Par Peter MURPHY
“A lot of people think it’s easy to be an influencer, that you just have to post 60-second videos on TikTok. But it’s much more than that!” explains Marta Hughes Bravo, student of a brand new course dedicated to this profession in an Irish university. Since September, the young woman has been taking courses in “Content Creation and Social Networks”, taught over four years at the South East Technological University (SETU) in Carlow, 80 km from Dublin.
The career of influencer has only appeared recently, but it attracts many young people from generation Z, born between 1997 and 2012. “It’s something that is growing enormously,” the director explains to AFP. of the course – a first in Ireland -, Irene McCormick. This former TV producer began by offering an intensive summer course led by TikTokers, which attracted 350 applications for 30 places.
“The project was incredibly successful, we saw that there was a huge appetite, so we decided to go for the diploma level,” she explains. The training teaches aspiring influencers how to turn their presence and content on platforms like Instagram, TikTok and YouTube into a source of income. After two years of preparation, the course was approved and welcomed its first batch of 15 students last month.
In the state-of-the-art campus, between classes, they chat, take selfies, scroll on their smartphones. “My friends always tell me that I talk a lot, I said to myself that maybe I could make money from that and try this training,” says Harry Odife, 22, in the TV studio where he takes part in a role play.
Most students are already immersed in the digital world but are looking for additional tools and know-how, according to Ms. McCormick. “You can try to learn on your own at home, but gaining practical and theoretical knowledge on how to reach a target audience will make a big difference in your career,” she says.
The term “influencer” – a person known on social media, who uses their celebrity to recommend, promote or generate interest in products and brands, often for remuneration – only recently entered the dictionary .
The most popular, like YouTubers MrBeast or KSI, reach considerable audiences and earn significant income from their partnerships with brands or advertisements. “We’re interested in how to monetize your influence with a large online audience,” says McCormick.
“I post a lot of the hairstyles I do on TikTok and Instagram, I would like to learn how to make a real business out of it,” says Favor Ehuchie, an 18-year-old hairdresser. Horse riding enthusiast Marta Hughes Bravo says stud farms are now looking for staff capable of mastering social media.
Diploma courses include video creation, courses in entrepreneurship, psychology and storytelling, data analysis and podcast production. Content creation involves “editing, planning, organizing etc., it takes more time than you think, people don’t really understand that”, explains Marta Hughes Bravo.
Students learn to use cameras and microphones and carry out internships. “Learning to be comfortable in front of the cameras will help us gain self-confidence, whatever our profession,” underlines another student, Naoise Kelly, specifying that her top priority is not to become the next star of the social networks. According to Ms. McCormick, there are many job opportunities.
“Approximately 70% of marketers today consider that influencers are the future of marketing, governments also use them to convey messages,” she emphasizes. “Influencers’ posts on social media can sometimes be frivolous, but the activity itself is not, it is a very serious business.”
