Seriously, it’s wild how many people now scroll TikTok for life advice. Like, people go on for a quick laugh and end up in a black hole of money tips from complete strangers. You’re usually going to see things like: “Here’s how to retire by 35.” “Here’s why you should never use a credit card.” “Here’s how I paid off $50k of debt in six months.” Well, it’s not just TikTok, that’s just the app that gets the most attention for it of course. But it’s like financial advice has turned into entertainment… and people are absolutely eating it up.
Meanwhile, actual financial experts are just watching it all happen, probably wondering how a teenager with zero credentials is pulling millions of views for “money hacks.” As a business owner, be it with a small budget or not, to a degree, these influencers are either helping, hurting, or maybe not even impacting your business at all. But at the same time, a lot of them are usually giving bad advice (not always of course). But why do people eat it up?
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People Just Want the Complicated Stuff Simplified
Well that should be easy enough to understand, right? But yeah, here’s the thing: most people aren’t dumb with money… they’re just tired. Well, for the most part they are. It’s mostly about being tired of trying to read through advice that’s full of jargon, random acronyms, and complicated charts that don’t make any sense. But a lot of finfluencers make it simple. Someone’s on your screen, talking like a mate, explaining money in a way that actually clicks.
Meanwhile, loads of professional financial services are still stuck sounding like they’re writing a university textbook. People click off the second it starts feeling complicated. Yeah, that’s literally the reason why.
The Personality Helps too
Everyone knows TikTok and other content on social media isn’t always… accurate. So, yeah, that’s a major downside, and yes, this is actually pretty beneficial for business owners and professionals in general. Now, with that said, people stay because it’s fun. It’s quick, it’s relatable, and it feels like getting advice from a mate over coffee, not a lecture in a freezing office. This is exactly why people listen, even when the advice isn’t the best.
Well, with all that said, it really wouldn’t take much for the professionals to get in on that. You don’t need to learn dances or lip-sync over pop songs (ideally, you shouldn’t unless it’s a strong part of your brand identity). Just ditch the stuffy tone, be a bit more human, and talk like you actually get what people are dealing with. Actually, with this, it can even help to look into content marketing financial services, because things like blogs, short videos, and little tips can feel personal and helpful without being boring.
Real Stories Do Matter
So, another reason people believe random strangers and influencers online is the fact that there’s real stories too. It’s not, “Here’s what you should do.” Rather, it’s, “Here’s what I did, here’s how it worked, and here’s the mistake I made.” Really, sometimes, people don’t want cold advice. So, it’s not that professionals like businesses aren’t trusted, but that relatability significantly helps, and that’s what influencers will try and leverage.
