Resolutions

To be honest, I’m not the type of person that writes down new years resolutions. But this year, I decided to keep myself accountable and write down all the things I plan to commit to at least in my life as a community manager.

Here we go!

Resolution #1: As long as I live so long do I learn

From content marketing to social media marketing and community management, changes happen in the speed of light, which means that I need to stay on top of my game when it comes to keeping up with all the latest trends and developments.

Every day, I come across a bunch of great blog posts, tips and webinars invitations which most of the times get lost in the pile of my to-dos.

So I decided to organize myself (see resolution #6) and set up a learning system for myself. I shortlisted my favorite blogs on Feedly, I organized my Twitter lists with influencers and sources that inspire me and I committed to attending at least two webinars and/or online classes per month. Right now, I am half way through the content marketing class on TNW Academy and I love it!

Resolution #2: Get some perspective

I am a words person. Which means that crunching numbers is not my favorite thing in the world but it’s necessary for what I do, simply because it gives me perspective on what works and what doesn’t.

So in 2016, I plan to learn to love reports and audits. I started by writing down the metrics and KPIs that are the most important to me (for example, engagement, leads, page views and so on) and made a report template to help me keep track of all the info I pull from Google Analytics and other tools, for me and of course for my team.

Resolution #3: Connect

I work in social media, with social media for social media. So being more active,especially on Twitter is a priority. I do believe that Community Managers need to also be active on their personal channels. Building a community around the brand you represent is a lot more natural when you, as an individual, are also part of this community.

Posting content is one way of being active on social but interacting is another. Twitter is such a great platform for this! If you don’t know where to begin, Twitter chats are a great start. Find the ones you are interested in, add them to your calendar, and let the tweeting begin.

Resolution #4: Experiment

Once you get to know a tool you stick to it. After all, successful tools or platforms are built around developing a habit, right?

But despite the force of habit experimenting with different tools is important because this is how you keep up-to-date with what’s new in the industry and who knows, a new habit might be just around the corner.

And since we live and breath social, experimenting with new platforms is a must. The “Big 5” are well established but what about the new players? Snapchat is really top of my list. Despite the fact that I’m (very) few years older than generation z.

Resolution #5: Write more

Practice makes perfect they say. And this definitely applies to writing. All the times that I’ve tried to write as a personal project, I have failed miserably to really commit to it. Maybe because I write for a living (?).

Resolution #6: Get organized

This is sort of an ongoing process for me and I have to admit I’ve come a long way! From mental notes and post-its, to agendas and to-do lists. In 2015, I discovered Wunderlist and Sunrise calendar and got access to Google Inbox, cleared up my Get Pocket tabs and really embraced Evernote. In 2016, I plan to expand on this and keep on improving how I manage my time.

Now off to an awesome 2016!