This is officially our first blog post of the New Year (Link Loves don't count!). Very exciting. Everyone loves New Years — it's a time of renewal, a chance to wipe the slate clean and start fresh.

It is also, obviously, the time for New Year's resolutions. And I don't know about you, but I shudder at the thought. The gym is totally packed with new people, Starbucks is less packed (as those people resolved to improve their budgeting and are brewing their java at home), and bloggers are vowing to post everyday. There are joggers everywhere!

But only about 10% of us will follow through on our resolutions. My gym will be empty again by March, the siren call of caramel macchiatos will win out, and, hopefully, those bloggers will realize that blogging everyday has poor ROI... There will always be joggers.

So, instead of making a zillion resolutions yet only following through on one (and then feeling sad), this year I'm simply going to keep on keeping on. Try to improve where I can, and follow Rayanne Thorn's lovely advice about seeing New Year's not as a time of change, but as a time of renewal, a time when you evaluate what things add value to your life and what things don't. Renew the things that do, and discard the things that don't.

This practice can easily be applied to your social media practices as well! You have the metrics to show you what works best for you and what doesn't, so this is the perfect time to pull out that data and re-evaluate your social media strategy.

Ask yourself:

What is your candidate asking for?

Do they love your Facebook presence, but wish your career site was more mobile-friendly? Do they want more Twitter interactions, or possibly less? Maybe they wish you would post more details in your online job descriptions...

Watch all of your social networks closely for comments and questions, not only because it is important to respond, but because every comment has information that can help you improve your strategy, reach more candidates, and understand your audience better.

Are you providing the message your candidates want to hear?

The feedback you gather from your talent pool should also inform your overall company brand. Maybe your voice is a little too serious for the potential hires you are looking to attract, and maybe it's not professional enough.

Look back over your posts, but try to do so from the point of view of the candidates you want to engage with. Better yet, ask a current employee who belongs to that demographic for help. Then, keep posting the content that your talent responds to, and scrap the stuff they simply don't want to hear.

Are you using the right platform?

Instagram can be amazing for recruiting.

If you are a fitness-related business that is looking to attract young, sporty candidates; Instagram is perfect. It's visual, has a young user base, and is very popular among the healthy living crowd. But, if you are a bank, looking to hire financial advisers with several years of experience, you're better off using a more professional, business-oriented platform such as LinkedIn.

Take a look at the social networks you are currently using, and reassess what they are doing for you. You will want to maintain a presence on key networks, like Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn, no matter what your target demographic, but platforms like Vine, Pinterest, and Insta are simply not for everyone.

You may also want to try a few new platforms. If you're not currently using Youtube, I highly recommend you start. Video content always receives the highest rates of engagement, and recruiting videos are one of the best ways to increase application rates. Check out these great new examples of recruiting and employer branding videos from Earls Restaurant for inspiration. Following the example of brands who use social media effectively is always one of the best ways to improve your social strategy.

Here's to keeping your social recruiting strategy effective, and fresh this year! Happy social recruiting.