The FinInfluencer phenomenon, that’s who they are
After the horde of big influencers cornered by Agcom regulations, and the recent news cases involving Chiara Ferragni (now under investigation for Easter egg fraud), it is becoming increasingly popular a new category of influencersnot the usual one we are used to that stands among makeup sponsorships and designer clothes, but a group of financial experts who provide advice for reasonable purchases and safer financing.
They are called FinInfluencers or more simply financial influencers, a phenomenon or “trend” still in the making and which according to data from Buzzoole’s Plus24, a company that deals with influencer marketing, in Italy, in 2023, produced around 1 million pieces of content economic-financial, even if only 1% of these were sponsored. Although with extremely low numbers compared to influencers who deal with food, fashion, travel and cosmetics, FinInfluncers are slowly crowding the homepages of the main social platforms such as Instagram, TikTok, Telegram and Youtube. Their purpose? Help investors and guide them in the process through more rational choices. This because there is little financial education, especially in an Italy which is rapidly trying to adapt to countries like France, where there is even talk of requiring a license for those who talk about finance on social media. While waiting for rules on the matter that legitimize the whole of Europe, the country can count on consumer protection legislation and the recent Agcom rules published after the Pandoro Gate affair. However, since 2016, by the Institute of Advertising Self-Discipline (Iap), a broad system of limits has been in place to contain the phenomenon and combat it.
The work of FinInfluencers is based on the same rules that traditional influencers follow, i.e play and press on the spectator’s emotions. This means that investors, similarly, must feel safe and protected from those whose advice they take, especially in financial matters, where investors follow the crowd without fully evaluating the implications of their decisions. FinInfluencers therefore work with the aim of counteracting “financial anxiety” which can also lead to irrational behavior by investors, such as panic selling without accurate assessment of market conditions.
Obviously this category exists and “works” because it is made up of experts in the sector. Unlike the web influencers who sponsor the makeup brand’s latest lipstick, in this case we’re talking about money and investments, so you can’t rely on just anyone. In Italy, in fact, financial advisors must pass an exam and register in the Register to practice the profession, so this is an additional protection for investors.
READ ALSO: Chiara Ferragni, the prosecutor: “A single criminal plan”. The charity “system”.
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