Creating an effective fintech social media strategy is a fine art in an industry crowded with competition.
Fintech brands may find this task difficult and rife with unique challenges, including;
- Cutting through the noise: Standing out in a sea of social media fintech content can be tough. How do you create engaging content that resonates with your potential customers?
- Building trust: Financial services are heavily regulated and how to build trust in your brand is paramount. How can you use social media to establish yourself as reliable and trustworthy?
- Boosting engagement: Fintech interaction rates are low. How do you get your content to resonate with your target audience?
- Measuring success: Fintech social media marketing requires ongoing monitoring and tweaking. How can you track the effectiveness of your social media strategies and ensure you’re getting a return on your investment?
LinkedIn, Instagram, and TikTok are extremely difficult to master for financial companies.
Recent Hootsuite data puts the average engagement rate for fintech social media (across five platforms) at just over 1% at the start of 2024, lagging behind the likes of the government and education sectors posting an average of 1.4-1.6%.
The average SM engagement rate by industry
Breaking it down by platform, we can see that Facebook and TikTok generate sub-1% engagement rates and no channel gets close to the 2%.
The financial service industry’s engagement rate across SM platforms
Does this represent a missed opportunity for fintechs? Or does fintech social media simply not work?
Well, there is evidence that brands can use the strengths of social media to achieve successful results.
TikTok’s short video format, in particular, is an ideal way to build trust using friendly faces and easily digestible content.
Facebook’s use of communities allows users to feel heard and understood, which builds trust in the brand.
Instagram’s higher-than-average engagement rate is probably down to the human faces, relatable stories and Reels, which it uses to create the emotional connections so important in fintech.
Each platform has its strengths that we must know how to use to create an effective social media strategy.
Plus, the upside is that such a low average percentage means you can get a swift advantage over many rivals if you can nail your strategy.
Doing this requires a healthy dose of inspiration, so we’ve put together 10 of the best fintech social media strategies to ever grace the industry.
Intrigued? Read on to find out more.
Don’t waste money on a fintech social media strategy that doesn’t work. Book a no-cost consultation with Mint Position, a fintech content marketing agency that knows how to put you on the path to higher conversions.
11 of the best fintech social media strategies that show how to boost engagment
The financial technology industry is a tough nut to crack when it comes to the likes of Instagram and TikTok. But if you can do it, you’re on the path to higher engagement and conversions.
So, what are the best fintech companies on social media? Here are 11 case studies of brands doing it just right.
1. Gamification (Acorns)
Ever found a banknote down the back of the sofa or in the street?
Acorns know the satisfaction these small wins bring us and they use it to great effect in their “Acorns Earn’ game, which they regularly link to via social media.
This program lets you earn bonus investments for your Acorns account by shopping at partnered stores. When you use a linked card at a partnered store, they top up a percentage of your purchase (like $15 on a $20 order) to your Acorns investment account.
Acorns continues this theme of gamification across its social media channels. Its Facebook page is a daily hive of activity, with their “multiplier challenge” (customers get the chance to multiply any amount they invest that day) being a highlight.
Acorns’ Set It and Invest It multiplier challenge
Why this strategy works
- Acorns have turned simple digital marketing strategies into games by incentivizing followers to ‘find money’ by completing challenges.
- The name “Found Money” is smart because customers feel the same thrill of “finding money” when they check their accounts after a purchase.
- Since 2016, the “Found Money” game has attracted $37.5 million of investment from rounded-up purchases.
2. Giveaways (Chime)
Chime loves to be liked. But building this appeal isn’t just down to a need for affection; it is also a smart business move in a fintech industry that needs to build trust.
It’s paid off. The “most loved banking app” is the largest American neobank for a reason: it combines a friendly and transparent approach with clever social media marketing that revolves around giveaways.
Chime Sweepstakes is one of the best fintech marketing campaigns around.
Followers must follow the account, perform a simple challenge (like reposting an image), and put the relevant hashtag: do all this and they might win a cash prize.
Why this strategy works
- Chime doesn’t just throw money at this marketing strategy (so to speak). Their campaigns are carefully constructed and follow strict metrics.
- Getting their users to perform simple tasks, like reposting and hashtagging, accelerates customer engagement.
- High bank customer acquisition costs justify them doing this: they need to spend a ton of money to get people to sign up anyway, why not do it via a super effective cash giveaway?
3. Using humor (Curve)
Ditching the stuffy tone of voice that typifies traditional banks is one of the ways fintech startups mark themselves apart, and Curve gets this down to a tee.
All their social media accounts have a playful feel to their messaging, which resonates with their target demographics of millennials and Gen Zers. They come across as the funny one in your friend group whose role is to keep everyone’s spirits up.
People like it. Curve is one of the few fintechs with a strong following across the five major social media platforms.
Curve’s social media following
Why this strategy works
- Younger audiences respond to an informal tone and Curve knows this: they also know they’ll form their customer base over the next few decades.
- People love funny content, and if you can make them smile while they scroll, then you have their attention – and possibly their custom.
4. Making financial security catchy (Banco Santander)
Banco Santander is trying its best to lose its legacy bank image by creating catchy campaigns on TikTok designed to get users to stop the scroll.
Their “Stop Scammer Time!” challenge gets users to post humorous videos of them dancing with superimposed MC Hammer-style baggy trousers. The aim is to highlight common scammer tactics in a fun way.
Why it works
- A striking catchphrase (and pun) is great for getting the target audience to “stop the scroll”, not to mention the sight of people dancing in outrageous 80s trousers.
- The campaign promotes Santander as a safety-conscious bank, a must in today’s security-conscious climate.
- It’s also a prime example of user-generated content (UGC). Participants are promoting the Santander brand without the bank spending a cent.
5. Influencer marketing (Starling)
Starling Bank, a mobile banking provider, uses social media influencers to share their customer experiences and promote financial empowerment.
Its “multi-channel ambassador” Instagram fintech campaign tells personal stories about how Starling’s features helped them manage their finances.
The program ran over the course of 12 months, adapting to key financial events like pandemic money management.
This influencer-driven approach generated impressive results, including:
- 23M+ impressions
- 12.5M+ engagements
- 8% engagement rate (remember the 1% average we mentioned earlier)
- Increased brand awareness and account sign-ups
Source: Goat Agency
Why the strategy works
- The authenticity of influencers resonated with viewers who needed it in stressful times like the pandemic.
- Influencers have a broad reach, so Starling was able to tap right into deep pools of potential new customers right away at a low cost.
6. Using infographics and visuals (Paddle)
Educational content is a big winner for professional followers looking for value from their social media feeds.
Paddle, a B2B payments provider, knew this so began using LinkedIn and Twitter to target business professionals with visual and informative posts.
Their content mix includes conference updates, podcast promotions, infographics, gifs, and other eye-catching visuals, all speaking directly to the needs and interests of their business-minded audience.
Its tone of voice matches his slick content; delivering posts in a smooth, knowledgeable manner.
Why this strategy works
- Bright engaging visuals are high-performing in this world of non-stop content. They help stop the scroll and also help customers engage with the face in front of them.
- Let’s face it: learning stuff can be a chore. Engaging yet valuable content like gifs and tutorials make this take a lot easier.
7. Showing off the power of chatbots (Cleo)
The AI revolution has brought along generative AI chatbots with the ability to answer financial queries in real time.
Fintech app Cleo has been on them for a while, launching its virtual assistant a few years ago. The bot analyzes spending habits, identifies hidden fees, and even sets personalized saving goals.
Cleo uses its social platforms, particularly Instagram, to show off examples of bot-to-human interactions, with often funny results.
Why this strategy works
- Cleo is using its social media channels to advertise its chatbot, but it doesn’t feel like it thanks to the witty and sometimes sarcastic tone of the bot interactions
- Cleo’s use of humor makes the chatbot seem more relatable and approachable, especially to a younger demographic who may be intimidated by financial institutions.
8. Hashtag challenges (Quickbooks)
Intuit QuickBooks, a financial management platform for small and medium businesses (SMBs), used TikTok to uplift struggling businesses during the pandemic. Their campaign aimed to celebrate resilience at this time and show how their tool can help SMEs that sprung up during lockdown.
This interactive campaign featured a branded hashtag challenge with a 2D effect and custom music. Users were encouraged to strike a “victory pose” to celebrate business achievements, which helped promote a sense of community.
The campaign stood out for the following reasons:
- High engagement: The challenge garnered over 1.4 million videos and 767,000 participants, with 56% being actual small business owners.
- Influencer marketing: Partnerships with celebrities like Gordon Ramsay and Jessica Alba, along with successful SMB owners, boosted campaign reach and authenticity.
- Brand lift: QuickBooks saw a 3.5% increase in awareness and a 3.1% lift in brand association.
Why this strategy works:
- QuickBooks’ campaign connected with its audience on a deeper level. Yes, they may only be hashtags, but they’re a quick way of celebrating entrepreneurial spirit and fostering community.
- This gamified approach not only incentivized spending but also created a sense of excitement and competition among a wider audience, and was a bright spot during troubled times.
9. Short videos (Step Bank)
We mentioned Gen Z a couple of times already as their buying power is rising. They crave financial guidance and what they respond to most is short video content.
Already one of the most effective areas of fintech content marketing, according to HubSpot research, video is also perfect for sharing a tonne of information in just a minute or two.
Its engagement rate is high across industries, with videos under one minute regularly hitting the 50% mark. Financial service companies also don’t tend to lose engagement until the clip exceeds three minutes, according to video platform Wistia, meaning they can fit in reams of content.
Video engagement rates across industries
Source: Wistia
Step Bank made the most of this high engagement with relatable TikTok content. Their short, informative videos cover everything from car-buying tips to “donut hacks,” all delivered with authentic, transparent messaging.
Collaborations with teen finance influencers like Spencer Hawk further build trust and engagement, making Steps Bank a pioneer in informative short video content.
Why it works
- Targeting the younger audience makes sound fintech business sense for long-term custom, so it makes sense to go where they are with witty yet informative videos.
- The videos are very TikTok friendly, being short, engaging, and funny, and have helped Steps build a formidable social media presence.
10. Ditching the jargon (Monzo)
Monzo’s fintech social media strategy thrives on a refreshingly friendly and transparent tone.
TThroughout their messaging they focus on clear, jargon-free communication that resonates with their target audience – Gen Z.
This isn’t just the friendly tone that we mentioned earlier, but a conscious marketing effort to put their followers at ease with simple and concise language.
Why this strategy works
- Monzo speaks the language their audience understands. They avoid complex financial jargon, focusing on straightforward explanations and helpful tips. This makes financial literacy feel less intimidating and more approachable.
- Monzo isn’t afraid to show their human side. They openly share their social media guidelines and even explain their brand voice in detail.
- Their friendly tone encourages interaction. They use humor and memes to create engaging content, sparking conversations and fostering a sense of community.
- Monzo stays on top of trends and integrates them seamlessly into their social media strategy.
11. Using expert insights taken from interviews (Berkeley Payments)
In the age of AI, fintech brands need to offer unique insights more than ever so that they stand out from the sea of artificially generated content that’s swamping social media.
Expert interviews are an extremely effective source of this. Not only do they offer unique perspectives that are different from what everyone else is posting, but they also give fintech followers the thought leadership they crave.
Real-time payment provider Berkeley Payments’ LinkedIn page is a resource of expert insights, providing their audience with exclusive opinions about the latest payment technology trends.
A quick scroll on any given day might reveal thoughts about the latest in Account-to-Account (A2A) B2B payments, Earned Wage Access, or open finance.
The approach has paid off. After teaming up with Mint Position to interview a series of experts in the payments industry, they consistently achieved higher engagement rates multiple times the industry average.
One post about EQ bank in March 2024 even hit an engagement rate of 19%.
In fact, the top five posts in Berkeley’s LinkedIn history have all been interview-related, accompanied by an image of the expert in question.
Why this strategy works
- Social media works best when it’s used as a conversation tool between people, not just the company preaching to its followers. Expert interviews are ideal places to start this conversation.
- Fintech followers need to trust the brand before they use it. Giving them specialist information is one of the best ways to build this trust.
Need help with your fintech social media? Mint Position has the answers
At Mint Position, we’ve spent years demystifying fintech marketing, and social media is integral to a successful campaign.
We understand the unique challenges that fintech brands have when engaging audiences in these spaces and that many struggle to find their voice.
Our approach goes beyond basic social media management.
We craft data-driven content strategies that spark conversation and build brand awareness. Imagine listicles and definition posts that drive organic traffic, alongside interview-supported research articles tackling your target audience’s pain points.
In this way, it’s not just about content. We work to collect subject matter expert interviews to establish your brand as a thought leader that excels in getting its followers to stop the scroll and engage with you.
At the bottom of the funnel, where the most conversions occur, we’ll then weave in product-focused content highlighting your value proposition with clear evidence.
This strategy, infused with keyword research and strategic social distribution, has a proven track record of success for our fintech clients.
Think beyond follower counts – we’ll help you cultivate meaningful social media engagement that translates to valuable, organic traffic and ultimately, conversions.
Cut out the guesswork of your social media strategy and start using data-backed marketing instead. Get in touch with us and we’ll show you how we’ve helped dozens of fintech businesses create a pipeline of higher conversions and long-term revenue.