CNBC's “Make It” segment.
Provided by CNBC “Make It”
CNBC is expanding its presence in personal finance and expanding its Make It brand with new ventures, including a weekly television series and online classes.
CNBC has established itself as a top business news broadcaster on both television and digital, but it just launched Make It in 2016 in an attempt to carve a niche in the personal finance sector.
“Now it's CNBC.com's largest vertical,” Jenna Goudreau, executive editor of CNBC Make It, said in an interview. “So we've been able to grow really big. We reach millions of people every month.”
The company is currently bringing the brand to other platforms, including a weekend television series based in part on the digital video content it publishes on CNBC's website and other platforms, including YouTube.
“We have launched several series that have resonated tremendously with people. Therefore, our longest running digital video series is millennial money. And this is actually a new modern way of looking at personal finance, where people can see exactly how much they're making, how much debt they're carrying, and how much they're spending each month. Just like you can meet them and see inside their homes, the money is actually in action. ” Goudreau says. “And with the success of that series, we actually unlocked, a digital video series, and it really focused on housing. So we go into people's homes, ask them how much they pay in rent, and tell us if it's worth it to them and what the upfront costs are. And it was just like an instant success. ”
“It's like a slow wheel that keeps growing and we've had success with digital video, and when the opportunity came to produce a TV show, we had this great content in digital format and we repackaged it. “We were in a position where we could adapt it for television,” she added.
Make It has “dabbled” in television before, appearing on CNBC's Brands Corner. Last orderbut the weekend series expands on that significantly, using the host to weave together several storylines.
“For us, this is a new way to reach new audiences, expand our exposure on the television side, and for them it's great content and opens the door to new content for their viewers. ” she says. CNBC thought it was a great idea. I wanted to try it. It didn't cost that much. We can throw it together and now we can put it on and see what happens. ”
The Make It online course was launched earlier this year, offering courses on how to ace job interviews. Registration for the next course on how to earn passive income opens today and will start next week.
“It's a paid course. So this is a premium service from us,” Goudreau said, adding that the course is a bit of a new experiment.
“Over the last year or so, we really started thinking that our viewers come to Make It to get new ideas and inspiration, so this is a way they can engage more deeply with the topics they really care about. ” she added.
In general, cable news channels are facing a moment of obsolescence due to cord cutting, and everyone is trying to find a digital strategy that can be a sustainable business that is relevant to younger consumers who don't watch TV news. For CNBC at least, the personal finance space has become an effective way to capitalize on interest in the subject on YouTube, TikTok and other platforms.
“We're really working hard to reimagine personal finance content and make it more appealing and relatable to younger and broader audiences,” Goudreau said. “So our voice is, we want to be like your smart friend who gives you great advice about money. And I think money is the throughline of CNBC, and even the current CNBC tagline. “Live ambitiously.'' And a lot of that is because the viewers who come to CNBC want to be more successful. They are passionate about what they can accomplish with their money over the course of their lives. And I think CNBC Make It is a good representation of that for more normal people. ”
