| Course | MKT 443 Social Media Marketing (MKT/443) |
|---|---|
| Week | 1 |
| Paper type | Social media opportunity analysis |
| Length | about 1,075 words, 4 double-spaced pages plus title page and references |
| Format | APA 7 student paper |
| School | University of Phoenix |
| Program | BS in Business |
| Updated | October 2026 |
Free sample paper for MKT 443 Week 1
More Than Box Scores: Finding Interactive Marketing Opportunities on Social Networks for an Independent Baseball Team in Bismarck
[Student Name]
University of Phoenix
MKT/443: Social Media Marketing
Week 1 Assignment
[Instructor Name]
[Date]
The Missouri River Hawks and all details are composites written for a model paper.
The Missouri River Hawks are a composite independent professional baseball team that plays 50 home games each summer in a 3,800-seat ballpark in Bismarck, North Dakota. Average attendance last season was 2,150, down from 2,600 five years earlier. The team's front office has nine full-time employees, and the marketing coordinator, Kayla Brandt, handles social media along with group sales. The Hawks have about 18,000 followers on Facebook, 9,400 on Instagram, 6,000 on X and 2,100 on TikTok. Most posts announce final scores, rainouts and promotions. Engagement is low except when a player does something unusual on the field. General manager Tom Reinholt believes social media could bring younger fans and families back to the park. This paper defines social media and social networks, audits the team's current use with a research framework and identifies interactive marketing opportunities.
Defining Social Media
Kaplan and Haenlein (2010) defined social media as a group of Internet-based applications built on the technological foundations of the web that allow users to create and exchange content. Their classification ranged from shared encyclopedias and blogs to video sites, friend networks and online games with avatars. The defining feature is that users, not only companies, produce the content.
Social Networks
A social network is the set of relationships among people. Social networking sites make those relationships visible and give people ways to communicate through them. When a fan shares a Hawks video, it reaches that fan's friends, many of whom have never followed the team. The network carries the message further than the team could alone.
The Building Blocks Framework
Kietzmann et al. (2011) proposed that social media can be understood through seven functional building blocks: identity, the extent to which users reveal themselves; conversations, how much users talk with one another; sharing, how users exchange content; presence, whether users know where others are; relationships, how users are connected; reputation, how users judge standing; and groups, whether users form communities. Platforms emphasize different blocks, so a firm's effort on any one site should follow the functions that site's users care about most.
Auditing the Hawks' Accounts
On Facebook, the Hawks' strongest network, the team posts scores and events. Its audience is mainly adults over 35, and the platform's groups and conversations functions are unused. On Instagram, the team posts game photos with little text; the sharing function is used, but fans are rarely invited to contribute. On X, the team posts live scores, which suits the platform's real-time conversations, but it never replies to fans. On TikTok, the newest account, the few videos posted are clips from the local news, and they ignore the platform's strength in short, playful content made by ordinary users.
What the Audit Shows
Across platforms, the Hawks use presence and sharing but neglect conversations, relationships and groups. Their posts tell fans what happened rather than giving them a way to take part. The team has an audience on social media but is not having a conversation with it.
Paid, Owned and Earned Media
Hanna et al. (2011) argued that social media should be treated as an ecosystem of connected elements rather than separate channels. They distinguished paid media, such as ads; owned media, such as a firm's website and accounts; and earned media, such as posts and shares by customers. Effective programs plan how each element feeds the others, using owned content to start conversations that become earned media and paid promotion to reach new audiences. The Hawks currently run only owned media and an occasional boosted post.
Opportunity 1: Fan Photo and Video Program
Fans already take photos at games. A weekly fan photo feature, using a team hashtag and a monthly prize such as a first pitch, turns fans into content creators and spreads the team through their networks. It uses the sharing and identity blocks and generates earned media at almost no cost.
Opportunity 2: Live Game Threads
On X and Facebook, the coordinator or a game-day intern can run live threads during home games, answering fan questions, sharing behind-the-scenes photos and asking for predictions. This uses the conversations and presence blocks.
Opportunity 3: A Season Ticket Holder Group
A private Facebook group for about 600 season ticket holders could offer early news, polls on promotions and direct access to staff. This uses groups and relationships and gives the most loyal fans a sense of belonging.
Opportunity 4: Short Player Videos on TikTok and Instagram
Many players are in their early twenties and comfortable on camera. Short, playful videos, such as players guessing the price of local foods or teaching a kid to bunt, fit what TikTok users expect and show personalities that make fans care.
Opportunity 5: Community Voting on Promotions
Fans could vote on theme nights, jersey designs and giveaway items through polls. Voting gives a reason to engage and produces data on what fans want.
Costs and Capacity
None of the five opportunities requires new software or paid advertising. The main cost is staff time. The fan photo program needs about two hours a week to select and post images and to announce winners. Live threads need one person for the length of each home game, which is why they wait for the summer intern. The season ticket holder group needs daily attention during the season, at least to answer questions, but it also saves ticket staff time by putting common answers in one place. Player videos depend on the manager's cooperation and the players' willingness, so the team should start with two or three volunteers.
Priorities
Given a one-person social media staff, the Hawks should start with the fan photo program and the season ticket holder group, which build on existing fans and require little production. Live threads and player videos should follow once a game-day intern is hired in May. Promotion voting can begin in the off-season, when the schedule of theme nights is set.
Conclusion
Social media are applications for creating and sharing user content, and social networks carry that content from person to person. The building blocks framework shows that the Missouri River Hawks use only a few functions of their platforms, mostly to broadcast results. By inviting fans to share, talk, vote and gather, the team can turn its 35,500 followers from an audience into a community, and later weeks will build on that community to strengthen loyalty and attendance.
References
Hanna, R., Rohm, A., & Crittenden, V. L. (2011). We're all connected: The power of the social media ecosystem. Business Horizons, 54(3), 265-273. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bushor.2011.01.007
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
Kietzmann, J. H., Hermkens, K., McCarthy, I. P., & Silvestre, B. S. (2011). Social media? Get serious! Understanding the functional building blocks of social media. Business Horizons, 54(3), 241-251. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bushor.2011.01.005
What the MKT 443 Week 1 instructions ask
The first MKT 443 assignment generally asks students to examine social networks and social media and to identify interactive marketing opportunities for a company or brand. Prompts often ask for definitions of social media and social networking, a description of major platforms and how people use them, and an assessment of how an organization currently uses them. Many ask students to recommend specific opportunities to interact with customers. A strong response picks one organization, describes its audience and current accounts honestly, uses a framework from the research to judge what each platform does well and recommends opportunities that invite participation, not just broadcasting. Cite scholarly sources in APA format and support each recommendation with a reason tied to the audience.
How this MKT 443 Week 1 example is built
The Missouri River Hawks, a composite team with a 3,800-seat ballpark and 50 home dates, use social media as a scoreboard: final scores, rainouts and the occasional promotion. The paper begins by defining social media as a group of Internet applications that allow users to create and exchange content, and social networks as the relationships those applications map. Kietzmann and colleagues' seven building blocks, from identity to reputation, structure an audit of four accounts. Research on the social media ecosystem then shows why paid, owned and earned media must work together. The analysis finds the team strong on presence and weak on conversation, sharing and groups, and it ranks five opportunities, including a fan photo program, live game threads and a booster group for season ticket holders.
MKT 443 Week 1 grading rubric: where the points go
Grading for this opening paper centers on understanding and application. The higher bands go to papers that define social media and social networks accurately, describe platforms in terms of what users actually do there, and use a research framework to analyze the organization rather than offering personal impressions. Interactive opportunities should be specific, suited to the audience and clearly two-way. Instructors also look for an honest view of current practice, including weaknesses, and for recommendations that are realistic for the organization's staff and budget. Scholarly sources, consistent APA citations, clear headings and a short conclusion that previews later work round out a well-scored paper. Concise, readable prose helps, since the paper is about communication.
MKT 443 Week 1 help: mistakes to avoid
Many first drafts describe each platform in general terms, with user counts and features, and say little about the organization. Keep platform descriptions short and spend the space on how this audience uses them. A second common problem is calling every post interactive. Posting a schedule is broadcasting; asking fans to vote, reply, share photos or join a group is interaction. Some students recommend being on every platform, which a small staff cannot sustain. Choose the networks where the audience already gathers. Others skip the research framework entirely and rely on opinion. Use one model, such as the building blocks, and apply it consistently. Finally, rank your opportunities and explain why the first one should come first, because a list without priorities is hard to act on.
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MKT 443 Week 1 questions, answered
What does MKT 443 Week 1 usually cover?
It usually covers social networks, social media platforms and online advertising, and asks students to identify interactive marketing opportunities that let an organization engage customers in two-way communication.
Where can I find a free MKT 443 Week 1 sample paper?
A complete Week 1 paper on interactive social media opportunities for a composite independent baseball team in North Dakota appears above, with its reference list and margin notes.
What is the difference between social media and social networks?
Social media are the online applications people use to create and share content, while social networks are the relationships among people that those applications record and connect.
What are the building blocks of social media?
Kietzmann and colleagues named seven: identity, conversations, sharing, presence, relationships, reputation and groups, each describing a function a platform may emphasize.
What counts as an interactive marketing opportunity?
Any activity that invites customers to respond or participate, such as replying, voting, sharing their own photos, joining a group or asking questions in a live session, rather than only receiving messages.
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