--- title: The Secrets to Social Success date: 2023-02-16T05:30:00-05:00 author: University of Maryland canonical_url: "https://today.umd.edu/the-secrets-to-social-success" section: Articles --- # The Secrets to Social Success *February 16, 2023* — by [Karen Shih ’09](/author/karen-shih) > Students Learn to Game Algorithms and Grow Audiences in Popular Class *MT 1920x1080 3 — Whether students want to become influencers or promote their businesses, Professor Jen Golbeck—who has hundreds of thousands of followers herself—offers strategies for building a brand and growing an audience in her hands-on class.* If you had to tally 10,000 “likes” on a social media post, what would you do? Catch your cat in a compromising position for TikTok? Take your 5-year-old’s latest tall tale to Twitter? Share your swoon-worthy sunset on Instagram? As clever as your content might be, just throwing up a post isn’t going to get the internet buzzing, said information studies Professor Jen Golbeck, an expert on social networks and internet privacy and security. That’s one of the first lessons in her cheekily titled class, “Becoming a Social Media Influencer,” where she assigns the 10K challenge. “The name is a bit of a joke—it’s really social media management. It’s a job there’s high demand and minimal training for,” she said. “Students have grown up using these apps and they’re savvy, but I’m teaching them how to be professional.” Some Terps hope to be influencers in fields as varied as stocks or style; others seek to promote their businesses or professional expertise; and still others hope to grow an audience for their creative endeavors, from painting to filmmaking. *screenshot from Rosie Grant's TikTok, with Rosie at a cemetery* **Topics:** [Campus & Community](https://today.umd.edu/tags/campus-community) **Tags:** [Social Media](https://today.umd.edu/topic/social-media), [Student Experience](https://today.umd.edu/topic/student-experience) **Units:** [College of Information](https://today.umd.edu/topic/college-information-studies)