Money Toks

The creators shaping the future of finance education

Will the Financial Literacy Gap be Closed by Creators?

The Publish Press

A lack of financial education in high school and college has left adults to fend for themselves to learn basics like investing and saving for retirement. As a result, financial literacy rates in America are low, but they are lowest among members of Gen Z. According to a 2021 study by TIAA, on average 50% of Americans couldn’t answer more than 50% of TIAA’s financial literacy quiz. For Gen Z that jumps up to two-thirds.

There’s a new crop of creators looking to change that. Creators like Nate O’Brien, Kyla Scanlon, and HerFirst100k have grown on YouTube and TikTok, providing education on the stock market, crypto, student loan debt, and budgeting. Combined, their reach is over 4 million. 

They’re part of a significant and growing cohort of creators dishing financial knowledge to young investors on social platforms. A 2021 survey by Magnify Money found that a quarter of investors aged 18–40, and 41% of those between 18–24 years old, have sought financial advice on TikTok alone. 

Here’s a look at their impact:

  • Tori Dunlap, the creator behind HerFirst100k, hosts workshops and shares short financial advice videos to her 2 million+ followers. She quit her job in 2020 in order to focus on her business full time, which quickly grew to a team of eight, and hit $1 million in revenue last year. 

  • Kyla Scanlon’s TikTok videos explain topics like the stock market, crypto news, and the metaverse, and average nearly 100,000 views. She started creating in 2020 and now regularly appears on Bloomberg and writes a newsletter.

  • Nate O’Brien educates his 1 million+ YouTube subscribers on how to build passive income. He’s a part of YouTube’s Partner Program, which gives creators greater access to the platform’s resources and monetization features. Through it, he made over $400,000 last year.

Our Take

Creators are picking up where education falls short, bringing entertainment and community into their lessons. And in the process, they’ve tapped into a niche with a wide array of opportunities. Companies in the finance, business, and entrepreneurship world often have hefty advertising, giving creators a higher likelihood of pulling in more earnings and the chance to expand into products like courses and books.

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🤝 CREATOR SUPPORT

Publish Press readers share a problem they're facing and creators and Colin & Samir respond with their advice.

Q: How are you guys so good at creating parasocial relationships? You always make me feel like I'm sitting in the room with you and we're friends.

–Y. Yadav

A: There’s a lot to unpack on parasocial relationships that we want to cover in the future—this question alone sparked a nearly hour-long conversation among our team. For now, let’s define what it is, and what we’ve learned about the pros and cons so far.

Parasocial relationships are one-sided relationships that a person has with the people they’re watching in the media. It evokes a feeling of friendship or closeness even though the public personality is likely unaware of the other person’s existence.

The concept has been around since the 50s but the growing role that media has played in people’s lives has resurfaced the concept. So much so that it’s become common for people to describe any relationship on Twitter as ‘parasocial’.

Being a creator is a public-facing vocation so parasocial relationships are baked into the gig. There are pros and cons to that—you can develop trust and loyalty among your audience so when you share your message, it’s heard. You can also encounter awkward interactions with strangers who approach you like they know you.

Being authentically yourself and upfront with the nature of the relationship is one of the best ways we’ve found to navigate it. Gaming streamer Ludwig Ahlgren is blunt with his audience, often saying they're not friends. Being clear and honest helps keep that dynamic beneficial for all involved.

–Colin & Samir

Facing a creator problem you want help with? Share it here→

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*This is sponsored advertising content.

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