Course Syllabus

Centenary College

 

COURSE SYLLABUS

Course Number: BUSN 395 – Social Media Marketing

3 Credits

2019 & Spring Semester

Course Meeting Days & Times

(Tuesday and Thursday, Jan. 8-May 2, 2019, 6:30 p.m. to 8:10 p.m.)

 Course Meeting Location

Jackson Hall room 211

Instructor Name:        Brandy Evans
Office Location:          Room 206
Office Hours:              5:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m.

Email:                          bnevans@centenary.edu

 Course Description: BUSN 395 - Social Media Marketing is designed to provide students with a marketing skill set, social media tools and strategies to apply to a business. Students will embark upon a semester long project to create a social media marketing plan for a local attraction. Students will have to develop weekly content that consists of blogs, photos, video and social updates. Students are expected to gain professional experience working with a business partner.

Course Materials & Resource

Required Text
No book is required

Other Materials & Requirements

 Students will need access to a laptop and/or smartphone during class. A laptop would be ideal. If a student does not have a laptop please see Pat Gallion and she will loan you one. Also each student is required to visit an assigned attraction at least once during the course.

Canvas

Online materials (lecture notes, homework assignments, quizzes…) will be available at Canvas. If you are not familiar with Canvas, please work through the Student Canvas Orientation. For technical help with Canvas contact the 24/7 support hotline at 855-971-1611 or submit a HELP ticket in Canvas.

Student Course Learning Objectives 

• Learn the evolution of social media
• Learn general social media practices and various social media platforms
• Learn key performance indicators (KPIs) and how they shape social media decisions
• Learn how to build a social media marketing plan for a local tourist attraction
• Learn how to take compelling photos
• Learn how to create a video

 Course schedule and topic outline

 Week 1

Jan. 8 – Course overview and introductions

Introductions, syllabus review, discuss expectations, and take a skill survey.

Jan. 10 – Introduction to social media

Review the basics of marketing and how social media plays into that.

Week 2

Jan. 15 – Content is king!

Let’s take a closer look at types of content: blogs, images, infographics, etc.

Jan. 17 – Facebook is a great place to start a social media marketing plan. It is the largest social media platform. Review how Facebook works, execute a posting strategy, types of pages (groups, events, Facebook Live, etc.), basics of advertising, and measuring your efforts.

Week 3

Jan. 22 – Facebook

Guest speaker – APEX Events Ian Summers

A local expert will discuss how they use content to market their business.

Jan. 24 – Facebook

Discuss additional aspects of Facebook and work on in-class assignment and group discussion.

Week 4

Jan. 29 – Instagram

Owned by Facebook, Instagram boasts 1 billion daily users and millions of photos and videos shared per day. Learn the basics of how to use Instagram, review brands that do a great job and figure out how to use Instagram to promote your business. Guest speaker Crystal Davis, owner of Crystal Davis Creative Professionals, will share practical tips and tricks.

Jan. 31 – Facebook

Guest speaker Erin Smith, Director of Marketing, Communications and Public Relations for the Shreveport Chamber of Commerce, will discuss how to use Facebook and other social platforms to reach followers and create engagement. Work on Facebook in-class assignment.

Week 5

Feb. 5 – Twitter

Twitter dominates news and pop culture. Its brand presence is second only to Facebook. It can be an effective marketing channel for your business.

Feb. 7 - Guest Speaker Robin Williams, freelance social media marketer

Work on in-class assignment to evaluate effectiveness of Twitter for your business. Hear from guest speaker about Twitter’s effectiveness and tips and tricks to make it work for your business.

Week 6

Feb. 12 – Quiz

Take a short quiz about basic social media skills. The quiz will include some multiple choice, true or false questions and a writing assignment.

Feb. 14 – Photography

Photography is extremely important to your social media strategy. Learn some tips and tricks to use photos to compliment your story and engage your followers. Hear from a local photographer Mike Greer, social media coordinator for Caesar’s Entertainment, to learn expert tips and tricks.

Week 7

Feb. 19 – Social Media Strategizing

Measurements are extremely important to any brand’s success. Look at measurement tools of the various social media platforms. Use metrics to make social media marketing strategies and determine the best of course of action for success. We will have a guest speaker Shalisa Roland, Events Coordinator and Development Specialist for Girl Scouts and Boom or Bust Byway Coordinator for the Shreveport-Bossier Convention and Tourist Bureau.

Feb. 20 – Guest speaker Scott Wysong

Talk about the importance of metrics on their social media platforms and the types of KPI’s they use to prove the effectiveness of social media.

Week 8

Feb. 26 – Social media etiquette

Discuss online reputation management and how employers judge candidates. Guest speaker Chloe Duplesis will talk about the importance of online reputation management.

Feb. 28 – LinkedIn

LinkedIn is all about business and brand market. Remember, you are a brand. There are three opportunities for businesses – help employees to optimize their profiles, network with customers and prospects and leverage a company’s business page to grow business leads. In-class assignment work on LinkedIn personal profile page.

Week 9

March 5 – Mardi Gras holiday – no class

March 7 – Mardi Gras holiday – no class

Week 10

March 12 – Social media influencers

Social media influencers can enhance a brand’s image and create more followers. Learn how to find influencers, decide how to network with influencers and how to incorporate them into your social media marketing plan.

March 14 – Guest speaker Jada Durden of Loving This Life blog

Research local and regional social media influencers. Hear from a local influencer and how she interfaces with brands and corporations.

Week 11

March 19 – Social reviews

Explore how review sites work. Reviews can make or break a business. Let’s discuss ways to help a business use reviews to their advantage.

March 21 – Event management – Bonne Summers, APEX Events

Learn how to incorporate and promote events on behalf of your business. Get a brief history, understand the relationship between the events industry and business section. Use events as a marketing tool and incorporate into your social media plans. Hear from local experts.

Week 12

March 26 – Videos

Videos are extremely important in a successful strategy. You don’t have to have a big budget to create compelling videos. Learn some tips and tricks to create video.

March 28 – Guest speaker Clint McCommon, owner of Fairfield Studios

Hear from an industry expert about the creation of video using big and small budgets. Work in class on video projects.

Week 13

April 2 – Email marketing

Email marketing is still extremely important. Explore the basics of email marketing. Learn ways to drive email sign-ups and use your email list to drive video views, visitation to your website and increase social followers.

April 4 – Guest speaker Jason Farrington, owner of Summiteer Creative, a full-service marketing/advertising agency

Hear from a local expert who has a popular e-newsletter with a high open rate. What is the secret sauce?

Week 14

April 9 – Writing

Writing is one of the most important versatile, transferrable skills. Let’s practice by writing blogs, news releases, and social media posts.

April 11 - Writing

Let’s practice by updating resume, cover letter, and completion of other writing projects.

Week 15

April 16 – Group assignment preparation

April 18 – Group assignment preparation

Week 16

April 23 – Group assignment preparation

April 25 – Group assignment preparation

Week 17

April 30 – Final presentation

May 2 – Final presentation

Course Requirements & Grading Policies

Course Requirements:                       Weight/Value:

Weekly social media postings             25%

Attendance/Participation                  25%

Mid-term Exam                                   15%

Updating Linkedin Profile                   10%

Final social media presentation          25%

Grading Scale by %

Letter Grade/Point Range

A           94-100

A-          90-93

B+        87-89

B          83-86

B-          80-82

C+        77-79

C           73-76

C-         70-72

D+        67-69

D          63-66

D-        60-62

F          0-59

Course Policies

Attendance

Attendance is defined to be: in class on time, in class for the duration of the class period, prepared for the day's topic, participation in class.

Disenrollment Policy

You will be disenrolled from this course if you miss the first day of class and the first laboratory session. If you are disenrolled from the class, you may re-register if space is available.

Course Withdrawal Information

Withdrawal from Course – The last day to withdraw from FLC classes with a grade of “CW” (course withdrawal) is March 20, 2019. This is a college-wide deadline that is not negotiable.

To withdraw from this course, go to the Registrar’s Office, call 318-869-5033 or email registrar@centenary.edu before the course withdrawal deadline.  They will help you through the process.

Course Expectations

Professionalism: You are expected to conduct yourself as a professional and an adult in the classroom. When we have guest speakers, please be respectful.

Communication: You are expected to communicate clearly, whether in writing or speaking, is one of the most powerful tools you can learn in college for the professional world. This class will require you to regularly express yourself professionally in writing and speech.

Grammar and spelling: Poor use of grammar makes a company look unprofessional and uneducated on social media. Proper grammar usage will be expected on all assignments.

Social media engagement: Weekly participation is required for this class in a class Facebook group, Twitter account and Instagram page.

Extra credit: At various times during the semester, extra credit assignments may be announced. Extra credit assignments should not be counted on, or expected, though – they may not happen at all.

Credit Hour Syllabus Statement

In addition to spending 3 hours per week attending class, the typical student in this 3 credit lecture course should expect to spend some additional time posting weekly on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter about assigned attraction which will prepare the students for a final group project.

Disability Services

Centenary College is committed to providing all students a business education through a personalized learning environment. If you think you have or you do have a documented disability which will need reasonable academic accommodations, please call the Director of Disability Services, Rotary Hall, lower level (facing Kings Highway), at 318-869-5466 or email tfeldt@centenary.edu.

Academic Integrity

Academic dishonesty includes all forms of unethical or illegal behavior which affects a student’s academic standing, including, but not limited to, cheating on exams, plagiarism, forgery of academic documents, falsification of information on academic documents, or unauthorized access to computer files containing academic information. Academic dishonesty may result in sanctions ranging from a lowered grade on a particular assignment to an “F” in the class and report submitted to the Office of the Vice President of Academic Affairs.