| Course | SOM-7020 Social Media Marketing |
|---|---|
| Module | Module 4 |
| Paper type | Final project, part 3: final report on a social media marketing trend |
| Length | About 1,120 words, 7 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 4
Smaller Creators, Stronger Engagement: A Final Report on the Move From Celebrity Influencers to Micro-Creators
Student Name
Master of Business Administration, Thomas Edison State University
SOM-7020: Social Media Marketing
Mentor Name
Month Day, Year
Smaller Creators, Stronger Engagement: A Final Report on the Move From Celebrity Influencers to Micro-Creators
Introduction
The trend examined in this final project is the shift in influencer marketing from a few celebrities with very large followings toward many smaller creators, sometimes called micro- or mid-tier influencers, whose audiences number in the thousands or tens of thousands. The report draws on three sources, as the project requires: published research on influencer marketing, an interview with a practitioner, and the regulatory framework that governs sponsored content. It explains why the trend is happening, what it means for brands and how a mid-sized company should respond, and it closes with the project's limitations.
What the Research Shows
Leung et al. (2022) reviewed the research on online influencer marketing and described influencers as a distinct kind of endorser: unlike celebrities, they built their audiences through social media content, and their persuasive power rests on perceived closeness, authenticity and expertise in a niche. That review frames the central question of this trend, which is whether reach or relationship matters more.
The most direct evidence comes from Wies et al. (2023), who analyzed 802 Instagram marketing campaigns featuring more than 1,700 influencers and combined the field data with eye-tracking and laboratory experiments. They found an inverted U-shaped relationship between an influencer's follower count and engagement with sponsored posts: engagement rises with followers at first and then falls, because a very large following signals a weaker personal relationship with each follower. Customizing content and promoting less familiar brands flattened the curve. Hughes et al. (2019), studying sponsored blogging campaigns, likewise found that the effect of influencer content depended on the platform, the campaign's goal and the characteristics of both the influencer and the content, rather than on audience size alone.
Tuten (2020) situates this within the social community zone of social media marketing, where value comes from relationships and conversation rather than broadcast reach. Smaller creators operate largely in that zone, which helps explain why their recommendations feel more like advice from a friend than an advertisement.
The Expert Interview
For the interview component, I spoke with the social media manager of a regional specialty food brand who has run creator programs for six years; for this sample report the interviewee is presented as a composite of common practitioner experience rather than as an identified person. Three points stood out. First, the brand moved most of its creator budget from two large influencers to about thirty smaller creators after finding that the smaller group produced more comments, saves and recipe recreations per dollar. Second, results varied widely among creators, so the brand now pays a modest fee plus a commission on tracked sales, which shares risk. Third, the most effective posts were those the creators shaped themselves; scripts written by the brand performed worst, which matches the research finding that customization strengthens engagement.
The interviewee also described costs that research rarely mentions: managing thirty relationships takes staff time, contracts and product shipments, and quality control is harder when content comes from many hands.
The Regulatory Frame
Sponsored content must be disclosed. The Federal Trade Commission's Endorsement Guides, updated in 2023, require that material connections between brands and endorsers be clearly and conspicuously disclosed, and they hold both advertisers and influencers responsible (16 C.F.R. § 255.5). For programs with dozens of creators, disclosure compliance becomes an operational task: brands need written guidelines, contract terms and monitoring to ensure that every sponsored post is labeled.
Implications for Brands
The trend changes how influencer programs should be built. Reach-based buying, paying for a celebrity's follower count, gives way to portfolio management: selecting many creators whose audiences match the brand's niche, giving them creative latitude and measuring results creator by creator. It also changes measurement. Because engagement and relationship quality drive results, brands should track comments, saves, shares and conversions per creator rather than impressions alone, and should expect wide variation among creators. Finally, the trend raises management costs and compliance obligations, which favor brands that invest in a coordinator role and clear processes.
A Worked Example of Portfolio Measurement
A simple calculation shows why creator-by-creator measurement matters. Suppose a brand pays twelve creators a $500 base fee each for one month, $6,000 in total, plus a 10 percent commission on tracked sales. Four creators generate $9,000 of tracked sales between them, five generate $3,500, and three generate almost nothing. The portfolio as a whole returns $12,500 in tracked sales on $7,250 of cost, including $1,250 in commissions, which looks acceptable. But the top four produce 72 percent of sales on a third of the base fees, while the bottom three produce none. Averages hide that spread. Renewing the top performers, replacing the bottom three with new creators in the same niche and keeping the middle group under review would raise the return in the next cycle without raising the budget. Engagement data add a second signal, since a creator with strong saves and comments but few tracked sales may be building awareness that converts later, which argues for one more cycle before replacement. Measured this way, an influencer program becomes a portfolio that improves each quarter rather than a fixed list of endorsers.
Recommendations: A Five-Part Playbook
For a mid-sized consumer brand, the report recommends five steps. First, start with a pilot of ten to fifteen creators in the brand's core niche, chosen for audience fit and engagement quality rather than follower count. Second, brief creators on goals and required disclosures but let them shape the content, in line with the evidence on customization. Third, use a hybrid payment model of a base fee plus a tracked commission, which aligns incentives and limits risk. Fourth, measure each creator on engagement and attributable sales, renew the best performers and replace the rest each quarter. Fifth, assign one coordinator to manage contracts, shipments and disclosure monitoring, so the program's growth does not outrun its controls.
Limitations
The research cited focuses mainly on Instagram and blogs, and platform behavior changes quickly, so the inverted U may shift as platforms change how they distribute content. The interview reflects one practitioner's experience, presented here as a composite, and cannot represent all industries. A brand applying these findings should test them in its own category before committing a full budget.
Conclusion
The move from celebrity influencers to smaller creators reflects a finding now supported by large-scale research: beyond a point, more followers mean weaker relationships and lower engagement. Practitioner experience confirms the pattern and adds the management costs it brings, and federal disclosure rules make compliance part of the work. Brands that treat creators as a managed portfolio, measured individually and given creative freedom within clear rules, are best placed to benefit from the trend.
References
16 C.F.R. § 255.5 (2025). Disclosure of material connections. https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-16/chapter-I/subchapter-B/part-255/section-255.5
Hughes, C., Swaminathan, V., & Brooks, G. (2019). Driving brand engagement through online social influencers: An empirical investigation of sponsored blogging campaigns. Journal of Marketing, 83(5), 78-96. https://doi.org/10.1177/0022242919854374
Leung, F. F., Gu, F. F., & Palmatier, R. W. (2022). Online influencer marketing. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 50(2), 226-251. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11747-021-00829-4
Tuten, T. L. (2020). Social media marketing (4th ed.). SAGE Publications.
Wies, S., Bleier, A., & Edeling, A. (2023). Finding Goldilocks influencers: How follower count drives social media engagement. Journal of Marketing, 87(3), 383-405. https://doi.org/10.1177/00222429221125131
What the SOM 7020 Module 4 instructions ask for
The SOM-7020 final project has three parts: an expert interview, a recorded presentation of no more than three minutes reviewed by classmates, and a final report investigating a social media marketing trend of your choosing. Module 4 covers social media strategy, so the final report should move from understanding the trend to recommending how organizations should respond. Choose a trend with published research, find a practitioner willing to be interviewed early, and use the peer review on your video to sharpen the report's argument before you submit it. Record your interview with permission and keep notes of the questions you asked, since the report should explain how the conversation was conducted as well as what it produced.
How this SOM 7020 Module 4 example is built
The report defines the trend precisely and explains its three-source design. A research section uses a review and two empirical studies, reporting their methods and findings accurately, and ties them to the textbook's community zone. The interview section reports specific practitioner observations and compares them with the research. A short regulatory section adds compliance, and the implications and recommendations follow from all three sources. Limitations are stated honestly, and the conclusion summarizes the trend's logic and the response it calls for. Each recommendation can be traced to a research finding, an interview observation or the regulation, which makes the playbook defensible rather than a list of tips. Read the worked example closely.
Where the marks sit in the SOM 7020 Module 4 rubric
The final project carries a large share of the SOM-7020 grade across its three parts, and the report itself earns a mark on a 100-point scale. Mentors look for a clearly defined trend, accurate use of research, an interview that adds practical insight, and recommendations that follow from the evidence. Triangulating sources, attending to regulation and naming limitations demonstrate graduate-level analysis. APA formatting, clear headings and professional writing complete a strong report. Reports that connect the trend to measurable business outcomes, such as engagement per dollar or attributable sales, show the strategic thinking an MBA course expects. Explaining how the interview was arranged and recorded also earns credit. Accurate arithmetic counts. Clarity helps.
SOM 7020 Module 4 help from the desk
Final reports often describe a trend from news articles and opinion without research behind it, or report an interview without connecting it to evidence. Use at least one rigorous study, compare it with what your expert says, and let both shape your recommendations. Remember disclosure rules for sponsored content if your trend involves creators or influencers. Our writers can prepare a SOM 7020 final report on the trend you have chosen. Pick a trend narrow enough to analyze in depth; a broad topic such as artificial intelligence in marketing is harder to support with specific evidence. Present your interviewee accurately, with permission, and avoid claiming that one conversation represents an entire industry.
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 4 questions, answered
Where can I find a free SOM 7020 Module 4 sample paper?
The Social Media Marketing final project report is reproduced above: the shift to smaller creators investigated through research, a composite expert interview and federal disclosure rules, with a five-part playbook.
Do influencers with more followers generate more engagement?
Research on 802 Instagram campaigns found an inverted U: engagement rises with follower count at first and then falls, as very large followings signal weaker relationships.
What disclosure rules apply to sponsored social media posts?
The FTC's endorsement guides require clear and conspicuous disclosure of material connections between brands and endorsers, and both can be held responsible.
What are the three parts of the SOM-7020 final project?
An expert interview, a short recorded presentation reviewed by classmates, and a final report on a social media marketing trend.
How should brands measure influencer programs?
Creator by creator, using engagement measures such as comments, saves and shares together with tracked conversions, rather than impressions alone.