TikTok had 112 million downloads in February alone and has now officially become the most downloaded app of 2020. However, the app is more than just dance routines. In a somewhat surprising fashion, the video-sharing app has been acting as a financial oracle for millennials. ‘Millennial’ and ‘money management’ might not be a combination that you naturally place together, however, it seems that they have been turning to the social media app for financial tips and saving tricks.
Whilst many may have spent the lockdown baking banana bread or bingeing Netflix, it would seem that Millennials were using their time learning financial tricks and turning to investments.
Plum, the money management app, saw a 180% increase in investors during this year’s lockdown. Furthermore, the average age of the investor was just 28, representing the middle-end of the Millennial bracket. Plum said they saw deposits on their platform skyrocket, increasing by five times between January and June 2020. Victor Trokoudes, CEO & co-founder of Plum, said: “Millennials are often named as the generation of no income, no job, no assets. Our data proves that for our investors at least, this stereotype is incorrect, as they have shown themselves to be savvy with their smart investment tactics during the Coronavirus pandemic.”
This rapid growth of fintech investment and money management from Millennials can be attributed to social media’s role in celebrating finance. Accounts on Tik Tok who have been breaking down budgeting, investing, tax, and other tricky finance topics into quick and easy 60- second videos. which has boosted Millennial investment.
To name just a few of these finance influencers or ‘fin-fluencers’:
- Alexis Investor
- The Financial Diet
- The Finance Burrito
- Mozo.com
- The Barefoot Investor
- Millennial Money Man
These so-called ‘fin-fluencers’ are spreading their tips on money-saving and investing across the social media platforms of Tik Tok, Twitter, and Instagram.
The relationship between fintech and social media can be further explored on the ground of digital banks. A telling sign of the rising influence that money management is having on today’s youth, is that these social media grounds are now the battlegrounds for digital banks. Glamorous bloggers who would usually be posting the latest handbag or fashion brand have now turned to discuss ‘financial wellness’ and ‘savvier spending’. Digital banks such as Starling, Revolut, and Monzo are cashing on this trend of Millennial money management, and short, snappy, sharp ads displaying the quick and reliable colourful digital banks are spreading far and wide over social media.
With such adverse consequences to the pandemic and with the financial future of the ‘young’ at such a risk, there is no surprise that they have taken to the trend of investment and money management. Unemployment rates are rising at a staggering pace, and therefore the rise of the ‘fin-fluencer’, is a sure sign that these Millennials have money on their mind.
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