Growth Gorilla’s latest brands-only event gathered some of the brightest marketers and leaders under the same roof, where we talked about how fintechs can build strong communities and drive growth.

Our fantastic guest speakers shared their knowledge on how to connect with people right where they are to create stronger bonds:

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⭐Julia Lucas, Head of Influencer Marketing at Growth Gorilla

⭐Gemma Livermore, Founder of Women of FinTech

⭐Jo Burford, Head of Community at TikTok UK

⭐Max Rotherty, VP of Community at Finimize

⭐Oscar Mackenzie, Head of Marketing at Shares

⭐Henry Barton, Head of Community and Brand at Uncapped

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Gemma talked about the power of storytelling in building communities and the importance of using a diversity and inclusion angle. Jo Burford discussed the importance of authenticity and why authenticity is the key to success on TikTok. She also mentioned balancing promotion and providing value within your communities. Oscar Mackenzie discussed how Shares is building a collaborative space where investors can learn from each other. Max spoke about high-impact strategies fintech startups can employ to kickstart their community-building journey. Henry shared how we can leverage UGC creator relationships and the importance of thorough customer research in getting to know your community.

Check out these 17 key takeaways: 

Key Takeaway 1: Storytelling is crucial in building communities

"There’s no need to reinvent the storytelling wheel. Tell the story of the people you know, and make it about what everyone is looking for. That's how you build your community."

Key Takeaway 2: Use storytelling to boost diversity and inclusion

“Community is all about connecting people from completely different areas. Use storytelling to educate. That's how you create diversity and inclusion.”

Key Takeaway 3: Learn from other industries

“There is constant learning from other people by attending events that aren't just FinTech.”

Key Takeaway 4: Don’t be salesy

“Educate your communities on your product using thought leadership instead of pushing a sale. Think about why you would go online to look for community or content. What would you like to read?”

Key Takeaway 5: Community is about inclusion

"Community is about including everybody who agrees with what you're doing, not siloing it to a certain person. Communities work better when you can learn from each other."

Key Takeaway 6: Move with the trends

“Trends move so quickly on TikTok. You should grab a trend and go with the wave. If you have content that hasn't worked, get over it quickly.”

Key Takeaway 7: Post a lot and don't overthink it

“My quick tip for fintechs to maintain long-term engagement within their communities is to post a lot and have fun at it.”

Key Takeaway 8: Have a clear, robust process

“If you fall on your process, things start to get chaotic with your content, which can become overwhelming.”

Key Takeaway 9: Talk about what you master

“Post around topics you feel you have a lot of thought leadership.”

Key Takeaway 10: Leverage UGC

“You can never have enough content feeding the TikTok monster, so make sure you bring people in to create and repurpose that content.”

Key Takeaway 11: Keep your brand promise

“Be very clear about what you offer to your community as a brand and what you promise. Every time you show up for your audience, you have the opportunity to keep that promise or break it.” - Oscar Mackenzie

Key Takeaway 12: Community is a long-term play

“If you're focusing on driving acquisition straight away from your community strategy, it's probably not the right strategy. Community should not replace your acquisition strategy—it should work alongside it.” - Oscar Mackenzie

Key Takeaway 13: Understand who your customers are 

“Make sure you deep dive into customer research rather than scraping the surface. Know what keeps them up at night, what market conditions are challenging them, where they hang out, everything.“ - Henry Barton

Key Takeaway 14: Invest in community from day one

"Many fintechs build a fantastic product and go after funding without spending time investing in their brand and community. From there, it's difficult to retrofit the community piece." - Oscar Mackenzie

Key Takeaway 15: Make community a central piece 

"Community should be across every team and strategy rather than have a standard function. The mindset shift is moving away from thinking we're building for our customers, to building with our customers." - Max Rotherty

Key Takeaway 16: Community is a two-way road

"The empathetic way to look at the value of community is by thinking it's not just what we get from the community, but also what does the community get from us." - Oscar Mackenzie

Key Takeaway 17: Community is a conversation starter

"Community is not about how many social followers we have, but how do we imbibe a feeling of community and create a safe space for audiences to have conversations on social." - Oscar Mackenzie 

Key Takeaway: Have honest conversations with UGC creators

"Find out how creators want to convey your story by having frank conversations, setting guidelines and boundaries and getting comfortable." - Henry Barton

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Overall, the event provided valuable insights and strategies for anyone looking for community-building best practices and networking opportunities in Fintech. We hope you found the event helpful in navigating the complexities of building communities to bridge endless growth opportunities. Thank you to all who attended and to our expert speakers for sharing their knowledge and experiences. 

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Want to work with us?

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At Growth Gorilla, we only do fintech. We create and execute strategies to help fintechs go to market, grow, and master market entry. Our team of experts has already helped grow over 30 fintechs. When you come with us, there’s no confusion or wasted time. 

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Get in touch today to see how we can help you grow your fintech.

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