SiriusSM - Social Media Action Plan
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Transcript of SiriusSM - Social Media Action Plan
Social Media Action Plan
Sirius-XM Merger
By: Dionisios Favatas
March 27, 2010
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Table of Contents
Executive Summary ............................................................................................................ 3
Introduction ......................................................................................................................... 4
Social Media Action Items .................................................................................................. 5
Blogosphere / Enhanced Microsite ................................................................................. 5
Monitoring the Social Conversation ............................................................................... 6
M|Buzz ........................................................................................................................ 6
Facebook ......................................................................................................................... 7
Twitter ............................................................................................................................. 9
TwitterAdder ............................................................................................................. 10
TrueTwit ................................................................................................................... 11
YouTube ....................................................................................................................... 11
Media ................................................................................................................................ 12
Overall Costs ..................................................................................................................... 13
Technical Development: ............................................................................................... 13
Monitoring Tools: ......................................................................................................... 13
Media / Other Costs ...................................................................................................... 13
Conclusion ........................................................................................................................ 14
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Executive Summary As social media and social networking have emerged as dominating platforms to reach
out to various groups within the public affairs and public relations space, CLS must
leverage the tools available to augment the communications strategy supporting the
merger between Sirius and XM Satellite radio. Social media has become ubiquitous and
pervasive among varying groups which include media outlets, politicians, and everyday
Americans, from tweens to baby boomers, from individuals living in highly populated
urban areas to individuals living in small semi-rural communities.
By leveraging social media as part as the overall communications strategy, we can fill in
the gaps in current strategy and reach untapped stakeholders in order to effectively
communicate the benefits of the Sirius-XM merger, garner support from third parties, and
educate the general public on the benefits on how this merger will foster competitiveness
and greater choice in the marketplace. In order to accomplish these goals via new and
social media, the following plan has been developed so that we may become active
participants in the social discourse, while keeping information within social spheres up-
to-date and relevant for all of Sirius-XM’s various stakeholders and the various
proponents and opponents of the planned merger.
In order to augment the current plan, the following set of objectives has been laid forth
and fully outlined herein, which include:
1. The construction of a comprehensive social media strategy which will be
achieved by accomplishing the following.
a. Creation of a blogosphere that is connected to the Sirius-XM Merger Web
site.
b. Monitoring and leveraging prodder via new and social media.
c. Leveraging Facebook and the development of a Fan Page action plan.
d. Leveraging Twitter and the development of a Twitter action plan.
e. Leveraging YouTube and the development of a YouTube action plan.
f. Leveraging geo- / micro-targeted new media to promote the cause and the
proposed social spaces.
In order to implement the first iteration of this social ecosystem and sphere-of-influence,
the steps to be taken are outlined in the following sections.
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Introduction The pinnacle of utilizing social media in order to mobilize and educate current Sirius and
XM customers, third parties, engaging the Hill, and the various media outlets requires the
development and deployment of a comprehensive social media ecosystem to be
integrated with the planned Sirius-XM Merger Web site. At the epicenter of any solid
social media plan is a blogosphere that can be used as an open forum to spur viral and
social discourse. This area will serve as a baseline platform to engage all parties in the
social dialogue, whether it is varying media outlets, bloggers, v-loggers, the general
public, and all other vested stakeholders. It also will serve as the primary driver of Push-
and-Pull marketing efforts to Web properties that will be developed such as Facebook,
Twitter, YouTube, and others. See Illustration I: The Social Ecosystem, below.
Illustration I: The Social Media Ecosystem
The following sections describe the facets of this strategy and the various tactics within
and amongst each social sphere that will aid in accomplishing the aforementioned goals.
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Social Media Action Items
Blogosphere / Enhanced Microsite
A blogosphere should be developed serve as the epicenter of any solid social media
ecosystem. By enticing shadow writers, current staff, or third party firms to generate
content and seed this content onto the blogosphere begins the process of including the
general public as part of the conversation and fosters both User Generated Content
(UCG) and Viral Marketing / Word-of-Mouth (WOM). This will serve as an extension of
planned merger Web site, maintaining a constant look-and-feel in order to maintain brand
consistency.
Built in WordPress, for optimal search engine optimization (SEO), ease-of-use of
deployment, and the ability to add tag-along widgets, the blogosphere will contain links
to key information tabs relevant to the user-base, as well as supporting a direct feed from
Twitter – see page 9, Twitter – to further built upon the viral conversation, and pertinent
buttons which include a call-to-action form, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and other
social media properties. See Illustration II – Blogosphere Skeleton.
Illustration II: Blogosphere Skeleton
Nav Item 1 Nav Item 2 Nav Item 3 Nav Item 4
Space reserved
for blog content
Space reserved
for V-logs
Social media icons
Call to Action
RSS Feed
Twitter Feed
By monitoring the prodder produced by third parties, and re-tooling the content to serve
the purpose of this campaign, it is possible to engage stakeholders in the dialogue,
neutralize negative publicity, push corporate generated content and edit that content for
the Web, and generate content that will be used as an educational tool for interested
parties. Copy editing and formal approval by Sirius-XM of all materials to be posted on
blogosphere and any other subsequent social media property noted below will be required
to add legitimacy and provide a stable cohesive baseline for all other campaign activities.
A Feed-Burner or Real-Simple-Syndication (RSS) will be prominently placed on the
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blogosphere so that interested parties can subscribe to not only blog postings but any
other electronic material posted on the merger Web site, etc.
Monitoring the Social Conversation
All Social Media Web sites are open forums for any and everyone to post their feelings,
thoughts, likes and dislikes about the Sirius-XM merger. While Positive Word-of-Mouth
(P-WOM) conversations on social networks are what both CLS and Sirius-XM desires to
achieve, Negative Word-of-Mouth (N-WOM) is to be expected, as well as Neutral Word-
of-Mouth (NT-WOM). By utilization sophisticated technologies to monitor the entire
social conversation will enable us to accomplish four key objectives:
Quick response to N-WOM with immediate action to reverse negative discussion
trends.
Leveraging P-WOM to further bolster our mission and engage the target base, in-
turn attempting to leverage these individuals as advocates and champions in the
social dialogue.
Analyze trends – both qualitative and quantitative – on what the general public,
media outlets, politicians, and other vested stakeholders in this cause (i.e.,
proponents and opponents), are saying and using that information to build Stage II
action plans within the 6-month period alloted.
Build theme clouds surrounding topics of interest to:
o Develop new creative.
o Generate powerful copy of interest to core base supporters and offset /
neutralize negative attitudes towards the merger.
o Extract keywords that can be used for micro-target ad units, search engine
marketing (SEM), and profiling the Twitter database to find like-minded
individuals to support our efforts (e.g., Sirius and XM subscribers,
business, consumer, religious / faith groups, ethnic organization, and
others).
M|Buzz
M|Buzz, powered by Meltwater is a full-suite Web monitoring tool with the ability to
track over 150 million Web sources (i.e., blogs, micro-blogs, message boards / forums,
Twitter pages, Facebook “Wall” postings, etc.). The platform has a robust tracking a
reporting engine, providing us access to an unlimited number of graphs, charts and
reports. In addition, we would be provided with unlimited keywords per profile- track
just about any kind of conversation surrounding the merger, NAD outreach activities, and
so on. See Illustration III: M|Buzz Analytics, and Illustration IV: M|Buzz Theme Cloud,
below.
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Illustration III: M|Buzz Analytics
Illustration IV: M|Buzz Theme Cloud
A Facebook Fan Page will be created to cater to all vested stakeholder groups. Facebook
offers variety of customization options for Fan Pages, including, but not limited to,
tabbing, applications, branded boxes, and the ability to inter-connect all social media
Web sites in one central repository. For instance, videos posted on YouTube, or Tweets
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on Twitter, will automatically propagate onto the Fan Page. It is recommended that the
following menu Tabs are implemented:
Wall
Info
Boxes1:
o Call-to-Action Form (custom HTML form that enables user to quickly and
easily send a message to the FCC, DOJ, and Member of Congress).
o Downloadable pins (fans of a “free-market” and “competition,” for
example).
o Downloadable wallpapers.
o Downloadable podcasts (if available and / or created).
Applications:
o Fan Connect (custom built app to enable proponents of the merger to
easily connect with other like-minded individuals).
o The “MergerEducator” (i.e., possibly a tool that pulls in information from
various third parties, analyzes and aggregates information into “pros” and
“cons” tables, displays the cost-benefit analysis of the merger, etc.).
Photos:
o Flikr stream and / or Photobucket stream from events, meet-ups, and other
grassroots activities.
Events
Twitter Feed
Videos
o YouTube feed hosting v-logs, viral video, and other content deemed
suitable by Sirius-XM and that can benefit our mission.
Discussions
And include the following Fan Page items:
Twitter Icon
Delicious Badge*
LinkedIn Badge*
Digg Badge*
Once the Fan Page is completed and approved by the client in a staging environment we
will push the page to live production, at which point we will begin the process of seeding
photos, videos, and upcoming events onto Facebook and other social media channels. In
addition, with a direct integration with Twitter, auto-seeding of Tweets will update the
Fan Page status and / or add content to the Wall. Moving forward, for each event that is
held (e.g., press conferences, meet-ups, etc.), we will send emails to registered
participants informing them that we would like them to seed their content on the various
channels we intend to use.
1 For an example of what “Boxes” are, please see Appendix III, page 14 – Example of Facebook “Boxes”.
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*As part of this social media program bookmarks relevant to the cause will be saved in Delicious which
will auto-post to the Fan Page, a LinkedIn Group can be created with link-backs to Facebook, and
following blogs and news of interest on Digg will be captured and fed into Facebook.
Twitter has emerged as a powerful outlet for viral chatter, second only to Facebook and
MySpace, and is the third most ubiquitously used social media platform. The goal is to
empower the desired support base, as mentioned above, in order to foster UGC, provide a
platform to promote and generate prodder, and build a large follower-base in order to
compliment the entire social ecosystem proposed. Implementation of Twitter as a viable
social medium is a three-part process, which includes:
Development:
o Sourcing a viable and logical username, and creating a homogenous
design theme to match the aforementioned blogosphere and Merger Web
Site.
o Adding a search-optimized and relevant bio, info, and other META data to
show a clear connection surrounding the merger and the intended target
audiences.
Fostering prodder and UGC:
o Seed relevant tweets throughout the day. Some examples could include:
Extracting sound bites from various blog postings and comments
on the blogosphere and / or the open Web.
Welcoming followers each day and openly @ messaging followers
and those who are participating in the discussion, whether it is
positive, neutral, or negative.
DM individuals who are posting negative comments, searching for
help or more information, and others.
Promotion of upcoming events, webinars, editorial content, etc.
Post images via TwitPics from events and so on.
Post video via TwitVid from events and so on.
Building a base of Followers:
o Follow users who have a clear interest with the cause, which include but is
not limited to current Sirius and XM subscribers, members of the press,
the general public representing the various subsets of third party groups,
etc., and generate follow-backs:
Using search terms extracted from theme clouds generated by
M|Buzz, the use of automated technology to search and follow
users – see below, TwitterAdder, and TrueTwit.
Manual follow and follow back of other Twitter members by
analyzing daily organic results and respond to DM’s that are real
and relevant, using technology such as TweetDeck, Seesmic
Desktop, SpreadTweet, Twitcher, TwitBabble, or Spaz.
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TwitterAdder
TwitterAdder is a powerful automated Twitter tool that will enable us to quickly grow
our follower base, follow individuals who have like-minded interests and perform a
number of other tasks such as:
Powerful built-in Boolean search technology to find the ideal Twitter base.
Auto follow targeted Twitter profiles.
o It is recommended to always maintain no more than a 1:1.5 follow to
follower base. This technology can automatically peg follows to followers
to any ratio chosen, and vice versa for auto Unfollows.
Tracks and accelerates the process of obtaining niche Twitter followers.
Automate Twitter posts and scheduled Tweets.
Automate DM’s.
Auto Unfollow Twitter users who do not follow back, and / or are suspect
individuals.
Auto deletion of DM’s, namely those that contain links to harmful websites, etc.
See Illustration V: TwitterAdder Platform, below.
Illustration V: TwitterAdder Platform
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TrueTwit
TrueTwit compliments using automated Twitter technologies such as TwitterAdder. The
social Web can attract any number of bots, unscrupulous followers, and other followers
posting unwanted tweets, therefore using software such as TrueTwit can automate the
process of protecting this critical facet of the social ecosystem. TrueTwit can assist in this
process by conducting an in-depth, automated analysis of existing followers and their
tweets, and block unwanted DM’s from new Followers, while screening and requiring
new Followers to become TrueTwit verified. Further, the software audits the Follower
base by segmenting Followers into “Ads,” “Adult,” and “Bots,” which will enable us to
quickly Unfollow and / or block any harmful or potentially intrusive users. See
Illustration VI: TrueTwit Analysis, below.
Illustration VI: TrueTwit Analysis
YouTube
YouTube is the most widely adopted and utilized social medium for watching viral video
on the Web. This medium can be used with great efficacy to foster UGC, spurn viral
marketing, and enable true promotion and education to all stakeholders regarding the
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proposed merger. It is recommended that a fully functioning, “Enhanced*” YouTube
channel be built with a creative “look-and-feel” that is in line with the aforementioned
branded blogosphere, Merger Web site and social media properties.
Working with Sirius-XM, we can seed any video materials promoting the cause,
educating the public, and so on into this channel, and develop an action plan for guerilla
marketing tactics, whereby grassroots supporters and third parties can be leveraged as
champions to participate in planned and un-planned events, while capturing their own
video from such events, etc. This in turn can be seeded onto the YouTube channel and
promoted via the blogosphere, Facebook and Twitter.
In addition, with the Sirius-XM’s permission, we can send out email blasts to their
respective email lists (e.g., the 20% of XM’s subscribers and the 50% of Sirius’s
subscribers) regarding any number of promoted events which those subscriber may
participate in, requesting that those individuals submit the digital pictures that they have
taken, and in turn produce slideshows that can be posted onto YouTube. With standalone
YouTube and YouTube integration with Facebook, we can then analyze the impact of
posting these permission-based materials adjust the utilization of this medium
accordingly to feedback received. Further, we can leverage this feedback to further grow
the number of YouTube Subscribers, Facebook Fans, and Twitter Followers, while
producing increased and quantifiable Channel and Upload Views and comments, which
are then search optimized and can be leveraged for Stage II action plans.
*YouTube Enhanced Channels provide for greater customization of YouTube static elements, including
fully-branded headers, hosting of Flash in creative elements, and so on. Enhanced Channels are a premium
feature that requires minimum costs in YouTube Promoted Ad revenue.
Media While a comprehensive media plan has been developed for the traditional aspects of this
campaign, it is recommended that we augment these tactics with new media activities to
accomplish three goals:
1. Educate and inform the public and other vested stakeholders in the activities laid
out herein.
2. Offset and neutralize any paid media by the NAB, when the NAB runs ad units in
Hill publications.
3. Assist in growing the number of Follower, Fans, and friends of this program.
This can be accomplished by running geo- and micro-targeted ad units in several online
mediums including, but not limited to the Google Content Network, the Yahoo! Content
Network, the MSN Content Network, ReachLocal, Facebook, and others. The various
content networks mentioned have hundreds of Web sites within their portfolios that are
specific to the groups we are trying to reach such as online publications catering to the
consumer electronics / technology industry, music industry, sports industry, as well as
those online publications where Sirius-XM subscribers are searching for information
regarding the proposed merger, grassroots advocates, and other special interest groups.
Facebook, in addition, is an ideal platform to achieve both the mission of spreading the
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word about the aforementioned strategy, as well as attracting this base to become Fans of
the Facebook Fan page.
Ad units will be carefully crafted and developed to promote messages surrounding the
benefits of the merger, such as more choice, better prices, etc. Further, additional
messages will be crafted to encourage users to visit the Web site and blogosphere to learn
more about what the merger entails, how they will be impacted and how they benefit
from the merger, as well as calls-to-action to stimulate grassroots supporters to engage
and take action, and so on. The placements will be carefully targeted, based on user
characteristics such as age, race, interests, and so on, and subsequently creative testing
will be utilized to see which messages and themes appeal to the varying groups. This will
enable us to further modify and target audiences throughout the 6-month course of the
overall campaign.
Overall Costs Below are initial costs associated with the development of the aforementioned features
for each social networking property, costs for social monitoring and social media tools,
and for media.
Technical Development:
Facebook, Twitter, YouTube $15,950*
Monthly Maintenance $3,500 / month
Blogosphere Development $9,750
*Includes development of all key features outlined above and one Facebook application. Additional costs
will be incurred for each additional application and / or feature added.
Monitoring Tools:
M|Buzz $10,000 / year
TwitterAdder $100 / year
TrueTwit $100 / year
Media / Other Costs
YouTube Enhanced Channel $50,000 - $100,000
Facebook TBD
Google Content Network TBD
Yahoo! Content Network TBD
MSN Content Network TBD
ReachLocal TBD
Other Media TBD
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Conclusion The Sirius-XM merger is a large and complicated issue to undertake as a public affairs
campaign. There are stakeholders with a vested interest in the merger, subscribers and the
segments of the general public who require further education on what this merger means
to them, active grassroots supporters, special interest groups, and the Federal
government. In tandem with the primary communications strategy already developed by
CLS, it is proposed that leveraging social media as part as the strategy will enable us to
fill in the gaps and reach untapped stakeholders in order to accomplish the
aforementioned goals. In order to accomplish these goals via new and social media, the
following plan detailed how we would address the following key components for an
effective social media strategy and subsequent tactics. Those include:
The construction of a comprehensive social media strategy which will be
achieved by doing the following.
o Creation of a blogosphere that is connected to Sirius-XM Merger Web
site.
o Monitoring and leveraging of prodder via new and social media.
o Leveraging Facebook and the development of a Fan Page action plan.
o Leveraging Twitter and the development of a Twitter action plan.
o Leveraging YouTube and the development of a YouTube action plan.
o Leveraging micro-targeted new media to promote the cause and the social
spaces.
It is believed that the recommendation laid forth in this proposal will not only assist us in
delving into the ever-evolving world of social media, but will also assist us in keeping
information within the various social spheres up-to-date and relevant for all of Sirius-
XM’s various stakeholders and the various proponents and opponents of the planned
merger.