Paying Attention To Black Financial Literacy Influencers
Paying Attention To Black Financial Literacy Influencers
First off, thank you for such an overwhelmingly positive response to Social Feed. As mentioned, pursuit of more equitable opportunity distribution amongst diverse influencers has been the fuel that powers how I navigate my career. Therefore, a lot of love goes into each piece of content I am rolling out for you all in order to ensure talent is reflected in a way that will garner the understanding that is deserved. So I am very appreciative that the efforts are recognized.
As always, if this piece sparks a desire for customized influencer diversity resources for your company please reach out to me on LinkedIn.
In my launch post of 100+ Black Influencers, you may have noticed the absence of finance influencers from the list.
For those who observed: the excitement of getting this second post to you only grew with each LinkedIn comment & Instagram DM.
For those who didn’t even notice: This post is a must read. Because, if you're not yet aware of the presence of Black social media voices dedicated to growing financial empowerment within our community, you're overlooking a deeply engaged audience.
In 2020, we witnessed the heightened overlap of extreme racial tension and economic stress of the pandemic. As a result, I believe there was an enhanced welcoming that Black audiences had to receive financial information from those most understanding of their own experiences and an additional motivation to close the long-standing wealth gap. That’s not to say Black finance influencers hadn’t been hard at work much prior; but the perfect storm of circumstance and the growth of short-form video (great for educational content) created a momentum that put a spotlight on efforts and has expanded opportunity even as economic worry continues today.
Financial influence can be difficult to navigate. It not only brings a pressure for consistency but also an understandably heightened scrutiny of credibility that isn’t always as sensitive in other verticals. However, when successful, a special audience trust is unlocked.
Therefore any brand touching this sector, owes its own proper diligence of prospective partners. That said, instead of framing this post as a casting list (which wouldn’t reflect all of the talent out there anyway), I wanted to focus on a multi-tiered showcase, that highlights some of the range and depth in Black financial literacy influence garnered with the combination of online & offline efforts. Because Black finance influencers are not just boxed into their industry, but are slowly becoming integrated with the larger culture.
What you’ll see are just a few names that I’ve been personally paying attention to, as a starting point for your own research & discovery.
It’s alway interesting when popular voices in a category emerge; however, it’s even more notable when conversations reach such a frequency, that a formal ecosystem of influencer tiers are born.
Earn Your Leisure (Rashad Bilal & Troy Millings)
The Budgetnista (Tiffany Aliche)
Ross Mac
Brandon Copeland
Tiffany James
Food For Thought
I remember my first exposure to the intersection of finance and social-native influencer marketing. It was 2016, and I got brought in to assist with an RFP for Chase. During that period, I had a sense of dread about working in certain sectors (this was one of them). In such heavily regulated industries, there’s a notorious fear that companies have towards trusting the voices of everyday people online. Couple this with the battles of legal approval, and a marketer can’t help but feel the dilution of genuine connectivity.
However, with time and the practice of influencer marketing becoming more formalized, we’ve started to see financial companies actually becoming active players in the space. So much so, even I admittedly would love the excitement of an American Express partnership one day (*insert manifestation*).
And while it feels a bit “chicken or the egg”, the growth in activity from finance companies has also paralleled a growth in finance influencers & content:
That said, whether you are working directly on a financial product, or even broader lifestyle brands, consider the unique trust & attention that finance creators are gaining from audiences and be sure to keep up with the journey!