Results
- Monthly comments grew 5x+ vs. pre-program
- Avg. engagement per post approx. +180% YoY
- Ritek-san avg. engagement +300% YoY
FinT manages two official X accounts for SMBC Consumer Finance (SMBCCF): "Promii" and "Money Teacher Ritek-san". A year after Ritek-san reached 10,000 followers in four months, we interviewed SMBCCF's Nakazono-san (Finance Business Promotion) and Tada-san (Social Value Creation), together with FinT director Sawachi.
What does each account aim for?
Nakazono: I run awareness promotion for "Promise". We want Promii to be like an influencer for the brand — delivering messages the official account cannot.
Tada: I plan our financial-literacy education program, which has reached 2.8 million learners since 2011. We want Ritek-san to be someone people can always turn to about money.
What challenges did you face after years of operation?
Nakazono: We had chased follower growth, but X's algorithm changed and posts stopped reaching even our followers. We needed to rethink KPIs and grow real fans through engagement.
Tada: Ritek-san reached 20,000 followers in under a year, but engagement was unstable. The character wasn't being used to its potential.
Sawachi: For both accounts, engagement was mostly just "likes". We aimed to build relationships where conversations happen — Promii as a companion, Ritek-san as a teacher.
What did you change?
Sawachi: Promii had been a purely cheerful cheerleader. But the characters Gen Z loves share a relatable imperfection. We redesigned posts around Promii's own feelings and questions to followers. For Ritek-san, we introduced four-panel manga lectures — easy to read and native to X — and image-based two-choice quizzes people can join with one tap. Techniques proven on one account were adapted to the other, which made our PDCA highly efficient.
What were the results?
Sawachi: Promii's monthly comments grew more than 5x versus pre-program, with average engagement per post up about 180% YoY and comments up about 215%. Ritek-san's average engagement grew more than 300% YoY.
Nakazono: Beyond the numbers, the comments changed. People draw Promii fan art and celebrate its birthday. You can feel the affection.
Tada: Posts about scholarships now get people sharing their own experiences. It finally feels like a conversation with our audience.
How has working with FinT been?
Nakazono: Their speed in catching platform updates is outstanding — they share hypotheses even before official announcements, so we can decide fast. The results justify the cost.
Tada: They commit to what we want to achieve, even in a difficult social-value context, and have been involved from character creation onwards. That is a strength no one else offers.