My most recent trip was to Tyson’s Corner, Virginia for the 2013 BlogPaws Social Media & Blogging Conference. Thanks to my job, my social media partner and I headed to VA all excited about meeting all of these pet bloggers and learning what we could use for our own job and personally. If I’ve failed to mention this, I’ll say it now, but I do social media marketing for a company that creates animal and human health products. That’s all you’re getting out of me, no names. So #BlogPaws was cool, lots of cute dogs, friendly bloggers, crazy bloggers, free stuff, and enough sessions to make you feel like you were in college all over again.

I had never met a pet blogger in person until this event but it was here that I realized just how passionate some of these pet people are when it comes to their pets and blogs. All of them came with some similar goals in mind, to learn, grow their fan bases and brands. I on the other handed wanted to see how I could become better at blogging, social media marketing, and get an idea of who the top influencers were in this community of pet bloggers for work purposes and I think I accomplished all of those goals. I took some really interesting sessions on Google Analytics, SEO(Search Engine Optimization), Twitter, Facebook, photography, and so on. Topics ranged from beginner to Pro and it made it fairly easy for you to pick and choose what sessions to hit up first. Out of all of them, I think I enjoyed the photography and Facebook sessions the best because of how much I’m really getting into my photography and how much of a fan base my company’s brands have on Facebook. Taking what I learned in each session away with me and applying it to my job and skills went into full affect once I got back home.

We met some really cool people who weren’t bloggers and had a merry little time hanging out in Washington D.C. for two evenings. Who would have thought a cool river ride with a boat full of dogs past all of our nation’s monuments was in our future? And to top it all off, we took a ghost tour/history class walk where we listened to different ghost stories that had some type of history tied into it. It was fun! Even though I don’t have any pets of my own as of right now, I enjoyed hanging out with so many others’ pets for three days.

So what’s next on my travel list? Well, looks like I’m headed to Las Vegas for SuperZoo and Chicago for Blogher– all in one week!

The social media specialists of our generation have it all and balance the job of community engagement and social media management, in a nutshell. When you see or hear the word “specialist” you know that person knows it all and that’s what you expect. They’re the experts and the go-to person when you have social media questions for your business, which says a lot.

Aside for all of these job titles to worry about, skill level for social media jobs continue to shift. As we all know, “shift happens” and as it happens you can do yourself a favor in the long run by honing some valuable skills that can become quit necessary in the “day in the life” of a social media manager, or any of those other titles.

Let’s jump into it:

1. Social media marketing isn’t legit without the marketing basics

Social media falls under the marketing department when it doesn’t have its own department at a lot of companies. It’s online marketing at its best and you should know the basics in order to properly attack. Take a basic marketing course first, read up on marketing terms, and try to apply what you’ve learned to your current position. Having a plan of action is necessary with social media marketing because you have to be even more cautious due to the how publicly accessible everything is nowadays. One wrong marketing move can sabotage your entire plan or even your brand.

2. Basic graphic design knowledge- huh?

Professional graphic designers are not always around and when they’re not, you need to be able to take care of an immediate project yourself. You don’t need to be an expert in graphic design but simply being able to add text to an image, crop, resize, or even combine photos through Photoshop or GIMP would help you out so much more. And if you know how to create Facebook banners, graphics for flyers or cool little nifty marketing materials, then you might be a little more valuable than the guy who doesn’t. Take some time each day to do edit or create a graphic, such as a meme, and you’ll start to really become good at it on your own, no expensive schooling necessary.

3. HTML/CSS isn’t going anywhere

If you’re not a patient person, HTML and CSS, which are website design languages, can be a little difficult. Like graphic design, you have to really work with these on a regular basis to become better. Some social media jobs require management of blogs and websites, and in that case you will need to learn these codes sooner or later. Knowing just the basic HTML can help you move the header of the company’s blog from left to right and if you can do that yourself, you’re saving time and money for your company, which makes a happy boss.

4. Write like your life depends on it. Seriously

The job of a social media somebody is never dull, especially when it comes to pumping out content. Whether content is being pushed through Facebook, Twitter, or the company blog, you could do everybody a favor by at least knowing how to write. And yes this includes basic grammar. I don’t think I’ve ever come across a marketing position that didn’t require this and for that reason, accept it and move on. If you’re not the best writer, do not be afraid to take a English composition course at one point or another to improve, there’s no shame in bettering your skills people! Companies and businesses want social media folks to know how to get their message across clearly because your audience will not always have the pleasure of seeing your face or hearing your voice on a daily basis.

5. Copier machines are not tanning beds

Have you seen that Jack in the Box commercial? Be tech-savvy! This goes for new and old technology. Yes iPhones can be dope but at least know how to make copies or scan a document. I’m just saying. And with new technology, do not be afraid to actually learn about a new app. Any app that will make your job easier is worth the time and that doesn’t go without saying iPhones and Androids run this mutha… and Blackberrys are slowly making their way back. Know how to link documents and files while on the go between your mobile device and computer, because that little information my friend, will get you places.

Photo: Adrants.com