Trust in social media has historically been low, with 70% of Brits saying they don’t trust the content on social platforms, including posts from brands.
However, trust in financial advice is quite high in younger demographics with 64% of 18-34-year-olds saying that they trust financial advice shared online and 19% of 16-25-year-olds use TikTok & Instagram for financial tips.
Worryingly, these coincide with stats showing half of the UK population don’t understand financial terms such as “overdraft” or “mortgage”, with this dropping to 20% for 16-25-year-olds. This low-level of financial literary is leading to some consumers to be taken advantage of, taking larger risks with their savings, persuaded by a host of TikTok trading micro-influencers on #stoktok promising get-rich schemes if you follow their predictions.
TikTok has already started to clamp down on this, banning investment promotions in the likes of cryptocurrency, pyramid schemes and foreign exchange. However, there is still a huge amount of content online that will reach vulnerable, young adults.
So how can brands in traditionally corporate industries effectively promote themselves to these younger audiences, while remaining brand safe? The answer is a social media strategy that incorporates attention-grabbing, engaging and trustworthy content. Below are some ways that they can do this:
Influencers
With trust in ads remaining low, companies should look at influencers to educate people and teach them about their products. Whether they have large followings or are deemed micro-influencers, accounts are inspiring people to effectively manage their money and are breaking down the complicated world of personal finance.
Finance brands can work with these influencers to help generate branded content, improving brand trust whilst educating users on the value of their products. Paid media campaigns can then amplify this branded content to a wider, targeted audience, while retaining the influencer’s brand integrity
TikTok
With a global user base of 1 billion, TikTok offers an immersive, full screen and sound-on experience with high engagement and long session times. Finance brands should look to tap into trends across TikTok and make use of its algorithm, which encourages organic growth and development of a community. With 52% of TikTok users saying they find new products from ads on the platform, brands should also be looking to launch paid TikTok campaigns which can further amplify and drive measurable results.
Instagram Reels
Like TikTok, Reels (launched in August 2020) offers a full-screen experience that draws on user engagement and interests. Running on the explore page, Reels can be an effective way to get discovered organically, especially with organic media having little penetration in the feed due to Instagram increasingly being a pay-to-be-seen platform. However, brands need to make sure that they are following creative best practice, being attention-grabbing and attention retaining through educational pieces that then introduce their products. Ever looking to monetise their products, Instagram Reels are available to buy media placements on, meaning brands can be visible even if they are being limited by the organic algorithm.
Live Events
Finally, the promotion of live events across Facebook & Instagram should be used. Brands can directly interact with their communities (or their influencers’ communities) and showcase their product base. Promoted through Facebook events, follower notifications or through being prioritised in the story feed, brands can quickly get their userbase to view live events and build brand trust further. You’re also able to add products to Live broadcasts for monetisation.
There are a host of ways finance brands can reach people on social media, whether It’s through influencers, TikTok, Reels or Live Events. At The PHA Group, we have a wide range of experience running all these campaigns, whether organic or paid social. Get in touch today to find out more about how we can help you.