Outline

Overview

This unit introduces the fundamentals of strategic social media use for professional and organisational communication, media practice and cultural production. It aims to equip students with the knowledge and skills to become competent, ethical social media communicators and to critically analyse social media forms, services and cultures. Students will explore online, mobile and locative platforms for interacting with audiences, publics and online communities, including professional networks.

Unit details and rules

Academic unit	Media and Communications
Credit points	6
Prerequisites ?	None
Corequisites ?	None
Prohibitions ?	None
Assumed knowledge ?	None
Available to study abroad and exchange students	Yes

Teaching staff

Coordinator	Sam Chan, liksam.chan@sydney.edu.au
Lecturer(s)	Sam Chan, liksam.chan@sydney.edu.au
Lecturer(s)	Brittany Ferdinands, brittany.ferdinands@sydney.edu.au
Tutor(s)	Eira Martens-Edwards, eira.martensedwards@sydney.edu.au
	Hamideh Khaleghi Mohammadi, hamideh.khaleghimohammadi@sydney.edu.au
	Wenjia Tang, wenjia.tang@sydney.edu.au
	Mahsa Salamati, mahsa.salamati@sydney.edu.au
	Brigid Mackenzie, brigid.mackenzie@sydney.edu.au
	Raylene Bliss, raylene.bliss@sydney.edu.au
	Charlotte Launder, charlotte.launder@sydney.edu.au
	Melanie King, melanie.king@sydney.edu.au
	Ellese Ferdinands, ellese.ferdinands@sydney.edu.au
	Tiffanny Junee, tiffanny.junee@sydney.edu.au
	Ehsan Golahmar, ehsan.golahmar@sydney.edu.au

Assessment

The census date for this unit availability is 2 September 2024

Details
Criteria

Type	Description	Weight	Due	Length
Assignment	Analysis of a Social Media Campaign Identify and critically examine a social media campaign.	40%	Week 05 Due date: 01 Sep 2024 at 23:59	1000 words
Outcomes assessed:
Assignment	Social Media Project Design and create a social media campaign for a social issue.	50%	Week 12 Due date: 27 Oct 2024 at 23:59	3000 words equivalent
Outcomes assessed:
Online task	Online Reflective Journal Reflect on the process of designing and creating a social media campaign.	10%	Week 13 Due date: 03 Nov 2024 at 23:59	500 words
Outcomes assessed:

Assessment summary

Social Media Campaign Analysis, 40%, Due Sunday 11:59pm, Week 5
Social Media Project, 50%, Due Sunday 11:59pm, Week 12
Online Reflective Journal, 10%, Due Sunday 11:59pm, Week 13

Assessment criteria

The University awards common result grades, set out in the Coursework Policy 2014 (Schedule 1).

As a general guide, a High distinction indicates work of an exceptional standard, a Distinction a very high standard, a credit a good standard, and a pass an acceptable standard.

High distinction 85 - 100

High distinction students demonstrate outstanding levels of creativity, storytelling, technical competency and publishing ability. Their productions have a sophisticated approach towards social media by understanding audiences, platforms, content production and regulation. Their assignments demonstrate and draw on outstanding audience engagement techniques. Their content production demonstrates outstanding skills by correctly recording, capturing, manipulating and exporting social media content that adheres to industry standards. The theoretical integration from the course materials is outstanding and academically rigorous. The work exceeds the requirements of the assignments and could be commissioned by ‘real world’ clients.

Distinction 75 - 84

Distinction students demonstrate excellent levels of creativity, storytelling, technical competency and publishing ability. Their productions have a sophisticated approach towards social media by understanding audiences, platforms, content production and regulation. Their assignments demonstrate and draw on excellent audience engagement techniques. Their content production demonstrates excellent skills by correctly recording, capturing, manipulating and exporting social media content that adheres to industry standards. The theoretical integration from the course materials is excellent and academically rigorous. The work exceeds the requirements of the assignments.

Credit 65 - 74

Credit students demonstrate good levels of creativity, storytelling, technical competency and publishing ability. Their productions have a well-rounded approach towards social media by understanding audiences, platforms, content production and regulation. Their assignments demonstrate and draw on good audience engagement techniques. Their content production demonstrates good skills by correctly recording, capturing, manipulating and exporting social media content that adheres to industry standards. The theoretical integration is present. The work demonstrates the requirements of the assignments.

Pass 50 - 64

Pass students demonstrate minimal levels of creativity, storytelling, technical competency and publishing ability. Their productions have some understanding towards social media by understanding audiences, platforms, content production and regulation, but have been masked by some errors and problems. Their assignments demonstrate little to no audience engagement techniques. The theoretical integration is limited. The work minimally the requirements of the assignments.

Fail 0 - 49 When you don’t meet the learning outcomes of the unit to a satisfactory standard.

For more information see sydney.edu.au/students/guide-to-grades

For more information see guide to grades.

Late submission

In accordance with University policy, these penalties apply when written work is submitted after 11:59pm on the due date:

Deduction of 5% of the maximum mark for each calendar day after the due date.
After ten calendar days late, a mark of zero will be awarded.

This unit has an exception to the standard University policy or supplementary information has been provided by the unit coordinator. This information is displayed below:

From Assessment Procedures Policy (2011): 7A Late penalties (1) Subject to any contrary provision in any applicable faculty or course resolution, if penalties are applied for work submitted after the due date they must be consistent with this clause. (2) For any assessment task: (a) late penalties may be applied, consistently with this clause; or (b) late submission may be prohibited, with consequences as specified in the unit of study outline; or (c) late penalties may be excluded from applying; provided that these conditions must be expressly stated in the unit of study outline. (3) Written work submitted electronically after 11.59 pm on the due date will be considered to have been submitted late. (4) For every calendar day up to and including ten calendar days after the due date, a penalty of 5% of the maximum awardable marks will be applied to late work. (a) The penalty will be calculated by first marking the work, and then subtracting 5% of the maximum awardable mark for each calendar day after the due date. (5) For work submitted more than ten calendar days after the due date a mark of zero will be awarded. The marker may elect to, but is not required to, provide feedback on such work. (6) Copies of late work, including work which is not marked, must be retained consistently with the requirements of the Recordkeeping Policy 2017 and the Recordkeeping Manual. Note: See also University of Sydney (Student Appeals Against Academic Decisions) Rule 2016

Academic integrity

The Current Student website provides information on academic integrity and the resources available to all students. The University expects students and staff to act ethically and honestly and will treat all allegations of academic integrity breaches seriously.

We use similarity detection software to detect potential instances of plagiarism or other forms of academic integrity breach. If such matches indicate evidence of plagiarism or other forms of academic integrity breaches, your teacher is required to report your work for further investigation.

Use of generative artificial intelligence (AI) and automated writing tools

You may only use generative AI and automated writing tools in assessment tasks if you are permitted to by your unit coordinator. If you do use these tools, you must acknowledge this in your work, either in a footnote or an acknowledgement section. The assessment instructions or unit outline will give guidance of the types of tools that are permitted and how the tools should be used.

Your final submitted work must be your own, original work. You must acknowledge any use of generative AI tools that have been used in the assessment, and any material that forms part of your submission must be appropriately referenced. For guidance on how to acknowledge the use of AI, please refer to the AI in Education Canvas site.

The unapproved use of these tools or unacknowledged use will be considered a breach of the Academic Integrity Policy and penalties may apply.

Studiosity is permitted unless otherwise indicated by the unit coordinator. The use of this service must be acknowledged in your submission as detailed on the Learning Hub’s Canvas page.

Outside assessment tasks, generative AI tools may be used to support your learning. The AI in Education Canvas site contains a number of productive ways that students are using AI to improve their learning.

Learning support

Simple extensions

If you encounter a problem submitting your work on time, you may be able to apply for an extension of five calendar days through a simple extension.  The application process will be different depending on the type of assessment and extensions cannot be granted for some assessment types like exams.

Special consideration

If exceptional circumstances mean you can’t complete an assessment, you need consideration for a longer period of time, or if you have essential commitments which impact your performance in an assessment, you may be eligible for special consideration or special arrangements.

Special consideration applications will not be affected by a simple extension application.

Using AI responsibly

Co-created with students, AI in Education includes lots of helpful examples of how students use generative AI tools to support their learning. It explains how generative AI works, the different tools available and how to use them responsibly and productively.

Support for students

The Support for Students Policy 2023 reflects the University’s commitment to supporting students in their academic journey and making the University safe for students. It is important that you read and understand this policy so that you are familiar with the range of support services available to you and understand how to engage with them.

The University uses email as its primary source of communication with students who need support under the Support for Students Policy 2023. Make sure you check your University email regularly and respond to any communications received from the University.

Learning resources and detailed information about weekly assessment and learning activities can be accessed via Canvas. It is essential that you visit your unit of study Canvas site to ensure you are up to date with all of your tasks.

If you are having difficulties completing your studies, or are feeling unsure about your progress, we are here to help. You can access the support services offered by the University at any time:

Support and Services (including health and wellbeing services, financial support and learning support)
Course planning and administration
Meet with an Academic Adviser

Weekly schedule

WK	Topic	Learning activity
Week 01	Introduction to Social Media	Seminar (3 hr)
Week 02	Social Media Users	Seminar (3 hr)
Week 03	Participatory Culture: Memes and Hashtags	Seminar (3 hr)
Week 04	Cultural Intermediation and Social Media Influencers	Seminar (3 hr)
Week 05	Video Cultures of Social Media	Seminar (3 hr)
Week 06	Marketing and Communications for Social Media	Seminar (3 hr)
Week 07	In-Class Social Media Campaign Pitches	Seminar (3 hr)
Week 08	Consultation Week	Seminar (3 hr)
Week 09	Social Media Metrics	Seminar (3 hr)
Week 10	Automation and Social Media	Seminar (3 hr)
Week 11	Social Media Ethics and Regulation	Seminar (3 hr)
Week 12	Institutions and Social Media	Seminar (3 hr)
Week 13	Futures of Social Media	Seminar (3 hr)

Attendance and class requirements

Attendance: According to Faculty Board Resolutions, students in the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences are expected to attend 90% of their classes. If you attend less than 50% of classes, regardless of the reasons, you may be referred to the Examiner’s Board. The Examiner’s Board will decide whether you should pass or fail the unit of study if your attendance falls below this threshold.
Lecture recording: Most lectures (in recording-equipped venues) will be recorded and may be made available to students on the LMS. However, you should not rely on lecture recording to substitute your classroom learning experience.
Preparation: Students should commit to spend approximately three hours’ preparation time (reading, studying, homework, essays, etc.) for every hour of scheduled instruction.
Assessment: All assessment must be attempted and submitted to pass this unit.

Study commitment

Typically, there is a minimum expectation of 1.5-2 hours of student effort per week per credit point for units of study offered over a full semester. For a 6 credit point unit, this equates to roughly 120-150 hours of student effort in total.

Required readings

Week 1 - Introduction to Social Media

Lipschultz, J. H. (2021). Introduction to social media concepts. Social media communication: Concepts, practices, data, law and ethics (pp. 1– 38). Routledge.
Leaver, T., Highfield, T., & Abidin, C. (2020). Platform. Instagram (pp. 8–38). Polity.

Week 2 - Social Media Users

Ferdinands, B. (2022). Understanding users and uses. The exposure economy model: Navigating visibility on Instagram (Doctoral dissertation) (pp. 38– 48).
Alhabash, S., & Ma, M. (2017). A tale of four platforms: Motivations and uses of Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Snapchat among college students? Social Media + Society, 3(1). https://doi.org/10.1177/2056305117691544.

Week 3 - Participatory Culture: Memes and Hashtags

Bonilla, Y., & Rosa, J. (2015). #Ferguson: Digital protest, hashtag ethnography, and the racial politics of social media in the United States. American Ethnologist, 42(1), 4–17. http://www.jstor.org/stable/43867940
Van Dijck, J. (2013). Facebook and the imperative of sharing. The culture of connectivity: A critical history of social media (pp. 45–67). Oxford University Press.

Week 4 - Cultural Intermediation and Social Media Influencers

Abidin,C. (2020). Mapping internet celebrity on TikTok: Exploring attention economies and visibility labours. Cultural Science Journal, 12(1), 77–103. https://doi.org/10.5334/csci.140
Alampi, A. (2019). The future is micro: How to build an effective micro-influencer programme. Journal of Digital & Social Media Marketing, 7(3), 203–208. https://hstalks.com/article/5340/

Week 5 - Video Cultures of Social Media

Cabalquinto, E. C., & Soriano, C. R. R. (2020). ‘Hey, I like ur videos. Super relate!’ Locating sisterhood in a postcolonial intimate public on YouTube. Information Communication & Society, 23(6), 892–907. https://doi.org/10.1080/1369118X.2020.1751864
Scolari, C. A., & Fraticelli, D. (2019). The case of the top Spanish YouTubers: Emerging media subjects and discourse practices in the new media ecology. Convergence, 25(3), 496 – 515. https://doi.org/10.1177/1354856517721807

Week 6 - Marketing and Communications for Social Media

Arli, D., & Dietrich, T. (2017). Can social media campaigns backfire? Exploring consumers' attitudes and word-of-mouth toward four social media campaigns and its implications on consumer-campaign identification. Journal of Promotion Management, 23(6), 834– 850. https://doi.org/10.1080/10496491.2017.1323259Childers, C. C., Lemon, L. L., & Hoy, M. G. (2019). #Sponsored#Ad: Agency perspective on influencer marketing campaigns. Journal of Current Issues & Research in Advertising, 40(3), 258–274. https://doi.org/10.1080/10641734.2018.1521113

Week 7 - In-Class Social Media Campaign Pitches

Fay, D. (2017, Jul 18). Here’s how to win your next pitch. Forbes. https://www.forbes.com/sites/ellevate/2017/07/18/heres-how-to-win-your-next-pitch/
Hernández, E. (2017). The art of the pitch: Get ready for the spotlight. Leading creative teams: Management career paths for designers, developers, and copywriters (pp. 105–127). Apress.
Shafer, K. (2022, Nov 15). 5 tips for winning the pitch, from a chief client officer. The Drum. https://www.thedrum.com/opinion/2022/11/15/5-tips-winning-the-pitch-chief-client-officer

Week 8 - Consultation Week
No readings

Week 9- Social Media Metrics

Lipschultz, J. H. (2021). Social media metrics and analytics. Social media communication: Concepts, practices, data, law and ethics (pp. 155– 182). Routledge.
Baym, N., Bergmann, R., Bhargava, R., Diaz, F., Gillespie, T., Hesmondhalgh, D., . . . Persuad, C. J. (2021). Making sense of metrics in the music industries. International Journal of Communication, 15(2021), 3418–3441. https://ijoc.org/index.php/ijoc/article/view/17635

Week 10 - Automation and Social Media

Hutchinson, J. (2017). Algorithmic culture and cultural intermediation. Cultural intermediaries: audience participation and media organisations (pp. 201–220). Palgrave Macmillan.
Bishop, S. (2021). Influencer management tools: Algorithmic cultures, brand safety, and bias. Social Media+ Society, 7(1), 1–13. https://doi.org/10.1177/20563051211003066
Cotter, K. (2019). Playing the visibility game: How digital influencers and algorithms negotiate influence on Instagram. New Media & Society, 21(4), 895–913. https://doi.org/10.1177/1461444818815684

Week 11 - Social Media Ethics and Regulation

Lipschultz, J. H. (2021). Law and regulation. Social media communication: Concepts, practices, data, law and ethics (pp.223–262). Routledge.
Lipschultz, J. H. (2021). Social media ethics. Social media communication: Concepts, practices, data, law and ethics (pp. 263–288). Routledge.

Week 12- Institutions and Social Media

Lipschultz, J. H. (2021). Social media in public relations. Social media communication: Concepts, practices, data, law and ethics (pp. 95–124). Routledge.
Lipschultz, J. H. (2021) Social media in journalism. Social media communication: Concepts, practices, data, law and ethics (pp. 67–94). Routledge.
Čančar, E. (2018). [Review of the book Social media and everyday politics, by T. Highfield]. Croatian International Relations Review, 24(82), 142–145.

Week 13 - Futures of Social Media

Leaver, T., Highfield, T., & Abidin, C. (2020). From the Instagram of everything to the everything of Instagram. Instagram (pp.191–217). Polity.
Riva, G., & Wiederhold, B. K. (2022). What the metaverse is (really) and why we need to know about it. Cyberpsychology, behavior, and social networking, 25(6), 355–359. https://doi.org/10.1089/cyber.2022.0124

Learning outcomes

Learning outcomes are what students know, understand and are able to do on completion of a unit of study. They are aligned with the University's graduate qualities and are assessed as part of the curriculum.

Outcomes
Graduate qualities

At the completion of this unit, you should be able to:

LO1. use social media technologies and practices
LO2. discuss critical perspectives on social media history, platforms, uses and cultures
LO3. investigate and design networked communications strategies
LO4. establish professional social media presences for a defined communications objective
LO5. create, curate, promote, discuss and evaluate social media campaigns and projects

Graduate qualities

The graduate qualities are the qualities and skills that all University of Sydney graduates must demonstrate on successful completion of an award course. As a future Sydney graduate, the set of qualities have been designed to equip you for the contemporary world.

GQ1	Depth of disciplinary expertise Deep disciplinary expertise is the ability to integrate and rigorously apply knowledge, understanding and skills of a recognised discipline defined by scholarly activity, as well as familiarity with evolving practice of the discipline.
GQ2	Critical thinking and problem solving Critical thinking and problem solving are the questioning of ideas, evidence and assumptions in order to propose and evaluate hypotheses or alternative arguments before formulating a conclusion or a solution to an identified problem.
GQ3	Oral and written communication Effective communication, in both oral and written form, is the clear exchange of meaning in a manner that is appropriate to audience and context.
GQ4	Information and digital literacy Information and digital literacy is the ability to locate, interpret, evaluate, manage, adapt, integrate, create and convey information using appropriate resources, tools and strategies.
GQ5	Inventiveness Generating novel ideas and solutions.
GQ6	Cultural competence Cultural Competence is the ability to actively, ethically, respectfully, and successfully engage across and between cultures. In the Australian context, this includes and celebrates Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures, knowledge systems, and a mature understanding of contemporary issues.
GQ7	Interdisciplinary effectiveness Interdisciplinary effectiveness is the integration and synthesis of multiple viewpoints and practices, working effectively across disciplinary boundaries.
GQ8	Integrated professional, ethical, and personal identity An integrated professional, ethical and personal identity is understanding the interaction between one’s personal and professional selves in an ethical context.
GQ9	Influence Engaging others in a process, idea or vision.

Outcome map

Learning outcomes	Graduate qualities
Learning outcomes

Responding to student feedback

This section outlines changes made to this unit following staff and student reviews.

We have condensed the assignments into a more digestible format based on last semester's feedback while including brand-new literature from a number of sources.

Additional information

This unit is a postgraduate unit delivered as a weekly three-hour seminar series for the duration of 13 weeks. During each seminar, students will typically spend the first hour in a ‘lecture’ styled presentation from social media researchers and experts within the field. The next hour will be focused on the key literature of the week, while the final hour will engage student creativity as they ‘make’ something related to their final major project.

It is also expected that each week you will spend at least three hours reading and additional time on self-directed study. That study includes viewing social media platforms, taking notes, blogging, gaming, researching, interviewing, exploring tools and tutorials, and producing media content.

You will need access to an internet-connected computer or device to access our learning management system, Canvas, to complete your social media communication studies. This unit requires regular use of Canvas with most study and assessment tasks performed through the site. The unit also uses Twitter discussions using the hashtag #UsydSocMed, where we will often have intensive question and answer sessions with industry practitioners, experts and researchers.

Disclaimer

The University reserves the right to amend units of study or no longer offer certain units, including where there are low enrolment numbers.

To help you understand common terms that we use at the University, we offer an online glossary.

Current students

Overview

Overview

Unit details and rules

Teaching staff

Assessment

Assessment

Assessment summary

Assessment criteria

Late submission

Academic integrity

Learning support

Learning support

Simple extensions

Special consideration

Using AI responsibly

Support for students

Weekly schedule

Weekly schedule

Attendance and class requirements

Study commitment

Required readings

Learning outcomes

Learning outcomes

Graduate qualities

Outcome map

Responding to student feedback

Responding to student feedback

Additional information

Additional information

Disclaimer

On this page

Useful links

Media

Student links

About us

Connect

Current students

MECO6936: Social Media Communication

Semester 2, 2024 [Normal day] - Camperdown/Darlington, Sydney

Overview

Overview

Unit details and rules

Teaching staff

Assessment

Assessment

Assessment summary

Assessment criteria

Late submission

Academic integrity

Learning support

Learning support

Simple extensions

Special consideration

Using AI responsibly

Support for students

Weekly schedule

Weekly schedule

Attendance and class requirements

Study commitment

Required readings

Learning outcomes

Learning outcomes

Graduate qualities

Outcome map

Responding to student feedback

Responding to student feedback

Additional information

Additional information

Disclaimer

On this page

Useful links

Media

Student links

About us

Connect