| Course | BU 439 Digital and Social Media Marketing Strategy |
|---|---|
| Unit | Unit 2 |
| Paper type | Channel selection rationale |
| Length | About 860 words, 6 pages |
| Format | APA 7 student paper |
| School | Herzing University |
| Program | BS in Marketing |
| Updated | September 2026 |
Free sample paper for BU 439 Unit 2
Six Staff Hours a Week and Where They Go: A Channel Selection Rationale for a Composite Toledo Roller Rink Chasing Adult Skaters and Birthday Parents
Student Name
Business, Herzing University
BU 439: Digital and Social Media Marketing Strategy
Instructor Name
January 28, 2026
Six Staff Hours a Week and Where They Go: A Channel Selection Rationale for a Composite Toledo Roller Rink Chasing Adult Skaters and Birthday Parents
What Is Being Allocated
Skyline Skate Center, the composite Toledo roller rink audited in Unit 1, has no marketing staff. The owners can give digital channels about six staff hours a week: two from the owner who manages sessions, and four from a part-time floor manager in her twenties who already films skaters on her phone. That time, not money, is the plan's budget. The rink wants two things from it: more adults at the Thursday adult night and more birthday party bookings from parents. This rationale settles its criteria first, applies all of them to every candidate channel, funds a short list and explains every exclusion in full. Kaplan and Haenlein (2010) advise firms to choose a small number of platforms that fit their audience and resources rather than trying to be everywhere, which is also the lesson of the abandoned accounts the audit found.
The Criteria, Before Any Platform
Five criteria were agreed with the owners before any platform was named. Audience presence asks whether there is evidence that adults aged roughly 21 to 35 or parents of young children in the Toledo area use the platform. Producible content asks whether the rink can make what the platform rewards with a phone and a few hours a week. Path to action asks whether someone who sees a post can book a party or learn the adult night schedule in a step or two. Weekly time asks how many hours the channel needs to be maintained properly. Ownership asks whether the rink controls the channel and its data or depends on a platform's rules.
Evidence for audience presence comes from two sources: national survey data and the rink's own audit. A 2024 Pew Research Center survey found that 68 percent of US adults use Facebook and 83 percent use YouTube, while Instagram is used by 47 percent of adults overall but 78 percent of those aged 18 to 29, and TikTok by 33 percent overall and 62 percent of 18- to 29-year-olds (Gottfried, 2024). National figures say nothing certain about Toledo, so they are read alongside the audit's local evidence.
Every Candidate Against Every Criterion
Each candidate is rated high, medium or low on each criterion, with a brief reason.
| Channel | Audience presence | Producible content | Path to action | Weekly time | Ownership | Decision |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Google Business Profile | High: where searchers land; 612 reviews | High: hours, photos, replies | High: call and directions buttons | Low: about 1 hour | Medium | Fund |
| Facebook page and events | High for parents | High: flyers, events, short video | Medium: messages and event pages | Medium: about 1.5 hours | Low | Fund |
| High for adults 18 to 29 | High: short vertical video of skating | Medium: link in profile, messages | Medium: about 2 hours | Low | Fund | |
| Party email list | High: 2,300 past party parents | High: monthly note | High: direct booking link | Low: about 1 hour a month | High | Fund |
| TikTok | High for adults 18 to 29; one 2021 video reached about 38,000 views | High: same video as Instagram | Low: weak link to booking | Low if reusing Instagram video | Low | Test for 90 days |
| YouTube | High overall | Low for long video | Low | High | Low | Exclude |
| Medium for party planners | Medium | Low | Medium | Low | Exclude for now | |
| Nextdoor | Medium for nearby parents | Low | Medium | Medium | Low | Exclude for now |
| X | Low for both groups | Low | Low | Medium | Low | Exclude and close |
The Funded List
Four channels are funded with the six hours. The Google Business Profile comes first despite having no followers, because it is the page most people see and it currently carries wrong hours; an hour a week keeps it accurate, adds photos and answers reviews. Facebook is funded for parents, whose use of the platform the rink already sees in party questions under its flyers, and because its events feature suits adult night listings. Instagram is funded for adult skaters, using the floor manager's short videos of skating under the rink's lights. The party email list is funded because the rink holds those addresses itself, with no platform in between, and they belong to the parents most likely to book again.
TikTok is funded as a 90-day test rather than a full channel. Each vertical video made for Instagram will also be posted to TikTok, which costs about half an hour a week. The single 2021 video that reached about 38,000 views could have been luck, so the test has a decision rule: if at least three videos in 90 days each reach 5,000 views and adult night attendance rises in the same period, TikTok becomes a funded channel; if not, it is closed.
Why the Others Are Excluded
YouTube is the most widely used platform in the survey data, and that makes excluding it a real choice. The rink cannot produce the longer videos YouTube's main format rewards with six hours a week, and its short-video format would duplicate the Instagram and TikTok work for an audience that does not come to YouTube to find a local rink. It stays excluded until the rink can make longer content, such as a series of lessons.
Pinterest has a genuine case: parents plan children's parties there, and a pin of a skate party theme could reach them early. It is excluded for now because its path to booking is long and the rink has no party imagery beyond flyers. It is the first candidate to reconsider if party bookings do not rise.
Nextdoor reaches neighbors within a few miles, which suits a single-location business. It is excluded because its useful features for businesses mostly involve paid placement, which Unit 5 can reconsider, and because its conversations often concern complaints the rink would need time to answer.
X is excluded and the old account will be closed, since neither audience uses it much and its profile links to a domain the rink no longer owns. Tuten and Solomon (2018) caution that a neglected account can harm a brand more than having none, which applies to X, YouTube and the dormant pages identified in the audit. Skyline Skate Center and every figure attributed to it are composites for this course.
References
Gottfried, J. (2024, January 31). Americans' social media use. Pew Research Center. https://www.pewresearch.org/internet/2024/01/31/americans-social-media-use/
Kaplan, A. M., & Haenlein, M. (2010). Users of the world, unite! The challenges and opportunities of social media. Business Horizons, 53(1), 59-68. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bushor.2009.09.003
Tuten, T. L., & Solomon, M. R. (2018). Social media marketing (3rd ed.). SAGE.
The Herzing BU 439 Unit 2 instructions
In Unit 2, BU 439 asks students to choose which digital channels an organization should use and justify the choice. Prompts typically require selection criteria set in advance, evidence about where the target audience is, an evaluation of every candidate platform against the same criteria, a funded short list and reasons for exclusions. Many instructors expect students to treat staff time as a limited resource and to cite audience data from a reliable source. Rejected platforms are often required to receive real explanation rather than a passing mention. A comparison table is standard, and the APA 7 discussion around it connects the choices to the audit and the organization's goals, including how much staff time each channel will take.
Inside the BU 439 Unit 2 example
The rationale begins by defining the budget as six hours of two people's time and naming the two goals. A criteria section sets out five tests and explains how national survey data and local audit evidence are combined for audience presence. A nine-row table rates every candidate on every criterion and records a decision. The funded list explains why a business listing with no followers comes first, why Facebook serves parents, why Instagram serves adults and why the email list matters. TikTok receives a test with a clear threshold. The final section gives YouTube, Pinterest, Nextdoor and X a paragraph each, including when Pinterest should be reconsidered.
Reading the BU 439 Unit 2 rubric
Channel rationale rubrics generally assess the criteria, the quality of audience evidence, consistent evaluation, the logic of the final selection and the treatment of exclusions, plus writing and APA. Criteria earn full credit when set before candidates are discussed and tied to the organization's goals and resources. Audience evidence scores highest when it comes from a reliable, cited source and is qualified for the local context. Consistent evaluation requires every candidate to face every criterion. Selection logic is judged on whether the funded list fits the available time or budget. The exclusions criterion rewards reasoned paragraphs, since explaining why a popular platform was left out shows judgment as clearly as explaining a choice.
BU 439 Unit 2 help: mistakes that cost points
Channel selections often lose points when criteria appear only after the favored platforms, so the list justifies itself. Another common problem is audience claims with no source, or national statistics treated as if they described one city. Students frequently choose every popular platform without checking whether the organization can maintain them. Some rate the favored channels in detail and skip the rest. Exclusions are often a single line, which instructors read as unconsidered. Others forget non-social channels such as business listings and email, which can matter more than any feed. Finally, a plan that ignores the audit's findings, such as abandoned accounts, misses the evidence the previous unit produced.
Get a BU 439 Unit 2 example written to your instructions
Forward the Unit 2 instructions with the BU 439 rubric your classroom shows, and the brand or case the assignment fixes. We write a custom example that defines its criteria first, scores every candidate against all of them, argues each exclusion in full and names what would reopen the decision. First custom sample free, returned in 24 to 48 hours.
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BU 439 Unit 2 questions, answered
How many platforms should the plan fund?
Fewer than a first draft carries, and the number falls out of the resourcing criterion rather than being decided in advance. Two surfaces fed properly beat five updated whenever somebody remembers. If your instructions name a minimum, meet it and be explicit that the smallest of them runs on reduced output, so the calendar does not later promise something nobody could produce.
Where does evidence about who uses a platform come from?
Published research, a platform's own reported figures and trade coverage, each cited with the date it was published, because these numbers move quickly and a two year old figure quoted flat reads as current. Your own audit supplies the other half: what the firm's existing properties have actually attracted is direct evidence about this audience, even when the counts are small.
Does a rejected platform really need a full paragraph?
It earns one. A single line saying a surface was not chosen tells a marker nothing about your reasoning, whereas a paragraph naming what it would have offered and what ruled it out shows the criteria working against a real case. Rejections are also where a rationale is most easily challenged, since the strongest candidate you declined is the obvious question a reader will ask.
Where can I find a free BU 439 Unit 2 sample paper?
This page publishes the full BU 439 Unit 2 channel selection rationale for free, with the criteria, the nine-platform table and margin notes. For your own organization, forward the prompt and a free custom rationale is prepared, typically within 48 hours.
How many platforms should BU 439 Unit 2 fund?
As many as the organization can maintain well. The sample funds four channels plus a 90-day test because six staff hours a week cannot sustain more, and explains that an abandoned account can do more harm than none.