Get the latest Syracuse news delivered right to your inbox.
Subscribe to our newsletter here.

Over the summer, Syracuse University sophomore John Spina and his parents split the cost of an iPad for school. With the fall semester a few months away, he wanted to put it to good use. So, Spina used the iPad as a prop in a TikTok.

He had an out-there request for viewers: engage with the video to help him pay his Syracuse University tuition. He needed over 38 million views. While he has not reached that threshold, the video went viral, garnering 18.6 million views and a few thousand dollars for the full-time college student.

In Spina’s video, he details how he calculated the amount of views he would need to pay his fall semester tuition. He first found his revenue per thousand views. Averaging his highest RPM of $1.26 and his lowest RPM of 0.36 cents, Spina calculated an average RPM of around 81 cents for every thousand views. He then divided this number by his college tuition and multiplied it by 1,000, reaching a total of 36,856,444 views needed to fully cover fall expenses.

“When you do TikTok for a while, you figure out what works and what does not,” Spina said. “I did think there was a possibility that (the tuition video) could blow up but I did not think it was probable.”

Spina originally gained viewership on the app for his dancing videos. However, due to TikTok’s short-form and ever-changing content, dancing videos have since decreased in popularity.

Following trends on the app, Spina noticed that many creators were asking for donations on live streams to help them reach monetary goals. He wanted to take part in the trend in his own way.

“I feel comfortable asking people to watch my videos instead of giving me their money because there are so many other causes out there that are so much more important than me paying off my student loans and tuition,” Spina said.

The unexpected TikTok revenue provided a little financial relief for Spina and his family. John’s sister, Charlotte, said Spina’s experience making money will help him in the future.

“This could change the trajectory of your life because now that you have money to pay for something you’re not going to be in debt, you can do more things after college,” Charlotte said.

From the viral tuition video, Spina was able to build a brand around more than just his original dancing persona. He’s working to help the audience understand more of his opinionated and informative personality.

Showing TikTok his analytical side, Spina has created a series titled “ipad baby,” following the format of his tuition video where he calculates the TikTok income of various popular influencers using his iPad.

“As much as I love doing dances and that is a part of who I am, my audience doesn’t really know how I think, talk or what my opinions are,” Spina said.

The iPad videos provided a similar format to a slideshow presentation, which created a fun way of delivering the information. The popular videos consisted of calculating the revenue that Madeline Argy and Brooke Schofield made from their viral, multi-part TikTok series. This is most likely what made the series so successful, with each video getting a few million views, Spina said.

Spina claims the best thing to come from the tuition video and the iPad series was a doubling in his following. It has brought an unusual amount of revenue for someone his age.

“There’s a lot of stress with money in general and being able to create that much revenue at his age is a really special thing that he has now,” Charlotte said.

For Spina, the analytical and revenue-based videos come naturally. Charlotte has noticed John’s interest in math throughout his life, contributing to his passions today.
Spina’s peers also notice his natural inclination towards his business and math through his recent videos.

“(The tuition video) shows a lot of the work he’s been putting into learning about business and marketing because that’s what he’s doing in Whitman and being able to combine it with the entertaining and fun aspects of TikToks he likes to make,” Naiya Amin, a rising junior at SU and close friend of Spina, said.

As Spina builds his brand, he continues to explore different avenues of interest on his TikTok and add his own creative spin to already popularized trends. Spina plans to continue TikTok as a fun and lucrative hobby.

Throughout his journey, Spina has maintained the constant support of his friends and family.

“It’s awesome to see him apply what he is passionate about and learning about and then also have people respond so positively to it,” Amin said.

Published on August 21, 2024 at 11:05 pm