The course is designed to give students a hands-on approach to social media marketing. The students will learn the basics through intermediate knowledge of social media strategy, social media plan design, social media platforms, social media analytics, website design and layout, search engine optimization, content strategy, social media key performance indicators, ecommerce, and how to manage various social media platforms.

This course is organized in cooperation with the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Participating WU students will therefore have the unique opportunity to work together with the partner university students, who will stay at WU for the duration of the course.

Some of the definite objectives of the course

•    Define the role of social media marketing in a form and how it can add value to a firm.
•    Give students an overview of the main areas of social media marketing management, so they are prepared to take on a social media marketing position after they finish the class.
•    Open students’ eyes to the tricks of the trade of social media marketing so that they can become better informed online consumers.
•    Develop an understanding of the functions and realities of social media marketing.
•    Give students the skills to read, understand, interpret, and develop social media marketing strategies based on various analytics and key performance indicators.
•    Help students develop their own social media portfolio they can show in career fairs and to potential employers.
•    Students will develop their own blog, twitter, Instagram, YouTube, LinkedIn, and Pinterest profiles.

There is a compensatory task for every absence.

The course is designed as a lecture and hands on learning class. The instructor will lecture for the majority of the class period with dedicated time for students to work on social media accounts and projects. Therefore students should bring internet enabled devices to the class, ie smart phones and/or laptops. Students will learn by a combination of lectures, hands on exercises, assignments, field trip, and discussion.

Blog/Website Development Project: 15%
LinkedIn Personal Branding Assignment: 10%
Twitter/Hashtag Assignment: 10%
Instagram/Infographic Assignment: 10%
Facebook Assignment: 10%
YouTube Assignment: 10%
Final Project: 35% - The final project will be submitted online to the professor by Monday June 23^rd. email the final project to mwolter@illinois.edu 

There will be pre-course video lectures that all students will need to watch to have the background in marketing needed to handle the course. These videos will be sent out in playlists two months before the class. These videos will constitute six hours of class time.