Key Information
About the content
In this course, you'll take on the role of a communications manager for a fictional organisation, making key decisions that will affect its online reputation.
You will experience:
- how to build a robust and sustainable online reputation
- the positives of building a strong participatory culture
- how to manage social media issues based on a real-life examples
- how to manage a crisis and respond appropriately across multiple platforms.
Throughout the course, you’ll learn from real life case studies and gain an understanding of the important role that blogs, Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat and other social platforms play in today’s business world.
The digital landscape is fast-paced and continually changing, yet is an equally challenging and exciting environment in which to work. This course is relevant to anyone working in marketing, communications, public relations, social media and advertising.
This course is part of the CurtinX MicroMasters Credential in Marketing in a Digital World that is specifically designed to teach the critical skills needed to be successful in this exciting field. In order to qualify for the MicroMasters Credential you will need to earn a Verified Certificate in each of the five courses.
You'll learn how to:
- manage an organisation’s online reputation
- apply reputational management principles to manage online issues and crises
- build a strong participatory culture to engage your audience.
Prerequisite
Students should have an understanding of marketing and public relations concepts. Students also need an understanding of different online platforms.
Syllabus
Week 1: Corporate reputation in the digital age
In this module you will:
- identify what a corporate reputation is and why it is important
- examine how the digital age has affected reputation management
- identify the types of reputational risk that exist online and the difference between an issue and a crisis
Week 2: Reputation and participatory culture
In this module you will:
- explain what participatory culture is and why it is important
- utilise the audience as co-creator of the story and brand
- recommend ways in which to build a strong participatory culture
Week 3: How online has changed the media cycle
In this module you will:
- examine how the traditional media cycle has changed and the broader definition of who ‘the media’ is now
- explain how online reputation affects offline reputation and whether an organisation can separate the two
Week 4: Managing reputation online
In this module you will:
- examine how to build a reputation – conversation and coverage
- demonstrate how to protect a reputation in times of adversity
- monitor your reputation and act on issues
Week 5: Protecting a Reputation: when it goes wrong, crisis response
In this module you will:
- identify ways to embrace online negativity/criticism
- explain how to respond to a crisis online
- debrief after a crisis and evaluate your response
Week 6: Towards best practice reputation management
In this module you will:
- examine how ethics relates to corporate reputation
- articulate how to be authentic and speak ‘beyond the corporate voice’
- compare best practice in building a sustainable corporate brand online
Instructors
Bridget Tombleson
Lecturer, Public Relations
Curtin University
Katharina Wolf
Senior Lecturer, Public Relations
Curtin University
Content Designer
Curtin University is the largest tertiary education institution in Western Australia. Its main campus is in Perth, Western Australia. Founded in 1966, it was first known as the Western Australian Institute of Technology (WAIT) and from 1986 as Curtin University of Technology before taking its current name in 2010. It is named after John Curtin, Prime Minister of Australia during the Second World War.
Platform
Harvard University, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and the University of California, Berkeley, are just some of the schools that you have at your fingertips with EdX. Through massive open online courses (MOOCs) from the world's best universities, you can develop your knowledge in literature, math, history, food and nutrition, and more. These online classes are taught by highly-regarded experts in the field. If you take a class on computer science through Harvard, you may be taught by David J. Malan, a senior lecturer on computer science at Harvard University for the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences. But there's not just one professor - you have access to the entire teaching staff, allowing you to receive feedback on assignments straight from the experts. Pursue a Verified Certificate to document your achievements and use your coursework for job and school applications, promotions, and more. EdX also works with top universities to conduct research, allowing them to learn more about learning. Using their findings, edX is able to provide students with the best and most effective courses, constantly enhancing the student experience.
