NAIROBI, Kenya, April 10 – The global fintech market is valued at nearly $7.3 trillion and is expected to grow at an annual rate of 26.87%, according to a 2021 report from web service provider Yahoo. Rising popularity of digital payments, increasing investment in technology solutions, favorable government regulation and increased adoption of smart devices are some of the reasons given for the rapid growth of fintechs.
As Kenya transitions to a cashless society, fintechs are playing a defining role in the digital transaction space. Due to competitive markets, fintech brands must fight to stand out, educate the public on the benefits of their solutions, endear them to their brand, recruit them as customers, and ultimately convert them into brand ambassadors.
Fintech solutions vary across different industries and domains, i.e. Insurance, Real Estate Technology, Lending, Payments, Wealth Management Technology, Challenger Banks, Trading Technology, Digital Currency/Exchanges and reg. The need to simplify fintech solutions and drive audiences to adopt and navigate them efficiently is a challenge for most brands.
With a wide range of digitally savvy audiences consuming many levels of online information that fragment their attention, a critical part of fintech brands in their marketing arsenal is influencer marketing. Influencer marketing is not a new concept. However, it is an effective strategy that meets different branding and business goals.
Most fintechs in Kenya are developing brands. Awareness is a core business or communications objective. Influencers give a stamp of approval to the brand, deeming it worthy of their followers to engage and build trust with a brand. Influencers who promote your brand don’t just make empty speeches. Their mentions and endorsements can generate business leads and impact sales.
According to a global survey by influencer marketing firm Droom Media, 85% of Gen Zers use social media to learn about new products. A telling statistic is that 56% of all internet users, from Millennials to Gen Z, watch videos from social media sites (Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Snapchat, Reddit). One way or another, people indulge in influencer-related content.
Traditional advertising requires a considerable investment and such expenses would not be attractive to fintechs who, despite the need to grow their brands, will often choose to start up to finance or maintain their operations. Consequently, their advertising budgets are limited or reduced to support business segments. Influencer-driven content, however, produces amazing results for fintechs from a cost perspective.
Research from influencer marketing firm, TapInfluence, shows that a single piece of influencer content can trigger four times the ROI, four months into a campaign and a dramatic eleven times increase in sales throughout. of the year. This efficiency is forcing more and more businesses to adapt to this alternative but highly effective form of marketing, gobbling up budgets that would have been, in most cases, funneled into traditional/consumer advertising.
Brand appeal is something fintechs should consider beyond just analyzing sales numbers. Influencers command a large number, more than a million followers or subscribers on a single social media platform. A global consumer survey reveals that 49% relied on influencer recommendations, while 40% bought because they saw an influencer promoting the brand in question.
Through influencer partnerships, fintechs can reach wider audiences and create a psychological and emotional connection that drives desired attitudes and perceptions. This is done by measuring engagement rates, number of views, shares or likes – metrics that broadcast or print platforms struggle to provide.
Additionally, while ads hang on TV screens or radio after a while, fintechs can exploit the longevity of content once published on social media platforms. Fintechs can leverage a sustained audience through content that can be accessed or repurposed for months or years, adding to a brand’s visibility and reach.
As the fintech space continues to heat up, the writing is on the wall for brands battling to expose their solutions to a pool of up to 11 million active social media users in Kenya. Partnerships with the right influencer, when used correctly, can provide a fintech company with strong growing or established audiences and opportunities to more effectively influence their solutions.
By Tullah Stephen
The author is the Senior Social Media Manager at Chipper Cash Kenya