Finfluencers can be a great way to receive financial advice in a free, digestible format. The regular content feed from a creator opens the doors of financial education to a wider audience and helps keep their audience up to date to make the most of their money. Since finfluencers can curate and nurture a smaller audience, it also means followers with niche interests or requirements, including those from backgrounds traditionally underrepresented in media. They’re also a free resource, opening the doors of financial education to a wider audience, including younger generations.

The financial advice provided by finfluencers is often unregulated. This is compared to more established media such as television, which has its content regulated by Ofcom, the regulatory body for communications or advertising, which is regulated by the Advertising Standards Authority. These traditional forms of media are more credible as they are held accountable for their content; if they provide information deemed false, misleading, or inappropriate, their content could be pulled, and they could be liable for a fine. Finfluencers, on the other hand, have no regulatory body, and are often the sole producers of their output, compared to a TV show or newspaper article, which will likely have a team working on them.

Finfluencers can still be a useful starting point for interesting and diverse ideas related to managing money. Here are our quick tips on how to use them effectively:

1. Avoid making high-risk investments or making investments with websites you have not heard of before.
2. Consider why the opportunity is being promoted – is the influencer being paid? Sponsored content should be clearly marked (e.g. #ad) and this will alert you to the fact the finfluencer has been paid to promote a particular product.
3. Choose a finfluencer who has a financial qualification.
4. Avoid investment opportunities that promise sky-high returns – it may be too good to be true and your initial investment may be at risk i.e. you may lose the full amount of what you invest and not gain a penny.
5. Don’t rely on a single influencer for advice – instead, use them as a base point to fact check against other credible sources, such as information from your bank!