A lot of buzz came about recently thanks to a Nielsen report on “Twitter Quitters”. I voiced my opinion in a post last week called “Twitter and the Biggest Loser effect“, which also sparked a lot of talk about Twitter and its sustainability.

By now we have already established that part of the issue of people joining and abandoning Twitter within a short time is false expectations. Though I don’t think that this is unique to just Twitter. I think that any new social media platform with as much hype as Twitter has been getting would experience the same thing. With that said, this is pretty much the first time that any online community has grown this quickly and received so much press.

Personally, I think it helps to evaluate your expectations and, therefore, goals before joining an online community as part of your business (this goes for any online presence really). If you are just joining for kicks, then by all means, have at it. But as part of your online marketing strategy, joining communities like Twitter can be effective (depending on your type of business), and it’s effectiveness can be measured…again with the right goals in mind.

My goals for year (great time to re-evaluate) were the following: Engage. Community. Change.

Engage: It is up to each of us, part of the larger online community, to engage our peers. To engage them with quality and newsworthy information. Through this process of sharing and engaging we are community building and social networking. It’s important to find a means by which you can engage others, a process that is a good fit for you, and your business.

Community: As you manage your website, the aim should be to make your site an online community for your target audience. You should always keep your business plan or your overall goals in mind. Think of what is important to you. As you become involved in the community – your niche, you will be able to communicate your plan and goals, and through that offer how you will respond to changes ahead.

Change: I believe, this may be a bit cliché, but the change you want to see in the world starts with you. I also believe that what will give you an advantage in the year ahead is the ability to be able to anticipate certain changes, and how in response you handle those changes. As a professional in any field you need to look (be proactive), listen (be aware) and learn quickly (be able to adapt) in order to respond to and cope with changes. I suggest you evaluate yourself and your business. Assess where you are, where you’ve been and where you want to be. From that point you can make changes where and when appropriate. While you don’t have to have a magic 8 ball to know what’s to come, you have to be in tune with your surroundings, your community, and those whom you engage.

I still believe that all three of these are an important part of what the year so far has consisted of and what the year ahead will behold. Social media and online marketing in particular allows me (or any of us) to practice all three of these on a daily basis, which is why I for example find that Twitter is effective for me both personally and professionally.

Do you set goals for yourself? If so, what are they?