It is a job that did not exist until recently, but becoming an influencer is an ever more popular career path among Gen Z in the modern era of social media.
Now a first-of-its-kind course at an Irish university is teaching wannabe influencers how to convert online presence and content on platforms such as Instagram, TikTok and YouTube into revenue streams.
“Influencing is something that’s catching fire,” course director Irene McCormick said at South East Technological University in Carlow, an hour’s drive southwest from the capital, Dublin.
Photo: Reuters
The idea grew out of a summer crash course “Digital Hustle” launched by McCormick that was taught by TikTokers and attracted 350 applicants for 30 places.
“It got amazing traction, we could see the appetite for more, so we broadened it to degree level,” said McCormick, a former television producer and director.
After two years of development the course — a four-year bachelor’s degree in “Content Creation and Social Media” — received accreditation and welcomed its first intake of 15 students last month.
On the state-of-the-art campus, students chatted, took selfies and scrolled their social media feeds on smartphones during a break between classes.
“My friends tell me I talk a lot, so I thought I might as well make money out of it and try this course,” Harry Odife, 22, said in the campus TV studio during a role playing exercise.
Most of the students are already immersed in the digital space or working in it, and want to expand their tool set and knowledge, McCormick said.
“You can try to learn yourself at home, but being empowered with practice and theory about how to connect with target demographics online is going to make a big difference to your career,” she said.
The term “influencer” was officially added to the dictionary in 2019, and refers to a person well-known through use of social media who uses their celebrity to endorse, promote or generate interest in products and brands, often for payment. Now the most prominent, such as YouTube challenge stunt creator Mr Beast and gaming vlogger KSI tap vast online audiences, earning huge sums per sponsored post, or via brand sponsorships and advertisements.
Surveys consistently show that most Gen Z — those born between 1997 and 2012 — would consider a job as a vlogger, YouTuber or professional streamer.
“Of course people want to make money from influencing, so we look particularly at person branding, how to monetize being influential over large online followings,” McCormick said.
Students said they hoped the course would help them leverage their interests and hobbies, which range from beauty and fashion to entertainment, social justice and sports.
“I post a lot of the hairstyles I do on TikTok and Instagram, it would be nice to have the knowledge to grow that into an actual business,” said Favour Ehuchie, an 18-year-old hairdresser.
Degree modules include creative video and storytelling psychology, entrepreneurship, celebrity studies, storytelling psychology, data analytics and podcasting.
“A lot of people think it’s an easy life being an influencer, just posting 60-second videos on TikTok, but there is way more to it,” Hughes Bravo said.
Creating content involves “editing, planning, organizing and so on, it takes up more time than you might think, people don’t understand that quite yet,” he said.
McCormick said employment opportunities for influencer talent are multiplying exponentially, either in front of the camera or behind the scenes.
“Yes, influencer posts on social media may sometimes be frivolous, but the actual business is not, it is a very serious business,” she said. “So many Gen Z young people buy a lot of bling, and that bling is being sold through influencers. Around 70 percent of marketers now believe in influencers as the future of marketing, governments are also using them to message people, that’s how we access markets now.”
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