Money maker or fortune faker: analyzing the perception and cognitive processing of financial influencer content on social media

Purpose This paper examines how Gen Y and Gen Z cognitively process financial social media content. It aims to develop insights into how different finfluencer personas are perceived, how this perception is affected by individual predispositions, and how it ultimately shapes behavior. Design/methodology/approach The study proposes a dynamic model of information processing and tests several paths through the model by conducting a quasi-experimental survey with 723 participants randomly assigned to one of four stimulus groups. Using a between-subjects design, the study analyzes the effect of the finfluencer persona in the stimulus, the impact of recipients' predispositions, an outline of information processing dimensions, and resulting behavioral intentions. Findings The results show that the perception of financial social media content significantly depends on the finfluencer persona; this perception is thereby less influenced by financial literacy than by financial experience or a general opinion toward financial social media. A positive perception of the persona and message supports the sensed value of the post. Originality/value Prior studies mainly focused on the effect of social media sentiment or news messages on stock prices. In contrast, this study focuses on the emerging field of finfluencer communication and empirically measures its effects to highlight how finfluencers can strategically engage with their audience.