Perhaps your bank is thinking of dipping its toes into the waters of TikTok and becoming a “finfluencer” (financial influencer). What kind of content creation gets traction? “Explainer videos work well,” said Eric Cook, chief digital strategist at WSI in Prudenville, Mich. You can provide information to viewers, and they won’t feel judged, he said. People then become familiar with the banker and bank and form an emotional attachment to them. Links in the notes can then direct viewers back to the bank’s website for a PDF they can print or a graphic they can download.
Incorporating infographics also is a good tool; use graphs, charts, bubbles of different sizes. “If you can explain something visually, that always works,” he said.
A third option for creating engaging content that tends to get overlooked, Cook said, is a livestreaming event. Schedule the event on your chosen platform and promote it. Allow people to submit questions anonymously ahead of time and then answer them live. If no one submits any questions, answer questions you know are frequently asked.
One benefit of a live event is proving you’re a real person, Cook said. If a viewer asks a question and the question is answered immediately by the moderator or guest, that’s a tough thing for AI to generate, and getting a conversation going helps viewers feel even more connected.
To make the bank’s videos searchable, use hashtags. Typical financial literacy ones include: #FinancialTalk, #BankLocal, #Banking, #FinancialLiteracy, #MoneyTalk, #MoneyTok, #LifeHack, #FinTok, #GenZFinance, #PaydayRoutine, #PersonalFinance, and #LearnOnTikTok. Bankers can use these hashtags to search out other content creators and get inspiration for popular topics.
Destiny Nance-Evans of Security Bank, S.B., in Springfield, Ill., encouraged creators to include #fyp which helps get that post on the “For You Page” of users, something akin to a home page or newsfeed for a TikTok user. Posts without that hashtag don’t seem to get as much traction on TikTok, she said.
Creating and using a unique hashtag, like #FNBSF for The First National Bank in Sioux Falls, S.D., gives you trackability, too, Cook said. You can search that hashtag and see how many times your video has been shared.
For camaraderie and conversation, consider connecting with thesocialbankers.com, a community of bank marketing and social media managers who ask questions, bounce ideas off one another, and share best practices.
Be aware that posting consistently and effectively takes commitment. “Really understand the time and effort and planning [it takes] to jump on something like this,” said Renata McCain, vice president and marketing manager for The First National Bank in Sioux Falls. “To just think that ‘I’m going to get started because I have one video in mind’ is probably a recipe for failure.”
“Every social post that you see from your financial institution or honestly any business, it probably didn’t take them just two minutes; it probably took them two hours,” said Jacquelyn Benda, digital strategist at First National Bank. “But don’t ever hesitate to take that content, and slice it, and dice it, and use it on different platforms,” McCain added.
FinLit Suggested Reading
“You Need a Budget” by Jesse Mecham
Mecham takes a granular approach to “giving every dollar a job” and building a budget that balances flexibility for unexpected expenses with making a plan and sticking to it. There’s also an app.
“The Financial Feminist” by Tori Dunlap
Dunlap focuses on financial education for women, to whom she tailors her advice and tips. Her approach is looser and her tone irreverent, although she does hew to the basics.
“Get Good with Money” by Tiffany Aliche
Aliche gives a 10-point crash course in budgeting for those who slept through — or weren’t offered — financial education basics classes in high school.
360financialliteracy.org
This website offers budgeting advice and calculators from the American Institute of CPAs.
practicalmoneyskills.com
This website brings the usual advice and lessons as well as educational games in English and Spanish.