So­cial Me­dia Mar­ket­ing (on­line course)

Course content

This course provides expert knowledge about why and how individuals engage with products and brands on social media and analyzes key topics related to branding and marketing activities in the realm of social media.

Based on this knowledge, students develop a case-specific research question, integrate it into a wider conceptual framework, decide what research approach is most appropriate to empirically investigate the question, and then execute a research project (by collecting and analyzing relevant data) to derive conclusions and managerial implications. The final output is an assignment of max. 15 pages. Essentially, working towards the assignment is the key learning process of the course.

In contrast to other courses, where the assignment is carried out at the end, in SMM the assignment is conceptualized from the very beginning and is being developed and refined as the course evolves. Thus, the course can be considered a resource hub that enables students to work in the domain of social media marketing with a case and topic of their own interest.

Students must use the theories and concepts from the mandatory readings as a starting point and may extend beyond the curicillum, according to the case at hand. The process of working with your own research data provides hands-on experience of current, real-life challenges. It is mandatory that the final assignment be based on empirical work (qualitative or quantitative) that uses either primary or secondary data.

The course is research-based; therefore, the material provided via slides, video tutorials, lectures (pre-recorded and live recordings), and so on is primarily based on relevant articles published in leading scientific marketing journals.