Finance Influencers – Photo by S O C I A L . C U T on Unsplash
Social media is one of the most powerful marketing tools we have today. Ads or campaigns can easily go viral and reach millions of audiences in a matter of hours through its’ various platforms. One of the recent developments in social media is the emergence of influencers and influencer marketing. Bloggers or vloggers with a strong following and reputation are now called influencers who are tapped to promote brands or campaigns. Given that influencer marketing is expected to grow in the coming years, influencers including finance influencers can also look forward to growth in 2021.
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Social Media and Influencers
Most influencers today were originally bloggers or vloggers who harnessed the power of social media to expand their reach. However, this doesn’t mean that anyone with a blogsite, YouTube Channel, or social media presence is an influencer. In order to deserve this “title” one must be able to develop a strong engagement, large following, and solid reputation for their sites. This can be achieved with the use of quality content and multiple social media platforms.
Twitter, Instagram and Facebook dominated the social media in the past few years but TikTok has already overtaken their popularity in the past year. This app may be a hit for lifestyle influencers but for finance influencers blogsites, twitter and YouTube remain to be the preferred platform.
A lot of people today depend on the internet and social media for information. Thus, making your presence felt in different platforms can help expand your influence of reach. However, since reputation is also part of the equation, influencers must also establish their expertise on the subject to make their content more credible. In the case of finance influencers, the most successful ones are those engaged in banking, fintech, economics and other related fields for their day jobs or profession.
Photo by Jakob Owens on Unsplash
Income Potential of Finance Influencers
Ad placements. There are several ways in which influencers can monetize their content in social media. The most basic one is through ad placements on blogsites and other social media pages. Brands or advertisers simply pay for banner ads or side bar ads in the influencer’s blog or webpage. Cost of placement for these ads depend on the size of the banner and the number of visitors on the site.
Sponsored Posts. Another way to get paid as a finance influencer is through sponsored posts. In this method, the influencer is asked to create and publish or simply publish content that promotes a brand, product or service. Content that features fintech products look very promising given that the pandemic has driven people to embrace e-commerce and online finance services. Pay out for sponsored posts vary depending on the size or traffic of the site or the social value of the influencer. The range can be anywhere around $25 to $2,500 per post.
Affiliate Marketing. Some influencers generate 50% of their income through affiliate marketing. This usually happens when you have credible content in your site. With this arrangement influencers earn from special links or coupon codes that are placed within their content. These links lead directly to the affiliate website or product website and the influencer earns a small fee whenever readers click on the link or use coupon codes from their site.
Brand Collaboration. This type of income opportunity is usually offered to mega influencers and celebrity influencers because it entails collaboration between brand and influencer in the design and development of the product.
Digital Products. Influencers who are able to create valuable and informative content can also tap the income potential of digital products like e-books, videos, or subscriptions. This is a good opportunity for finance influencers who are adept at doing market analysis and portfolio management because they can come up with daily subscriptions for monitoring market performance.
Growth of Influencers in 2021
Continuous growth for social media and influencer marketing is predicted for 2021. Industry growth is seen at around $13.8 billion this year and new players are expected to contribute to the growth. As the market continues to evolve, fresh growth potentials for both brands and influencers are also being revealed. Some brands have already dedicated budgets for this marketing strategy and their need to reach a wider and more diverse market would also mean tapping more influencers to partner with.
