If you’ve been on social media at all, at one point or another we’ve all been persuaded into making a purchase or watch a movie that our favorite Influencer talked about (whether you want to admit it or not). Influencer marketing allows brands to target both broad and niche audiences and demographics. Brands can have direct access to an already established trusting base of consumers if you work with an influencer who specializes in a specific category of content like fashion, beauty or tech.

When it comes to Financial Services, institutions are hesitant because of the heavy regulations by compliance.  However, it could be very effective if done correctly and excellent way to build trust and expand reach.

Including influencer marketing into your marketing mix can help amplify your brand to a new audience. The right influencer can authentically speak about their own experience with your brand, product or service to their trusted followers. They develop persuasive conversations with their followers that can be integrated into their story to help promote the brand.  Financial Institutions have to be careful about giving financial advice because of all the rules and regulations from FINRA but offering basic advice on how to invest or plan for retirement can give your brand credibility if your influencers offer their story.

Influencers can be protective and selective of the brands they work with considering the time and energy they spend cultivating their followers.  When an influencer creates content for a brand and speaks about it to an audience who trusts them, it leads to conversions. Since financial services is generally not something a consumer can purchase on their own, the goal is usually to educate and drive to the brand website.  Influencers often link information in their bios to drive traffic.  They are also often supplied with some sort of incentive to their followers like a code or download a white paper to help create lead generation or email registrations. 

Consumers want authenticity and Influencers spend their entire social media presence building trust by offering that very thing. With that, influencers can help financial institutions reach and build trust with a new and untapped audience.