As more and more individuals look to social media influencers to answer their personal questions, financial services companies need to develop partnerships with these creators if they want to acquire new customers in the future.
By Erik Garcia
Marketing Specialist, Screenfire Media
Influencer marketing and financial services might seem like an odd pairing, but it definitely is a fit more than you may think. Need proof?
SoFi, a leading digital financial services company, recently hired Vivian Tu to be their first Chief of Financial Empowerment. Who’s Vivian Tu, you ask?
She’s not a 20-year Wall Street exec. Vivian isn’t a leading quant managing her own hedge fund. She’s a content creator in the personal investment space known as Your Rich BFF who has amassed almost 4 million followers. This has led her to write and publish a New York Times bestselling book and recently announce that one of her books is being developed into an Amazon television series.
Okay…but how did she also get a fulltime gig with a large bank?
Vivian has developed an audience that trusts her. They trust to check in with her content and life daily. That kind of trust is hard to build. It’s the kind of trust any financial advisor would pay handsomely to secure from future and current clients.
This shift in a more strategic partnership between creators/influencers and companies can be seen across companies in many verticals. Starbucks has hired fulltime creators to document coffee culture. Additionally, Dunkin Donuts encourages employees to shoot content on their shifts that they then distribute on company social channels. Since the beginning, newsletter software company Beehiiv has partnered with creators as their go-to-market strategy.
When you sell financial services, you must demonstrate authenticity because you are offering to manage someone’s money, which is one of the most serious relationships someone can have with another.
Marketing is changing fast. Has already changed.
If your financial services company is spitballing what is the best way to secure your future clients, then you should consider influencer marketing partnerships.
Content remains king–along with trust. These creators have created content religiously for years to build devout audiences. Vivian Tu grew a trusted viewership based around how she talks about financial advice. SoFi’s hiring of her now gets to benefit from that trust.
Your future clients live on Instagram, TikTok, and Youtube. Your firm should live there as well.
You building a strategic influencer program today can turn into a consistent referral engine for years to come.
Reach out to Screenfire to see how we can help your financial services company launch its influencer marketing program. Fill out the form to the right or email us at info@screenfiremedia.com.
