DATA4500 · Marketing and Social Media Analytics

Assessment 2

Influencers & Social Media Marketing — how to do it, and how to start
Individual report · 1,500 words · 30% · Due Tuesday 19:55 AEST, Week 9
The big picture

What you are actually being asked to do

You are the Digital Marketing Officer for the company you have been assigned. Your job, in one line:

Your task
Pick one real social-media influencer for your company, prove the choice with social-media data, then use GenAI to build a marketing campaign around them — and improve that campaign with your own thinking.
LO3 Apply social media analytics techniques   LO4 Communicate data-driven insights and recommendations to stakeholders
Two things to remember
Each of you has a different assigned company — everything here applies to yours. Throughout these slides I use BrewLab (our coffee brand) only as a neutral worked example so you can see the method.
The deliverable

At a glance

1,500
words ±10% (Appendix not counted)
30%
of your final grade · 30 marks
1
individual Word report
Wk 9
Tuesday 19:55 AEST, via Turnitin

Format

  • A Microsoft Word file, submitted to Turnitin on MyKBS
  • A structured report plus an Appendix of your GenAI interactions
  • At least 10 references in Harvard style

GenAI is compulsory

  • This is a Level 3 assessment — you must use GenAI
  • You will be assessed on how well you use and document it
  • All prompts and responses go in the Appendix
Read this first

Two ways to score 0/30

The brief is explicit: miss either of these and the whole assessment is a zero, no matter how good the rest is.

Automatic 0/30

You did not use GenAI

The initial marketing campaign must be created with GenAI tools (e.g. ChatGPT, an image tool). No GenAI-generated initial campaign = zero.

Automatic 0/30

You made no changes

You must make three changes to that initial campaign and justify them. No changes from initial to final = zero.

In short
GenAI writes a first draft of the campaign; you then improve it in three deliberate, justified ways. Both halves must be visible in your report and Appendix.
GenAI traffic light

Level 3 — GenAI is required, and referenced

Level 3 means GenAI is fully integrated into the task. That comes with two obligations:

1 · Document everything

An Appendix with every prompt, every full response, and a short note on how you used each. This is worth 10 marks.

2 · Reference it like a source

Cite your GenAI tool in Harvard style, the same as any other reference. It counts toward your 10 references.

Use it well, not blindly
GenAI gives you a starting point. The marks come from your judgement on top of it — what you keep, what you change, and why. Treat AI output as a draft to interrogate, not an answer to copy.
Kaplan GenAI referencing guide: library.kaplan.edu.au/referencing-other-sources/referencing-other-sources-generative-ai
Marks

Where the 30 marks live

30 marks in total 5 5 5 5 10 Structure & refs Selection criteria Analytics GenAI campaign GenAI appendix The GenAI appendix alone is a third of the grade — and half the marks (15/30) come from the campaign plus its documentation.
Checkpoint: which single component carries the most marks?
The Appendix — your prompts, the full AI responses, and a short reflection on each — is 10 of 30 marks. Build it as you work, not the night before. It is a core deliverable, not an afterthought.
The bar to aim for

What separates a High Distinction from a Pass

Weak
  • Picks a famous name, then invents reasons to fit
  • Lists follower and engagement numbers with no interpretation
  • Cosmetic tweaks to the AI campaign ("changed the colour")
  • Appendix is a thin summary; fewer than 10 refs
Strong
  • Defines criteria first, tied to the company's audience and goal
  • Analyses the data — every number has a "so what"
  • Three strategic changes, each justified against org + influencer
  • Complete Appendix; 10+ Harvard refs; sharp executive summary
The DNA of a good report
Every claim carries a reason. The marker is looking for decisions with justification, not descriptions.
Part 2

How to start — step by step

Seven steps, in order. Do them in this sequence and the report almost writes itself.
The plan

Your seven steps

1 · CompanyUnderstand your assigned organisation
2 · CriteriaDecide what makes a good influencer — first
3 · DataShortlist candidates and gather social data
4 · ChooseAnalyse the data and pick one, with reasons
5 · GenAIPrompt GenAI for the initial campaign
6 · ImproveMake three justified changes
7 · WriteAssemble the report, Appendix and references
Start nowDue Week 9 — steps 3–6 take time
You have already practised this
Week 6 gave you influencer and audience analysis; Week 7 gave you GenAI prompting. Assessment 2 simply joins the two.
Step 1

Understand your company

Before anything else, re-read the brief for your assigned organisation and pull out four things. Everything downstream hangs on these.

What to identify

  • Audience — who are the customers (age, location, interests)?
  • Product & positioning — what does the brand sell and stand for?
  • Tone — premium? playful? sustainable? corporate?
  • Business goal — awareness, sales, a new segment, loyalty?

Worked example — BrewLab

Audience: budget-conscious Melbourne uni students, 18–25.
Positioning: specialty coffee, sustainable, local.
Tone: warm, authentic, unpretentious.
Goal: grow weekday-morning visits.

Your company is different — write your own version of this box.

Why this matters
Your selection criteria and your campaign must trace back to these four points. If a choice can't be linked to them, it won't earn marks.
Step 2

Decide your selection criteria — before you name anyone

This is the single most common place students lose marks: they pick a celebrity first, then reverse-engineer reasons. Do it the other way round. Write down what a good influencer for this company looks like, then go find them.

Criteria worth considering

  • Audience fit — do their followers match your customers?
  • Authenticity — are the followers real, not bought or bots?
  • Engagement quality — real comments, healthy likes-to-comments ratio
  • Brand & values alignment — do they fit the tone?
  • Reach vs budget — micro-influencers often convert better than celebrities
  • Content style — does their look suit the brand?
  • Risk — any past controversies or conflicting sponsorships?
Rubric link
Marks reward criteria that are justified and tied to strategy — not a generic checklist. Say why each criterion matters for this specific company.
Step 3

Shortlist candidates and gather the data

Pick 2–3 candidate influencers who might fit, then collect social-media data on each. The brief lists what to look at:

Reach & audience

  • Follower reach
  • Audience type: real people vs influencers vs non-engaged
  • Demographics

Engagement

  • Engagement rate
  • Likes-to-comments ratio
  • Brand mentions

Context

  • How competitors use influencers
  • Past brand partnerships
  • Content quality & consistency
Where to get it
Public profile counts, the platform's own insights, free audience-audit tools, and a quick brand-mention search. Keep a simple table of each candidate's numbers — you'll need it for Step 4 and the Appendix.
Step 4

Analyse the data and choose one

Score your candidates against your Step-2 criteria using the data. The word is analyse, not list — each number needs a "so what". Then commit to one influencer and justify the pick.

CandidateAudience fitReal audienceEngagement qualityAlignmentVerdict
Micro-influencer — coffee & sustainability, MelbourneStrong (20s, VIC)88% realHigh — genuine commentsStrongChosen
Macro lifestyle celebrityBroad, diffuse61% realLow — likes onlyWeakRejected
The insight to state
Bigger is not better. The smaller, aligned and authentic account reaches the people BrewLab can actually convert — that reasoning is what earns the analytics marks.
Step 5

Prompt GenAI for the initial campaign

Now use GenAI to draft the initial campaign for your chosen influencer. Prompt it well — use the six components from Week 7 (role, task, audience, goal, tone, format).

You are a social-media marketing strategist. Create an initial influencer campaign for BrewLab, a Melbourne specialty-coffee brand, featuring a micro-influencer known for sustainable-living content. Goal: grow weekday-morning visits among uni students. Provide a campaign name, a key message, three content ideas, and a posting schedule. Tone: warm and authentic.
Do this as you go
Copy every prompt and the full response straight into your Appendix the moment you run it. Reconstructing them later is painful and you'll lose detail — and marks.

Keep this AI output intact as your "initial campaign". You will improve it in Step 6 — and the marker needs to see both versions.

Step 6

Make three changes — and justify each

For each of your three changes, state three things: what you changed, why the original was weak, and why your version is better for this company and influencer.

Cosmetic — earns little

"I changed the poster background from blue to green so it looks fresher."

No strategic reason; doesn't improve fit or outcome.

Strategic — earns marks

"The AI used a generic '20% off' hook. I changed it to a weekday-morning student bundle, because our data shows that's exactly who this influencer reaches and when."

Why better: ties the offer to the audience, the timing and the business goal.

Checkpoint: which change earns the marks?
Marks reward strategic, justified changes tied to the organisation, the audience and the goal — not tidy-ups. Cosmetic edits and proof-reading don't count as one of your three.
Step 7

Assemble the report

You now have everything. Write it up in the required structure, then build the two things students most often rush:

References (10+, Harvard)

  • Industry sources, the influencer's platform data, competitor examples, and scholarly sources on influencer marketing
  • Include your GenAI tool, referenced correctly

Executive summary

  • Written last, placed first
  • The chosen influencer, the key evidence, and the recommendation — in a few tight sentences
Word count
1,500 words ±10%, excluding the Appendix. Spend the words on analysis and justification, not description of the company.
Reference

Report structure — and the marks on each part

Section (in this order)What it must containMarks
Executive summaryKey insights and recommendation, up frontpart of 5
Selection criteriaYour criteria and why these, tied to the company5
Data & selectionThe social data you analysed → your chosen influencer5
Initial campaignThe first campaign, generated by GenAI5
Three changesWhat you changed and why each is better
Body, structure & referencingCoherent flow, academic rigour, 10+ Harvard refs5
Appendix — GenAIAll prompts + full responses + short reflections10
The 10-mark section

How to document GenAI in the Appendix

The Appendix is not counted in your word limit, and it's worth a third of the grade. Number each interaction and give it four parts:

Interaction 1 — Creating the initial campaign Purpose: why you asked this Prompt used: your exact prompt AI response: the complete response, pasted in full How I used it (~100 words): what you kept, changed or rejected, and why
To hit the top band
Paste the full response (not a summary), keep interactions in sequence, and make the reflection evaluative — show you judged the AI's output, you didn't just accept it.
Avoid these

Common mistakes

  • Picking a famous name first, then inventing criteria to fit
  • Confusing reach with fit — a big audience the brand can't convert is worth less than a small, aligned one
  • Ignoring audience authenticity — check the real vs non-engaged split
  • Listing data instead of analysing it
  • Cosmetic campaign changes instead of strategic ones
  • A thin or summarised Appendix — paste full prompts and responses
  • Fewer than 10 references, or not in Harvard style
  • Forgetting the executive summary, or breaching the ±10% word limit
And never forget
No GenAI initial campaign, or no changes to it → 0/30.
Before you submit

Submission checklist

Tick every box
  • 1,500 words ±10%, excluding the Appendix
  • Executive summary present and sharp
  • Selection criteria defined and justified for my assigned company
  • Social data analysed → one influencer chosen, with reasons
  • Initial GenAI campaign included
  • Three changes made and justified
  • Appendix: every prompt + full response + ~100-word reflection, numbered
  • 10+ Harvard references, including the GenAI tool
  • Word file submitted to Turnitin before Tue 19:55 AEST, Week 9
You've got this

Start this week

Steps 3–6 need real time. Begin now, and lean on the Week 6 (influencer & audience analysis) and Week 7 (GenAI) skills you already have.

Help: your facilitator · the Academic Learning Advisor · the MyKBS Academic Success Centre.

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