Why More Canadian Students Are Becoming Influencers
You might scroll through TikTok and see a “day in the life” vlog of someone grabbing coffee before class, getting ready for an exam, or showing off a cute outfit on campus. It looks simple, but behind that 30-second clip is a lot of hard work of editing, cutting and adding music to the background. They’re doing more than just posting for fun.
So why are more students choosing to post in the first place? They are doing it to build personal brands, connect with others, and even earn income while sharing their university experiences.
What is a “university influencer”?
A university influencer is someone who shares their student life and insights online, often having a significant following of people who follow and watch their posts. Some also work with brands or groups that pay them or give free items to talk about a product, service, or event. This includes snippets from campus days and study tips as well as what they wear and how they spend their weekends. It’s not about being perfect —. it’sIt’s about being real. These creators mix school with personal interests like fashion, wellness, beauty, or travel.
“I loved watching university vlogs,” says Summer Mehdi, a commerce student at Queen’s University who runs @sewsewsummer on TikTok. “I wanted to be that influencer for someone else. Someone they could look to for advice, especially when they’re just starting out.”
How it starts
For many, it starts out simple, where they are just sharing what they were already doing.
Achchala Deepan, a management engineering student at the UW, has more than 600 followers on TikTok at @achchala. She has amassed more than 38,000 likes across her videos and typically gets thousands of views per post. She says, “I started posting clips from co-op, travel, and daily life. It was just a fun way to capture memories, but I realized other students could relate too.”
Amritha Kanna, a life sciences student at McMaster, started posting when she moved away from home. Her handle is @amritharkanna, with more than 700 followers on TikTok, almost 4,000 on Instagram, and more than 27,000 likes across her videos. “I was already making wellness content. But I figured, why not use my new environment at Mac and help future students who were just like me last year, unsure about where to go?”
Why it’s harder in Canada
One big difference between U.S. and Canadian student creators? Money.
Creators in the U.S. can join the TikTok Creator Rewards Program and earn cash just from views. The program is eligible for accounts with at least 10,000 followers and 100,000 video views over the last 30 days. It is also an option for creators based in the United Kingdom, Germany, Japan, South Korea, France, and Brazil, but not Canada.
Instagram offers features like gifts and subscriptions that also let creators earn money through their content as well in the U.S. In Canada, that program isn’t available which changes the motivation behind posting.
“Every penny counts when you’re a student,” Kanna says. “In the U.S., if your video goes viral, you’ll probably make something. Here, we’re stuck waiting on brand deals, and those mostly go to big creators.”
Deepan agrees, “It’s hard to stay consistent without any reward system. A lot of Canadian creators are figuring out how to grow without the same support.”
So, is it worth it?
For some yes because, it’s about building a future side hustle.
“I’m still working toward monetizing,” Medhi says. “But I see a lot of chances to grow. There are so many students who want this kind of content; it’s like a support system.”
Kanna adds, “It can feel tough when brands only want big names, but that doesn’t mean your work isn’t valuable. You just need to stay true to your why.”
Advice from the creators
- “Post everything! You never know what will do well.” – Summer Mehdi
- “Don’t overthink it. No one cares as much as you think. If you’re being real, people will connect.” – Achchala Deepan
- “Start now. Don’t wait. Don’t be scared of what others think. Just keep going.” – Amritha Kanna
