Social media financial content is a ‘Wild West.’ Here are the red flags to watch out for before investing your money

But crypto is an example of the very loud financial trends that tend to take over people’s attention spans on social media, said Brian Barnes, founder and CEO of financial services company M1.

For investors, it’s important to remember those trends can fade, and you can get burned.

While the stock market is valued at close to $50 trillion, crypto’s market cap is now down to $800 billion, after peaking at around $3 trillion.

Compared to nutrition, crypto is more like sugary snacks while long-term wealth building is like a balanced meal, Barnes said.

By taking a balanced approach to your investments, that will give you the biggest chance to create long-term wealth, Barnes said.

Content creators may tout strategies with unrealistic returns. Unfortunately, some investors won’t know any better, Yang said.

But it is possible to spot these schemes by doing some research on your own and comparing an investment’s promises to normal returns, Yang said. The S&P 500 Index‘s returns over the past 40 or 50 years would be a good benchmark, he said.

To get a sense of whether a strategy is sound and fits your personal goals and risk appetite, you may want to run it by a reputable professional advisor.