2011 was a busy year for me:

As I approached my third year in business I changed direction, practically starting from scratch and re-branded. So, with the holiday season nearly here, I’ve decided to take a break until January. Wohoo!

I’m really excited to be spending time relaxing with friends and family (especially the latest addition to the family – my 5 week old niece) and recharging the batteries ahead of 2012.

Before I head off, I wanted to reflect on the year with a walk down memory lane with you, and share the most popular posts of 2011.

I’ve checked my Google Analytics to see which brought the most traffic to my site and included the top 10 below in reverse order.

I’m rubbish at maths so I didn’t do any fancy calculations, nor did I take into consideration that some posts are older than others – it’s a straight run down.

I hope you find some interesting content among this lot, and it helps you with your social media marketing in the year ahead.

Top 10 Blog Posts

10. 7 Steps to setting up Your Twitter account (November 2011)
Posted in November but already one of the most popular posts of the year. Taking your through the very first steps to perfecting your Twitter profile.

9. Perfectionist? 5 Ways to Beat Your Control Freak Tendencies (October 2010)
This is a guest post written by my business associate and friend, Tamsin Fox-Davies and featured back in December 2010, proving that a solid blog post can bring visitors to your site time and again. Thanks Tam!

8. How to Deal With Twitter Overwhelm (November 2011)
Another Twitter post from November. This time on getting organised. Many of the questions I receive ask how to keep on top of the massive flow of tweets in the news feed. This post tells you how…

7. How I Set Up My Business: Woman & Home Magazine Feature (March 2011)
Earlier this year I was featured in Women & Home magazine – a really proud moment for me! Even better, I received loads of messages from other women inspired by the article. It continues to be one of my most popular posts.

6. Facebook Page, Group or Profile – What’s Better for Business? (October 2011)
So many businesses are turning to Facebook to promote their products and services, and create a fun community there. Makes perfect sense as there are 800 million active users on Facebook! But what presence is best? This post goes through the options.

5. Get More Facebook Likes with Tagging (May 2011)
Another Facebook how-to. A frustrating problem for Facebook page users is getting more visibility for their page. This post explains one of the best ways to achieve more likes and raise your page profile.

4. Change Your Twitter Name Without Losing Followers [VIDEO] (May 2011)
My first how-to video! I created this when I changed my own Twitter name. I didn’t want to lose touch with all the people I’d connected with on Twitter over the years so I needed a plan! This explains the steps to go through…

The Top 3 (…cue drum roll…)

3. Social Media Giants – Why They Use Blue As Their Primary Branding Colour (July 2011)
My third most popular blog is another guest post, this time from colour expert, Karen Haller. I asked her why Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn all use blue in their branding. Seems that I’m not the only one interested in the answer!

2. Twitter Tip: What is a hashtag (#) on Twitter? (July 2011)
I get asked this a lot so it made perfect sense to turn it in to a blog post!

1. Simple Twitter Tips: What Does #FF Mean? (January 2011)
My most popular post! I was originally asked this question by a client in January 2011. The post goes through what #FF means and how best to use it.

Thanks for reading, and thanks for all your comments on the blog, kind messages on Twitter and Facebook, and for sharing my posts around the internet. It really means a lot knowing that my stuff is useful to you!

Wishing you a fabulous Christmas and best wishes for the new year – Let’s make it a great one