In Brief
Placera had a popular investment forum built with outdated technology that no longer lived up to their standards. So, they decided to close it down in 2021.
The closed forum meant missing out on substantial traffic and engagement. Placera wanted to build something new and better.
Partnered with StockRepublic, implementing BankID to address identification concerns, created and customized a scalable social trading platform, and laid the framework for a brand new customer acquisition channel.
The Problem
Placera, one of Sweden's largest financial sites and a wholly owned subsidiary of Avanza, with approximately 400,000 unique visitors per week, quietly deactivated its discussion-centric forum at the end of 2021. While it had served a key function for the company for many years, the technology had slowly become outdated. It no longer lived up to Placera's and Avanza's high standards.
We were looking for a fast-paced provider with the knowledge and experience to create a modern and scalable solution for social trading. So when we reached out to StockRepublic, it clicked right away! Not only because they could offer what we were looking for but also because they are an incredibly great bunch of people.
Johan Kleis
CEO at Placera
However, the forum had always been a popular feature for Placera and Avanza, generating substantial traffic and attracting important visitors. So it was ideally not something that they wanted to be without. That's why Placera reached out to StockRepublic in the early summer of 2022. As they were picking a path forward, their team was trying to determine whether they should buy or build a new solution. Placera needed a forum with identified users, a build from scratch using modern technology, and a solution that would seamlessly fit into the Placera platform as a whole.
From a technical standpoint, they needed an API product that could fetch Avanza's essential financial instruments, from stocks and bonds to funds and certificates, and then mirror them on the Placera forum. A solution that would enable users and contributors to tag, talk about, and follow all of Avanza's financial features and instruments.
Lastly, the company also needed the distribution of data and information to be a two-way street, with content from the Placera forum effortlessly flowing into the Avanza trading platform.
The Solution
By utilizing our social trading API, we could create a scalable and customized solution, allowing them to build and expand the platform in sync with user growth and needs. For example, we made integrating the forum with third parties more straightforward. We utilized that, starting with implementing BankID as an identification layer for users who’d like to contribute to the forum to minimize and prevent illicit activities.
As part of the customization, we also removed direct messaging, edit post functionality, and the option of removing posts. The features are a part of our standard offer but weren’t needed by Placera to kick things off.
The Placera Forum has been a financial hotspot in the Swedish market for many years, so we’re very honored to be part of transforming it into a next-generation platform.
Fabian Grapengiesser
CEO at StockRepublic
To meet Placera’s expectations and ideas, we also rearranged how posts are presented and how the forum is centered. Normally, StockRepublic presents the oldest post first, followed by the rest. However, because the Placera Forum had historically shown content in reverse order, we flipped the script to please their audience. In the same vein, we built their solution centered around the companies and the financial instruments, as opposed to the individuals using it, as that was and is their primary focus.
The Placera Forum and the Avanza app can exist independently while still remaining connected. With this independence, Avanza can, for example, utilize the Placera Forum to create content and gain users, regardless of where those people have their bank account, and build relationships with potential new customers. This intersection of the Placera Forum and Avanza creates a customer acquisition channel for the company driven by user-generated content from real investors. A potential gold mine as it pertains to long-term audience growth.