3 new social media resolutions for 2012 and a couple from 2011 that still need attention.

This is the 2nd year that I’ve published my social media resolutions. Reading over last year’s resolutions, I’m proud to say that I stay committed to each of them fairly well, though I some I outright failed at doing one of them. That said, I am glad I wrote my resolutions for 2011 as it gave me focus. Here’s my 2011 scorecard:

-Fine Tune Karma for Business: I kept at this social media mantra this year and it worked for me and it worked for my clients. I’ll keep doing it.

-Beyond The Numbers: I definitely worked with people to think beyond follower counts, but I’m not completely satisfied with my own goal to build more scaleable social media programs. I think there is definitely more room for growth here.

-Tell the Story Better: Yes! I’m pleased with the social media storytelling this year. However, I’d like to do more, better.

-Write more: I said I would write 2X/week in my blog. I failed. But I’m getting back on the horse…watch me ride! Yahooo!!

-Social media is the Farm, not the Silo: This message is being heard and I’m thrilled to have been a part of it. My personal clients and others are starting to see the light and I couldn’t be happier. Check.

-Show more personality in Social Media: I did this, and I’m glad I did, but it could have been even better. I’ll call this one “ongoing”

Since several of those resolutions are ongoing and I’ll continue to keep these on my radar, I’ve developed a (shorter) list of resolutions for 2012 that I intend to focus on as well.

Think outside the blog:

Don’t get me wrong, this blog remains my number one love in terms of content creation, however, there are so many opportunities to create content, its a shame to limit it to the blog only. I’ve dipped my feet into Vimeo and Slideshare this year and I’d like to continue to utilize those two platforms more regularly. From a business perspective, both of those two platforms work for me. But more importantly, they make me push up against my normal communication style (of writing). Because I am not a fantastic movie editor or graphic designer, using these mediums will require me to be creative. Creative is good. It also means that I’ll be living by the mantra that it doesn’t always have to be perfect. That’s OK too..although a little harder to swallow.

What platforms will you use in 2012 that are you aren’t making the most of right now?

Distinguish my social media profiles:

I’ve been using Facebook and Twitter for years and with the introduction of Google+ (which I am enjoying) I’ll be defining what information you’ll see where. What I share on the three social networks will be different and I’ll be spending sometime experimenting and defining that better for myself and my audiences.  Along those lines, I’ll be making better use of my businesses Facebook page and Google+Page. I’m seriously considering limiting the posting of my blog on my personal profiles (with the exception of Twitter) and leaving the blog promotion strictly to the pages, allowing my personal presence to be more..well, personal, on my profiles.

Have you given thought to what you share and where you share it? How are your audiences different on each platform?

Participate. Support. More.

This is a totally loaded gun, but I will say it: I want more conversation. I’ll make a better effort to converse with people and do more outreach. I’ve gotten a little lazy, especially on Twitter, about STARTING the conversation. I participate in a lot of convos, but I don’t necessarily start them. That’s a crummy way to create relationships. I don’t like that I’ve gotten lazy and its going to stop. I’ll also be dropping by more blogs and writing more comments where I have something to share. Truth is, I read a lot of blogs, but sometimes I am too lazy to comment. I’m also going to be seeking out the blogs of people who aren’t “famous.” Seems we all read a lot of the same stuff, I’d like to find people who others aren’t necessarily reading and support them. I also want to find more blogs with viewpoints different from my own. As I said earlier this year “I need to spend less time with people who think like me and more time with people who don’t.” To that end, if you see something you hear you don’t like or agree with, feel free to challenge me. I’m up for it and you won’t get crucified by me.

How do you use your social media currency to support others?

What Social Media Resolutions do YOU have for 2012?  Can’t wait to hear! You can also let me know here, on G+ Look forward to hearing from you…and HAPPY NEW YEAR, EVERYONE!

Photo: Creative Commons