Finance, Tips, and TikTok

Unsure if TikTok is right for your digital marketing? Does it work for investment content covering retirement planning, ETFs, mortgages, government schemes, home insurance and hedge funds? Because TikTok is now more than just fitness, entertainment, and cat videos. In fact, in the last two years it has become a hub for financial advice.

Financial TikTok, sometimes called FinTok or StockTok, is an emerging sub-genre of content on TikTok that focuses on finance and investment topics. The videos are created by TikTok's self-proclaimed investment gurus/influencers and covers everything from tax advice, budgeting, saving and investing, to stock market analysis.

Let's see how many eyeballs this niche genre gets. At the time of writing , #FinTok had 2.7 billion views, #StockTok had 3.0 billion views, while posts with #investing had 10.5 billion views. We get even higher numbers if we consider variations of #investing and #stock.

For a platform known for its lip-syncing videos and skits, FinTok has become an unexpected hit amongst its audience and a sought-after niche for its influencer community.

A DOORWAY FOR FINANCE EXPERTS

Consider the reach of top FinTok influencers. Tori Dunlap (@herfirst100k) 2.1 million followers, Erika Kullberg (@erikakullberg ) 8.1 million subscribers, Robert Ross (@tik.stocks) 364,000 devoted fans, and Kenny (@kenny.finance) more than 231,000 followers.

These influencers are reaching audiences that most asset managers can only dream of. So, it comes as no surprise that financial institutions are taking note. Blackrock, Fidelity, Betterment, California-based Wealthfront, and CreditKarma are some of the companies that have jumped on the TikTok bandwagon.

For finance companies, it will take work. It means rethinking their business model and learning a new language— speaking in bite-sized clips to engage their audience. Also, many financial institutions continue to be sceptical of TikTok due to its younger demographics. But that is changing — the percentage of users aged over 50 has risen to over 11 , and the share of those aged 25 to 44 has increased to over 40 per cent.* With over a billion monthly active users and a large community of 'finfluencers', the platform has a ready-made ecosystem for financial brands.

Social media already plays a significant role in influencing retail investors' choices. However, the information sourced could be misleading. ASIC has repeatedly warned consumers against getting advice from unlicensed "influencers".

The crackdown by the corporate regulator on unlicensed influencers provides an opportunity for money managers to leverage their brand and 'finfluence' to weed out misinformation.

*Source: Statista

Finfluencers: Influencers who offer investment advice on TikTok

This article contains factual information only and is not intended to be general or personal financial advice and is for educational purposes only.