Syllabus: Social Media Marketing
A free, open online course at MulinBlog Online J-School
(This syllabus is available for download by following this link)
Course instructor: Mu Lin
Email: mlin@mulinblog.com
Twitter: @mututemple (Digital Journalism)
Blog: http://www.mulinblog.com
Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/mulinblogjschool
ABOUT THIS COURSE
This course introduces students to concepts, tools and best practices in social media marketing. In addition to the concepts and theories, students will learn and practice content creation/curation, social media listening, community engagement, etc.
HOW THIS CLASS WORKS
This course consists of three weekly modules. In each module, there are lessons, reading materials, tutorials, group discussions, assignments, and quizzes.
There is no required textbook. We will use selected online materials for the lesson, the reading and the tutorials.
For a satisfying learning experience for both you and your classmates, we ask that you work on the assignments and actively participate in class activities.
WEEKLY SCHEDULE
Course structure and contents will be updated periodically to reflect the best and most up-to-date industry practices. Last updated in February 2015.
Week 1: Social media concepts
After finishing this module, students will be able to
- Explain major values of social media
- Tell popular tactics in content creation, sharing and engagement
- Critique social media practices of businesses and institutions
Class activities: study readings; take a quiz; participate in class discussions; conduct a SWOT social media brand analysis.
Week 2: Social media strategy
After finishing this module, students will be able to
- Explain what content marketing is
- Develop a social media strategy
- Identify topics for content creation
- Create a story using curation tools
Class activities: study lesson/reading/tutorials; participate in class discussions; use a template to create a social media strategy; use keyword research tools to identify topics for content creation; use Storify to curate a social media story.
Week 3: Social media tactics
After finishing this module, students will be able to
- Tell pros and cons of major social media platforms
- Conduct social media listening
- Explain guidelines in writing effective social media messages
- Research for relevant hashtags for social media postings
Class activities: study reading/lessons; take a quiz; use Hootsuite to monitor what is being said about a company or brand; write tweets or Facebook posts following guidelines discussed in lesson; conduct hashtag research and include relevant hashtags in social media messages.