Social Media & Reputation Management

Curriculum guideline

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Course
CMNS 3502
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
Yes
Semester length
15 Weeks
Max class size
30
Course designation
None
Industry designation
None
Contact hours

Lecture 2 hours/week

and

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’s 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’s reputation online.
Course content

Audience Analysis

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

Environmental Scanning and Media Analysis

  • Political, social, religious, economic, intellectual, artistic factors
  • 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 “voices” 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

Upon successful completion of the course, students will be able to:

  • Assess the performance of an organization's social media program;
  • Develop an organizational social media communications strategy;
  • Define organizational protocols and guidelines, including the use of an organizational "voice," for communicating through social media;
  • Adapt existing organizational communications campaigns/programs to best apply available social media options and engage target audiences;
  • Develop social media content consistent with a defined strategy and organizational "voice" to appeal to identified target audiences and protect and defend an organization’s reputation.
Means of assessment

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

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

The following would be an example of how instructors would assess student learning:

Audience archetypes: 10%

Communications audit report: 10%

Social media messaging: 10%

Social media style guide: 30%

Ethical/legal analysis: 5%

Strategic social media plan: 25%

Participation and professionalism: 10%

Textbook materials

CMNS 3502 will have digital reading modules and other online sources assigned on a week-to-week basis. 

Prerequisites

Students may enroll in CMNS 3502 with any one of the following pre-requisites:

  • Acceptance into the Post-Degree Diploma in Professional Communication,
  • A minimum of 30 credit hours, including one of CMNS 1115: Business Communication, ENGL 1130: Academic Writing, or an equivalent transfer-in course,
  • One of MARK 4340: Digital Promotions and Social Media, MARK 3235: E-Marketing, or CMNS 3501: Writing for the Web, or
  • Permission of the Professional Communication program coordinator.