It's that time of year for fresh starts and new commitments. Are you someone who normally makes new year resolutions every year? Many of us commonly make resolutions for our personal lives. But how many of us really commit to resolutions for our businesses?

I think there are always things we can commit to in order to improve our business. And with social media marketing in a constant state of evolution and change, it is so important to focus on this area. There are a lot of things that we should be aiming for in 2014 when it comes to social media. I would like you to read through this list and find a few things that you will commit to for this year. Choosing even just a few of these things will help you see greater success with your social media marketing.

Here are 10 Social Media Resolutions for 2014:

1. Create and Adhere to a Social Media Strategy

This is one of the things that I think you MUST do to really see success in social media. If you've never created a strategy before, please take the time to create one this year. Creating a viable strategy will give you a solid road map for the year ahead. Writing down your goals, plans, and policies will increase your chances of actually adhering to them.

2. Set Realistic Goals

We often get really hyped up with the new year and fresh horizons. We start thinking in grandiose terms and envisioning the ultimate end state. While I definitely believe in having lofty goals that push your limits, you must still set realistic goals. For example, if you only have 200 Facebook fans right now, setting a goal to reach 10,000 fans this year may not be very realistic. Instead, look realistically at your growth options. Maybe 1000 fans is more realistic and still provides you with a targeted growth pattern.

3. Review Your Audience

When was the last time you audited who comprises your audience? If your audience has grown significantly in the last year, your demographics have definitely evolved. Do you have more male fans now? Maybe you have more younger fans. Have the interests of your fans changed over the last year? Now is the time to audit your audience and determine if you need to adjust your social media strategy and posts to maximize your results.

4. Join a New Social Media Site

If you've been focusing on only one social media site for the last year, it's time to branch out and reach a new audience, and grow your audience, through another social media site. Even if you've been actively using multiple social media sites, there are always new ones starting up. Trying out a new site to determine if it's valuable to you or just to get to know what else is out there will help you expand your posting behaviors.

5. Be More Responsive

How often do you post something and fail to respond? Or perhaps it takes you hours (or even days) to get back to questions or comments on your pages. Set a goal this year to be more responsive to your audience. The majority of social media users expect a response within 24 hours. While this seems reasonable, more and more people are beginning to expect responses to their comments and questions with one hour of posting! Make more time in your day to dedicate to responding to social media posts and comments from fans.

6. Be More Social

This is a bit of an extension from #4 and #5. No matter how much you have used social media, there is always room for improvement. Maybe it's being more active on another site or maybe it's posting more frequently on your business page. Or maybe it's making your posts most social - asking more questions, sharing more personal stories, or inviting more participation from your audience. Whatever it is you feel would make you more "social", implement that this year to really reap the rewards of social media marketing.

7. Use More Visual Marketing

If you read my previous post, you know that the one prediction I made for 2014 is the prevalence of visual marketing. Every social media site is improving their systems to be more visually friendly. And you need to do the same. Commit time to creating more photos and videos for your social media posts this year. And no, this does not mean just creating memes.

8. Try Something New

Get a little out of your comfort zone and try something new. Have you avoided creating videos? Have you ever participated in a live Hangout on Air over on Google+? Maybe you've been avoiding joining a certain social media site. Or maybe you've been lurking on a social media site rather than actively participating in conversations. Whatever it is, find something that stretches your limits this year and embrace it!

9. Keep it Professionally Personal

It sounds a little oxymoronic, but it is imperative to keep your pages professionally personal. In social media people want to see your personal side - they want to know who you are and what your business stands for. But in the same turn, you're still a business and a brand and you need to come across professionally. So, while I encourage you to share the occasional post showing your family, employees, or friends, don't share endless albums of your child's birthday party. Also, keep your tone conversational and relative to your audience - you can use emojis or slang if appropriate. But do not cross certain professional boundaries and venture into taboo subjects that will offend your audience. Even the average joke runs the risk of alienating your audience. Have fun and engage personally with your audience, but keep it professional.

10. Blogging

If you're not yet blogging for your business, this is something you MUST do this year! Blogging allows you to put your message out in front of your audience regularly. When promoted properly through social media channels, blogging will drastically improve your website traffic, lead generation, and revenue. And if your competitors are blogging, you need to as well, just to remain competitive. Or, if they aren't blogging yet, this is your chance to step ahead of them. Either way, blogging cannot be avoided anymore.

There you have it, 10 resolutions for 2014! I honestly wish you the best results and all the success you deserve this year. I am so looking forward to sharing another great year with you and hope that we can all reach new heights this year.