It's a brand new year and time for a fresh start!

If you felt like your social media game was lagging in 2014, now is the time to make changes. You may even be surprised at how little you need to do in order to improve your social media presence this year. Sometimes a small change can make the biggest difference. Start by updating your profile on any platforms you've been using. In the daily grind, it's easy to overlook that outdated summary or old profile picture. Now's the time to freshen things up again! In addition, following these four simple resolutions can help you step up your social media game this year:

 Get visual. It is safe to say that images have taken over social media. In 2014, we learned that content with images get 94% more views than those without. Can you even remember the last time you saw a text-only post? Even with a great message, your post will most likely be overlooked if it's not accompanied with some sort of visual. This rule applies not only to social media platforms like Facebook and Google+, but to your blog posts as well. If photography isn't your thing, there are plenty of free stock images sites where you can find great images for your posts. Some of our favorites include: Unsplash, Death to Stock Photo, IM Free, and Jay Mantri.  

 Join a new platform. If you were hesitant to join a new social media platform in 2014, now is the time to be brave and take the leap. Pinterest and Instagram have both quickly climbed the ladder of social media giants. Consider giving them a second look in 2015, if you haven't already.  

 Don't rush. There were several social media blunders in 2014, like the Dallas Cowboys' unfortunate hashtag and US Airways' inappropriate tweet. If these mistakes taught us anything, it was to think carefully about what you post before you post it. We all want to post timely, trending content, but it doesn't always pay to hop on a bandwagon without thinking it through first.

 Plan ahead. This goes hand in hand with our resolution above. Planning content and updates in advance will save you a lot of headache and possible brand damage in the future. You can read our posts here to find out how to create a content calendar. Happy posting in 2015!