This assignment requires students to: 1) Research the use of social media in professional settings and analyze a company's social media presence, discussing strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. 2) Find at least four sources on the topic, with two from the library, and summarize each source in 2-3 sentences with correct APA citations. 3) Examine the company's website and three other social media platforms, and summarize the overall effectiveness of their online presence and areas for improvement. 4) Respond to two classmates' posts, commenting on useful information and the most persuasive analyses.

1. Assignment
: Research the role and purposes of social media in the
professional world and investigate the media presence of a
company, political campaign, organization, or governmental
agency related to your field of study.
Primary Discussion Response:
For this assignment, you will perform an analysis of a
company’s use of social media, searching for the strengths and
weakness, advantages and liabilities, and general effectiveness
of the company’s online presence.
To do this, conduct research online and in the CTU Library
databases to understand how and why an effective online
presence across multiple platforms is necessary for a company,
organization, or agency to be effective, and then present
evidence about the online presence of your selected entity.
For your initial post, complete the following steps:
Explore at least 4 sources related to the use of social media in
the professional world, including the importance, effectiveness,
concerns, or strategies of using social media. At least 2 of those
sources must come from the library.
State the name of your company, and in a couple sentences,
explain your interest in the entity.
Create a correct APA citation for each of the sources, and under
that citation, provide a 2–3 sentence summary of each article’s
main ideas
Select and examine 3 of your chosen entity’s media platforms,
which must include its Web site, and list those platforms.
Platforms to evaluate besides social media sites may include,
for example, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, Snapchat,
YouTube, Twitch, LinkedIn, podcasts, interactive chats, online
surveys, video feeds, or any other social media platform. The
absence of a presence on a social media site may also warrant
discussion.
Present a 3–5 sentence summary of the overall effectiveness of
the entity’s online presence, the quality of the written

2. communication used across its various platforms, and a brief
identification of areas where it could improve on its online and
social media strategy.
Peer Responses:
Respond to 2 classmates. In your responses to your classmates,
remember to be constructive and polite. Use the following
questions to assist you with your responses:
What about their summaries seemed useful or interesting?
Which quotations or pieces of information seemed the most
persuasive?
Which analysis seems the most effective to you? Why?
Unit 3 Discussion Project Grading Criteria
Maximum Points
Initial post identifies a company, political campaign,
organization, or governmental agency with a broad online
presence.
5/5
Initial post includes 4 researched sources, including at least 2
academic sources, which are correctly cited using APA.
25/25
Initial post includes the summaries for all 4 sources.
15/15
Initial post identifies 3 social media platforms that will be
investigated.
5/5
Initial post includes a summary of the entity’s overall
effectiveness and identified needs for improvement.
10/10
Includes at least 2 follow-up responses to peers.
20/20
Peer responses add new depth or insight to the current
conversation and encourages further conversation.
20/20
Total: