If you go by the stats, 2024 will be a great year for most cybersecurity companies.
Online security threats have never been higher (300K new malware are created every day), but your prospects are also much more problem-aware and are forecasted to spend more than $200 billion on cybersecurity products and services.
A Forrester study found that 90% of organizations react to cybersecurity problems only when they arise. Naturally, most of them are in panic mode and look for solutions to instantly secure their data.
Here lies your challenge.
You’re a competent team of security experts who are on top of their game and know how to secure virtual assets.
But your prospects don’t know that.
Which is why you must proactively invest in a cybersecurity marketing strategy that educates your prospects, positions you as an authority, and makes you the first choice for organizations desperately looking for help to defend their online identity and data.
Not sure what makes an effective cybersecurity marketing strategy? This detailed guide will answer all your questions and give you actionable tactics you can apply right away.
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Why Vertical-Focused Cybersecurity Marketing Is Your Best Chance
Every company with an online presence needs cybersecurity services.
However, positioning yourself as a specialist allows you to tailor your marketing message to specific audiences and share more practical advice.
For example, 2023 saw almost 100 million people affected by ransomware attacks on healthcare organizations in the United States.
When looking for a security consultant firm, who do you think a healthcare company would prefer – a generic cybersecurity firm with no industry focus or a company specialized in handling healthcare ransomware attacks?
The latter, of course.
Focusing on a specific industry means you understand their unique business challenges, speak their language, and offer tailored solutions instead of seeing cybersecurity threats in isolation.
This vertical focus also means you’ll be able to create detailed buyer personas and a marketing strategy that speaks directly to your target audience instead of sharing superficial advice that doesn’t move the needle when it comes to sales.
You can, of course, specialize in multiple industries. For example, healthcare, finance, and real estate.
But, limiting your focus to one or a handful of industries makes it much easier to become a trusted leader in cybersecurity management.
10 Cybersecurity Marketing Strategies To Grow Your Business
Let’s now discuss specific strategies and tactics you can use to create brand awareness and drive leads in your target industries.
1. Create A Product-Led SEO & Content Marketing Strategy
68% of your prospects use search engines to find solutions online.
If you want to drive substantial traffic from search engines, you must optimize your site’s homepage, product/services page, and blog content for relevant medium and long-tail keywords.
Your blog, in particular, is the best place to create high-quality, problem-solving content targeting a wide range of keywords in your industry to drive traffic and position you as an authority.
Companies like Avast, McAfee, and Palo Alto Networks rank for thousands of keywords because of their high-quality blogs that answer the most burning questions of their audiences, publish thought leadership content, and share advice about the latest cybersecurity threats.
In a study involving 1000+ B2B marketers, 76% said content marketing helped them generate qualified business leads.
However, lead-generating blog content goes beyond education and positions your product as the best choice for your prospects.
It shows how to solve a problem using your product without a hard sales pitch or direct promotion.
In marketing terms, we call it product-led content marketing.
Your SEO and content strategy will target your audience’s questions like any conventional content strategy. However, your content will feature your product as a natural part of the solution, resulting in more qualified leads and higher conversions.
For example, an article targeting the keyword “SaaS cybersecurity” will highlight ways to secure a SaaS company’s virtual assets using your product/service as the tool to achieve it.
For example, see how this article on the Avast Blog features its VPN in an article about cybersecurity while traveling.
It explains precisely how to use the VPN and how it can secure your data.
So, the next time you create an informational article for your blog, show your prospects how your product can solve their problems instead of sharing generic advice.
It will dramatically increase your content’s ROI.
2. Get Targeted Media Coverage With Strategic PR
Millions of people, including CEOs, CTOs, and key decision-makers in different organizations, follow TNW, Hackernoon, and other leading tech news sites.
Getting coverage on these sites can boost your brand’s credibility and open traffic floodgates to your sites.
But how do you make that happen? By creating newsworthy content and getting it in front of highly relevant tech journalists on cybersecurity press release platforms.
For example, share ways to find zero-day threats or release an annual security report that journalists can use to create unique content for their publications.
Our newsroom is full of such examples.
In this press release, for instance, one of our clients announced they found a potential vulnerability in Google Workspace.
Since Google Workspace has over 3 billion users, the scale of this potential vulnerability could be massive – an ideal story for any tech journalist.
So, it’s no surprise Cyber Security News, Hacker News, TechRepublic, and dozens of other top tech news sites covered it.
To land more such opportunities, build a direct relationship with any journalist who covers your story. Give them exclusive insights and regularly provide them with newsworthy items to get extensive coverage.
In addition, optimize every press release for SEO by using your target keywords in the title, sub-headings, and content so that other relevant journalists can find you through Google Search.
3. Build Authority With In-depth Anonymous Case Studies
If you want organizations to hire your cybersecurity products and services and trust you with their sensitive data, you must come across as a reliable and credible company.
Publishing detailed case studies is one of the best ways to do that. According to the Content Marketing Institute, most marketers believe case studies are the best content type for B2B lead generation.
Case studies help you demonstrate technical expertise and show prospects how you handle customer challenges and resolve complex problems.
This builds trust, answers many of your prospect’s questions, and clears the conversion path.
But what does a compelling case study look like?
For starters, it doesn’t have to be a 100-page document. Instead, the only three things it should clearly answer are:
- The problem/challenge your customer had before hiring you.
- The steps you followed to understand and resolve their problem.
- The impact your product/services had on the customer’s business (hard data)
However, enterprise security services companies often face a dilemma when publishing case studies.
They must highlight their work to the world but can’t disclose customer details because of privacy concerns. Plus, most customers are unwilling to share their problems or solutions because that itself is a security risk.
What’s the workaround? Don’t disclose customer names, simple.
Instead, highlight their problem, your process, and the eventual outcomes.
PreBytes, a leading cybersecurity company, has an excellent case studies section worth emulating. Instead of disclosing names, it lists case studies related to its various services and solutions.
A prospect can easily browse these case studies and understand how to resolve such problems.
Kaspersky, another leading security solutions provider, uses a more conventional case study section that discloses customer names and lists downloadable case studies.
Each case study has three sections – Challenge, Solution, and Outcome – showing prospects the processes they’ll go through when working with the company.
So, if you have helped clients resolve cybersecurity challenges in the past, document their journey and publish case studies on your site to build credibility and boost conversions.
4. Invest In PPC Campaigns For Faster Growth
Organic marketing strategies like content creation, SEO, and case studies are long-term investments that take time to mature and produce results.
But, you can accelerate your lead generation process by using Pay Per Click (PPC) advertising campaigns to promote specific product offers or content assets.
PPC refers to Search Engine Marketing (SEM) – paying Google to show your website at the top of search results for your target keywords instead of ranking for them with SEO.
For example, if you search for the keyword “phishing attacks” on Google Search, the first few results are PPC ads, not organic search results.
Besides Google Search, social platforms like Facebook and LinkedIn allow users to promote their offers using PPC ads.
However, Google and LinkedIn are the most relevant platforms for cybersecurity companies because of their target audience preferences.
What’s the best way to use PPC ads? Let me share a few tips.
- Drive traffic from PCP ads to a dedicated landing page on your site with a clear offer. The offer could be a free trial, a downloadable lead magnet, a discount, or any other offer that interests your audience.
- Use Google and Facebook Pixels (tracking codes) on your landing page to show retargeting ads to the visitors who bounce off your site without signing up.
- Test different ad types and copy to find the best-performing ad.
- Target purchase intent and problem-related keywords to attract qualified visitors and maximize conversions.
Remember, you must prioritize lead generation, not sales, with PPC. Once you have a prospect on your email list, you can nurture the relationship, remove their doubts, and persuade them to invest in your services.
5. Build Your Tribe With Email Marketing
Let’s discuss email marketing in more detail because it is among the most reliable ways to generate repeat sales and create brand loyalty.
Yet many cybersecurity companies underutilize it.
According to research, the ROI of email marketing in the technology and software industry is $36 for every dollar spent.
You can segment your cybersecurity email marketing strategy for different subscriber types. For example:
- Prospects interested in your product/services
- Customers using your product/services
- Previous customers
Let’s say a prospect signs up for your email list from your PPC ad campaign. The moment they sign up to your list, trigger an automated email sequence that educates them about specific cybersecurity problems, shares articles and case studies showing how you resolved those problems, and ultimately pitches your services.
Similarly, you can create a welcome sequence for new customers, educating them about the best ways to utilize your product or services.
Once that sequence is completed, switch to weekly updates and occasional informational emails. Finally, when the customer enters the last quarter of their service period, trigger a renewal sequence to ensure retention.
This approach keeps you connected with your subscribers and customers and drives sales on autopilot.
So, if you haven’t started an email list yet, now’s the time.
6. Secure Your Cybersecurity Firm’s Online Reputation
Imagine if a prospect searches for your brand name on Google, and the first thing they see is a Reddit thread about why your product/service is a waste of money.
It pulls the rug from under your marketing campaigns and nullifies all your hard work.
Unfortunately, this happens more often than you think.
This is why you must have a robust online reputation management (ORM) strategy that proactively secures your firm’s online image and ensures that key online platforms like search engines and social networks are dominated by positive news about your brand.
For example, if you search for Reflectiz, a web threat management company, here’s what Google’s first page shows.
When any prospect searches for Reflectiz, they’ll see its website, LinkedIn page, Crunchbase profile, and other official pages. No negative news, propaganda, or articles to put off potential customers.
That didn’t happen without a carefully designed ORM strategy.
Here’s what you need to do to secure your brand’s online reputation.
- Secure your brand name: Make sure your website domain and social media account handles use your brand name.
- Dominate your brand keywords: When someone searches Google for your brand, the first page should contain your website, different social media accounts, press releases, and positive news. Also, run a PPC campaign for your brand name to prevent competitors from showing their site in the sponsored search results.
- Push negative results down: If there are negative articles about your company for a high-traffic keyword, push it down the list and ultimately knock it off the first page. You’ll do that by creating SEO-optimized content for that keyword on multiple platforms and pushing it up onto the first page by building backlinks.
- Counter negative content on social media: If you encounter popular social media discussion threads where your brand is being targeted, present your perspective and counter-propaganda. In addition, use your profiles to engage your audience and fill the vacuum your competitors might use to malign you.
After initially securing your brand assets and countering harmful content, the best way to maintain a positive online reputation is through high-quality content marketing and strategic use of digital PR activities discussed in this article.
7. Generate Social Proof On Review Aggregator Sites
Speaking of online reputation, nothing’s probably more important than customer reviews. According to a survey by BrightLocal, 49% of consumers trust online reviews as much as personal recommendations from a trusted friend.
When it comes to software purchases, online reviews on G2, Capterra, Trustpilot, Software Advice, and other mainstream review aggregators play a vital role in customer decisions.
So, generating 4-star and 5-star reviews on these sites should be critical to your cybersecurity marketing strategy.
Because you can use these reviews as social proof in your marketing campaigns and persuade indecisive prospects in your favor.
For example, if you were interested in getting a ThreatDown subscription for your company, what impact would this page make on your decision?
700+ reviews with 4.5 ratings on average.
It’s safe to say you’ll have no reason not to buy this product.
That’s the power of software reviews.
But how do you persuade customers to leave positive reviews? Let me explain.
It starts with a great product that solves problems and a memorable customer experience. Nothing can persuade your customers to say good things about your brand online without these two factors.
If you have this sorted, you can use different techniques to encourage your customers to leave reviews. For example, send them email reminders from time to time or use pop-ups on your website asking users to review.
You can also offer incentives like an extra month of subscription, additional credits to use your product or a bonus feature.
It also helps to respond to negative reviews on the top aggregator sites regularly, acknowledge customers’ concerns, and find ways to make up for their bad experiences.
Make this a part of your customer service and email marketing operations because customers rarely leave positive reviews on your first request. So, a combination of regular reminders with incentives usually does the trick.
8. Grow Your Social Media Influence
Your CEO, co-founder, or other experienced team members should actively share their thoughts on different online security developments, emerging threats, and evolving technology to stay on top of your audience’s minds.
Why is this important? When people regularly consume content from your brand, engage with your senior professionals, and discuss their problems, they’re more likely to explore your products and services when they’re ready to buy.
However, building an engaged following on Twitter and LinkedIn (two of the most critical social networks for cybersecurity companies) takes time and consistency.
You must put your head down and publish great content regularly for a few months to gain traction.
Stan Bounev’s LinkedIn content is a good example.
His posts get dozens of comments and generate leads for his company.
But it took a while before he started seeing results.
The same works for Twitter. The only difference is that you should initially engage with other established accounts by responding to their Tweets before publishing long threads from your profile.
But as you consistently create content on these platforms, their algorithms recommend it to relevant users and help you establish authority in your niche.
Ultimately, this influence helps promote your company’s content, create brand awareness, and generate leads.
9. Drive Traffic From Reddit And Quora
Reddit and Quora have long been two of the most popular discussion forums for all kinds of topics.
But after Google’s Helpful Content Update, millions of discussion threads from these platforms started ranking on the first page for highly competitive keywords, getting 10x traffic.
Ride on this wave by contributing to relevant discussion threads, sharing your expertise, and helping people solve their problems.
The key to driving traffic from these platforms is to give free value.
The more value you add to discussions, the more people will reach out to you for help and discover your company.
So, make contributing to Reddit, Quora, and other cybersecurity forums a regular part of your marketing operations.
10. Start A Podcast To Offer In-depth Advice
Most Americans aged 12-53 listen to podcasts at least once a month.
Podcast listeners are different from other mediums because they have longer attention spans and want to learn about a topic in detail.
It gives you a platform to discuss online security issues, events, and trends in detail and grow an audience around your brand.
There are already dozens of cybersecurity podcasts with dedicated listeners. For example, CyberWire Daily and Security Now are popular shows that discuss the latest in this space and help listeners stay updated.
You can craft your own podcasting niche by focusing on your expertise. Share case studies, viral hacks, new security threats, or anything else your audience finds valuable.
Like blogs, podcasts can become a long-term content asset that builds authority and drives qualified traffic to your site.
Ready To Design A Cybersecurity Marketing Strategy?
There’s no one-size-fits-all cybersecurity marketing strategy.
So, start by analyzing your strengths and expertise and the most frequent questions of your audience. Instead of jumping all in, choose the most relevant marketing strategies you can consistently use to grow your brand.
But remember that all marketing strategies have one thing in common – you must provide value before converting prospects into leads and customers.
As your audience grows from one channel, add new platforms to your marketing mix to diversify your traffic sources and expand your reach.