MKT 653 - #45041

Introduction to Social Media Marketing

COURSE OUTLINE
August 2022
Marylin V. Godwin, MBA
COURSE OUTLINE
MKT-653: INTRODUCTION TO SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING

Class Start Date: Monday, August 1, 2022

Class End Date: Saturday, August 27, 2021

Instructor: Marylin V. Godwin

Office Hours: Via Zoom on Tuesday at 6PM PST.
I can also meet with you one on one by appointment via Zoom.
Email: [email protected]

All the required content for this class will be via links which are in the course and are also
provided in this Course Outline.

COURSE DESCRIPTION
This course gives a foundation to the practical business applications of social media in a
marketing world. Approaching social media with a solid strategy enables students to
navigate the rapidly evolving marketing environment. Students will learn how to analyze
social media platforms in relation to business and marketing goals. Using popular social
media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, blogs, and more, students will gain a
hands-on understanding of creating and implementing a marketing strategy. Students
learn that social media is about marketing at the right time, place and with the right
message for existing as well as prospective customers with both legal and ethical
behaviors.

This course is a combination of strategy (75%) and hands-on tactics (25%). While tactics
and social media platforms will change over time, the strategies in this course provide
students with the tools they need to succeed.

The hashtags we’ll be using for the class include both: #mkt653nu and #natuniv.

COURSE LEARNING OUTCOMES

Upon successful completion of this course, students will be able to –

● Analyze the challenges in social media, including how businesses listen, respond,
and energize their customers.

● Evaluate various platforms of social media and its benefits, including, but not
limited to: Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, Twitter, TikTok and blogging.

● Analyze how businesses successfully integrate social media into their marketing
mix to create engaged customers.

● Describe the marketing challenges and opportunities in the global social media
environment.
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 ● Identify current legal and ethical standards of practice in relation to social media
strategies.

● Demonstrate a clear understanding of social media concepts in writing and orally

using proper business communications techniques.

Total
Possible
Assessment Week Quantity Points Points
Discussion Boards 1,2,3,4 8 20 160

Two Social Media Strategy Papers 1,3 2 100 200

(1) Case Study Analysis 2 1 100 100

Create Four (4) Social Media Platforms for Your 1,2,3,4 4 100 400
Business
Final Assignment 4 1 140 140

TOTAL POINTS 1000

GRADING
National University uses a plus/minus grading system. The grades of A+, F+ and F- are
not issued. The grade points per credit used in the calculations of the grade point
average are as follows:

GRADING SCALE

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GRADING PHILOSOPHY

Grade Percentage Explanation

You perform consistently at the highest level and have a thorough mastery
A 90 to 100%
of class concepts. You can consistently apply concepts and skills to new,
non-routine and highly complex problems.

You perform consistently at a high level with a mastery of most class

B 80 to 89%
concepts. You can apply concepts and skills to the solution of non-routine,
highly complex problems most of the time.

You perform competently most of the time and have a satisfactory mastery
C 70 to 79%
of essential class concepts. You can sometimes apply concepts and skills
to the solution of new, non-routine, highly complex problems.

You perform at a minimally competent level with marginal mastery of the

D 60 to 69%
class concepts. With clear instructions, you can be expected to carry out
well-defined tasks at a routine level.

You do not perform at a basic level and do not have marginal mastery of
F 0 to 59%
essential class concepts.

SCHEDULE / DEADLINES
Unless otherwise noted, assignments are due by 11:59 PM on the day specified.

Discussion Posts: Initial posts are due by Wednesday on all assigned topics. A minimum
of two quality peer responses are due by Sunday.

Assignments: All other assignments are due on Sunday.

COURSE OVERVIEW/SCHEDULE
MKT-653: INTRODUCTION TO SOCIAL MEDIA

WEEK 1

In Week 1, we will be covering:

• How to develop a successful social media marketing strategy
• How do successful businesses use social media to engage with customers

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 • Why creating a solid strategic foundation for social media marketing is critical to success
• What social media platforms are the most used and for what purpose?
• How to develop a successful blog strategy
• How to create a blog for your fake or real business

READ

Holt, D. (2016). Branding in the Age of Social Media. Harvard Business Review, 94(3),
40-50. Branding in the Age of Social Media – website

Barnhart, Brent (2021). Building your social media marketing strategy for 2022
Building your social media marketing strategy for 2022

Irmas, Aaron (2021). How New-Age Social Media Marketing Is Changing and What You
Need to Know.
https://www.business.com/articles/how-new-age-social-media-marketing-is-changing-
and-what-you-need-to-know/

Social Media Marketing Industry Report 2021.

https://www.socialmediaexaminer.com/

Baker, Kristen (2021). How to Create a Successful Blog Strategy: A Step-by-Step Guide
How to Create a Successful Blog Strategy: A Step-by-Step Guide

WEEK 1 ASSIGNMENTS

1. Social Media Strategy, Part 1

Setting the Stage: Organization and Social Media Overview Paper

This course is designed around creating the foundation of using social media in business.
Using social media best practices, this course combines the theory and knowledge with
the planning and application process required for organizations to succeed in social
media. The knowledge comes from the readings from the case studies, journals,
magazines, and articles on subjects relating to social media.

Using this information, you will be creating your own organization that you can use to
create a blog as well as business pages on Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube. We will
be creating these pages in the Introduction course, and you will continue to use them in
the next course: MKT 654. If you already have your own business, you are welcome to
use it for the assignments. Just be sure to update and improve any blog or business
social media accounts that you may already have for your business based on the
information learned in this course.

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In this paper, you will provide the following information about your imaginary or real
organization:
• Overview of the organization
• Target audience
• Organizational goals for using social media
• Analysis of the benefits and challenges of at least 3 of the primary platforms (e.g.
Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, Twitter, LinkedIn, Clubhouse, etc.) as it relates to
your organization
• Implementation order of the platforms and justification of the order

Please be sure to answer each question clearly, ideally a paragraph under each question.
This paper should be in APA format and 2 to 3 pages.

Creating your organization and analyzing the application of social media platforms
involve several levels of writing. Use the rubric below to guide your writing and the
assignment.

2. Social Media Platform – Create a blog using any free blogging platforms for your fake
or real company. If you already have a business or would like to start your own business,
you can use this business for this class.

Create a blog using any free blogging platforms for your fake or real company.

The second assignment this week is to develop a blog for your imaginary or real
organization/business. There are many guides explaining how to do so. As you build out
the blog, make sure that it clearly states that the blog is part of a school project and is
not a real business. This blog will be used throughout MKT 653. As you build it out,
include:
• Set up account
• Select a theme/ header image
• Create an About page
• Create 2 blog posts. The first blog post will be a post of 600 words or more. The
second blog post will be a vlog; it will include a short video (at least one minute
long) about a topic of your choice related to your real or fake business. Please be
sure to make the first 15 seconds count to ensure viewers watch the whole video
and add a short description of the video.
• Create Contact Us page

Here are the best free blogging sites you can use to start your own blog today. You do
not have to purchase a domain. Please note that based on students’ feedback, Wix.com
seems to be the easiest one to use.
• Wix (www.wix.com)
• WordPress (www.wordpress.org)
• Weebly (www.weebly.com)
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This is for your school project, and you do not need to pay for any of the tools or
platforms.

Once it is completed, submit the assignment, along with a paragraph about your
experience in creating a blog, and if you’ve had one before, if you approached it
differently knowing it was for a business/organization.

The more thoroughly the blog is developed, the better the grade. Use the rubric in the
form called Evaluation of Social Media Platforms at the end of the course outline as a
guide.

Here are a few guides to help you get started:

• Start Blogging Online - website

• Set Up Your Blog in Five Easy Steps - website
• How to Start a Blog - website

DISCUSSIONS
1. Introduce yourself
2. Provide an overview of your fake or real business to the class, and include:

○ A description of the business.

○ An overview of how your business will use the blog
○ Describe the type of content the blog will include in the future

If your blog (assignment 2 due on Sunday) is already completed, please include a

link here, so that you can receive feedback from your peers.

3. Select one topic from the Social Media Marketing Industry Report. What stats
stood out to you the most? Why? How do you think it will impact the future of
social media?

WEEK 2

In Week 2, we will be covering:

• The importance of social listening, and how companies rely on listening to their
customers to understand key areas of their business.
• How to drive sales on social media
• The pros and cons of using Facebook for business, and how businesses use
Facebook for their marketing
• How to create a Facebook account for your real or fake business
• The importance of hashtags and how to use them

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READ

Sprout Social. (n.d.). Social media listening: Your launchpad to success on social
Social media listening: Your launchpad to success on social

Barker, Shane (2021). 7 Simple Ways to Drive Sales on Social Media [With Examples]
7 Simple Ways to Drive Sales on Social Media [With Examples]

Advantages and disadvantages of Facebook for business- www.nibusinessinfo.co.uk

Web site
Facebook for Business - Advantages and Disadvantages

Roomi, Mishal (2021). 6 Advantages and Disadvantages of Facebook for Business

6 Advantages and Disadvantages of Facebook for Business

Heitman, Stephanie (2021). 335+ Hashtag Ideas for Every Industry & How to Use Them
for Your Business
335+ Hashtag Ideas for Every Industry & How to Use Them for Your Business

Additional resources on Social Listening

Social Listening Archives | Sprout Social

WATCH
● BlitzMetrics video about their 3x3 Facebook video strategy and the importance of
“why” videos - https://www.vendasta.com/blog/dennis-yu-facebook-video-
marketing (3 minutes)

WEEK 2 ASSIGNMENTS

1. Case Study

Integrated Marketing Communications campaign case study review

• Watch the Electronic Arts case study, and write a case study analysis about it.
Include outside academic references. Provide an overview of the content of this
case study, including key content and examples. Discuss how the marketers at EA
put social media in the middle of their marketing efforts versus how other
companies tend to integrate it or add it on at the end. What are your thoughts on
this structure? Is this being driven by their particular audience, or are they trying
to anticipate their audience's needs? This is a rare way of doing integration, do
you think it will be more/less effective for the company?
• For those of you who went through the mobile course, this is similar to taking a
"mobile first" approach, EA is taking a "social media first" approach to the
company's marketing processes.
• This assignment should be 2 to 3 pages long in APA format.
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 • Please be sure to answer all the questions clearly. You may want to answer each
question in a paragraph.
• Case study video link: Electronic Arts case study (30 minutes)

2. Social Media Platform: Facebook Page Development

The second assignment this week is to develop a business page on Facebook for your
imaginary or real organization/business. There are many guides explaining how to do so.
As you build out the page, make sure that it clearly states in the About section that the
page is part of a school project if it is not a real business. This page will be used
throughout MKT 653 and MKT 654. As you build it out:

• Create a page for your fake business

• Select "business or brand"
• Fill out all of the sections as you build out the page (About, Our Story, business
details, contact button, cover image, and profile image)
• Create an initial welcome post, including a graphic and text.
• Create 2 additional posts.
• Be sure to include this statement on the page, "This is a fake organization that is
part of a school project." Only include this statement if the business is not real.
• Include a page header and profile picture that align with your company. Be sure
the header displays well on both desktops and mobiles. Canva.com is a free
site/app to easily create graphics for profile and posts. It also includes a lot of free
graphics.
• Create an event for your company; the event can be live, online, or in a physical
location
• Create an introduction video for your Facebook page visitors and post it on your
Facebook page. This video must be a new video (different from the blog) and
needs to be at least one minute long. Please make it professional and pay
attention to the first 15 seconds, the background, and the ambient noise.
• Please submit a document, including a link to your Facebook page!

Use the outline on the last page of the Course Outline as a guide for your grade.

Getting Started:

● Facebook.com: Create a Page

There are many helpful guides on how to create a page on Facebook.

Facebook changes all the time, so guides from two months ago are already outdated,
however, the guides below will help you get started.

● How to Create a Facebook Business Page in 7 Easy Steps.

● How to Build a Facebook Page for Business: A Guide for Beginners

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DISCUSSIONS

● Select a case study on social listening (include link in your post) and share your
analysis of the campaign, how the company integrated social listening and what
the results were. In your opinion, could they have made it more effective? How
could you use social listening in your fake business?

Please be sure to include a link to the page of the case study.

o Resources to find case studies (Note: some of these are social listening
platform product websites):
▪ https://www.brandwatch.com/case-studies/
▪ https://sysomos.com/resources/case-studies/
▪ https://brand24.com/blog/category/case-study/

● Find a recent article about Facebook best practices and/or trends (from 2021 or
later). From Facebook ads to live video and bots, there are many different aspects
of Facebook to discuss. Share the link of your article with the class.

Answer the following questions: What do you think about the topic? Would you
use it for your business? Why/why not? What stood out to you about what you
learned? Assess the topic critically and tell your peers what you think about it.

WEEK 3

In Week 3, we will be covering:

• The opportunities and challenges companies face when going global with social
media
• Strategies companies take when managing global social media
• How to conduct a social media audit for your fake or real business
• How to create an Instagram account for your fake or real business
• What are some pros and cons of using Instagram for marketing your business
• Clubhouse, the new social media audio app
• How to create a Clubhouse account for your real or fake business

READ
Chaffey, Dave. (2021). Global Social Media Research Summary 2022.
Global Social Media Research Summary 2022 - website

Murnaghan, Gerard. (2020). Think global, act local: The role of social in entering
emerging markets
Think global, act local: The role of social in entering emerging markets

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Nomdarkham, Joel. (2020). Social Media Marketing Strategy for a Multi-Location
Business
Social Media Marketing Strategy for a Multi-Location Business

Klint Marketing (2021) - 60 Pros and Cons for Instagram

60 Pros and Cons for Instagram

Griffith, E. (2021). What Is Clubhouse? The Audio-Only Chat App Explained

What Is Clubhouse? The Audio-Only Chat App Explained

Chan, J. Clara, (2021). Clubhouse App Opens Wide to Public

Clubhouse Opens Wide to Public – The Hollywood Reporter

Optional Reading:
Pophal, Lin. (2019). Addressing the Challenges of Social Media in a Global Market
Addressing the Challenges of Social Media in a Global Market

WATCH
● Western Union: This is a multicultural engagement in a purpose-driven brand
https://vimeo.com/192687440

WEEK 3 ASSIGNMENTS
1. Social Media Strategy, Part 2: Competitor Audit

Identify at least three competitors (direct or indirect) and examine their social media
tactics. Please find competitors that are active on at least 3 primary social media
platforms so that your spreadsheet and Word document are comprehensive. Also, in
your spreadsheet, please be specific and include average numbers of likes, comments,
shares, etc.

• Fill out the Competitive Audit Spreadsheet and provide your analysis, insights and
findings in a separate Word document. Submit both for the assignment. The
Word document should be 1 to 2 pages.
• What platforms are they on? What are their reach and engagement? What is their
frequency of posts, and what kind of posts do they include (most posts can fall
into specific categories: Educational, Inspirational, Entertaining, and Promotional)?
• Do they respond to comments? How long does it tend to take? Are people active
on their page? Are they active on their page?
• Is their brand image and content consistent across platforms?
• Include any other factors (related to social media) that you feel are important for
this competitive social media audit.

Please note that if a competitor does not have a presence on one of the social media
platforms, on Twitter for example, you can replace it by another platform in the audit
spreadsheet.
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2. Social Media Platform - Instagram

The second assignment this week is to develop an Instagram account for your imaginary
or real business. If you already have a Instagram account for your business, please use
the information from this course to optimize your account; you will still need to create all
the new posts, story, and poll that are listed below. Your Instagram account will be used
throughout MKT 653 and MKT 654. As you develop or optimize it, include the elements
listed below.

Please note that you will first create a personal Instagram account and then switch it to a
business account. You can also connect your Instagram page to your fake company
profile on Facebook (this is optional) to access all business features from Meta. Here is a
link on how to do both:

• https://www.facebook.com/business/help/502981923235522

Instagram Checklist

Using your phone, set up your account. This is really important to use your phone since
Instagram offers less functionality on desktops.

Set-up

• Choose your @username based on your fake or real business.

• Password
• Write your bio for your real or fake business (150 characters). Feel free to use
emojis to personalize your bio. Add if this is a fake business at the end of your bio.
• Add a link to your website/blog
• Enable location services - If you have a local business, this will automatically
geotag photos
• Add Profile picture (150x150px). Canva.com is a free site/app to easily create
graphics for profile and posts.
• Create 2 posts including photos and captions (limited to 2200 characters)
• Use filters and hashtags.
• Add 3 to 5 hashtags per post.
• Create an Instagram Story for your business and save it as an highlight from your
stories' archive.
• Add a Contact button to your Instagram account
• Please review the checklist above to ensure you have included everything.
• Please submit a Word document with a link to your Instagram business account.

DISCUSSIONS

● Create a Clubhouse account by downloading and installing Clubhouse, the Social

Audio App on your Apple or Android smartphones. Please note that you no longer

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 need an invite to create your account. Here are some steps to create your
account:

https://www.indiatoday.in/information/story/all-you-need-to-know-about-the-
clubhouse-app-10-steps-to-create-your-account-1807823-2021-05-28

Add a bio (short description of your real or fake business) in your new Clubhouse
account. Explore Clubhouse and check out some rooms. Follow your classmates.

After your account is created, post your handle in your post and answer the
following question: What are in your opinion Clubhouse's strengths and
weaknesses? Supplement your post with referenced content.

● Find a recent article about Instagram best practices and/or trends (from 2021 or
later). From Instagram ads to stories and reels, there are many different aspects of
Instagram to discuss. Share the link of your article with the class.

Answer the following questions: What do you think about the topic? Would you
use it for your business? Why/why not? What stood out to you about what you
learned? Assess the topic critically and tell your peers what you think about it.

WEEK 4

In Week 4, we will be covering:

• The legal considerations for social media include ethics, privacy, the need for
community guidelines, crisis communications plans, and more.
• The legal standards of practice for social media strategies, be able to identify the
ethical standards of practice that successful social media strategies employ, and
understand the role that social media plays in crisis communications.
• What it takes to develop a social media policy for your company.
• TikTok and its growing popularity
• Using Twitter and/or YouTube for your business.
• Create a YouTube channel for your real or fake business.

READ

Sharma, Upasna. (2020). 4 Pillars to a Strong Social Media Governance Model

4 Pillars to a Strong Social Media Governance Model

Davis, Ben. (2015). Social media and crisis management: a Volkswagen case study
Social Media and Crisis Management: A Volkswagen Case Study - website

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Bouman, Jesse (2020) . Need Social Media Policy Examples? Here Are 7 Terrific Social
Policies To Inspire Yours
Need Social Media Policy Examples? Here Are 7 Solid Inspiring Samples
(everyonesocial.com)

Digital Mac (2021). Pros and Cons for Twitter Business

Pros and Cons of Twitter Business

Daniel (2021). What is TikTok? Why is it popular?

What is TikTok? Why is it popular?

Hutchinson, Andrew. (2021). New Report Suggests TikTok Will Surpass 1.5 Billion Users
in 2022
New Report Suggests TikTok Will Surpass 1.5 Billion Users in 2022

TikTok Trend Report. Download and read the US and Canada TikTok Trends Report at
the bottom of the page. TikTok Trends Report

WATCH

• SocialMedia.org. (2016, June 22). Social media disclosure and ethics for big brands,
presented by Andy Sernovitz [Video]. Vimeo. [24:13]

Policy Examples:
• Cooper, P. (2020, May 28). How to write a social media policy (free template +
examples). Hootsuite.
•

WEEK 4 ASSIGNMENTS

1. Social Media Platforms: Create a YouTube Account for your fake or real business.

Create a YouTube channel for your fake or real business. Please visit link below for
instructions.

https://support.google.com/youtube/answer/1646861?hl=en

The first assignment this week is to create a YouTube channel for your real or imaginary
organization/business. As you build out the YouTube channel, make sure that it clearly
states that it is part of a school project if it is not a real business. This account will be
used throughout MKT 653 and MKT 654. You will need a YouTube account in order to
create a channel.

As you build it, include:

• Create channel
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 • Add a profile image and header image
• About copy. Make sure it is detailed and consistent with other social media
accounts for the business.
• Initial welcome video (keep it simple) and include a short description about the
video. Please create a new video for this assignment (do not use any video from
previous assignments.) The video should be at least one minute long. Please make
it professional and pay attention to the first 15 seconds, the background, and the
ambient noise.
• Submit a document with a link to your YouTube account.

2. Final Assignment: Reflective Assignment

The final assignment of the course is to write a reflective essay about your experience in
learning and using social media marketing in this course.

The reflective essay gives you the opportunity to apply your critical thinking skills to
what you've learned in class. You can use this opportunity to observe, ask questions, and
evaluate the experience of learning social media marketing theory while applying it to
your real or fake business.

Include answers to the following questions in your essay:

Please be sure to answer each question clearly, ideally a paragraph under each question.
This paper should be in APA format and 2 to 3 pages.

• What have you learned about yourself as a result of this course experience?
• Have you developed your social media marketing knowledge because of it? How?
• Will this newly acquired social media marketing knowledge have any positive or
negative bearing on your life?
• How will learning social media marketing impact your experience as a consumer
and/or a marketer?
• Looking back at the decisions you made with your real or fake business in your
class assignments, do you think these were the right choices? What would you
have done differently?
• What are your thoughts on the course experience in general? Was it a useful
learning experience?

Answers can use the following format:

1. I learned that …
2. I learned this when …
3. This learning matters …
4. In light of this learning...

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DISCUSSIONS
● Based on everything we read and watch this week, what company can you think
of that has had a public crisis lately (in the last year or two)? How did they
respond? Did they use social media? If so, which social media platforms? How
could they have responded better?

● Find a recent article about Twitter or TikTok best practices and/or trends (from
2021 or later). Share the link of your article with the class.

Answer the following questions: What do you think about the topic? Would you
use it for your business? Why/why not? What stood out to you about what you
learned? Assess the topic critically and tell your peers what you think about it.

ONLINE COMMUNICATION
Communication in this online course will be conducted primarily through Threaded
Discussions Boards. Written reports will be submitted through the Assignment Tool.
Current information and directions will be posted in the Announcement section. Limited
communication will be conducted through email messages between individuals and
groups. Students are free to meet with other students in the class anytime during the
month.

ASYNCHRONOUS CHAT SESSIONS

● Conducted once a week on a regular basis for a total of four (4) sessions
○ Chat Sessions will normally be held on the same days and times, usually at
lunch time.
● Students are not required to attend the four scheduled Chat Sessions
○ Chat Session participation will not be graded.

THREADED DISCUSSION BOARD

● Threaded Discussion Boards will be held each week.
● Topics will focus on the assigned reading material.

SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORMS

● Creating four social media platforms are required for this course
● Social media platforms will be created using social media industry best
practices

WRITTEN PAPERS/REPORTS
● Eight homework assignments are required in this course.
● All assignments are documented in this outline.
● All written reports are to be documented in the APA style. www.apastyle.org
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 ● Students are expected to demonstrate writing skills in describing, analyzing,
and evaluating ideas and experiences. 20% of the final grade will be for Good
Writing Skills, which include grammar, spelling, etc. Written reports and
research papers must follow APA Format regarding citations of an author’s
work within the text and references at the end of the paper. Students are
encouraged to use the services of the University’s Writing Center when
preparing materials.
● Minimal responses are not acceptable. I am looking for APA cited material
from the text, chats, discussion threads, etc. and your own comments.
● Once work has been graded, it cannot be resubmitted.
● Extra credit may be offered for attending the Chat sessions.

LEARNING ABOUT SOCIAL MEDIA

This course is built around four key concepts: 1) how social media has changed
marketing and business; 2) the social media landscape and platforms; 3) global nature of
social media; and 4) the legal and ethical impact of social media on businesses.

While many people manage their personal social media pages, few have experience
managing social media for an association, organization, business or non-profit of any
size. There are many differences between personal social media and using social media
for an organization.

Understanding the impact of social media in business, including the challenges and
opportunities that it brings is critical to growing and maintaining organizations as
technology and marketing continue to evolve. Each social media
platform/tool/community has pros and cons that attract specific audiences for different
purposes. This is key to knowing how to target and approach the right platforms for your
business. Not only that, increasingly video and paid strategies are a requirement for
businesses to stand out.

Your experiences with social media on a personal level as well as with organizations will
help you begin to form the basis for discussion, analysis, and evaluation throughout the
course. Reviewing your own experiences, case study examples, along with guided
questions and insights from the instructor, and directed through assignments and
discussions, the importance of understanding the impact, benefits and challenges of
social media will become more meaningful to you. Education is serious business that
requires serious intellectual activity through time spent in study, depth of knowledge
made visible in writing, researching, experimenting with the different platforms, and the
relevance of experience revealed in discussion sharing.

Social media has quickly moved from just being another marketing method, to providing
valuable information and feedback on products and services, and it has become an
important customer service channel. It has become an integral part of our society and
organizations need to approach it carefully as there are positive and negative aspects of
using social media. In addition, there are global implications as companies can

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increasingly reach larger audiences. Underlying all social media initiatives is the legal and
ethical aspects of using social media - both for organizations and their employees.

At its core, social media consists of any online platform or channel for content and
interactions created by and between people. However, it is increasingly complex and
continues to change minute-by-minute. The strategies and tools you will find in this
course will help you navigate the social media landscape and apply best practices, and
use it to benefit your organization.

ASSIGNMENTS
This course has written homework assignments to complete. Homework will be
evaluated not only on the content of the written assignment, the use of subject
information from the text and related information, but also on applying good rules of
professional business writing that includes APA/essay formatting. Please include the key
terms that are used in the text that relate to your answers, as well as a minimum of 2
outside sources for each assignment. Brevity is rewarded. Keep your homework no
longer than 2-3 printed pages, double-spaced, not including your cover page and
bibliography.

All written assignments must be the students’ original ideas and own work. Students’
work will be checked by Turnitin software against plagiarism. Students found plagiarizing
are subject to penalties outlined in the Policies and Procedures section of the National
University Catalog, which may include a failing grade for the work in question or for the
entire course.

Turnitin has been allowed for your Final Project assignment submission. Turnitin is an
anti-plagiarism software program that reviews submissions for plagiarism potential and
creates opportunities to help students identify how to properly attribute sources.
Turnitin compares submitted assignments against a set of academic papers to identify
areas of overlap between the submitted assignment and existing works in various
databases.

After a paper is processed, an Originality Report is generated detailing the percentage of

text in the submitted paper that matches existing sources. The report shows the
suspected sources for each section of the submitted paper that returns a match.

Your project may be submitted with unlimited "attempts" and only the Originality Report
for the last attempt in Turnitin will be used. You must review your score and the items
flagged -- the "Similarity Score" does not guarantee a good or bad paper. You must
decide! Written works are subject to penalties outlined in the Policies and Procedures
section of the National University Catalog, which may include a failing grade for the work in
question or for the entire course.

Please submit your work each week in Brightspace by Sunday evening at midnight
Pacific Time.

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LATE WORK
Late work may be accepted with a valid excuse and under the following terms: 2 points
per day late. Under special circumstances, a grade of Incomplete may be posted as the
end of the session – see the National University Catalog for details and then discuss your
situation with your instructor as early as possible.

STUDENT ACCESSIBILITY SERVICES:

National University is committed to providing equitable access to learning opportunities
for all students. Student Accessibility Services (SAS) is the office that collaborates with
students who have disabilities and faculty members to provide and/or arrange
reasonable accommodations.

If you have, or think you may have, a disability (e.g., mental health, attentional, learning,
chronic health, sensory, or physical), please contact SAS at [email protected] or 858.521.3967
to arrange a confidential discussion regarding equitable access and reasonable
accommodations.

To receive any course-related adaptation or accommodation, the student must first be

registered with SAS; registration information and steps can be found by visiting
www.nu.edu/sas. The SAS team works with students confidentially and does not
disclose disability-related information without his/her permission.

If you are already registered with SAS and have a current accommodation letter outlining
approved accommodations, we encourage you to contact your instructor early in the
term, by the first-class session preferably, to review how the accommodations will be
applied in the course. You are encouraged to arrange a confidential phone or in person
meeting with your professor to discuss the approved accommodations.

WITHDRAWAL
To avoid a failing grade or incomplete, you must formally withdraw from this course.
Failure to attend classes or complete coursework is a ground for being dropped from the
course. Please check with your advisor for information on formal withdrawal.

WRITING ACROSS THE CURRICULUM

Students are expected to demonstrate critical thinking, reasoning, and writing skills in
describing, analyzing, and evaluating ideas and experiences. Written assignments must
follow APA style and standards for format and citations of authors. It is the best to
receive help from the University’s writing center,
http://www.nu.edu/OurPrograms/StudentServices/WritingCenter.html.

All written assignments must be the students’ original ideas and own work. Students’
work will be checked by software against plagiarism. Students found plagiarizing are
subject to penalties outlined in the Policies and Procedures section of the National
University Catalog, which may include a failing grade for the work in question or for the

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entire course. The NU Writing center is available to all students, up to three visits per
week, at no additional cost.

NATIONAL UNIVERSITY LIBRARY

National University Library supports academic rigor and student academic success by
providing access to scholarly books and journals both electronically and in hard copy.
Print materials may be accessed at the Library in San Diego or through document
delivery for online and regional students. Librarians are available to provide training,
reference assistance, and mentoring at the San Diego Library and virtually for online or
regional students.
Please take advantage of Library resources:

● URL: http://www.nu.edu/library.
● Contact the Library:
o [email protected]
o (858) 541-7900 (direct line)
o 1-866-NU ACCESS x7900 (toll free)
● Use the Library Training Tools (on the Library Homepage) for additional help
● APA library resources:
http://library.nu.edu/assets/resources/pageResources/APA.pdf
● APA Central: http://apastylecentral.apa.org.nuls.idm.oclc.org/ (use NU library
log-in)

TEAMS, DIVERSITY, AND RESPECT

Teamwork in the organization is an essential part of today’s business climate bringing
together people from many different cultures and ethnic backgrounds. Students are
expected to work respectfully with a diverse population of colleagues and instructors in
completing their course work-professionalism in writing, and communication is a must.
Discussion of both national and global information management systems will invite
students to synthesize the concepts and express their concerns relevant to the diversity
issues.

TECHNOLOGY
Students are expected to be competent in using word-processing and presentation
software in this course. Use of the Internet, web conferencing and E-Mail are required.
For on-line sections, students should obtain a workable webcam with microphone to be
able to communicate in the chat. Consider headsets for better audio quality than
internal microphones and speakers.

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 Evaluation of Social Media Platforms

(max. 100 points)

Social Media Platform: _________________________________________________

Student name: _______________________________________________

A. Thoroughness of business page/account creation

Very basic 1 2 3 4 5 Very good

B Alignment of content (images, text) with target audience

Inconsistent 1 2 3 4 5 Excellent

C Quality of the content (images, posts, etc.)

Poor 1 2 3 4 5 Excellent

D. Consistency with business overview, mission, and other platforms (if they have

been created)

Poor 1 2 3 4 5 Excellent

E. Created and shared video on the platform

Very basic 1 2 3 Very good

Points obtained: ___________________

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