The project for this course is the creation of a social media consultation document. Social media often reaches multiple departments within an organization such as human resources, legal, marketing, operations, sales, and more. Planning strategically offers an organization a blueprint of sorts that can be communicated to these various stakeholders. These plans help set direction and also help prioritize initiatives while keeping everyone on the same page. Equally important is planning for social media mishaps. It is never more apparent that strategic planning was not done or did not include a contingency plan than when social media engagement snowballs into a public relations disaster. In this assessment, you will explore strategic social media use for an existing organization of your choice. This paper will cover two platforms you feel are relevant to the organization’s goals and detail how these platforms can be used in tandem to reach organizational goals. You will be both creative and strategic and align goals to specific tactics on each platform of your choice. You will also include a plan of action to guide decision making when negative comments make a community toxic or when opportunities present themselves to engage the audience in positive communication. The project is divided into two milestones , which will be submitted at various points throughout the course to scaffold learning and ensure quality final submissions. These milestones will be submitted in Modules Three and Five . The final product will be submitted in Module Seven . In this assignment, you will demonstrate your mastery of the following course outcomes: Illustrate social media best practices for achieving organizational goals Choose appropriate social media content for meeting the communications needs and goals of organizations Analyze the effectiveness of social media strategies for various personal, professional, and organizational goals Devise effective approaches for constructively addressing audience feedback on social media Prompt For this assessment, you will first identify a local business with little or no social media presence (if there is an issue with access to a local business, work with your instructor to identify one you may use). Assume you have been asked to create a social media consultation document to help executives understand and plan for social media. This paper will be informational and is not specifically a social media strategy. Instead, it is meant to inform decision makers and provide them the information they would need to begin creating a social media strategy. Specifically, the following critical elements must be addressed: Social Media Overview: This section will give you the opportunity to research the history of social media and identify best practices regarding the use of social media. This will allow you to set the stage for your clients and help them understand what the use of social media can and cannot do f.

1. The project for this course is the creation of a social media
consultation document.
Social media often reaches multiple departments within an
organization such as human resources, legal, marketing,
operations, sales, and more. Planning strategically offers an
organization a blueprint of sorts that can be communicated to
these various stakeholders. These plans help set direction and
also help prioritize initiatives while keeping everyone on the
same page. Equally important is planning for social media
mishaps. It is never more apparent that strategic planning was
not done or did not include a contingency plan than when social
media engagement snowballs into a public relations disaster.
In this assessment, you will explore strategic social media use
for an existing organization of your choice. This paper will
cover two platforms you feel are relevant to the organization’s
goals and detail how these platforms can be used in tandem to
reach organizational goals. You will be both creative and
strategic and align goals to specific tactics on each platform of
your choice. You will also include a plan of action to guide
decision making when negative comments make a community
toxic or when opportunities present themselves to engage the
audience in positive communication.
The project is divided into
two milestones
, which will be submitted at various points throughout the
course to scaffold learning and ensure quality final submissions.
These milestones will be submitted in
Modules Three and Five
. The final product will be submitted in
Module Seven
.

2. In this assignment, you will demonstrate your mastery of the
following course outcomes:
Illustrate social media best practices for achieving
organizational goals
Choose appropriate social media content for meeting the
communications needs and goals of organizations
Analyze the effectiveness of social media strategies for various
personal, professional, and organizational goals
Devise effective approaches for constructively addressing
audience feedback on social media
Prompt
For this assessment, you will first identify a local business with
little or no social media presence (if there is an issue with
access to a local business, work with your instructor to identify
one you may use). Assume you have been asked to create a
social media consultation document to help executives
understand and plan for social media. This paper will be
informational and is not specifically a social media strategy.
Instead, it is meant to inform decision makers and provide them
the information they would need to begin creating a social
media strategy.
Specifically, the following
critical elements
must be addressed:

3. Social Media Overview:
This section will give you the opportunity to research the
history of social media and identify best practices regarding the
use of social media. This will allow you to set the stage for your
clients and help them understand what the use of social media
can and cannot do for their business.
A. Overview how
social media
has been used by businesses over the past decade. Support
overview with research. B. Summarize established
best practices
regarding the use of social media by businesses.
C. Explain the
opportunities and limits
of social media as a communications tool.
Business Goals:
The purpose of this section is to help the organization uncover
specific goals related to social media use. These goals will
dictate what platforms you choose, what content you share, and
what best practices the organization would follow. Identifying
the target audience will also ensure the organization uses
appropriate platforms and shares appropriate content.
Analyze the business’s
current state
and identify gaps that you will use social media to address.
Consider how the organization communicates with its target
audience, how well it retains customers, or how frequently it
updates its website.
Select two of the following four goals for the business, based on
the

4. identified gaps
. Justify your selections.
Drive traffic to website
Increase brand awareness
Connect with customers and clients
Demonstrate expertise
Explain how audience engagement through social media can
help the business
achieve its goals
. Support explanation with examples.
Social Platforms:
The purpose of this section is to explain why you are
recommending the platforms you have chosen and how the
business can use them. Ground your choices in research and
best practices to be sure your choices are clear. You need to
make clear what the opportunities and limits of each platform
are, so providing an explanation of the terms of service is
necessary.
A. Propose two appropriate social media platforms and explain
how each will help the company reach the
target audience
and achieve its goals. B. Develop a strategy based on
best practices
that the company will use on each platform.

5. C. Describe what types of
content
should be used on each platform to reach the target audience
and why.
D. Assess how the
terms of service
impact use of your chosen platforms by your organization.
Provide specific examples.
Examples:
Now that you have explained to the business how it should use
the social media platforms you have identified, you need to
provide the executives with examples of what effective and
ineffective use of social media looks like. This will give the
business a sense of how best practices drive content, target
audience engagement, and ultimately help businesses achieve
their goals.
A. Using a real-world example, describe a situation in which an
organization demonstrated
exceptional use
of social media for the particular goals and objectives you
mentioned in Part I. This will show the executives specific
examples of social media done well by another company. This
could even be a competitor of the company you are working
with.
Using a real-world example, describe a situation in which an
organization
did not adhere
to best practices. This will show executives specific examples

6. of social media misuse or abuse.
Develop a plan, based on best practices, for how the business
should
handle feedback
(positive and negative) on social media.
Explain how
appropriately responding
to feedback on social media can help the business achieve its
goals. Support explanation with examples.
V.
Conclusion:
Conclude your paper by making recommendations for next
steps should the business decide to move forward with
developing a presence on social media. Remind them that
keeping up with a social media presence is a long-term
commitment and will constantly be refined and measured.
A. Explain how the continuous use of social media can help the
organization
achieve its goals
. Support explanation with examples. B. Offer
recommendations
for measuring success and explain its importance.
C. Develop
hypothetical next steps
for the organization should they decide to move forward with a
strategic social media plan.
Milestones
Milestone One:

7. Social Media Overview and Business Goals (Sections I and II)
In
Module Three,
you will submit a draft of your social media overview and
business goals. Research the history of social media and
identify best practices regarding the use of social media. This
will allow you to set the stage for your clients and help them
understand what the use of social media can and cannot do for
their business. Using this information, help your clients uncover
specific goals related to social media use. These goals will
dictate what platforms you choose, what content you share, and
what best practices the organization would follow. Identifying
the target audience will also ensure the organization uses
appropriate platforms and shares appropriate content.
This milestone is graded with the Milestone One Rubric.
Milestone Two:
Social Platforms and Business Examples (Sections III and IV)
In
Module Five,
you will submit a draft of proposed social platforms and
business examples. Explain why you are recommending the
platforms you have chosen and how the business can use them.
Ground your choices in research and best practices to be sure
your choices are clear. You need to make clear what the
opportunities and limits of each platform are, so providing an
explanation of the terms of service is necessary. Now that you
have explained to the business how it should use the social
media platforms you have identified, you need to provide the
executives with examples of what effective and ineffective use
of social media looks like. This will give the business a sense of
how best practices drive content, target audience engagement,
and ultimately help businesses achieve their goals.
This milestone is graded with the Milestone Two Rubric.

8. Final Submission:
Social Media Consultation Document
In
Module Seven,
you will submit your final project. It should be a complete,
polished artifact containing
all
of the critical elements of the final product. It should reflect
the incorporation of feedback gained throughout the course.
This submission will be graded with the Final Project Rubric.
Final Project Rubric
Guidelines for Submission:
Your social media consultation document should be 8 to 10
pages in length (not including screenshots), double-spaced, have
one-inch
margins, and use 12-point Times New Roman font and APA
format.
Critical Elements
Exemplary (100%)
Proficient (85%)
Needs Improvement (55%)
Not Evident (0%)

9. Value
Social Media Overview: Social Media
Meets “Proficient” criteria and research chosen provides keen
insight into the evolving use of social media by businesses
Overviews how social media has been used by businesses over
the past decade, supporting overview with research
Overviews how social media has been used by businesses over
the past decade but overview is cursory, verbose, or not
supported by research
Does not overview how social media has been used by
businesses over the past decade
4.8
Social Media Overview: Best Practices
Meets “Proficient” criteria and main ideas provide exceptional
insight into the use of social media by businesses
Summarizes established best practices regarding the use of
social media by businesses
Summarizes established best practices regarding the use of
social media by businesses but summary is cursory or is missing
key details
Does not summarize established best practices regarding the use

10. of social media by businesses
4.8
Social Media Overview: Opportunities and Limits
Meets “Proficient” criteria and details communicate a unique
perspective on the capacity of social media
Explains the opportunities and limits of social media as a
communications tool
Explains the opportunities and limits of social media as a
communication tool but explanation is cursory or lacks clarity
Does not explain the opportunities and limits of social media as
a communication tool
4.8
Business Goals: Current State
Meets “Proficient” criteria and identified gaps provide
exceptional insight into the business’s needs
Analyzes the business’s current state and identifies gaps that
will be addressed using social media
Analyzes the business’s current state and identifies gaps that
will be addressed using social media but analysis is cursory or
unclear or gaps are not clearly identified

11. Does not analyze the business’s current state or identify gaps
that will be addressed using social media
4.8
Business Goals: Identified Gaps
Meets “Proficient” criteria and goals exhibit a nuanced
understanding of the needs of the business
Selects goals for the business based on the identified gaps and
justifies the selections
Selects goals for the business based on the identified gaps and
justifies the selections but justification is cursory or illogical
Does not select goals for the business based on the identified
gaps
6
Business Goals: Achieve Its Goals
Meets “Proficient” criteria and examples exhibit keen insight
into the potential positive impact of audience engagement
Explains how audience engagement through social media can
help the business achieve its goals, supporting explanation with
examples
Explains how audience engagement through social media can
help the business achieve its goals but explanation is cursory or
not supported with examples
Does not explain how audience engagement through social

12. media can help the business achieve its goals
8
Social Platforms: Target Audience
Meets “Proficient” criteria and explanation cites specific
platform features that illustrate the platform’s potential
Proposes two appropriate social media platforms, explaining
how each will help the company reach the target audience and
achieve its goals
Proposes two social media platforms, explaining how each will
help the company reach the target audience and achieve its
goals, but not all proposed platforms are appropriate or
explanation is cursory
Does not propose two social media platforms or explain how
each will help the company reach the target audience and
achieve its goals
6
Social Platforms: Best Practices
Meets “Proficient” criteria and makes detailed connections
between specific best practices and the features of each
platform
Develops a strategy based on best practices that the company
will use on each platform

13. Develops a strategy that the company will use on each platform
but the strategy is cursory or not based on best practices
Does not develop a strategy that the company will use on each
platform
6
Social Platforms: Content
Meets “Proficient” criteria and description offers keen insight
into how each platform targets specific audiences
Describes what types of content should be used on each
platform to reach the target audience and why
Describes what types of content should be used on each
platform to reach the target audience but does not describe why
Does not describe what types of content should be used on each
platform to reach the target audience
6
Social Platforms: Terms of Service
Meets “Proficient” criteria and chosen examples show keen
insight into the limits terms of service place on platforms
Assesses how the terms of service impact use of the chosen

14. platforms by the organization and provides specific examples
Assesses how the terms of service impact use of the chosen
platforms by the organization but assessment is cursory or lacks
specific examples
Does not assess how the terms of service impact use of the
chosen platform by the organization
4.8
Examples: Exceptional Use
Meets “Proficient” criteria and details offer insight into how the
power of social media helps companies achieve goals
Describes a real-world situation in which an organization
demonstrated exceptional use of social media to achieve its
goals
Describes a real-world situation in which an organization
demonstrated exceptional use of social media to achieve its
goals but description is cursory or lacks clarity
Does not describe a real-world situation in which an
organization demonstrated exceptional use of social media to
achieve its goals
4.8
Examples: Did Not Adhere
Meets “Proficient” criteria and details offer keen insight into
the consequences of not adhering to best practices

15. Describes a real-world situation in which an organization did
not adhere to best practices
Describes a real-world situation in which an organization did
not adhere to best practices but description is cursory, unclear,
or contains inaccuracies
Does not describe a real-world situation in which an
organization did not adhere to best practices
4.8
Examples: Handle Feedback
Meets “Proficient” criteria and plan demonstrates insightful
connections between best practices and audience feedback
Develops a plan, based on best practices, for how the
organization should handle feedback on social media
Develops a plan for how the organization should handle
feedback on social media but plan is cursory or not clearly
based on best practices
Does not develop a plan for how the organization should handle
feedback on social media
8
Examples: Appropriately Responding
Meets “Proficient” criteria and examples exhibit a nuanced
approach in responding to feedback on social media

16. Explains how appropriately responding to feedback on social
media can help the organization achieve its goals, supporting
explanation with examples
Explains how appropriately responding to feedback on social
media can help the organization achieve its goals but
explanation is cursory, unclear, or not supported with examples
Does not explain how appropriately responding to feedback on
social media can help the organization achieve its goals
8
Conclusion: Achieve Its Goals
Meets “Proficient” criteria and examples show keen insight into
effectiveness of continuous social media use
Explains how the continuous use of social media can help the
organization achieve its goals, supporting explanation with
examples
Explains how the continuous use of social media can help the
organization achieve its goals but illustration is cursory or
examples provided are not cogent
Does not explain how the continuous use of social media can
help the organization achieve its goals
4.8
Conclusion: Recommendations

17. Meets “Proficient” criteria and recommendations exhibit keen
insight into the importance of measuring success
Offers recommendations for measuring success, explaining its
importance
Offers recommendations for measuring success, explaining its
importance, but recommendations are cursory or lack clarity
Does not offer recommendations for measuring success
4.8
Conclusion: Hypothetical Next Steps
Meets “Proficient” criteria and next steps make cogent
connections with the organization’s goals
Develops hypothetical next steps for the organization should it
decide to move forward with a strategic social media plan
Develops hypothetical next steps for the organization should it
decide to move forward with a strategic social media plan but
next steps are cursory or inappropriate
Does not develop hypothetical next steps for the organization
should it decide to move forward with a strategic social media
plan
4.8

18. Articulation of Response
Submission is free of errors related to citations, grammar,
spelling, syntax, and organization and is presented in a
professional and easy-to-read format
Submission has no major errors related to citations, grammar,
spelling, syntax, or organization
Submission has major errors related to citations, grammar,
spelling, syntax, or organization that negatively impact
readability and articulation of main ideas
Submission has critical errors related to citations, grammar,
spelling, syntax, or organization that prevent understanding of
ideas
4
Total
100%