Now, I’m not a guy to take one thing and stick to it. I deal in systems. Things working together to make a whole. Like a computer. Like a retail store. Like a company.

And a Social Media Consultant has to be a product of a system. Be versed in not just Social Media, but other aspects of how a business operates. I’m not just talking about day-to-day operations. Yes, you need to know those to be able to generate content. I’m talking about 3 other key “job skills” that will make anyone in Social Media (consultant or otherwise) successful.

1) Public or Media Relations – I worked as a student social media consultant for a university for a little under a year. The little bit of information that I picked up there has probably served me better than any other former job that I’ve had. You never realize how a little bit of the wrong information can cast a bad light on an organization. Now, I’m not telling corporate blogger not to be honest and genuine. I’m just saying that you don’t have to post every detail of everything.

2) Marketing – I spent 4-5 years working closely with the same university’s athletic marketing department. I learned two things from them: the real definition of hard work (I swear they never slept from August to May) and how to market effectively using a hell of a lot less resources than you should have. Trust me, as a consultant, I emphasis to my clients that I do things as cost-effectively and user-friendly as possible. There are a lot of free services that, if coupled with some low-cost options, are just as good as some “all-in-one” services.

3) Running – No, I’m not talking about a marathon. I’m talking about being a student runner in the same university’s provost office (can you tell that I was busy in college?). Being able to watch how a business worked and how business works (which ARE two very different things) has taught me more about connecting with people than social media will ever teach me. While Social Media is great to get information about people, actual face-to-face contact with someone will never replace how business gets done. Making that personal connection personalizes the interaction and makes people more responsive to opportunities.