Objective

Financial services are rarely fun — but Self proved they can be.

In Q2 2025, Self partnered with 16 creators across TikTok, Instagram, and Facebook to transform the intimidating subject of credit-building into something people wanted to watch, laugh at, and share.

The campaign tapped into macro-to-mega creators—our Viral Hitmakers™, like Bryan Ferreira, whose Office Girlie skits turned everyday money struggles into laugh-out-loud moments, and trusted mid-tier voices who delivered listicles, routines, and practical hacks. From family budgeting stories to rent nostalgia videos, every piece of content made Self feel like a friend giving advice — not a financial brand selling a product.

The results spoke volumes: 3.3M+ impressions (5× goal) and 183.5K+ engagements (4× benchmark). Audiences leaned in, with saves and shares surging and 82% of comments positive. Google searches for “Self Financial” jumped +15% QoQ and +17% YoY, while brand mentions rose +41% YoY during campaign pulses.

By combining humor, education, and authentic storytelling, Self achieved what many financial brands struggle with: making money talk approachable, culturally relevant, and even fun. This campaign didn’t just outperform KPIs — it built trust, sparked intent, and positioned Self as the go-to brand for credit empowerment.

Strategy

The Challenge

Financial products require trust — and trust takes time. Social listening revealed consumer frustration around ACH transfers, fees, and account closures, fueling skepticism toward financial brands. To stand out, Self had to show up differently: through content that felt authentic, entertaining, and trustworthy.

Objectives

• Drive awareness & reach through influencers capable of scaling impressions.
• Spark engagement & trust by optimizing for saves, shares, and comments — intent signals that predict future action.
• Shift brand perception to position Self as approachable and empowering.
• Lay groundwork for conversions by fueling search lift and sustained long-tail visibility.

Strategy

We strategically pair Viral Hitmakers™ (mega/macro creators built for entertainment and scale) with Category Penetration Creators (mid/micro influencers in finance, lifestyle, and family niches).

Viral Hitmakers™ drive broad awareness and cultural buzz, while Penetration Creators deliver trust and relevance within target categories. Together, this approach ensures campaigns go both wide and deep—capturing attention at scale and converting it into meaningful engagement.

Tailor content by platform strength: humor on TikTok, education on Instagram, family content on Facebook.

Brief creators individually to deliver within their proven formats — character skits, lifestyle integrations, and educational listicles — ensuring entertainment + utility.

Launch content in pulses to maximize algorithmic lift and enable measurement of incremental impact.

Execution

Influencer Alignment

• 16 creators spanned Mega, Macro, Mid, and Micro tiers. Personas included:
• Couples & Family Builders 
• Young Professionals 
• College Builders 
• Viral Hitmakers™ 
• Diversity was prioritized: black creators and single moms drove 3× higher ERs on Meta.

Creative Excellence

• Humor + Relatability: Bryan’s Office Girlie skits went viral, earning more views than his follower count and sparking overwhelmingly positive comments.
• Storytelling + Emotion: Kerri tapped into rent nostalgia, while Josh connected Self to an emotive giveback narrative, framing it through everyday financial moments. (399K impressions, 5.78% ER).
• Micro Wins: Brianna’s moving-day story drove a 13.75% ER, proving authenticity > follower count.
• Platform Native Tailoring: TikTok skits fueled virality (+78% ER lift post-optimization), Instagram listicles drove saves (+20% ER lift), and Facebook family-focused content built affinity.

Real-Time Optimization

• Daily monitoring identified high-velocity performers.
• Underperforming “talking head” content was swapped out for humor/banter, lifting TikTok ER by 89% from campaign launch.
• Influencers were briefed with trend-based hooks (“Dear Younger Me,” “Credit Score Glow-Up”), boosting relevance.

Innovation

The campaign leaned on parasocial trust — creators act as friends, not ads. With 91% of shoppers preferring funny brands, and 72% choosing humor over competitors, Self’s comedic + relatable approach wasn’t just creative — it was strategic.

Results

Performance vs. Goals

• 3.3M+ impressions (goal: 822K, ↑313%)
• 183.5K+ engagements (goal: 37.3K, ↑391%)
• TikTok ER: 6.58% (↑48% vs. benchmark)
• Instagram ER: 5.53% (↑75% vs. benchmark)

Quality of Engagement

• 13.5K+ shares, 4.2K+ saves — key intent signals.
• 82% positive sentiment; audiences praised relatability (“BRB signing up for Self”).

Long-Tail Impact

Influencer posts continued to deliver impressions weeks after posting — unlike paid ads that stop once budget ends. Viral hitmakers achieved 16× follower reach, creating enduring ROI.

Brand & Business Impact

• +15% QoQ, +17% YoY Google Search Lift for “Self Financial”
• +41.7% YoY increase in brand mentions
• 68% positive sentiment, +21pp higher than category competitors like Chime and Kikoff

Competitive Edge

Where competitors struggled with skepticism, Self created positive cultural conversation around financial empowerment — leveraging humor, trust, and relevance to out-perform fintech peers.

Media