By 2023, organizations worldwide will spend over $273 billion to prevent data breaches, hacking attempts, and other cybersecurity threats.
To benefit from this growth, you must position your brand as a trusted thought leader and invest in a comprehensive cybersecurity PR strategy (apart from providing the highest service standards).
As competition increases, your prospects’ purchase decisions will be impacted by how frequently they consume a brand’s content, read about it in trusted publications, and see proof of its ability to mitigate cybersecurity threats.
So, in this article, we’ll share the foundations of a winning cybersecurity PR strategy and ways to help you attract more leads and drive more sales.
Contents
Cybersecurity PR Strategies: From Press Releases to Thought Leadership in Tech Security
You must adopt a holistic tech security PR approach to stand out because consumers do not trust ads and promotional content as much as they used to.
So, while ads are still useful, the basis of your public relations strategy should be value-driven content and targeted exposure to highly relevant decision-makers concerned about cyber security.
Here are three proven ways to do that.
1. Create Newsworthy Content
Imagine getting coverage on Hackernoon, Cybersecurity Insiders, or other leading internet security sites with millions of readers.
It can give you priceless exposure to highly relevant audiences and generate dozens of leads and customers for your business.
If you can publish newsworthy content on your site, these sites will happily cover your story.
What’s newsworthy content? Content that journalists and publications can use to create stories worth reading.
Let me share a few examples.
Cyber Security Reports
Publishing original surveys, data, and reports with insights about different aspects of cybersecurity is a guaranteed way to generate press about your company.
Journalists and content creators use the data from such reports to find new story angles and create unique stories for their audiences.
Cynomi’s State Of The Virtual CISO 2023 report is an excellent example.
The report outlines the growth prospects of MSPs offering vCISO services, the opportunities in the coming year, and their challenges.
Sites like The Hacker News and Yahoo! covered this report, and dozens of security content creators cited its findings in their work.
OpenText Cybersecurity Threat Report is another example of widespread media coverage.
As a cybersecurity service provider, you already have data about the most frequent threats to your customers, common security loopholes, or the biggest concerns of organizations working with cybersecurity firms.
Compile these findings in a report, place it on a landing page on your site, and promote it to relevant content creators to get organic coverage in the top security publications and websites.
Case Studies on Preventing Zero Day Threats
What’s the biggest goal of cybersecurity blogs and media companies? To become the most reliable source of online security information for their readers.
So, naturally, they jump on any story that uncovers a security loophole or shows how to prevent zero-day threats.
This is precisely how we helped one of our clients land a homepage story on TNW for more than 24 hours back in the early days of COVID-19.
When new platforms go viral (remember Threads?) or technology goes mainstream (think AI content generation tools), you can ride on the wave and get media coverage by finding security loopholes like the one our client did.
Similarly, you probably have a ton of case studies where you’ve helped clients overcome specific challenges or survive cybersecurity attacks. Outline your approach, show the details, and share the lessons in a well-designed case study document.
Such content gets organic coverage by the top cybersecurity publications because they make for great news stories. Plus, they’re great PR for your brand because they give the world a glimpse of your technical expertise.
2. Invest In Targeted Press Releases
Most cybersecurity companies use generic press release platforms to announce mergers, acquisitions, partnerships, new products, and content.
These platforms publish hundreds of PRs every day, making it difficult for tech journalists to find your story.
So, the smarter approach is to use a cybersecurity PR platform designed solely for online security publications and media companies.
The benefit? Your story gets instant access to journalists looking for cybersecurity stories instead of getting lost in a sea of unrelated press releases.
This not only increases your chances of getting covered by a top security news site but also exposes your content to the most relevant audiences who are looking for service providers like you.
For example, this press release in our newsroom by Reflectiz was immediately picked up by Analytics Insight, Yahoo, ITsecuritynews, and several other leading security publications.
In addition to targeting the right publications, you should optimize your press releases for SEO using the right keywords.
This helps your PR rank for relevant keywords and get picked up organically by journalists searching Google for stories.
As a result, your press release doesn’t rot in a corner of the internet after the initial traffic surge from a PR platform. Instead, it keeps getting organic traffic from Google Search, resulting in more coverage.
3. Establish Thought Leadership In Tech Security
With platforms like X (formerly Twitter) and LinkedIn, personal and organizational branding boundaries have gradually blurred.
When your company’s founder or senior management shares valuable thought leadership content, it also reflects positively on your brand.
A study by Edelman found that a brand’s thought leadership content positively impacts 89% of corporate decision-makers.
Your founders and executives have years of practical experience and a deep understanding of the cybersecurity landscape. Take advantage of this trend by building solid personal brands that drive your company’s PR strategy.
Share thought leadership content on your blog and repurpose it on YouTube, Twitter, LinkedIn, and other relevant forums for more exposure and kickstart discussion on relevant cybersecurity issues.
Be known for sharing valuable experiences, insights, tips, and content your clients can immediately benefit from. This attracts people towards your brand and helps you generate leads on autopilot.
Jeremiah Grossman, a well-known white-hat hacker and a thought leader followed by thousands in the online security space, is a good example.
His persona drives his professional growth and has helped him launch several successful cybersecurity startups.
Mikko Hyppönen, a seasoned cybersecurity professional, is another great example.
These thought leaders don’t always promote their companies or services.
But they’ve built a loyal following on different platforms by sharing original thoughts, opinions, and actionable advice that has positioned them above their competitors.
As a result, such creators are invited to podcasts, conferences, and events and quoted by journalists in news stories.
Do You Have A Cybersecurity PR Strategy?
Every online security service provider invests in advertising to create awareness and generate leads.
But ads alone aren’t enough without a comprehensive cybersecurity PR strategy. To stand out as a credible service provider, you need valuable content, unique research, and thought leadership.
Fuel your PR growth with targeted press releases crafted to reach cybersecurity journalists and content creators.
It’s an ongoing process that builds your digital footprint and strengthens PR, leading to more opportunities, leads, and sales.
In the age of shrinking attention spans, this is the most reliable way to stay top of mind with prospects.