This fall, the University of Texas San Antonio began offering a digital media influencing degree in which students learn professional skills for becoming successful in the online sphere.
Anyone with a phone can post videos online, but Chad Manhood, an associate communication professor behind the program, said having a degree in it can help students show future employers that their content creating abilities are more effective than the average person.
"We're trying to convince our students that if you want to be a social media influencer, you have to demonstrate intentionality in everything you do," Manhood said.
Manhood said the degree is the evolution of a concentration in digital media program that the school has offered for over a decade. The degree program is not just an avenue for students to learn how to build an online platform, but rather, to develop skills in marketing to online consumers.
"We concluded upon years of teaching that the students who do better at this don't just create content that is good, but content that is based specifically for their audience and their audience's behavior," Manhood said.
In their classes, students in digital media influencing will conduct controlled experiments to test how effective their content is in reaching their audience and getting them to buy products.
Students will also build a portfolio through content creation projects as they go through the program. Many students coming into the program may already have an online presence they've built up and can add to it through their courses.
Kate McDaniel, CEO of Kreative Media, a marketing agency that works with influencers to pair them with products, said the size of the content creation industry and the pace at which it's evolving make her think an official degree would benefit students looking to break in.
She said most people can find success through quality videos and picking a niche, but once their success hits a critical mark, having the professional skills and knowledge to market oneself makes all the difference.
"You can DIY it, but once you get to 5,000 followers, you don't know how to put together the kit you can present to agencies," McDaniel said. "If they don't understand the value of their actual brand, then they're devaluing their rates."
With the industry currently valued at $250 billion and projected to reach $480 by 2027, according to Goldman Sachs, the market for content creation is likely to grow. Manhood said he sees no end in sight for there to be a rich resource for jobs as a large part of the information people consume comes through social media.
"For anybody skeptical about if they should put the money in this degree or investment in their child, ask yourself: How do you find out about anything?" Manhood said. "You're probably not getting it over the radio or reading it all in a print newspaper. It's coming mainly from scrolling through your phone."
"Brands are asking for it all the time. It's not going anywhere. An influencer can sell a product 10 times more than just meta ads," McDaniel said.
But becoming a stand-alone social media influencer isn't the only path laden with success, Manhood said. He tells his students that joining a collaborative content creation team, or working an industry job while building a personal brand on the side are also productive ways to advance in the field. And getting those jobs in the digital marketing sphere is a lot easier with a relevant bachelor's degree.
"I have more students walking in who just want a path to $100,000 dollars a year making their brand, and it's our job to say, 'We can help you with that, but it's a slim chance,'" Manhood said.
"I can't give them magic tricks. I can give them an entire toolkit of possibilities to get to that path if they want to and maybe convince them along the way that that's not the only path. There are other paths that can be just as fulfilling."
UT San Antonio is one of the first schools in the country to offer a specific program aimed at helping students break into the burgeoning sector of content creation. The program has an in-person and online option. According to Manhood, the in-person program has 72 students admitted so far, and the online has 8. A week after classes started, Manhood filled 16 of 20 newly opened seats.
The online option is a good fit for students returning to school after taking a break from their degree or for night students who work day jobs.
"It feels like they are suddenly excited about a four-year degree again," Manhood said. "If the beginning of your education involved psychology, marketing or communication, we can get you back in."
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