Course Syllabus
Description
Note: This course code has changed from B 351 to MKT 351. You may occasionally see references to the old course code or title.
What is Social Media?
Social media is changing how marketing is done around the world in almost every industry. The marketing and Marketing worlds are undergoing fundamental changes in how consumers interact with brands and each other. Social media has helped give consumers a voice and connect them with their friends and other like-minded consumers. It has also opened numerous communication channels for marketers and brands to connect with current and potential customers.
What Can I Expect to Learn in This Course?
This course is designed to help you understand how marketing has changed due to the rise of social media and changes in various underlying contextual factors, such as dramatically increased speed of information dissemination across consumers and brands. The overarching goal is to obtain a clear perspective on what’s really going on in digital/social/mobile marketing so that you can begin to appreciate its true value to consumers, to managers, and to other corporate stakeholders. It will equip you with the relevant knowledge, perspectives, and practical skills required to develop marketing strategies that leverage the opportunities inherent in social media and consumer-to-consumer social interactions for achieving business and marketing goals.
What Should I Not Expect to Learn in This Course?
This course is not about data analytics or Search Engine Optimization.
This course will not focus solely on specific online social media platforms that you may know well from a user perspective (e.g., YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat). While these platforms are important and will be discussed, it is important to know in advance that this course is not solely about these platforms. The intention is to broaden your perspective and develop marketing strategies to leverage the opportunities inherent in social media, not narrow your thinking by focusing on just a few platforms that happen to be important now.
Outcomes
By the end of this course, students will be able to:
- Implement social media marketing strategies.
- Perform A/B testing to promote content to social media audiences.
- Develop a working knowledge of relevant social media platforms.
- Apply storytelling techniques to write persuasive marketing content.
- Measure and interpret social media results through social media analytics.
- Manage crises in social media.
Learning Model Architecture
Prepare
Your weekly preparation to complete your coursework will consist primarily of assigned readings from the textbook and carefully chosen articles. Be sure to read all of the assigned materials.
Teach One Another
Teach One Another activities will occur in two types of discussions:
- The first will be a series of case studies where you will read about an actual event and then discuss a series of prompts in small groups of 3-5 people.
- The second will be a series of platform pitch discussions where you will role play as an officer of a fictitious company, prepare a business proposal to adopt a social media platform individually, and then assume the role of a board member and discuss whether or not you will adopt that platform.
Ponder/Prove
The majority of your submitted work will fall under the Ponder/Prove category. These assignments are specifically designed to help you demonstrate your mastery of the course content and to help you achieve the course outcomes.
Prerequisites
none
Required Materials
- Social Media Management, Ben Shields, ISBN 978-0-19-029633
- Mimic Social Simulation, Stukent, ISBN 978-0-996-790079
The course materials are available in the Course Materials List.
Both are available through the University Store. You can also use the link to the University Store to check prices. Both items are required and available digitally.
Mimic Social Simulation
MIMIC is a social media marketing simulation where you will develop a social media marketing strategy for BUHI Bag Company. As their social media manager, you will manage the day-to-day tasks for social media marketing campaigns, including the following:
- Realize the true costs of Social Media Marketing.
- Understand the business applications of the platforms.
- Manage a budget for content creation and content promotion.
- Plan social media campaigns.
- Identify the appropriate platforms for a specific audience.
- Distinguish paid, owned, and earned social media marketing efforts.
- Select the right content for the right audience and the right mediums.
- Find the right mix of promotional and non-promotional content.
- Make data-driven decisions based on results from dozens of posts over an extended period of time.
Grading Policies
Grades are determined by the quality of your work and level of mastery of course concepts. This course uses BYU-Idaho standard grading policies.
Final Grades
| Letter Grade | Percentage Range |
|---|---|
| A | 100% –93% |
| A- | 92.99% – 90% |
| B+ | 89.99% – 87% |
| B | 86.99% – 83% |
| B- | 82.99% – 80% |
| C+ | 79.99% – 77% |
| C | 76.99% – 73% |
| C- | 72.99% – 70% |
| D+ | 69.99% – 67% |
| D | 66.99% – 63% |
| D- | 62.99% – 60% |
| F | 59.99% – 00% |
Late Work
Submitting your work on time shows respect for your instructor and demonstrates professionalism. Therefore, late work is not accepted.
If you experience a true emergency (natural disaster, hospitalization, other rare and extreme circumstance), contact your instructor immediately.
Course Policies
Academic Excellence
All work in this course should represent professional excellence. Would you submit your resume to a company you are interested in applying for a job at? Would you present your policy, instructions, and business report to your boss? If you answer “no” to this question, then you should not event turn your assignment in. Strive for professional excellence.
Academic Integrity
All work in this course—on exams, projects and group work—should be your own and completed honestly. You are responsible to know standards for citing and crediting material from other sources. Students who violate academic integrity standards and plagiarize will receive an “F” in the course. (No exceptions!) They also will be referred to the Department of Business Integrity Officer. They may also be referred to the Student Honor office, depending on the seriousness of the offense. Please read the Honor Code Agreement.
Late Work
No late work will be accepted. All assignments, discussions, and quizzes will close at the end of the week.
Appeals
Your instructor reserves the right to make judgment on requests for excused absences, early exams, deadline extensions, etc.
Changes in Schedule and Assignments
Your instructor will typically follow the schedule and assignments as listed the course outline, but reserves the right to make changes for the improvement of the course or to respond to student interests. Any changes will be announced in the course and/or by email. Once changes have been announced, the responsibility rests upon students to adjust and conform to them.
University Policies
Students with Disabilities
Brigham Young University-Idaho is committed to providing a working and learning atmosphere that accommodates qualified persons with disabilities. If you have a disability and require accommodations, please contact the Disability Services Office at (208) 496-9210 or visit their website and follow the Steps for Receiving Accommodations. Reasonable academic accommodations are reviewed for all students who have qualified documented disabilities. Services are coordinated with students and instructors by the Disability Services Office.
This course may require synchronous meetings. If you are currently registered with the Disability Services Office and need an interpreter or transcriber for these meetings, please contact the deaf and hard of hearing coordinator at (208) 496-9219.
Other University Policies
Student Honor and Other Policies
Please read through the document called University Policies. It gives important information about the following topics:
- Student Honor
- Academic Honesty
- Student Conduct
- Sexual Harassment
- Student with Disabilities
- Complaints and Grievances
- Copyright Notice
Go to the Student Resources module to review further resources and information.
Disclaimers
BYU-Idaho reserves the right to change any part of this syllabus at any time during the semester in order to adapt to changing course needs.
Course Summary:
| Date | Details | Due |
|---|---|---|