Kyle Babson

The best way to avoid this kind of mistake as a social media manager? Don’t type derogatory comments about others in your industry. Whether you intend it to go to your personal outlets or not.

At least our #9 got the job done….. RT:” @dallascowboys Similarly in the category of nobody-cares…the NHL is back!” twitter.com/DallasStars/st…

— Dallas Stars (@DallasStars) January 8, 2013

@dallasstars our sincere apologies for the inappropriate tweet posted accidentally to our account. Good luck this season.

— Dallas Cowboys (@dallascowboys) January 8, 2013

…I work with my Macbook Pro plugged into an external monitor. Sometimes I don’t. I liken the difference to a guitarist using a capo or a trumpeteer using a mute.

It just depends on what notes I need to hit.

7 and 1/2 years after I first walked into the cold, dark shed of a box office at Verizon Wireless Amphitheater in Bonner Springs, KS my time at Live Nation has come to an end. Three job titles, three bosses, two states, three company names and a cross-country move add up to quite a ride. What began as a seasonal ticketing job in a venue grew into a digital marketing career that I never could have anticipated.

When you’re with the same company for this long it becomes more than a job. It becomes, at least part of, your identity. It’s not an easy thing to give up, and walking away would require walking towards something special.

When the opportunity to join Kansas Athletics presented itself a few weeks ago it was an exciting yet scary prospect. Leaving the company and industry I had loved for so long wasn’t an easy decision, but it was the right one. Going to work for The University of Kansas and the Jayhawks that I’ve loved for even longer was a no-brainer.

So, I’m heading to Allen Fieldhouse in Lawrence, KS to run social media and interactive marketing for Kansas Athletics and I couldn’t be more excited about it.

I’ll have a lot to learn, and hopefully a lot to share here.

“Did you hear! Facebook’s turned EVIL and isn’t showing my updates to my fans! They want all my moneys!”

I hear some version of this exclamation seemingly everyday from artists struggling to understand why only 10% of their fans are seeing their Facebook updates.

Instead of complaining about this take a few minutes to learn about and understand EdgeRank. Spend some time building engagement and affinity with the people who like your page. Develop content that’s actually worth consuming. Nobody said social media marketing was easy. 

Here’s the formula:

Status Update Impressions is to Facebook as Open Rate is to Email
EdgeRank is to Facebook as PageRank is to Google 

This stuff isn’t new, it’s what we’ve been doing for years as internet marketers. Stop whining and learn how to work within the constraints.

The flip-side of the coin is what we’ve been preaching for years. There’s a risk involved when you become too dependent on a platform that’s out of your control. 

People like to complain when their Facebook friends post pictures, updates, videos, poop analysis’s of their newborn; or really children of any age. “I’m friends with YOU not your baby” they might snark. 

For a long time I was one of these complainers. Many a time have I blocked updates from people who posted too often about their children. To be fair I hide updates from anyone who posts excessively about any one topic whether it be work, sports, politics, or offspring. It’s the same deal off-line. No body wants to hangout with someone who is that single minded.

Back to the topic of baby updates. My opinion on these changed significantly when one of my closest friends produced fruit from his loins. He posts about his newborn son more frequently than I would have guessed but even more surprising is that I don’t mind it one bit. In fact, I enjoy and “like” nearly every update he sends. Which leads me to my conclusion.

If you can’t post on Facebook about the most significant and meaningful event and person(s) in your life, what can you post? If you’re annoyed by someone’s child focused updates, maybe you’re not really friends with that person? 

Let’s see if I can apply this to marketing. If you’re a social media marketer who is having trouble connecting with your social audience, perhaps it’s not a content issue. If you’re posting your brand’s version of baby photos and still not getting traction…. maybe they’re just not that into you. In which case you have an entirely different problem.

I absolutely love the attitude on display in this announcement from Alamo Drafthouse Kansas City. It’s exciting, rebellious, and it has a sense of “we’re in this together” that will quickly build a community. 

*The company recently took over operations of the historic Mainstreet Theatre in downtown Kansas City and had closed temporarily to make the transfer.  

As an e-commerce marketer you’ve got to be prepared to take advantage of unexpected sources of traffic. When Aimee Mann decided to spontaneously announce her new album on NPR and the album wasn’t ready for pre-order we put together a simple landing page with the new album art-work to gather marketing permissions from interested fans.

Dear Band(s) -

We’re friends, so I can be honest with you, maybe even a little blunt. When a real, live human gives you their permission to contact them, you need to cherish that connection. Whether it’s on Facebook, Twitter, email or mobile. Those fan connections are like gold, they’re your most precious non-musical resource. They’re the life-blood of a sustained career as a band.

You’re not treating them that way though. In fact, you’re treating them like a dumpster, or a dart board. Throwing anything and everything up and in with little thought as to where it lands or how it smells after it sits there for a week. You’re flooding Facebook newsfeeds by posting events for every stop on your tour. You’re re-tweeting every mention made of the new video for your latest single. You’re abusing the precious permission that you’ve been trusted with.

You’re being desperate. You’re acting like a jealous girlfriend. Take a step back. Take a deep breath. Think before you post. Target your communications.

It’s not rocket science. Your fans have trusted you, trust them in return. Reward that trust as much as you possibly can.

Sincerely, your friend

Kyle