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Students are learning how to earn a living from online influencing - Copyright AFP/File Nic COURY

Peter MURPHY

It’s a job that didn’t exist until recently but becoming an influencer is an ever more popular career path among Gen-Z youth 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 told AFP at South East Technological University (SETU) in Carlow, an hour’s drive southwest from the capital Dublin.

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-long 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, told AFP in the campus TV studio during a roleplay exercise.

Most of the students are already immersed in the digital space or working in it and want to expand their toolset 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 added.

Person branding

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 youths — 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 monetise being influential over large online followings,” said McCormick.

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 sport.

“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.

Another student, keen equestrian Marta Hughes Bravo, said horse stud farms now seek staff who are social media-savvy.

“Companies are all over Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok. One girl who works for a farm has been pulling in brand deals. To know how to do that would be fantastic,” she said.

‘Serious business’

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,” said Hughes Bravo.

Creating content involves “editing, planning, organising, and so on, it takes up more time than you might think, people don’t understand that quite yet.”

Practical elements of the course include camera and microphone learning, and work placements.

“Having influencer knowledge like how to be comfortable in front of cameras will help us build our confidence, whatever we end up doing,” said another student Naoise Kelly, adding that becoming the next big thing on social media is not her top priority.

McCormick said employment opportunities for influencer talent are multiplying exponentially, either in front of 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 added.

“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.”