Social Media Marketing
Analytic strategy for engagement
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award Description
Program Update
Thank you for your interest in the Social Media Marketing program. Due to upcoming changes, we are no longer accepting new candidates for this specialization effective April 1, 2024. You are invited to enroll in any open course and pick up the practical skills you need. If you have already completed the requirements for the specialization and are interested in receiving this specialization, please contact extension@ucsc.edu.
Rev up your social media strategy
This is a quick, deep dive into the social media marketer toolbox. Students learn key digital technologies and tools to compete for customers in the digital economy, broaden their online audience, and leverage social media to create measurable business results. Explore how key social media channels, branded communities, blogs, video, and messenger apps fit into B2B and B2C marketing strategies and create a social media marketing plan grounded in analytics. You will learn the best practices of online market research and sponsored content campaigns and understand how social media can add value to particular job functions to exceed performance goals.
Specialization in Social Media Marketing program objectives
- Know your audience
- Understand the strengths of major social media channels
- Develop your own social media campaigns.
- Manage, monitor and analyze your social media presence.
Program Overview
Estimated Cost: $2,700 (You pay only for courses you enroll in.)
Program Requirements: Total Required: 3 courses (6 units)
Minimum Hours of Instruction:
Estimated Duration: A student can complete this specialization in 12 months (possibly sooner).
Special Programs:
Courses
1. Required Course(s):
2. Capstone Course:
3. Completion Review:
Meet Our Instructors
What students are saying
"The response from my fellow students was so enthusiastic that I had to think more in depth. It evolved. Every course demands that you think in a certain way. Every course took me a step further."
— Bouwien Luppes
International Student
Art Entrepreneur and Marketer
Specialization Inquiry Form
Recommended Course Sequence
It is strongly recommended that you take the required courses in this sequence:
- Social Media Marketing Fundamentals
- Advanced Social Media Marketing: A Practical Approach for Business
- Application of Social Media for Business Growth
To receive your certificate
Upon completion of the course sequence you may request your Specialization in Social Media Marketing Completion Review.
Requisite Knowledge
Please review course descriptions to ensure that you have taken necessary prerequisites or meet the requirements through job experience or previous education.
Program Chair
Program Chair
LY-HUONG PHAM, M.A., M.B.A., Ph.D., has over 30 years of experience in general management, system software development, consulting, and entrepreneurship in the high tech industry. She is chief executive officer of Mobiscale LLC, a private company providing end-to-end strategic and engineering services for startups and Fortune 500 companies in diverse industries. Previous experience includes serving as CEO at several startups and holding senior management roles at Apple, Turbolinux, and Cray. She is also co-inventor of 10 granted patents that have produced over a billion dollars in licensing revenue. Pham completed a doctorate in human and organizational systems with a concentration on information society and knowledge organization. As a director and chair of audit committees for several nonprofit organizations, she's worked to transform the health, education, and communities of disadvantaged people in Southeast Asia. She has taught courses in computer sciences, business management, and marketing, in the U.S. and Asia, sharing her integrative view of academic theories and professional lessons learned from company turnarounds, new market developments, startup launches and corporate spin-offs.
Establish Candidacy
Who should establish candidacy?
- People who are pursuing a certificate (and have enrolled in a course in the program).
- People who want to lock in the current requirements of a certificate or specialization.
4 Simple Steps to a Certificate or Specialization
- Complete a course in your selected program.
- Establish candidacy. Click on the Establish Candidacy button on your program page.
- Take all required courses for certificate completion.
- Once your grades are posted on your final course, enroll in the certificate review fee.
A Benefit of Establishing Candidacy
Program requirements may change. Once you commit to a program by establish your candidacy, you will not have to change your plans to meet new requirements. They are locked in for you. Timeline: 4 years to get it done (or 3 for a specialization) You must complete all the necessary units in a certificate within a four-year window. The clock begins on the first day of your first course in the certificate program. For example, if you started a course on Sept. 5, 2023, you would have to finish by Sept. 4, 2027.
Note: Establishing candidacy does not trigger the beginning of the four-year window. It begins the first day of the first course in your chosen certificate program. The Certificate Completion Review process does not have to occur within the four-year timeframe.
Exceptions to the four-year requirement
- If you Established candidacy prior to Jan. 1, 2024, you will have five years to complete a program.
- Students participating in a special program, such as workforce, international, or our curriculum partner programs, such as the Legal Studies courses (CLS by Barbri) and sales and business courses (Ziplines Education) have shorter completion requirements.