Overview
All tourism related organisations and businesses need to understand how trends in technological developments and changes in consumer behaviour impact their business. Building on tourism marketing concepts, this unit develops your understanding of the strategic importance of digital marketing techniques, and how these can be used to enhance an organisation’s overall marketing efforts. You will develop an in-depth understanding of key aspects of developing and maintaining a successful online presence, including the various types of social media platforms, methods for attracting audiences to a website, the legalities of the online environment as well as ethical considerations with online generated contents. You will also be introduced to contemporary strategies in how feedback from social media platforms can be used as key elements in researching and managing target markets.
Details
Pre-requisites or Co-requisites
There are no requisites for this unit.
Important note: Students enrolled in a subsequent unit who failed their pre-requisite unit, should drop the subsequent unit before the census date or within 10 working days of Fail grade notification. Students who do not drop the unit in this timeframe cannot later drop the unit without academic and financial liability. See details in the Assessment Policy and Procedure (Higher Education Coursework).
Offerings For Term 1 - 2021
Attendance Requirements
All on-campus students are expected to attend scheduled classes – in some units, these classes are identified as a mandatory (pass/fail) component and attendance is compulsory. International students, on a student visa, must maintain a full time study load and meet both attendance and academic progress requirements in each study period (satisfactory attendance for International students is defined as maintaining at least an 80% attendance record).
Recommended Student Time Commitment
Each 6-credit Postgraduate unit at CQUniversity requires an overall time commitment of an average of 12.5 hours of study per week, making a total of 150 hours for the unit.
Class Timetable
Assessment Overview
Assessment Grading
This is a graded unit: your overall grade will be calculated from the marks or grades for each assessment task, based on the relative weightings shown in the table above. You must obtain an overall mark for the unit of at least 50%, or an overall grade of ‘pass’ in order to pass the unit. If any ‘pass/fail’ tasks are shown in the table above they must also be completed successfully (‘pass’ grade). You must also meet any minimum mark requirements specified for a particular assessment task, as detailed in the ‘assessment task’ section (note that in some instances, the minimum mark for a task may be greater than 50%). Consult the University’s Grades and Results Policy for more details of interim results and final grades.
All University policies are available on the CQUniversity Policy site.
You may wish to view these policies:
- Grades and Results Policy
- Assessment Policy and Procedure (Higher Education Coursework)
- Review of Grade Procedure
- Student Academic Integrity Policy and Procedure
- Monitoring Academic Progress (MAP) Policy and Procedure – Domestic Students
- Monitoring Academic Progress (MAP) Policy and Procedure – International Students
- Student Refund and Credit Balance Policy and Procedure
- Student Feedback – Compliments and Complaints Policy and Procedure
- Information and Communications Technology Acceptable Use Policy and Procedure
This list is not an exhaustive list of all University policies. The full list of University policies are available on the CQUniversity Policy site.
Feedback, Recommendations and Responses
Every unit is reviewed for enhancement each year. At the most recent review, the following staff and student feedback items were identified and recommendations were made.
Feedback from Student evaluation survey
One student commented that more assessment feedback is required.
Provide more detailed assessment feedback, and make students aware how they can access the feedback.
- Investigate, analyse and synthesise theories and principles of digital marketing and online consumer behaviour
- Critically review and evaluate multiple core media formats and how they can be successfully aligned to business goals
- Generate and analyse innovative approaches in which the online customer experience can be managed and valuable market intelligence can be collected and assessed
- Evaluate and reflect on the legal, cultural and ethical aspects of applying e-marketing techniques and social media to engage with customers online
- Plan, develop and communicate an effective social media marketing campaign.
Alignment of Assessment Tasks to Learning Outcomes
| Assessment Tasks | Learning Outcomes | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | |
| 1 - Written Assessment - 30% | |||||
| 2 - Presentation - 20% | |||||
| 3 - Written Assessment - 50% | |||||
Alignment of Graduate Attributes to Learning Outcomes
| Graduate Attributes | Learning Outcomes | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | |
| 1 - Knowledge | |||||
| 2 - Communication | |||||
| 3 - Cognitive, technical and creative skills | |||||
| 4 - Research | |||||
| 5 - Self-management | |||||
| 6 - Ethical and Professional Responsibility | |||||
| 7 - Leadership | |||||
| 8 - Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Cultures | |||||
Alignment of Assessment Tasks to Graduate Attributes
| Assessment Tasks | Graduate Attributes | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | |
| 1 - Written Assessment - 30% | ||||||||
| 2 - Presentation - 20% | ||||||||
| 3 - Written Assessment - 50% | ||||||||
Textbooks
There are no required textbooks.
Additional Textbook Information
There are no required textbooks. Weekly readings for TOUR20024 will be available via Moodle.
IT Resources
- CQUniversity Student Email
- Internet
- Unit Website (Moodle)
All submissions for this unit must use the referencing style: American Psychological Association 7th Edition (APA 7th edition)
For further information, see the Assessment Tasks.
a.pabel@cqu.edu.au
Module/Topic
Introduction, definitions, overview of assessments
Chapter
The literature on social media marketing is constantly evolving, hence there is no set textbook for this unit. Instead we will use journal articles as weekly readings. Please refer to the list of readings on Moodle.
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Social media marketing basics
Chapter
Refer to the list of readings on Moodle.
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Social media goals and strategies
Chapter
Refer to the list of readings on Moodle.
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Types of social media marketing
Chapter
Refer to the list of readings on Moodle.
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Identifying target audiences
Chapter
Refer to the list of readings on Moodle.
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Social media monitoring
Chapter
Refer to the list of readings on Moodle.
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Social media marketing plan
Chapter
Refer to the list of readings on Moodle.
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Mobile marketing
Chapter
Refer to the list of readings on Moodle.
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Brand management through social media
Chapter
Refer to the list of readings on Moodle.
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Social media and destination marketing
Chapter
Refer to the list of readings on Moodle.
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Legal and ethical considerations
Chapter
Refer to the list of readings on Moodle.
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Innovative tourism marketing campaigns
Chapter
Refer to the list of readings on Moodle.
Events and Submissions/Topic
1 Written Assessment
This assessment requires you to write a short essay to help develop your reflective thinking skills as well as your understanding of social media marketing knowledge.
Working individually, you can choose one of the following topics:
Topic 1: Social media today is dominated by influencers who are used to promote various brands. Review the pros (3) and cons (3) of influencer marketing and discuss whether it is an effective way to promote a tourism business.
Topic 2: There is an increasing number of fake reviews on social media and travel review sites. Critically analyse the phenomenon of fake reviews and the implications for tourism operators. Use appropriate examples.
The reflective essay should consist of the following elements:
- Title page including the title of your assessment, your name, student ID, lecturer/tutor name, and unit name and code
- Detailed review of the chosen topic, i.e. any background information
- Identification of key issues for tourism marketing
- Justification of why the issues you identified are significant
- Demonstrate evidence of research through the integration of relevant literature using theories/concepts from this unit
- Provide recommendations on how appropriate social media marketing planning can be used to minimise these issues
- Write a conclusion that sums up the main points and provide reflective comments on what you have gained from your chosen topic, e.g. any theories, issues and challenges identified by you.
- Reference list including at least 10 academic references.
It is best that you start writing your reflective essay as early as possible in the term. Your essay should be up to 2,000 words in total (including references).
All assessments should be submitted online through the TOUR20024 Moodle site. All assessments will be checked by Turnitin to compare the submission to other sources and will provide students and lecturers with a similarity score. Submissions with a similarity score index of more than 20% will be checked for plagiarism by the marker (although it may not necessarily mean that the student has plagiarised).
Week 5 Wednesday (7 Apr 2021) 11:55 pm AEST
Penalties apply for late submission (5% will be deducted from the total mark for the assessment per day unless an approved extension has been granted).
Week 6 Friday (23 Apr 2021)
A brief marking criteria is provided below. A more detailed marking guide is provided on Moodle.
- Scope and quality of content
- Demonstrated understanding of the relevant theories and key issues
- Integration of relevant literature
- Essay structure, writing style, and grammar
- Concluding comments including appropriate reflections
- Appropriate headings in APA referencing style
- Investigate, analyse and synthesise theories and principles of digital marketing and online consumer behaviour
- Critically review and evaluate multiple core media formats and how they can be successfully aligned to business goals
- Generate and analyse innovative approaches in which the online customer experience can be managed and valuable market intelligence can be collected and assessed
- Evaluate and reflect on the legal, cultural and ethical aspects of applying e-marketing techniques and social media to engage with customers online
- Knowledge
- Communication
- Cognitive, technical and creative skills
- Research
- Self-management
- Ethical and Professional Responsibility
2 Presentation
An organisation's online presence is demonstrated through its engagements and interactions on social media sites. The aim of this assessment is to enhance your knowledge of how social media networking sites can be used to increase awareness and to establish connections with an audience. You are to deliver a presentation which involves identifying a tourism organisation (i.e. tourism attraction, tourism operator, accommodation provider or tourism destination marketing organisation) of your choice and examine how the tourism organisation uses social media to engage with their target markets. You are required to review only ONE social media networking site (i.e. Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, Flickr, etc) even though a tourism operator may use more than one site.
The presentation should cover the following sections:
- A title page including the title of the assessment, student name, student ID number, lecturer/tutor name and unit name and code.
- Provide a brief introduction to the chosen tourism organisation (setting and background information)
- Outline who the potential audience of the social media site is and why the content of the social media site might be useful to this audience or not. It might be helpful to consider questions such as: who is likely to use the information, when are they likely to use it, where are they using it (desktop vs. mobile), how long are they likely to use the information?
- Outline what types of content are used by the social media site and state what the frequency of updates is, i.e. information about products and services, previous customers’ reviews, audio-visual content, integration with other social media such as Facebook or YouTube, and links to the organisation’s website or blog.
- Investigate and discuss how the social media site engages with its social network audience. This information can be gained by checking how content is interacted with:
- Conversation rate – The number of conversations or comments per post.
- Amplification rate – The number of re-shares or re-tweets per post.
- Applause rate – The number of likes, favourite clicks or +1 per post.
- Follow up on action – Did the audience follow up on any actions the organisation asked them to take?
- Provide any recommendations on how the chosen tourism organisation could enhance their social media presence.
- Ensure that you demonstrate evidence of having read relevant literature (refer to your readings on Moodle).
Instructions
There are no limitations on the number of slides. However, you must deliver your presentation within 15 minutes. The last slide should contain a list of references that have informed your presentation. Please include a reference list of at least five (5) references that outline your sources of information from a combination of scholarly academic journal articles, academic textbooks, trade journals and websites.
- On-campus students will deliver their presentation in class in week 7, and submit their PowerPoint file on Moodle.
- Distance education students will record their presentation through PowerPoint's "Record Slide Show” function, and submit their PowerPoint file (with recording) on Moodle.
Slides should follow this structure:
- Presentation title and student information slide
- Introduce your chosen tourism organisation
- Outline of potential audience
- Outline the types of content
- Discussion of social media networking site’s engagement
- Recommendations to enhance social media presence
- Reference list
All assessments should be submitted online through the TOUR20024 Moodle site. All assessments will be checked by Turnitin to compare the submission to other sources and will provide students and lecturers with a similarity score. Submissions with a similarity score index of more than 20% will be checked for plagiarism by the marker (although it may not necessarily mean that the student has plagiarised).
Week 7 Monday (26 Apr 2021) 11:55 pm AEST
Penalties apply for late submission (5% will be deducted from the total mark for the assessment per day unless an approved extension has been granted).
Week 9 Monday (10 May 2021)
A brief marking criteria is provided below. A more detailed marking guide is provided on Moodle.
Presentation content
- Scope and quality of content
- Outline of potential audience
- Outline of types of content
- Discussion of social media networking site’s engagement
- Recommendations to enhance social media presence
- Evidence of research
- Reference list
Process – Visual aids
- Clarity and design of presentation
- Concise and well-structured
- Innovation and creativity
Process – Presentation skills
- Pace of presentation
- Speech clarity
- Professionalism and enthusiasm
- Investigate, analyse and synthesise theories and principles of digital marketing and online consumer behaviour
- Critically review and evaluate multiple core media formats and how they can be successfully aligned to business goals
- Evaluate and reflect on the legal, cultural and ethical aspects of applying e-marketing techniques and social media to engage with customers online
- Knowledge
- Communication
- Cognitive, technical and creative skills
- Research
- Self-management
- Ethical and Professional Responsibility
3 Written Assessment
The aim of this assessment task is to develop a comprehensive social media marketing (SMM) plan using the latest theory. Having a plan in place improves an organisation's chances of success in executing their social media marketing goals.
The first step is to decide on a tourism organisation, (i.e. tourism attraction, tourism operator, accommodation provider or tourism destination marketing organisation).
Secondly, conduct an assessment of this organisation’s current social media presence.
Thirdly, you are then to develop a social media marketing plan to help the tourism organisation to build or grow their social media presence.
The social media marketing plan should be no longer than 3,000 words in length (excluding references) and include the following structure:
Title page with student information
The title page will include the name of your chosen tourism organisation, your name, student id number and lecturer/tutor name and course name and code.
Table of contents
The table of contents will present each section of the SMM plan, including sub-headings, with their appropriate page number(s). Sections should be numbered with page number (e.g. 1.0 Introduction on page 1). Do not use page numbering for the title page and the table of contents itself.
Introduction (approx 300 words)
The introduction should present a brief description of the chosen tourism organisation and the tourism product/service/experience that is the major focus of this SMM plan. In addition, aims and structure of the report should be presented.
Target audience analysis (approx 600 words)
Target audience analysis and outline of the organisation’s current social media environment. The target audience profile needs to be researched in a manner that gives the reader of your SMM plan a better understanding as to who you will be directing the proposed social media communications at. The outline of the current social media environment should state what types of social media the organisation is currently using and other key metrics to measure social media presence, including
- Reach: Indicates the number of followers, fans, group members.
- Post frequency: How often the company posts on each social media platform
- Average response time: Assesses response time to user comments on the company’s social media platforms
- Sentiment analysis: Indicates the number of positive or negative mentions on each social media platform where the organisation has a sizable presence
3-5 Social media goals/objectives (approx 600 words)
Students must present and explain 3 (minimum) to 5 (maximum) social media goals/objectives for their SMM plan with quantifiable targets and time frames for achievement. These social media goals may include strengthening brand awareness, driving eWOM recommendations, acquiring new customers, encouraging purchase behaviour or conducting market research. Think about, and justify, why you may choose particular goals for this target audience. Use of additional sources of information to help support the discussion is expected.
Determine strategies to achieve the goals (approx 600 words)
Think about the desired outcomes that you would like to achieve with your social media goals and identify the strategies best suited to helping to achieve these outcomes. Strategies could include: influencing the target market with videos and podcasts to feature new experiences; interacting with consumers via Facebook and Twitter to improve brand recognition; engaging customers to drive eWOM recommendations; and establishing vibrant brand communities where customers can post questions. Consider the 8 C’s of Strategic Development (see Lecture 3) which are guidelines for constructing social media marketing strategies.
SMM plan and monitoring (approx 700 words)
Select the platform-specific tactics to successfully execute the social media goals and justify your use of the tactics based on how this best communicates with your target audience. Tactics could include customising the content of the social media platform to best engage with the target audience; determining the frequency of updates per day; creating special offers; using Facebook Ads to generate traffic to the company website, etc. Lastly state how progress of your social media marketing plan will be monitored.
Conclusion (approx 200 words)
In your opinion, why do you think it will be possible to achieve each of your chosen social media goals? Briefly outline the target audience, each of the social media goals and the social media strategies adopted to explain your answer.
Reference list
The SMM plan should include at least ten (10) sources of information from a combination of scholarly academic journal articles, academic textbooks, trade journals and websites. All sources listed should be in alphabetical order and be cited in the main body of the SMM plan using the APA referencing style.
Further instructions
The social media marketing report should be presented as a formal business report.
Please use size 12 font with 1.0 line spacing in a Word document (no PDF).
All assessments should be submitted online through the TOUR20024 Moodle site. All assessments will be checked by Turnitin to compare the submission to other sources and will provide students and lecturers with a similarity score. Submissions with a similarity score index of more than 20% will be checked for plagiarism by the marker (although it may not necessarily mean that the student has plagiarised).
Week 11 Friday (28 May 2021) 11:55 pm AEST
Penalties apply for late submission (5% will be deducted from the total mark for the assessment per day unless an approved extension has been granted).
As this unit has no exam, the formal results for this last piece of assessment can only be released to students on the Certification of Grades date.
A brief marking criteria is provided below. A more detailed marking guide is provided on Moodle.
Content knowledge
- Introduction
- Target audience and social media presence analysis
- 3-5 Social media goals/objectives
- Strategies to achieve the goals
- SMM plan and monitoring
- Conclusion
- Evidence of research
- Referencing
Organisation of report structure and writing style
- Table of contents
- Structure and sequence of ideas is logical
- Good use of headings to guide the reader
- Good grasp of standard writing conventions, i.e. spelling, punctuation, grammar
- Sentences and paragraphs are well constructed
- Critically review and evaluate multiple core media formats and how they can be successfully aligned to business goals
- Generate and analyse innovative approaches in which the online customer experience can be managed and valuable market intelligence can be collected and assessed
- Evaluate and reflect on the legal, cultural and ethical aspects of applying e-marketing techniques and social media to engage with customers online
- Plan, develop and communicate an effective social media marketing campaign.
- Knowledge
- Communication
- Cognitive, technical and creative skills
- Research
- Self-management
- Ethical and Professional Responsibility
- Leadership
As a CQUniversity student you are expected to act honestly in all aspects of your academic work.
Any assessable work undertaken or submitted for review or assessment must be your own work. Assessable work is any type of work you do to meet the assessment requirements in the unit, including draft work submitted for review and feedback and final work to be assessed.
When you use the ideas, words or data of others in your assessment, you must thoroughly and clearly acknowledge the source of this information by using the correct referencing style for your unit. Using others’ work without proper acknowledgement may be considered a form of intellectual dishonesty.
Participating honestly, respectfully, responsibly, and fairly in your university study ensures the CQUniversity qualification you earn will be valued as a true indication of your individual academic achievement and will continue to receive the respect and recognition it deserves.
As a student, you are responsible for reading and following CQUniversity’s policies, including the Student Academic Integrity Policy and Procedure. This policy sets out CQUniversity’s expectations of you to act with integrity, examples of academic integrity breaches to avoid, the processes used to address alleged breaches of academic integrity, and potential penalties.
What is a breach of academic integrity?
A breach of academic integrity includes but is not limited to plagiarism, self-plagiarism, collusion, cheating, contract cheating, and academic misconduct. The Student Academic Integrity Policy and Procedure defines what these terms mean and gives examples.
Why is academic integrity important?
A breach of academic integrity may result in one or more penalties, including suspension or even expulsion from the University. It can also have negative implications for student visas and future enrolment at CQUniversity or elsewhere. Students who engage in contract cheating also risk being blackmailed by contract cheating services.
Where can I get assistance?
For academic advice and guidance, the Academic Learning Centre (ALC) can support you in becoming confident in completing assessments with integrity and of high standard.
What can you do to act with integrity?
