about ways of maximizing your finances that aren’t taught elsewhere. This resonates with multiple generations on social media. Partnering with a Finfluencer could be a great opportunity to access a hungry audience. Using their platform you could demo products, walk through a consultation, or even do an interview.
Of course, working with Finfluencers is not without risks. Not all influencers follow the same level of rigor when it comes to accuracy or compliance with financial regulations. Financial companies need to do thorough due diligence as well as ensuring any influencers endorse the company values, both online and offline. We’ve all seen plenty of content creators quickly rise before dropping fast due to carelessness.
So, is FinTok a Gen Z goldmine or a finance brands’ desperate play for relevance?
Yes, FinTok is rife with opportunity, but that opportunity might not be for finance brands in the way that they might think.
Creating FinTok content could be especially effective for financial planners and accountants that are offering advice and information relevant to entrepreneurs, for example. However, gen Z is savvy enough to not be impressed with big financial brands pushing inauthentic content.
The biggest opportunity for these brands, instead, lies in finfluencer partnerships, where the focus truly needs to be on genuine endorsements and rigorous compliance checking.
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