By now you have been bombarded with “Top 10 [fill in the blank] of 2011” or “Biggest Moments that Changed the World.” I know I am guilty of writing about it. You will probably also read just as many discussions on New Year’s resolutions and how to keep them. While we are sucked into reading, why not take a different twist on the resolutions, and best of’s. Tweet about.

Coming from a Social Media Specialist, this may be my attempt at an answer for everything, but it is an idea that is catching on. Recently, Hewlett-Packard, HP, announced they will be placing tweets of New Year wishes on helium balloons and releasing them near their headquarters in Dubai. A user can even track their balloon’s path on a map. The main goal of the project, called TwitterWisher, is to connect users.

Whether it is a rainbow connection or symbol of unity, its message is clear; it is about our bond with others in the world. On a personal level, it reminded me of a tradition my family does during birthdays, weddings, and other life events. You receive a bouquet of balloons, make a wish or two, and let go. We then stand and watch as the balloons fly away. Where they land, we are never sure, but we like to think it is a fun surprise to whoever finds it.  The same can be said about HP’s project.

While it may not be as personal, virtually documenting your wish or resolution could connect you with your neighbor here or even Australia. It may also be a wish or resolution you keep. So whether you put in a balloon, Tweet it, or put it in a bottle. It is ok to shot out what you want. It is how we connect. Maybe John Lennon’s vision was right, the world living as one. He probably didn’t have Twitter in mind as he wrote those lyrics, but you get the point.

So the question becomes, what is your wish for 2012?

My Wish: Not waiting around anymore. To discover more, whether it is online, at work, or in my personal life. Just fly. #2012wish (For those of you keeping track at home that is 120 characters)

What is your wish for 2012? #2012wish

The year 2011 will go down in GannettLocal history as one of great passion and growth! In a single year, we saw our team almost triple in size, our client base more than double and our products and performance improve by leaps and bounds.

I’d like to personally thank each of our clients who have given us their faith and trust to take their brand and deliver excellent marketing services including persona advertising, social media management, search engine optimization, pay-per-click and so much more. We love the passion of our clients and truly draw our energy from your success – so thank you for your continued support!

With the year coming to a close, I begin to reflect on all the amazing talent that has joined our team in the last 12 months. Sometimes, I’m surprised by how lucky we’ve been in finding individuals passionate about success, thirsty for new knowledge and never afraid to take-on a challenge! Thank you, team, for always exceeding my wildest expectations, stepping up to help each other and generally making GannettLocal an awesome place to work!

As we look forward to 2012, we’re excited for continued growth, the opportunity to expand and all the challenges that come with that. Our GannettLocal family will finally be under the same roof in 2012, and we look forward to Nerf wars and sing-offs (which, based on the holiday video (also below), we all know the operations team will win!) To ensure we continue to develop our products and improve on already great performance, we are hard at work on various operational tools, reporting improvements and product upgrades.

With that said, I’d like to wish everyone a happy and healthy Holiday Season and a New Year filled with family, friends and lots of revenue! Thanks again for your continued support; we’ll see you in the New Year!

As social media nerds, we spend hours analyzing a client’s content.

We scroll, click and gather as much information as possible about each client’s social media platforms.

But regular folks don’t. They’re looking for the content – the meat and potatoes.

Mashable recently performed an eye-tracking study to show where Facebook users’ eyeballs are actually going. Time and again, the study showed a single phrase rings true: content is king.

No matter how many Facebook apps we may build or profile pictures we agonize over, most of those eyeballs went straight to the Facebook wall. In fact, users were more likely to view the wall four times longer than anything else on the page.

The eye-tracking study used 30 participants who looked at various brand pages from Coca-Cola to Converse. With the gender ratio split 50/50 and most of the users falling in ages 19 – 49, the study tried to get a general sense of perspectives.

According to the results, wall photos were noticed 85% of the time, and “likes” were noticed 58% of the time. Simply put, the branding pages with the most photos held a viewer’s attention longer.

If you’re deciding to spend a majority of Facebook space on your profile picture, then it needs a human element. Specifically speaking – a human face. Profile photos that used a face in connection to the brand caught a visitor’s attention more often than just a picture of the product.

Naturally, the first post garnered more attention, followed by the branding pages’ photos and the Facebook advertisement on the right. Some eyeballs hung around the “Info” and “Events” tabs, but older posts went almost unnoticed.

So use the data to your own advantage. Here are the top 3 lessons learned through this study:

1. Use a face.

The heat maps revealed more people fixated on faces than anything else. If you’re managing a family-owned business, make sure to have at least a photo of the family somewhere up top.

2. Post engaging content.

Sharing bad content is boring not only for you – but for your visitors. Post community happenings, photos of company events or recent news you found interesting. Get conversations going!

3. Facebook ads make a difference.

Advertisements on the right peaked a user’s interests – and the results have storied success. Learn more about social marketing from us!

You can view the entire results of the study here.