9 Influencer Marketing Insights You Don’t Want to Miss

Ever wondered how to measure the effectiveness of your influencer marketing? How to get campaigns past compliance? And whether the whole thing is even worth your time and budget?

Dive into the lessons we learned during this month’s influencer marketing roundtable event, and discover what influencer marketing can really do for today’s growing fintechs and finservs.

The topics we’ll look at include:

1. The Fundamentals of Influencer Marketing
2. Setting Up an Influencer Marketing Channel for Success
3. The Challenge of Attribution and Measuring Success
4. Testing and Scaling Influencer Campaigns
5. Influencers vs. Affiliates: Understanding the Differences
6. Challenges in Influencer Marketing
7. Financial Services and Legacy Brands Need to Adapt
8. The Role of Organic Social and Influencer Synergy
9. Boldness Wins: Challenger Brands vs. Big Brands

1. The Fundamentals of Influencer Marketing

Leveraging Authority Through Influencers

Influencer marketing thrives on the transfer of authority—brands tap into an influencer’s established credibility within a specific audience to foster trust and authenticity. This strategy is increasingly important, as studies show that 61% of consumers trust influencer recommendations over branded content (Source: Edelman Trust Barometer).

Empowering Creative Freedom

Authenticity is paramount. Influencers understand their audiences better than brands do, and their content performs best when it feels organic rather than overly scripted. Brands that dictate too much risk losing engagement. According to a report by Later and Fohr, 68% of marketers find that influencer-led content performs better than brand-created content (Source: Later x Fohr).

Aligning Expectations and KPIs

Brands must recognise that influencer marketing is a top-of-funnel awareness driver, not a direct conversion tool. The most successful campaigns focus on engagement, brand sentiment, and long-term customer acquisition rather than immediate sales.

2. Setting Up an Influencer Marketing Channel for Success

Defining Clear Goals and KPIs

Before launching influencer partnerships, you should define your objectives. Are you aiming for brand awareness, engagement, or conversions? Setting clear goals allows for more strategic execution and ensures success is measured effectively.

Empowering Influencers in Creative Direction

Strict brand guidelines can limit the effectiveness of influencer collaborations. A better approach is to provide a framework rather than a script—allowing influencers to craft messages in their unique voice.

Early Involvement of Compliance Teams

For regulated industries such as finance and fintech, compliance plays a crucial role. Early collaboration with compliance teams ensures that content aligns with industry standards, preventing delays and legal challenges.

3. The Challenge of Attribution and Measuring Success

Beyond Direct Conversions

One of the biggest mistakes brands make is judging influencer marketing solely on direct conversions. Instead, its real value lies in:

• Lowering customer acquisition costs (CAC) across all channels
• Increasing brand search volume and direct traffic
• Enhancing brand credibility and social proof

Effective KPIs for Influencer Marketing

To accurately assess performance, you need to track:
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✅ Brand traffic uplift (Google Analytics, direct website visits)
✅ Follower growth and engagement rates
✅ Cost-per-engagement (CPE)
✅ Impact on organic search and brand sentiment

4. Testing and Scaling Influencer Campaigns

Starting with a Targeted Test Campaign

For brands new to influencer marketing, starting small is key. A test campaign should focus on:

• A specific audience segment
• A single product or service
• A defined geographic region

Testing Methods That Work

📌 UGC vs. Static Ads – Creator-led content often outperforms traditional brand ads.
📌 Whitelisting Influencer Ads – Running influencer-created ads from their accounts typically leads to higher engagement and better CTRs.
📌 Micro-Influencer Campaigns – Lower cost, higher engagement, and often more trust from audiences.

5. Influencers vs. Affiliates: Understanding the Differences

Affiliates and influencers serve distinct purposes:

• Affiliates operate on a CPA (cost-per-acquisition) model and drive direct sales.
• Influencers build trust, awareness, and engagement, influencing long-term brand perception.

Understanding these differences helps you allocate budgets effectively, ensuring you leverage both models for maximum impact.

6. Challenges in Influencer Marketing

Navigating Content Saturation and Authenticity

Overexposure can lead to content fatigue—using the same influencer too frequently reduces impact. Diversifying partnerships ensures fresh, engaging content.

Managing Negative Sentiment

You need a clear strategy for handling negative feedback, especially on social media. Transparency and active engagement can turn criticism into brand loyalty.

7. Financial Services and Legacy Brands Need to Adapt

Traditional financial services firms have been slower to embrace influencer marketing, while challenger fintech brands use it as a primary growth engine.

Key takeaways for regulated industries:

• Compliance is a hurdle, not a barrier—early collaboration solves this.
• Influencer marketing isn’t just for Gen Z—affluent, older demographics also follow trusted financial voices online.
• Established brands can win by blending influencer marketing with performance marketing for a full-funnel strategy.

8. The Role of Organic Social and Influencer Synergy

A strong organic presence amplifies influencer efforts. Rather than waiting for perfect brand channels, you should consider using influencers to drive legitimacy and engagement from the outset.

Case in point: successful brands like Monzo and Duolingo have built engaged audiences through bold, entertaining, and relatable content. Legacy brands should take note.

9. Boldness Wins: Challenger Brands vs. Big Brands

Large brands often play it safe, while challenger brands take creative risks. In influencer marketing, bold storytelling stands out—brands that embrace this see higher engagement and stronger brand affinity.

Recent trends show that:

• Sponsoring major influencers and podcasts (e.g., Stake’s influencer collaborations) drives credibility.
• Social-first storytelling (rather than traditional ads) creates stronger brand connections.
• Being overly cautious often leads to being ignored in the crowded digital space.

The Future of Influencer Marketing

The Future of Influencer Marketing For Finance Brands

The key takeaway from this discussion? Influencer marketing is no longer optional—it’s essential.

A brand without an influencer marketing strategy today is a brand that will almost certainly be forgotten tomorrow. Our key takeaways can help you harness influencer marketing effectively, and stay top of mind with your audiences.

✅ Trust influencers with creative control—they know their audience best.
✅ Set clear goals and measure the right KPIs—don’t expect immediate conversions.
✅ Use influencers to test audience engagement before scaling campaigns.
✅ Differentiate between influencers and affiliates—they serve different purposes.
✅ Legacy brands must embrace influencer marketing to stay competitive.
✅ Compliance is a hurdle, not a barrier—early involvement removes obstacles.
✅ The most successful brands take bold risks—playing it safe often means being ignored.

Whether you’re just starting out, or want to refresh your approach, influencer marketing is no longer optional—it’s essential.

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