Universities will view the creator economy as a viable career path in 2024. Here's why
Welcome to Keeping the Balance, a newsletter for Gen Z. Subscribe to receive upcoming editions. This week, I'm exploring one of LinkedIn's Big Ideas for 2024. It's all about academia's adoption of the creator economy. Keep reading for my predictions and expert insights — then share your take at the end.
When class is in session in 2024, building a career in the creator economy will be on the syllabus.?
A wave of courses on the creator economy will debut across campuses of all sizes next year that not only teach students about the business side of the influencer space but also help them hone the necessary creativity and style for those who wish to be in front of the camera.
Academia's adoption of the creator economy will help move the industry beyond its reputation as a mere byproduct of social media's growth. It will solidify the creator economy — which could double in size to half-a-trillion dollars by 2027 — as a legitimate career path with a variety of options. The trend bodes well for the 54% of young adults who have expressed interest in becoming a content creator, a path that aligns with Gen Z's desire for career autonomy.
The colleges already embracing the creator craze
The creator economy boomed significantly over the last few years, and universities started taking note.
"There's a lot of news and buzz out there about the creator economy, so I think colleges are paying attention to that and to the fact that students might be inquiring about it," says Lia Haberman, who teaches courses on influencer marketing and social media at UCLA.
Colleges like UCLA and the University of Southern California (USC) have offered courses on influencer marketing and influencer relations, respectively, for several years now. Rather than focusing on how to actually be a creator, the existing classes cover the creator economy in a business context.?
"What I have seen colleges offer reflects what it means to be an influencer," Haberman explains. "It is really entrepreneurial and business training."
Robert Kozinets, who teaches influencer relations at USC, says his course has a similar objective. On a broad level, the class begins with studying the psychology of influence and the ecosystem of people and platforms that surround creators. He then teaches students about the legal and ethical elements of the creator space, as well as the inner workings of marketing campaigns and contract negotiations.?
"This [course] is more about understanding it as an industry, in particular, for public relations professionals and for marketers," Kozinets says.
What's next for colleges and creators?
More universities will take a page out of USC and UCLA's playbook in the coming year, offering creator economy courses that have a strong emphasis on business and marketing.
Although these classes may not equip students with the "innate talent and charisma" that help creators skyrocket in popularity, Haberman says universities can provide formal training on essential skills creators have typically needed to learn on their own.
And, we'll see colleges collaborate with big-name creators, not only as guest speakers but as business partners. East Carolina University's (ECU) partnership with YouTube phenomenon MrBeast is an example of how universities will leverage popular creators to attract students.
ECU announced in 2022 a partnership with MrBeast to create a training and credentialing program for people who want to work with content creators.
Sharon Paynter, a department head at ECU, says the program, which has yet to launch, addresses a pain point many companies face when building a team to support a creator: hiring skilled talent.
"It's really important that folks within a team have critical-thinking, communication skills and the ability to use and analyze data," she explains. "Think about skills in video editing, camera operations and those sorts of things."
And that's not all for my predictions…
My big bet is that 2024 will be the year that a select few colleges go beyond offering creator economy classes to providing four-year degrees. We're already seeing this trend on a small scale.
Arkansas Tech University launched a digital content creation major this fall. And, Ireland's Southeast Technical University is planning to welcome its first cohort of content creation and social media majors in fall 2024.
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Give your take ??
What do you think? How will colleges embrace the creator economy in 2024? Share your predictions in the comments or in a post using #BigIdeas2024. And, click the link below to check out the full list of LinkedIn's Big Ideas.
Gen Z voices weigh in ??
Here's what two Gen Z creators are saying about the trend.
Angela Richard, consultant and speaker:
"I'm excited about the creator economy boom we're witnessing, and I'm even more excited about Gen Z's presence in the industry. As Gen Z continues to shape the workforce in characteristics, occupations, and sheer numbers, I think we're bound to see an uptick in who pops up on our TikTok and Instagram feeds."
Click here to see more in Angela's LinkedIn post.
Brianna Seaberg, creator growth manager:
"In college, I was co-president and an active member of USC REACH, the first-of-its-kind social media organization on college campuses. The majority of what I know about the business side of influencing I can attribute to learning from this club."
Click here to see more in Brianna's LinkedIn post.
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Artist / Music Producer
8 个月The fortunate thing here is that you can verify the success of your mentors via numbers on a screen. My only fear is that Universities would hire people who aren't actually qualified or experienced in the field. This has been an issue with ICT in the UK for a while now - technology updates so fast that the syllabus and often the teachers cannot keep up. How would you motivate someone who is already making a killing via influencer marketing, location independent and on their own time, to come and teach it for a salary? Furthermore, how do you justify charging people to learn skills that they could learn online for free - could be said about many degree's in all fairness.
作者《讲好你的故事》
8 个月A few Asian universities have started offering courses to equip students with skills that will be useful in the creator's economy. — Personal branding on LinkedIn — Networking on LinkedIn — Creating content on social media — Selling skills — Storytelling I believe more universities in Asia will offer such courses in 2024 cc: Vanessa Ho, my student
Professor
8 个月I have taught business for 50 years, and this is just the next wave of capitalism which is the most productive and most liberating philosophy and economic system that has ever existed in the world, freeing millions of people from poverty and destitution.
Student at Ohio Media School
8 个月Which is very true I love creating content !!!