Strategic Social Media Management: Theory and Practice

This textbook provides a lively introduction to the fast-paced and multi-faceted discipline of social media management with international examples and perspectives. Aside from focusing on practical application of marketing strategy, the textbook also takes students through the process of strategy development, ethical and accurate content curation, and strategy implementation, through detailed explanations of content creation.
Combining theory and practice, Strategic Social Media Management teaches students how to take a strategic approach to social media from an organisational and business perspective, and how to measure results. Richly supported by robust and engaging pedagogy and cases in each chapter, it integrates perspectives from public relations, marketing and advertising, and examines key topics such as risk, ethics, privacy, consent, copyright issues, and crises management. It also provides dedicated coverage of content strategy and campaign planning and execution.

Reflecting the demands of contemporary practice, advice on self-care for social media management is also offered, helping to protect people in this emerging profession from the negativity that they can experience online when managing an organisation’s social media presence. After reading this textbook, students will be able to develop a social media strategy, curate accurate and relevant content, and create engaging social media content that tells compelling stories, connects with target audiences and supports strategic goals and objectives.

This is an ideal textbook for students studying social media strategy, marketing and management at undergraduate level. It will also be essential reading for marketing, public relations, advertising and communications professionals looking to hone their social media skills and strategies.

Karen Sutherland is a Lecturer in Public Relations at the University of the Sunshine Coast in Australia. She is the discipline lead for courses on public relations and social media, and holds curriculum development responsibility for the Social Media Minor, Social Media Major, and Bachelor of Communication (Social Media) programmes at USC. She brings a strong blend of teaching, research and industry experience to the table