| Course | SOM-7020 Social Media Marketing |
|---|---|
| Module | Module 1 |
| Paper type | Briefing note 1: social media marketing |
| Length | About 807 words, 5 pages |
| Format | APA 7 student paper |
| School | Thomas Edison State University |
| Program | Master of Business Administration |
| Updated | October 2026 |
Free sample paper for SOM 7020 Module 1
Briefing Note: Moving a Third of the Pier's Advertising Budget to Social Media Before the Next Season
Student Name
Master of Business Administration, Thomas Edison State University
SOM-7020: Social Media Marketing
Mentor Name
Month Day, Year
Briefing Note: Moving a Third of the Pier's Advertising Budget to Social Media Before the Next Season
To, From and Issue
To: Owners, Seaview Fun Pier. From: Marketing manager. Subject: social media budget for next season. Seaview Fun Pier is a composite family-owned amusement pier on the Wildwood boardwalk in New Jersey, with rides, games and a water park, open from May to September. Its marketing budget of $310,000 still goes mainly to print advertising, radio in the Philadelphia and North Jersey markets, and billboards on the Atlantic City Expressway. The issue for decision is whether to move about a third of that budget, roughly $100,000, into a planned social media program for next season, and if so, how.
Background
The pier's visitors are mostly families with children under twelve and groups of teenagers and young adults, with a smaller group of older visitors and grandparents. Ticket sales have been flat for three seasons while competing piers report growth. Our own social media presence consists of a Facebook page updated by the front office and an Instagram account with irregular posts. We do not measure what our current advertising produces; we know only total attendance and revenue.
Tuten (2020) describes social media marketing as working across four zones: social community, where people build relationships and share; social publishing, where content is distributed; social entertainment, where people play and are entertained; and social commerce, where they shop and buy. An amusement pier is unusual in that its product is itself entertainment, which makes its content naturally shareable if it is planned well. Kaplan and Haenlein (2010) described social media as applications that let users create and exchange their own content, which is why a pier's visitors can become its most persuasive publishers.
Key Considerations
Audience reach. National survey data show which platforms reach our visitors. In 2023, 83 percent of U.S. adults used YouTube and 68 percent used Facebook, while 47 percent used Instagram and 33 percent used TikTok. Use differs sharply by age: 78 percent of adults aged 18 to 29 used Instagram and 62 percent used TikTok, compared with 15 and 10 percent of those 65 and older (Gottfried, 2024). Parents in their thirties and forties are reachable through Facebook and Instagram; teenagers and young adults through Instagram and short-form video.
Content advantage. Rides, fireworks and summer evenings photograph well, and visitors already post them. Encouraging and sharing visitor content, which Tuten (2020) treats as earned media, costs little and carries more credibility than advertising.
Measurement. Social platforms allow tracking that print and radio do not: online ticket sales linked to promotion codes, cost per thousand people reached, and engagement with specific content. Moving budget to social media would give the owners their first clear view of what marketing produces.
Risks. A social program needs steady attention. Irregular posting, unanswered comments or a poorly handled complaint can damage the brand. The pier also depends on a short season, so content must be planned before May, and staff must be ready to respond during peak months.
Options
Option 1: keep the current mix and add only organic posting by existing staff. Low cost, but likely to continue the current irregular presence and leave results unmeasured.
Option 2: move $100,000 to a planned program: a part-time seasonal content coordinator, paid campaigns on Instagram and Facebook aimed at families within a three-hour drive, short-form video showing rides and events, a visitor photo campaign with a branded hashtag, and online ticket offers with tracking codes. Print and radio would be reduced but not eliminated, preserving reach among older visitors.
Option 3: move the whole budget to digital channels. Highest potential efficiency, but it would abandon audiences who still respond to radio and billboards and would put the season at risk if the program underperforms in its first year.
Recommendation
Adopt Option 2. Move $100,000 to a planned social media program for next season, keep the remaining $210,000 in a reduced traditional mix, and set three measures before launch: online ticket sales attributed to social campaigns, cost per online sale compared with promotion codes in print and radio, and growth in visitor-generated posts using the pier's hashtag. Review results at the end of July and adjust the mix for the following season based on what the measures show. Of the $100,000, about $28,000 would pay the coordinator from April through September, $60,000 would fund paid campaigns, $7,000 would cover video equipment and editing, and $5,000 would provide prizes for the photo campaign. The traditional budget would keep Philadelphia radio in June and July and the expressway billboards while dropping most print.
Next Steps
If approved, the marketing manager will hire the seasonal coordinator by March, prepare a content calendar for May to September, set up conversion tracking on the ticketing site and present a midseason report to the owners in August.
References
Gottfried, J. (2024, January 31). Americans' social media use. Pew Research Center. https://www.pewresearch.org/internet/2024/01/31/americans-social-media-use/
Kaplan, A. M., & Haenlein, M. (2010). Users of the world, unite! The challenges and opportunities of social media. Business Horizons, 53(1), 59-68. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bushor.2009.09.003
Tuten, T. L. (2020). Social media marketing (4th ed.). SAGE Publications.
What the SOM 7020 Module 1 instructions ask for
SOM-7020 runs four modules with four single-thread discussions, two briefing notes worth 20 percent together, one case analysis paper, a synchronous event, a peer review forum built on a three-minute video, and a three-part final project on a social media trend. A briefing note, as the syllabus explains, condenses a complex issue into key points a leader can act on. Module 1 covers social media marketing foundations, so a first note will often ask whether and how an organization should use social media. Write for a busy decision maker: short sections, evidence and a clear recommendation. Use current platform data with dates, since usage shifts quickly, and connect every point to the organization in the prompt rather than to social media in general.
How the SOM 7020 Module 1 example is put together
The note opens with a memo header and a one-sentence statement of the decision required. Background describes the organization, its audiences and its current marketing, then introduces the textbook's four zones. Key considerations are grouped under short headings and supported by national survey data with dates. Three options are described briefly with their trade-offs, and the recommendation chooses one, sets measures in advance and schedules a review. Next steps assign actions and dates, which turns the note into a plan the owners can approve. Every claim about reach rests on a dated national survey, and the risks are named as plainly as the opportunities, which gives the owners a fair basis for their decision.
SOM 7020 Module 1 rubric: what earns full marks
Briefing notes in SOM-7020 are graded from 0 to 100 and together count 20 percent of the grade. Mentors look for a clear issue statement, accurate and relevant evidence, concise organization that a leader can scan, and a recommendation with measures of success. Applying the course text's concepts, such as the zones of social media, to the specific organization shows understanding. Correct citations and clean, economical writing matter more in a briefing note than in a long paper, since brevity is part of the skill being assessed. Mentors also note whether the recommendation could be carried out with the organization's actual staff and budget, so concrete roles and dates strengthen the grade.
Common SOM 7020 Module 1 mistakes, and how to avoid them
Briefing notes often turn into short essays, with long paragraphs and the recommendation buried at the end. Lead with the issue, keep each section brief and put the decision in plain view. Another common weakness is recommending social media in general without saying which platforms, which audiences and how success will be measured. Support claims about platforms with current data and dates. Our writers can prepare a SOM 7020 briefing note on the organization and issue your module assigns. Keep the whole note to about two pages, use headings a reader can scan and make sure each option is described fairly, including the one you do not recommend. A decision maker should be able to approve or reject your plan after one reading.
Write yours, or have the desk draft it
This paper is an original model document written by our desk, not a submitted student paper and not an official Thomas Edison State University document. Read it for the moves, then write your own to the instructions in your classroom. If you want one built to your exact prompt and rubric, the first custom sample is free and arrives in 24 to 48 hours.
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SOM 7020 Module 1 questions, answered
Where can I find a free SOM 7020 Module 1 sample paper?
The first Social Media Marketing briefing note is shown above in full: a decision on moving part of an amusement pier's budget to social media, with platform data, options and a measured recommendation.
What is a briefing note?
A short, structured document that summarizes an issue, its background, key considerations and options, and gives a recommendation a decision maker can act on.
What are Tuten's four zones of social media marketing?
Social community, social publishing, social entertainment and social commerce.
Which platforms reach young adults most?
Pew Research Center data from 2023 showed 78 percent of adults 18 to 29 using Instagram and 62 percent using TikTok.
How is SOM-7020 graded?
Four discussions count 20 percent and two briefing notes 20 percent, with the case analysis paper, synchronous event, peer review and three-part final project making up the rest.