How to Use Blogging to Reach an Executive-Level Audience

Ideas make a better engine for blog content than product and service press releases or brochures. That’s what Joyce Maroney thought when she looked for ways to make Kronos, which provides a suite of technology solutions for managing employees, more visible in the blogosphere in 2007. But she wasn’t sure if there was room for another source of ideas in the blogosphere. And even if there were room, she knew that she would not be able to supply all the new ideas on her own. So began her journey to create a blog, ultimately named Workforce Institute, that would stand apart. Here are the steps she took toward that goal:

• Develop a persona of your target audience and discover what it wants.
• Audit existing sources of information to find an area of differentiation.
• Create an advisory board to establish credibility and generate ideas.
• Monitor the internet for topical issues relevant to your target audience and create posts that speak to them directly.
• Create a layer of separation between the company and the blog to establish credibility.
• Develop an internal engine for ideas and content.

The blog has brought a new audience to Kronos, one much different from the IT managers and developers who typically visit the company’s Website. “The people who visit the Website are generally looking for specific information about the software or about how to change something or fix something in the software,” says Maroney, who is Senior Director, Customer Experience and Services Marketing for Kronos. “The Workforce Institute is for the decision makers or influencers who are thinking about how technology can help them with certain types of workforce management issues.”

By creating a consistent relationship with executive decision makers through education and advice, Kronos’ blog provides a new channel to build the company’s reputation and drive awareness with influencers and buyers.

To learn in detail about the six steps that Kronos took to build its blog, read the ITSMA Case Study Kronos: How to Use Blogging to Reach an Executive-Level Audience.

Comments are closed.

ITSMA specializes in helping companies market and sell services and solutions more effectively. We work with the world's leading technology, communications, and professional services providers to generate increased demand, strengthen customer relationships, and improve brand differentiation. ITSMA annual program clients include business leaders such as AT&T, Cisco, Deloitte, EMC, Fujitsu, Hewlett-Packard, IBM, Microsoft, SAP, and Tata Consultancy Services, among others. Our comprehensive research, consulting, and training on topics including ITSMA Account-Based Marketing℠, Brand Positioning, and Solutions Development provide the insight and experience companies need to improve business results. ITSMA is based near Boston, and has offices in London and Tokyo. Learn more at www.itsma.com.