Write articles. Rank on Google. Capture traffic. Convert readers into leads.

For a while, that worked. But it doesn’t anymore.

Search was the main discovery layer. If your company showed up in results, you had attention.

That internet is shifting and here is what you should know.

What is actually happening to search

Search behavior itself has changed and it’s because of AI. Google introduced AI overviews, Perplexity and ChatGPT have now added powerful search capabilities within their products.

Here is what’s happening now.

According to multiple industry studies, 58 to 60 percent of Google searches in the US and EU end without a click, with mobile pushing that figure above 75 percent in some reports (Wordtracker, 2024). Users get the answer from snippets, knowledge panels, or AI summaries.

The search still happens. The visit does not.

I looked at this dynamic in depth in a previous issue, Fintech Growth in the Zero-Click Era. The core finding was that growth no longer starts with a visit. It starts with being trusted enough that users never need to search for you in the first place.

AI Overviews are accelerating this. When they appear, click-through rates to websites drop by around 34 to 35 percent for top results, with some analyses showing drops of up to 61 percent on informational queries (Search Engine Land, 2024). In finance specifically, this compounds.

Financial content falls under Google’s “Your Money or Your Life” (YMYL) classification, a high-stakes category for topics that could profoundly affect users’ finances, health, or safety, such as banking, investments, loans, insurance, and taxes.

Search engines enforce stricter quality standards here, prioritizing content with strong E-E-A-T (Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, Trustworthiness) from established sources to combat misinformation and protect users from harmful advice.

For fintech companies, this means smaller players struggle for visibility in search results and AI Overviews, as algorithms favor large institutions, concentrating traffic and reducing clicks to independent blogs.

Fintech and finance publishers reported organic traffic declines of 12 to 40 percent tied to AI summaries in 2025, with non-cited sites absorbing the hardest hits, averaging 15 to 20 percent overall losses (UpGrowth, 2025).

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Where fintech discovery is actually moving

A pattern I see more consistently now is where industry knowledge actually travels.

A lot of fintech insight no longer spreads through search first. It spreads through people.

LinkedIn has become the primary layer where operators, investors, and marketers exchange ideas. A thoughtful post from a founder often travels further than a carefully optimized article.

Research shows that fintech professionals favor curated feeds and direct networks over search when discovering industry content (LinkedIn, 2024). Industry conversations often start there.

And there is the newsletter, which creates a direct reader relationship that no platform algorithm controls.

Also, there are podcasts that generate ideas which circulate later. When someone chooses to listen, they’re opting into a conversation, often for 20, 30, even 60 minutes. In a world of fractured feeds and shrinking attention spans, that’s gold.

And now a new discovery layer is appearing above all of this.

The new fintech growth stack

What this means for fintech teams is that the structure of content strategy starts to look different.

The old model placed the blog at the center. The new model is more distributed. Ideas move through several channels at the same time.

The blog becomes the reference layer. The place where the full explanation lives.

Where AI systems, journalists, and readers can find depth and documentation. Social posts point to it. Newsletters summarize it. AI answers rely on it. Observed fintech marketing adaptations from 2024 to 2025 consistently point toward this model, with teams prioritizing citation-worthiness over direct traffic generation (Geneo, 2025).

The blog is still important. It is just no longer the engine driving everything else.

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A simple way to think about the shift

The old fintech content model looked like this.

Search → Blog → Lead

The new model looks more like this.

Conversations → Distribution → Reference

People encounter ideas in feeds, newsletters, podcasts, and AI interfaces. When they want depth, they look for a credible source. That is where the blog comes in. Not as the entry point. As the foundation.

The question fintech teams should be asking

Fintech marketing used to revolve around publishing volume. More articles. More keywords. A larger content calendar.

Today the question is different.

How often does your expertise appear where the industry is actually paying attention?

Because attention no longer lives in one place. It moves across feeds, inboxes, conversations, and AI systems that synthesize the web.

The companies building for this are not necessarily producing more content.

They are building distribution systems for expertise.

Platforms shape how ideas travel more than most marketing teams realize.

What’s in your current growth stack? Hit reply — I read every response.

FINTECH X GROWTH | Co-hosted by Ana Paula Picasso & Macloud Moyo

First episode is out!

Love It or Hate It: How to Grow on LinkedIn (Organic vs Paid)

That is how we started the first episode of the Fintech x Growth Podcast. The more we talked about it, the more clear it became why the platform still dominates B2B marketing.

In fintech, LinkedIn has become a main distribution channel for ideas, relationships, and deals.

Macloud Moyo and I recorded this first episode to unpack a simple question:

How does LinkedIn work today for Fintech?

A few themes came up during the conversation.

1. Personal profiles outperform company pages

One of the biggest shifts on LinkedIn over the past few years is the reach gap between company pages and individuals.

Posts published from personal profiles often receive several times more visibility than the same content posted by a company page.

This reflects something simple about B2B markets: people trust people more than logos.

For fintech companies, distribution now happens through employees, founders, product leaders, and marketers who speak about what they are building.

In practice, this turns LinkedIn into a hybrid channel. Company pages still matter for credibility, but most reach comes from individuals.

 LINKEDIN ORGANIC REACH

Personal Profiles   ████████████████████████   3x
Company Pages       ███████                    1x

2. Education is replacing direct selling

Another theme we discussed is the role of educational content.

In fintech, products are rarely simple. Many companies sell infrastructure, APIs, or compliance solutions that require explanation before anyone understands why they exist.

That is why thought leadership content performs well.

Explaining how a product category works, sharing implementation insights, or discussing industry challenges attracts more attention than promotional messages.

Macloud made an important point here: education creates the path to sales.

People rarely respond well to direct sales messages, but they pay attention to someone who explains the industry.

3. Organic and paid strategies are converging

Macloud works with LinkedIn ads, while my focus has been organic content.

What became clear during the episode is that these two approaches are connected.

Organic posts act as a testing ground. If a post performs well organically, it can then be promoted as a thought leadership ad.

This creates a feedback loop.

Organic content tests the message. Paid distribution amplifies what works.

For B2B fintech companies targeting decision makers, this combination can drive results.

4. Comments are the hidden growth engine

One of the most interesting parts of the conversation was about comments.

LinkedIn’s algorithm rewards conversations rather than passive engagement.

A thoughtful comment on the right post can reach more people than publishing a new post.

Macloud shared an example where a single comment generated tens of thousands of impressions. That is why many creators spend time participating in discussions rather than publishing content.

LinkedIn now behaves less like a publishing platform and more like a conversation network.

5. Fintech marketing is a long game

The final point we discussed is patience.

Fintech deals take time. Enterprise sales cycles can last months or years.

LinkedIn should be seen through that lens.

Posting once and expecting leads rarely works. Building visibility, credibility, and relationships takes time.

For fintech companies, LinkedIn is a relationship layer for the industry.

That is why, despite complaints about the algorithm, everyone remains there.

If you work in fintech marketing, growth, or partnerships, we would like to hear your perspective.

What works for you on LinkedIn today?

Watch the episode

The first episode of the Fintech x Growth Podcast is now live on Spotify or Youtube with video and all the other podcast platforms.

Not the polished conference answer. The real one.

So I’m lauching the Fintech x Growth podcast: a collab with Macloud Moyo from Humble Roots Agency.

We are two people who spend a lot of time inside this industry talking openly about distribution, positioning, partnerships, content, community, and the messy parts no one posts about.

No generic “top 5 growth hacks.”

No safe LinkedIn takes.

If you work in fintech and care about growth, watch this space.

Subscribe to our Substack fintechxgrowth.com
For more info go to thefintechwriter.com

I went to see what they did - and still are doing - in their growth strategies and how you can learn from them. I also give you some tips on marketing tools to help you on your content strategy and growth.

Why Traditional Paid Acquisition Fails for Fintech Infrastructure

The strategic reality:

In most SaaS, you can run ads showing a slick product demo and convert users in days. Embedded finance doesn’t work that way.

Four reasons paid acquisition economics break down:

1. The trust barrier: Decision-makers won’t integrate financial APIs based on a carousel ad. They’re connecting your code to their customers’ bank accounts. The evaluation process involves security reviews, compliance checks, and technical deep dives that can’t be shortcut with retargeting pixels.

2. The education gap: Most potential customers don’t even know what “banking-as-a-service” or “payment orchestration” means yet. They’re searching for explanations. You need to create the category before you can sell in it.

3. The compliance constraint: Consumer fintech companies face strict advertising regulations. You can’t make bold claims about returns, guaranteed approval rates, or financial success. B2B fintech has more flexibility, but you still can’t use the aggressive tactics that work for traditional SaaS.

4. The long sales cycle: When evaluation periods run 6-12 months with multiple stakeholders (engineering, security, compliance, finance), paid acquisition economics become brutal. Your cost per click compounds over months of nurturing before a deal closes.

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Real life example

Stripe understood this early on: back in 2011, their homepage contained just 300 words.

They clearly defined the target audience, outlined their pain points, and even featured working code developers could copy and run using a live API key. For the entire first year, Stripe’s only paid marketing channel was Stack Overflow ads; everything else revolved around documentation, developer tools, and educational content.

The strategy paid off.

By 2024, Stripe’s total payment volume surged 38% to $1.4 trillion, with the company now powering payments for half of the Fortune 100.

Strategic Keyword Research for Emerging Fintech Categories

The challenge in fintech isn’t finding high-volume keywords—it’s identifying the terms that will matter in 6-12 months when buyers are ready.

Layer 1: People Learning They Have a Problem
Early-stage searches where someone feels the pain but doesn’t know what solution they need yet.
Examples:

• “why payments fail in marketplaces”

• “how to reduce chargebacks”

• “embedded finance problems for SaaS”

This layer usually has higher search volume, but lower intent. It’s where awareness starts.

Layer 2: People Comparing Solutions
Mid-funnel searches where buyers understand the space and are exploring options.
Examples:

• “how embedded banking works”

• “payment processing for two-sided marketplaces”

This is where you build trust and authority while capturing serious interest.

Layer 3: People Ready to Choose
High-intent searches where buyers are actively evaluating vendors and pricing.
Examples:

• “best banking API for SaaS”

• “payment gateway comparison for marketplaces”

• “embedded finance platform pricing”

Lower volume, but high conversion. This is where the money is.

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Real life example

Brex organized their content into product-aligned subfolders targeting mid- and bottom-funnel searchers. Their “Spend Trends” subfolder launched in August 2024 grew to 137 articles attracting 34,000+ monthly visits with traffic value exceeding $280,000—in just 8 months. They published at 17 posts per month, systematically covering their category.

The strategic insight: Brex didn’t wait for keyword volume data. They identified what their target customers (CFOs, finance teams) needed to know and created comprehensive coverage before competitors realized these topics mattered.

Tool integration point: Tools like Ahrefs and Semrush can show you competitor gaps, but for emerging fintech categories, you need to reverse-engineer what your best customers searched before finding you. Interview closed-won deals and ask: “What were you Googling 6 months before you signed?”

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Content Formats That Rank AND Convert in Financial Services

The format that works: Explainer + Implementation

You need to both educate the market (why this matters) and enable evaluation (how it works). This is where fintech content differs from traditional SaaS—you can’t just optimize for clicks. The content needs technical depth to convert qualified leads.

Format 1: Technical Docs as SEO (Stripe Model)
Stripe’s documentation doubles as their top marketing asset, pulling millions in monthly visits with a dev-friendly three-column layout.

• Testable APIs slash sales cycles

• Full coverage (guides → edge cases → compliance) builds unbreakable trust

• Every pattern ranks anew—no marketing/doc split

Pro Tip: Semrush or Surfer SEO can map your API docs to high-volume dev queries, ensuring topical authority without keyword stuffing.

Format 2: Smart Comparisons (Wise Model)
Wise ranks #1 for “dollars to pounds” via transparent comparisons + calculators—no bashing, just helpful breakdowns.

• Grew organic traffic from 7.7M to 16M+ monthly

• Omnius case study

• Confidence in product + clear use cases = natural conversions

Pro Tip: Ahrefs shines here—spot competitor gaps, track rankings, and build interactive tools that dominate high-intent searches.

Format 3: Educational Hubs (Brex Model)
Brex’s “Spend Trends” hub (137 articles) hit 34K+ monthly visits and $280K traffic value in 8 months via relentless subfolder strategy.

• 17 posts/month + internal links = Google authority

• Mid/bottom-funnel focus guides every buyer persona

Pro Tip: Clearscope ensures technical accuracy across hubs, while Semrush forecasts traffic value pre-publish.

Tool integration point: Content optimization tools like Clearscope and Surfer SEO help fintech companies hit keyword targets while maintaining the technical depth compliance teams require. You can’t just stuff keywords into fluffy content about payments—the technical accuracy matters for conversion, not just ranking.

Teaser for Next Week’s issue:

Next week: How Wise built thousands of landing pages to scale from 7.7M to 16M organic visits. How Revolut captures competitor traffic worth millions. And why traditional SEO metrics (rankings, traffic, bounce rate) completely miss the point for fintech growth.

What do you think? Have you tried any of these content strategies for your fintech? Or are you still figuring out how to break into search results without burning your budget on ads?

Hit reply and let me know what’s working (or not working) for you. I read every response.

And if you found this helpful, forward it to a founder or marketer who’s trying to crack fintech growth. They’ll thank you.

Want to work together? Reach out at thefintechwrite.com

Here’s what changed: Instagram engagement dropped 79% in two years. Algorithms killed organic reach. But newsletter open rates hold steady at 38%, and 42% of B2B marketers say email produces the best results compared to all other distribution channels.

For B2B fintechs especially, newsletters aren’t content marketing. They’re your top-of-funnel engine for generating qualified pipeline.

📊 The Data: Why Newsletter Subscribers Are Different

Substack grew from 2M to 5M paid subscriptions since 2024. The top 10 writers collectively make $40M/year. But here’s the stat that matters for growth marketers:

32 million new subscribers came from within the platform in just three months—zero paid acquisition.

Compare that to your funnel:

• Cold LinkedIn outreach: 1-2% response rate

• Paid social clicks: 0.5-1% conversion to demo

• Newsletter subscribers who engage: 15-25% conversion to qualified lead

Why? Because newsletter subscribers self-select. They’re raising their hand and saying “I want to learn about this topic weekly.” That’s intent you can’t buy with ads.

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🎯 How Fintechs Should Think About Newsletters

Most B2B fintechs treat newsletters like a nice-to-have content channel. Wrong frame.

Newsletter subscribers are warm leads in disguise.

Think about your ICP (Ideal Customer Profile):

• CFOs researching spend management solutions

• Compliance officers tracking regulatory changes

• Finance teams evaluating payment infrastructure

• Developers choosing API providers

They’re all reading someone’s newsletter. The question is: Is it yours, or your competitor’s?

The winning playbook:

1. Top-of-funnel: Newsletter builds awareness and authority

2. Mid-funnel: Engaged readers become demo requests

3. Bottom-funnel: Subscribers who open 5+ issues convert at 40%+ to pipeline

The winning approach: The best B2B fintechs don’t pitch their product in every newsletter. They give decision-makers insights on industry trends, operational strategies, and regulatory changes. When those readers need a solution? They already know who to call.

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💡 The Three Newsletter Strategies That Actually Work

Strategy 1: Send weekly insights tailored to your ideal customer’s decision-makers—think macro trends, regulatory updates, and industry analysis. The key: no product pitches, just valuable intelligence that keeps you top-of-mind.

Who does this well: Plaid and Stripe excel at developer education through documentation and blogs, building trust that leads to API adoption. While they send product updates, their real strength is educational content that positions them as thought leaders.

Conversion path: Subscribe → Engage with 3-5 emails → Click through to case study/resource → Enter sales funnel

Strategy 2: The Product-Led Newsletter Educational content that teaches people how to solve problems your product addresses. The newsletter is the top of funnel; the product is the solution.

Who does this well: Companies building for SMBs. Each newsletter issue = a mini use case. By issue 5, readers understand the problem deeply and your product is the obvious solution.

Conversion path: Subscribe → Weekly education → “Try it free” CTA → Product-qualified lead

Strategy 3: The Thought Leadership Play Founder/executive writes personally about the space. This works for competitive categories where brand differentiation matters.

Conversion path: Subscribe → Build relationship with voice/POV → Trust transfer to company → Inbound demo requests

📈 How to Measure Newsletter Success (Beyond Open Rates)

Forget vanity metrics. Here’s what actually matters:

1. Subscriber-to-MQL rate Track how many subscribers eventually enter your CRM as marketing qualified leads. Benchmark: 8-12% within 90 days for B2B fintech.

2. Engaged subscriber conversion Anyone who opens 5+ issues in 30 days is hot. What % become SQLs? If it’s under 20%, your content isn’t addressing buyer pain points.

3. Pipeline influenced Use UTM tracking and CRM integration. What % of closed-won deals touched your newsletter at some point? For B2B fintechs with 6+ month sales cycles, this number should be 30-40%.

4. Time to convert Newsletter subscribers typically convert slower (90-180 days) but at higher rates and ACVs. Track this separately from paid channels.

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🔧 The Tactical Setup

Platform choice matters:

• Substack: Best for thought leadership, personal voice, minimal friction

• Beehiiv: Better analytics, A/B testing, monetization features (77% of newsletters now want sponsorships)

• Custom (ConvertKit, HubSpot): Full CRM integration, advanced segmentation

The activation sequence:

1. Welcome email (set expectations, link to best content)

2. Value delivery (3-4 weeks of pure education)

3. Soft CTA (case study, calculator, free tool)

4. Segmentation (engaged vs. cold, pass to sales)

Content calendar:

• 70% education (industry insights, how-tos, frameworks)

• 20% original research/data (builds authority)

• 10% product (customer stories, use cases, subtle CTAs)

Why This Matters Now

Marc Andreessen invested in Substack in 2019 because he saw what was coming: “Writers don’t really own their relationship with their audiences; platforms do.”

He was right. But replace “writers” with “B2B companies” and the insight is identical.

Every dollar you spend on paid social builds Meta’s asset. Every newsletter subscriber builds yours. And in a world where CAC keeps climbing and attribution keeps breaking, owned channels aren’t optional anymore.

The fintech companies winning right now aren’t outspending competitors on ads. They’re building audiences that convert better, cost less, and compound over time.

That’s what newsletters do when you treat them like growth infrastructure, not content marketing.

Want to launch a newsletter but don’t have bandwidth? I help B2B and B2C fintechs create high-converting newsletter content—from strategy to weekly execution. Whether you need an executive briefing for CFOs or product-led content for developers, I write SEO-optimized fintech content that turns subscribers into pipeline.

👉 Book a strategy call or hit reply to discuss your newsletter goals.

Want more fintech growth strategies? Subscribe at fintechxgrowth.com

Their recent article on the real cost of cheap content brings together agency data, operator insight, and practitioner quotes, including mine.

The piece landed because it describes a decision I see fintech teams make over and over again.

It usually happens in a budget meeting.

Someone needs content fast. There is pressure to ship. Two quotes are on the table. One is cheaper and promises volume. The other is slower and costs more. The cheaper option wins. On paper, the choice looks rational.

Cheap content delays the bill

Cheap content does not save money. It delays the bill.

As I said in the article, “Cheap content does not save money. It shifts the cost downstream, into rewrites, audits, lost rankings, and lost trust.”

That shift is easy to miss because it does not hit immediately. Content goes live. Dashboards show activity. The team moves on.

Then the work comes back.

I have seen fintech teams publish dozens of articles and quietly stop sharing them internally. I have seen SEO reports look fine while pipeline stayed flat. I have seen entire libraries sent back for rewriting six months later because none of it reflected how customers actually think or search.

That is the downstream cost.

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Low price signals weak process

Cheap content moves spend from creation to cleanup.

Atlas SEO is clear on why this happens. Low prices remove steps from the process. Briefs get thinner. Editorial review turns into a quick scan. Search intent becomes a keyword list. No one owns quality end to end.

Price reflects how the work gets done. When the process is weak, the outcome is fragile. When results drop, teams blame timing or algorithms. In reality, the content was never built to last.

SEO content that fails real readers

There is also a persistent misunderstanding about cost.

Many teams treat content like a unit. Cost per article. Cost per word. Cost per month. What they miss is value over time. Content that needs rewriting after six months is not cheap. Content that damages trust with readers is not efficient.

As I put it in the piece, “A lot of cheap SEO content technically follows best practices, but it does not answer real questions or reflect how people actually search and read.”

That gap shows up with real users first.

Pages rank and nothing happens. Readers bounce fast. Credibility erodes quietly. Search visibility without usefulness has limited value.

The real choice fintech teams face

Atlas SEO also points to the brand impact. Generic content trains people to ignore you. Sales teams stop using it. Newsletters lose engagement. Distribution weakens. These costs compound and rarely get traced back to the original pricing decision.

Here is the real choice.

You can keep buying volume and paying later. Or you can decide once what your content is for. If the goal is trust, distribution, and growth, content needs to be treated like infrastructure. Not filler.

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In-house vs agency. When each model makes sense

This is where many fintech teams get stuck. The problem is not choosing one model. The problem is using the wrong one for the job.

When in-house works best

In-house teams make sense when content is core to how you operate.

Use in-house when:
You need deep product and regulatory context.
Content feeds sales, onboarding, or education.
You want tight feedback loops with product and growth.
Consistency matters more than volume.

Pros
Strong domain knowledge.
Closer to customers and internal teams.
Better long-term quality control.

Cons
Slower to scale.
Harder to cover many formats at once.
Risk of echo chamber if the team lacks editorial pushback.

When agencies make sense

Agencies work when you need leverage, not shortcuts.

Use agencies when:
You need speed without sacrificing process.
You want external editorial standards and structure.
You need to scale distribution or formats fast.
You already know what good looks like.

Pros
Clear process and accountability.
Access to experienced editors and specialists.
Easier to scale up or down.

Cons
Weak agencies optimise for volume, not outcomes.
Context gaps if briefing is poor.
Cheap retainers usually mean corners cut.

The real mistake teams make

The mistake is not in-house versus agency. The mistake is buying content as output instead of capability.

If content is treated as filler, the model does not matter. You will still pay later.

I help fintech teams fix content that looks busy but does not perform, from strategy to editorial structure and execution that holds up over time.

You can see how I work and what I offer at thefintechwriter.com.

In 2025, the global fintech market is estimated between US$ 260–395 billion, up from US$ 340 billion in 2024 (Digital Silk) but with growth decelerating amid rising costs (Fortune Business Insights, Exploding Topics).

Paid customer acquisition for fintech averaged around US$ 1,461 per customer in 2025 benchmarks, while fintech SaaS enterprise deals pushed above US$ 4,900 (First Page Sage, Eqvista); organic channels remain lower but harder to scale.

The cheap-money era is over, forcing fintechs to earn growth the hard way.

The Cost Problem

Paid ads worked when funding was endless. They scale fast, but they burn faster.
Now every click costs more. Google and Meta deliver fewer qualified leads, and privacy rules made precise targeting a thing of the past.

The trust problem runs deeper. Facebook was caught inflating video view metrics by up to 900 percent, leading advertisers to overspend on underperforming campaigns. Meta settled the lawsuit in 2022 for US$ 90 million without admitting wrongdoing (Adweek). Even after that, doubts about ad transparency lingered. Many fintechs quietly cut back Meta and Google budgets once they realized how little control they had over reporting accuracy.

For most fintechs, CACs rose 15–25 percent in just 18 months (Dojo Business). That shift pushed founders to rethink how they acquire and retain users.

The Strategic Pivot
Fintechs are now focusing on what compounds:

• Content marketing builds organic discovery and authority.

• Communities keep users engaged without spending.

• Product-led growth turns users into advocates.

And it works.

• Monzo grew largely through referrals, with invite-only launches and word of mouth driving early scale.

• Wise increased active customers 25 percent in 2024, crediting infrastructure partnerships and product experience instead of ads.

• Qonto added 450,000 business customers by doubling down on SME features that drive retention and referrals.

• CRED in India saw referral users convert 50 percent better than average and complete first payments 44 percent faster.

• Yape in Peru and Bolivia surpassed 20 million users in 2025 through QR-based payments and network effects rather than ad campaigns.

Every one of these examples shares one thing: growth that scales itself.

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What works now

The most effective fintech teams stopped chasing raw signups. They track whether customers stay, use the product often, and bring others in. Retention, lifetime value, and engagement guide every decision.

This shift is backed by a clear pattern.

• Retention drives profitability. A 2024 BCG analysis showed that improving retention by 10 percent can lift profitability by more than 25 percent in financial services.

• Engaged users spend more. According to McKinsey’s 2025 Payments Report, active users in digital wallets generate up to three times the revenue of inactive users because they adopt more features over time.

• Satisfied users convert others. A 2024 Accenture study found that referral-led acquisition produces customers with 16 percent higher lifetime value across fintech and banking.

Fintechs are now building simple loops that reinforce each other over time.

1. Content feeds product education
Companies publish clear, instructional content to help users solve small problems. This reduces support costs and improves product adoption.
Wise does this well. Their help-center articles and transparent fee explanations lift product trust and reduce churn.

2. Product creates reasons to stay
New features matter less than consistency. Customers stay when products solve daily problems without friction.
Monzo keeps users active through budgeting tools, salary advances, and instant notifications. These habits lock in engagement.

3. Community strengthens loyalty
Community channels, user forums, and local events help users feel part of something.
Qonto uses communities of freelancers and SMEs to test features, gather feedback, and create small advocacy loops.

4. The loop restarts
When customers trust the product, they read your content, join the community, and invite others.
This loop compounds. It takes longer, but it lasts longer.

Sustainability replaces scale as the metric that matters.

Not anymore.

The State of Search Q1 2025 report from Datos and SparkToro shows the change in numbers: almost 60 percent of Google searches in the US and Europe end without a click. Users still search, but they’re not leaving the page. They get their answers from Google’s own widgets or from AI assistants like ChatGPT and Copilot.

That single shift reshapes how fintechs grow.

Search is no longer a funnel that sends people to your website. It’s a filter that decides who gets seen at all.

Traditional search still dominates in volume, but Datos’ data shows its share eroding quarter by quarter. AI tools remain small in relative size—under one percent of total search events—but their growth curve is steep and consistent. This isn’t a flash trend. It’s a structural change in how people find information.

And that change cuts right through fintech.

For years, visibility meant traffic spikes, SEO wins, and content pipelines. Today, most fintech discovery happens inside closed ecosystems. People check exchange rates in Revolut, send money in Wise, compare credit cards in Apple Pay, and look for advice in Reddit threads. Discovery is happening inside the product, not on Google.

Your website isn’t the starting point anymore.

The problem isn’t visibility. It’s attribution.

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Zero-click searches mean users see your information but never visit you. Google shows them the exchange rate, loan calculator, or crypto price you once used to attract traffic. You still provide value, but Google keeps the user.

And when traffic does show up, it’s not always the right kind.

That’s why the new Growth Unhinged report by caught my attention. He found that marketers are investing in AI search faster than anywhere else, calling it their fastest-growing source of high-intent leads.

Webflow is a perfect case study. The scale-up now gets 10 percent of its sign-ups from AI discovery, growing four-times year-on-year. Ninety-one percent of that comes from ChatGPT, and those users convert six times higher than Google traffic—most within a week.

Webflow’s VP of Growth said it best: aggregate traffic is totally misleading without a quality metric.

That’s the lesson for fintech too.

AI discovery and in-app journeys won’t flood you with visits, but they’ll bring people who are ready to act. A referral from an AI model or a mention inside an app can be worth more than a thousand casual visitors. Growth now depends on being recommended, referenced, or integrated—not on being clicked.

Another data point from Datos backs it up. Navigational searches—people typing brand names instead of questions—are rising fast, especially in Europe. That’s brand recall in action. Users already know who they trust.

When someone types “Klarna” instead of “buy now, pay later,” you’ve already won the search.

That’s why the smartest fintechs are shifting focus from acquisition to comprehension. They want to know how models describe them, how users mention them, and where those mentions show up. Visibility now lives inside AI prompts, product ecosystems, and communities—not in web analytics.

The metric that matters is no longer traffic. It’s traction.

Activation. Retention. Lifetime value.
Direct channels you control—your app, your newsletter, your community.

Everything else belongs to someone else’s algorithm.

Because in the zero-click era, growth doesn’t start with a visit. It starts with being trusted enough that users never need to search for you in the first place.

Recently I read an article in The Economist about what it calls the era of “sloponomics,” an economy built on AI slop. The description felt accurate.

What “AI Slop” Actually Means

AI slop is the flood of low-effort, AI-generated content designed to fill space rather than create value.

You can see it everywhere. On LinkedIn, where the same “thought leadership” post repeats endlessly:

“In today’s fast-paced digital world, innovation isn’t an option, it’s a necessity.”

It looks polished. It says nothing.

Or in SEO blogs with headlines like “Top 10 Benefits of Fintech for Small Businesses.” These posts are interchangeable, built from the same structure and language as thousands of others.

Even product landing pages are starting to sound the same. AI website builders churn out the same vague promise: “Empowering businesses with next-generation financial solutions.” A few words change, but the effect is identical.

As the cost of creating this kind of content falls to zero, production explodes. Algorithms reward volume, not depth. And quality becomes harder to find.

Why Humans Still Matter

Financial products involve money, identity and security. If your language sounds generic, it doesn’t just make your brand less memorable. It makes it less credible. And once trust is gone, there’s no prompt that can bring it back.

AI doesn’t hear how a message lands. It can’t sense when something sounds off. It doesn’t understand what happens when the wrong tone collides with a sensitive topic.

Writers do. A good copywriter isn’t just filling space. They’re shaping how a product is understood and whether it’s believed.

The flood of AI slop won’t replace that. If anything, it will make the difference easier to see. In fintech, trust doesn’t scale the way content does.

Why Should You Hire a Copywriter?

AI is good at producing language. What it can’t do is decide what’s worth saying.

That’s where copywriters come in. Their work happens before the first word is written. It’s about shaping the message, setting the tone and deciding what actually matters to communicate.

Copy strategist Joanna Wiebe put it well: “Copywriters get pulled into strategic conversations because through the research we do, we get closer at times to the customer at that moment in time than anyone in our client’s organization might actually be.” That proximity to the audience is what turns writing into decision-making. (copyhackers.com)

A piece from Stevens & Tate Marketing makes a related point: “When this is done properly, copywriting can captivate readers, spark engagement and influence our purchasing decisions by tapping into motivations like comfort, prestige, and security.” (stevens-tate.com)

AI can help with execution, but it doesn’t make those calls. It doesn’t know what matters to say, or why. That’s still a human job.

I write fintech content people actually read. Want to talk? Or leave your thoughts below.

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This marks a structural shift in how LinkedIn distributes content. The platform now prioritises conversations over corporate broadcasting, giving more visibility to personal accounts than to company pages. For fintech founders, this opens a direct path to build audience trust and authority through personal thought leadership.

The Expert‑Educator Model in Action

The most effective content on LinkedIn is clear, useful, and easy to trust. That’s the Expert‑Educator model: posts that explain, simplify or share lessons learned.

• Nik Storonsky (Revolut founder/CEO) has shared posts on themes like “Great people don’t need management” (Post) and how Revolut incubates new products (Post). These are short reflections, not campaigns.

• He often focuses on product philosophy, culture, and scaling lessons — topics that create trust and spark conversation.

When fintech leaders share what they’ve actually learned, the audience leans in. It positions them as people worth listening to.

Refine Labs applies this logic internally too. Their personal posts outperform corporate messaging and they plan around that.

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Why LinkedIn Rewards This Kind of Content

1. Algorithmic Structure Favors Conversations: Posts that generate comments and discussions get amplified. Personal accounts are more likely to trigger that response.

2. Company Page Reach Has Declined: LinkedIn prioritises people over logos. Company posts that don’t get external engagement fade fast. (Assembly)

3. Founder Voices Build Trust: Refine Labs sums it up well: “Spend five minutes on LinkedIn and you’ll see it: posts from founders get way more engagement than anything from a company page.” (Refine Labs) People follow people. That makes founder-led content a strategic asset.

The Fintech Leader’s LinkedIn Strategy

Micro-Explainers work because they make complex fintech topics digestible. Breaking them down into short, focused posts encourages engagement and saves readers time. Storonsky often uses this approach, isolating one idea at a time, whether it’s team autonomy or growth trade-offs.

The Time-Slot Habit is about rhythm. Posting consistently is what many leaders choose early week, mornings — trains both the algorithm and the audience to expect and engage with new content at predictable intervals.

The Thought Leadership Relay turns comments into mini-posts. Adding thoughtful points to someone else’s post amplifies reach and positions you as a contributor to the conversation, not just an observer.

The No-Jargon Filter keeps language clean and direct. Real examples and concrete results resonate more than buzzwords. Saying “We cut settlement from 7 → 2 days” hits harder than talking about “enhanced infrastructure.”

The Bottom Line

Personal voices outperform company pages because LinkedIn amplifies people who spark conversations. In fintech, that reach compounds: it shapes deals, partnerships, and reputation.

Founders, compliance leads, and product heads have more influence on brand perception than any corporate page. Use that.

Content is proof of expertise.

Klarna’s AI Experiment: A Growth Story

Klarna made one of the boldest bets on AI in fintech. The company rolled out a chatbot it claimed could handle 80% of customer queries, doing the work of about 700 human agents (Reuters, Aug 2024).

It was a headline-grabbing move, a promise of speed and scale. Harvard research even suggests that AI-assisted agents can be 20% faster than humans alone — and Klarna leaned heavily into that promise.

But speed and efficiency don’t always equal growth. Customers quickly began to notice the cracks.

In August 2024, CEO Sebastian Siemiatkowski publicly celebrated the fact that AI had replaced hundreds of staff.

And the backlash came quickly. A Business Insider mentioned: “Flexing that you fired half your team is just really bad” (Business Insider, May 2024).

Over on Reddit, designers called the tone “tone deaf,” arguing that Klarna was selling cost-cutting as innovation (Reddit, r/graphic_design, 2024).

On top of that, users complained about the chatbot itself. In a Linkedin post Maxim Ivanov, CEO of Aimprosoft, a remote-first AI Consulting firm, put it: “Say ‘billing issue’ instead of ‘payment problem’ and watch the bot pretend it doesn’t understand” (LinkedIn, 2025).

What should have been a loyalty booster became a frustration multiplier.

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Even the bold experiments carried risk. Klarna launched an AI voice clone of its CEO to interact with customers over the phone. Swedish media described it as novel but also “unnatural,” with awkward pauses and intonation that felt off (Svenska Dagbladet, 2025). The stunt got attention, but it also raised questions about authenticity and trust.

Eventually, Klarna admitted that cost-cutting had become “too predominant” in its strategy (Livemint, 2024). The company started hiring humans again, reframing its approach as a hybrid model: AI for the routine, people for the messy, emotional, or complex cases. It was a partial retreat — and a public lesson. As Futurism put it: “The fintech outfit… suddenly admits, ‘there will always be a human if you want’” (Futurism, 2024).

What fintechs can learn

Growth isn’t just about efficiency. Surveys show that 45% of U.S. adults view chatbots negatively, compared with just 19% who find them helpful (CivicScience, 2025). People might tolerate bots for quick fixes, but they expect empathy when things get complicated. A University of Kansas study found that users prefer humans when angry, but AI when discussing sensitive or embarrassing topics (KU News, 2025). In other words, there’s a fine line.

The Klarna case shows that AI is now part of the brand experience. A chatbot isn’t just a back-end tool; it’s often the first voice of your company. Handle that badly, and you’re not just hurting customer service metrics — you’re risking loyalty and reputation.

So what can other fintechs do? Here are some actionable steps:

• Position AI as customer-first: Frame automation as improving service quality, not cutting costs. Messaging sets the tone for how users perceive the brand.

• Design hybrid service journeys: Let chatbots resolve simple requests but ensure a smooth handoff to humans when issues escalate.

• Train for empathy, not just accuracy: Scripts and AI prompts should capture tone and emotional nuance, not only factual replies.

• Pilot before scaling: Test bold features like voice clones in limited settings. Gather feedback and iterate before rolling out widely.

• Measure trust, not just speed: Track satisfaction, repeat usage, and customer sentiment — not just query resolution time. Trust is the growth metric that matters.

• Stay transparent: Be clear when customers are talking to a bot, and communicate openly about why AI is being used.

Fintechs that approach AI this way can use it as a growth driver — not just a cost-cutter.

Klarna’s pivot back to humans is a reminder: growth isn’t built on efficiency alone. Customers remember how you make them feel. If a chatbot leaves them frustrated, or leadership frames AI as a job-killer, loyalty takes the hit.

For fintechs chasing growth, the lesson is simple: treat AI as part of the brand, not just a shortcut. Scale smarter, not colder.

Curious about how I help fintechs grow? Leave a comment — I’d love to connect.

But bigger budgets come with bigger expectations. And leadership isn’t impressed by dashboards full of likes and impressions. They want receipts.

Sprout Social’s 2025 Impact of Social Media Marketing Report surveyed 1,200+ leaders worldwide. Most believe social can drive brand awareness, customer acquisition, loyalty—even revenue. Yet they don’t think their teams can prove it.

Here’s why:

• 70% of the C-suite still thinks posting more = more impact.

• Less than half of teams embed social data into their CRM. No integration = no attribution.

• Only 44% of leaders rate their social teams as “experts” at connecting activity to business outcomes.

The irony? Fintechs should know better. This industry lives and dies by funnel discipline. Every conversion rate is tracked. Every customer journey is mapped.

Yet when it comes to social, too many fintechs still play in the sandbox—reporting vanity metrics and calling it ROI.

Meanwhile, the teams seen as “experts” aren’t working harder, they’re working smarter. They integrate.

They use link tracking, automation, and CRM reporting to draw a straight line between social engagement and customer growth. That’s what makes leadership listen.

And we’ve seen this in fintech already:

• Monzo built a cult following not just by posting, but by listening—feeding customer insights from community forums and social back into product development.

• Nubank has mastered attribution by running influencer-led campaigns where every referral is tracked to account sign-ups—proof that social can be a sales channel, not just a buzz generator.

• Revolut uses social data to power hyper-targeted acquisition campaigns, turning engagement into measurable growth across new markets.

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What to do now

1. Connect social to your CRM. Even one campaign tied to Salesforce or HubSpot can prove attribution.

2. Track links like a pro. Use UTM parameters to follow clicks from first view to final conversion.

3. Automate reporting. Pull social data into BI tools your execs already use—Power BI, Tableau, Looker.

4. Share cross-functionally. Create monthly briefs for CX, sales, BD. Show how social insights reduce churn or drive acquisition.

5. Start with one proof of concept. Don’t wait for perfect attribution. Prove ROI on a single campaign and build from there.

The message is simple: if social wants to grow up, it has to plug into the systems the business already runs on and speak the language the board already understands. Revenue, efficiency, customer value.

👉 If your fintech is struggling to prove the value of social beyond vanity metrics, I can help. From strategy to reporting, I work with teams to translate engagement into business results.

Leave me a comment below and let’s chat!

#DigitalMarketing #MarTech #B2BMarketing #FintechMarketing #MarketingROI #SocialROI #GrowthMarketing #SocialListening #ContentMarketing #CustomerAcquisition

Your audience isn’t following a neat arc. They’re catching you in fragments—push notifications, TikToks, snippets of sponsored content, maybe a meme that lands in their feed for two seconds.

It’s not a brand journey. It’s noise. And in that noise, what sticks isn’t your carefully crafted story. It’s the signals you send.

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Branding in the algorithmic soup

The media firehose doesn’t give fintechs the luxury of time. People aren’t leaning back for a three-minute video ad. They’re absorbing three-second bursts between doomscroll headlines, influencer rants, and climate panic.

In that environment, brand feels less like a narrative and more like a vibe. Luxury houses like Burberry already get this—their social presence isn’t a continuous plot, it’s a stream of spectacle that collectively adds up to an aesthetic.

Fintech is heading in the same direction.

Fintech cases that prove the point

• Wealthsimple (Canada) built a magazine and newsletter that make money cultural. It’s not one story—it’s dozens of micro-stories that, together, cement a brand personality that feels trustworthy and human.

• monobank.com (Ukraine) turned a bank into a character. Their playful design, features, and campaigns don’t need context—you know it’s them immediately.

• Chime and Curve lean into being loud and playful on social. Not “perfectly consistent” stories, but attention-grabbing fragments that people recognize at a glance.

None of these brands are obsessing over a single big arc. They’re building a mosaic of impressions that feels coherent even when each piece looks different.

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What this means for fintech marketers

Your primary job isn’t just writing the story anymore. It’s setting the rules of the game so that dozens—maybe thousands—of creators and channels can carry your brand without breaking it. Fintech will get there too.

That means:

• Decide your non-negotiables (voice, visuals, values).

• Accept that execution will vary wildly.

• Focus on whether the fragments add up to something recognizable.

Because here’s the truth: people don’t need your saga. They just need to know it’s you—even if they only catch a glimpse.

Which fintech do you think gets this right? Hit reply or drop a comment—I’d love to hear which brands feel instantly recognizable to you, even in fragments.

And if you’re working on making your own fintech brand stand out, let’s talk. I help fintechs shape content strategies that cut through the noise and stay consistent—whether it’s across campaigns, creators, or channels.

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Translation? The platform is betting big on video discovery, and B2B fintech marketers need to get ahead of it before everyone else catches on.

Short form video is LinkedIn's new favourite format

LinkedIn is steadily shifting toward a video‑first experience. While it hasn’t launched a full TikTok‑style feed, the platform now prioritizes vertical clips, has added a dedicated video tab, and ranks posts based on early engagement rather than follower count.

Data from the LinkedIn B2B Marketing Benchmark Report shows organic reach for static posts down about 50% in 2025, while video viewership is up 69% year‑on‑year. The algorithm rewards content that hooks viewers in the first three seconds, favoring 9:16 native clips over anything static.

This matters for B2B brands — especially fintechs — because thought leadership and product education now compete in a scroll‑driven feed. Fintech marketers who translate complex topics into quick, credible video insights are earning visibility their PDF‑bound competitors are losing.

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What the data shows

According to LinkedIn’s latest benchmark data, short‑form social video leads ROI among B2B formats at 41%, followed closely by brand storytelling (38%) and testimonials/demos (34%). For fintech marketers, this reinforces why vertical clips and quick narratives aren’t just trend experiments — they’re outperforming longer content and driving measurable returns. Embedding these formats into your strategy can directly influence pipeline and brand trust.

What this means for B2B fintechs

The old playbook is evolving beyond static content. PDFs, gated webinars, and long-winded whitepapers don’t stand a chance against discovery-first formats. If your insights don’t show up natively, visually, and fast, they’re simply not showing up at all.

Short video builds trust. 73% of B2B decision-makers consider thought leadership more trustworthy than traditional marketing, and short videos give fintechs a way to humanize even complex topics like compliance or AI without dumbing them down.

Fintech-focused companies like Stripe e and Wise have already tested this with Thought Leader Ads — and saw click-through rates more than 250% higher than image-based campaigns. Fintechs can borrow this playbook: turn a dense report into three 30-second myth-busting clips, or break a whitepaper into a micro-series with clear takeaways and expert faces on camera.

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Tiktokfication: How fintechs can win

The smartest fintechs aren’t reinventing the wheel — they’re just slicing it into snackable pieces. That product walkthrough? Trim it to 20 seconds with a bold hook. That founder Q&A? Pull the gold quote that reframes the problem. Add captions and a headline on-screen because most viewers are muted and scrolling fast.

3 algorithm-approved video templates to test:

• Hook in 3 seconds: Lead with a bold claim or stat (e.g., “Spreadsheets cost SMEs $X per year”). Use on-screen text overlays and captions.

• Keep it short: Videos under 30 seconds get 2x higher completion rates; save 60–90 seconds for storytelling or mini case studies.

• Post from personal profiles: Reach is 5x higher than company pages; reshare to brand channels for amplification.

Even dry explainers (KYC, risk scoring) can resonate when framed around the pain they solve. Tools like CapCut or Veed.io make quick editing possible without a media team.

Still not sure where to start? Try this:

• Open with pain: “80% of SMEs still use spreadsheets. Here’s how to fix that.”

• Bust a myth: “No, AI won’t replace your compliance officer — here’s why.”

• Show a product moment: a clean 15-second demo that gets to the point.

• Tease a stat: “Fintech CAC is up 32%. Unless you do this one thing.”

People don’t stop scrolling for brands. They stop for value.

Final thought

LinkedIn’s shift marks a structural reset for B2B marketing.

The fintechs that master short-form video will dominate feed visibility, trust, and demand gen. The question isn’t “Should we try this?” but “How fast can we ship our first vertical clip?” Start small, measure watch time, and iterate — the algorithm rewards momentum, not perfection.

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👉 Want more no-fluff growth breakdowns like this? Subscribe to Fintech x Growth or head to thefintechwriter.com to work with me. Or leave me a comment below!

#fintech #b2bmarketing #linkedinvideos #verticalvideo #fintechgrowth #finservmarketing #b2bcontentstrategy #demandgeneration #linkedintips #fintechmarketers

Nearly 80% of Gen Z and Millennials get financial guidance from social media (source: Int J Consumer Studies, 2025).

That’s why fintech brands are leaning in: one viral post can mean thousands of signups overnight. But regulators are watching too—and they have the receipts.

In 2023, the SEC fined a creator $1 million for promoting unregistered securities. The FCA is issuing takedown orders and even arrests. The “move fast and break things” playbook just broke the law.

Why Finfluencers Are So Effective

Finfluencers simplify, storytell, and show up daily. Algorithms reward them—but those same algorithms also reward controversy. The kind of content that trends (“get rich quick with crypto”) is often the kind that keeps compliance teams awake at night.

Audiences trust them. A TikTok on budgeting hacks can outperform a polished brand ad five to one. Comments and Q&As turn viewers into participants—something static ads can’t do.

The upside: reach, relatability, and speed. The risk: everything else.

What Fintechs Get Out of It

Focused reach. Gen Z investors, crypto hobbyists, side-hustlers—there’s a finfluencer for every niche. They cut through noise and talk directly to the segment fintechs want.

Built-in trust. Followers see them as peers. That authenticity translates to credibility fintechs can’t buy through ads.

Education + adoption. A good creator doesn’t just hype a product—they show people how to use it and why it matters. That’s why Betterment saw 10,000 signups after one influencer mention—paired with clear disclosures and no promises of returns.

Real insights. Working with multiple creators gives fintechs a view into how their product is understood—or misunderstood—in the wild.

Budget stretch. Micro-influencers can drive 60% higher conversions than big names, often at a fraction of the cost. For Gen Z, campaigns see 3x lower CAC compared to paid search.

What Can Go Wrong (And Has)

Finance is tightly regulated. Social content isn’t. That mismatch is the danger zone.

Global enforcement is heating up: the SEC, FTC, FCA, FINRA, ASIC, AMF—all tightening their grip. Fines, takedowns, even jail time are now part of the landscape.

Key triggers regulators care about:

• No disclosure (#ad, #sponsored)

• Overpromising or misrepresenting returns

• Pushing high-risk products without warnings

• Unlicensed financial advice framed as “just personal experience”

Once the post is live, liability doesn’t stop at the influencer. If you’re the brand behind it, you’re accountable too.

Penalties hurt—and they’re personal. The FTC can hit $50,000 per violation. The EU’s MiCA rules now hold brands liable for influencer misstatements on crypto. In the UK, unauthorized promotions can lead to criminal charges and prison time.

Red Flags to Catch Early

• Luxury lifestyle content used as “proof” of financial strategy

• Fast-money promises or guaranteed returns

• Disclaimers buried or vague

• “Not financial advice” in captions paired with actual advice in content

• Multiple undisclosed partnerships (Example: In 2023, one influencer was fined by the FTC for promoting a trading app without disclosing they owned stock in the company.)

How to catch them: require draft submissions, run automated scans for disclosure compliance, and audit content regularly—before regulators do.

How to Work with Finfluencers (and Sleep at Night)

✅ Do due diligence. Check their tone, content history, and any financial credentials. Don’t get blinded by follower count.

✅ Write airtight contracts. Set rules on disclosures, pre-approvals, and penalties. Include clawback clauses for any regulatory fines their content causes.

✅ Pre-approve every post. Captions, hashtags, visuals—all of it.

✅ Track and audit. Keep detailed records. If a regulator calls, you’ll need proof.

✅ Offer carrots and sticks. Incentivize clean audits with bonuses. Enforce compliance breaches with penalties.

✅ Have a crisis plan. Require takedowns within one hour of a flagged violation. The FTC tracks delays—and so should you.

Not All Finfluencers Sell to Consumers

Let’s pause on TikTok budget hacks. Not every finfluencer is talking to consumers—some are talking to banks.

I asked Rutger van Faassen , a B2B fintech influencer focused on connecting fintechs with banks: “I help connect Fintechs and Banks/Credit Unions. So my influence is in my network of business executives.”

That model runs on relationships, not reach. It’s slower, higher trust, and far less likely to trigger a compliance meltdown.

According to Rutger, ROI here is about access and credibility—not impressions. It’s about getting fintechs in front of the right people at the right time. One fintech CRO told us a single LinkedIn whitepaper collaboration led to five pilot talks with regional banks.

B2B influence needs a different playbook: think LinkedIn over TikTok, whitepapers over trending audio, and partnerships over downloads.

To Wrap-Up

Finfluencers are powerful. They can educate, drive growth, and make financial content actually interesting. They can also put your brand in a regulator’s crosshairs overnight.

If you’re going to play here, build fort-Knox-level guardrails: legal review, clear contracts, compliance tools, and a crisis plan. Before you chase the reach, make sure you can handle the risk.

#Finfluencers #Compliance #FinancialContent #B2BMarketing #GrowthStrategy #DigitalBanking #FinancialRegulation #FintechGrowth #MarketingTrends #InfluencerCompliance #FintechInfluencerMarketing #RegTech #FintechMarketing #DigitalFinanceTrends

Want sharper fintech content or help with your own growth strategy? Leave a comment or DM me here on LinkedIn — always happy to talk.

But in 2025, the returns are thinner, the competition is fiercer, and trust is harder to buy.

So instead of throwing more money at paid reach, a growing number of fintechs — especially in B2B — are leaning into community: building trusted spaces where users engage, support one another, and shape the product experience together.

What is community-led growth, exactly?

It's a strategy that turns your most engaged users into your best growth engine — through peer support, feedback loops, and authentic advocacy. Think Slack groups, Discord chats, or private forums that aren’t just for answering questions, but for building loyalty.

Not the fluffy kind that lives on a forgotten Discord channel. We’re talking purpose-built, high-signal spaces where users support each other, shape the product, and drive organic growth.

Because when you're trying to reduce your customer acquisition costs (CAC) and keep users around longer, a well-run Slack group — or even a well-run Discord or Telegram channel — might just outperform your entire ad budget.

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Why Is Everyone Talking About Community (Still)?

Because let’s face it: ads are expensive, trust is rare, and word of mouth is having a renaissance.

Community works because it’s rooted in trust — and fintech is a trust business.

When users help each other solve real problems, you earn credibility without spending a krona. You also get faster feedback loops, more honest product insight, and a built-in referral engine.

One company significantly reduced pressure on its support desk by empowering a peer-run community — similar to what Kong Inc. , a developer-focused platform, publicly shared about how their user base contributes to support and engagement. Another launched inside a private user group that became its best source of feedback, referrals, and advocacy — echoing tactics seen in tools like 1Password and others using community as part of their onboarding and support loop. These aren’t outliers — they’re signals.

As Foundation Inc puts it: “People trust communities more than companies. That’s why community-led marketing converts.”

Community-led growth isn’t flashy, but it compounds.

Not Just a Slack Channel

Picking the right platform matters. Slack works well for professional audiences — think ops, growth, and partnerships. Discord fits better if your fintech is more dev-centric or builder-focused. Telegram works in more informal or emerging-market contexts.

The key is to go where your users already hang out, not force them somewhere new.

As Foundation Inc notes, “Slack usage has surged 2.5x since 2016, and it's become a place where decision-makers go to learn, not be sold to.”

And once you’re there, don’t just lurk. Show up. Host live sessions, answer questions, ask for feedback. Make the space worth being in.

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From Conversations to Conversions

The strongest fintech communities handle support and growth in the same space — just like one developer platform whose user forum became one of their most effective channels for feedback, support, and product adoption.

When you give early users a seat at the table, they help shape the product. For example, one startup used a private Discord group to co-create features with its first 100 users. Another ran monthly feedback calls inside their community, directly shaping their roadmap based on what users asked for. When you run AMAs or share behind-the-scenes updates, they stick around. When you reward contributions with beta access or early features, they become advocates.

And when you do all of that consistently? You’ve got yourself a channel that doesn’t rely on CPMs or algorithms.

The Community Growth Loop

Some of the most effective B2B growth engines look surprisingly low-tech.

Tutorials, shared automations, peer-led onboarding — these community-born assets generate outsized impact. They aren’t just resources — they’re proof of value, created by people who already believe in what you’re building.

It’s peer-led content with built-in credibility. And unlike MQLs pulled in through a cold ad funnel, these users already trust you. They’re more likely to convert — and more likely to stick.

Make It Work

If you’re thinking of going community-first (or community-also), here’s what actually works:

• Start small. Aim for 50 truly engaged users instead of chasing 5,000 ghosts.

• Define your purpose. Is the community for support, feedback, referrals, or all three?

• Be consistent. Show up regularly with polls, office hours, live chats, or even a well-timed meme.

• Make participation rewarding. Offer early feature access, recognition, or private updates — not just swag.

• Streamline access. Add community invites to your onboarding flows, referral programs, or even your signup confirmation email.

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And if your fintech needs a hand with content strategy or storytelling, visit thefintechwriter.com.

This isn’t another “AI is changing everything” hot take. No panic. No hype.

Just a clear look at what Google actually announced at I/O 2025 — especially the rollout of AI Overviews and generative search results — and what it really means for fintechs.

Because if you're past product-market fit (PMF) and scaling, SEO hacks won’t cut it. You need strategy.

Let’s go

What Google Actually Changed

The Big Shift: AI Is Now the Middleman

At I/O 2025, Google confirmed it: AI-generated summaries now appear directly in search results.

We’ve entered the age of no-click search — where users get full answers without visiting your site. No click. No context. No chance to convert.

For fintech brands trying to drive awareness, trust, or leads? That’s a problem.

Your content still needs to rank — but now it also needs to be understood by AI to even show up.

If your page doesn’t speak clearly to both humans and machines, it might not show up at all.

Not Just Google

While Google’s AI Overviews got the spotlight at I/O, they’re not alone.

• Perplexity is building a browser with built-in AI chat that answers questions directly

• Opera is relaunching Neon, now positioned as an "agentic" AI-powered browsing experience

• OpenAI is reportedly working on its own browser, with ChatGPT integrated at the core

The message is clear: the way people search, browse, and discover is shifting — and it’s not just Google leading the charge.

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4 SEO Shifts Fintechs Can’t Ignore

1. Semantic SEO > Keyword Stuffing

Google’s AI understands context. It no longer matches keywords — it interprets meaning.

So stop chasing phrases like “best credit card.” Start answering actual questions:

• “How do I build credit with no history?”

• “What business loan options exist for startups under 6 months?”

✅ Action: Focus on user intent, not keyword volume.

2. Clarity Wins — Every Time

AI scans fast. Your message must be instant.

Be direct. Ditch jargon. Lead with the takeaway. Make sure the essentials pop — even in a snippet.

✅ Action: Could this be skimmed and understood in 3 seconds? If not, rewrite.

3. Voice-Friendly Content Isn’t Optional Anymore

People speak differently than they type.

With AI parsing natural language, content needs to reflect how people talk.

✅ Action: Add conversational FAQs. Use tools like AnswerThePublic. Speak their language.

4. E-E-A-T = Authority on Steroids

Experience. Expertise. Authoritativeness. Trustworthiness.

This isn’t fluff. These principles are how Google’s AI — and increasingly, other AI-powered platforms — decide what deserves to surface and what disappears.

Whether it’s a summary in Google, an answer in Perplexity, or a future ChatGPT browser result, credible content gets chosen. Everything else gets skipped.

So don’t just write. Demonstrate credibility.

• Feature experts.

• Link to research.

• Show your work.

✅ Action: Let your team shine. Real names, real insights.

Real Fintech Wins You Can Steal

Not just theory — here’s how two real fintechs are already adapting to AI-powered search.

Case Study: Wise — Scaling with Programmatic SEO

Quick explainer: Programmatic SEO is when you use code or automation to generate lots of useful, search-optimized pages — fast. It's especially powerful for answering long-tail queries at scale.

Wise, formerly TransferWise, used programmatic SEO to build over 500,000 landing pages tailored to specific long-tail queries like "convert USD to INR" or "send money to Brazil." Each page was auto-generated but structured with clean UX, localized content, and real-time exchange rate data — all optimized for both users and search engines.

By addressing hyper-specific user intents and matching them with clear, structured information, Wise (formerly TransferWise) significantly expanded their reach in search results. This programmatic SEO strategy has been incredibly successful, fueling their growth to well over 60 million monthly organic visits, with some analyses suggesting figures even higher, potentially approaching 90 million monthly organic visitors.

Result: Massive visibility across international search — especially for transactional queries where trust and clarity are key.

Takeaway: Programmatic SEO works when it’s useful. Structured, relevant pages don’t just scale — they perform well in AI summaries too.

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What To Do Next

You don’t need to become an SEO pro. But you do need to adjust.

Start here:

• ✅ Review top-performing pages — do they answer real questions?

• ✅ Write for problems, not just features.

• ✅ Show your team’s expertise — don’t hide it behind branding.

• ✅ Watch what works — track AI traffic via Search Console.

• ✅ Don’t wait. Adapt fast. The winners here are clear, useful, and credible.

Final Thought: Visibility Is Strategy

You didn’t scale just to vanish behind an AI box.

This is your moment to stand out — by being actually useful, not just optimized.

Be clear. Be helpful. Be found.

🙋‍♀️ Your Turn

What’s your take?

• What surprised you most?

• What’s working already?

• What’s keeping you up about SEO?

Reply to this post or email me at hi@anapaulapicasso.com if you want to chat about it — or connect with me on LinkedIn.

Let’s make fintech great!

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I say it all the time: fintechs should start a podcast. And yet, most don’t. Why not? Audio content is still overlooked and underutilized.

Why?

Some fintech teams, specially B2B fintechs, think their product is too niche or will only interest a small group of people. Others assume it’s too much work - low ROI.

Or they just don’t feel they could be a “podcast brand.”

Fair. But here’s the truth: podcasts aren’t about chasing downloads or going viral. They’re about talking directly to the people who actually care - potential clients, investors and thought leaders - about what you're building — and doing it in a way that feels real.

How I Learned This the Hard (and Cheap) Way

I’ve launched a few fintech podcasts. One was Blockchain Bit , where I chatted with blockchain and crypto disruptors. Another is Emerging Markets Today , covering innovation in developing economies.

Neither started fancy. No studio. No budget. Just clear topics, consistency, and curiosity. And both found an audience — not overnight, but steadily.

Turns out, if you talk to the right people about the right things, they’ll show up.

What those first shows taught me: you don’t need a massive launch, you need momentum. Start talking, keep showing up, and the right people will start listening.

Why Fintechs Should Care About Podcasts (Even If You Think They Don’t)

There are over 540 million podcast listeners globally (Statista, 2024) — and they’re engaged. People don’t just tune in and zone out. They listen while working, commuting, cooking.

When someone chooses to listen, they’re opting into a conversation — often for 20, 30, even 60 minutes. In a world of fractured feeds and shrinking attention spans, that’s gold.

For fintechs, that matters. Your product might be complex. Your audience small. But that’s exactly where a podcast shines. It gives you space to explain, connect, and build credibility—no flashy visuals or viral hooks required. Blog posts might get skimmed. Ads get ignored. But a podcast? It’s a chance to have someone’s full attention—long enough to build real trust.

You don’t need millions of downloads. You just need the right few thousand.

Think about it: one episode featuring a customer story could convert two new clients. Or a deep dive into your product’s use case might get shared across compliance teams in five countries. Or maybe an interview with a well-known investor sparks conversations that land you your next partnership call.

That kind of ripple effect doesn’t come from reach — it comes from relevance. And in fintech, where deals take time and trust matters, a podcast is less about scale and more about planting seeds in the right ears.

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Quick Guide: How to Actually Start That Fintech Podcast

So, let’s say you’re convinced. You want to give podcasting a go—but you’re not sure where to start. Here’s a simple breakdown to get your first episodes out into the world without overcomplicating things.

Step 1: Know What You’re Trying to Say

If you can’t summarize what your podcast is about in one sentence, then you don't have a concept yet.

Don't go too broad like "fintech news"—keep the show's concept within your niche. Instead of covering everything, focus on a specific angle or perspective your audience, meaning your potential clients, actually cares about.

Narrower scope means stronger identity—and makes it easier for the right people to find and stick with your show.

About the format, ask yourself:

• Is it going to be interview-based, where you bring on guests from your network?

• A casual conversation between members of your team?

• A solo show where you break down fintech news or share your point of view?

Your format should match your strengths and what feels natural. Don’t force panel-style interviews if you're better at telling stories. Don’t go solo if you thrive bouncing off others.

Step 2: Keep the Gear Simple

You don’t need a studio. Start with a $60 Samson Go Mic. Later, maybe upgrade to a Blue Yeti. But first, test the idea.

Find a quiet room. Add curtains or cushions to absorb sound. Done.

Or if you prefer, go to a co-working space, they usually have podcast rooms that you can book, already with all the recording equipement.

Listeners don’t care about perfection — they care about insight. Authenticity beats polish every time.

Step 3: Test Before You Launch

Record one or two pilot episodes. Share them with colleagues, clients, or a few smart friends in fintech. Get honest feedback. Adjust. Then decide if it’s worth continuing.

No pressure. Just try.

Step 4: Launch Small, Promote Smartly

Upload to Spotify and Apple via Anchor or Zencastr. Post clips on LinkedIn. Mention it in your newsletter. Maybe even put it in your email signature.

Think of your podcast as a conversation starter — not a content machine. It won’t replace your funnel, but it will warm up cold leads, build trust, and humanize your brand.

Want to Try This Without the Hassle?

I help fintech companies launch podcasts that speak to their real audience — not just the masses. From concept to recording to publishing, I handle the logistics so you can focus on the storytelling.

Interested in testing the idea without going all-in? Let’s chat.

📬 Reach out: You can find me on LinkedIn or email me at hi@anapaulapicasso.com.

If you liked this post, subscrive and share it with someone in fintech !

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You’ve probably noticed it already: follower counts just don’t carry the same weight they used to.

You could have 10,000 followers and still get barely any reach (reach meaning how many people actually see your content). Or have 200 and go viral overnight.

So, what happened?

The answer lies in the way platforms are changing—TikTok led the way back in 2020 when its 'For You Page' became the default experience, prioritizing content based on user behavior rather than follower connections.

And now Instagram, YouTube, and even LinkedIn are following. Instagram introduced its algorithmic Explore page and Reels to mimic TikTok’s endless scroll model. YouTube launched Shorts and began prioritizing them in mobile feeds. Even LinkedIn now shows posts based on engagement potential and relevance, rather than recency or follower count.

They’re all favoring discovery-based feeds. That means it’s not about who follows you, but what content the algorithm thinks is worth showing.

And that changes everything.

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What does that mean for your content?

If you’re putting all your effort into building a following, you might be focusing on the wrong thing.

Instead, you need to think like the algorithm.

Ask yourself:

• Is this content engaging from the very first second?

• Does it match the style and format of the platform?

• Would someone who’s never heard of my brand stop scrolling to watch, listen, or read?

That’s what the algorithm is really looking for.

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So, how can you make your content work harder?

Start by shifting your mindset. Don’t think “create more.”

Think “create once, repurpose well.”

This is where repurposing comes in—you already know the value of using what you’ve already created.

Instead of constantly starting from scratch, take your existing content and turn it into something new.

Let’s say you have a blog post that’s performed well.

Here’s what you could do with it:

• Turn it into a short LinkedIn carousel

• Pull out a quote and turn it into a graphic for Instagram

• Summarize the main takeaway as a short video or audio snippet

• Create a Twitter thread with a few bullet points and a link

Each version is designed for a different platform—and a different audience. And the best part? You didn’t have to create something brand new.

This applies whether you're a B2C fintech educating first-time investors—who might respond better to quick, visual explainers on TikTok or Instagram—or a B2B fintech targeting busy product managers, CFOs, or compliance leads, who prefer concise, insight-driven content on LinkedIn or in newsletters. These are completely different audiences who consume content in different ways, at different times, and in different formats—so one-size-fits-all just doesn’t work anymore.

That’s the real takeaway.

Because we’re not creating for followers anymore. We’re creating for feeds.

And if you want to show up on those feeds, you need to make your content easy for the algorithm to serve: short-form, engaging, and in the right format for the right platform.

This doesn’t mean ditching long-form content altogether. It just means giving it a second life—whether that’s a podcast, a short video, or a graphic.

One final thought

Social media will keep changing, and algorithms aren’t going away anytime soon.

But that’s not a reason to panic. It’s a reason to rethink how you use the content you already have—and find new ways to reach the audience you want, not just the one you’ve already got.

So next time you publish something, don’t stop there. Ask yourself: how else can I use this?

And if you enjoyed this newsletter, feel free to reply, email me at hi@anapaulapicasso.com, or follow me on socials (@a_picasso on X) for more tips like this.

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“How embedded finance is changing everything.”
“What is PSD2?”
“5 trends shaping fintech in 2025.”

Safe. Searchable. Forgettable.

But when your fintech is growing—raising, hiring, entering new markets—that kind of content doesn’t cut it anymore. It doesn’t reflect who you are. And it definitely doesn’t convert.

That’s where this newsletter comes in.

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Who’s behind this?

I’m Ana Paula Picasso—also known as The Fintech Writer. I work with growth-stage fintechs to craft better messaging, content that converts, and help you to find your unique brand voice.

What is Fintech x Growth?

This is a newsletter about voice, clarity, and content strategy for fintech companies beyond the early stage. I write for founders, CMOs, and marketing teams who’ve figured out the product—and now need the narrative to match.

Here’s what you’ll get:

• Smart takes on what works (and doesn’t) in fintech storytelling

• Teardowns and content audits from real projects (anonymized, always)

• Notes from the field: what I’m seeing across Europe’s fintech landscape

• No buzzwords. No padding. Just sharp insight.

Let’s make fintech content… better.

Thanks for being here. You’ll hear from me once or twice a month, depending on what’s happening in the industry—and in my inbox.

If you ever want to collaborate, get feedback, or just talk shop, I’m one email away: hi@anapaulapicasso.com

→ Follow on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/anapicasso
→ X / Twitter: @a_picasso

See you in your inbox.

—Ana