In Brazil, the interest for the term influencer marketing is growing. However, “influencer marketing” is used when referring to celebrities or highly influent people on the internet through social networks or other web platforms. Many brands are currently in the process of understanding such strategy.
Studies and research show that the future of influencer marketing is promising. For that reason, there are colleges who offer a “Digital Influencer” graduation. It’s the case of Centro Universitário Brasileiro (Unibra) from Recife, which recently initiated the course and the first classes will begin in 2018.
According to information from the college, the length of the course is two years and the intention is to form and prepare digital influencers to run their own business or use the creators’s to boost a brand or product.
Offering a strategic and market thinking for digital influencers to be able to develop their own personal business, giving them marketing and digital communication tools in order for them to become relevant, audience and monetization.
However, the goal is not just to train influencers. According to the institution, the student will develop text and video production techniques, business and social network management, as well as marketing and digital communication, and strategic plan classes.
Influencer marketing course abroad
Unibra, recently registered by MEC, wasn’t the first to have the idea to offer that course. In China, Industrial and Commercial University Yimo (YWICC), has created a similar school program, three years in length. Since it’s about influencers, the course focuses a lot on people’s and professional’s behavior.
Called “Tag and Moulding”, the modules are all-encompassing and guide step-by-step what needs to be done to be successful in the chosen career, which in China is called wang hong – and yields up to US$46 millions a year for a few people.
See also: digital influencer releases course.
Obviously very few people manage to reach such degree of influence. The first class was formed by 33 people, most of them women. Many say that influencer marketing is just a “buzzword”. Other people, however, assess it will last a long time in the market and use YouTuber Whindersson Nunes’s success – who has over 22.5 million subscribers on his channel – as inspiration.
Young people look after the fans, who are celebrities, to build a successful career. Noticing such opportunity, Unibra created the course and is likely to inspire other universities to do the same.
