Influencer Marketing for Fintech and Crypto

What Influencer Marketing Is

Advertisers used to partner with offline celebrities. But in the digital world, content creators with specific audiences can deliver higher value to brands than advertising from any global celebrity of yesteryear. Even small social media profiles have thousands of active followers, let alone those with millions of devotees.

One of the earliest cases of such marketing was a campaign for horror film ‘As Above, So Below’ with YouTube blogger PewDiePie. Together with the creators of the film about French catacombs, he made a series of videos in which he took challenges in terrifying places. That was perfect content for 27 million followers (as of 2014; there are already 110 million followers today). And the blogger saw twice as many views as the film trailer. The campaign was a complete win-win, for PewDiePie and for the film.

This shining example helps us define influence marketing as a way to advertise a product or a brand with the help of respected bloggers or opinion leaders famous on YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Telegram, and other media.

Influencer marketing implies that you cooperate with high-impact bloggers. Why them? Just because they serve broad—and loyal—audiences and thus can affect opinions. This is why companies pay them for promoting products or services.

What You Should Know About Influencer Marketing

Who Influencers Are

An influencer is someone with authority, credibility, and popularity in a specific niche. Often called opinion leaders, influencers have built loyal audiences on social media who value their insights, advice, and content. Their power lies not just in numbers, but in the trust and engagement they inspire within their communities.

Influencers come in all shapes and sizes. A popular Instagram photographer, a cyber security expert on Twitter, or a respected fintech executive on LinkedIn — all can influence their followers’ decisions. Some have hundreds of thousands or even millions of followers, while others might only reach a few thousand. Regardless of size, both can be highly effective because they are recognized as experts in their fields, answer questions, provide guidance, and share valuable content.

Partnering with an influencer with millions of followers might seem ideal, but bigger audiences don’t always guarantee the best results. Some influencers have broad reach across many demographics, while others cultivate smaller, highly targeted and engaged communities. Understanding the differences — in reach, engagement, cost, and relevance — is crucial for choosing the right influencer to amplify your brand’s message effectively.

Types of Influencers

Influencers can be categorized in several ways — by audience size, niche, type of activity, and the social media platform where they are most active. Understanding these categories helps brands select the right partners for their marketing campaigns.

By Audience Size

• Mega or Celebrity Influencers – over 1 million followers
  These influencers often include actors, musicians, athletes, or other public figures. Their celebrity status allows them to captivate a broad and diverse audience, making them ideal for large-scale brand awareness campaigns. However, partnering with them can be very expensive, and engagement rates may be lower compared to smaller, niche influencers.
  Brands that benefit: large enterprises, luxury brands, global campaigns.

• Macro-Influencers – 50,000 to 1,000,000 followers
  Established personalities within their niche, macro-influencers have built their reputation through consistent content creation and engagement. Their audience is more targeted than celebrities, offering a balance between reach and relevance.
  Brands that benefit: startups seeking credibility, nonprofit campaigns, hotels and airlines targeting specific but sizable audiences.

• Micro-Influencers – 10,000 to 50,000 followers
  Highly engaged niche influencers with strong connections to their audiences. Micro-influencers are appreciated for their creative content, relatable recommendations, and authentic interactions. They are more affordable than larger influencers.
  Brands that benefit: small to medium businesses, niche product campaigns, targeted promotions.

• Nano-Influencers – fewer than 10,000 followers
  Nano-influencers maintain close-knit, highly engaged communities. While their reach is smaller, they provide personalized, authentic content and deep connections with followers.
  Brands that benefit: local businesses, artisan or specialty products, cost-conscious campaigns.

By Niche or Activity

Why Influencer Marketing Works for Your Brand

Influencer marketing has become a highly effective strategy for brands, offering opportunities to expand reach, engage target audiences, and drive measurable results. The numbers speak for themselves: according to the 2024 Influencer Marketing Report, nearly half of consumers (49%) make purchases at least once a month influenced by social media creators. Statista predicts the influencer marketing industry will hit a record $33 billion in 2025, highlighting its growing importance.

Here’s why incorporating influencers into your marketing strategy can deliver significant benefits:

Boost Brand Awareness

Collaborating with influencers introduces your brand to new audiences that may not have encountered it otherwise. Their endorsements lend credibility and reinforce trust, helping your brand stand out in a crowded market. Followers tend to pay attention to recommendations from voices they already respect, which enhances recognition and strengthens your brand’s reputation.

Targeted Reach to the Right Audience

Influencers allow brands to reach highly specific audiences. By choosing influencers whose followers align closely with your ideal customer profile, your message reaches those most likely to engage with your product or service. This precision ensures marketing efforts are not wasted on irrelevant audiences and increases overall campaign efficiency.

Drive Higher Conversions

Social proof is a powerful motivator. Consumers are more likely to take action — whether making a purchase, signing up for a service, or participating in promotions — when they see recommendations from trusted influencers. Interactive campaigns such as giveaways, challenges, live streams, and exclusive discount codes further encourage engagement and make it simple to track conversions directly attributed to influencer activity.

Foster Trust and Authenticity

Influencers build genuine relationships with their followers by sharing personal experiences and opinions that resonate. Transparency about partnerships and only promoting products they truly believe in adds credibility. Unlike traditional advertisements, their content often feels spontaneous and authentic, creating a personal connection with the audience. Engaging with comments and feedback strengthens this bond even further, cultivating loyalty and increasing the likelihood of repeat purchases.

By leveraging these advantages, brands can not only reach more people but also build meaningful connections, increase engagement, and achieve measurable business outcomes. Influencer marketing is more than promotion — it’s a way to create trust, credibility, and lasting relationships with your audience.

How To Choose an Influencer to Cooperate With

When you decide to partner with an opinion leader or influencer, you might recall such celebrities as Paris Hilton, Dwayne Johnson, even Lil Pump. But while these people are considered one of the most powerful influencers, not all opinion leaders enjoy such great fame.

In fact, you don’t always need an extra-famous person for your campaign. An influencer with around 15,000 followers, who is respected and famous in their vertical, can bring a better result than a large blogger with millions of irrelevant subscribers.

For example, you decide between an entertainment blogger with a million followers and an influencer with a smaller audience (a few thousand followers) and content devoted to financial services and crypto projects. Who will you choose?

At first glance, it seems that a larger blogger is much more appealing considering their reach. But the actual benefit of advertising on their profile is questionable. If you take a deeper look at their audience, you will find out that most of their followers are teenagers, while the others aren’t interested in any ads whatsoever. Almost all of them subscribed to this blogger for entertainment. Don’t expect any good reception from them when your partner introduces your fintech brand.

On the other hand is an influencer who only serves 10 to 20 thousand followers. And cooperating with them can be a way more productive affair. Their audience is focused on fintech and thus more eager to learn about your brand.

You need to do some research before you find the best option for promoting your product or your brand:

1. Analyse dozens or even hundreds of influencers.
2. Study their audience.
3. Review their content.
4. Define the topic.
5. Compare promotion rates.

If you don’t have a seasoned influencer relations specialist, you can come to Polygant. Contact us on Telegram or use the feedback form to learn how our influencer relations manager can help your company.

How to Streamline Cooperation With Influencers

A powerful influencer marketing consists of 5 stages.

Define Your Goals

The main purpose of influencer marketing is attracting new target customers. And the opinion leader you partner with is also interested in cooperation, since such a campaign can expand their reach.

Remember that your mission is just to attract prospects. They don’t have to buy from you or do anything on your website. This is the third goal of your campaign; the second one is boosting brand and product awareness.

Learn Who You Will Influence

For starters, identify your audience. Then make a list of potential opinion leaders. This way you will make sure you understand who you are going to partner with. You might either address a large part of your existing audience or reach a whole new market.

Trust is king when you decide on your future partner. It’s critical that your audience has confidence in what your influencers say. Without it, any results will be sketchy — and you won’t see any significant benefit.

How do you know whether people trust a potential opinion leader? Take note of views, likes, shares, and comments. You will see segments of followers you are going to reach. What reflects the true loyalty is a high engagement level, rather than an inflated follower count that can be achieved with fakes and bots.

Do Some Research

Check what potential influencers publish. How often do they advertise brands or products? If their followers are tired of their sponsored posts, engagement won’t remain healthy for too long. It’s better to go with those sharing much free content to maintain followers’ enthusiasm and interest.

When you start cooperating with an influencer, always take into account the frequency of your posts and their posts. If you ask them to output a bunch of posts in a row, a smart influencer may not accept your offer, even if you pay high. They care more about the loyalty of their followers.

Sought-after opinion leaders usually have an inbox full of various offers. This is why they can reject many of them. When you approach an influencer, show them you have studied what they are doing. And make sure you do know what their profiles are about and who their followers are.

Establish Direct Communication

It may take you a while to compose a good proposal. But this way you will demonstrate that you are serious about your potential partnership. This will boost your chances of clinching a deal.

Provide as much information about your brand and product as you can. Tell what you are going to achieve with your campaign. Explain to the influencer how you can benefit them besides the reward.

Measure Your Performance

When you launch your campaign with an influencer, you may want to focus on likes and comments as target indicators. If a famous opinion leader has too many followers, you may be astonished by loads of likes landing on your post or video.

Don’t be fooled. This is not a result you need. You should monitor and analyse the following important indicators:

• Visits to your website
• New users
• Users who stayed with you after a few days
• Users who showed activity on your website.

Look for an Influencer Yourself or go to a Company?

So you now know what to remember when looking for a relevant influencer who will present you to their audience in the best light to boost your brand awareness and attract new customers. Now you may ask: how do I find an influencer that will be my best partner in promoting my products on the web?

Partnering with an irrelevant opinion leader may result in budget wasting. But if you make the right choice but you approach your potential partner for the first time, they will only offer you a basic rate, because you will be a new customer amongst thousands of existing ones. But if you come to them through an influencer marketing agency, you are likely to get better rates because of agency’s status as a long-standing client.

This is why we recommend that you approach a company who has cooperated with influencers for years and will choose the perfect opinion leaders for you. Here are the benefits of such a way:

• Saving time and money
• Acquiring new customers
• Boosting brand awareness and enhancing company reputation
• Sales growth.

Polygant has been in the influencer marketing industry for over 13 years. We have a number of successful cases and 100+ satisfied clients. Call or write to us, and we will tell you how we will promote your brand through partnerships with opinion leaders.