Recently, a trending hashtag — #MonopolyStocksToInvest — was used to discuss BLS International, which provides visa consultancy services. The stock gained 8 per cent that trading day. But this was not due to Punjabis trying to buy their way into Canada. It is the typical Indian investor throwing away his cash in the belief that he is investing in is a monopoly only to discover that the promised returns were in Monopoly money.
Today social media can be used to get any random stock trending and I am not talking about kacha badaams as a commodity class.
The process
Have the text ready: Firstly, the scam-runner — a company or a third party— must provide the text of the message, with keywords such as Monopoly. This is the same as you putting that stint as class monitor in Class IV on your résumé as “Managed a team of difficult but gifted mavericks”.
Strictly no tagging the company: Remember to give strict instructions that the company’s official handle or those of senior executives must not be tagged to avoid being traced back to the company. This advice is usually lost on women who will often like their own photo uploads from their three other Instagram handles.
Use multiple social media platforms: The trend works best if the finfluencer talks up a scrip in their WhatsApp or Telegram group, and then discusses it on Twitter or other platforms. This is the same as how you discuss your relationship problems privately with your friend on WhatsApp only to see the screenshots being shared in the college/office group and eventually become a viral trending meme. The circle of life (and your death) is completed when your significant other receives the screenshots of the circulating meme from their friends.
Target 100 tweets a day to kick it off: You will need 100 tweets a day, if you want the topic to trend for a day, according to an executive with a marketing agency that works with finfluencers. For some reason the executive had horns on his head and carried a pitch fork as he cackled “I am just waiting for SEBI to ban finfluencers so I can steal their soul”. When asked if 100 isn’t too small a number he said “People will re tweet out of FOMO even if they don’t fully understand it. In 2015, we got them to share #IStandwithParis with photos of Paris Hilton to promote her new clothing line.”
Engagement is key: The number of followers a finfluencer has; it doesn’t matter whether they can make a hashtag trend with high engagement or not. This is the same advise Indian parents give to their kids, that they should get engaged while they are still considered a trending hashtag than have FOMO later.
Niche audience works best: If you have been talking about lifestyle for a while and then suddenly start talking about investing, then people are highly likely to ignore it. Unless you’re a finfluencer and your only lifestyle is talking about investing. Finfluencers are the drug peddlers of the investing world who also ask you to leave a 5-star rating.
Avoid registered analysts: They are not allowed to say things like “Do din mein paisa double” or promise any unsubstantiated returns. So they’re hired by celebrities to manage the money they get from endorsements like “Do din mein dandruff gaayab”.
So, be careful of investing in any trending hashtag unless it’s #Funnycontrol. Because at least in financial humour, it’s a #MonopolyStockToInvest
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