Is Your New Year’s Resolution Social?

As 2010 ends and 2011 picks up speed, many people try and buckle down for their New Year’s Resolutions. With the success and continued growth in social media, who hasn’t set social media goals for 2011? It may be hard to follow through with our resolutions, but reaching your social media goals for 2011 doesn’t have to be difficult.

The first step is to set up your goals, and be specific. Make sure you explain exactly what you want as an outcome within your social media efforts. Yes, you want more Twitter followers – but how many more? Of course you would enjoy blogging more often, but how many days a week? Don’t worry about having to tweak these details along the way; nothing is permanent! Once you have laid out your goals, the ball is rolling and you’re on your way.

So once you kick-start your social media resolution, now is the time to develop your strategy. As a suggestion, try including these four components: Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and a blog.

You Want More Fans on Facebook:

1. Build a fan page or company page if you haven’t already done so. Make it interesting, include important information, and start filling in the required fields. (After 25 fans you can get a vanity URL!)
2. When you develop content for your page, include information that resonates with your audience; attractive videos and pictures, interesting content, and information that fans will likely promote and share on their own pages.
3. Be conversational. Go ahead and ask questions to your fans, and make sure to respond back to comments. Making it a two-way street allows users to become more engaged with your page.
4. Create and send messages to fans sharing new information and event details to keep them in the loop. Of course, don’t overwhelm anyone by sending messages constantly; timing is everything.
5. Everyone loves a contest. Create something fun for fans to take part in, and offer incentives for them to participate.
6. Make sure you link your Facebook page to your other sites to drive both incoming and outgoing traffic within your pages.

Increase Your Followers on Twitter:

1. Don’t have a Twitter account? Go ahead and set one up!
2. Tweet on a regular basis. Tweeting few and far between will hide your page from the Twitter world. Tweet your heart out!
3. Make your tweets interesting. Include content that others would be interested in, and link articles you want to share. Also, utilize the popular features of Twitter: specifically hashtags(#) and retweets (RT).
4. Begin conversations within the Twitter community by using the @replies feature. You can discuss current events, share information and more while using the ‘@’ symbol next to a user’s name.
5. Take advantage of having conversations by talking about relevant information. Make it a conversation worth having by asking questions and sharing links.
6. Share your Twitter account through your other sites as well. Again, this increases traffic and drives more users to your page.

Become a Blogger:

1. Figure out what topic excites you. Think about different ideas you can talk about, research and share. The more you enjoy your topic, the easier it will be for you to keep up with it.
2. Set up a blogging schedule. Decide how often you would like to post, and keep this realistic! Create the scheduled times and days you want to blog and clear a time for you to do so.
3. Choose a platform to work with. There are tons of options for you: WordPress, Blogger, Tumblr, etc. Pick a template you like, create a title, and design away. This is your invention, so be creative!
4. Begin promoting your new blog. For starters, share the URL on your (new) Facebook and Twitter pages so your fans and followers have easy access to it. When people read your content it becomes even more gratifying.
5. Don’t be afraid to learn! Yes, you picked a topic you enjoy. But do some research to expand your knowledge and learn new things about it. Continue to write about newsworthy information and brand new ideas.
6. Enjoy. When it’s fun, it doesn’t seem like work. The world is your oyster…so blog about it!

Create Videos on YouTube:

1. Pick your passion. Find a topic that you will be excited to create videos about. When you enjoy what you’re creating, it is expressed in your work. So, find your excitement and: lights, camera, action!
2. Like your blogging schedule, figure out how often you want to post a video. Be reasonable, and understand that creating a video may take longer than you anticipate, so be realistic.
3. Set a time limit for each of your videos. Although YouTube  has lifted their upload time limit for users, you still want to keep the attention of your viewers. Make it short and sweet!
4. Create a YouTube account. Start making videos and customize your channel to your liking. Include a relevant name based on your account content, and start uploading.
5. Promote! Include links to your YouTube channel within your Facebook and Twitter channels, but don’t forget about YouTube itself. Take advantage of the YouTube features to assist you in doing this.
6. Keep up with your channel. Be patient, and remain optimistic. You can’t expect a huge audience overnight, or for everyone to love your work. But brush off negative comments, and continue doing what you love!

All you have to do now is put it all to work. With the new year you have everything to look forward to! Enjoy following through with your resolution this year and begin your social media strategy. Afterall, there’s no time like the present.