The Problem

Truliant Federal Credit Union needed to establish a meaningful short-form video presence from the ground up. They struggled to compete for attention against larger banks and fintech brands while also staying true to their mission to spread financial education. The goal wasn't empty views, it was fostering engagement and becoming a trusted, approachable voice in personal finance for younger audiences.

A Key Observation

Unlike their for-profit competition and big fintech rivals, Truliant was founded to imnprove and serve their community. That core principle set them apart. This insight, when developing content, led to an increased focus on their caring and relatable POV.

The Approach

I built and ran a continuous experimentation framework across three content buckets: Community & Culture, Financial Literacy, and Industry Insider. Within them, the team I led tested formats, hooks, editing styles, and personas with quarter over quarter adjustments. Every cycle informed the next, tightening what worked and cutting what didn't. The strategy was rooted in audience data, social listening, and cross-platform learnings. Intentionality was key.

Engagement As The North Star

The goal was never to chase views, but to earn attention from the right people. By building content that invited participation (ranking personal finance habits, surfacing relatable money struggles, asking questions people actually had opinions on), Truliant's audience went beyond watching. They replied, subscribed, and came back. A sustained 6–7% engagement rate above platform benchmarks was the result of consistently giving an audience something worth reacting to. The videos that drove the most new subscribers were also the ones with the busiest comment sections, an outcome of content that nurtured community and didn't blindly chase views..

Keeping A Finger On The Cultural Pulse

An early insight that informed my approach was the understanding that finances were most appealing when given real-life context. As a result, the videos created were almost always linked to trending topics or issues already being discussed by popular creators.