Financial literacy a key battleground as new services launch to target younger audiences
Millennials, Generation Z and in particular women of these two demographics are the target of two new specially tailored platforms and research regarding the management of personal finances and the ways in which to improve knowledge.
BuzzFeed Australia is preparing to launch a new, female-led finance column to help young women better understand the value of money and assist in setting them up for financial success.
Meanwhile, newly launched WeMoney app hosts a raft of known fin-influencers from channels such as Instagram, TikTok and YouTube for users to learn from.
BuzzFeed Australia is preparing to launch a new, female-led finance column
BuzzFeed Australia’s head of content, Julia Willing, who will manage the column, said: “We consistently see content about money hacks and saving goals over-perform amongst our readership. This new series will see local talent collaborate with expert voices to make financial advice easy to understand.”
A BuzzFeed spokesperson added: “There will be sponsorship opportunities and we’re really appealing to financial organisations here. The data we have collected shows a real gap in knowledge with younger audiences – with that stat about most getting their information from YouTube being the real trigger here.
“BuzzFeed has built a rapport and trust with millennials and gen-z specifically, and BuzzFeed Australia really genuinely wants to help arm them with what they need to be financially independent.”
The announcement comes off the back of a recent study BuzzFeed Australia conducted that showed how much the gen-z and millennial consumers really know about their personal finances.
Whether consumers are looking for budgeting 101 or help with their mortgage process, BuzzFeed’s goal is to educate and aid users while staying attuned to their content preferences and needs.
Every month there are 5.6 million who want to feel more confident when it comes to managing their own general finances and 5.4 million who want to better understand financial products and options, according to BuzzFeed.
The report showed that 5.5 million of BuzzFeed’s monthly active users said while it is important to them to learn more about managing their finances, they simply don’t know where to start, with 84% wishing there was a better way to keep track of their finances.
Additionally, 82% say it’s important that their bank represents their values, while 76% say they would like to learn more about how global and political events impact their personal finances.
Most admitted there is room for growth and improvement when it comes to understanding their personal finances.
According to BuzzFeed’s study, across all generations and demographic groups, YouTube is the number one digital source for financial advice. While younger generations turn to TikTok and Snapchat for advice, older generations are more likely to differ to Facebook and Reddit.
Their biggest financial concerns overall seem to stem from COVID-19 with consumers more worried about their financial futures than anything else. Outside of monthly expenses, the largest share say their financial priorities and savings are going towards travel, their family and purchasing a home.
Influencer marketing platform, HypeAuditor, has also explored the emerging and fast-growing field of finance-related social media influencers, known as ‘finfluencers’. According to HypeAuditor, in Australia is being particularly driven by millennial women.
Looking at the engagement around hashtags such as #moneytok, #stocktok, #fintok, #finance, and #investing, HypeAuditor found finfluencers make up less than 1% of all influencers in Australia. However, this small group has proven to be incredibly impactful, particularly for brands investing in sponsored content and wanting to engage with commercially minded millennials. On TikTok, #moneytok has more than 3.8 million views and #stocktok more than 361 million.
Both the finfluencers themselves and their audiences skew towards female millennials. Among finfluencers, 34% are female aged 25-34 years, while only 16% are male in the same age bracket. Meanwhile, the balance shifts when looking at finfluencers aged 35-44, of which 25% are male and only 9% are female.
Alex Frolov, CEO and co-founder, HypeAuditor said: “The finfluencer phenomenon is growing rapidly in Australia, and brands wanting to engage with commercially savvy influencers and communicate with money-conscious consumers are taking advantage of this evolving trend.
“It’s interesting to see this movement driven mostly by millennials, reflecting an ongoing trend of turning to, and trusting online information and sources when making significant life decisions or going through major milestones such as buying a first home, investing in shares for the first time, or re-assessing the best superannuation options. Finfluencers are stepping in where traditional financial institutions or more established enterprises have historically made this information challenging to navigate and action.”
Dan Jovevski, founder and CEO of the recently launched WeMoney, believes financial literacy needs to be improved for young Australians.
“A lot of people aren’t taught financial skills during their youth and by the time they hit their twenties they may take on a lot of debt that can set them up for strife, for life. Financial literacy is incredibly important for Australians to know and by making it a core part of our community feature, we feel we’re helping them to learn these skills and provide value to WeMoney members,” Joveski said.
The community feature is accessible to all users of the app, which is free to download and has already amassed over 100,000 downloads since its launch in September last year. Financial content creators such as TashInvests, Aussie Money Man, Shesonthemoney, Justin Baldori, CaptainFi, Aussiedebtfreegirl, BrokeGirlWealth, and MoneySavvyMamma.
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Alex Frolov
APAC
buzzfeed
Buzzfeed Australia
Dan Jovevski
female-led finance column
finance
financial help
financial influencers
Finfluencers
head of content
head of region
HypeAuditor
Julia Willing
Nicki Williams
personal finances
WeMoney
