New York, May 29, 2024 — Emplifi, a leading customer engagement platform, today announced its findings after analyzing financial influencer activity on Instagram and YouTube during a 12-month time period between April 2023 and April 2024. According to Emplifi’s data, financial influencers—or “finfluencers”—on Instagram and YouTube saw double the median growth in followers during the past year compared to all other influencers on the platforms.
On Instagram, the median growth in followers for financial influencers reached 6% compared to only 3% growth by other influencers. When breaking down financial influencer Instagram accounts by size, large accounts (more than 100,000 followers but less than 1 million followers) saw nearly 15% median growth in followers during the same time.
On YouTube, financial influencer accounts experienced nearly 8% median subscriber growth compared to nearly 4% growth for other influencer accounts. Not only are financial influencers growing their audiences at a larger scale than other influencers, but they are also posting more content – an example is the well-known US-based finfluencer Humphrey Yang who focuses on personal finance. Financial influencers on Instagram posted more than double the amount of posts compared to other influencers. The same trend held true on YouTube, with financial influencers posting five times more videos than other influencers.
“We’ve seen a continued shift in consumer behavior to view social as a place to connect, shop, and learn,” said Susan Ganeshan, CMO, Emplifi. “Younger demographics plan their financial future differently. They are social and digital-first, and this surge in activity tells brands in the space that if you want to reach today’s consumers, meet them where they are, and for the financial sector that means through influencer marketing and user-generated content.”
Finfluencers have become a powerful force on social media apps during the last few years. According to a report from FINRA Investor Education Foundation (FINRA Foundation) and the CFA Institute, 48% of U.S. Gen Z investors learn about investing and finances primarily through social media platforms. The top online source used by this younger demographic: YouTube, with 60% of Gen Z relying on the app as their primary source for financial information. For example Taylor Price, the Gen Z finance expert has made it her mission to combat financial illiteracy.
According to Emplifi, when analyzing the number of videos posted by financial influencers on YouTube, medium-sized accounts (more than 50K subscribers but less than 100K subscribers) posted as many as five times more videos compared to other influencers. Followed by large accounts (more than 100K subscribers but less than 1M subscribers) posted four times more, and extra-large accounts (more than 1M subscribers) posted three times more.
Financial influencers on YouTube have also consistently outpaced other influencers when it comes to median video views since the second quarter of 2023. During the second quarter of 2024, financial influencers earned nearly 800 median video views compared to approximately 500 media video views earned by other influencers. Meanwhile, financial influencers on Instagram have earned fewer interactions on their posts compared to other influencers, with median post interactions trending downward since mid-April 2023.
“Financial influencers are a wildly popular group on social media, especially for younger generations who turn to YouTube, Instagram, and other social media sites for personal finance advice, investing tips, and more. What we’ve discovered when looking at follower growth, engagement, and posting frequency for this segment of influencers is that both Instagram and YouTube deliver when it comes to growing audiences,” Ganeshan said.
“The primary takeaway for brands in the sector, or any business looking to partner with a financial influencer, is that there are influencer marketing opportunities to broaden your audience and build lasting relationships with consumers. The key is choosing a credible financial influencer whose content and tone aligns with your brand’s messaging, especially brands wanting to connect with younger audiences.”
Methodology
Emplifi's analysis is based on influencer data from April 16, 2023, through April 15, 2024.
To be included in the sample, influencer profiles on both Instagram and YouTube must be labeled as a business account and have 1,000 or more followers. Financial influencers were detected through their significant interest level in “banking,” “personal finance” and “economics.”
On Instagram, the sample size analyzed included 109,047 “finance” influencers and 5.19 million "other" influencers.
On YouTube, the sample size analyzed included 31,438 “finance” influencers and 814,310 "other" influencers.
About Emplifi
Emplifi is a leading unified customer engagement platform that empowers businesses to reach and grow communities through digital- and social-first strategies. More than 20,000 brands like McDonald’s, Ford Motor Company, and Delta Air Lines rely on Emplifi to enable connected, empathetic experiences for the modern consumer across marketing, commerce, and care. Headquartered in New York, Emplifi partners with major social media networks and digital platforms, including Google, Meta, LinkedIn, X, TikTok, and Snapchat.
