In February, we brought a group of fintech marketers together to talk about influencer marketing.

Not the fluffy version. Not the “let’s send out a few freebies” version.

The real version, where compliance is non-negotiable, budgets are under scrutiny, and performance actually matters.

Here’s what became clear:

Influencer marketing in fintech isn’t broken. It’s just misunderstood.

And in many cases, underpowered.

1. The Biggest Mistake: Treating Influencer as a Channel, Not a Strategy

Most fintech brands treat influencer like a bolt-on tactic.

They brief a few creators, launch some posts, maybe boost them and then judge the entire channel on a six-week test.

That’s not strategy. That’s experimentation without structure.

Influencer should sit inside your wider growth engine:

• It feeds paid media.
• It builds mid-funnel trust.
• It supports sales conversations.
• It generates reusable creative assets.
• It improves CAC when structured properly.
  
  

When influencer is isolated from performance and creative strategy, it underperforms. Every time.

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2. B2B and B2C Are Playing Different Games

One of the strongest discussions in the room was around audience segmentation.

Too many fintech brands apply one influencer playbook to every target market.

That’s lazy, and expensive.

If You’re Targeting Enterprise (B2B)

This isn’t influencer marketing.

It’s influence marketing.

Your audience doesn’t care about follower counts.They care about credibility.

The most effective B2B fintech brands are:

• Turning clients into case-study storytellers.
• Putting internal experts on camera.
• Creating 5–10 part educational series.
• Repurposing that into LinkedIn content, blog articles, and sales decks.
  
  

Why this works:

Decision-makers trust peers more than ads.
Long-form content builds authority.
Owned media compounds over time.

When a CTO sees another CTO unpack a problem they recognise, attention shifts immediately.

That’s influence.

If You’re Targeting SMEs or Consumers

Now we move into more traditional influencer territory, but even here, fintech brands tend to cluster in the same overcrowded spaces.

Everyone chases:

• Finfluencers on Instagram.
• Personal finance TikTok creators.
• YouTube reviewers.
  
  

Which drives up rates and lowers differentiation.

One of the most underused channels we discussed?

Podcasts.

Niche podcasts offer:

• Highly concentrated audiences.
• Deep trust.
• Lower CPMs.
• Evergreen discovery (new listeners explore old episodes).
  
  

Instead of fighting for one 60-second Instagram placement, brands can:

• Sponsor full podcast episodes.
• Secure host-read integrations.
• Appear as guests.
• Layer in Spotify or Acast programmatic ads for scale.
  
  

It’s targeted influence, without the auction pressure of social feeds.

Fintech looks much better from the treetops.

3. Compliance Isn’t Blocking You. Process Is.

This is where conversations usually get tense.

“We can’t do that because of FCA.”

In reality, most of the time, the issue isn’t regulation, it’s a lack of structured approval processes.

Financial promotion rules require:

• Clarity.
• Fairness.
• No misleading claims.
• Proper disclosure.
  
  

They don’t require boring marketing.

The fintechs running strong influencer programmes follow a disciplined process:

1. Compliance approves the strategic brief.
   
   
2. Compliance reviews and signs off the creator’s concept.
   
   
3. Compliance approves the final recorded asset.
   
   

This removes risk without killing creativity.

Affiliate programmes follow the same principle.

Uncontrolled affiliate networks are risky. Pre-approved, monitored partnerships are not.

If your influencer marketing feels creatively restricted, the first thing to review isn’t FCA guidance.

It’s your workflow.

4. How to Test Properly (Without Wasting Budget)

Another recurring theme: underfunded testing.

We often see brands allocate £3–5k to “test influencer” for a month, then conclude it doesn’t work.

That’s not a test. That’s a toe dip. The smarter entry point is:

UGC for paid media.

Here’s why:

Instead of paying for distribution on a creator’s channel, you:

• Commission creators to produce content.
• Secure usage rights.
• Run the assets through your paid social campaigns.
  
  

Benefits:

• Lower upfront cost.
• Controlled targeting.
• Faster iteration.
• Measurable performance.
  
  

You test:

• Hooks.
• Messaging angles.
• Creative formats.
• Creator personas.
  
  

Then you double down on what drives conversions.

For statistically meaningful data, you’re looking at:
- £10–15k per month.
- Minimum three months.

Anything less and you’re optimising noise.

5. Making Budget Work Harder

Once you identify performance, optimisation becomes critical.

Here’s what separates average campaigns from efficient ones:

Negotiate Bundled Deliverables

One post is rarely enough to influence behaviour.

Instead of buying:

• 1 Instagram Reel
  
  

Negotiate:

• YouTube integration
• TikTok cutdowns
• Instagram posts
• Paid usage rights
• UGC asset delivery
  
  

More touchpoints. More consistency. Better ROI.

Lock in Retainers

If a creator performs, move fast.

Three-month retainers:

• Reduce negotiation friction.
• Deliver cost efficiencies.
• Build audience familiarity.
• Improve conversion rates over time.
  
  

Creators value income stability, and that often translates into significant rate reductions.

Explore Adjacent Verticals

Finfluencers carry premium pricing.

But your audience doesn’t live only in finance content.

They also follow:

• Gaming creators.
  
  
• Productivity influencers.
  
  
• Small business educators.
  
  
• Lifestyle personalities.
  
  

For example:
An investment product with gaming mechanics might perform better through Twitch integrations than traditional finance channels.

The audience context matters more than the category label.

6. If Conversion Is Low, It’s Probably a Funnel Problem

A common frustration discussed:

“We’re getting views, but sign-ups are low.”

Often, the issue isn’t the creator. It’s the funnel. Particularly with younger audiences, trust takes time.

If your strategy jumps from:
Awareness → Hard product CTA

You’re skipping consideration.

Middle-funnel content might include:

• Budgeting education.
• Savings hacks.
• Transparent fee breakdowns.
• Real user stories.
• Comparison explainers.
  
  

Trust compounds.
Conversion follows.

Influencer isn’t magic.
It accelerates what your funnel already supports.

The Bigger Picture

Influencer marketing in fintech works.

But only when it is:

• Strategically integrated.
• Creatively differentiated.
• Compliance-structured.
• Properly funded.
• Measured against real growth metrics.
  
  

Boosting posts isn’t a strategy.
Random gifting isn’t a strategy.
One-month pilots aren’t a strategy.

Structured influencer marketing can:

• Lower CAC.
• Improve brand recall.
• Increase mid-funnel engagement.
• Strengthen authority.
• Feed high-performing creative into paid.

Fintech and Financial Services is competitive.

Your marketing should be too.

We don’t “also do fintech.”
Fintech is all we do.

And when influencer is done properly, it doesn’t just look good.

It drives growth. Need help? Contact us.

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