Colleges Need Influencers, but Do Influencers Need College? | WIRED - 0 views
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Colleges try to leverage the social media savvy of their students with “social media ambassador” programs that help them advertise to prospective new students, raise the schools’ profiles, and educate their current students about school programs. And for some influencers, like Giannulli, college can be a windfall, landing them brand deals to market dorm furnishings, Victoria’s Secret underwear, and tooth-straightening solutions to their fellow students. For others, college just gets in the way of their real passion.
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watching on-campus vloggers is how many students get a sense of the university’s culture—sort of like a franker, digital version of a campus tour.
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Admissions officers are desperate to make the most of social media as a recruiting tool. “One of the things we constantly talk about in our marketing department is, How do we utilize these tools where students spend so much of their time in the admission process?”
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Some want to reach new students; others want to change a narrative about their school, Freeman says, using microinfluencers on campus to promote academics, say, rather than the partying scene. Others, like UC Berkeley, harness alumni influencers to help raise money.
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The most successful college-aged influencers seem underwhelmed by universities’ offerings—educational and financial both. Markian is a college dropout. “I took a marketing class in 2017 and it didn’t touch anything even related to social media,” he says. “There’s no question that college is unnecessary. I dropped out because it was hindering my business.”