Social Media & Reputation Management

Curriculum guideline

Effective Date:
Course
Discontinued
No
Course code
CMNS 3502
Descriptive
Social Media & Reputation Management
Department
Communications
Faculty
Language, Literature & Performing Arts
Credits
3.00
Start date
End term
Not Specified
PLAR
No
Semester length
15 Weeks
Max class size
30
Course designation
None
Industry designation
None
Contact hours

Lecture: 2 hours/week

Seminar: 2 hours/week

 

Method(s) of instruction
Lecture
Seminar
Learning activities

Some or all of the following methods will be used:

  • lecture/discussion
  • group work
  • team-based projects
  • individual projects and assignments
  • instructor feedback
  • presentations
  • guest speakers
  • individual consultation
Course description
This course prepares students to manage the social media presence and reputation of an organization. Students will learn about media analysis, evaluation, and selection, as well as how to construct guidelines for organizational social media use and audience engagement. This involves completing a communications audit of an organization鈥檚 social media presence, developing audience archetypes, constructing a social media style guide, and planning to deploy the guidelines and strategies developed. Students will learn how to write in multiple different online persona voices and how to protect and defend an organization鈥檚 reputation online.
Course content

Audience Analysis

  • Demographic traits
  • Psychographic traits
  • Behavioural traits
  • Situational traits
  • Audience context

Environmental Scanning and Media Analysis

  • Political, economic, social, technological, environmental, and legal factors (PESTEL)
  • Social media platforms and technological change
  • Social media trends and case studies
  • Dimensions of communications media (synchronous/asynchronous, push/pull, recorded/live, passive/interactive, local/remote, dialogue/dissemination, unidirectional/reciprocal, rich/lean, persistent/ephemeral, oral/written, document/data, ambient/focal, digital/analog, earned/unearned)
  • Sender-receiver model of communication
  • Organizational communications (specifically in social media)

Communications Documents and Style

  • Features and functions of a communications audit report
  • Features and functions of a social media style guide
  • Organizational communications guidelines and protocols

Social Media Content, Strategies, and Techniques

  • Rhetorical aims and contexts
  • Rhetorical techniques used in social media
  • Use of unique social media 鈥渧oices鈥 for organizational accounts
  • Persuasive writing techniques and copywriting formulas
  • Social media user behaviour and models for responsive engagement
  • Use of correct English language fundamentals in social media and planned deviation for rhetorical purposes
Learning outcomes

Students who successfully complete this course will

  1. assess the performance of an organization's social media program
  2. develop an organizational social media communications strategy
  3. define organizational protocols and guidelines, including the use of an organizational "voice," for communicating through social media
  4. adapt existing organizational communications campaigns/programs to best apply available social media options and engage target audiences
  5. develop social media content consistent with a defined strategy and organizational "voice" to appeal to identified target audiences and protect and defend an organization鈥檚 reputation
Means of assessment

Students are expected to be self-motivated and to demonstrate professionalism, which includes active participation, good attendance, punctuality, effective collaboration, ability to meet deadlines, presentation skills, and accurate self-evaluation.

Instructors may use a student's record of attendance and/or level of active participation in the course as part of the student's graded performance. Where this occurs, expectations and grade calculations regarding class attendance and participation will be clearly defined in the Instructor Course Outline.

Assessment will be based on course objectives and will be carried out in accordance with the 糖心vlog传媒Evaluation Policy. An evaluation schedule is presented at the beginning of the course. This is a graded course.

Example evaluation schedule:

Audience archetypes: 10%

Communications audit report: 10%

Social media messaging: 10%

Social media style guide: 30%

Ethical/legal analysis: 5%

Strategic social media analysis: 25%

Attendance/participation/professionalism: 10%

Total: 100%

Textbook materials

A list of required textbooks and materials is provided for students at the beginning of the semester. Example texts include:

  • Digital reading modules and other online sources 
Prerequisites

Acceptance into the Post-Degree Diploma in Professional Communication

OR

Acceptance into the Post-Baccalaureate Diploma in Digital Marketing 

OR 

A minimum of 45 credit hours including a university-transfer course in English, Communications, or Creative Writing with a grade of B or higher

OR

Permission of the Professional Communication Program Coordinator

 

Corequisites

None

Equivalencies

None