This week on #bufferchat, our community looked back at 2017, talking about the learnings as well as the highs and lows from the year. Read on to discover all of the awesome insights shared during the chat!
Catch our weekly Twitter chat, #bufferchat, at TWO times every Wednesday for valuable industry insights and to meet hundreds of other smart marketers and social media enthusiasts. Same topic, same place, just at different times – feel free to join whichever chat time works best for you!
4 pm AEDT (Sydney time)
9 am PT (San Francisco time)

This week’s stats:
Bufferchat #1 (4 pm AEDT): 24 participants; reach of 999,129
Bufferchat #2 (9 am PT): 66 participants; reach of 1,313,059
Q1: What was your favorite part of 2017?
From the community:
A1 growing and learning as a person. Becoming better at social media and how to use it to better my blog and my personal life.
#bufferchat
— Lexi Carpenter (@LexiCarpenter23) December 20, 2017
A1: My favorite part of 2017 was all the great changes! New apartment, new job, new everything! And all for the better. #bufferchat
— Haylee Cornett (@Haylee_Cornett) December 20, 2017
A1: Relationships. I made so many mistakes, tried so many new things, was disappointed and hurt many times, but it enriched my life with so much colour — to know that your life is a tapestry of the people who support you. #bufferchat
— Athena Lam (@cupandtheroad) December 20, 2017
A1) Personally – I had lot of #wildlifephotography done & got some dream shots! Met new friends & a special person! Strengthened bonding with family members! Professionaly – new job, new role & a good company! #bufferchat
— Nimit Bhatt (@BhattNimit) December 20, 2017
See all the great answers to question 1 here!
Q2: Did you reach your goals this year? If so, what advice would you give to others to do the same and, if not, what might you change about setting goals next year?
From the community:
A2: I don’t typically set goals, rather I set intentions. And this year I accomplished everything I intended to do, especially building my personal brand!??? #BufferChat
— Melissa Garcia (@littleredmg) December 20, 2017
A2: No! We hit some, but we spread ourselves thin in a lot of areas. One specifically was Twitter! We have big plans to utilize things like #bufferchat and other avenues to establish more expertise in the industry. Plus, goals are fun ? always set big ones! pic.twitter.com/C1BE5H1VG4
— DJP Focus Marketing (@DjpFocus) December 20, 2017
A2: No, I thought I’d be further along. As I kept learning, I found myself wandering down different paths. The detours were worth it and I’ve always found my way back and with new ideas. ADVICE: allow yourself time to explore even if it means missing your milestones #bufferchat
— Warwick Brown (@warwickabrown) December 20, 2017
A2) I started stepping towards my goals this year, which is also as good as achieving goals.
Advice ➡️Never be stagnant. Always keep moving but in the right direction. #bufferchat pic.twitter.com/fMKdoHDTNm
— Aamina Suleman ? (@thinkdesignvis) December 20, 2017
See all the great answers to question 2 here!
Q3: What has been your proudest/most exciting social media marketing moment this year, and why?
From the community:
A3 Going from executing mock social media campaigns in class to executing real-world social media campaigns w/influencers & celebrities was the most exciting this year because not only did I get to build our brand, but also build relationships with wonderful people. #bufferchat
— Love, Ross (@RossWalkerSmith) December 20, 2017
A3: Running a successful competition always comes near the top! Huge engagement and seeing a happy client = win ?
Also utilising website analytics, along with social media to give a really clear picture of what is/isn’t working. #bufferchat
— Reece Matthews (@Sysode) December 20, 2017
A3. Last year I launched two ideas: tracking corporate social impressions from logo recognition, not just sponsored posts, & how much Twitter conversation happens during every NFL game. This year, my processes got smarter, more effective, & tell a better story. #bufferchat pic.twitter.com/yF5iT4Cmyo
— Geoffrey Blosat (@GeoffTBlosat) December 20, 2017
A3: Proud of how I was able to harness email and social media marketing to drive excitement and engagement to a new event. Social media marketing can be challenging at the local level, and I feel I found the secret sauce to engaging a small local audience. #bufferchat
— Ashley Lorelle (@ash_lorelle) December 20, 2017
See all the great answers to question 3 here!
Q4: Did you have the opportunity to travel or explore new places this year? If so, where did you visit?
From the community:
A4: After five years of traveling the globe, this last year was my first year to stay home with no international travel. It was a much needed year!!! #bufferchat pic.twitter.com/G1epBW27ko
— KitchenTableFinances (@KitTabFin) December 20, 2017
A4:
I’ve done a lot of exploring of @StPeteFL itself and have discovered it’s truly a place to call home. It’s no snowy and seasonal New Hampshire, but it’s a perfect backdrop to continue this chapter of my life. #bufferchat pic.twitter.com/O7FCEe0iKL
— Meghan Hakey❄️ (@MegAHakey) December 20, 2017
A4: Yes! I spent the first 3 months of the year snowboarding in the French Alps. The joys of freelancing! #bufferchat pic.twitter.com/IShcFVhhci
— Felicity Wild (@flickwild) December 20, 2017
A4: I started the year living in Finland, moved home to the UK in March.
Had holidays in Finnish Lapland, Cabo Verde, Italy, Georgia & Azerbaijan. So, er, yeah I got about!?
Hopefully off to Latin America next year – the only inhabited continent I haven’t been to. #BufferChat pic.twitter.com/DN9xbUPwd4
— Elizabeth Somerville (@ElizabethKF) December 20, 2017
See all the great answers to question 4 here!
Q5: If you’re up for sharing, what was one mistake, big or small, that you made this year and what did you learn from it?
From the community:
A5: I wasn’t great about taking care of my health – it’s easy to forget to eat lunch, stay up too late reading, skip a workout and lounge instead. Except that saps my productivity and patience. I have to be better about that in the future. #bufferchat
— Jessica Leeburg (@spacencashmere) December 20, 2017
A5: being too comfortable and sticking around too long in situations that are no longer benefitting me or helping me grow. I’ve learned how important it is for me to stay focused and thoughtful with every situation. Plus I need stay focused on my goals. #bufferchat
— Ambriss (@ambriss_) December 20, 2017
A5. Waiting in the wings for too long. Not having the confidence to step forward and put myself in the mix. Once I did, it worked ? #bufferchat
— TrainingSocialMedia (@TrainingSMM) December 20, 2017
A5. The biggest lesson from 2017:
We spend so much time complaining or being angry/frustrated on how things don’t come out as we want, every hour we lose doing so is an hour wasted towards reaching a goal/dream/result.
U should be ur own biggest cheerleader. #bufferchat @buffer pic.twitter.com/5ZNT1Ps2Q1
— Kiki (@Typ0queen) December 20, 2017
See all the great answers to question 5 here!
Q6: What’s one intention, theme, or mantra — personal or professional — that you want to set for yourself going into 2018?
From the community:
A6 My BFF and I have a little mantra for when something goes wrong. “Im ok, Im still alive” but for 2018 I want to live by “Sometimes, you got to MAKE a door” ots a line from a LoL character and I think it applies perfectly for me right now! #BufferChat
— Diana Pereira (@DianaPereiraC) December 20, 2017
A6: Do what you love. It’s ok to take risks. It’s ok to make mistakes. Just do you. #bufferchat
— Wayne Jones (@wayneoflife) December 20, 2017
A6: You are capable of achieving anything you put your mind to, so don’t be afraid to dream big! ✨ #bufferchat
— Express Writers (@ExpWriters) December 20, 2017
A6. Don’t be afraid to fail. That’s been one of my biggest drivers and I want to take some risks with content and strategy in 2018. We’ll see how that goes. #bufferchat
— Donnie II ? (@DonnieHaflich) December 20, 2017
See all the great answers to question 6 here!
Thank you so much to our awesome community for sharing such great insights in this chat!
Do you have any comments or answers to these questions? Leave your thoughts in the comments! We’d love to hear from you!
Image sources: UnSplash