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2023/2024  KAN-CCMVV4040U  Social Media Marketing (online course)

English Title
Social Media Marketing (online course)

Course information
Language English
Course ECTS 7.5 ECTS
Type Elective
Level Full Degree Master
Duration One Quarter
Start time of the course Second Quarter
Timetable Course schedule will be posted at calendar.cbs.dk
Max. participants 200
Study board
Study Board for cand.merc. and GMA (CM)
Course coordinator
  • Georgios Halkias - Department of Marketing (Marketing)
Main academic disciplines
  • Communication
  • Marketing
Teaching methods
  • Online teaching
Last updated on 15-02-2023

Relevant links
Learning objectives
This course discusses key issues and topics related to the broad area of social media marketing such as user’s motivation to engage on social media, content effects and virality, social media and the "self", influencer marketing, crowdsourcing, and branding in social networks.
  • Formulate, delimit and analyze interesting research questions within the area of social media marketing, while providing arguments for its relevance.
  • Select and apply theories and methods from the course curriculum (and extend beyond) to address the research question outlined in the exam project.
  • Identify and critically reflect on the pros/cons regarding the theoretical and methodological approaches followed in the exam project.
  • Develop study designs (either qualitative or quantitative) to empirically explore or test relevant research question. Use of secondary data analysis is also allowed and highly encouraged.
  • Interpret research-based results and discuss their theoretical and policy-making implications for companies, consumers, and society at large.
Course prerequisites
Basic knowledge of marketing, consumer behavior, and research methods (qualitative or quantitative) is a prerequisite.
Examination
Social Media Marketing:
Exam ECTS 7,5
Examination form Home assignment - written product
Individual or group exam Individual exam
Size of written product Max. 15 pages
Assignment type Project
Release of assignment An assigned subject is released in class
Duration Written product to be submitted on specified date and time.
Grading scale 7-point grading scale
Examiner(s) One internal examiner
Exam period Winter
Make-up exam/re-exam
Same examination form as the ordinary exam
* If a student fails the ordinary exam, they have to hand in a new project for the re-take exam. (in some cases, the course instructor may allow a revision of the ordinary exam)
Course content, structure and pedagogical approach

This course aims to provide an understanding of why and how individuals engage with products and brands in social media, and analyze key topics related to branding and marketing activities in the realm of social media.

 

Based on this knowledge, students must develop a research question, integrate it into a wider conceptual model, decide what type of data is appropriate to empirically investigate the quesiton and then design a study, collect and analyze the relevant data to derive conclusions and managerial implications. The final output is an assignment of max. 15 pages. Essentially, the assignment work is the key learning process of the course.

 

In contrast to other courses, where the assignment is written at the end of the course, in SMM the assignment is conceptualized and developed from the beginning and as the course evolves. Thus, the course can be considered as a “lab” which enables students to work in the domain of social media marketing with a topic interest of their own interest. Students draw on theories and concepts from the curriculum and the mandatory references of the course. The process of working with own data provides hands-on experience of current, real-life challenges. It is mandatory that the final assignment is based on empirical work (qualitative or quantitative).

 

The course is research-based, therefore the material provided via slides, videos, lectures, etc is primarily based on relevant articles published in leading scientific marketing journals.


 
Description of the teaching methods
This is a fully online course that runs over 8 weeks. As such, it is very important that students actively engage from day one. The ideal learning journey requires start searching for an exam assignment topic in the first weeks and then gradually work on the problem delimitation to develop the study and finally write up their project. The course provides students with multiple supporting resources throughout this journey, including (a) articles, (b) video lectures on relevant topics, (c) lecture slides, (d) methodological resources for qualitative and quantitative studies, (e) guest lectures and other videos on social media applications in real market contexts.
Feedback during the teaching period
Feedback is built into the design of the course. Students can receive both peer feedback and feedback from the professor throughout the 8 course weeks. After the end of the 8 week course period, no further feedback can be given.
Student workload
Immersion into course topics and preparation of your assignment 123 hours
Teaching in terms of course topic feedback on assignment 33 hours
Exam in terms of the final writing of the assignment 50 hours
Expected literature

 

Selected articles:

  • Wan-Hsiu S. T. & Linjuan R. M. (2013). Motivations and Antecedents of Consumer Engagement with Brand Pages on Social Networking Sites, Journal of Interactive Advertising, 13(2), 76-87.
  • Mochon, D., Johnson, K., Schwartz, J., & Ariely, D. (2017). What Are Likes Worth? A Facebook Page Field Experiment. Journal of Marketing Research, 54(2), 306–317.
  • Berger, J., & Milkman, K. L. (2012). What Makes Online Content Viral? Journal of Marketing Research, 49(2), 192–205.
  • Shehu, E., Bijmolt, T. & Clement, M. (2016). Effects of Likeability Dynamics on Consumers' Intention to Share Online Video Advertisements, Journal of Interactive Marketing, 35(August), 27-43.
  • Gilly, H. & Schau,M. (2003). We Are What We Post? Self-Presentation in Personal Web Space. Journal of Consumer Research, 30(3), 385-404
  • Belk, R. (2013). Extended Self in a Digital World, Journal of Consumer Research, 40(3), 477-500.
  • Grewal, L., Stephen, A. & Verrochi Coleman N. (2019). When Posting About Products on Social Media Backfires: The Negative Effects of Consumer Identity Signaling on Product Interest, Journal of Marketing Research, 56(2) 197-210.
  • Kozinets et al., (2010). Networked Narratives: Understanding Word-of-Mouth Marketing in Online communities, Journal of Marketing, 74(2), 71-89.
  • Hughes, C., Swaminathan , V. & Brooks, G. (2019). Driving Brand Engagement through Online Social Influencers: An Empirical Investigation of Sponsored Blogging Campaigns, Journal of Marketing, 83(5), 78-96.
  • Li, Y. and Xie, Y. (2020). Is a Picture Worth a Thousand Words? An Empirical Study of Image Content and Social Media Engagement, Journal of Marketing Research, 57(1), 1-19.
  • Leslie, J. Emrich, O., Gupta, S., & Norton, M. (2017). Does "Liking" Lead to Loving? The Impact of Joining a Brand's Social Network on Marketing Outcomes, Journal of Marketing Research, 54(1), 144-155.
    • Klostermann et al. (2018): Extracting Brand Information from Social Networks: Integrating Image, Text, and Social Tagging Data, International Journal of Research in Marketing 35, 538–556.
    • Hartmann, J. et al. (2021): The Power of Brand Selfies, Journal of Marketing Research, forthcoming.
Last updated on 15-02-2023