BUSI 430 Week 6 Discussion Board Forum 3 Example

Reviewed by Thomas Kerrigan, MBA, CPA · Liberty University · Updated

This BUSI 430 Week 6 sample discussion answers the third forum, on digital marketing, by asking what really differs online. Drawing on an economist's review that traced online advertising's distinctive features to lower costs of targeting and of measuring results, the thread argues that digital marketing's advantage for a small business lies less in reach than in precision, and that the same precision brings privacy limits the business must respect. A composite neighborhood florist planning Mother's Day promotions shows how search ads, a simple email list and local listings fit into its IMC plan. One reply of the required length follows, testing a classmate's plan to put the entire budget into social media ads by asking how the business would know which sales the ads produced. Liberty University BUSI 430 sets Forum 3 at 55 points in a week BS in Business Administration students also spend on Exam 3.

CourseBUSI 430 Promotion Strategy (BUSI430)
Module/Week6
AssignmentDiscussion Board Forum 3
Paper typeDiscussion thread and reply
Lengthabout 628 words (thread and replies). Course guide: a thread of at least 300 words with at least 1 textbook citation and 1 citation from another source, and a reply of at least 300 words to at least 1 classmate with at least 1 citation
FormatAPA 7 citations and reference list
Points55
SchoolLiberty University Online
ProgramBS in Business Administration
Where it sitsModule/Week 6 in Liberty's published BUSI 430 course guide; current sections can differ
UpdatedOctober 2026

Free sample paper for BUSI 430 Week 6

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Discussion Board Forum 3: Digital Marketing

BUSI 430 Promotion Strategy, Discussion Board Forum 3 Thread and Reply

Thread by [Student Name]

The forum prompt, the florist and the classmate are composites; the textbook and the research cited are real, and the structure follows Liberty's public course guide for BUSI 430.

Thread

Why this part earns its pointsThe thread answers what is different about digital marketing with research before listing any tools.
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Clow and Baack (2018) cover a wide range of digital marketing tools: websites, search engine optimization, paid search, email, mobile and display advertising. It is easy to treat these as newer versions of print and broadcast ads. I want to argue that digital marketing is different in a more basic way, and that the difference matters most for small businesses.

Goldfarb (2014) reviewed the economics of online advertising and concluded that its distinguishing feature is lower costs: in particular, a lower cost of targeting ads to specific people and a lower cost of measuring how they respond. A newspaper ad reaches everyone who reads that page; a search ad appears only to someone typing "flower delivery near me," and the advertiser can count every click and order. Digital marketing's real advantage is precision, the ability to reach the right person at the right moment and see what happened, not simply larger audiences.

Consider a neighborhood florist planning for Mother's Day. A traditional approach might buy a radio spot that reaches thousands of listeners, most of whom are not buying flowers that week. A digital plan built on precision would start with paid search ads triggered by local searches for flowers in the two weeks before the holiday, capturing people already looking. Next, a permission-based email to past customers, as the textbook recommends, would remind them to order early, at almost no cost. Finally, accurate local listings and a mobile-friendly order page would serve the many people who search on their phones. Each step can be measured in orders.

Precision has a limit. It also rewards preparation: the florist must update listings, write the email and set search budgets weeks before the holiday, because the precise moment of demand passes quickly. The same targeting that makes digital ads efficient depends on data about people, and the florist should collect only what it needs, honor email opt-outs and avoid ads that feel intrusive.

Reply to Marcus

Why this part earns its pointsThe reply accepts the classmate's targeting argument and raises the measurement question it leaves open.
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Marcus, your plan for the barbershop to move its entire promotion budget into social media ads makes a strong case on targeting. You are right that social platforms let the shop reach men within three miles who follow sports and grooming pages, which no flyer could do, and your sample ad with a before-and-after photo was well designed for the platform. Clow and Baack (2018) note that social and digital tools allow precise targeting, and you used that well.

I would raise one question, though: how will the shop know which haircuts the ads produced? Platforms report clicks and views, but many of the men who see the ad might have come in anyway, especially loyal customers who already follow the shop. Goldfarb (2014) points out that one of online advertising's advantages is that measurement is cheaper, but that advantage only helps if the business actually measures what matters, new customers and revenue, not just clicks.

Measuring could start simply: a booking link used only in the ads, a code for first visits, and a question at the chair about how each new client found the shop. Even better, the shop could run the ads for two weeks, pause for two weeks and compare the number of first-time customers in each period. If the ads bring in new customers at a reasonable cost, putting more of the budget there makes sense. If they mostly reach existing customers, some of the money might do more as a referral reward, since regulars are the barbershop's best advertisers.

I would also keep a small amount for local listings, since many people search "barber near me" on their phones. Listings cost almost nothing and capture people at the moment they decide. They also collect reviews that new customers read. Would the owner be willing to test before moving the whole budget?

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References

Clow, K. E., & Baack, D. (2018). Integrated advertising, promotion, and marketing communications (8th ed.). Pearson.

Goldfarb, A. (2014). What is different about online advertising? Review of Industrial Organization, 44(2), 115-129. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11151-013-9399-3

What the BUSI 430 Week 6 instructions ask

Week 6 assigns section 8 of Clow and Baack, on digital marketing, including websites, search engine optimization and paid search, email and mobile marketing, with a presentation, a website, Forum 3 and Exam 3. Worth 55 points, the forum asks once more for a cited 300-word post and a cited 300-word reply. Exam 3 tests the digital, social and alternative marketing sections. Since the IMC Project is due next week, a thread that plans a digital program for a realistic business is useful preparation for that paper's media sections. The plan written here can be reused, with revisions, in the project.

How this BUSI 430 Week 6 example is built

The thread opens with a question, what is different about digital marketing, and answers it with research rather than a list of tools. An economics review identifies two differences, cheaper targeting and cheaper measurement, and the thread uses the textbook's digital tools to show each in action. A composite florist's Mother's Day plan makes the argument practical, using search ads for people already looking, a permission email list for past customers and accurate local listings for mobile searchers. A short paragraph acknowledges privacy limits. The reply then engages a classmate's all-social budget, praising the targeting but asking how results would be measured, and suggests a holdout test.

BUSI 430 Week 6 grading rubric: where the points go

Forum 3 counts a post that applies section 8 to the prompt in 300-plus words, citing Clow and Baack and one more source, and a cited reply of matching length that takes a classmate's plan seriously. Digital terms, search optimization, paid search, cost per click, conversion, opt-in email, should be used correctly and matched to the business in question. Evidence-based claims about what digital marketing does well, and its limits, show deeper understanding than enthusiasm for new platforms. A reply that raises a measurement question respectfully contributes substance. Measurement ideas, even simple ones, strengthen any digital plan, and a reply that raises measurement politely is a real contribution.

BUSI 430 Week 6 help: mistakes that cost points

Choose one small business and design its digital program around a specific objective, such as Mother's Day orders. Take the tools and their names from section 8 and pair them with one study on online ads or privacy. Explain why each tool fits the objective, and mention how results would be measured. Give the reply the same care as the thread, with its own source and 300-plus words, aimed at one part of the classmate's plan you can improve. Study for Exam 3 alongside the forum, since it covers three sections. Use this thread to draft your IMC Project's digital media section, which is due next week. Numbers from your example business, even illustrative ones, make the plan concrete. A simple test, such as pausing one channel for two weeks, is worth describing.

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BUSI 430 Week 6 questions, answered

What is BUSI 430 Forum 3?

Week 6's 55-point discussion in BUSI 430: a thread of at least 300 words on digital marketing with textbook and outside citations, then a cited reply of equal length.

Where can I find a free BUSI 430 Week 6 sample paper?

The page below gives a complete BUSI 430 Week 6 thread and reply on what makes digital marketing different, with a florist's Mother's Day plan and research on online advertising.

What makes online advertising different from traditional advertising?

Research points to lower costs of targeting specific audiences and of measuring responses, which let small advertisers reach precise groups and see results, but raise privacy concerns.

What is permission-based email marketing?

Email sent only to people who have agreed to receive it, such as past customers who opted in; it is inexpensive, measurable and respectful of recipients, and it is required under anti-spam rules.

What else is due in BUSI 430 Module/Week 6?

A sixty-point Exam 3 with books open, thirty items across sections 8, 9 and 10. Forum 3 is due alongside it, worth 55 points.

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