You Can Only Pass This University Class If You Go Viral On TikTok & People Are Loving It
"I don't believe in teaching marketing from a textbook."
Professor Marina Cooley at Emory University. Right: Emory University.
Most people on TikTok are waiting for their big break, constantly wanting to know how to go viral. One professor at Emory University in Atlanta, GA, is teaching her students marketing using this element as a requirement to pass her course.
"I don't believe in teaching marketing from a textbook, so this is how we do it," Professor Cooley said on her TikTok account on February 7.
All her students have to do is create videos published to the class account and reach at least 25K views. She said, within days, they received millions of views.
@profmarinacooley What would you add to the list ? #fyp #dancemoms #pyramid #majors #collegetok #emory #collegelife #dating #atlanta #wallstreet #rankings
Professor Cooley has a lot of experience in the industry, as she worked her way up to Senior Brand Manager in the five years she was employed at The Coca-Cola Company, according to her LinkedIn.
She clearly knows what she's doing. Her own clip about the class's explanation didn't just go viral for the concept, but also for her "millennial pauses" that caused attention in the comment section.
While she claims she tries hard not to do it, the caption to her video indicated that it was purposely not edited out:
"How many millennial pauses did Professor Cooley have in this TikTok??"
The teacher told Poets&Quants, some skills used to go viral include a hook, creating a knowledge gap, keeping it short and showing consistency, which was all proven to work in her own personal TikTok video.
@profmarinacooley #stitch with @education.forum how many millennial pauses did Professor Cooley have in this tiktok?? #emoryuniversity #collegetok #college #marketing #marketingclass #university #millennialsoftiktok #genz
Her TikTok video describing her class has gotten way more than 25K views. She reached 470.1K and marketing professionals are commenting on how much they "love this idea."
"Love this! Nothing beats real-world experience when it comes to marketing," one woman who identifies as a "Latina Marketer" responded.
Another person, who was in a pilot social media course and has been in the business for 10 years praised Professor Cooley, as well.
There were also those that hadn't taken her course that commented that they signed up or wish the class was offered at their school.
As a millennial, Cooley is appealing to her Gen Z students and teaching them by experience rather than by book.
Narcity reached out to Professor Marina Cooley requesting comment, but she has not immediately replied.