By Kyle McCabe | December 22, 2009

Don't get robbed.

I don’t know anything about rockets or surgery. If I wanted to find a good rocket surgeon, I wouldn’t have the faintest idea where to start. I’m not at all confident I could find the right person for the job; someone who won’t rip me off or do a half-baked job (hey, no disrespect to rocket surgeons, but some of you are kind of shady).

If you feel that way about finding a good web designer*, I may be able to help (yeah, some of you are shady, too).

There are key values, practices or qualifications in any profession that can help you judge its practitioners. So you might proceed in your search with greater confidence, I’ve outlined below some key things to look for in a good web designer (Surprisingly, little of it has to do with actual ‘design’ skill).

1. A good web designer listens.
It’s incredibly difficult to solve a design problem without knowing what that problem is. …Read more »

By Kyle McCabe | December 1, 2009

Tools without strategy: poorly built house; dilapidated, isolated. More of a shack, really. A bad marketing shack.

I’ve had the opportunity to speak at a few events about social media. I’ve also spoken to clients, prospects, colleagues, friends, family, and a few pets about social media. One of the most common questions asked of me, and that I see asked of others, is “how do you use social media for business?”

For these presentations, I usually begin by explaining what social media is conceptually, then move into how it can be integrated into the marketing effort – beginning with objectives and strategy. Almost unfailingly, however, I receive feedback to the effect of “I still don’t know how to *USE* this stuff.” I think I know what the problem is (clearly I need to fix my presentation, but that’s beside the point).

Tools without a plan

Imagine I walked up to you and asked, “How do I use a hammer?” How would you respond? …Read more »