Zsolt Katona - Social Media Marketing

  Home | Research | Teaching | Dancing |  
   

Syllabus - Social Media Marketing (MBA267-11 - Fall 2013)

Note: this is a previous year's syllabus and not current anymore.
Last Update: October 2, 2013

Note that this course will be taught in a new hybrid fashion, with some of the above classroom time substituted with online activities. There is no additional requirement for the students to be available at any fixed time period outside the specified class time.

Introduction

This course takes an in-depth look at social networks, social media platforms and online advertising to offer students an advantage in many positions involving marketing, consulting and brand management both on the buyer and seller side of social media. Students with an interest in entrepreneurship will also find the course useful as new businesses often rely on social media marketing.

Businesses worldwide face a fundamental change in the ways that consumers interact with brands and each other. Social media has helped give consumers a voice, connect them with their friends and other like-minded consumers, and has given them considerable power over marketers and brands. This course offers an overview of how marketing has (and has not) changed due to the rise of social media. It will equip students with the relevant knowledge, perspectives, and practical skills required to develop marketing strategies that leverage the opportunities inherent in social media and consumer-to-consumer social interactions for achieving business and marketing goals. The emphasis of this course is on understanding consumers' social interactions, the various social media channels available to marketers, how to build social marketing strategies, and how to track their effectiveness. Also, since social media is heavily technology-driven we will cover relevant related aspects in digital marketing more broadly, as well as emerging topics in electronic commerce, mobile marketing, and social media startups.

From a marketing perspective, consumers now have louder voices than they used to, they are more socially connected than they ever have been, they expect more from brands, and information reaches them faster than ever before. In light of these fundamental changes, the overarching goal of this course is to help you get a clear perspective on what's really going on in marketing in the age of social/digital/mobile so that you can start to see where the true value - to consumers, to marketers, and to other corporate stakeholders - lies. The course covers a number of topics including

  • The differences and interaction between traditional and social media
  • Two-sided markets and social media platforms (including verticals such as gaming, shopping and entertainment)
  • Basic theory of social networks online and offline (graph theory, sociology, information diffusion)
  • Consumer behavior and digital media
  • Social Media Analytics and Monitoring
  • Brand strategies on social media
  • Best marketing practices for paid and unpaid social media
  • B2B marketing and social media

Since this is a new topic and the "jury is still out" on best practices for social media marketing and using social media to support business operations (e.g., CRM) the emphasis is on covering important fundamental principles, identifying areas of opportunity, and pointing out challenges (and developing plans for overcoming challenges).

The class will be one of the first new, hybrid online-offline format classes. About 10 hours of classroom time will be replaced by online activities, mostly instructional videos. We will spend the remaining time in the classroom, 2 hours each week. The online material will serve mostly as a supplement and as primary tool for lectures and exercises that can be conducted better online.

Class Format, Preparation and Participation

The class format includes case discussions, lectures, guest speakers. Each week we will spend 2 hours in the classroom and there will be an additional hour of online learning, although the online portion will be distributed somewhat unevenly with more time allocated to it early in the semester.

The success of this course depends on everybody's effort to prepare before class. Learning is the most effective when you are actively engaged in thinking about and doing marketing rather than passively absorbing the material. Everybody's contribution is important. It is rare that there is one right answer to a particular marketing issue. Do not expect one. Rather, you should expect to learn from seeing how others address the problem that you have thought seriously about. The better prepared you are the more you will learn. Therefore, I will try to call on everyone, not just volunteers to contribute and defend their viewpoints. Lectures and cases will be interactive.

Class participation will include the time you spend with the online video lectures. There will be questions/surveys/discussions between the videos. You are expected to answer these as if I called you in class, since all your answers will be recorded and will serve as proof that you completed the video lecture. In fact, I might call on you in class based on your answers. There is not always a correct answer, but some of them will be great discussion starters. Although your online activity will not be graded question by question, I and my TA will track your answers and your overall performance will be part of your class participation grade.

Readings

Required Readings

For each session, required readings are listed under Session Details. If there is a link you can directly click, if only the title is listed, you can find the material on study.net. There will not be many required readings, so please read them carefully. When you allocate your preparation time that you spend with the materials outside the classroom, make sure that you have enough time to do the readings and also complete the video lectures. In other words, you have to allocate preparation time in addition to the time spent in the online part of the class.

Supplemental Readings

I provide a variety of articles in addition to the required readings for each session. If you want to learn more about a certain topic these readings provide a good starting point. Some of these will be on study.net and some of them are directly linked. Also, to keep up with the recent developments, it is very useful to regularly check - among others - the following blogs:

Assignments

Class Participation

My expectations for you are straightforward: come to class on time, be prepared and participate. To help your preparation and guide your learning, in this syllabus, you will find a list of study questions. For cases, the study questions will guide our in-class discussion. Please read the cases carefully and think about the topic. Be prepared to defend your viewpoint and convince others.

Network Analysis Exercise (Individual)

You will analyze a small social network using the Gephi software. This is a very user-friendly, yet powerful program that allows you to map and calculate metrics on networks. It is free and runs on all operating systems. You will get the details of the assigment on 9/12.

Due date: 9/26 2pm

Social Media Strategy Evaluation Project (Group)

In this project you will form groups of maximum 3 students to evaluate the social media presence of a company. You are free to choose any company to follow (adhering to a few rules) and evaluate its performance based on what we learned in class. Make sure that you choose a product/brand that has enough activity for you to analyze. Before you decide, try to search for the brand on Twitter and make sure you get a reasonable amount of results. You will be required to form groups by the beginning of the third session and pick a subject for your project before the following session. Your final paper should be 10-12 pages including figures and exhibits. Make sure to include links/screenshots or whatever is necessary to demonstrate your points. The paper should cover at least the following topics, but feel free to add to these or structure differently.

  • Brief description of the brand/product/products. Where are they sold/marketed? What is the target market?
  • Overview of the social media presence of the company. What platforms do they use? How actively? etc.
  • Evaluation of the social media activities.
    • Are the activities appropriate for the brand?
    • Is there interaction between the brand and consumers and between consumers? Should there be more/less? Is it useful?
    • How successful are they in terms of number (follower/fans)?
    • Analyze the company's social media presence over time (as far as you can go in the past). Do you see any trends?
    • Provide a rough estimate of the resources needed to maintain the social media presence you currently observe.
  • What would you change? How would you improve the company's social media presence? Be realistic in terms of budget constraints.

Data for analytics

  • You will have to pick about 10-15 relevant keywords about the company, it's products, and it's competitors.
  • I will use (mostly) the Twitter API to collect data based on these and I will give it to you in Excel format.
  • When picking the keywords, make sure you get some results for them if you search on Twitter or Facebook.

A few rules

  • Don't analyze a company that you work/worked/interned for. Competitors are allowed.
  • You can and are encouraged to interact with the company on social media as a fan/consumer, but don't be obstrusive, e.g. don't identify yourself as a student working on an assignment, at least in the beginning.
  • Two weeks before the paper is due you can contact the company and try to talk to them/ interview them about their social media strategy. This is encouraged, but it is not required (as they might not respond to you).

Due date: 9/12 2pm: Please form groups of maximum 3 people and submit a document containing the names of the team members.

Due date: 9/19 2pm: Submit a short document on Canvas stating the name of the company you are following and links to all their web/social media channels that you are planning to use in you analysis. Also include the keywords.

Due date: 10/31 2pm: Submit the final paper.

Social Media Analytics Exercise (Group)

This exercise will be based on the data you get from me about the company you follow in the group project. Based on the keywords you submit, I will give you a dataset in Excel format that you will have to conduct simple analysis on. You will get the detailed questions on 10/3. You are encouraged to conduct further analysis of the data inspired by my questions to include in your group project analysis.

Due date: 10/17 2pm.

Submission of Documents

All assignments that require a document to be submitted should use 12pt font, double spacing, and 1 inch margins. Submit all the assignments on Canvas in .docx or .pdf format, no paper submission is necessary. If there is a problem with Canvas, email me a copy. The comments and grades will be added to the file electronically which look better in Word, so .docx is the preferred to .pdf if you use Word. If multiple members submit from a team, the last submission will be graded.

Grading

Your grade will be based on the number of points you get from the following assignments. The maximum total score is 100 points.
  • Class Participation (including online activities): 30 points
  • Social Network Analysis Exercise: 20 points
  • Social Media Analytics Exercise: 20 points
  • Group Project: 30 points

Session Details

8/29 - 1. Introduction: Social Media Transforming Marketing

An overview of the course's content, objectives, learning methods and assignments

Case Discussion: "United Breaks Guitars"

  1. Evaluate United's response to Dave Carroll's video? Did the airline handle the incident well?
  2. Why was this video seen by so many people, so quickly?
  3. In general, how should corporations prepare for the challenge posed by user-generated video and other material disseminated on social media?

9/5 - 2. Network Effects, Two-Sided Markets, and Platforms

Complete Online Module 2 by 9/5 8am: Network Effects, Two-Sided Markets, and Platforms (opens 8/29 4pm)

Case Discussion: "Zynga (A&B)"

  1. Identify the basic game mechanics and social mechanics in Zynga games such as FarmVille or CityVille. What impact do these mechanics have on (i) game experience, (ii) players' social relationships, (iii) Zynga's profitability?
  2. What factors account for Zynga's rapid growth and subsequent problems?
  3. What should Pincus do regarding: (i) product, (ii) corporate strategy, and (iii) relationship with Facebook and customer acquisition/retention?

Supplemental Reading

  • "Facebook's Platforms"

9/12 - 3. Social Network Analysis

Assignment Due: Submit Groups for Social Media Strategy Evaluation Project

Complete Online Module 3A by 9/12 8am: Social Network Analysis (opens 9/5 4pm)

Case Discussion: "Nicole Nic's Sticks by OPI"

  1. How do you start a social (viral) campaign? Who would you target first?
  2. What criteria are the most useful in selecting seeds?
  3. What other information (that is not used or not available in the case) could be used to select better seeds?
  4. How do you evaluate such a campaign?

Complete Online Module 3B by 9/26 8am: Network Analysis with Gephi (opens 9/12 4pm)

9/19 - 4. Influence, Diffusion, Contagion

Assignment Due: Submit company information and keywords for Social Media Strategy Evaluation Project

Complete Online Module 4 by 9/19 8am: Influence, Diffusion, Contagion

Case Discussion: "The Ford Fiesta"

  1. Appraise Ford's marketing strategy for the Fiesta in the U.S. against the challenges it seeks to overcome.
  2. How is the Fiesta Movement performing by the metrics reported in the case? Should other metrics have been used?
  3. Is the campaign under control? What are the controls?
  4. Are you satisfied with the reach of the campaign?
  5. What is your advice to Chantal Lenard? Stay the course or make material changes?

Required Reading

Supplemental Reading

9/26 - 5. Social Media and Advertising

Assignment Due: Network Analysis Exercise

Complete Online Module 5 by 9/26 8am: Social Media and Advertising (opens 9/19 4pm)

Case Discussion: "Online Marketing at Big Skinny"

  1. What should Kiril focus on next? What should be his lowest priority? Why?
  2. Evaluate Big Skinny's sponsored search strategy. Are there any search keywords for which you would encourage Big Skinny to increase its bid? To lower its bid?
  3. How effectively is Big Skinny using social media to sell its wallets?
  4. Should Big Skinny expand its partnerships with online distributors?

Required Reading

  • "For Mobile Devices, Think Apps, Not Ads"

    Supplemental Reading

  • 10/3- 6. Social Media Analytics and Measurement

    Complete Online Module 6A by 10/3 8am: Social Media Analytics and Measurement (opens 9/26 4pm)

    Guest Speaker: Will Bullock from Facebook on Measurement and Experimentation"

    Required Reading

    • "Big Data: The Management Revolution"

    Supplemental Reading

    Optional: Online Module 6B: Analytics Tutorial (opens 10/3 4pm)

    10/10 - 7. Branding and Social Media

    Case Discussion: JetBlue: Creating a Social Brand

    1. What is the JetBlue brand about?
    2. What are the social aspects of flying?
    3. On what channels is JetBlue in contact with its customers?
    4. How can JetBlue leverage the power of social media?

    Required Reading

    Supplemental Reading

    • "Building Brands Without Mass Media"

    10/17 - 8. Social Strategy

    Assignment Due: Social Media Analytics Exercise

    Case Discussion: Social Strategy at Nike

    1. Evaluate the Nike+ ecosystem as a foundation for the company's social strategy.
    2. How does Nike use Facebook, Twitter and YouTube for its digital strategy?
    3. How does Nike integrate its digital strategy with its social strategy?
    4. How was Nike able to develop such a rich, integrated social and digital strategy?

    Guest Speaker: Adam Kleinberg (CEO, Traction Interactive Agency)"

    Supplemental Reading

    10/24 - 9. Social Media and B2B Marketing

    Case Discussion: "Cisco Systems: Launching the ASR 1000 Series Router Using Social Media Marketing"

    1. What is the value proposition of the new router? How is the 100 percent digital campaign related to this value proposition?
    2. Who is the target customer for the new product? What are the possible channels to reach them? Which one is preferred?
    3. Evaluate the campaign design and execution.
    4. In general, what are the inherent challenges in B2B marketing for companies seeking to leverage new media tools and tactics?

    10/31 - 10. Final Presentations and Wrap-up

    Assignment Due: Social Media Strategy Evaluation Project Final Paper



      Optional photo goes here