Unlocking the Power of Tik Tok With a “Fin Tok” Strategy
An Introduction to “Fin Tok”
The financial Tik Tok space, recently dubbed “Fin Tok,” refers to the library of Tik Tok content created by users pertaining to financial topics. While TikTok has garnered a reputation for promoting volatile cryptocurrencies and activist investing regarding the Dogecoin and GameStop incidents that occurred last year, there is still vast potential for entering this space with content geared toward everyday financial wellness. General hashtags such as #personalfinance have reached over 4.4 billion views, with more specific tags such as #mortgages have over 800 million views.
Among Tik Tok’s audience of 138 million monthly active users in the U.S., 78% of these users are between 16 and 39 years old. It is essential for credit unions and banks to interact with as much of this demographic as possible to establish a sound future for their institution. As these generations move into significant financial decisions such as new credit cards, student loans, home buying, and more, they actively seek advice. LinkedIn reports that 59% of Gen-Z is willing to learn new skills to increase their income. When competing for “Fin Tok” viewers, certain credibility comes into play as a financial institution against a typical finance influencer. This creates an outstanding opportunity to drive sound financial decisions among followers already banking with you and the general TikTok community with reliable financial information from the source.
The first step to making “Fin Tok” TikTok video content is to pick the right topic. The most popular in TikTok’s financial library are personal finance advice, financial literacy resources, and investing. When it comes to personal financial advice, a topic relevant to current market conditions or significant life events such as money-saving tips for college students at the beginning of the school year or tax filing tips during tax season are great examples. Financial literacy resources offered by your bank or credit union should also be shared at the right time as they pertain to current market conditions or significant life events. Some examples would be sharing the benefits of using the institution’s online financial calculators for those financing their first car when car manufacturers announce new annual models or available first-time homebuyer programs to help brave unfavorable markets. Lastly, we don’t recommend promoting Dogecoin, but other investment topics such as how to reap the benefits of starting retirement saving early or assessing an investment in education are among more appropriate topics for a local bank or credit union to create content around.
Curating Content
TikTok is most known for its dance challenges and lip-synching videos, so it’s no surprise that the most viewed content on the app can be classified as entertaining, but that’s not all. TikTok content should be bite-sized or straightforward, humorous, and use trending elements to be as relatable as possible in the younger generation’s social environment.
While TikTok provides the option to publish videos up to 10 minutes long, TikTok’s algorithm favors videos from 15 to 30 seconds long. This is due to the platform’s general audience preference for bite-sized and straightforward content. Keeping videos limited to a single topic with just a few talking points or increasing to a series of shorter videos on one topic can increase account engagement overall. A significant benefit to posting a series of shorter videos (i.e., Part 1, Part 2) is that those with the highest level of interest will immediately seek out more related content on your profile.
While not all your videos need to be (SNL) Saturday Night Live quality, adding a mix of humor into TikTok content adds the entertainment value that appeals most to viewers. TikTok’s entertainment category alone has 535 billion hashtag views and includes all those fun lip-synching videos. Getting visibility in this category can alert the TikTok algorithm that your content is worth sharing with viewers, so creating videos with several entertainment-worthy hashtags is an excellent source of account growth.
Lastly, remaining as relatable as possible to younger generations by utilizing TikTok trends serves as the final piece to a successful “Fin Tok” strategy. While you should continue to serve the content, your audience engages with the most, mixing in several videos featuring trending TikTok sounds, themes, and effects will create a greater chance of being featured. Using these elements alerts the TikTok algorithm that your content is worth sharing with viewers because videos consisting of these are skyrocketing on the platform in a short amount of time. Stay on top of trending video elements in the “Discover” section of the platform by checking in at least once a week to monitor what is getting the most views and best utilize current trends on TikTok.
Check out These “Fin Tok” Video Examples!
Account: @fnbcommunitybank
Video Topic: Quick Financial Tip: Don’t Leave Money in Venmo
Account: @kohlercu
Video Topic: Covering Pet Expenses (Part 2 of 3)
Account: @londonmutualcu
Video Topic: Banks Vs. Credit Unions
Is your community bank or credit union looking to unlock TikTok’s potential? Strategis is a full-service marketing agency developing strategies proven to increase the (ROI) through a wide range of methods. Contact us today!
