Our latest Good Money Guide survey has revealed widespread scepticism towards financial promotions on social media, with nearly two-thirds of respondents saying influencers should not be allowed to promote financial products online.
The survey of UK consumers highlights growing concerns about financial scams, misleading promotions, and the role social media platforms play in advertising investments, savings accounts, trading accounts, and other financial products.
The findings also provide an interesting comparison with Good Money Guide’s 2020 research into online financial advertising, showing that while trust in online financial information has increased significantly over the last six years, social media remains the least trusted environment for financial promotions.
Comparison Websites Are The Most Trusted Source
When asked which types of websites they trust to display financial advertisements, FCA-regulated comparison websites came out on top, trusted by 71% of respondents.
National newspaper websites were trusted by 48%, while search engines such as Google and Bing were trusted by 26%.
Social media platforms ranked last by a considerable margin, with only 6% of respondents saying they trusted them to display financial advertisements.
The results show a significant shift from 2020. Six years ago, only 45% trusted FCA-regulated comparison websites, 15% trusted national newspaper websites and just 9% trusted search engines.
While trust has increased across all channels, consumers remain highly cautious about financial advertising on social media.
Most Consumers Trust No Social Media Platform
When respondents were asked which social media platforms they trusted to display financial advertisements, almost three-quarters (72%) selected “none of the above”.
Among those who did express trust in a platform:
- LinkedIn – 14%
- YouTube – 11%
- Facebook – 7%
- Instagram – 6%
- WhatsApp – 6%
- TikTok – 2%
LinkedIn’s stronger performance may reflect its professional reputation, while TikTok’s low score highlights continuing concerns about algorithm-driven financial content and scams on short-form video platforms.
Finfluencers Face A Credibility Problem
The survey suggests that the public remains deeply sceptical about financial influencers, despite the rapid growth of “finfluencer” content across social media.
A majority of respondents (65%) said influencers should not be allowed to promote financial products at all.
A further 26% said influencers should only be allowed to do so if they are regulated or certified.
Just 4% believed influencers should be free to promote financial products regardless of regulation.
The results indicate that more than nine in ten people either oppose finfluencer promotions outright or want stronger oversight and accountability.
These attitudes appear largely unchanged from the findings of Good Money Guide’s 2020 survey, when only 3% of respondents said they trusted financial adverts promoted by social media influencers.
Scam Awareness Has Increased Since 2020
Consumers are also becoming increasingly aware of online financial scams.
In 2020, 43% of respondents said they had seen an online advert they believed was a scam. Today, that figure has risen to 58%.
While this increase may reflect a rise in fraudulent advertising, it could also indicate that consumers are becoming better at recognising suspicious promotions.
The latest survey found that 84% of respondents are somewhat or very confident that they can identify a scam advert.
However, despite this confidence, suspicious financial adverts remain widespread online.
Some Consumers Are Still Losing Money
Although most respondents said they could identify scam adverts, the survey found that 4% had lost money after interacting with a suspected scam promotion.
The findings echo concerns raised by regulators and consumer groups, who have repeatedly called for stronger controls on financial advertising across social media and digital platforms.
Good Money Guide’s 2020 survey also revealed that consumers often fail to report suspicious adverts. While 43% had identified scam adverts, only 20% had ever clicked a “report ad” button to flag them to the platform.
This suggests that while awareness of scams has improved, many fraudulent promotions may continue to circulate unchecked.
Consumers Want More Protection
The findings come as regulators around the world increase scrutiny of social media financial promotions and unauthorised investment advice.
While platforms and influencers have become an increasingly important marketing channel for financial firms, consumers appear far more comfortable receiving financial information from established publishers, regulated comparison websites, and traditional media brands.
The message from consumers is clear: trust matters. And despite years of growth in social media investing content, platforms and finfluencers still have a long way to go before they earn it.
Our View
The results show that consumers remain deeply sceptical about financial promotions on social media. While finfluencers can help make investing more accessible, the public clearly wants stronger safeguards and greater accountability.
What’s particularly interesting is that trust in comparison websites, newspapers and search engines has risen substantially since our 2020 survey, yet trust in social media remains exceptionally low.
Consumers are becoming more confident online, but they’re still wary about taking financial advice from influencers.
Richard is the founder of the Good Money Guide (formerly Good Broker Guide), one of the original investment comparison sites established in 2015. With a career spanning two decades as a broker, he brings extensive expertise and knowledge to the financial landscape.
Having worked as a broker at Investors Intelligence and a multi-asset derivatives broker at MF Global (Man Financial), Richard has acquired substantial experience in the industry. His career began as a private client stockbroker at Walker Crips and Phillip Securities (now King and Shaxson), following internships on the NYMEX oil trading floor in New York and London IPE in 2001 and 2000.
Richard’s contributions and expertise have been recognized by respected publications such as The Sunday Times, BusinessInsider, Yahoo Finance, BusinessNews.org.uk, Master Investor, Wealth Briefing, iNews, and The FT, among many others.
Under Richard’s leadership, the Good Money Guide has evolved into a valuable destination for comprehensive information and expert guidance, specialising in trading, investment, and currency exchange. His commitment to delivering high-quality insights has solidified the Good Money Guide’s standing as a well-respected resource for both customers and industry colleagues.
