DISQUS

DrewGneiser · 9 months ago

I would probably add (it might fit under the 'Passion' heading) a balanced view of social media or a balanced passion. I think social media is changing the world more than most people realize, but it is also not a end-all, silver bullet solution for every problem. I think sometimes people get so excited about social media, they forget about the other myriad of tools that should work with social media, not against it.

Another characteristic I would suggest is patience. A social media strategist needs patience in so many areas - patience with new clients who don't know as much as you, patience with skeptics and naysayers, patience with the process of doing social media the right way, and patience for the world social media itself to develop (ie tools that are needed, more solid ways to measure social media efforts that haven't been designed/made yet). This world is still new and developing in so many ways, and patience will go a long way.

jacobmorgan · 9 months ago

patience is a great one. social media does take time and you are never going to see overnight results (well ok...sometimes). you are right, social media is still a baby and we are still not sure of where it is going and what will come of it, so patience is definitely key.

thanks drew!

Adam Singer · 9 months ago

Under Tech savvy -- really all marketing professionals, not just web professionals should be able to do all of these things by now. Programming is the new literacy.

jacobmorgan · 9 months ago

hey adam,

of course you are right. i've been debating taking a few classes on programming, perhaps php/ruby? what would you recommend?

AdamSinger · 9 months ago

not sure, i'm a self-learner and taught myself everything through personal research. Independent learning trumps institutional education: http://tinyurl.com/67lklk

Tamar Weinberg · 9 months ago

"If we were having this conversation 2 years ago, then twitter would not have existed. "

Actually, my first tweet was from December 2006. ;)

jacobmorgan · 9 months ago

ur evil, tamar :) ok ok, so 2 years and a few months or if you want we can even say 3 years just to be safe!

thanks for stopping by!

Tamar Weinberg · 9 months ago

Yeah, you should say 3 years to be safe ;)

jacobmorgan · 9 months ago

heck let's do 5! hey by the way id love to write a guest for you on mashable/etc let me know if there are any opps :)

Tamar Weinberg · 9 months ago

I'm not on Mashable's editorial team, but the information you need to speak to the right person is on Pete's Twitter: http://twitter.com/mashable. ;)

Tiffany Winbush · 9 months ago

Thanks for the great post. With so many people claiming to be social media experts, this is solid information that professionals can use to hone their skills. I'll certainly share this with my Twitter network.

jacobmorgan · 9 months ago

hi tiffany,

thanks for the kinds words, im glad you found the information valuable and decided to share it!

David Sandusky · 9 months ago

Good post and all important if a strategist is going to make it.
I would add what I see is often missing in social media strategists I meet on and offline. They don't have a business model and are not qualified to help others with social media strategy. A one-size fits all strategy. Result = building numbers only to find a big "so what" exists.