Capstone project

This assignment is designed to help you show the knowledge and skills you have developed over the course of the semester with regard to both writing for the web and designing and executing a comprehensive content strategy.

The final Capstone Project will require students to submit a total of four deliverables: (1) a strategy playbook, (2) a website action plan, (3) a social media action plan, and (4) an email marketing action plan.

Students should start by revisiting the theory of change that they initially submitted as part of the Organizational Selection Essay. If thinking about the client’s theory of change has evolved, the theory of change visualization should be updated and used to guide the deliverables for this assignment. The theory of change should identify the broader goal for the client, which could be to overcome an existing challenge facing the organization, correct a problem with the organization’s existing content marketing program, and/or leverage an opportunity with which the organization is being presented. Based on the goal, there should be a clear set of finite objectives (i.e., objectives should be clear and actionable, highly focused).

With the theory of change as the foundation, students should develop the following four deliverables according to the specifications below.

Strategy Playbook

This short essay should include a 1-2 page narrative (double-spaced, Calibri 11, 1” margins) and an updated version of the theory of change visualization. The narrative should describe the key elements of the theory of change as an illustration of how the student is thinking about the content strategy (i.e., walk the reader through what the content strategy will accomplish, how and why).

Website Action Plan

Here, students will create a landing page designed to drive action that enables progress toward the goal identified in the theory of change, and offer a brief narrative explaining the strategy underlying the landing page.

The landing page itself can be completed in one of two ways based on students’ comfort level: you can either create a functional landing page using any number of free websites (e.g., WordPress, SquareSpace, etc.), or you can design an image of what the landing page would look like using a graphic design platform (e.g., InDesign). Students who choose the former should embed the link to their landing page in the Website Action Plan narrative; students who choose the latter should embed their mockup image into the Website Acton Plan. In either scenario, students will be evaluated based on the copy included on the landing page, the design and layout of the landing page, and the effectiveness of the landing page in encouraging users to heed the call to action.

The brief narrative should be no more than a single page (double-spaced, Calibri 11, 1” margins) and should identify what action the landing page is designed to encourage, (2) which audience(s) the landing page is designed to target, (3) which key messages will be advanced using the landing page, and (4) which key metrics will be used to measure the success of the website plan.

Social Media Action Plan

For this deliverable, students will provide eight sample social media posts and a brief narrative explaining the strategy underlying the social media content.

The brief narrative should be no more than a single page (double-spaced, Calibri 11, 1” margins) and should identify which two social media platforms will be leveraged in service of the strategy objective, which audience(s) will be targeted on each of the selected platforms, the post formats on each platform, the frequency with which content will be published, whether the strategy will involve paid campaigns, and which key metrics will be used to assess the effectiveness of the social media plan. Students who propose a paid social media campaign strategy should also briefly describe the paid campaigns (duration, budget, ad objectives, etc.).

Then, students should craft eight complete sample social media posts, four each for the two platforms identified in the narrative. A complete post is one which includes copy, relevant images, relevant links, relevant hashtags and a sense of when the post would be published. Students are strongly encouraged to create posts that employ more than one type of format for each platform (e.g., if using Instagram, avoid having all four posts be single-photo posts; consider using album posts, stories, etc.).

Email Marketing Action Plan

For this deliverable, students will provide a brief narrative of an email marketing plan designed to drive action in service of the objective identified, as well as a total of two sample email marketing appeals.

The brief narrative should be no more than a single page (double-spaced, Calibri 11, 1” margins) and should identify:

-Which purpose(s) email marketing appeals will advance in service of the stated objective.

-Which audience(s) will be targeted by relevant email appeals, including whether an audience segmentation plan will be leveraged.

-The types of messages to be advanced via email marketing appeals, including tone of subject lines and body copy.

-The frequency with which email marketing appeals will be sent.

-Which key metrics will be used to measure the success of the email marketing plan.

Then, students should craft two complete email marketing appeals. A complete email marketing appeal is one which includes a compelling subject line, compelling body copy, the date on which the email is to be sent, a call-to-action button, and at least one photo or video image to be included in the body of the email. Students can display each email marketing appeal on a distinct page of the Email Marketing Action Plan or, if comfortable doing so, can lay out email marketing campaigns by creating a free account with any number of email marketing software platforms available (e.g., MailChimp, Constant Contact, etc.). Students who choose to lay out their appeals in an email marketing software should embed links to their campaigns in the Email Marketing Action Plan overview.

View the assignment guidelines for additional details about this assignment.

Evaluation

Students will be evaluated according to the extent to which they:

1.Identify a worthwhile objective toward which their selected organization should work.

2.Map out, in both narrative and visual form, a coherent Theory of Change.

3.Offer well-thought-out Website, Social Media and Email Marketing Action Plans that coherently articulate considerations related to audience, message, platform, tone and/or user experience, where applicable.

4.Develop content that could easily be adapted for publication by the selected organization.

5.Deliver content that is well-written, free from grammatical and typographical errors.

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