The rise of college influencers

On college campuses across the country, a new kind of influencer is rising, and it has nothing to do with scholarships or million-dollar name, image and likeness deals. It’s college students turning their everyday lives into online content. On platforms such as TikTok and YouTube, college influencers are building audiences of peers looking for content that’s real, funny and relatable.

At Syracuse University, the trend is hard to miss. Scroll through your TikTok “For You” page, and you’ll find a classmate sharing their chaotic morning routine or thoughts on campus life. But what makes this kind of content so appealing? And why are more students also aspiring to become influencers themselves?

Spencer Howard, a public relations major from Haddon Township, New Jersey, might have some answers. With over 22,000 followers and more than 8 million likes on TikTok, Howard has built a strong following.

“Back when I was very young, I was on YouTube. That was my main platform for social media and content creation,” Howard said. “Then, once TikTok came along with Musical.ly, things really started to take off from there.”

Howard first downloaded TikTok as a sophomore in high school and began posting scattered content, mostly centered on the app’s latest trends. Eventually, he found a niche audience by creating videos related to his Advanced Placement United States History high school class. 

He graduated from Haddon Township High School in 2023 with just under 2,000 followers. He headed to central New York without thinking much of it, pursuing a future in public relations and hoping to specialize in show promotion with agencies in New York City.

“In college, I was just making things for my friends,” Howard said. “Freshman year, kids on my floor would say, ‘Oh my God, I keep seeing your TikToks on my For You Page.’ I was really just creating for the people around me and my peers.”

That’s when he started to dive into the platform more seriously.

Courtesy of Spencer Howard

Howard and fellow Syracuse University student John Spina went viral for a prank they filmed in Bird Library.

Last fall, Howard began collaborating with fellow Syracuse student content creator John Spina, who has over 750,000 followers on the app. One of their videos was filmed in Bird Library, where they took turns shouting “pumpkin” to see who could be louder. It racked up 5.1 million views on a simple prank.

“Now people say ‘pumpkin’ to us in public,” Howard added.

The two have built a close friendship and continue working together, pushing each other to grow as personality driven influencers and bringing out the best in each another online and in real life.

Howard began to recognize just how much influence college students could have. As he watched the response to his videos grow, it became clear that students like him were shaping trends and conversations online.

“Being in college, this is the era I was watching when I was younger,” Howard said. “I’m in that era of my life where I should be making content, and that’s when people are paying attention to it.”

Howard isn’t pursuing a career solely on social media. He interned at a small public relations firm in Philadelphia over the summer to explore a more traditional path in communications.

Gaining followers was never the end goal, Howard said. He wasn’t actively trying to reach 22,000 followers — it just happened. His motivation has always been simple: to make people laugh.

“I want to be one of those influencers who has a full-time job and just makes videos on the side,” Howard said. “I don’t want content creation to be my whole life, just want to make things that make the people around me happy.”