Universities in the United States begin to offer TikTok classes

• The courses are aimed at helping students enhance their digital presence;

• In one semester, Duke University students received 145,000 followers on TikTok;

• Tasks include analyzing trends and discussing why the video worked or not.

At Duke University in North Carolina, USA, about thirty students gather for one of the last classes of the period. But instead of studying for the finals, they Recording TikTok videos.

In a world where a lucrative career as a social media star proves to be more valuable to some than a degree, universities need to adapt to continue to help their students succeed in the market. For this purpose, they launched courses that help students improve their presence in the virtual world.

This class is officially called “Creating a Global Audience”, but it is better known “Tic Tac Toe Class” By Duke students. This past semester, students in Professor Aaron Dean’s class received 145,000 followers and 80 million views for the videos they produced.

This is the situation of Natalia Hauser, a sophomore in the class, who has about 227,000 followers and earned about 12,000 during the semester. His TikTok account (natisstyle) partners with brands such as Barnes & Noble, Macy’s, Canon and Pepsi to earn between $ 1,000 and $ 7,000 a month. In some cases, he can earn up to $ 5,000 per post.

In Aaron’s class, students compare analysis and goals for their accounts and discuss why some publications work better or not. Tasks include using the current TikTok trend as inspiration for related video and sharing the final product with colleagues. During class hours they can shoot their own videos or spend time promoting brands.

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Students sometimes use their online presence to get jobs. Ben Chipman (@ benchipman5), who creates videos about his college style and career, landed a LinkedIn internship in New York this summer as part of his unique brand-building experience.

Data from research firm Statista shows that the global influencer economy has doubled since 2019 and was worth $ 13.8 billion in 2021. Of course, most TikTok users do not earn anything from their posts, and those who want to partner with brands often struggle. Earn over a few hundred dollars here and there.

Brianna Seiberg (briseaberg) started at the University of Southern California with the intention of pursuing a career in the business side of the entertainment industry. But after joining USC Reach, a student-run club for enthusiastic influencers, he looks to the future in full-time content creation.

In recent years, the USC School of Communication and Journalism has been guiding its curriculum and training students to succeed in the increasingly digital world.

Seaburg began to take some classes that would help students build their personal brand. One course he took on the force of persuasion helped him negotiate a $ 1,000 sponsorship with Papa Jones. The veteran said he had completed sponsorship deals of up to $ 5,000 with major companies including H&M, CoverGirl and Amazon, earning over $ 20,000 in about eight months.

“I started to see a lot of people at the club making money on brand deals and doing sponsored content – it was eye-opening,” he said. “Creating content for brands has not only given me financial freedom, but also the freedom to do more in my life.”