After Tara’s post about predictions for 2014, I thought I would write something reflecting on 2013.

In January, Anthony Less joined us full time and he showed us that community managers are also magicians. Anthony was able to pull great content for the dryest of clients out of his magical social media hat.

In February, Tara Golenberke joined us. Tara was the last interview of about 60 and in this case, the best was saved for last. Tara has taught our team about the art of patience and handholding. Tara has been a saviour to our clients that are apprehensive about diving head first into social media.

In March, without going into much detail, we learned the importance of a strong solid team. From interns to directors, the people that represent your company are key to the success of the company.

In April, Darryl Villacorta joined our team and brought an abundance of  social media related knowledge, passion and excitement to the company. Darryl lives and breathes his clients and that is obvious from the relationships he has formed with them over the past 8 months.

In May, Gossip Genie was hired by Reynolds Wrap/Hefty Brands to manage their social media, this was all thanks to Elizabeth.

In June, we had a team outing to the Cubs game and our fun time together, further confirmed how lucky we are to all work together.

In July, Elizabeth Ryder was promoted to Director of Social Media. Elizabeth has been an incredible leader and motivates everyone around her to do better. To know Elizabeth is to love her.

In August, we learned to let go of the smaller, more demanding clients. While it’s hard to say, no, that decision has been one of the best we’ve ever made.

In September, our team hosted a sold out event for Social Media Week on the ROI of Social Media. The positive feedback we received already has us planning for next year.

In October, we realized the type of clients we want to work with and that trusting our instincts is very important when it comes to accepting a scope of work. This lesson took a long time to learn but we have all realized that quality over quantity is the way to go.

In November, Mathew Patria accepted an internship position with Gossip Genie and although it’s only been a couple of weeks, we are all impressed with his work ethic and knowledge of our industry.

 In December, we had a wonderful holiday party to celebrate our amazing team. We shared our resolutions for 2014 and based on what we all said, I know it’s going to be our best year yet.

HAPPY HOLIDAYS FROM TEAM GOSSIP GENIE!!