The finance creators driving the social interest rates discussion
It was perhaps one of the most watched Reserve Bank interest rate decisions in recent memory. And you have to hand it to Yellow Brick Road chairman Mark Bouris, he kinda summed up the national mood on Tuesday afternoon.
It was perhaps one of the most watched Reserve Bank interest rate decisions in recent memory. And you have to hand it to Yellow Brick Road chairman Mark Bouris, he kinda summed up the national mood on Tuesday afternoon.
@markbouris First rate cut in more than four years 🕺 @Yellow Brick Road (OFFICIAL) #rba
♬ YMCA - Village People
Bouris, with his 95,000 TikTok followers, is just one of a growing number of finance creators who are driving the online conversation around finance, business and the economy.
Of course you have seasoned business journalists like @BusinessRicardo, aka SBS's Ricardo Goncalves*, who has embraced doing short-form video reports for social media. (Disclosure)
@businessricardo What the RBA’s official interest rate cut will mean for your mortgage and whether you can expect more! @sbsnews_au
♬ original sound - BUSINESSricardo
Goncalves is not the only reporter getting in on the action, with 9News' Effie Zahos also jumping on the breaking news.
Interestingly, Zahos appears to only have a presence on Instagram, but on TikTok prefers to use the 9News account.
We also had the likes of the Commsec (4,982 followers) and Mortgage Choice (440 followers) jumping on the news and quickly posting videos.
@commsec The Reserve Bank of Australia #RBA has reduced the cash rate target for the first time in over four years by 25bps to 4.10%. Here’s CommSec Chief Economist, Ryan Felsman with the share market reaction. For a full recap on today’s announcement, listen to the evening episode of the CommSec Market Update. Available wherever you get your podcasts.
♬ original sound - CommSec
One fascinating thing in this space is that many of these journalists and business accounts are dwarfed by the audiences of some of Australia's leading finance creators.
These are often males who have 50,000+ followers on a platform like TikTok.
Here are some of the most notable (and note at Social Hook we're not endorsing any of their financial advice):
You might be forgiven for thinking that Mark Bouris with his media profile and successful business pedigree would be one of the biggest influencers in this space.
@markbouris My thoughts on RBA's 25 basis point reduction. @Yellow Brick Road (OFFICIAL) #rba
♬ original sound - Mark Bouris
But it appears Bouris has some younger rivals in the form of Michael Rusli and Jack Henderson, who have both built substantial TikTok followings.
@michael.rusli We have FINALLY got an interest rate decrease. but what does this mean if you have a mortgage or looking to get into the property market? Calculator used: https://moneysmart.gov.au/home-loans/mortgage-calculator Let’s break this down in simple terms. If you want to make sure that you’re on the best interest rate for your mortgage or find out your borrowing capacity based off your situation head to the link on my profile and I can connect you with my reliable mortgage brokers. Disclaimer: This is not financial advice and is for educational purposes only.
♬ original sound - Wealth By Michael
@justinafischerr RBA has finally dropped their interest rates! Good news in general for both first time buyers and existing property owners #realestate #buyersagent #property #moneytok #investing #fyp
♬ original sound - Justin Fischer
It's also interesting to see the different genres of responses from creators. Some did the straight news (typically reporters), a number of brokers did the easy breakdown on what the drop would mean for those with mortgages.
@david.pelligra Ok the interest rate cut list is very long now! Is your bank here? #interestrates #mortgage #property #mortgagebroker #homeloan
♬ original sound - David | Mortgage Broker
And a genre of real estate agents, such as Niro Thambipillay, gave their view on what the change would mean for property prices.
@investwithniro Rate cuts will have a triple impact on property prices.
♬ original sound - Niro Thambipillay
*The author does consulting for national broadcaster SBS
