In 2024, Gen Z will get its money advice from TikTok. Should banks jump into the conversation?
TikTok creators are devilishly effective at creating consumer demand. Increasingly, they are also advising their followers on how to pay for the lifestyles they promote — including occasionally dubious financial advice and can't-lose investment schemes. To fight off financial misinformation and guide consumers to reliable advice, banks can (and should) play an important role as responsible voices on the platform, all while growing customers.
It’s no surprise that Gen Z spends a disproportionate amount of time on TikTok. In a few short years, the social media app has become an enormous influence on music, dance and fashion among younger people.
The allure of tips from friends and influencers, however, becomes more fraught when the hot topic is money. Already, the influence of TikTok is puts heavy pressure on young Americans to spend.
“I think the world has significantly changed from the standpoint of naturally needing to have more money to do things,” says Drew Glover, general partner at Fiat Ventures. “Social media makes them feel, in some cases, they need more things quicker and at a younger age.”
Moreover, social media offers Gen Z tales — true or not — of people their own age who’ve created great wealth, often using the very same channels. But much of this financial “success” may not be what it appears to the naked eye. In recent years, for example, world-class celebrities such as Kim Kardashian have been sanctioned for promoting cryptocurrencies in social media channels without disclosing that they’ve been handsomely paid to do so.
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