College Course Teaches Students How To Become Social Media Influencers
A community college is offering a two part class that teaches students how to become social media influencers.
The age of technology has affected education in many ways. As STEM learning and tech fields continue to grow, so too do online opportunities to meet others and network. Because of this, an Ohio community college is now offering a class to become social media influencers certificate.
Owens Community College in Toledo, Ohio is offering a one-of-a-kind social media influencers course that spans two semesters and focuses on visual storytelling, public speaking, business, and coding. The program can be sought in addition to other degree options or exclusively. The school is proud to be one of the first universities offering social media influencer instruction, but many people are questioning if this will be just another extraneous program that drains students of money without many returns.
Social media influencers are internet personalities who gain a large following on social media platforms. They are known based on popularity and often become famous by chance. There is no exact science to becoming a successful internet personality and making money off of it is even more difficult. While some business-minded individuals can gain new opportunities through their posts and followers, the fact of the matter is that millions of people attempt to find success on social media and fail no matter what marketing strategies they use.
Not to mention the fact that social media influencers often gains popularity based on their looks. It is a well-known fact that women can gain more followers by exploiting their bodies and/or turning to sexual posts. This is why even teachers are now leaving their profession to gain careers as Onlyfans porn stars. Although there is money to be made in prostituting one’s self to others, it is a less stable profession which does not offer the longevity or respect that careers requiring higher skill sets provide.
In addition, most people do not log onto social media accounts to spend money. Many platforms are popular because they offer free online experiences. Social media influencers who wish to make their popularity a career have to rely on asking individuals for money and support. While some people take no issue with this, there is a lot of competition online, and in order to be heard some social media influencers are less professional as they constantly ask for likes, shares, and donations. They often come across as internet hobos, begging for attention and money every chance they get. While it may work for a time, in the long run, it becomes off-putting — especially in times of economic hardship.
Some social media influencers can gain endorsements and even find new careers from their online interactions. Yet, a large following does not necessarily indicate mass support. Right now business mogul and Tesla CEO Elon Musk is in a legal battle over the number of bot accounts on Twitter. This is a serious case that interests many influencers and advertisers, being that if Musk’s claims that the social media platform has more bot accounts than the company claims, then advertisers and influencers have been misled about the potential to reach broad audiences and fraud suits are likely to follow.
For now, the social media influencers certificate is a new program being offered to community college students. Whether it will aid them in career successes throughout their life is yet to be seen. How this affects students and their prospects all depends on the future of social media itself.
