Organisations are feeling the pressure to get ahead of cyber criminals and keep the workplace secure, however the complexity of the technology means it’s not always clear to your target customer what the solution is.
It’s the job of your marketing to help them join the dots between where their gaps are, and how the solution you offer fills them.
To help you with this, here are our 5 must-haves if you want to create a stand out cybersecurity campaign:
Human connection
Bad actors’ tactics and techniques are increasing in complexity each day, and organisations need to harness the power of technology to combat this growing threat. But, it’s important to remember that there’s still humans making decisions here about which cybersecurity tool to invest in. Real life people, facing pressures and challenges day to day that are causing them pain and driving a need to make their workplace more secure.
Zoning in on the tech features is common practice with cybersecurity vendors – and let’s face it, doesn’t really make for attention grabbing marketing. But what this gives you is the opportunity to make your marketing stand out by focusing on what really matters to your ideal customers. Meet them where they are right now. Take the time to listen and get to know them, rather than make your decisions based on assumptions alone. (We wrote another blog where we go into this in more detail – you can read it here!)
Demand generation
The industry innovates faster than the market can keep up with – from new and more sophisticated security threats being uncovered to changing data security regulations – so it’s no surprise that organisations are struggling to keep up.
The answer? Use your marketing to educate your audience on what’s going on in this industry. Help them understand the struggles they’re experiencing and what solutions are out there. Show them how they can achieve the cyber resilience they’re striving for, in a way they can resonate with. While also creating a buzz and getting them excited about what you have to offer.
What we’re essentially describing here is demand generation. Demand generation has been around as long as brands have. But there are still lots of businesses making the mistake of skipping demand generation activities in favour of focusing solely on lead generation. Often because they’re under pressure to see an immediate ROI on marketing spend.
The reality is you need to be putting effort into both lead generation and demand generation activities. The end game is to convert people who are interested into clients, which is where lead generation plays its part. But lead generation can only work effectively when you have a demand generation strategy to support it. After all, you can’t nurture qualified leads and convert them into clients, without first attracting them to your business (enter demand generation!).
If you want to be consistent with closing new sales and create sustainable growth, you need to adopt an ‘always on’ approach by allocating budget for generating demand activities. If you’re not bringing a consistent flow of new ideal customers into your audience you’re at risk of slowing your sales down.
Check out our other blog where we dive into the topic of demand generation in more detail.
Tell a story
A good story can stop potential customers from scrolling past and help them imagine what could be. In an industry that is largely driven by technology, making your marketing personal and connecting with your target audience through stories can help bring your message to life. Because cybersecurity isn’t just about the tech. It’s about bringing together technology, processes and people to build resilience against cyber threats, minimise the risk and reduce the impact if an attack were to happen.
Stories help make your brand message relatable, cut through the complexity, and motivate your audience to take action. A brilliant example of a brand that does this well is Hewlett Packard. HP’s global campaign The Wolf included a short film starring Christian Slater. It brought security to life in an engaging way by translating it into every day events and making it feel real for people. We think HP did an impressive job of delivering a fresh perspective on cybersecurity with a provoking message. You can watch the film here.
Empathy-led marketing
Using empathy in your marketing is powerful. Not only because it shows your customers that you care about their security, it also makes you think about security differently. It changes the way that you communicate with and educate your audience. You’re less likely to speak to them in a jargon-led, corporate way and more likely to speak to them clearly and simply – human to human! If you communicate with your customers in this way, they’ll be much more likely to listen to what you have to say and remember it.
Absolutely get real about the risk of cybersecurity, but this doesn’t mean you need to rely on fearmongering to get your point across. Highlighting risks in an empathetic way and sharing practical, actionable advice will help you build a stronger connection with your target audience and position you as a ‘go to’ expert.
Get creative
Just because it’s a serious topic, doesn’t mean you need to play it safe with cybersecurity marketing! In a sea of vanilla marketing let your campaign shine. Get creative. Make it fun. Engage your audience through interactive and immersive experiences. Be the stand out brand that people remember.
Cybersecurity service provider, e2e-assure, has demonstrated how you can deliver a powerful message in a simple yet creative way with its memorable campaign ‘The Cyber Stories’. The campaign included a series of videos based on traditional fairy stories and fables with a cybersecurity twist to the tale. The Cyber Stories included ‘The Three Little CISOs’, ‘The King’s New SOC’ and ‘Mr Hare and Ms Tortoise’, with each story delivering a moral which was a lesson for the CISO. Great job, e2e-assure!
Want to create campaigns that cut through the noise, engage your audience and drive them to action? At onebite we work with a number of cybersecurity brands to build attention grabbing campaigns that grow demand and deliver long term revenue growth. Get in touch today to arrange a chat with one of our marketing specialists.
