Ideas and insight

Marketing and strategy

For our latest articles and podcasts, visit alexandrasamuel.com and robcottingham.ca.

business marketing strategy ROI 10waysROI metrics measurement analytics monitoring revenue value advertising public relations communications branding promotion reflected glory marketing audience client projects budget innovation intellectual property ip Creative Commons open source hr team project management

2006

Resurrect your rhetoric: six (re)uses for a speechRob Cottingham · 6 February, 2006
Announcing Vancity's Change Everything: an online community conversation on changeRob Cottingham · 27 July, 2006
Targeting your video message to the community you want to reachRob Cottingham · 19 August, 2006
BarCamp VancouverRob Cottingham · 26 August, 2006
Bard on the Beach: ChangeEverything.ca's first contestRob Cottingham · 1 September, 2006
Drupal module allows you to build your own homepageRob Cottingham · 20 October, 2006
Social Signal at the Blog Business SummitRob Cottingham · 20 October, 2006

2007

Advice to social media mavens...from media prosAlexandra Samuel · 28 January, 2007
Reflected glory marketing versus the heavy hand of the brandRob Cottingham · 29 January, 2007
Reflected glory marketing: building brand with Web 2.0Alex and Rob · 13 March, 2007
ChangeEverything.ca: Setting the stage for participationRob Cottingham · 29 March, 2007
ChangeEverything.ca becoming a launch platform for great ideasRob Cottingham · 3 April, 2007
ChangeEverything.ca is a Webby Official Honoree!Rob Cottingham · 10 April, 2007
Risk and social media: the Canadian Marketing Association's Word of Mouth Marketing ConferenceRob Cottingham · 12 April, 2007
30 Days of Sustainability's Turn It Off campaign grows participation with FacebookRob Cottingham · 14 April, 2007
Check out Six Pixels of SeparationRob Cottingham · 18 April, 2007
Risk and social media: the podcastRob Cottingham · 2 May, 2007
Effective online commenting for media sitesRob Cottingham · 16 May, 2007
NetSquared, year 2 beginsRob Cottingham · 29 May, 2007
Supporting non-profit innovation through NetSquared: a Drupal module for NewscloudAlexandra Samuel · 29 May, 2007
"Mission" statementRob Cottingham · 12 July, 2007
Now cartooning at One DegreeRob Cottingham · 25 July, 2007
Searching sustainably at happyfrogAlexandra Samuel · 4 August, 2007
Rob Purdie on values-based project managementAlexandra Samuel · 25 September, 2007
BC Hydro's Green Gifts: harnessing Facebook gift-giving energy for conservationRob Cottingham · 16 October, 2007
Nudging participation along at ChangeEverything.caRob Cottingham · 22 November, 2007
Bridging the virtual world and your information in DrupalRob Cottingham · 26 November, 2007
Vendetta of the Week: When branding trumps usabilityRob Cottingham · 11 December, 2007

2008

Social media for social enterpriseAlexandra Samuel · 18 January, 2008
You can't download sovereigntyAlexandra Samuel · 31 January, 2008
Nine (or ten) ways to stumble in social mediaRob Cottingham · 6 February, 2008
Bedtime with Rob and Alex ep.3aAlex and Rob · 7 February, 2008
Target V.P. Michael Axelin on the seven components of successful innovationAlexandra Samuel · 8 February, 2008
Thinking about entrepreneurship in OberlinAlexandra Samuel · 8 February, 2008
Podcast: Online tools and gadgets that keep you current at work and at homeAlex and Rob · 21 February, 2008
Toonblogging Northern Voice, day 2: AdvertisingRob Cottingham · 23 February, 2008
How your non-profit can earn revenue with Web 2.0: Part 2 - Intellectual propertyAlexandra Samuel · 1 March, 2008
How focusing on your community's needs leads to success for your brandAlexandra Samuel · 2 March, 2008
Today in the Globe & Mail: Alex & Rob on Reflected Glory MarketingAlexandra Samuel · 8 March, 2008
Ep. 16: the hexiversary episodeAlex and Rob · 14 March, 2008
Comparing the impact of web video on Obama and Clinton campaignsAlexandra Samuel · 30 March, 2008
How your non-profit can earn revenue with Web 2.0: Part 3 - Earning revenue with advertisingAlexandra Samuel · 1 April, 2008
How your non-profit can earn revenue with Web 2.0: Part 4 - Fee for serviceAlex and Rob · 2 April, 2008
Congrats due for Vancouver social media companies celebrating successes and launchesRob Cottingham · 17 April, 2008
At happyfrog.ca, blogging is an EPIC undertakingRob Cottingham · 18 April, 2008
How your non-profit can earn revenue with Web 2.0: Part 5 - Product salesAlexandra Samuel · 22 April, 2008
The Elders harness online campaign tools for social changeAlexandra Samuel · 22 April, 2008
Supporters show love for ChangeEverything at the Webby AwardsRob Cottingham · 7 May, 2008
Mary Robinson on media freedomAlexandra Samuel · 30 May, 2008
Bringing your online community to lifeAlexandra Samuel · 2 June, 2008
Dealing with scrapers: when people steal your contentRob Cottingham · 5 June, 2008
Bookmark Devil readers, please enjoy this stolen postRob Cottingham · 7 June, 2008
A final dig at our website thievesRob Cottingham · 10 June, 2008
A little ambiguity gets Google off the hook over TaiwanRob Cottingham · 16 July, 2008
Vancity launches public wiki on microfinanceRob Cottingham · 15 September, 2008
Announcing updates to the BC Hydro Green Gifts Facebook ApplicationRob Cottingham · 8 October, 2008
Status update: Twittering your way to effective (and expressive) communicationAlexandra Samuel · 17 October, 2008
10 ways to maximize your blog's ROI: Part 1, give your organization a human voiceRob Cottingham · 9 November, 2008
10 ways to maximize your blog's ROI: Part 2, getting high-value feedbackRob Cottingham · 25 November, 2008
Respect your customers' data in your web application information policiesRob Cottingham · 3 December, 2008
DeSmogBlog: social media at work to clear the air around climate changeRob Cottingham · 22 December, 2008

2009

ManyMoon offers collaborative task management that project managers can loveAlexandra Samuel · 19 January, 2009
In praise of uncertainty (I think)Rob Cottingham · 9 February, 2009
NIche messaging with social mediaAlexandra Samuel · 9 February, 2009
Why online conversation mattersAlexandra Samuel · 13 February, 2009
10 ways to maximize your blog's ROI: Part 3, an alternative to news mediaRob Cottingham · 16 February, 2009
Ads in the middle of copy can cause unintended meaningRob Cottingham · 16 February, 2009
10 ways to maximize your blog's ROI: Part 4, building relationshipsRob Cottingham · 25 February, 2009
Twitter monitoring to strengthen your teamAlexandra Samuel · 26 February, 2009
Using B2C social media for B2B marketingAlexandra Samuel · 9 March, 2009
4 steps for calculating ROI on social mediaAlexandra Samuel · 10 March, 2009
10 ways to maximize your blog's ROI: Part 5, crisis communicationsRob Cottingham · 15 March, 2009
Using online contests as a marketing toolAlexandra Samuel · 15 March, 2009
10 ways to maximize your blog's ROI: Part 6, telling a story over timeRob Cottingham · 25 March, 2009
Building your social media teamAlexandra Samuel · 26 March, 2009
17 tips for using Twitter to grow your businessAlexandra Samuel · 29 March, 2009
4 questions to answer before you get started (or move forward) with social mediaAlexandra Samuel · 30 March, 2009
Forrester, Social Signal on finding online passion for your brandAlexandra Samuel · 30 March, 2009
Using social media to drive business innovation: insights from Guy Kawasaki and Target's Michael AxelinAlexandra Samuel · 5 April, 2009
10 ways to maximize your blog's ROI: Part 7, turning readers into messengersRob Cottingham · 9 April, 2009
Bureaucracies and new media: How the US Air Force deals with blogsDavid Eaves · 10 April, 2009
10 ways to maximize your blog's ROI: Part 8, skills developmentRob Cottingham · 20 April, 2009
NTEN panel explores social media metricsRob Cottingham · 27 April, 2009
10 ways to maximize your blog's ROI: Part 9, Embracing opennessRob Cottingham · 30 April, 2009
10 ways to maximize your blog's ROI: Part 10, giving your online conversations a home baseRob Cottingham · 6 May, 2009
12 questions for meaningful online conversationsAlexandra Samuel · 2 June, 2009
10 action recommendations based on Industry Canada's Digital Economy conferenceAlexandra Samuel · 22 June, 2009
Five ways a cancelled TV series can keep faith with its audienceRob Cottingham · 22 June, 2009
Social media questions for Industry Canada's conference on Canada's Digital EconomyAlexandra Samuel · 22 June, 2009
Make the most of your conference sponsorshipRob Cottingham · 7 July, 2009
LexPublica aims to bring open-source principles to the practice of lawRob Cottingham · 10 July, 2009
Just because there's no price tag doesn't make you aren't paying for itRob Cottingham · 6 August, 2009
Know the people doing your social media marketing - and their methods and ethicsRob Cottingham · 26 August, 2009
How to monitor your blog's comments using TwitterAlexandra Samuel · 15 September, 2009
Can individuals use marketing tools without sacrificing authenticity?Rob Cottingham · 22 September, 2009
A little history... and some of the cartoon's greatest hitsRob Cottingham · 23 September, 2009
7 innovations that make travel easierAlexandra Samuel · 29 September, 2009
A recent graduate finds hope in Social Signal's social media career adviceAlexandra Samuel · 20 October, 2009
Measure your social media influence with Influ-a-rama-matic Pro 2.0! (beta)Rob Cottingham · 13 November, 2009
Google profiles Social Signal's project management processRob Cottingham · 10 December, 2009

2010

One way or another, organizations have to pay for their social media presenceRob Cottingham · 5 January, 2010
Six tools for trying social media on for sizeRob Cottingham · 13 January, 2010
Show your users you've heard their feedbackRob Cottingham · 25 January, 2010
Free Social Signal ebook: 10 Ways Your Blog Can Provide Real Value to You, Your Organization and Your BrandRob Cottingham · 13 April, 2010
With great market share comes great responsibilityRob Cottingham · 8 May, 2010
Could a simple code ease conflict over email marketing?Rob Cottingham · 3 June, 2010
Foursquare needs a little judiciousness to stay usefulRob Cottingham · 12 June, 2010
Podcast: Strategy for a small organizationRob Cottingham · 4 October, 2010
A brief history of social media, seen through five years of conversationAlex and Rob · 6 October, 2010
Creating a social media presence in 2010Alexandra Samuel · 18 October, 2010
The Rule of 84: Social media for your limited budget or small audienceAlexandra Samuel · 18 October, 2010
Social media for small organizations: why size mattersAlexandra Samuel · 20 October, 2010
The 5 requirements for using RSS aggregation to build your online presenceAlexandra Samuel · 21 October, 2010
How a small organization can build a content-driven social media presenceAlexandra Samuel · 22 October, 2010
The small organization’s guide to investing in social mediaAlexandra Samuel · 25 October, 2010
Can't get an answer from Google Analytics? Ask your users.Rob Cottingham · 27 October, 2010
How to get your Wikipedia entry changed... without breaking the rulesRob Cottingham · 5 December, 2010

2011

Do Pentagon shifts signal the mainstreaming of social media?Rob Cottingham · 15 January, 2011
What's the strategy behind your communication vehicle?Rob Cottingham · 20 January, 2011
"Persona management": how automated fake profiles threaten the heart of online communityRob Cottingham · 28 February, 2011
The 5 requirements for a starter social media presenceAlexandra Samuel · 21 March, 2011
5 steps to create your social media toolkitAlexandra Samuel · 2 April, 2011
How to sustain a social media presence in three hours a weekAlexandra Samuel · 2 April, 2011
How to write a blog post in 10 minutesAlexandra Samuel · 2 April, 2011
How to spur reluctant bloggersRob Cottingham · 2 November, 2011
15 best practices for managing your first (or subsequent) web development projectAlexandra Samuel · 13 December, 2011

2012

Just because you have numbers doesn't mean you have insightRob Cottingham · 6 January, 2012
Measuring the Networked Nonprofit has arrivedRob Cottingham · 27 September, 2012
Terms of service changes deserve more than just a shrug and a clickRob Cottingham · 18 December, 2012

2013

Sketchnotes from the Digital Strategy ConferenceRob Cottingham · 25 April, 2013
You can make these SXSWi panels happen!Rob Cottingham · 5 September, 2013

Undated