Most B2B YouTube content is invisible.

Demos. Webinar replays. Overproduced explainers.

YouTube isn’t a content library. It’s a top-of-funnel trust engine.

And here’s the wild part. Small creators routinely outperform the biggest brands. Microsoft and Salesforce struggle to get 1,000 views on organic videos.

Startups have the advantage. No red tape. No brand gatekeepers. Just speed, clarity, and a direct line to the world’s second-most visited site.

Finn McKenty (you may know him as The Punk Rock MBA) has built a 1.1 million following with 130M+ views from a spare bedroom using a six-year-old camera. No huge team. No studio. Just sharp storytelling and killer positioning.

I spoke with Finn about why many B2B brands fail on YouTube and what founders and marketers can do to use it effectively for growth.

Let’s get into it.

📺 Prefer watching? Check out our full conversation below

YouTube Playbook 1: Hook like a pro

Finn spends 60 to 80 percent of his time scripting the first minute of every video (or hook for social content).

If your hook doesn’t stop the scroll, the rest doesn’t matter.

Finn’s 4-part hook formula:

1. Value
Why should they care right now? Focus on the outcome, not the topic.
→ “This one onboarding change saved us $3M. I’ll show you how.”

2. Stakes
What happens if they miss this?
→ “If you don’t fix this, your pipeline will stall no matter how good your leads are.”

3. Conflict
What’s the tension or tradeoff?
→ “RevOps wants clean data. Marketing wants speed. Who wins?”

4. Cliffhanger
What open loop keeps them watching?
→ “And the $15M launch email Kim Kardashian used? Built on this exact insight.”

Before publishing, pressure test your intro:

• Does it deliver emotional value?

• Are the stakes clear?

• Is there built-in tension or contrast?

• Does it leave them wanting more?

Also, titles and thumbnails are not afterthoughts

Your title and thumbnail are emotional triggers. Curiosity. Tension. Surprise. Even fear.

Together, they should spark a feeling strong enough to earn the click. Think of them as a story in two parts, reinforcing each other.

If the title creates the tension, the thumbnail delivers the punchline (or vice versa). If someone sees just one, it still needs to land. If they see both? Even better.

If you can’t come up with a compelling title and thumbnail, don’t make the content.

Youtube Playbook 2: Niche up, NOT down

You’ve heard “niche down.” That works for a product. But not for YouTube.

YouTube is an entertainment algorithm. It does not reward hyper-specific titles built for your ICP. Those videos won’t get surfaced, no matter how strong the insight.

What not to do:

Title: “How to model CAC-to-LTV ratios for SaaS”
Problem: Too narrow. No cultural relevance. No reach.

What works:

Title: “How Kim Kardashian made $15M in a day with one email”
Lesson: Attribution modeling and email-first growth

Finn’s “niche up” framework

1. Start with your expertise

2. Find a cultural reference, mainstream event, or trend

3. Use it to capture attention

4. Deliver your insight once the viewer is engaged

This isn’t about diluting your message. It’s about getting it discovered.

Try this today

Pick one video (or any social content) you plan to publish. Then:

• Rewrite the intro using Finn’s 4-part framework

• Find a cultural hook that helps you niche up

• Draft a title that would earn a click

Or look at a piece that underperformed. Did it fail the hook test? Did it niche too narrowly?

📺 Prefer watching our chat? Check it out on YouTube

Know someone still uploading demo replays to YT?

Share this with a founder or GTM lead who is still treating YouTube like a webinar library. Trust gets built upstream. YouTube is where that trust begins.

Keep that caffeine flowing until next time,
Christine

PS: You can now find Marketers Do Coffee on Spotify and Apple Podcasts!