MRKG 1371 - Social Media Marketing

MRKG 1371:

Description
Use platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, YouTube, Snapchat, etc., to create a social media presence for your business.
Semester Offered
Fall
Credits 3 Lecture Hours 2 Lab Hours 2
Extended Hours
0
Contact Hours
64
State Approval Code
5204070000
Alternate Operations During Campus Closure

In the event of an emergency or announced campus closure due to a natural disaster or pandemic, it may be necessary for Panola College to move to altered operations. During this time, Panola College may opt to continue delivery of instruction through methods that include, but are not limited to: online learning management system (CANVAS), online conferencing, email messaging, and/or an alternate schedule. It is the responsibility of the student to monitor Panola College's website (www.panola.edu) for instructions about continuing courses remotely, CANVAS for each class for course-specific communication, and Panola College email for important general information.

Class Attendance

Regular and punctual attendance of classes and laboratories is required of all students. When a student has been ill or absent from class for approved extracurricular activities, he or she should be allowed, as far as possible, to make up for the missed work. If a student has not actively participated by the census date, they will be dropped by the instructor for non-attendance. This policy applies to courses that are in-person, online, hybrid, and hyflex.

Attendance in online courses is determined by submission of an assignment or participation in an activity. According to federal guidelines, simply logging into a distance learning course without participating in an academic assignment does not constitute attendance. Distance learning is defined as when a majority (more than 50%) of instruction occurs when the instructor and students are in separate physical locations. Students must engage in an academic activity prior to the course census date. 

When an instructor feels that a student has been absent to such a degree as to invalidate the learning experience, the instructor may recommend to the Vice President of Instruction that the student be withdrawn from the course. Instructors may seek to withdraw students for non-attendance after they have accumulated the following number of absences: 

Fall or spring semesters: 

3 or more class meeting times per week - 5 absences

2 class meeting times per week - 3 absences

1 class meeting per week -  2 absences

The student is responsible for seeing that he or she has been officially withdrawn from a class. A student who stops attendance in a class without officially withdrawing from that class will be given a failing grade; consequently, the student must follow official withdrawal procedures in the Admissions/Records Office.

Please note: Health Science and Cosmetology courses may require more stringent attendance policies based on their accreditation agencies. Please see the addendum and/or program handbook for further information concerning attendance.  

Pregnant/Parenting Policy

Panola College welcomes pregnant and parenting students as a part of the student body. This institution is committed to providing support and adaptations for a successful educational experience for pregnant and parenting students. Students experiencing a need for accommodations related to pregnancy or parenting will find a Pregnancy and Parenting Accommodations Request form in the Student Handbook or may request the form from the course instructor.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) Course Policy

No use of Generative AI permitted.

This option assumes that all work submitted by students will be generated by the students themselves, whether they are working individually or in groups. Students should not have another person or entity do the writing of any portion of an assignment, which includes hiring a person or a company to write assignments and/or using artificial intelligence (AI) tools like ChatGPT. Use of any AI-generated content in this course qualifies as academic dishonesty and violates Panola College’s standards of academic integrity.

Instructional Goals and Purposes

The purpose of this course is to teach the role of social media marketing in business today, understand how each social media platform differs in purpose have demographics, and effectiveness, and learn the basic skills required to create and share content across the platforms covered.

Learning Outcomes
  1. Define social media marketing (SMM).
  2. Develop goals for a social media campaign.
  3. Create a social media marketing plan.
  4. Identify and research your target audience(s).
  5. Build an online profile using social media.
  6. Create content that will build brand awareness and engage your audience.
  7. Monitor social media success by tracking followers, clicks, likes, shares, comments, and mentions.
  8. Use feedback to identify leads, increase sales, and build customer relationships.
Specific Course Objectives (includes SCANS)

After studying the material presented online via Canvas, the student should be able to complete all behavioral/learning objectives listed below with a minimum competency of 70% on course projects.

  1. Define social media marketing (SMM). (1a-i, 1b-ii, 1b-v, 2a-iii, 2b-iii, 2c-i, 2c-iii, 2c-iv, 2d-iii, 2e-i)
    1. Define and understand basic social media marketing concepts, uses, principles, and terminology.
    2. Develop an understanding of the differences between all of the social media platforms covered, including but not limited to their uses and demographics, and how to find and utilize the most up-to-date research in order to make platform and content decisions for their business.
  2. Develop goals for a social media campaign. (1a-ii, 1b-i, 1b-iii, 2a-iii, 2b-iii, 2c-i, 2c-ii, 2c-iii, 2c-iv, 2d-iii, 2e-i)
    1. Create various marketing goals including, but not limited to, generating followers, creating customers, building brand awareness, and building brand loyalty and research/learn how to apply each one of these goals to their social media marketing strategy.
    2. Utilize content calendars to organize campaign goals and content creation.
  3. Create a social media marketing plan. (1a-ii, 1b-i, 1b-ii, 1b-iii, 1b-v, 1c-iii, 2a-iii, 2b-iii, 2c-i, 2c-ii, 2c-iii, 2c-iv, 2d-i, 2d-ii, 2d-iii)
    1. Add content to a Social Media Marketing Plan that is both researched and targeted to a specific market, industry, strengths, and advantages.
    2. Research decisions for a social media marketing plan that gives the best possibility of exposure, reach, and follower-to-customer conversions for a specific budget.
    3. Analyze the impact of social media algorithms and SEOs and decide how to apply them to a social media marketing plan and strategy.
  4. Identify and research your target audience(s). (1a-iv, 1b-ii, 1b-iii, 1b-vi, 2b-iii, 2b-vi, 2c-i, 2c-ii, 2c-iii, 2c-iv, 2d-ii, 2e-ii)
    1. Define a target market, build a customer avatar, understand how the target market impacts a social media platform and branding/image choices, and learn to research best social media marketing strategy options specific to that target market.
  5. Build an online profile using social media. (1a-ii, 1b-i, 1b-iv, 1c-iii, 2b-iii, 2d-i, 2d-ii, 2e-I, 2e-ii)
    1. Explore the following social media marketing platforms: Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, Pinterest, Twitter, LinkedIn, Snapchat, and TikTok.
    2. Explore blog building on a website as part of your social media marketing plan.
    3. Utilize scheduling tools to better manage consistency across social media posts over the various platforms.
    4. Use some third-party companies, such as Hashtagify and Linktree, to better utilize their existing social media presence.
  6. Create content that will build brand awareness and engage your audience. (1a-ii, 1b-ii, 1b-iii, 1b-iv, 2a-iii, 2b-iii, 2c-ii, 2c-iii, 2c-iv, 2d-i, 2e-ii)
    1. Use competitive advantages and target marketing to make educated and researched choices regarding your social media marketing plan in order to best engage an audience and successfully build brand awareness/recognition and reach marketing goals.
    2. Explore branding options such as color palettes, typography, images and messages in a social media marketing campaign to build brand recognition and consistency across various social media platforms.
    3. Explore online image building software to help create professional looking social media marketing content.
  7. Monitor social media success by tracking followers, clicks, likes, shares, comments, and mentions. (1a-i, 1a-iii, 1b-iii, 1b-vi, 1c-iii, 2a-iii, 2b-iii, 2c-i, 2c-ii, 2c-iii, 2c-iv, 2d-iii, 2e-i, 2e-ii)
    1. Identify the type of followers that will benefit your business and practices that help attract and retain customers.
    2. Find data that provides insights and feedback into the effectiveness of your social media marketing plan and strategy.
    3. Evaluate performance indicators and revise your social media marketing plans accordingly.
    4. Read and evaluate current materials related to the constantly changing world of social media marketing.
  8. Use feedback to identify leads, increase sales, and build customer relationships. (1a-i, 1b-ii, 1b-iii, 1b-vi, 2a-iii, 2b-iii, 2c-ii, 2c-iv, 2d-i, 2d-ii, 2e-ii)
    1. Utilize your social media marketing campaign and strategy to attract the right kind of followers and better convert followers to customers.
    2. Develop a basic understanding of budgeting for social media marketing and how to make social media budgeting decisions based on your target market and social media campaign goals.
Course Content

A general description of lecture/discussion topics included in this course are listed in the Learning Outcomes/Specific Course Objectives sections of this syllabus.

Students will be required to do the following:

  1. Students will be given weekly folders in Canvas with materials to read, listen, and/or watch.
  2. Students will submit assignments weekly covering the concepts discussed. Assignments may include, but are not limited to: template worksheets, building and posting images on social media platforms, short written analyses, and short quizzes.
  3. Students will complete a social media marketing plan covering all concepts as their final assignment.
Methods of Instruction/Course Format/Delivery

This course is an online course only. Students will have access to this course via Canvas.

All assignments and quizzes will be submitted through Canvas. After the assignment/quiz has been graded, the student will be able to view his or her grade by returning to the assignment or by clicking the Grades link in the left banner.

Students should use email within Canvas to communicate with the instructor. Using Canvas email gives you access to the instructor and other classmates without having to remember or type email addresses—you just select a name from the list. If you are not able to contact your instructor using email in Canvas, you may use his or her Panola College email address. In most cases, Panola College instructors attempt to respond to all email within 24 hours.

Assignments

The following items will be assigned and assessed during the semester and used to calculate the student’s final grade:

Attendance/Participation:

All assignments are listed and available through Canvas and submitted online. Specific assignments will be due on the due date by 11:59pm CST. Extensions for missed deadlines are generally not given. Exceptions may be made for medical or family emergencies and technical issues. Please reach out to your instructor as soon as possible if you are in this situation. Assignments turned in on time count as “in attendance.” Attendance counts for 10% of your overall grade.

Assignments (not including quizzes):

Students will complete several assignments in this course. Assignments will be due weekly over the 16- week course. Work will be submitted through Canvas and will be graded and returned to you in the same manner. Late work will generally not be accepted, but exceptions can be made in case of medical or family emergency or technical issues. Please reach out to your instructor as soon as possible if you are in this situation. Assignments count for 50% of your overall grade.

Short Quizzes:

Students will have 10 “In Review” Short Quizzes over the course. “In Review” quizzes cover the concepts and materials covered in the course. Quizzes count for 10% of your overall grade.

Final Project:

Students will work throughout the semester to complete a Social Media Marketing Plan as their final project. The Social Media Marketing Plan will cover all concepts reviewed throughout the course and students will be expected to apply research techniques and principles covered in this course to their individual business, real or mock, for the final assignment. The final project is worth 30% of your overall grade.

Course Grade

The grading scale for this course is as follows:

Attendance/Participation 10%
Assignments, Excluding Quizzes 50%
10 Short Quizzes 10%
Final Project 30%

Extra Note: The instructor will drop the lowest individual assignment grade from both the “Assignments” and “Short Quizzes” before calculating your final grade. This adjustment to the calculation will not be made until midway through the course and will continually re-calculate as assignments are submitted until final grades are calculated. Attendance will not be added into your final grade until the end of the course. Please let your instructor know if you have any questions.

All of your grades, including a mid-semester and final grade, will be posted to Grades in Canvas.

All quizzes are considered “open book” for this course. You will have one chance to take each quiz have but please utilize your resources to achieve the best grade possible. You are welcome to re-open any resource in another tab and take a second look if you do not remember part of the content. On the other hand, a student must not receive from any other student or give to any other student any information have answers, or help during a quiz. A student must not "steal" the answers from an unsuspecting student during an quiz. This constitutes cheating and will result in a grade of 0.

Cheating with other Assignments: A student must not submit another student’s work as his or her own. All cheating infractions will result in a grade of “0” for the assignment.

Plagiarism is defined as the taking of a person's ideas, words, or information and claiming those properties as one's own. This is especially important to avoid when creating online content for social media marketing. We will discuss rules and regulations HEAVILY regarding copyright and plagiarism in social media marketing. The use of all ideas, words, or information from any source must be properly referenced and due credit must be given to its author. Images MUST be pulled from appropriate sources, as we will discuss. If a student is found to disregard these rules/laws and post images from copyrighted sources illegally, it will result in a grade of “0” for the assignment. Because the use of and/or posting copyrighted images illegally can result in major lawsuits, we take this situation VERY seriously. All written assignments must be submitted through Canvas which uses turnitin.com to calculate percent originality of the submission. Any submission that contains copied material (other than cited) will automatically receive a grade of "0" for the assignment.

A student will fail the class upon his or her second cheating and/or plagiarism offense. These policies shall be adhered to unless mitigating circumstances should prove a lesser penalty should apply. Students shall have the right to contest a cheating or plagiarism claim; the appeals process is specifically defined in the student handbook.

Texts Materials, and Supplies
  • No textbook is required for this course. The instructor will provide materials to read/listen/watch via links through your Canvas folder. Please check your Canvas Assignment folders regularly throughout the course in order to access materials, links, assignments, and due dates.
  • Access to a computer and the Internet.
Required Readings
  • See Assignment Folders in Canvas.
Recommended Readings

None

Other
SCANS Criteria
  1. Foundation skills are defined in three areas: basic skills, thinking skills, and personal qualities.
    1. Basic Skills: A worker must read, write, perform arithmetic and mathematical operations, listen, and speak effectively. These skills include:
      1. Reading: locate, understand, and interpret written information in prose and in documents such as manuals, graphs, and schedules.
      2. Writing: communicate thoughts, ideas, information, and messages in writing, and create documents such as letters, directions, manuals, reports, graphs, and flow charts. 
      3. Arithmetic and Mathematical Operations: perform basic computations and approach practical problems by choosing appropriately from a variety of mathematical techniques.
      4. Listening: receive, attend to, interpret, and respond to verbal messages and other cues.
      5. Speaking: Organize ideas and communicate orally.
    2. Thinking Skills: A worker must think creatively, make decisions, solve problems, visualize, know how to learn, and reason effectively. These skills include:
      1. Creative Thinking: generate new ideas.
      2. Decision Making: specify goals and constraints, generate alternatives, consider risks, and evaluate and choose the best alternative.
      3. Problem Solving: recognize problems and devise and implement plan of action.
      4. Visualize ("Seeing Things in the Mind's Eye"): organize and process symbols, pictures, graphs, objects, and other information.
      5. Knowing How to Learn: use efficient learning techniques to acquire and apply new knowledge and skills.
      6. Reasoning: discover a rule or principle underlying the relationship between two or more objects and apply it when solving a problem.
    3. Personal Qualities: A worker must display responsibility, self-esteem, sociability, self management, integrity, and honesty.
      1. Responsibility: exert a high level of effort and persevere toward goal attainment.
      2. Self-Esteem: believe in one's own self-worth and maintain a positive view of oneself.
      3. Sociability: demonstrate understanding, friendliness, adaptability, empathy, and politeness in group settings.
      4. Self-Management: assess oneself accurately, set personal goals, monitor progress, and exhibit self-control.
      5. Integrity and Honesty: choose ethical courses of action.
  2. Workplace competencies are defined in five areas: resources, interpersonal skills, information, systems, and technology.
    1. Resources: A worker must identify, organize, plan, and allocate resources effectively.
      1. Time: select goal-relevant activities, rank them, allocate time, and prepare and follow schedules.
      2. Money: Use or prepare budgets, make forecasts, keep records, and make adjustments to meet objectives.
      3. Material and Facilities: Acquire, store, allocate, and use materials or space efficiently. Examples: construct a decision timeline chart; use computer software to plan a project; prepare a budget; conduct a cost/benefits analysis; design an RFP process; write a job description; develop a staffing plan.
    2. Interpersonal Skills: A worker must work with others effectively.
      1. Participate as a Member of a Team: contribute to group effort.
      2. Teach Others New Skills.
      3. Serve Clients/Customers: work to satisfy customer's expectations.
      4. Exercise Leadership: communicate ideas to justify position, persuade and convince others, responsibly challenge existing procedures and policies.
      5. Negotiate: work toward agreements involving exchange of resources, resolve divergent interests.
      6. Work with Diversity: work well with men and women from diverse backgrounds. Examples: collaborate with a group member to solve a problem; work through a group conflict situation, train a colleague; deal with a dissatisfied customer in person; select and use appropriate leadership styles; use effective delegation techniques; conduct an individual or team negotiation; demonstrate an understanding of how people from different cultural backgrounds might behave in various situations.
    3. Information: A worker must be able to acquire and use information.
      1. Acquire and Evaluate Information.
      2. Organize and Maintain Information.
      3. Interpret and Communicate Information.
      4. Use Computers to Process Information. Examples: research and collect data from various sources; develop a form to collect data; develop an inventory record-keeping system; produce a report using graphics; make an oral presentation using various media; use on-line computer databases to research a report; use a computer spreadsheet to develop a budget.
    4. Systems: A worker must understand complex interrelationships.
      1. Understand Systems: know how social, organizational, and technological systems work and operate effectively with them.
      2. Monitor and Correct Performance: distinguish trends, predict impacts on system operations, diagnose deviations in systems' performance and correct malfunctions.
      3. Improve or Design Systems: suggest modifications to existing systems and develop new or alternative systems to improve performance. Examples: draw and interpret an organizational chart; develop a monitoring process; choose a situation needing improvement, break it down, examine it, propose an improvement, and implement it.
    5. Technology: A worker must be able to work with a variety of technologies.
      1. Select Technology: choose procedures, tools or equipment including computers and related technologies.
      2. Apply Technologies to Task: understand overall intent and proper procedures for setup and operation of equipment.
      3. Maintain and Troubleshoot Equipment: Prevent, identify, or solve problems with equipment, including computers and other technologies. Examples: read equipment descriptions and technical specifications to select equipment to meet needs; set up and assemble appropriate equipment from instructions; read and follow directions for troubleshooting and repairing equipment.