It’s crazy to think that 2021 is coming to a close. The days and weeks in a year always feel long, but the months and the year itself, absolutely fly by. It’s strange how that always is the case. There’s no stopping Father Time as they say! All we can do is forge ahead and see what next year brings.
Now, I’m not huge into resolutions, but I typically set one or two for myself. I’m not big into resolutions I know I won’t accomplish. As my wife always says, “Low expectations make exceeding them a lot easier.” That’s how I personally approach resolutions, such as becoming more knowledgeable about wine. Or teaching my son how to ski. Or riding my bicycle more often and for more miles. Sign me up for all of those! But I stay clear of the ultra-dedicated kind of resolutions because those are the ones that never get fulfilled, and it’ll ultimately make you feel less about yourself. Of course, if you do accomplish those kinds of goals, kudos to you!
Where I differ in this logic is when I look at my resolutions or goals for work and for the brands I’m responsible for, which as you know is Engine Builder, but now also includes Babcox Media’s Motorcycle & Powersports News brand as well. I was named content director for both brands this past fall, and I’m extremely excited to continue to push the envelope with each of them.
I still take a realistic approach to setting work goals for the next year, but I’m not afraid to stretch to hit higher targets and produce more content to benefit our readers, advertisers and our own team. For instance, heading into 2021, we knew we wanted to keep the pedal to the floor on the social media and digital side of things. We had lofty goals for Facebook, Instagram and YouTube, in particular.
On Facebook, we started the year with 16,000 followers and wanted to grow that to 20,000. We’re currently a tad over 19,000 and getting so close to that goal. On Instagram, we started the year with 85,000 followers and we set a goal of getting to 100K. We’re currently just 5,000 away from that HUGE milestone as of this writing. Maybe we get there by New Years?
Where we had the seemingly loftiest goal though was on YouTube. We began the year with 3,000 subscribers and had our goal set at hitting 10,000 subscribers by the end of 2021. We hit that goal by mid-summer! We currently have 14,200 subscribers and YouTube has been driving tons of eyeballs to our expanding video content, and it will certainly continue to do so in 2022.
As I’ve mentioned numerous times in this column over the past couple years, my goal is to never slow down or take the easy route when it comes to Engine Builder or Motorcycle & Powersports News. I want to keep these brands creating excellent content for all mediums – print, digital, video, and social. Our team tries to think outside the box in an effort to keep our audience engaged, entertained, learning, and looking to us for more – always. Next year, there will be plenty for your eyes and brains to enjoy. And, if you have suggestions, please don’t hesitate to tell us. Happy New Year everyone! EB
