The Content Channel Your Banking Competitors Are Ignoring (That Gen Z and Millennials Are On Every Day)

Financial institutions spend a lot of money on channels their best prospects don’t use, and almost nothing on channels where those prospects spend hours every day.

Here’s what our research found: YouTube is the top research channel for Gen Z consumers (58%) and the second-highest for Millennials (45%). TikTok reaches nearly half of Gen Z (47%) when they’re consuming financial content. And yet the overwhelming majority of community banks and credit unions have no consistent video content strategy whatsoever.

Short-form video is the second-highest performing content format across generations in our survey, with 36% of Gen Z and 32% of Millennials saying it influences their view of financial institutions. This isn’t entertainment. These are people actively using video to learn about budgeting, to understand loan products, to figure out if a credit union is right for them.

Financial education tips about budgeting, savings, credit building, and more are the most valued content type across three generations. When delivered in short-form video format, this content is shareable, discoverable, and associated with your brand at the moment of consumption.

The institutions seeing the best results from video content aren’t producing polished broadcast-quality commercials. They’re posting consistent, authentic, genuinely useful content: a 90-second explanation of how a HELOC works. A two-minute breakdown of what first-time homebuyers need to know. A short Q&A with a loan officer answering the questions your customers actually ask.

If your institution isn’t producing short-form video, you are invisible to the generation that will define your growth trajectory for the next three decades. The barrier to entry is lower than you think. The cost of staying off these channels is higher than most institutions realize.

Want the full picture? The 2026 American Financial Consumer report covers every stage of the customer journey, from first brand impression through referral, with data broken down by generation, income, and geography.

And when you’re done reading, let us show you how your institution looks through the eyes of AI.