Business

Joey Hickson Stresses on The Importance of a Customized Social Media Strategy for Musicians

Published

6 years ago

June 27, 2019

Since the advent of social media, marketing has changed completely. The kind of loyal fan base you could build in 10-15 years is now possible in a few months, all thanks to digital marketing. Many musicians have built a large fan base on social media by connecting with their fans and providing quality content. But as rewarding as social media tools can be, they are equally difficult to master.

The owner of Integrate Social Group, Hickson has built a network of over 30 million followers on social media. With his knowledge and skills, he has helped many musicians, comedians and businessmen get followers who have been eventually converted into customers.

Hickson believes that, “Social media is of no use, unless there is a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. The whole point of social media is to build trust with your potential customers, so that they land on your website. When they access the website, the content, product and service need to be presented in a manner that is as attractive as the graphic that got them here in the first place. Only then the readers can be converted into customers.”

Hickson has helped musicians like Daniela Andrade, Vivian Hicks, Jacuzzi La Fleur and many others rise to fame with his social media marketing strategies. Hickson believes that every individual needs a customized strategy which will work for them. No two musicians can have the same marketing strategy to promote their music. Many artists underestimate the power of right social media marketing. There are many talented musicians out there who could be much more successful, if they were using the right social media tools.

There is no set formula for success in social media marketing. It is a place which is constantly evolving and unless you don’t adapt to the changes and evolve with it, you cannot be successful. Everyone uses Instagram stories, but those who try to be more interactive with their fans using quizzes, polls, questions and other tools offered by the platform tend to have a bigger fan base than those who don’t. Instagram has over 500 million monthly active users and Hickson believes, that many musicians and influencers can benefit from the platform.

In a span of 10 years, Hickson has helped many small businesses grow tremendously. He has helped musicians and comedians reach out to the right kind of audience with social media targeting and hashtag marketing. He was named “Today’s Top Entrepreneurs under 40” by Entrepreneur and his work has also featured in Forbes.

One of the best feelings in the world for Hickson is to see his customer’s follower base increasing. “I know what it’s like to start out small and need help, so this is my way of giving back to those who need assistance in becoming successful in their own industries. It’s a great feeling when I see them succeeding and their following growing from zero to the thousands,” he said.

With social media experts like Joey Hickson available to guide businessmen, influencers and artists, the future of social media marketing looks promising.

Business

High Volume, High Value: The Business Logic Behind Black Banx’s Growth

Published

2 weeks ago

June 16, 2025

Matthew Wiles

In fintech, success no longer hinges on legacy prestige or brick-and-mortar branches—it’s about speed, scale, and precision. Black Banx, under the leadership of founder and CEO Michael Gastauer, has exemplified this model, turning its high-volume approach into high-value results.

The company’s Q1 2025 performance tells the story: $1.6 billion in pre-tax profit, $4.3 billion in revenue, and 9 million new customers added, bringing its total customer base to 78 million across 180+ countries.

But behind the numbers lies a carefully calibrated business model built for exponential growth. Here’s how Black Banx’s strategy of scale is redefining what profitable banking looks like in the digital age.

Scaling at Speed: Why Volume Matters

Unlike traditional banks, which often focus on deepening relationships with a limited set of customers, Black Banx thrives on breadth and transactional frequency. Its digital infrastructure supports onboarding millions of users instantly, with zero physical presence required. Customers can open accounts within minutes and transact across 28 fiat currencies and 2 cryptocurrencies (Bitcoin and Ethereum) from anywhere in the world.

Each customer interaction—whether it’s a cross-border transfer, crypto exchange, or FX transaction—feeds directly into Black Banx’s revenue engine. At scale, these micro-interactions yield macro results.

Real-Time, Global Payments at the Core

One of Black Banx’s most powerful value propositions is real-time cross-border payments. By enabling instant fund transfers across currencies and countries, the platform removes the frictions associated with SWIFT-based systems and legacy banking networks.

This service, used by individuals and businesses alike, generates:

Volume-based revenue from transaction fees
Exchange spreads on currency conversion
Premium service income from business clients managing international payroll or vendor payments

With operations in underserved regions like Africa, South Asia, and Latin America, Black Banx is not only increasing volume—it’s tapping into fast-growing financial ecosystems overlooked by legacy banks.

The Flywheel Effect of Crypto Integration

Crypto capabilities have added another dimension to the company’s high-volume model. As of Q1 2025, 20% of all Black Banx transactions involved cryptocurrency, including:

Crypto-to-fiat and fiat-to-crypto exchanges
Crypto deposits and withdrawals
Payments using Bitcoin or Ethereum

The crypto integration attracts both retail users and blockchain-native businesses, enabling them to:

Access traditional banking rails
Convert assets seamlessly
Operate with lower transaction fees than those found in standard financial systems

By being one of the few regulated platforms offering full banking and crypto support, Black Banx is monetizing the convergence of two financial worlds.

Optimized for Operational Efficiency

High volume is only profitable when costs are contained—and Black Banx has engineered its operations to be lean from day one. With a cost-to-income ratio of just 63% in Q1 2025, it operates significantly more efficiently than most global banks.

Key enablers of this cost efficiency include:

AI-driven compliance and customer support
Cloud-native architecture
Automated onboarding and KYC processes
Digital-only servicing without expensive physical infrastructure

The outcome is a platform that not only scales, but does so without sacrificing margin—each new customer contributes to profit rather than diluting it.

Business Clients: The Value Multiplier

While Black Banx’s massive customer base is largely consumer-driven, its business clients are high-value accelerators. From SMEs and startups to crypto firms and global freelancers, businesses use Black Banx for:

International transactions
Multi-currency payroll
Crypto-fiat settlements
Supplier payments and invoicing

These clients tend to:

Transact more frequently
Use a broader range of services
Generate significantly higher revenue per user

Moreover, Black Banx’s API integrations and tailored enterprise solutions lock in these clients for the long term, reinforcing predictable and scalable growth.

Monetizing the Ecosystem, Not Just the Account

The genius of Black Banx’s model is that it monetizes not just accounts, but entire customer journeys. A user might:

Onboard in minutes
Deposit funds from a crypto wallet
Exchange currencies
Pay an overseas vendor
Withdraw to a local bank account

Each of these actions touches a different monetization lever—FX spread, transaction fee, crypto conversion, or premium service charge. With 78 million customers doing variations of this at global scale, the cumulative financial impact becomes immense.

Strategic Expansion, Not Blind Growth

Unlike many fintechs that chase customer acquisition without a clear monetization path, Black Banx aligns its growth with strategic market opportunities. Its expansion into underbanked and high-demand markets ensures that:

Customer acquisition costs stay low
Services meet genuine needs (e.g., cross-border income, crypto access)
Revenue per user grows over time

It’s not just about acquiring more customers—it’s about acquiring the right customers, in the right markets, with the right needs.

The Future Belongs to Scalable Banking

Black Banx’s ability to transform high-volume engagement into high-value profitability is more than just a fintech success—it’s a signal of what the future of banking looks like. In a world where agility, efficiency, and inclusion define competitive advantage, Black Banx has created a blueprint for digital banking dominance.

With $1.6 billion in quarterly profit, nearly 80 million users, and services that span the globe and the blockchain, the company is no longer just scaling—it’s compounding. Each new user, each transaction, and each feature builds upon the last.

This is not the story of a bank growing.

This is the story of a bank accelerating.