LinkedIn data shows video uploads on the platform increased by 45 percent year on year, with the company projecting a further 65 percent growth in video content consumption as video-first formats take hold across the feed. The implication is clear. Financial professionals are no longer just tolerating video. They are actively choosing it.

This shift reflects a deeper change in how audiences consume information. Visual and dynamic formats allow complex financial ideas to be understood faster, with greater emotional resonance, than static text alone. According to HubSpot’s 2025 marketing report, video delivers the highest ROI of any B2B content format, outperforming blogs, static posts and long-form written content.

For financial services brands, the risk is no longer doing video badly. The real risk is not doing it at all.

As highlighted in Financial Marketer’s 2026 predictions, feeds are becoming increasingly video-saturated. Visibility is now dictated by format as much as message. Brands that rely solely on text-based thought leadership are already losing share of attention.

Chris Duffey, author of Superhuman Innovation, puts it simply:

From one-off videos to scalable strategies

The challenge for financial marketers is not whether to invest in video, but how to do it sustainably. High-production hero videos alone are no longer enough. What wins in 2026 is consistency, relevance and cadence.

Leading financial brands are building scalable video ecosystems. This includes short educational explainers, market commentary, adviser interviews, product walkthroughs and leadership perspectives, all designed to be produced efficiently and distributed natively across platforms like LinkedIn.

According to Wyzowl’s 2025 Video Marketing, 89% of businesses use video as a marketing tool, and 98% of viewers say video helps them better understand products and services. In finance, where clarity equals confidence, that understanding is a commercial advantage.

The takeaway for financial marketers is clear. Video is no longer a supporting asset. It is the core delivery mechanism for brand, education and trust in 2026.

If you liked this article and want to know more contact The Dubs Agency we’d love to help.

[For full disclosure: The author used Gemini to research this article while the podcast was created using ElevenLabs]

The post Why 2026 is the year video becomes indispensable appeared first on Financial Marketer.

In this article, we’ll explore:

• The promise and current adoption of AI in finance

• What parts of storytelling AI already handles well

• What it struggles with (and often fails)

• Strategic guidelines and guardrails

AI in finance

Before diving into storytelling, it helps to understand where AI has already taken root in finance, because storytelling builds on those foundations.

• According to NVIDIA’s State of AI in Financial Services survey, 43% of respondents already use generative AI in their organisations.

• A KPMG global study of ~2,900 finance executives found many are rolling out AI across accounting, planning, treasury, risk and tax operations.

• All About AI reports the global AI in finance market is estimated at USD 38.36 billion, with forecasts suggesting it could reach USD 190 billion by 2030.

These numbers show that AI is no longer hypothetical in finance, it’s increasingly operational. But most adoption to date is in back-office, pattern recognition, anomaly detection, forecasting, and document processing rather than full narrative creation.

What AI can do for financial storytelling

Here are areas in the storytelling pipeline where AI is already quite capable and where it adds genuine value:

1. Data ingestion, structuring & anomaly detection

One of the unglamorous but crucial steps in storytelling is preparing the raw financial data: cleaning, aggregating, ensuring consistency, flagging anomalies or outliers. A.I. (especially machine learning models) excel at pattern detection, outlier identification, consolidation across data sources, and detecting correlations that might be non-obvious.

2. Draft narrative / first pass commentary

Generative AI can transform processed financial data (e.g. revenue by segment, margins over time, variance from budget) into narrative text. For example, it can write a first-draft “management commentary” or “insight summary” that says: “Segment A’s margin contraction in Q2 was largely driven by input cost inflation, partially offset by higher volume in Region X …”

KPMG notes that generative AI, combined with finance, “can create better speed and efficiency by eliminating redundant or manual activities, allowing finance professionals to focus on higher-value tasks”, though “it is only as good as the underlying data and well-engineered prompts.”

3. Visualisation & adaptive charts

AI tools can suggest optimal chart types, build dynamic visuals, or even animate transitions. Some platforms can auto-select chart frames, colour schemes, or overlays (e.g. revenue trend + benchmark). These visuals support the narrative by making data more digestible and engaging.

4. Text-to-video & multimodal storytelling

The newer frontier: converting narrative and visuals into short videos or animated summaries. Platforms like Mootion the “AI financial explainer video maker” help turn complex financial concepts, investment strategies, wealth-management advice and personal-finance topics into video stories, combining chart animation, voiceover, scene transitions and narrative text. As video becomes more consumed in finance communications, social media, or internal updates, this capability is significant.

In fact, as Finextra reports UBS has begun deploying AI-generated avatars of its analysts to deliver video research content to clients,  scaling video production while freeing analysts to focus on deeper insights.

5. Personalisation & scenario variants

Because AI is programmable, it can generate variant narratives tailored to different audiences (e.g. investors vs operations) or scenarios (optimistic, base, downside). It can also more easily produce “what-if” or scenario-driven storylines by combining data inputs with narrative templates.

What AI Can’t (or doesn’t reliably) do yet

While expectations are high, there remain several limitations, risks, and failures that financial storytellers should be wary of:

1. Deep domain insight, judgment & nuance

Financial storytelling often hinges on domain understanding, intuition, subtlety, and judgment calls (e.g. regulatory implications, market sentiment, qualitative drivers). AI can suggest patterns, but cannot reliably substitute for an expert’s interpretive reasoning. It may miss counterintuitive insights or over-emphasise correlations that lack causal basis.

2. Contextual consistency over long narratives

AI may produce internally inconsistent narratives, especially over longer explanations (e.g. repeating contradictory statements, drifting focus). Ensuring logical narrative flow, contextual coherence, or a crisp “through-line” in longer documents remains challenging for many generative models.

3. Handling ambiguous, conflicting or missing data

When data is incomplete, contradictory, or ambiguous, A.I. struggles. It may attempt to hallucinate or smooth over gaps, potentially generating misleading statements. Human oversight is required to vet and correct.

4. Creativity, metaphor, tone & audience empathy

Storytelling is also about voice, emotion, resonance. AI generally lacks true creativity, empathy or deep sense of audience feedback. It may write pedestrian statements or fail to tailor tone dynamically. The “human edge” intuition, rhetorical framing, emotional resonance remains a competitive differentiator.

As Scott Winters, puts it in this Financial Gravity article

5. Bias, error, hallucinations & overconfidence

Generative models can hallucinate facts, misstate numbers, invent references, or misinterpret prompt context. Unless constrained carefully, these outputs risk inaccuracy or misleading claims. Rigorous validation, guardrails, and fact-checking remain essential.

6. Governance, auditability & compliance

In regulated financial environments, story content (especially forward-looking statements or risk disclosures) must be auditable and defendable. A.I. models often operate as “black boxes.” Ensuring traceability (which data used, which prompt, who edited) is a complex but necessary requirement for responsible use.

7. Visual / video limits

Although AI video generation is advancing, there are limits: high resolution, long-form coherence, facial realism, lip-sync accuracy, audio synchronisation and contextual transitions remain challenging. Text-to-video models are computationally intensive, limited in output length, and prone to artifacts.

Strategic guidance & best practices

Here are the principles and guardrails for integrating A.I. into your financial storytelling workflow:

KPMG emphasises that generative AI’s effectiveness depends heavily on “well-engineered prompts” and robust embedding into finance workflows.

What the future looks like

• Multimodal models are advancing: systems like MAViS or MM-StoryAgent research projects attempt to coordinate script writing, visuals, character modelling and audio in unified storytelling pipelines.

• Text-to-video models like Veo (from DeepMind Google) are evolving to support longer content with improved audio/video sync.

• More financial institutions will adopt hybrid avatars (as with UBS), enabling scalable video research and narration.

• The frontier will shift from “drafting commentary” to “interactive, live narrative agents” (e.g. investor dashboard that tells evolving stories in real time).

• Regulation, explainability, bias controls, and domain certification will become prerequisites for adoption in regulated settings.

AI is a powerful enabler in the financial storytelling toolkit, accelerating data work, drafting commentary, generating visuals, and even producing short video stories. But it is not a substitute for the human judgment, domain nuance, narrative sense, and accountability that financial storytelling demands.

The ideal path is augmentation, not replacement: let AI handle repetitive or structured tasks, while human experts refine, validate, add insight, tone and integrity. With disciplined guardrails, iterative adoption, and transparency, AI can amplify storytelling reach without compromising trust.

If you enjoyed this article and would like to know more contact The Dubs Agency we’d love to help.

[For full disclosure: The author used Perplexity to research this article while the podcast was created using ElevenLabs]

The post What AI Can and Can’t do for financial storytelling appeared first on Financial Marketer.

What is Generative Engine Optimisation?

Generative Engine Optimisation (GEO) is a content strategy designed for AI-powered search engines like ChatGPT, Google SGE, and Perplexity. Unlike traditional SEO, which focuses on rankings in search results, GEO focuses on visibility inside AI-generated answers.

• Seer Interactive reports brands that applied GEO saw 40% more inclusion in generative search responses

Why does GEO matter?

• AI is becoming the default search tool: Gartner predicts 70% of search traffic will be powered by generative AI by 2028.

• Generative engines don’t just rank pages, they summarise, paraphrase, and cite.

• If your content isn’t structured to be machine-readable, it risks invisibility.

As Mahesh Chand says, in this C# Corner article  

So how do generative engines process content?

AI engines:

1. Retrieve relevant content chunks.

2. Summarise into natural language.

3. Cite or paraphrase trusted sources.

Dense, unstructured articles get skipped. Structured, chunked answers are easier to retrieve and cite.

Example outline for GEO-optimised content

1. Quick answer

2. What is GEO?

3. Why does it matter?

4. How generative engines work

5. GEO playbook (9 structural rules)

6. Example Q&A / FAQ section

7. Tools to implement GEO (schema generators, content audits)

8. Measurement and KPIs

9. References and sources

How to measure GEO success

Traditional SEO metrics (rankings, CTR) are not enough. New GEO metrics include:

• Share of Answer (SoA): % of queries where your content is cited.

• Citation impressions: number of times your content is pulled into AI answers.

• Engine coverage: how many AI platforms (ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity) cite you.

• Sentiment of citation: positive, neutral, or critical context.

In summary

Generative engines are rewriting the rules of visibility. To succeed:

• Start each section with a clear, direct answer.

• Structure content for machines with Q&A, lists, and schema.

• Signal authority with stats, quotes, and sources.

• Track new GEO metrics, not just old SEO ones.

The brands that embrace GEO now will own the generative search landscape of tomorrow.

FAQ: Generative Engine Optimisation (GEO)

1: What is Generative Engine Optimisation?
A: Generative Engine Optimisation (GEO) is the process of structuring content so AI search engines can easily understand, summarise, and cite it in their responses.

2: How is GEO different from SEO?
A: SEO focuses on ranking pages in search engines like Google. GEO focuses on visibility inside AI-generated answers.

3: Why is GEO important in 2025?
A: Gartner predicts 70% of search traffic will be powered by generative AI by 2028. Content not optimised for GEO risks being invisible.

4: What type of content do generative engines prefer?
A: Engines prefer short, well-structured chunks, lists, tables, statistics, and Q&A formats over long narrative text.

5: How can I make my content AI-friendly?
A: Use query-style headings, answer first in each section, add stats and expert quotes, break up content with lists, and embed FAQ sections.

6: Do expert quotes help with GEO?
A: Yes. Quotes signal authority. AI engines are more likely to cite trusted expert opinions alongside statistics.

7: What role does structured data play in GEO?
A: Schema markup (FAQPage, HowTo, Article) helps engines interpret your content and boosts its chance of being cited.

8: How often should I refresh content for GEO?
A: Refresh and timestamp content every 3–6 months to maintain freshness and trustworthiness for AI citations.

9: What are the main GEO success metrics?
A: Share of Answer (SoA), citation impressions, engine coverage across platforms, and sentiment of citation.

10: Can GEO replace SEO?
A: No. SEO remains vital for traditional search visibility, but GEO is an essential layer to ensure inclusion in AI-driven search results.

[For full disclosure: The author used Perplexity to research this article while the podcast was created using ElevenLabs]

The post How to structure content for Generative Engine Optimisation (GEO) appeared first on Financial Marketer.

Neuro branding uses neuroscience and behavioural science to shape how customers feel about financial brands, not just what they think. For financial marketers in banking, fintech, insurance or wealth management, this means using insights from how brains process trust, risk, reward, visual cues and storytelling, so that marketing works not only on logic but on emotion.

Tools may include eye tracking, EEG, user-interface testing, biometric feedback, and behavioural experiments. The goal is to reduce friction (especially around complex financial decisions), enhance trust, increase retention, and improve lifetime value.

Why neuro branding matters for financial marketers

Numbers & evidence

• A Katalysts.net study showed that message retention in financial content can improve by up to 40% when neuromarketing or psychology-informed tactics are used.

• In a MDPI research project with banking websites, eye-tracking and heat maps revealed that users’ immediate focus (first 20 seconds) on key trust signals (e.g. security badges, clear pricing, simple layout) correlated strongly with lower bounce rates.

• Finextra research in content marketing for financial services, shows emotional storytelling (as opposed to fact-only content) has been shown to drive higher engagement, improve brand trust, and shorten sales cycles.

As Lisa Joyce from the The Financial Brand says, Neuroscientists have an expression:

That means even as financial products become more digital, consumers are still driven by basic emotional and neurological drivers: fear, reward, loss aversion, trust. Neuro branding helps financial marketers speak to those drivers, not just features, terms or numbers.

How financial brands can apply neuro branding in practice

• Design interfaces for trust: Simple, clean UI; clear labels; calming colour palettes; minimal jargon; early display of credibility symbols. UXDA has documented how emotional motivations and simplification reduce anxiety in digital banking.

• Storytelling and framing: Use investor/customer narratives, real-life goals, aspirational frames (saving for education, retirement, happiness) rather than technical specs. Finextra reports these approaches trigger emotional engagement and memory.

• Micro-nudges and small wins: For fintechs or savings apps, UXDA reveals celebrating increments (goals reached, progress bars, reminders) produces dopamine feedback, improving retention and habit formation.

Research in consumer neuroscience by Kenning and Hubert (2008) indicates that subconscious, emotional factors strongly influence our decisions. In finance, these factors are magnified by everyone’s subconscious fears about money, risk and loss. Leveraging neuromarketing principles allows brands to tap into users’ natural motivations, creating engaging, trust-building experiences that build meaningful financial well-being.

Considerations and challenges

• Cost vs ROI: Some neuroscience tools are expensive. Financial firms need to pilot small and measure carefully (A/B tests, control groups) to ensure the investment pays off.

• Compliance & transparency: Regulatory constraints in finance require that emotional claims don’t mislead, that risk is clearly disclosed, and that message framing is ethical.

• Trust is fragile: If consumers feel manipulated, that can harm reputation. Neuro branding must aim for emotional resonance, not manipulation.

For financial marketers, neuro branding is more than a “nice to have.” It’s fast becoming a competitive advantage in markets where trust, emotion, and clarity matter as much as product features. Embed science-backed methods; measure results; act on findings. Use emotional cues, stories, interface clarity. Do it well, and you’ll see better retention, lower churn, higher lifetime value and stronger brand equity.

[For full disclosure: The author used Perplexity to research this article and the podcast was created using ElevenLabs]

The post What is Neuro branding in finance? appeared first on Financial Marketer.

For more than a decade, hashtags were the currency of Instagram reach. Slap on 10-15 tags and your post could land on new feeds, rack up likes, and even go viral. But in 2025, the hashtag era is over.

Instagram CEO Adam Mosseri has been blunt about hashtags’ decline. In multiple interviews, he’s stated:

Translation? They don’t get you more reach, followers, or engagement. At best, they just label your content.

The numbers don’t lie

Once considered the magic growth hack, hashtags now deliver less impact:

• A Social Insider study found that Instagram posts with hashtags in the caption have no statistically significant increase in reach or engagement compared to posts without.
• HubSpot data shows that Instagram engagement rates have fallen by more than 30% since 2019 – hashtags haven’t slowed the drop.
• In 2024, Instagram even removed the option to follow hashtags in your feed, a clear signal they’re no longer part of discovery.

Next-level strategy, what actually works now

Instagram’s algorithm has evolved beyond hashtags. What drives visibility in 2025:

• Engagement signals – saves, shares, comments, and watch time are now the strongest predictors of reach.
• SEO-style captions – posts with clear, keyword-rich descriptions rank higher in Instagram search and Explore.
• AI content recognition – the platform now “reads” your images, captions, and even ALT text to categorise posts.
• Format choice – Reels dominate reach, outperforming photos by 2x on average.

So… are hashtags completely dead?

Not 100%. They still:

• Provide lightweight categorisation for topics.
• Can be useful in branded campaigns or live events.
• Support search if users still look for them.
• And on LinkedIn, hashtags can still help surface content, but they work best when limited to a few highly relevant tags.

But as a discovery strategy? They’re less effective than they once were.

So what now?

Hashtags had their moment, but they’re relics of the past for Instagram, their own CEO says so, and the stats back it up.

Instead of chasing hashtags, brands should:

• Focus on content quality and engagement triggers.
• Treat captions like search-optimised micro-blogs.
• Leverage ALT text, geo-tags, and Reels to get picked up by the algorithm.

The hashtag may not rest in peace, but as a growth tool, it’s dead and buried.

If you enjoyed this article and would like to know more contact The Dubs Agency we’d love to help.

[For full disclosure: The author used Perplexity to research this article while the podcast was created using ElevenLabs]

The post The end of Instagram hashtags and what the data really shows. appeared first on Financial Marketer.

Trust is hard to earn in finance. Words like “invest” or “retirement” can feel cold. People crave real voices. That’s why influencers, especially “finfluencers” matter now.

What finfluencers bring

Finfluencers share advice, they simplify complicated topics, they build trust with their followers, they make financial talk feel personal and clear. And that’s a win when trust is low.

In fact, Fidelity found nearly half of UK investors now use social media and finfluencers for financial tips, many skipping professional advisors entirely. This shows the potential reach finfluencers have and also signals a shift in how people learn about money.

But trust has a flip side

Not all influencers know finance deeply. Some miss the line between help and hype. A UK study from arXiv says many finfluencers lack formal qualifications and can share risky advice.

Brands need to be careful, clear rules and governance are vital. The Times reports that the FCA in the UK is cracking down on get-rich-quick posts and unverified advice.

What the research shows

Influencer marketing in finance is real. It can shape decisions and even stock prices. An academic study published in European Financial Management found that big influencers can move markets, it analysed 16 million Instagram posts and found that strongly worded posts by mega influencers (those with more than one million followers) can sway a company’s stock price by approximately 0.5% the next day. However, this impact fades quickly, vanishing within about four trading days. And on the B2B side, LinkedIn found 82% of buyers are influenced by industry influencers and 79% interact with them each month.

How to use influencers wisely

• Pick influencers who explain things simply and well.
• Keep messages clear, not full of jargon.
• Make sure they understand your product.
• Work with them on a clear brief. That reduces risk and builds quality.

Take compliance seriously. Don’t rely on influencers alone. And give them the rules.

Quick dos and don’ts

Do:

• Use finfluencers to reach younger or digital-first people

• Seek content that educates, not just sells

• Monitor compliance and reputational risk

Don’t:

• Assume all influencers are financial experts

• Skip legal checks

• Forget to measure impact, views don’t always equal trust

Influencers can help financial brands be relatable and connect better, but it’s critical to stay honest and clear. Trust is earned one conversation at a time.

If you liked this article and want to know more contact The Dubs Agency we’d love to help.

The post Why finfluencers matter more than ever in finance appeared first on Financial Marketer.

Financial marketers at global banks and asset managers face a daunting challenge: delivering high-quality content in each region’s language without ballooning costs or timelines. Audiences across Europe expect market outlooks, fund updates, and regulatory notices in their native tongue, delivered promptly. Traditionally, meeting this demand meant lengthy workflows and expensive translation budgets. Now, artificial intelligence (AI) is emerging as a game-changer. One major asset manager, for example, cut translation times by 80% using AI-driven localisation. This article explores how AI enables scalable, cost-effective regional content delivery in financial services, with examples from Schroders and Allianz Global Investors.

The need for localised content in finance marketing

In finance, content only resonates if the audience understands it – meaning firms must present everything from quarterly outlooks to fund fact sheets in the client’s own language. For UK and European marketers, that often entails producing materials in multiple languages simultaneously. Historically, doing this for every update was slow and costly, leading to inconsistencies and delays across regions. With pressure to achieve more with less, many teams now ask: Can AI speed up multilingual content delivery without sacrificing quality?

How AI is enabling scalable localisation

Neural machine translation engines (from providers like DeepL or Google) can convert text into dozens of languages with impressive accuracy. This makes it possible to take a single English market commentary and generate French, German or Italian versions in minutes instead of weeks. AI-driven translation has become a “powerful accelerator” for global campaigns, handling volumes that would overwhelm human teams.

Importantly, AI augments rather than replaces human expertise. Many organisations use a “machine-translate then human-edit” workflow: the AI produces a draft, and local experts quickly refine it. This yields fast turnarounds without losing nuance or compliance oversight. Schroders exemplifies this – its team automates initial translations and then reviews for accuracy. As one marketing lead put it, translations were an obvious target since

“ we spend so much money with translation agencies who in turn use AI tools as well – so why not bring the AI in-house?”

Real-world examples of AI localisation

Schroders stands out as an early adopter. The UK asset manager built an internal AI assistant called “Genie” to help employees with content tasks, including translation. By keeping the tool internal, Schroders overcame compliance concerns. The result: Schroders can now localise materials for its dozens of regional websites much faster than before. Its in-house system handles up to 28 languages and has slashed turnaround times – achieving around an 80% time reduction on some projects.

Allianz Global Investors likewise turned to AI to streamline content production. Allianz’s marketing team used an AI-driven captioning platform to generate multilingual subtitles for videos, making global webinars and interviews accessible in local languages eight times faster than manual processes.

Other players like BNP Paribas are reportedly exploring similar AI localisation strategies, integrating machine translation into their workflows – although specifics remain mostly internal.

Overcoming challenges in cost, speed and compliance

AI’s appeal lies in how it tackles the classic pain points of localisation:

• Cost efficiency: Automating translations with AI cuts down on pricey outsourcing. Once an AI system is in place, the cost to translate each additional document is far lower than using human-only resources.
• Scalability: A lean team can manage dozens of languages with AI doing the heavy lifting. Even a small staff can launch content in all markets at once, so no region waits for updates.
• Speed to market: What once took weeks can now take hours. Faster translation means faster publication – critical for time-sensitive market insights. For example, Allianz saw an 8× faster turnaround on video subtitles with AI.
• Compliance & consistency: AI can be trained on approved terminology and disclosure language to maintain accuracy across locales. Secure, on-premise solutions also keep sensitive data in-house.

“ The major gain to date is to have secured the translation process globally and significantly reduced the risk of confidential data leaks”

notes Laurent Rochat of private bank Lombard Odier. Human reviewers still check cultural and legal nuances that AI might miss.

Conclusion: A new era of efficient localisation

AI is ushering in a new era of efficiency for financial marketing localisation. Instead of choosing between scale and quality, teams can now achieve both – delivering multi-language content faster and at lower cost. Early adopters like Schroders show that, with the right safeguards, AI can expedite multilingual content production without compromising compliance or brand integrity. As these tools become standard, firms that embrace AI-driven localisation will gain an edge in engaging clients in every region in their own language.

If you’d like to know more contact The Dubs Agency we’d love to help.

The post AI-powered localisation: Scaling regional content for financial marketers appeared first on Financial Marketer.

The Changing Landscape of B2B Finance Marketing

The B2B finance sector has traditionally relied on conventional marketing approaches like direct sales, display advertising and industry events to generate awareness. However in recent years financial institutions have transitioned to digital channels to reach target audiences.

Influencers are part of what’s become known as the Creator Economy and is powered by platforms like YouTube, Instagram, and LinkedIn. Its scale is now undeniable with Goldman Sachs projecting it reaching a staggering US$500 billion by 2027. 

This opens up new opportunities for B2B finance brands to leverage relevant influencers who can credibly convey financial concepts to their followers. 

Financial institutions should take note that 75% of B2B brands currently use influencer marketing according to a global report by advertising and public relations agency Ogilvy.

The Ogilvy report also found 93% of B2B Chief Marketing Officers (CMOs) are planning to increase their use of influencers. 

“Carefully selected Influencer partnerships now play an integral role in how businesses consume, verify and act on information. “ Titus said.

It is also now clear that finance influencers are relevant at all levels of the industry, from the obvious adoption by retail finance brands and fintech, right through to the sophisticated investor environment of institutional investing.

As reported in the Financial Marketer, a Brunswick Digital Investor Survey found that 88% of institutional investors have made recommendations or decisions based on digital or social media information. 

This statistic underscores the growing importance of digital channels in institutional investment decision-making, with LinkedIn rated just under corporate investor relations websites as the most important source of information.

Further, LinkedIn’s Research indicates that 44% of institutional investors consume content based on the individual who produced it, while 24% connect with leading voices to help shape their views. 

This personalisation of financial information consumption demonstrates how individual influencers have penetrated even sophisticated institutional investment processes.  

So what makes a B2B influencer? While B2C is about trendsetting in the B2B space an influencer needs credible expertise and proven experience so they can contribute to professional industry opinion.

They come in the form of thought leaders, subject matter experts, academics, business leaders, and from finance companies own staff such as chief investment officers (CIOs).

However, the Ogilvy report points out B2B brands need to choose talent wisely and carefully select influencers whose “voice and values” fit with the brand.

Further, the CMO of Schroders, Beth Saint, highlights individualism is important for finance brands to stand out in a world swamped with content.

“Whether your Influencers are your employees, or your customers, the individual is critical for brands to be recognised now.” Saint said.

The rise of financial influencers

Unsurprisingly, LinkedIn has emerged as the hub for B2B financial thought leadership, hosting a diverse ecosystem of finance professionals who have built substantial followings through their specialist knowledge and insights. 

These influencers range from corporate executives, industry experts, and chief investment officers, each bringing informed perspectives to the financial arena.

Oana Labes stands out with more than 375,000 LinkedIn followers and is known for her ability to create detailed infographics that break down complex financial matters for a broad audience. 

The Chief Commercial Officer at the Business Partnering Institute, Anders Liu-Lindberg, has amassed more than 410,000 LinkedIn followers by providing actionable advice to finance professionals.

Prominent venture capitalist Hunter Walk, with more than 870,000 LinkedIn followers, shares funding strategies and start-up culture with entrepreneurs and investors alike.  

But LinkedIn is not the only place for finance influencers with other social platforms catering to other audience demographics.

Instagram has become home to several mega-influencers, including Vivian Tu with 3.3 million followers, Tori Dunlap 2.2 million followers, and Haley Sacks, known as “Mrs. Dow Jones” 1.2 million followers. 

While these influencers often focus on personal finance, many have successfully crossed over into B2B partnerships, bringing financial literacy concepts to business audiences.

Successful B2B finance influencer partnerships

Several financial institutions and fintech companies have pioneered innovative approaches to B2B influencer marketing, creating campaigns that demonstrate the evolving sophistication of these partnerships.

For example, global alternative investments asset manager Man Group partnered with Eddie Donmez of Creative Capital with more than 265,000 LinkedIn followers.  During a few months campaign Donmez created videos and content posts highlighting Man Group with each post attracting at least hundreds and up to thousands of audience interactions and comments.

[Full disclosure: Man Group is a client of finance marketing group The Dubs Agency and is the publisher of Financial Marketer]

Another example comes from financial services technology provider, FIS, which created the #Finpact program which paired internal FIS subject matter experts with reputable industry leaders such as American fintech industry banker Theodora Lau to develop thought leadership content on securities & investments, insurance, and financial institutions. 

Even traditional financial institutions like American Express have embraced influencer marketing. But rather than relying on finance experts, American Express selected influential bloggers from the design and lifestyle sectors to support small enterprises in promoting AmEx credit cards through video tutorials.

Future trends in B2B finance influencer marketing

B2B influencer finance marketing is being led by several emerging trends that deliver authenticity, strategic relationships, and multi-platform engagement.

Authenticity is the bedrock of any successful B2B influencer campaign. B2B finance decision-makers quickly filter out overt promotional content but do respond to real expertise and useful insights according to B2B content-creator platform MarketScale. 

In B2B marketing long-term relationship building is more important than one-off campaigns as finance brands recognize the compound benefits of sustained influencer partnerships. 

These enduring relationships also help finance brands weather market volatility and regulatory changes by maintaining consistent, trusted voices in the marketplace.

Multi-platform content distribution strategies are key as different social channels serve distinct purposes in the B2B buyer journey. 

While LinkedIn remains the dominant platform for professional thought leadership, Gartner marketing research indicates YouTube influences up to 65% of B2B purchase decisions. 

This has prompted finance brands to develop integrated influencer strategies that leverage the unique strengths of each platform – LinkedIn for professional credibility, YouTube for detailed explanations, and where relevant, Instagram or TikTok for broader awareness.

This all means finance brands are focused on addressing the challenges of B2B influencer marketing in their sector. These include navigating regulatory environments, maintaining compliance standards in influencer content, and measuring the business impact of influence beyond vanity metrics. 

Leading finance marketers are developing specialized frameworks for influencer selection, content oversight, and performance measurement that account for these industry-specific considerations.

Do you need help with finance influencer marketing? 

Navigating the complexities of finance influencer marketing can feel daunting for marketing teams that have not done this before. Even marketers who have started using influencers in some form may be unsure if they are using the right influencers effectively for their finance brand.

If you relate to either of these statements, then The Dubs Agency finance marketing experts would love to speak with you because we can help. Contact Us to start a conversation.

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Asset managers are responding with content marketing to build brand trust and differentiate their offerings with diverse investor target groups. The market environment now requires integrated marketing strategies with asset managers scrutinizing which digital platforms best deliver and localise their thought leadership content throughout Asia to actively engage clients. 

Be where your clients are online 

As a result, Asian asset managers are creating content specifically for digital platforms that closely align with regional user behaviour. For example YouTube dominates in markets like Singapore, where 90% of the population uses the platform daily.

Fidelity Investments Singapore has tapped this opportunity and generated more than 2.6 million views since 2021 through market update videos that blend macroeconomic analysis with actionable investor insights. These videos cater to financially sophisticated audiences seeking real-time investment guidance, positioning Fidelity as a trusted source amid market volatility.

Meanwhile at the entry-level of the investor scale, Instagram’s younger demographic (85% of Singaporean users are aged 16–24) has prompted Singaporean bank UOB Group to adopt visually driven, educational content. UOB’s “ASEAN story” campaign simplifies complex financial topics, targeting first-time investors with bite-sized tutorials. This strategy builds brand affinity and kickstarts long-term client relationships by addressing the financial literacy gap among younger audiences.

Let AI crunch the data to hyper-personalise client content

Generative AI is reshaping content marketing by enabling hyper-personalised client interactions. Accenture’s 2024 analysis highlights 50% of Asian investors seek tailored content such as AI analsyed client portfolios to generate customised reports. 

A great example of this is HSBC leveraging tokenization to create personalized investment strategies for high net-worth individuals (HNWIs) and show this with dynamic content that adapts to individual risk profiles.

Innovation like this better serves the client while reducing operational costs by automating routine communication.

Other advice for financial marketers can be found closer to home with Aberdeen Investments senior digital marketing manager in Singapore, Jave Lin, explaining how he has fused the power of AI with video marketing to become a marketing industry influencer in his own right while taking these key learnings back into his day job at Aberdeen.     

Lin says video marketing and AI are two of the hottest trends shaping the future of marketing. As these two powerful forces converge, marketers are exploring innovative ways to leverage AI to streamline and enhance their video marketing efforts. But he cautioned AI is not the universal problem solver.

“It’s crucial to remember AI should be seen as a powerful tool to augment human creativity and expertise, not as a complete replacement.” said Lin.

What makes good thought leadership and how to use it

Thought leadership is the process of creating and sharing expert insights via innovative content to build credibility and authority. In the finance industry providing in-depth research remains a cornerstone of thought leadership. 

As reported in Asia Asset Management, Principal Asset Management’s Greater China Equity Fund, which has outperformed its benchmark by 86% since 2007, attributes its success to “thought leadership through early identification of growth prospects”. 

The firm publishes quarterly whitepapers analyzing sectoral trends, such as the impact of China’s regulatory reforms on tech equities, to position itself as a market authority. 

An example of award-winning thought leadership comes from Aviva Investors with it’s annually released “Little Book of Data” which uses beautiful data visualisations and charts to illustrate the forces shaping the investment landscape.

Aviva states while it’s critical to have the data necessary to arrive at the right outcomes. “But data is not enough on its own. To be valuable, it must be organised and presented clearly and accurately. Good data visualisation can help with this by illustrating important themes and highlighting overlooked trends.” 

[Full disclosure: “Little Book Of Data” is made by the publisher of this industry blog and finance marketing group – The Dubs Agency, using Aviva Investors research and data.] 

Turning regulatory compliance into educational content

Asset management as an industry is inherently soaked in complex regulatory compliance issues. Added to this Asia has pain points from fragmented regional regulations and cross-border enforcement issues. 

Groups such as Waystone, which provide institutional governance and compliance services to the asset management industry, turn their industry knowledge into thought leadership content to showcase their expertise and be recognised as industry leaders. 

An example of this is how Waystone uses webinars to demystify complex issues such as AML/KYC best practices to educate asset managers on how to build trust with institutional clients navigating Asia’s regulatory regimes.

Leading investor conversation on investment innovations

Asset managers can show genuine competitive difference by leading industry conversations around cutting edge investment innovations. For example, HSBC’s 2025 whitepaper in partnership with Calastone, Marketnode and Northern Trust, on tokenized portfolios illustrates how blockchainfractional ownership appeals to Asia’s HNWIs, by giving them ready access to illiquid assets like private equity. 

Content marketing around tokenization educates investors on benefits such as enhanced liquidity and transparency, differentiating HSBC in the market by demonstrating the benefit of being an early adopter in a competitive market.

Building Asian and global investment brands

According to the Global Head of Marketing & Sales at Korea’s Mirae Asset Global Investments, Blair Abbott, successfully building an investment brand in the highly competitive and constantly shifting landscape where capturing investor attention is the prize requires crafting a powerful story and articulating its value proposition.

The challenge was to take Mirae’s position as the leading Korean ETF provider and build it into a recognised global ETF major player. Mirae is now the world’s 12th largest ETF provider with US$140 billion in assets under management (AUM)

Abbott points out that as the battle for investor attention has increasingly shifted online, digital engagement with investors has become the new frontier. 

He said that by leveraging cutting-edge digital tools such as data analytics, targeted content delivery, and AI, asset management brands can engage with investors in meaningful and memorable ways.

“In 2025 and beyond, a firm must navigate the digital landscape cleverly, analyzing investor behaviours through sophisticated data analytics to craft strategies that effectively capture attention in a crowded marketplace. AI-powered tools enhance marketing efforts efficiency and creativity, enabling more dynamic and responsive interactions with investors.” Abbott. 

 What this all means for asset managers

Asian asset managers face equally important and competing challenges. They must navigate a fragmented regulatory landscape and capture investor opportunities in the world’s fastest-growing wealth market. 

Content marketing has emerged as a vital tool for asset managers to promote thought leadership and foster client trust through data-driven research and harness digital innovations like AI hyper-personalisation and tokenization.

Partnering with finance marketing experts: The Dubs Agency

Navigating the complexities of financial digital marketing is daunting. At The Dubs Agency, we specialise in helping B2B finance brands unlock the full potential of strategic digital marketing. From data-driven campaigns to personalised lead-gen strategies, we deliver results you can measure. Ready to transform your marketing efforts? Contact The Dubs Agency today to learn how we can help.

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By leveraging principles like loss aversion, framing effects, and social proof, you can design campaigns that resonate more deeply with investors, driving better engagement and ultimately, more successful outcomes.

Global financial advertising platform Dianomi’s APAC managing director, Julian Peterson, said while behavioural economics can significantly help marketing he warned there are too “too many cases” of campaign effects being overstated.

“Humans can find it hard to overcome our inherent biases, therefore, ads that exploit these can be strong behavioural drivers. Behavioural techniques, such as choice architecture, can also be used for landing page and website design.” Peterson said.

“However, context is important and effects are not always as expected – constant testing and learning will help evaluate the effectiveness of targeting biases with an advertising campaign.” he said.

For those working in financial advertising Peterson suggested the “Save More Tomorrow” program to learn about behavioural economics. At the time of writing more than 15 million Americans are using the Save More Tomorrow approach to save towards their retirement. 

This program was developed by behavioural economics pioneers Shlomo Benartzi and Richard Thaler with three core principles.

People are first asked to commit now to saving more in the future which helps avoid their “present bias”. Secondly savings rates increases are linked to pay rises to minimizes the influence of loss aversion since “take-home pay” does not fall. Thirdly, once people are signed up they remain in the program unless they opt-out. This makes use of inertia.

The power of loss aversion in financial marketing

One of the most potent concepts in behavioural economics is loss aversion, the idea that people fear losses more than they value equivalent gains. In financial marketing, this principle can be harnessed to shift consumer behaviour in subtle but powerful ways.

Research has shown people are significantly more likely to act when faced with the possibility of losing something they already have, rather than the prospect of gaining something new. A case study by Morningstar found 65% of people displayed signs of having stronger responses to losses than equivalent gains (loss aversion).

Financial marketers can apply this by crafting messages that frame inaction as a loss. For instance, “You could miss out on a comfortable retirement by not starting your investment plan today” could be more compelling than simply stating, “Start your investment plan today for a better future.” By strategically framing messages in the context of loss, marketers can tap into deep-seated psychological biases, encouraging consumers to take immediate action.

Framing effects and decision contexts

The concept of framing effects is closely related to loss aversion, where the way information is presented significantly impacts decision-making. Ultimately, understanding and applying framing effects can be a game-changer in your campaign design.

A notable example of this is the framing of fee structures in investment products. Research by Barberis demonstrates consumers are more likely to choose products when fees are presented as a small percentage of their investment rather than as an absolute monetary amount. This subtle shift in framing can make fees appear less daunting, leading to higher conversion rates.

Moreover, framing can be used to influence perceptions of value. For example, consider two investment products: one with a guaranteed return of 3% and another with a potential return of 7% but with higher risk.

By framing the guaranteed return as a way to “protect your capital in uncertain times,” marketers can appeal to risk-averse individuals while framing the higher-risk option as “a chance to significantly grow your wealth” might attract those more comfortable with taking on risk.

To effectively utilise framing effects, financial marketers need to understand the target audience’s risk tolerance and tailor messages accordingly. Testing different frames through A/B testing can also provide insights into which messages resonate most effectively with different segments of the market.

Social proof as a catalyst for action

Social proof, the idea that people look to the behaviour of others to guide their actions, is another powerful tool in the behavioural economics toolkit. In financial marketing, leveraging social proof can help overcome inertia and spur action, particularly in markets where trust and credibility are paramount.

One successful case study comes from Wealthsimple, a robo-advisor platform that improved user engagement by showcasing testimonials and user statistics prominently on its website. One way was by highlighting “over 100,000 investors have chosen Wealthsimple,” the platform effectively leveraged social proof to build trust and encourage new users to sign up.

Social media platforms provide fertile ground for amplifying social proof through user-generated content, where satisfied customers share their positive experiences, further validating the financial products or services being marketed.

Behavioural economics for marketers

To effectively incorporate behavioural economics into financial marketing campaigns, consider the following strategies:

• Segment and personalise: Behavioural economics principles are not one-size-fits-all. Segment your audience based on risk tolerance, investment goals, and other relevant factors, and personalise campaigns to align with these characteristics.
• A/B testing: Continuously experiment with different imagery, loss aversion messages, and social proof techniques to determine what resonates best with your audience. Use data-driven insights to refine your campaigns.
• Storytelling: Weave behavioural insights into compelling narratives.
• Transparent and simple messaging: While behavioural economics can make campaigns more sophisticated, clarity is still paramount. Ensure messages, regardless of how they are framed, remain clear, transparent, and easy to understand.

Behavioural economics: your secret to success

Harnessing the principles of behavioural economics allows your finance brand to move beyond traditional strategies and engage consumers on a deeper psychological level.

As the financial landscape becomes increasingly competitive, financial marketers who integrate these advanced behavioural insights into their marketing efforts will be well-positioned to stand out and succeed.

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