You know you have done it before.. setting up your famous New Year’s resolutions, but seriously are you going to stick with it? As a past personal trainer, I met many people that said they were going to stick to their fitness goals, but most of the time they failed. The biggest reason was because they didn’t write their goals down.

As I am sure you have heard many successful people before, writing your goals down is the largest piece of it. As a small business owner, I know the importance of writing my monthly, weekly and daily goals down. I believe this is one of the reasons why I am successful.

But just as in fitness, setting up a routine that works for you will really help you become successful. Many clients I know have trouble getting in the routine of updating their website, blog and / or social media tools. They biggest thing I can offer is finding the best routine that works for you. Everybody is different and if you own a small business, trying to find the time can be difficult. But trust me, if you give yourself a few hours a week to do this, you will be really amazed at the results. Here are some of my pointers that could help you:

1. Set small goals. Just like in fitness, 15 minutes a day, 3 days a week and build from there. Try updating your Facebook fan page with these ideas and you will get into a routine in no time. Don’t forget to write your goals down either!

2. Measure (and measure again) your results. Don’t forget to measure before you start your routine. Do you have some type of web analytics installed on your website now? If not, do it before you really get into your social media plan.

3. Every tool (exercise equipment) may not make sense for you to start with. Maybe it makes sense to start with a Facebook fan page and then go from there, instead of trying a blog, Facebook fan page and twitter. Start off slowly and pace yourself. Get into a good routine and then continue down that path.

4. If you need help with your social media work, hire a trainer. Like a personal trainer, somebody that can help guide you and help you along your path will really help you get on the right track (path) right off the bat. This will save you time, money and frustration.

5. Above all, have fun! Meet new people / friends, follow people that you consider experts. I have learned a lot from all the experts I follow. I wouldn’t be who I am today, if I didn’t follow these people and ask questions. Many experts will be glad to help you. I love social media because I have met many great people and I have learned a ton from them.

I hope this information helps you to a successful 2010 Happy Holidays!

Over the course of the past two months, I’ve had many discussions with individuals and companies, small and large, about social media. I am really excited to talk with people who are either planning on using or already using social media. The questions I always ask are:  do you have a plan and how are you going to monitor your social media presence?

Many times these questions seem to stump them.  First off, I can not stress enough the importance of having a social media plan. There are so many companies out there where they bring in an intern to do the social media work. I think this is great, but what happens when the intern leaves? Chances are the social media presence dies when that person leaves. That’s one of the reasons it’s so important to have a social media plan. Also, many social media experts will recommend that you don’t need to use every tool out there. Use the ones that fit with you and / or company.

How are you going to monitor your social media presence? There are many tools out there including Techrigy (www.techrigy.com), Radian 6 (www.radian6.com) and ViralHeat (www.viralheat.com). I am currently using the Techrigy tool, but I will be evaluating the others in coming weeks (look for an upcoming posting). I have found that many of the companies I have spoke with over the past few months do not know the correct way to monitor their social media presence. Using one of these tools is so important, I can’t stress it enough. I love showing these companies information that they can track (demographics, positive / negative feedback and much more) and how they can interact better with their clients / customers. I love seeing their eyes light up when they see how they can use these tools to improve and monitor their social media presence.

As the use of social media improves and matures many companies need to have these two things in order to be sure they are reaching their current & potential customers. Check out one of the social media monitoring tools and see if it is something that your company can use.

Are you using one of these tools to monitor your social media presence? When you started your social media work, did you have a plan? If not, what happened? Any lessons learned from having a plan or not having a social media plan?