Professional Contribution Comments/Replies

MAR 6805 – Professional Contribution Comments/Replies

MSM Assignment Instructions

Assignment Overview

A significant part of marketing is building relationships that reflect favorably on your organization,

your products, and your brand. The digital marketplace has provided us with a vast set of

opportunities to communicate to individuals and groups of people in a manner that reflects favorably

on our own personal/professional brands. One of these opportunities is the ability to comment on

content and interact with other people who comment on that same content. Not only does this afford

us the potential to connect with the content creator, but also to connect with audience members who

likely have similar interests to our own (we are, after all, consuming the same content).

Unfortunately, many people consider comment sections to be a one-way communication wherein they

post a comment and then never return to see any engagement. Others spend their time bickering with

other individuals rather than building relationships. These approaches fail to take advantage of the

great opportunity to engage, connect, and build professional relationships.

To demonstrate your professional communication skills and build professional engagement habits, this

assignment series requires you to contribute professional dialogue through your use of comments and

replies to comments for a set of assigned articles and videos. You should do this from the perspective

of your industry, your organization, your position, and/or your personal experiences in order to

contribute to the discussion of various marketing aspects of the presented material. You will do this

via both an original Comment and a Reply to someone else’s comment or reply.

When writing your comments and replies, remember that you are representing your own professional

brand and, essentially, marketing yourself. Please follow these guidelines:

 Portray yourself as a professional in all interactions.

 If using one of the provided prompts, do NOT repeat the question prior to answering.

 Do not reference the course/class or refer to an “instructor” or “professor” because this may cause other readers to discount your expertise due their perception of your “student” status.

 All comments and replies should be of a positive nature and should be thoughtful, intelligent, and, when possible, incorporate concepts learned in the course.

 Disagreeing with the author, presenter, or commentator is fine, but do so amiably and always on a professional level. Add something rather than just being negative.

NOTE: If you decide to share the article/video via social media (LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, etc.) to

showcase your expert commentary, share it immediately after you make your comment so that your

particular comment(s) will be more accessible at the time of sharing and not buried below other

comments.

Part One: Comment (3 points)

Using your YouTube account, provide professional commentary by writing two to four complete,

compelling, grammatically correct sentences, using one of the questions below as a guide (do NOT use

the question word-for-word, but only as a GUIDE). NOTE: for each video/article, you must use a

different question as your guide for your comment.

1. Which part of the video/article resonated most with you (or you most connected with) and how could you use that information or concept in your professional life?

2. What concept or idea from the video/article have you experienced in the past and what was your experience?

3. Which point of the video/article did you agree with the most, and why? 4. What is a “hidden gem” or something that few would notice in the video/article, that you find

to be noteworthy/critical/game-changing/enlightening/etc., and why?

5. What is an addition that you could offer to extend the concepts discussed in the video/article? 6. How does or could the material in this video/article (or some portion of it) apply to your

particular industry or field or job position?

7. How could the material presented in this video/article influence you or someone else to change your approach to marketing, sales, communications, leadership, etc.?

8. What is an aspect of this video/article that gives you a different perspective on some area of marketing, buyer behavior, sales, branding, analytics, etc.?

9. Which point(s) of this video/article have you not considered before, and how could it change your thinking about the topic?

After you have made your comment, be sure to take a legible screenshot of the entire comment for

later submission in the Assignment Dropbox. (If, after posting your comment, the entire comment is

not showing, click the “show more” or similar button to ensure that it is showing in full prior to taking

the screenshot.)

Part Two: Reply to Someone Else’s Comment (2 points)

You also will be required to reply to another person’s comment (or another person’s reply to a

comment) in a manner that furthers the professional contribution of the idea or thread portrayed in the

comment/reply. Remember, your replies also should be of a positive nature and should be thoughtful,

intelligent, and, when possible, incorporate concepts learned in the course and from your experience.

After you have made your reply, be sure to take a legible screenshot of the entire reply for later

submission in the appropriate Canvas assignment submission link.

Part Three: Submit the Assignment on Canvas

In one document, provide the following:

1. Your name 2. Your YouTube username (for comments on videos) 3. The number and text of the guide question you used while formulating your comment 4. Screenshot of comment – import/embed it as an image in the document. Size it large enough

to read the comment easily. 5. Screenshot of reply (include the referenced comment and/or reply for context in grading) –

import/embed it as an image in the document. Size it large enough to read the reply easily.

6. Save the document as a PDF and upload it to Canvas.

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