Cringe Valley to Growth Engine: The Power of Video Content

Why Fintech Leaders Need to Start Creating Video Content NOW

In a world dominated by short-form video, fintech leaders can’t afford to sit on the sidelines. This video breaks down why video content is no longer optional and how it can dramatically improve awareness, trust, and customer acquisition costs.

If you’re not creating video content in 2026, you’re already behind.

In this video, I break down why short-form and long-form video have become the most powerful tools for fintech growth and why companies relying on traditional tactics like paid ads, events, and outbound are facing rising customer acquisition costs (CAC) with diminishing returns.

The hard reality is, people are ~80% more likely to watch a video than read a blog, PDF, or newsletter. And if your story isn’t being seen, it’s not being heard.

We cover:
• Why video content is now the dominant form of consumption
• How video builds awareness, trust, and distribution at scale
• The direct impact of content on reducing CAC
• Why creating video forces sharper messaging and positioning
• How to push through “cringe valley” and stay consistent
• A simple mental model to turn ideas into short-form video

The goal isn’t perfection....it’s consistency.

If you’re a fintech leader (or any operator driving growth), this is the shift you need to make. The sooner you start, the faster you build momentum.

Subscribe for more conversations on fintech, growth, and storytelling.

It's going to be awkward in the beginning, but it is for everyone...Try to have fun in the process if you can!

Timestamps:

00:00 – Why this video has been a long time coming
00:18 – The simple reality: video dominates content consumption
00:52 – The rise of short-form content (and why it’s not going away)
01:20 – Stat: people are 80% more likely to watch vs read
01:48 – Why this matters for your brand and visibility

02:20 – The biggest challenge: nobody knows who you are
02:50 – Traditional fintech growth = expensive (ads, events, outbound)
03:25 – The missed opportunity

Want to work with Propagate Fintech? Fill out a contact form at www.propagatefintech.com

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:04

So, this is a video that I've been wanting to make for a long time, and I am finally getting around to making it. And one of the things I want to talk about is content. So let's start with just a very simple reality. And I know that this is obvious, but there are a lot of people who need to hear this. So here it is. Video content is consumed significantly higher than anything that is written. And that's why you see the TikTokification happening everywhere. That's why LinkedIn has short form video content, YouTube has shorts, Facebook has the same thing. Short form content is here to stay. Whether that's a good thing or a bad thing for society, I'm not sure. I'm leaning toward probably it's not great for society, but that's the way it is. And, you know, I want to help people tell their story more effectively. And this is a reality and a paradigm that we really all need to just wrap our arms around at this point. To be more specific, people are actually 80% more likely to watch short form content versus reading something like a blog, a PDF, or a newsletter. That doesn't mean that they're totally devoid of value in 2026 and beyond, but if you're trying to skate to where the puck is going, producing video content is a critical thing that you need to start working into your process. Because if your story isn't being seen, data isn't being heard, you're not developing the recognition that you need. Now, for a lot of people, this is bad news because creating video content is hard and it's extremely uncomfortable. But I want you to look at it differently, like this is a huge opportunity. Now, why is creating video content so important today? Well, unless you're already a household name in the FinTech Pantheon, then your biggest challenge is that people just don't know who you are. You're just not part of the core conversation around who the players are. So think about the way that most fintech companies try to initiate growth. They throw money at it with paid ads, event sponsorships, traditional outbound campaigns. And while they can work, they often bring unsustainable costs. And while all of these traditional methods can work, they're very expensive and you're leaving a huge opportunity on the table. And what you'll find as you go down the path of dedicated content creation is you'll start building an audience, you'll start building trust, you'll start building awareness, and you're gonna build a body of content that works while you're sleeping and compounds over time. There's another benefit that's often overlooked. Creating video content forces you to think strategically about your story and how you tell it. When you're on video, there's no hiding. You have to be succinct. You have to say things clearly, think in narratives, and communicate with precision. I can't tell you how many interviews we've done where I've spent hours editing out likes, ums, you know's, writes, speaking on video and really nailing it forces that precision into the way that you operate. And that unto itself is a great exercise for you to go through. And so that pressure makes you better at telling your story. It gets tighter, it gets cleaner, forces your positioning to get a little sharper. Then your story becomes more powerful with audiences. And so once you get on board with creating video content, whether it's podcast appearances, short form videos, interviews, vlogging, whatever it may be, it does three critical things. One, it tells your story at scale. Instead of one sales conversation at a time, one meeting with someone after a breakout session, you are telling your story 365, 247, to anybody who wants to hear it. And you get to turn over the reins of distribution to these incredibly powerful platforms like YouTube, LinkedIn, Edit, Twitter. The second piece here is that it really drives awareness. Like I said earlier, the biggest problem that you have is that people just don't know that you exist or people don't know who you are. This allows for your discovery via short form video content, long form video content, other people's distribution channels, and ends up creating a lot of shareable moments, even in 30-minute interviews. And number three, the most important benefit that comes along with generating video content is that it reduces your customer acquisition costs, which, quick back of the knack and math and looking at how much it costs for you to sign a customer is a huge, huge expense, especially in FinTech. When you look at how much it costs to send people to trade shows, get them on planes, the bar tab, event sponsorship, what have you, the customer acquisition costs that companies selling to banks and credit unions are faced with are out of control. And so creating this video content introduces a lot of leverage for you in the sales cycle. Now, if you're gonna take the plunge and you want to start producing video content, one thing that you have just got to come to terms with is the fact that you're going to go through a very awkward, uncomfortable thing. Okay. And that is something that many people call cringe valley. And it's just par for the course. Okay. You just need to accept that that's going to be the way it is. And frankly, this is something that I still struggle with when I'm sitting here speaking directly into the iris of my camera. It is difficult and requires a lot of takes. The beginning is awkward. That's just the way it is. But know that everybody else who you see out there creating video content has gone through this exact same exercise. So keep grinding, stay consistent. The benefits will reveal themselves quicker than you think. So here's a mental model I would challenge you to adopt whenever you think that would make a great idea for a blog. I want you to rewire your thinking and say that would make for a great 10-second video, or that would make for a great 30-second video that I could post on LinkedIn, on YouTube, on our website, whatever. Videos where you're able to build a unique connection with your audience and with your buyers. Now, I think a lot of people are intimidated by the hardware requirements when it comes to producing video, the camera, the microphone, the lighting, the background, so on and so forth. I have good news for you. People are tired of hyper polished content. Okay. There's a huge market for what I will just call organic video production. Okay. People walking with a camera like this, talking into it, that is fine. And that can be a great way for you to get started. Now, if you want to take the visuals and the audio to a higher level, I have some ideas for you. I would recommend starting with a 4K webcam, like the Tiny3 webcam, which I will provide a link to in the description of this video. Next, I would recommend getting the same microphone that I'm using. This is really the standard issue podcast microphone, and it is called the Sure MV7 mic. Go to the website, check it out. I'll throw a link in the description as well. Next, you're going to need a mic stand to hold that microphone with, and you can find it on that same website very easy. Also, and a lot of people don't know this, the cable you use plays a big role in the type of content and quality that you're able to produce and record. So you're going to want to invest in a nicer cable, which I'll provide a link to in the description here. If you want to take the video to an even higher level, then you can get what's called a 4K mirrorless camera, which is what we use here on the podcast. And we are using a Sony A6700. It runs about$1,500. So it's kind of expensive. It's definitely an investment. But again, you don't need perfection. The main thing that we need to nail here is consistency. And whether or not you come up with a weekly cadence, a bi-weekly cadence, a monthly cadence, whatever you do, just stick with that and keep the content ball rolling. So this really is a new reality for leaders. Long gone are the days of leaders sitting on the sidelines, managing things internally and not being associated with content creation. I would love to see any FinTech leader who is trying to grow their organization, which they all are, start becoming part of the content creation process and give your people room and a little grace to lean into what this is going to look like and feel like for them as well. So content isn't just marketing, it's storytelling, positioning, distribution, trust building, awareness. And in fintech, trust is everything. Everybody in this industry has gone through a bad implementation, been sold a bill of goods, been exposed to vaporware. So building that relationship with your prospective buyers is huge. The sooner you can start, the sooner you can make your way through cringe valley. It's going to be weird. It's going to be uncomfortable. That's totally fine. You're not alone. Everyone else is going through it as well. And try to find a way to have fun doing it. Hey, did you know that Propagate FinTech is also an end to end marketing and PR firm? If you'd like to explore working with us or coming on a podcast, reach out to us at propagatefintech.com and we can explore whatever you're working on.