Americans are increasingly getting financial and retirement planning
guidance from social media, risking exposure to misinformation, harmful
advice and outright scams. Alarmingly, this includes almost eight in 10
millennials and Gen Zers. Workers turning to these platforms can undercut
the benefit of employer-sponsored financial wellness initiatives and put
themselves at risk. But there are ways to help ensure sound advice prevails.
Offer short-form financial literacy content. Don’t rely solely on lengthy
written articles and extended information sessions to provide financial
wellness programming. When appropriate, offer tips and lessons in
convenient, bite-sized formats, such as listicles, easily digestible
infographics, or answers to FAQs.
Incorporate video content. Use platforms like YouTube shorts or
Instagram Reels as inspiration and develop quick, informative content on
relatable financial subjects. And don’t worry, you won’t need to dance
through it like a viral TikTok — just make engaging videos on topics of value
to employees.
Leverage your own influencers. Encourage employees to share success
stories or testimonials about using company financial resources and
retirement benefits as a way of building trust and credibility in your
organization’s voice. Include representation from a diverse cross-section of
ages, cultural groups and gender.
Employ gamification. Incorporate gamification elements into financial
education. Design interactive quizzes or games that employees can take part
in. Create 30-day challenges with tasks aimed at improving financial literacy
and wellness, offering incentives for participation and completion.
Launch a Mythbusters Series. Get ahead of misinformation by addressing
common financial myths that frequently circulate on social media and
debunk them with factual information. Use engaging formats like podcasts,
blog posts or even live Q&A sessions where experts tackle these
misconceptions and provide clear, accurate and prudent financial guidance.
Develop a Financial Wellness Resource Hub. Build an internal online
content hub where employees can easily access a curated collection of
reputable financial resources, tools and reading materials in a variety of
formats. Regularly update it with fresh content, including articles, guides,
calculators, and links to external resources vetted by qualified financial
professionals.
Share cautionary tales. Highlight examples in the news of misfortunes that
have befallen those following unvetted financial information on social media
and stress the importance and value of personalized advice from qualified
financial professionals.
Share warning signs participants should be on the lookout for, such as a
profit incentive for those offering financial advice online or shortcuts to
wealth building that seem too good to be true.
If your employees have any interest in financial advice, it’s almost certain
that search algorithms are serving up investment and other related content
to them on TikTok and other platforms. Do all you can to encourage healthy
information hygiene to help foster informed and responsible financial
decision-making.
Sources
https://www.forbes.com/advisor/investing/financial-advisor/adults-financial-
advice-social-media/
