Introduction to Social Media Marketing Syllabus

Course Description

Please be aware that this course was developed by LDSBC faculty in partnership with BYU-Idaho curriculum designers. The course follows the LDSBC Learning Pattern and aligns with the outcomes of the LDSBC campus course. This online course is being offered by BYU-Idaho with a qualified BYU-Idaho instructor. The course functionality and your student experience should be much the same as you would expect in any other course; however, you will see references to both LDSBC and BYU-Idaho throughout the course.

This introductory course will give you an overview of the evolution and purpose of social media and why it is a disruptive wave of innovation. In addition, you will learn how it affects your personal and professional life, including the importance of personal branding and how these principles can be applied in the professional world. You will learn about the history, purpose, anatomy, best practices, current trends, as well as pros and cons of the top eight social platforms: Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram, YouTube, LinkedIn, Google+, Snapchat, and blogs. In addition, this course will help you build foundational knowledge and professional skills on these nine social media platforms. You will learn how to research, use strategy and tactics, create engaging content, establish a following, and understand legal issues that confront social media. You will gain a high-level understanding of key marketing principles and strategies as well as how companies use social media for marketing, analytics, customer service and more. You will have the opportunity to create a marketing campaign for an organization, pitch it, and effectively execute and evaluate it. You will also evaluate the future of social media for businesses and how it affects you personally and professionally.

Prerequisite

None.

Required Materials

The course materials are free and can be accessed online or are obtained through free website accounts (see below). You will be provided with links to the materials and informed when to create the pertinent accounts. The information below is solely for informational purposes; please do not set up social media accounts until you are instructed to do so in the week materials.

Microsoft Office

Microsoft Office is a suite of applications dedicated to word processing, data spreadsheets, presentations, and annotation/note-taking. You will be using this tool extensively (particularly Excel and Word) to complete and submit assignments. Before you begin the course, you should download the latest version of Microsoft Word (if you do not already have this program) onto your local computer for writing assignments.

If you are an LDSBC student, access the link above and log in with your LDSBC email address and password. You may then download and install Microsoft Office 2013 to your computer.

If you are a BYU-Idaho student, visit the University Store's Technology Downloads page. Follow the instructions to download Microsoft Office 365. Scroll down on that page to access Help & Tutorials, as needed.

Facebook

Facebook is a social media platform aimed at sharing and receiving various forms of content (text, photos, videos). It allows users to communicate via shared interests, groups, events, relationships, etc. It also allows businesses to share and advertise content to attract customers to their respective brands. If you do not currently have a Facebook account, you will want to create one. You will be expected to do this as part of the course setup activity in Week 01.

If you have questions or concerns about how to use Facebook, please contact your instructor immediately. In addition, you may also refer to the Facebook Help Center for questions related to creating/managing your account.

In addition to using Facebook for the purposes of this course, you also use it as a means to share information and communicate with others. Your instructor will add you to a private Facebook group created for this section of SMM 105. Use the group page to ask your instructor (or other classmates) questions. The Facebook group will replace the Notes from Instructor boards in the course. Remember to set an example of respectful communication to foster a positive learning environment.

Twitter

Twitter is a social media platform commonly utilized by individuals, businesses, and social media influencers for sharing short, mostly text-based, posts/tweets with followers. You will create a Twitter account. If you do not currently have one, you will want to create one. You will be expected to do this in the Course Setup activity of Week 01 of the course. You will utilize this tool at various stages of the course, mostly for the purpose of sharing content.

If you have questions or concerns about how to use Twitter, please contact your instructor immediately. In addition, you may also refer to the Twitter Help Center for questions related to creating/managing your account.

LinkedIn is a professional networking platform used by professionals across industries. It is recognized as the main social platform for building professional networks for job development/acquisition purposes. It is used mainly to build company and personal profiles to promote skills, brands, and job experience to other professional networks. Interactions commonly involve endorsing skills, sharing and following company posts as well as posts from industry influencers. You will create a LinkedIn account, if you do not currently have one, in the Course Setup activity during Week 01 of the course. You will utilize this tool at various stages of the course, mostly for the purpose of sharing content.

If you have questions or concerns about how to use LinkedIn, please contact your instructor immediately. In addition, you may also refer to the LinkedIn Help Center for questions related to creating/managing your account.

Youtube

YouTube is the largest video sharing and viewing platform in the world. It is commonly utilized in social media marketing to share videos on company and personal YouTube channels. Because of the popularity of video marketing, YouTube is widely used for attracting customers to brands and engaging them fairly quickly. You will create a YouTube account, and channel, if you do not already have one. You will be expected to complete this in the Course Setup activity in Week 01 of the course. You will use this resource extensively to share videos on your YouTube Channel.

If you have questions or concerns about how to use YouTube, please contact your instructor immediately. YouTube and Google also provide training as needed. If students need help in creating/managing a YouTube account, or in more technical aspects of managing their YouTube channels, they may go to these two resources: (1) YouTube Help Center and (2) YouTube Help.

Instagram

Instagram is a mobile social network that acts mainly as a tool for users to share photos and videos with other users and followers. You will create an Instagram account and download the mobile application. You will be expected to do this in the Course Setup activity of Week 01 of the course. You will utilize this tool at various stages of the course, mostly for the purpose of sharing content.

If you have questions or concerns about how to use Instagram, contact your instructor immediately. Instagram also provides training as needed. If you need additional help in creating/managing an account, you may go to the Instagram Help Center.

Canva (optional)

Canva is an online graphic design software that allows users to create simple graphics, infographics, banners, and thumbnails and to then share them on various social platforms. Canva will be utilized as an optional resource to help students create Facebook posts in Week 03 and Week 07 of the course. To sign up, go to Canva sign-up.

You can learn to use it by going to Canva help. This resource allows you to practice within a design canvas and provides a brief three-step tutorial on how to use the tool and publish it.

Required Technology

It is preferred that you have your own computer, but you must have regular access to a computer with a reliable internet connection. Review the Systems Requirements page to ensure your computer is adequate for this course.
Download the Microsoft Office Suite if you do not already have it on your computer.
- Here is the Microsoft Office 365 download for LDSBC students. Use your school email address and password to log in. Then you will see the option to install Office on your personal computer.
- If you are a BYU-Idaho student, visit the University Store's Technology Downloads page. Follow the instructions to download Microsoft Office 365. Scroll down on that page to access Help & Tutorials, as needed.

Learning Outcomes

LDSBC cultivates a nurturing environment where practical skills are learned and discipleship is strengthened.

There are three types of learning outcomes guiding curriculum and authentic learning experiences at LDSBC. Students demonstrate the 1) College-Wide Outcomes, 2) Program Competency Outcomes, and 3) Course-Specific Outcomes through the Learning Pattern as they Prepare, Teach One Another, Ponder, and Prove their knowledge, skills, and abilities.

Through this process, all LDSBC graduates are prepared to contribute in their homes, communities, the Lord’s church, and in future employment.

LDSBC College-Wide Outcomes

Confirm personal testimony in the restored gospel of Jesus Christ.
Collaborate with others using interpersonal skills in an honest, ethical, and Christlike manner.
Communicate effectively using written and verbal presentation principles.
Construct new knowledge using technology and information resource tools.
Comprehend and think critically to solve problems.
Cultivate a strong, professional work ethic and lifelong learning opportunities.

Social Media Marketing Program Competency Outcomes

Demonstrate the ability to manage the social media marketing departments of small to mid-sized companies.
Strategically develop marketing campaigns based on a company’s vision, goals, target market, research, analytics, budget, and scope.
Create a highly-engaged social community of empowered brand advocates.
Maneuver current tools, platforms, and data centers to optimize research, reach, revenues, referrals, and retention.
Prove the return on investment (ROI) of campaigns and marketing initiatives.
Create relevant and engaging content in the form of copy, pictures, videos, infographics, etc.
Assess your own understanding of marketing principles, strategies, and tactics as well as how to apply them to real-life situations.
Establish and analyze the various learning resources that will help your knowledge remain current with the changing technologies, best practices, and trends.

SMM 105 Course Specific Outcomes

Understand the history and evolution of social media, why it is a disruptive wave of innovation, and how it has changed the face of marketing.
Identify and use key social media terms.
Demonstrate the importance of personal and business branding and their role in social media marketing.
Discover and maneuver the landscape and purposes of the top nine social media platforms.
Produce a high-level comprehension and integration of key marketing principles and strategies.
Prove how companies benefit from using social media for marketing, analytics, customer service and more.
Demonstrate how to research information, use strategy and tactics, create engaging content, establish a following, and understand legal issues that confront social media.
Strategically develop and assess a social media marketing campaign for a small business or organization based on the company's vision, goals, target market, research, analytics, budget, and scope.
Lead an intelligent and informed conversation about the personal and business impacts of social media and be prepared for the next courses in the Social Media Marketing Program at LDSBC.

Learning Pattern

This course functions upon the LDSBC Learning Pattern, including the principles of Prepare, Teach One Another, Ponder, and Prove.

Prepare

You are expected to complete your prepare activities early in the week by study and by faith.

To succeed in this course, you should complete preparation activities (overview, quiz) by the designated deadline.
The SMM program has a no late work policy. Your instructor may reserve the right to accept late work in justified situations, but any work turned in late cannot receive more than half of the earned grade.
For face to face classes, if a student is unable to come to class, the instructor must be notified by email message (using the College email account or by contacting the instructor or the College by phone before class is scheduled to start. In the workplace, if an employee is unable to be at work, he/she has an obligation to notify his/her employer. If the instructor is notified in advance, the instructor may allow assigned work to be turned in on the day they return to class.
In the case of illness or another reason that is beyond a student’s control, a student should contact the instructor by phone or email before class is missed if possible. In this case, the instructor may allow a preparation assignment or project to be turned in when the student returns to class. In the case of emergency, the instructor should be notified within 24 hours in order to qualify for special accommodation.

(Note: Depending on the week, there may be multiple quiz activities—each with a different due date. Each Quiz activity will be due at a different time to help you manage your time).

Teach One Another

You are expected to use charity and respect as you increase your capacity to learn by teaching one another.

Teach One Another activities (e.g., class discussions) are designed to build upon assigned concepts from the Prepare activities. Please studiously complete the Prepare activities so that you can actively participate in teaching and learning from others.
Your comments to the weekly discussions will usually be due by the designated date.
Your comments in the Respond to Others activities, which generally are designated times to respond to your peers' comments in the weekly discussions, will be due by the designated date.
Teach One Another activities are designed to build upon assigned concepts studied before coming to class (for face to face classes). Please be in class on time, prepared to actively participate in order to teach others and also to learn from others through in-class activities.
Team Teach One Another Activities are normally completed in class and are due by the end of class (for face to face classes). If a team is allowed to finish an incomplete activity outside of class, each member of the team must schedule a time outside of class when all team members are available to work together. To earn full points for an activity, each team member must be in class for the full class period (not late) and must participate whenever a scheduled meeting is set by the team to complete a team activity outside of class.

Ponder

You are expected to ponder ways to apply course concepts.

You will be asked to "ponder" throughout the course. The main emphasis on ponder occurs in the Ponder Journal activities.
After students have completed preparation activities and Team Teach One Another activities, they will ponder what they have learned. This should review and provide authentic applications of concepts learned. That would constitute pondering.

Prove

You are expected to prove your level of mastery of the course outcomes by completing course assignments.

The weekly assignments are where you will demonstrate your mastery of the course outcomes. These assignments focus on various applications in social media. The number of assignments will vary by week with some placing a greater emphasis on these over other course activities. Because of this, due dates will also vary.
At certain points in the course, there will also be major assignments due.
At the end of the semester, the Final Project Report will be due. This is a summative assignment that will be worth a certain portion of your final grade.
The opportunity to prove mastery of module concepts will be accomplished by completing quizzes,

assignments, and a project.
No late work is accepted in this course unless otherwise determined by the instructor.

Grading Policies

The minimum grade you can earn in this course without needing to repeat the course is a "C." Your grade will be determined by dividing the number of points you earn by the total points possible.

Grading Scale

A	100-94%
A-	93-90%
B+	89-87%
B	86-84%
B-	83-80%
C+	79-77%
C	76-74%
C-	73-70%
D+	69-67%
D	66-64%
D-	63-60%
F	<60%

The BYU-Idaho grading system describes each letter grade as follows:

“A” represents outstanding understanding, application, and integration of subject material and extensive evidence of original thinking, skillful use of concepts, and ability to analyze and solve complex problems. Demonstrates diligent application of Learning Model principles, including the initiative in serving other students.
“B” represents considerable/significant understanding, application, and incorporation of the material that would prepare a student to be successful in next level courses, graduate school, or employment. The student participates in the Learning Model as applied in the course.
"C” represents sufficient understanding of subject matter. The student demonstrates minimal initiative to be prepared for class. Sequenced courses could be attempted, but mastering new materials might prove challenging. The student participates only marginally in the Learning Model.
“D” represents poor performance and initiative to learn, understand, and apply course materials. Retaking a course or remediation may be necessary to prepare for additional instruction in this subject matter.
“F” represents failure in the course.

Grading Components

Learning Activities	Points
Prepare: A few small assignments in Week 01 (W01), recurring Quiz in each week. These are auto-graded by the computer. All quizzes are worth 5 points each.	80
Teach One Another: Recurring topic discussions and Respond to Others discussions in each week. Grade evaluated by the instructor. Topic discussions are worth 10 points each. Topic Discussion: Respond to Others discussions are worth 5 points each.	145
Ponder/Prove: Recurring, weekly assignments. Grade evaluated by the instructor. Points possible dependent on size of assignment, from 20–50 points. Ponder Journals are worth 15 points each. The Final Project Report is due at the end of the semester and is worth a total of 200 points.	1195

Course Policies

Late Work

You are expected to submit your work on time as a student just as your employer will expect your duties to be completed on time.
Due to the number of assignments due in this course, many of which are contingent upon completion of prior assignments, this class has a no late work policy.

In the rare occurrence that you are unable to submit work by the deadline due to a natural disaster, birth or death of a family member, hospitalization, or serious accident you should contact your instructor before the next deadline if possible, but at least within 24 hours of the next deadline.

There are no extra credit or make-up assignments.

Credit Hours and Study Time

LDSBC and BYU-Idaho measure academic credit in credit hours. In accordance with federal regulation, a credit hour at the college is the amount of work represented in intended learning outcomes and verified by evidence of student achievement that reasonably approximates not less than three hours of student work for each credit. Therefore, you can expect to spend at least nine hours per week to study and complete your coursework. This time estimate represents the average student who is appropriately prepared; more time may be required to achieve excellence.

Copyright

The course materials used in this class may be protected by copyright laws. You are expected to make a good-faith effort to respect the rights of copyright holders. If you disregard the policy, you may be in violation of the Church Education System Honor Code, you may place yourself at risk for possible legal action, and you may incur personal liability.

University Policies

Refer to the University Policies page in the Resource module of the course for full details regarding the BYU-Idaho Honor Code, BYU-Idaho Disability Services, sexual harassment, complaints, and grievances policies.

Official college messages to all students will be sent through University/School email accounts. Students are responsible for all information received through their LDSBC or BYU-Idaho email account. Students are expected to regularly check their LDSBC or BYU-Idaho email accounts for official information from the college and their course instructors. This policy is to ensure that important communication is received in a timely and consistent manner.

Disclaimers

The instructor reserves the right to change any part of this syllabus at any time during the semester in order to adapt to changing course needs. If there is a discrepancy between this syllabus and I-Learn, consider the I-Learn information to be correct.