MKTG90042 Social Media and Viral Marketing
The Complete Exam Bible · S2 2026MKTG90042 Overview
- University of Melbourne
- Semester 2 2026
- Postgraduate
- Marketing
MKTG90042 Social Media and Viral Marketing examines how organisations understand social consumers, design shareable experiences, work with influence and networks, plan and measure campaigns, coordinate tactics and manage ethical risk.
- Assessed by Participation, test, group assignment and final exam
- Core method Link evidence to mechanism, action and measure
- Quantitative work Interpret network and campaign rates
- Exam focus Apply concepts to one integrated case
How MKTG90042 is assessed
| Component | Weight | Format |
|---|---|---|
| Seminar preparation and participation | 10% | Individual, throughout the teaching period |
| Mid-semester test | 20% | Individual, one-hour in-class test in Week 7 |
| Group Assignment | 30% | Group project for an external client, due in Week 10 |
| End of Semester Examination | 40% | Individual, two-hour closed-book case study and open-ended questions during the examination period |
The four published weights total 100%. The current Canvas assessment page places the mid-semester test on 8 September 2026. Check the official examination timetable for the final examination date.
Current MKTG90042 dates
| Date | Item | Control |
|---|---|---|
| 8 September 2026 | Mid-semester test | One-hour individual test at the beginning of the Week 7 workshop. |
The current Semester 2 Canvas assessment page controls the test date; the subject-guide schedule contains carried-over 2025 dates. Confirm exact deadlines and submission settings in the live LMS.
What MKTG90042 covers
Eight chapters follow the published topic sequence from platform foundations to campaign governance.
Platforms, Zones and Marketing Objectives
Platform affordances, social zones, marketing objectives and measurable participation.Social media marketing begins with a distinction that is easy to blur under exam pressure. A platform is not simply a traditional channel moved online.
- Platform affordances and networked participation
- Community, publishing, entertainment and commerce zones
- Business problems, audience outcomes and marketing objectives
- Exposure, interaction and behavioural measures
Social Consumers, Segments and Personas
Segmentation, targeting, social identity, digital footprints and evidence-based personas.Social consumers leave traces of interests, relationships and behaviour, but a trace is not automatically an insight. The analytical task is to decide which differences matter for the marketing problem.
- Segmentation variables and target evaluation
- Social identity and digital footprints
- Persona evidence, goals and frictions
- Research uncertainty and stereotype control
Virality, Word of Mouth and Firestorms
Transmission, share motives, online communities, amplification and firestorm response.Virality is a pattern of person-to-person transmission, not a synonym for high view count. A piece of content can receive heavy paid distribution without spreading through social ties.
- Digital word of mouth and transmission
- Share motives and social context
- Paid, owned and earned amplification
- Firestorm diagnosis and response
Influencers and Social Network Analysis
Influencer selection, network ties, centrality measures, density and campaign fit.Influence is the capacity to affect attention, interpretation or behaviour within a social setting. Follower count is therefore only one clue.
- Nodes, edges and network communities
- Degree and betweenness centrality
- Closeness, eigenvector centrality and density
- Influencer fit, disclosure and measurement
Strategy, Funnels and Campaign Measurement
Strategic planning, funnel stages, objectives, indicators and review decisions.Strategy turns a business problem into coordinated choices. The course's planning sequence moves from situation analysis through goals, audience, social media mix, experience strategy and activation to execution and measurement.
- Situation analysis and objective setting
- Audience, mix and experience strategy
- Funnel stages and indicator choice
- Outputs, responses and business outcomes
Tactical Plans, Channels and Content
Channel roles, experience design, content plans, editorial calendars and governance.A tactical plan converts strategy into coordinated action. It explains why the audience should care, where the experience will occur, what content supports it, how material will be produced and promoted, and who owns each decision.
- Value-driven tactical planning
- Channel roles and experience design
- Content plans and editorial calendars
- Ownership, approval and contingency
Advertising, Commerce and Social Experiences
Advertising, commerce, community, publishing and entertainment as participation modes.Later weeks move across advertising and commerce, community, publishing and entertainment. The analytical task is not to memorise isolated techniques.
- Targeted social advertising
- Discovery, evaluation and social commerce
- Community and publishing experiences
- Entertainment, participation and attribution
Ethical and Legal Campaign Decisions
Stakeholder harm, transparency, data use, claims, safeguards and escalation.Ethical and legal issues are not a final compliance paragraph added after a campaign is designed. Data use, targeting, creator relationships, moderation and persuasive design shape the campaign from the first decision.
- Stakeholders, benefits and burdens
- Data, targeting and persuasive design
- Claims, disclosure and less intrusive alternatives
- Approval, monitoring and escalation
The subject connects platform and community structure to practical strategic decisions.
The final examination uses a case study and open-ended questions, so this guide emphasises application. Each chapter moves from a concept map to a fresh decision case and a boundary clinic.
Quantitative sections retain explicit denominators for centrality and campaign rates, while qualitative sections distinguish observed evidence from inference.
The organising question is what evidence supports the proposed audience change, through which mechanism, and how the organisation would know whether the action worked.
Platform features, personas, creator partnerships and campaign metrics matter only when they answer part of that decision chain. A large number is therefore a starting observation rather than a verdict.
Revision should join the early and later weeks.
Consumer evidence shapes targeting; transmission and network structure shape distribution; strategy defines the outcome; tactical planning coordinates delivery; the social zones provide different participation modes; and ethical review constrains data, claims and persuasive design. This connected map prevents isolated framework lists in an integrated case.
Assessment practice should mirror the published formats.
Rehearse short calculations with explicit denominators for the mid-semester test, research-supported strategic and tactical recommendations for the group assignment, and integrated case reasoning for the final examination. Keep operational dates separate from conceptual revision and verify them on the official subject systems.
Worked example · free
Choose a measure for a campaign objective
- 1Click-through rate = 540 divided by 18,000 multiplied by 100 = 3%.
- 1Registration-per-click rate = 81 divided by 540 multiplied by 100 = 15%.
- 1The first rate describes movement from delivered impressions to clicks; it does not prove attention or persuasion.
- 1The second describes movement from clicks to completed registrations; compare both with a baseline before judging success.
Key terms
- Social media zone
- A participation setting organised around community, publishing, entertainment or commerce.
- Social consumer
- A person whose networked media use shapes how information, identity and market activity interact.
- Persona
- An evidence-based decision aid representing a target audience's relevant goals, frictions and behaviours.
- Virality
- Person-to-person transmission that expands the circulation of content through social connections.
- Degree centrality
- The number of direct ties attached to a node in a network.
- Betweenness centrality
- A measure of how often a node lies on shortest paths between other nodes.
- Engagement rate
- A ratio relating defined audience actions to a stated exposure or audience denominator.
- Editorial calendar
- A schedule coordinating content production, approval, publication, promotion and response.
MKTG90042 FAQ
How is the subject assessed?
The published structure combines seminar preparation and participation, a mid-semester test, a group assignment and an end-of-semester examination. Their weights are 10%, 20%, 30% and 40%, which total 100%. Each component assesses a different kind of preparation or application.
What is the final examination format?
The subject materials describe a two-hour closed-book examination with reading time. It uses one case study and open-ended questions, covers the subject and places particular focus on material from Week 7 onward.
Does the subject include calculations?
Yes. The mid-semester test may include simple calculations, and the teaching materials cover network centrality and campaign rates. Show the denominator, compute the value and explain what the result can support.
How should I build a useful persona?
Begin with research about the target context, goals, frictions and behaviour. Separate observed evidence from assumptions, translate the pattern into message and channel implications, and record uncertainty that further research could resolve.
Is a popular post automatically viral?
A large view count can come from paid delivery, media coverage or platform recommendation. Virality concerns person-to-person transmission, so inspect sharing pathways, reshare depth and community context before using the label.
Which centrality measure should I use?
Choose from the decision: degree for direct connection, betweenness for brokerage, closeness for network access and eigenvector centrality for links to influential nodes. Then add audience fit and credibility checks.
What makes a campaign strategy defensible?
A defensible strategy traces a clear chain from business problem and audience to objective, experience, channel role, measure and review condition. Each tactical choice should have a distinct job within that chain.
Is this an official University guide?
This is an independent AskSia study resource grounded in university-derived materials. Confirm live dates, submission settings and examination instructions on the official subject systems before relying on them.
Questions students ask in each MKTG90042 chapter
- How do I choose a social platform?
- Start with the business problem, audience and desired change. Select the zone and affordance that support that change, then choose a platform whose audience use and measurement options fit the decision. Chapter 01 · Platforms, Zones and Marketing Objectives
- What makes a persona useful?
- A useful persona is built from more than one evidence source, focuses on facts relevant to the marketing decision, and changes a message, experience or channel choice while recording important uncertainty. Chapter 02 · Social Consumers, Segments and Personas
- Is a high view count evidence of virality?
- Not by itself. Views may come from paid delivery, media embedding or platform recommendation, so inspect reshare paths, transmission depth and the community context before claiming person-to-person diffusion. Chapter 03 · Virality, Word of Mouth and Firestorms
- Does the most connected account make the best influencer?
- No. Degree measures direct ties, but the objective may require brokerage, network access or prestige instead. Any structural score also needs checks for audience overlap, credibility, activity and creative fit. Chapter 04 · Influencers and Social Network Analysis
- Which campaign metric should I report?
- Choose the metric that directly reflects the stated audience outcome, keep its denominator visible, and add a baseline or comparison. Report outputs, audience responses and business outcomes as separate layers. Chapter 05 · Strategy, Funnels and Campaign Measurement
- What belongs in a tactical plan?
- A tactical plan names the audience value, channel roles, content and experience, production and publishing sequence, promotion, community response, owners, dependencies, measures and a contingency for likely failure. Chapter 06 · Tactical Plans, Channels and Content
- Should a campaign use every social zone?
- No. Add a zone only when it performs a distinct audience job and has a matching measure. A smaller connected experience is stronger than a broad tactic list with duplicated roles. Chapter 07 · Advertising, Commerce and Social Experiences
- Is clear disclosure enough for an ethical campaign?
- No. Disclosure can improve transparency but cannot repair a misleading claim, unsuitable audience, excessive data collection or harmful design. Review the entire decision and choose less intrusive alternatives where available. Chapter 08 · Ethical and Legal Campaign Decisions
How to study for the exam
Build a one-page map of the eight chapter decisions, then practise converting fresh case evidence into a mechanism, recommendation, measure and boundary. Recompute every network or campaign rate with its denominator visible. In the final pass, rehearse one integrated case under the published two-hour closed-book format and check current operational instructions on the official subject systems.
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