Every once in awhile you see a preview for a movie and think to yourself, “Holy (expletive deleted) this looks like the greatest movie of all time!!! I’m going to camp out for a week like a techie waiting for Lord of the Rings in 3D” (did they even make Lord of the Rings in 3D?).  The heightened anticipation for that next great Oscar winning film may be worse than waiting to check your Powerball numbers after you find out the winner is from your state. When you actually see the movie and it turns out that they already showed you all of the good parts in the trailer, there is a feeling of being tricked and cheated. Unfortunately, movie theaters won’t refund your money after you have watched the entire movie (believe us, we have tried.).  Where the hell is the satisfaction guarantee?!?  We can eat a whole Arby’s Roast Beef sandwich and return it if we aren’t satisfied.  What’s the difference between shoveling your face full of fast food and watching a movie?  You are left $20 poorer and completely unsatisfied.

Using social media to drive customers to your site and build a relationship with them or to educate them about your products is very much the same way.  You want to give them enough information to make them want to learn more, but you don’t want to tell them everything (that’s what your website and/or blog is for).  Twitter is a great way to give potential customers just a taste of what you are all about (your personality, your style, your values) while still leaving enough to the imagination.  Think Frank the Tank, once it hits your lips it tastes so good.  Fill it up again!

The post Social Media is Like a Box of Chocolates (Raisinets to be exact) appeared first on KABYT.

Millions of brackets are filled out annually (last year over 5.9 Million people filled one out on ESPN.com alone) for office pools, online tournaments, or just for fun.  ESPN has recently run commercials about how people pick their brackets including: the use of flypaper, The Bob Barker Special – Plinko, kids toys, and a robot that will probably have more correct answers than the commentator who it was named after, Jay Bilas.  At KABYT, we picked our bracket based on what we know best, social media.

We dug in and researched all 68 schools based on their athletic department’s social media following and activity.  There were 3 main metrics we took into account – 1) Facebook likes/student body size, 2) Facebook people ‘talking about this’/Facebook likes, and 3) Twitter followers/student body size.   By utilizing the size of the student body (we are not talking about the infamous ‘Freshmen 15′), the smaller schools are not at a disadvantage.

Now for what really matters…. the bracket.

DISCLAIMER:  Any prize money won for copying this bracket will result in a 50-50 split of the winnings.

(Click for larger image)

The Breakdown:

KENTUCKY cuts down the nets.  By our standards, they were heads above the competition and consistent across all the criteria.  Here’s to hoping that John Calipari makes us at KABYT look as good as his hair.

Way to go Ohio State! I only say “The Ohio State” with a mocking tone, but you have a very loyal following with over 1.1 Million Facebook likes.  Even though you didn’t win the whole tourney, those are impressive numbers.  The nearest institution to that number was Florida at just over 850,000.  I’m sure they will let you have this title and they will keep their recent national championships (plural) in football and basketball. Too soon?? I do question how much Nike bribed, I mean paid Ohio State to have their logo tattooed (again, to soon??) as their cover photo image for Facebook’s new Timeline.

Creighton University has been going gangbusters and deserves some love for what is being done on their Facebook page.  With an unbelievable 42% of your facebook fans are talking about you, I guess you are kind of a big deal.

On the Twitter side of the equation, the SEC takes home the hardware with the most followers for Alabama, Florida and Kentucky.  Whoever does the tweeting at Syracuse probably doesn’t have any thumbprints.  They have sent over 15,000 tweets.  Our biggest surprise came from 2 of the largest schools in the tournament, the University of Texas – Austin and Michigan State University.  Their lack of Twitter use with less than 800 tweets combined was quite a shock.  For UT-Austin, SXSW (one of the biggest tech and music gatherings in the world) is right in your backyard.  For Michigan State, I’m guessing it is a poor attempt at a personal snub at the Michigan Wolverines as the CEO of Twitter, Dick Costolo, is an alum.

As long as we are talking about Michigan, the * next to their name on the bracket designates that they don’t have an athletic departments Facebook or Twitter page.  Instead, they have a Facebook and Twitter page for what seems like EVERY sport they offer.  We didn’t go through their page with a fine tooth comb, but their might be a Title IX discrepancy of not having an equal number of account for both male and female teams.  With their Men’s Basketball Team having 41,000 Facebook likes (putting it #22 on the list), I have them winning their first 2 games.

Let us know what you think!

Who do you have winning? Any surprises that you see (other than Florida in the Final Four)?

The post Can Social Media Predict the NCAA Tournament Winner? appeared first on KABYT.

Part of what Apple does really well is consistently come up with incredible products.  However, what really sets Apple apart is that its cult-like following talks about its products and services without being asked.  There are full-time blog sites, such as MacRumors and AppleInsider, that only focus on rumors and reviews regarding what’s next at Apple.  The site traffic to MacRumors is 6,500,000 unique visitors per month.  Apple.com has nearly 80 MILLION hits per month (reference).  Nearly 80 MILLION people are actively looking for information on one company.  That’s more than the populations of Shanghai (17M), Beijing (11M), Moscow (11M), Tokyo (9M), Mexico City (9M), New York City (8M), Rio de Janeiro (6M), and Los Angeles (4M) COMBINED.

People all over the world talk about iPads, iPhones, iPods, iTunes and MacBooks.  They are devastated when they lose their iPod on the bus, their iPhone drops in the lake, or their iPad gets run over by a car.  They post a status update on Facebook Christmas Day when they get the latest Apple gadget.  They blog about cool new uses for Apple technology or accessories.  They hit the Twitterverse for new app ideas.  They talk about Apple to all their friends and family.

One of the biggest things that makes Apple so successful is that it gets people talking about its products and services. 

Your customers love you and your services, and that’s why you are in business.  Social Media is an incredibly powerful tool for learning what your customers are saying about you and your products. It promotes conversations with them.  How do your customers talk to and about your company?  If they do, do you know what they are saying?  Do you respond?  Do you talk to them in the way they want?

The post What Makes Apple So Successful? – It’s More Than A Fruit Company appeared first on KABYT.

This guy knows how to avoid ‘that guy’!

We have all been there.  We walk into a party, networking event, or some other social situation and are poised to have a great evening.  First things first, we grab a cocktail and try the appetizers (probably something deep fried – Yes, Please!).  Then it happens.  We make that one fatal mistake. We ask the wrong guy what seems to be a simple question, such as ‘Who do you know here?’ or ‘Is this your first time?’ Johnny Wordsmith suddenly thinks he is running for president or hosting his own one-man show and launches into a 20-minute monologue on his entire life.  We aren’t just talking about a fast talker like the Micro Machine commercial guy.  Though this is amusing, the commercial ends in 30 seconds … Johnny unfortunately may not.  Now we are forced to find a way to politely excuse ourself without offending Shakespeare; we are good people and would not want to offend.

Possible ways to do this are:

1) Introduce him to someone else (thought that could be a little mean to that unsuspecting individual)

2) Excuse yourself to the little boys’ or girls’ room

3) Slam your drink and excuse yourself to get a refill *

Just as our wordy friend can kill the mood at any party, so can a wordy Facebook status.  According to Eric Winter, Head of Rivals.com, Yahoo! Sports Radio and Yahoo! Sports Ecommerce at Yahoo! Sports, Facebook status updates between 100 and 250 characters receive 60% more likes, shares, and comments than those over 250 characters.  Your company has tons of quality information and marketing that needs to be done online that shouldn’t be simply discarded or unread.  Don’t be that guy that everyone avoids at a party or online.  Be the guy who, in just a few short sentences, leaves everyone wanting to know more.

* We like this option best.

Picture from Daily UK

The post Don’t Be Johnny Wordsmith appeared first on KABYT.

Try replacing the words father and son with customer and business.

Many times customers walk through your door and walk out your door, perhaps without anyone noticing.  You are busy with payroll, scheduling, marketing, bank runs, paperwork, other customers, and sometimes miss the opportunity to really connect with your customers.  Many of these customers are trying to connect with you in various ways.  Some fill out surveys, some will pick up the phone or stop you when they are in, but those instances can be unpredictable and infrequent.  Social media is an extremely powerful supplemental tool that when used successfully, bridges the gap between you and your customers.  You can connect more often, more comfortably, and more constructively.

When your business connects with your clients, you truly have your thumb on the pulse of what is being said about you, by whom, and have the ability to react and manage perceptions.  This connection allows the opportunity for your business to evolve and produce greater results and more importantly engage your customers and increase brand loyalty.

Photo via Fox.com

The post Touch on FOX and Using Social Media for Business appeared first on KABYT.

You can’t walk into a business, open a newspaper, or turn on a T.V. without seeing those words.  What does that even mean to ‘like’ a business?  In junior high, we all know what it was to ‘like’ that cute boy or girl.  We would pass them in the halls and giggle.  In class, we would pass them a note telling them you liked them hoping they would pass you a note saying they liked you back.

At KABYT, we believe your relationship with your clients should be the same way.  You both get to have that giddy feeling over each other.  To daydream about each other during Home Ec.   To tell all of your friends about how excited you are about them. Too often when a customer goes to a Facebook page to ‘like’ a company, he or she gets a blank page with a logo.  That’s like getting all dolled up for a first date and the guy walks to the door wearing Zubaz.

The benefits for the company are clear.  It gets word-of-mouth advertising, its name is sent out on the page of its new fan for all of their friends to gawk over.  However, it’s not really doing a whole lot of advertising for the business if its fans don’t interact with the business.

The benefits for the customers can be a little more difficult to find, if they exist at all.  Yes, the customer lets everyone know they like a business or product, but all too often that is it because the business drops the ball at this point.  The key is interaction and engagement.  There should be great promotions, conversation, deals, questions, pictures, feedback and awesomeness.

Don’t be the guy with the Zubaz on the first date.  WOW your clients with greatness from their first interaction on Facebook.

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