BAIAblog

Habemus Videos "Blogs and Marketing"

Paraphrasing a recent Mauro Lupi blog post (Habemus iPod) and the traditional announcement of the Catholic Church after each pope election (Habemus Papam), finally we can say: "Habemus Videos!".

About one month after the successuful BAIA event "Blogs and Marketing", thanks to Michele Ursino, now we can finally offer the video recording of the February 8 event. The two videos have been uploaded on Google Video and should accessible from any Internet connection.

Part 1: Mauro Lupi Introduction (Total length 26:43)

Part 2: Panel Discussion (Total length 34:13)

Enjoy!

Franco Folini

Blogs Versus Wikis: a Matter of Balance (Part III)

At BAIA’s event on Blogs & Marketing Six Apart presented the case study of another fascinating application of blogs: one from Boeing’s Flight Test Journal. What an enticing, far-reaching perspective! A gift to many who may never be able to afford such a journey and a generous way of sharing observations and data.

So, if blogs can also make up a common knowledge base, how do they differ from Wikis, object of BAIA’s previous event? Peter Thoeny’s input, corroborated by the other presenters on “Blogs & Marketing”, was once again sharply insightful: Wikis are editable, constantly changing (“morphing”), dynamic through time, often summarize a compendium of entries from multiple contributors and follow an encyclopedia-style format, much like the popular Wikipedia. Whereas blogs bear a set time stamp, (so do Wikis, but behind the scenes), are static, individually-generated, sequential, written as diary notes.

The distinction between blogs and Wikis is important but it carries no bias for either tool, as each is suited to perform best in the proper setting.

This session on Blogs & Marketing was extremely rich in content, powered by speakers who are both experts in, and passionate about, their field and fueled by the participation of attendees eager to learn more about how to implement, improve and advance the use of blogs for their organizations. All for a topic which is not short of coverage, considering there were concomitant events on the same subject, on that very evening.

Need a proof of my words? See the flattering endorsement from Novell’s Bruce Lowry in his Novell’s PR blog.

At the end of the Q&A when attendees were prompted for “one last question” hands across the room shot to the ceiling, clearly betraying an overflow of thoughts and opportunity for further discussion. The swift upper-body movements were followed by an accomplice chorus of laughs and the obvious understanding that the story will continue. “Alla prossima puntata” as we say in Italian, or “’til the next episode”.

Don’t miss next BAIA event, it promises to be simply… electrifying!

Lucia Panini

The Case for Business Blogs: Beyond the Buzz and in the Beef (Part II)

The convincing arguments brought forward by the panelists at BAIA’s event on Blogs & Marketing, proved the case for the use of blogs in business because blogs – if properly groomed – impact directly the bottom line, by increasing revenues and lowering costs. How? By intelligently piecing together the tesserae of the marketing mosaic.

Blogs affect sales directly: they can produce revenue via ads, they help drive higher traffic to a web site, (translating into stronger eCommerce sales, heightened interest for products and services, more click troughs to distributors’ sites, cross selling and upselling opportunities); they enhance dramatically the positioning with a search engine, adding momentum to a well-conceived SEO strategy.

Indirectly, blogs help better understand the customer base; by “listening” to blogs, a company can quickly find out what users like or dislike, even how they “call” a product. Mauro Lupi of Ad Maiora hinted to this point, mentioning the lingo used by cell phone users to refer to their devices in Italy, varies (cellulare, telefonino, etc).

To match the nomenclature used in marketing literature with the terms which resonate with the target user base, yields an immediate competitive advantage. To speak the same language of existing and prospective customers allows crafting an advertising message which will instantly establish a direct association with a product or service.

Revenues of course also originate from the roll out of new products and blogs are a clever method of discovering what costumers may be seeking but is not yet available, or not with the desired package, flavor, or features. Mauro Lupi offered the case study of Mulino Bianco, (Barilla brand), whose team created a new product based on the input collected from its blog.

On the other side of the profit equation, blogs represent an immense source of market research data at a fraction of the cost of traditional market research instruments (such as focus groups and custom surveys).

Blogs can also prevent significant dilution of resources. Business misshapes happen to the best companies, and can be dangerously costly if not corrected proactively. It may take infinite efforts and time to dissolve the damaging effects of a harmful PR spill. Rather than learning from distant sources that customers are unhappy with a product, it is far more helpful to know from a business’ own blog, and within a limited time lapse, what caused a problem, so that immediate measures can be enacted to bring it under control.

Blogs however imply that time be devoted to them and that businesses care about what is posted, not to mention devising action plans in accordance with the feedback received (hence the need for grooming).

So the question arises: “How can a business with limited resources capitalize on the wealth of information that pours in from a blog and put it to use before it becomes obsolete? Is it possible to mine/text-mine the entirety of entries for a given time period, to capture the most salient keywords and messages?”

Lucia Panini

Blogs Beyond Business: Life-critical Applications (Part I)

BAIA is continuing to deliver a vibrant series of business events, where eloquent speakers and stimulating attendees gather enthusiastically, providing a fertile ground for ongoing discussions, partnerships and in-depth development of the featured topics.

The panel, at “Blogs & Marketing” was composed of four experts: Mauro Lupi, of Ad Maiora, Marissa Levinson of Six Apart (also sponsor), Mary Trigiani of Spada, Inc, and Peter Thoeny, of StructuredWikis. Each of them engaged the audience from different angles, offering a synergic, harmonious all-around presentation.

In a nutshell, blogs (Web logs), are on-line journals. They can be used whenever individuals wish to contribute their thoughts to a forum about a matter relevant to their community.
I see blogs as a natural evolution of Internet communication, and an even deeper “democratization” of the Internet, already a platform which – despite the yet unfilled gaps of the digital divide and occasional political censorships – has opened the reign of knowledge and access to information to masses of people around the planet.

In the business world, blogs demystify the top-down, formal approach from corporate to consumer; as Mary Trigiani of Spada emphasized, the target is perceived no longer as a passive “audience” but rather as active “stakeholders”.

As Six Apart pointed out, blogs also ensure inclusiveness, overcoming glitches such as accidentally dropping an e-mail address from a large distribution list.
Blogs leverage on current technology, (visit Six Apart website for a comprehensive suite of tools), to satisfy the ancestral human need to voice one’s opinions, bringing along the corollary right to freedom of expression. We once drew signs on the walls of a cave, now we post via a mouse click; the urge to communicate hasn’t changed. Blogs enable members of a society to discuss, interactively, topics of interest, whether from a personal or business standpoint.

But beyond the confines of a balance sheet, there are compelling reasons to embrace blogs and to understand their scope. Often in Silicon Valley we have a thirst for innovation which resembles pure play! However, many innovations are born of, or will serve, the broader, higher, longer-range goal of improving human life and of providing solutions to impending needs.

This was the poignant case in the immediate aftermath of hurricane Katrina, when – as Six Apart highlighted – blogging was often the only way for reporters to post information on the status of areas hit by the catastrophe, and to relay vital updates to dispersed families, friends and rescuers.
A critical need for first responders after major disasters strike is to maintain real-time communication across rescue teams and with the “outside” world, so that relief efforts can be optimized to save as many lives as possible.

So blogs can play a vital role, just like wireless mesh networks and other tools that prevent or mitigate isolation of the afflicted population. There exist not-just-mundane reasons to welcome the explosive growth of blogs (doubling each month every six months as quoted by Mauro Lupi), also because of how they can serve our communities.

Lucia Panini

Blogs, Marketing, and Risotto

Thursday was the big day. After a long preparation everything was ready for the new BAIA event: Blogs and Marketing. I was a bit worried that something could go wrong at the last minute, despite all our efforts.
Organizing an event it's like making a risotto: first, you need the best ingredients. For risotto the list is well known: Italian Arborio (pronounced ar-boh-ree-oh) rice, chicken stock, onions, Parmesan cheese, butter and obviously zafferano (saffron). As in every recipe, using best ingredients do not guarantee a good result. You need also time, skill, and passion, and mostly important, some magic.
We planned last Thursday event to be as good as an authentic risotto alla milanese. We had the privilege of having the best ingredients: four great panelists (each one with thier unique flavor), a cool topic and a perfect venue. Everybody involved invested their time, their skills, and joined in with sincere passion.
Thursday night, we witnessed something similar to what transforms good ingredients into a delicious, creamy, and tasty risotto. Our 4 great panelists, who barely knew each other before, were sitting in front of 30 people, talking about blogs and marketing when, like in a pot of risotto, the magic happened: almost everybody in the audience got involved in a dialog with the panel.
It really was a great, informative, and inspiring event. Indeed, as for risotto, the result was richer and tastier than the single ingredients.
If you are familiar with Italian culture you know that for an Italian comparing something or somebody to a risotto is the highest form of appreciation.

The focus of the event was on corporate blogs or, as Mauro Lupi suggested, business blogs. For a successful business blog, the panel recommends:

1. Blogging with passion for the subject
2. Talking to people, not to consumers
3. Being credible
4. Writing often
5. Linking, linking, linking

Please take a look at the pictures on BAIA pages on Flickr, and check out the brief report by Bruce Lowry on Novell Open PR blog. My personal, and BAIA team gratitude goes to our four panelists: Mauro Lupi (Ad Maiora), Mrissa Levinson (Six Apart), Mary Trigiani (Spada, Inc.), and Peter Thoeny (StructuredWikis, LLC).

Franco Folini