EVENTUALLY RAIN AL >> FROM WRAL NEWS HEADQUARTERS IN RALEIGH, YOUR NUMBER ONE SOURCE FOR LOCAL NEWS, WRAL NEWS COVERAGE YOU CAN COUNT ON. >> A CLASS AT DO CALLED BUILDING GLOBAL AUDIENCE IS IS GETTING NATIONWIDE ATTENTION ACROSS SOCIAL MEDIA ABOUT 30 STUDENTS THIS SPRING PARTICIPATED. WHAT'S BEING CALLED THE TIKTOK LAST WRAL'S MONICA CASEY SPOKE WITH THE PROFESSOR BEHIND THIS POPULAR CLASS. STUDENTS AT DUKE ARE LEARNING TO BUILD THEIR BRANDS ON APPS LIKE INSTAGRAM AND TIKTOK GETTING MILLIONS OF VIEWS ACROSS THE COUNTRY. 3 CONTENT FROM DUKE PROFESSOR ERIN DIDN'T BUILDING GLOBAL AUDIENCE FOR CLASS REACHED ABOUT 80 MILLION PEOPLE LAST SEMESTER. WHAT DOES THAT MEAN AND WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO WITH THAT? THEY'RE PART OF GENERATION Z USING THE LATEST APPS BUT DIDN'T TELLS ME THE DRIVING FORCE BEHIND SOCIAL MEDIA ISN'T NEW ORAL POETRY, EPIC POETRY AND AMERICA PICK. >> THOSE WERE MEDIA TOOL IS DESIGNED TO GET PEOPLE THINKING SOCIAL AND CALL CULTURAL NORMS, ESTABLISHING THESE THINGS. AND SO AND NOTHING IS NEW AT TIKTOK IS A NEW PLATFORM. THE NEW MEDIA AND THE REACH. YOU CAN HAVE THIS NEW BUT THE CULTURAL IMAGES OF THESE GO BACK FOR FOREVER. ONE OF HIS STUDENTS, JACOB WATLEY PLANS TO MAJOR IN VISUAL MEDIA STUDIES. I THINK IT IS A GREAT THING FOR STUDENTS TO NOT ALWAYS HAVE SUCH A RIGID PLANNED AND HAD THESE CLASSES THAT ALLOW FOR TO BE KEY TO THE START. >> AND FOR THE STUDENTS TO BE THE DRIVING FORCE IN THEIR LEARNING LOT. LEE SEES THE IMPORTANCE OF SOCIAL MEDIA FOR BIG BRANDS, BUT ALSO SMALL CONTENT CREATORS AND HAVING A COMPANY LIKE COCA-COLA, PUTIN TO NEWSPAPER HAD THEY'RE GOING TO ASK AN INFLUENCER, HEY, YOU CREATED YOU WITH OUR PRODUCT. DIDN'T ARGUES NO MATTER YOUR AGE, SOCIAL MEDIA IS AN IMPORTANT PART OF DAILY LIFE, BUT IT'S ESPECIALLY IMPORTANT FOR COLLEGE STUDENTS REALLY IS THE WATER THEY SWIM IN. AND SO THE QUESTION IS, >> YOU KNOW, DO WE WANT TO BE IN THE ROOM WHEN THEY'RE DOING IT OR DO WE WANT TO JUST TO HAVE THEM KIND OF DOING IT ON THEIR OWN WITHOUT THINKING ABOUT THINGS LIKE PURPOSE AND WHAT ARE THEY TRYING TO ACCOMPLISH IN THE WORLD? DIDN'T STEP TO BUILD YOUR ONLINE BRAND. CREATE CONTENT WITH VALUE FOR YOUR AUDIENCE AND BE CONSISTENT WITH YOUR