Cybersecurity companies and solutions are popping up everywhere as cloud adoption, remote work, and the threat of cyberattacks increases. Yet, convincing the general public of the need for these solutions can be arduous. Cybersecurity marketing differs from general marketing due to rapidly evolving trends, protocols, and regulations, not to mention the technical complexity of cybersecurity solutions and services. Because of this, cybersecurity brands must craft messaging needs that are sophisticated, technically savvy, tailored to a variety of specialized audiences, and, most of all, brave.
Brave cybersecurity marketing happens through brand storytelling, which goes beyond traditional marketing techniques and messaging; it is the art of sharing emotions and connections to communicate your brand's values, identity, and raison-d’être to potential customers and clients.
These steps will help you infuse brand storytelling into your cybersecurity marketing strategy and brand messaging.
Let’s start at the very beginning — the best place to start — where you should always know and understand your target audiences or personas.
Your target audience or personas differ from ideal customer profiles (ICPs). They are not just your ideal customers but the actual buyers and users of your solutions, the people on the ground searching for what you provide. Identifying personas and understanding their unique challenges, pain points, and motivations related to cybersecurity is foundational to successful cybersecurity marketing.
In cyber, these personas lay across a large spectrum of technical expertise. Not all audiences are CISOs or IT directors; some are in the OT space or are your everyday business owners needing to invest in cybersecurity. Because of this, content should cater to technical stakeholders, focusing on the nuts and bolts, and non-technical stakeholders, emphasizing business outcomes and making the case that your product or solution will improve their lives and the lives of their customers.
After fully understanding and analyzing your personas, you must align your solutions with each persona’s pain points. This will help you map your message and make the best argument for their challenges, the problem your product solves, the outcomes they can expect, and the benefits they’ll receive if they choose your solution. Remember, each persona will likely have different needs and outcomes correlating with their pain points and goals.
In cybersecurity marketing, brand identity and brand story should make your customers feel safe and secure by explaininghow your product will help them achieve their goals. Your brand story needs to feature three things:
In each of these cases, you paint a picture of what life will look like if they partner with your brand.
Cybersecurity content often gets tainted by FUD (Fear, Uncertainty, and Doubt) and becomes mired in technical jargon and fear-based messaging, which can alienate audiences and hinder effective communication. The marketing is already saturated with FUD, so your message has to become increasingly hyperbolic to scream over the noise.
Fear is low-hanging fruit; an opportunistic marketing strategy with a limited shelf-life. Scaring your potential customers into a partnership starts the relationship in an adversarial place rather than a place of trust and confidence. They'll leave as soon as they find an alternative that is helpful and trustworthy. The same can happen with content. If you scare people, they’ll bounce from the piece.
Rather than relying on fear tactics, cybersecurity marketing should focus on positive messaging, building trust, and providing educational content. Being authentic and meaningful can help achieve this goal.
Once you leave fear in the rearview, effective cybersecurity marketing requires a blend of storytelling, education, and trust-building. Content must articulate cyber threats in a way that inspires confidence and displays expertise. So, think of that in terms of feelings you want your audiences to experience in relation to your brand. Is it safe and secure? Is it innovative and transformative? Or, is it confident and relaxed? Customers will associate your brand with those terms if your story is powerful enough.
Humanize your brand by putting people at the center of your storytelling, making it more relatable and strengthening the emotional bond with the audience. Stories connect facts to emotion, helping people make sense of the world and creating shared experiences between storytellers and audience. Effective storytelling involves taking risks and revealing something new, which can make the storyteller vulnerable. However, the potential for connection and engagement makes the risk worthwhile.
Cybersecurity storytelling must balance abstract concepts and technical details, presenting compelling narratives without overwhelming the audience. This is where you take your audience on their Hero’s Journey. The most effective brand stories position the customer as the hero of their journey, showing how the product or solution helps them overcome challenges and achieve their goals. Your brand must be the difference between being prepared and ready for anything and being at risk of cyber threats.
As part of the narratives you share, use customer success stories that demonstrate the tangible benefits of your cybersecurity solutions. Highlight specific challenges your customers faced, how your solutions helped them address those challenges, and the positive outcomes they achieved. One surefire way to approach customer success stories is through case studies that answer these questions:
Aside from aligning your messages and story with your personas, you’ll also want to align your message with the distribution medium. Reaching your target personas in a blog or a LinkedIn post is very different than reaching them in an ad or a long-form piece. Consider whether or not you need to grab their attention, provide them with trustworthy information, or educate and support them. Those purposes and mediums will alter your story and how you tell it.
This process might seem a bit overwhelming for an already overworked cybersecurity marketing department, especially if you’re a department of one. If you’re looking for help, find an agency that knows their stuff, specializes in cybersecurity, and can lead you through these steps.
Agencies like Content Workshop can help you make your cybersecurity marketing brave.
