2024-12-21 05:30:00 :
Earlier this year, brokerage Angel One Ltd launched its own content platform just as India’s market regulator tightened regulations on financial influencers. Financial influencers are known to play an important role in spreading financial literacy among India’s youth, but have also been penalized for misleading investors.
As the Securities and Exchange Board of India tightens regulations on financial influencer affiliations, some of India’s largest trading platforms, including Angel One and Motital Oswal Financial Services, are focusing more on building in-house content teams.
Angel One’s platform, called Fin One, is run by a 30-member content team and targets a younger audience. Fin One’s tagline on Instagram is “From Paisa to Punchlines – Making Finance Fun” and filled with humorous financial memes, has nearly 14,000 followers.
Fin One enables Angel One to engage directly with young and even older adults who are just beginning to become familiar with financial concepts such as stock and options trading, mutual funds and other complex investments, and more efficient savings options.
“In-house content models allow for greater control over compliance and messaging, which is particularly important given the ever-changing regulatory environment,” an Angel One spokesperson said in an email in response to Mint’s query.
A spokesperson for Angel One emphasized that when Sebi introduced guidelines for financial influencers in June, its content arm Fin One ensured seamless marketing continuity without relying heavily on external influencers.
“By producing content in-house, we reduce the risks associated with misinformation or opinionated advice and instead focus on educational, informational and compliance content,” the spokesperson said.
Angel One also emphasized that while its Fin One members have talent for content creation, the focus is on their ability to understand users’ financial literacy needs.
“Unlike selecting external influencers, who may be chosen based on their following and existing content style, internal team members are trained to create content that aligns with our brand voice and purpose. The internal team brings We have developed high levels of user empathy and customized content to connect with the Hindi audience,” the spokesperson said.
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sustainable return on investment
In-house content teams have become an integral part of financial firms, especially after Sebi banned regulated entities from associating with unregistered content creators in October last year. It gives these entities three months to terminate contracts with unregistered financial advisers.
Earlier this month, Sebi clarified that the rules apply to all entities regulated by it, including asset management companies, investment managers of alternative investment funds, infrastructure investment trusts, real estate investment trusts, stock exchanges, clearing companies and registered depositaries mechanism.
The decisions come after Sebi cracked down on financial influencers earlier this year, shutting down more than 15,000 “content sites” as part of efforts to protect investors.
Beyond compliance imperatives, financial companies are looking to in-house content teams to increase cost-efficiency and increase return on investment (RoI). Companies like Zerodha Broking Ltd and Groww have been running in-house financial education content teams for almost a decade.
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“A typical influencer might charge a few thousand to a few lakh rupees for a piece of content, but they usually handle filming, editing and programming themselves. For in-house staff, we need to invest in these. However, , if you have the scale, it’s still cheaper to do it in-house,” said Sandeep Walunj, group chief marketing officer, Motilal Oswal Financial Services.
Additionally, external influencers operate on a “pay-as-you-go” model, which requires financial firms to consciously manage ROI. Having an in-house team of content creators turns the model into “growth on demand” – Walunj says employees become part of the company’s overall growth.
So while influencers may increase reach and engagement in the short term, an in-house content model ensures a steady flow of customized content, while long-term relevance ensures better, more sustainable ROI, he adds.
“There is no substitute for large-scale promotions”
Financial Impact disagrees with this assessment, insisting that internal content is not suitable for the long term.
Pranjal Kamra, influencer and founder of fintech startup Finology Ventures, said: “While organizations are creating content in-house, it cannot replace large-scale launches, promotions or branding or lead generation campaigns done with multiple influencers simultaneously. “(Internal content) is more about retention, retaining attention, and hopefully creating word of mouth.”
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However, Kamra added that it is difficult to predict whether an in-house content creation model will become a successful template in the long term. “Is it hurting influential people right now? No, it’s too early to say that,” he added.
Ayush Guha, business head at talent management company HYPP, said that while financial influencers’ businesses will be affected, they “will be able to find other ways to monetize their content in the long term”.
However, Guha and other industry experts admit that Sebi’s guardrails are crucial to protect investors.
An unnamed partner at one of the Big Four audit firms said: “As financial platforms bypass the influencer marketing route and venture into sharing exclusive information and content with users on social media, financial content presented to consumers It seems to be safer.”
He added: “Earlier influencers would share information in affiliate links without disclosing sponsorship, but now users will know the information comes from the brand, which obviously reduces confusion and misinformation, thanks to the guidelines.”
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