A sneak peek on what to expect from Gianna and Maria on cybersecurity marketing!

breaking-through-cyber-marketing.podbean.com/e2dc9469-7a97-3b7f-a538-8206a3b709f3

A sneak peek on what to expect from Gianna and Maria on cybersecurity marketing!

Trailer: Breaking Through in Cybersecurity Marketing

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In this show, we’re going to hear from cybersecurity marketers who will share their ideas, their successes and failures, so that you can be the best cybersecurity marketer, you can be. Join us every week with a brand new episode, guaranteed to knock your SOCs off. Get it?

This week, hosts Gianna Whitver and Maria Velazquez sit down with Brittany Geronimo to discuss unique takes on reusing design content in a marketing design process. Gianna and Maria ask Brittany how she turns whitepapers and ebooks into eye-catching, marketable content in her position at BlueVoyant -- which offers internal and external cyber defense services. Brittany also guides listeners through her workflow explaining the unique ways she keeps pushing the boundaries with new and creative content in her field of cybersecurity marketing. 
 
Timecoded Guide:
[00:00] Start of episode
[02:27] Repurposing whitepapers and ebooks for marketing
[06:04] How to imagine content assets as reusable from start to finish
[08:02] Gated vs ungated content in marketing assets
[14:47] Crafting a unique message while staying loyal to the brand
[17:28] Keeping consistent themes to tell brand stories 


What does the planning journey look like when you’re deciding to repurpose content?
How do you create a content asset that will engage an audience? Brittany explains her marketing strategy in how she takes any tier-one asset to then turn it into digestible and easy-to-follow, creative content. These assets could be anything from an eBook, a whitepaper, or a report. Brittany shares how she takes these large lumps of information and condenses them down into either LinkedIn infographics or carousel posts making them marketable and useful for people to follow. Each creative product relates back to which type of asset Brittany starts with while each final product circles back with an option to explore the subject further by linking the eBook or larger report. Brittany breaks down her process with marketing design ideas and how she goes from what she calls a “tier one asset” to a “tier two asset.”
“I think there's a lot of pressure sometimes to just put out as much content as possible . . . But I think taking a step back and saying okay, what do we have? What else can we possibly do with it? Then, you sort of end up with these nice buckets of content that's all related that you can then use in future campaigns.”
Imagining content as reusable from start-to-finish
Brittany walks listeners through how she’s already thinking about how to make content more marketable as she looks through ‘tier-one’ material. Sometimes, Brittany is involved on the front end of the marketing design process and is able to shape tier-one assets in such a way that makes them reusable for more content later on. Also, it’s important to edit content and style it to fit the audience: reused content intended for a CSO will look different than content intended for someone on LinkedIn. Good design means knowing how to make content within the marketing design process that will catch the eyes of many different audiences. 
“if you think about repurposing at the beginning, you'll have more opportunity to do so as opposed to we already have this thing that's finished. It can be done both ways. But I think if you're thinking about it always, it really helps.”
Gating vs not gating: what’s the best philosophy?
Which type of content should be gated and what type of content shouldn’t be gated? What’s the overall best philosophy with gated content marketing? Brittany explains where and why she finds gating to be essential with certain types of content. She also highlights how she leans towards making content more accessible overall. Brittany also adds, through this philosophy, how she seeks to create a brand that others think of when they have a project in motion. 
“I personally lean toward less gating, because I think if you put up too many roadblocks, people are just going to abandon their cart, per se, or form . . . I personally don’t like to put up too many roadblocks.” 
How to make a message stand out while staying loyal to the brand
How can someone make their message stand out but not abandon their brand’s theme? Brittany says that there is a balance and that it takes compromise—but that it can still be done. Big fast food chains can afford to attract a high volume of attention through social media with crazy posts. This may not work for everyone but Brittany explains that brands can still think outside of the box while maintaining their company’s style. It’s also important to find themes and ways that an audience can consistently recognize a brand while continuing to find interest in the messaging. 
“There's a lot of stuff out there content wise that people are getting just like hammered with all day, like on LinkedIn and other channels. So I think having a different look really makes you stand out . . . I think good design goes a long way.” 
----------
Definitions: 
Whitepapers: Whitepapers are business reports that include data and analyses making information presentable to a company.
Top-funnel/mid-funnel: Levels of audience to a brand or company and their awareness to the products or services—top funnel being those not yet aware of the company and the mid funnel being those who have shown interest and might engage with the company. 
Gated/ungated: This refers to whether or not content is made available to an audience through paywalls or other selective processes: gated refers to content that is exclusive through a fee, etc. and ungated is content that is available and free to virtually anyone. 
____________
Links:
Spend some time with our guest Brittany Geronimo on <a href='https://www.linkedin.com/in/brittanygeronimo/'>LinkedIn</a>
Like the <a href='https://www.facebook.com/BlueVoyant'>BlueVoyant</a> Facebook page
Visit the BlueVoyant <a href='https://www.bluevoyant.com/'>website</a>, follow on <a href='https://www.linkedin.com/company/bluevoyant/'>LinkedIn</a>, <a href='https://www.instagram.com/bluevoyant/'>Instagram</a>, and <a href='https://twitter.com/BlueVoyant'>Twitter</a>.
Keep up with Hacker Valley on <a href='https://hackervalley.com'>our website</a>, <a href='https://www.linkedin.com/company/hackervalleystudio/'>LinkedIn</a>, <a href='https://www.instagram.com/hackervalleymedia/'>Instagram</a>, and <a href='https://twitter.com/TheHackerValley'>Twitter</a>.
Follow Gianna on <a href='https://www.linkedin.com/in/giannawhitver/'>LinkedIn</a>.
Catch up with Maria on <a href='https://www.linkedin.com/in/maria-vepa/'>LinkedIn</a>.
Join the Cybersecurity Marketing Society on <a href='https://cybersecuritymarketingsociety.com'>our website</a>, and keep up with us on <a href='https://twitter.com/CyberMSociety'>Twitter</a>.

This week, hosts Gianna Whitver and Maria Velazquez sit down with Brittany Geronimo to discuss unique takes on reusing design content in a marketing design process. Gianna and Maria ask Brittany how she turns whitepapers and ebooks into eye-catching, marketable content in her position at BlueVoyant -- which offers internal and external cyber defense services. Brittany also guides listeners through her workflow explaining the unique ways she keeps pushing the boundaries with new and creative content in her field of cybersecurity marketing. 
 
Timecoded Guide:
[00:00] Start of episode
[02:27] Repurposing whitepapers and ebooks for marketing
[06:04] How to imagine content assets as reusable from start to finish
[08:02] Gated vs ungated content in marketing assets
[14:47] Crafting a unique message while staying loyal to the brand
[17:28] Keeping consistent themes to tell brand stories 


What does the planning journey look like when you’re deciding to repurpose content?
How do you create a content asset that will engage an audience? Brittany explains her marketing strategy in how she takes any tier-one asset to then turn it into digestible and easy-to-follow, creative content. These assets could be anything from an eBook, a whitepaper, or a report. Brittany shares how she takes these large lumps of information and condenses them down into either LinkedIn infographics or carousel posts making them marketable and useful for people to follow. Each creative product relates back to which type of asset Brittany starts with while each final product circles back with an option to explore the subject further by linking the eBook or larger report. Brittany breaks down her process with marketing design ideas and how she goes from what she calls a “tier one asset” to a “tier two asset.”
“I think there's a lot of pressure sometimes to just put out as much content as possible . . . But I think taking a step back and saying okay, what do we have? What else can we possibly do with it? Then, you sort of end up with these nice buckets of content that's all related that you can then use in future campaigns.”
Imagining content as reusable from start-to-finish
Brittany walks listeners through how she’s already thinking about how to make content more marketable as she looks through ‘tier-one’ material. Sometimes, Brittany is involved on the front end of the marketing design process and is able to shape tier-one assets in such a way that makes them reusable for more content later on. Also, it’s important to edit content and style it to fit the audience: reused content intended for a CSO will look different than content intended for someone on LinkedIn. Good design means knowing how to make content within the marketing design process that will catch the eyes of many different audiences. 
“if you think about repurposing at the beginning, you'll have more opportunity to do so as opposed to we already have this thing that's finished. It can be done both ways. But I think if you're thinking about it always, it really helps.”
Gating vs not gating: what’s the best philosophy?
Which type of content should be gated and what type of content shouldn’t be gated? What’s the overall best philosophy with gated content marketing? Brittany explains where and why she finds gating to be essential with certain types of content. She also highlights how she leans towards making content more accessible overall. Brittany also adds, through this philosophy, how she seeks to create a brand that others think of when they have a project in motion. 
“I personally lean toward less gating, because I think if you put up too many roadblocks, people are just going to abandon their cart, per se, or form . . . I personally don’t like to put up too many roadblocks.” 
How to make a message stand out while staying loyal to the brand
How can someone make their message stand out but not abandon their brand’s theme? Brittany says that there is a balance and that it takes compromise—but that it can still be done. Big fast food chains can afford to attract a high volume of attention through social media with crazy posts. This may not work for everyone but Brittany explains that brands can still think outside of the box while maintaining their company’s style. It’s also important to find themes and ways that an audience can consistently recognize a brand while continuing to find interest in the messaging. 
“There's a lot of stuff out there content wise that people are getting just like hammered with all day, like on LinkedIn and other channels. So I think having a different look really makes you stand out . . . I think good design goes a long way.” 
----------
Definitions: 
Whitepapers: Whitepapers are business reports that include data and analyses making information presentable to a company.
Top-funnel/mid-funnel: Levels of audience to a brand or company and their awareness to the products or services—top funnel being those not yet aware of the company and the mid funnel being those who have shown interest and might engage with the company. 
Gated/ungated: This refers to whether or not content is made available to an audience through paywalls or other selective processes: gated refers to content that is exclusive through a fee, etc. and ungated is content that is available and free to virtually anyone. 
____________
Links:
Spend some time with our guest Brittany Geronimo on <a href='https://www.linkedin.com/in/brittanygeronimo/'>LinkedIn</a>
Like the <a href='https://www.facebook.com/BlueVoyant'>BlueVoyant</a> Facebook page
Visit the BlueVoyant <a href='https://www.bluevoyant.com/'>website</a>, follow on <a href='https://www.linkedin.com/company/bluevoyant/'>LinkedIn</a>, <a href='https://www.instagram.com/bluevoyant/'>Instagram</a>, and <a href='https://twitter.com/BlueVoyant'>Twitter</a>.
Keep up with Hacker Valley on <a href='https://hackervalley.com'>our website</a>, <a href='https://www.linkedin.com/company/hackervalleystudio/'>LinkedIn</a>, <a href='https://www.instagram.com/hackervalleymedia/'>Instagram</a>, and <a href='https://twitter.com/TheHackerValley'>Twitter</a>.
Follow Gianna on <a href='https://www.linkedin.com/in/giannawhitver/'>LinkedIn</a>.
Catch up with Maria on <a href='https://www.linkedin.com/in/maria-vepa/'>LinkedIn</a>.
Join the Cybersecurity Marketing Society on <a href='https://cybersecuritymarketingsociety.com'>our website</a>, and keep up with us on <a href='https://twitter.com/CyberMSociety'>Twitter</a>.

breaking-through-cyber-marketing.podbean.com/5eb39683-496e-3201-a80d-359c1feeb936

This week, hosts Gianna Whitver and Maria Velazquez sit down with Brittany Geronimo to discuss unique takes on reusing design content in a marketing design process. Gianna and Maria ask Brittany how she turns whitepapers and ebooks into eye-catching,...

This week, hosts Gianna Whitver and Maria Velazquez sit down with Brittany Geronimo to discuss unique takes on reusing design content in a marketing design process. Gianna and Maria ask Brittany how she turns whitepapers and ebooks into eye-catching, marketable content in her position at BlueVoyant -- which offers internal and external cyber defense services. Brittany also guides listeners through her workflow explaining the unique ways she keeps pushing the boundaries with new and creative content in her field of cybersecurity marketing. 
 
Timecoded Guide:
[00:00] Start of episode
[02:27] Repurposing whitepapers and ebooks for marketing
[06:04] How to imagine content assets as reusable from start to finish
[08:02] Gated vs ungated content in marketing assets
[14:47] Crafting a unique message while staying loyal to the brand
[17:28] Keeping consistent themes to tell brand stories 
What does the planning journey look like when you’re deciding to repurpose content?
How do you create a content asset that will engage an audience? Brittany explains her marketing strategy in how she takes any tier-one asset to then turn it into digestible and easy-to-follow, creative content. These assets could be anything from an eBook, a whitepaper, or a report. Brittany shares how she takes these large lumps of information and condenses them down into either LinkedIn infographics or carousel posts making them marketable and useful for people to follow. Each creative product relates back to which type of asset Brittany starts with while each final product circles back with an option to explore the subject further by linking the eBook or larger report. Brittany breaks down her process with marketing design ideas and how she goes from what she calls a “tier one asset” to a “tier two asset.”
“I think there's a lot of pressure sometimes to just put out as much content as possible . . . But I think taking a step back and saying okay, what do we have? What else can we possibly do with it? Then, you sort of end up with these nice buckets of content that's all related that you can then use in future campaigns.”
Imagining content as reusable from start-to-finish
Brittany walks listeners through how she’s already thinking about how to make content more marketable as she looks through ‘tier-one’ material. Sometimes, Brittany is involved on the front end of the marketing design process and is able to shape tier-one assets in such a way that makes them reusable for more content later on. Also, it’s important to edit content and style it to fit the audience: reused content intended for a CSO will look different than content intended for someone on LinkedIn. Good design means knowing how to make content within the marketing design process that will catch the eyes of many different audiences. 
“if you think about repurposing at the beginning, you'll have more opportunity to do so as opposed to we already have this thing that's finished. It can be done both ways. But I think if you're thinking about it always, it really helps.”
Gating vs not gating: what’s the best philosophy?
Which type of content should be gated and what type of content shouldn’t be gated? What’s the overall best philosophy with gated content marketing? Brittany explains where and why she finds gating to be essential with certain types of content. She also highlights how she leans towards making content more accessible overall. Brittany also adds, through this philosophy, how she seeks to create a brand that others think of when they have a project in motion. 
“I personally lean toward less gating, because I think if you put up too many roadblocks, people are just going to abandon their cart, per se, or form . . . I personally don’t like to put up too many roadblocks.” 
How to make a message stand out while staying loyal to the brand
How can someone make their message stand out but not abandon their brand’s theme? Brittany says that there is a balance and that it takes compromise—bu

Recycling and Marketing Brand Content with BlueVoyant’s Brittany Geronimo

Hosts Gianna Whitver and Maria Velasquez sit down with Christopher Mitchell from Google’s Chronicle Security and discuss how he went from working at a series of startups to working at one of the largest corporations in the world. Christopher shares stories on his work experience through many company acquisitions and shares what it’s like to go from 160 to 160,000 employees. He dives into how he has found success working on marketing teams and what has led to healthy work environments and relationships. Christopher also shares what has made his teams run efficiently and how he has found success in launching unique cybersecurity marketing events. 
 
Timecoded Guide:
[01:46] Adjusting through acquisitions and onboarding at Google
[11:17] Days at Simplify and Soc Stock—cybersecurity marketing Woodstock
[19:26] Goals at Simplify—more than lead generation
[20:32] Key signs of business acquisition and founder aspirations
[28:32] Digital marketing strategy at Google and pros/cons
What it’s like adjusting through acquisitions from 2,000 to 30,000 Employees
Christopher details his journey in cybersecurity marketing, moving from different types of startups, small companies, large companies, and everything in between. During this time, Christopher worked for companies during IPOs and eventually transitioned to Google. He describes what it was like to start at Google’s security business unit and details the breadth and depth of the onboarding process at the company. During this time, his marketing team tripled and Christopher talks about the adjustment period that followed. 
“It's been awesome. I joined when we were 80-ish people. And so through the pandemic, we doubled in size, we 10x our revenue over that span, the marketing team tripled in size—we went from five to 15. So it was awesome to be part of that growth. And it's awesome now seeing all of us thrive at Chronicle and at Google as well. We're still high functioning, we're still kicking butt and taking names.” 
What it’s like working on a marketing dream team
Working at Simplify, Christopher picked up early examples of excellent operation and teamwork within a marketing unit. Christopher discusses the culture of the Simplify marketing team while working there and highlights what made it run smoothly. He emphasizes his team’s goals and how they consisted of much more than just high-level lead generation. Christopher also explains how to make yourself available as a resource to your co-workers and why doing so is important in a team. He emphasizes how team culture is integral to success and then dives into his experience with launching a cybersecurity marketing conference. Christopher also explains to Gianna and Maria what “Soc Stock” is and how it became a major success.  
“That's actually one of the biggest words of advice I can have is always help your co-workers as much as possible—even if they're co-workers you don't like. Just help them.”
How to see tell-tale signs of acquisition and set companies apart
Christopher shares some key things that he has noticed when a company is on the path towards acquisition. He highlights product universality and accessibility while diving into what sets companies apart in the cybersecurity space. Christopher also mentions his aspirations in the SaaS space and some possible business plans that he has for the future. Gianna and Maria stress how not everyone gets to say that they are a part of a smooth process between sales and marketing but Christopher shares his experience with the dynamic. He explains what it’s like to have a healthy dynamic between sales and marketing departments—and what has made him excited to go into work every day. Christopher also talks about being a part of a mature and sophisticated team and what it’s like to be responsible for MQL pipeline and revenue targets. 
“We did have an extremely positive relationship with sales, maybe the only positive relationship with sales I've ever experienced in my life. But it was awesome . . . It is so nice.”
Google Adwords, digital marketing strategy, and the pros/cons of working at a large enterprise
Chris talks on digital marketing strategy at Google and goes into a few pros and cons of working at a large enterprise like Google. He hashes out the big working differences between working on projects at a small company and working at Google. Moving from startups to Google is no small adjustment and Christopher dives more into his adjustment period moving from smaller and mid-size companies to one of the largest in the world. He also relays the importance of marketing teams in building a strong community throughout big changes.
“It's just a completely different world. I think if I was joining this company without my Simplify peers, I think I would have struggled even more than I did.”
----------
Definitions: 
MQL Pipeline: MQL stands for ‘marketing qualified lead.’ This is the term that marketers use for prospects interacting with brand content. ‘MQL Pipeline’ is the process in which marketers mover prospects through the marketing funnel, exposing them to the brand and turning them into possible customers.
CMO: ‘Chief Marketing Officer’—the chief executive responsible for marketing in an organization. 
IPO: ‘Initial Public Offering’—The public launch of a private company onto the stock market.
_________
Links:
Spend some time with Christopher on <a href='https://www.linkedin.com/in/christopherlmitchell/'>LinkedIn.</a>
Check out Chronicle Security on <a href='https://www.linkedin.com/in/christopherlmitchell/'>LinkedIn.</a>
Learn more about Google’s Chronicle Security on their <a href='https://chronicle.security/'>website.</a>
Follow Gianna on <a href='https://www.linkedin.com/in/giannawhitver/'>LinkedIn</a>.
Catch up with Maria on <a href='https://www.linkedin.com/in/maria-vepa/'>LinkedIn</a>.
Join the Cybersecurity Marketing Society on <a href='https://cybersecuritymarketingsociety.com'>our website</a>, and keep up with us on <a href='https://twitter.com/CyberMSociety'>Twitter</a>.

Hosts Gianna Whitver and Maria Velasquez sit down with Christopher Mitchell from Google’s Chronicle Security and discuss how he went from working at a series of startups to working at one of the largest corporations in the world. Christopher shares stories on his work experience through many company acquisitions and shares what it’s like to go from 160 to 160,000 employees. He dives into how he has found success working on marketing teams and what has led to healthy work environments and relationships. Christopher also shares what has made his teams run efficiently and how he has found success in launching unique cybersecurity marketing events. 
 
Timecoded Guide:
[01:46] Adjusting through acquisitions and onboarding at Google
[11:17] Days at Simplify and Soc Stock—cybersecurity marketing Woodstock
[19:26] Goals at Simplify—more than lead generation
[20:32] Key signs of business acquisition and founder aspirations
[28:32] Digital marketing strategy at Google and pros/cons
What it’s like adjusting through acquisitions from 2,000 to 30,000 Employees
Christopher details his journey in cybersecurity marketing, moving from different types of startups, small companies, large companies, and everything in between. During this time, Christopher worked for companies during IPOs and eventually transitioned to Google. He describes what it was like to start at Google’s security business unit and details the breadth and depth of the onboarding process at the company. During this time, his marketing team tripled and Christopher talks about the adjustment period that followed. 
“It's been awesome. I joined when we were 80-ish people. And so through the pandemic, we doubled in size, we 10x our revenue over that span, the marketing team tripled in size—we went from five to 15. So it was awesome to be part of that growth. And it's awesome now seeing all of us thrive at Chronicle and at Google as well. We're still high functioning, we're still kicking butt and taking names.” 
What it’s like working on a marketing dream team
Working at Simplify, Christopher picked up early examples of excellent operation and teamwork within a marketing unit. Christopher discusses the culture of the Simplify marketing team while working there and highlights what made it run smoothly. He emphasizes his team’s goals and how they consisted of much more than just high-level lead generation. Christopher also explains how to make yourself available as a resource to your co-workers and why doing so is important in a team. He emphasizes how team culture is integral to success and then dives into his experience with launching a cybersecurity marketing conference. Christopher also explains to Gianna and Maria what “Soc Stock” is and how it became a major success.  
“That's actually one of the biggest words of advice I can have is always help your co-workers as much as possible—even if they're co-workers you don't like. Just help them.”
How to see tell-tale signs of acquisition and set companies apart
Christopher shares some key things that he has noticed when a company is on the path towards acquisition. He highlights product universality and accessibility while diving into what sets companies apart in the cybersecurity space. Christopher also mentions his aspirations in the SaaS space and some possible business plans that he has for the future. Gianna and Maria stress how not everyone gets to say that they are a part of a smooth process between sales and marketing but Christopher shares his experience with the dynamic. He explains what it’s like to have a healthy dynamic between sales and marketing departments—and what has made him excited to go into work every day. Christopher also talks about being a part of a mature and sophisticated team and what it’s like to be responsible for MQL pipeline and revenue targets. 
“We did have an extremely positive relationship with sales, maybe the only positive relationship with sales I've ever experienced in my life. But it was awesome . . . It is so nice.”
Google Adwords, digital marketing strategy, and the pros/cons of working at a large enterprise
Chris talks on digital marketing strategy at Google and goes into a few pros and cons of working at a large enterprise like Google. He hashes out the big working differences between working on projects at a small company and working at Google. Moving from startups to Google is no small adjustment and Christopher dives more into his adjustment period moving from smaller and mid-size companies to one of the largest in the world. He also relays the importance of marketing teams in building a strong community throughout big changes.
“It's just a completely different world. I think if I was joining this company without my Simplify peers, I think I would have struggled even more than I did.”
----------
Definitions: 
MQL Pipeline: MQL stands for ‘marketing qualified lead.’ This is the term that marketers use for prospects interacting with brand content. ‘MQL Pipeline’ is the process in which marketers mover prospects through the marketing funnel, exposing them to the brand and turning them into possible customers.
CMO: ‘Chief Marketing Officer’—the chief executive responsible for marketing in an organization. 
IPO: ‘Initial Public Offering’—The public launch of a private company onto the stock market.
_________
Links:
Spend some time with Christopher on <a href='https://www.linkedin.com/in/christopherlmitchell/'>LinkedIn.</a>
Check out Chronicle Security on <a href='https://www.linkedin.com/in/christopherlmitchell/'>LinkedIn.</a>
Learn more about Google’s Chronicle Security on their <a href='https://chronicle.security/'>website.</a>
Follow Gianna on <a href='https://www.linkedin.com/in/giannawhitver/'>LinkedIn</a>.
Catch up with Maria on <a href='https://www.linkedin.com/in/maria-vepa/'>LinkedIn</a>.
Join the Cybersecurity Marketing Society on <a href='https://cybersecuritymarketingsociety.com'>our website</a>, and keep up with us on <a href='https://twitter.com/CyberMSociety'>Twitter</a>.

breaking-through-cyber-marketing.podbean.com/c22195a5-7900-3039-926d-af9f2c90e160

Hosts Gianna Whitver and Maria Velasquez sit down with Christopher Mitchell from Google’s Chronicle Security and discuss how he went from working at a series of startups to working at one of the largest corporations in the world. Christopher shares s...

Hosts Gianna Whitver and Maria Velasquez sit down with Christopher Mitchell from Google’s Chronicle Security and discuss how he went from working at a series of startups to working at one of the largest corporations in the world. Christopher shares stories on his work experience through many company acquisitions and shares what it’s like to go from 160 to 160,000 employees. He dives into how he has found success working on marketing teams and what has led to healthy work environments and relationships. Christopher also shares what has made his teams run efficiently and how he has found success in launching unique cybersecurity marketing events. 
 
Timecoded Guide:
[01:46] Adjusting through acquisitions and onboarding at Google
[11:17] Days at Simplify and Soc Stock—cybersecurity marketing Woodstock
[19:26] Goals at Simplify—more than lead generation
[20:32] Key signs of business acquisition and founder aspirations
[28:32] Digital marketing strategy at Google and pros/cons
What it’s like adjusting through acquisitions from 2,000 to 30,000 Employees
Christopher details his journey in cybersecurity marketing, moving from different types of startups, small companies, large companies, and everything in between. During this time, Christopher worked for companies during IPOs and eventually transitioned to Google. He describes what it was like to start at Google’s security business unit and details the breadth and depth of the onboarding process at the company. During this time, his marketing team tripled and Christopher talks about the adjustment period that followed. 
“It's been awesome. I joined when we were 80-ish people. And so through the pandemic, we doubled in size, we 10x our revenue over that span, the marketing team tripled in size—we went from five to 15. So it was awesome to be part of that growth. And it's awesome now seeing all of us thrive at Chronicle and at Google as well. We're still high functioning, we're still kicking butt and taking names.” 
What it’s like working on a marketing dream team
Working at Simplify, Christopher picked up early examples of excellent operation and teamwork within a marketing unit. Christopher discusses the culture of the Simplify marketing team while working there and highlights what made it run smoothly. He emphasizes his team’s goals and how they consisted of much more than just high-level lead generation. Christopher also explains how to make yourself available as a resource to your co-workers and why doing so is important in a team. He emphasizes how team culture is integral to success and then dives into his experience with launching a cybersecurity marketing conference. Christopher also explains to Gianna and Maria what “Soc Stock” is and how it became a major success.  
“That's actually one of the biggest words of advice I can have is always help your co-workers as much as possible—even if they're co-workers you don't like. Just help them.”
How to see tell-tale signs of acquisition and set companies apart
Christopher shares some key things that he has noticed when a company is on the path towards acquisition. He highlights product universality and accessibility while diving into what sets companies apart in the cybersecurity space. Christopher also mentions his aspirations in the SaaS space and some possible business plans that he has for the future. Gianna and Maria stress how not everyone gets to say that they are a part of a smooth process between sales and marketing but Christopher shares his experience with the dynamic. He explains what it’s like to have a healthy dynamic between sales and marketing departments—and what has made him excited to go into work every day. Christopher also talks about being a part of a mature and sophisticated team and what it’s like to be responsible for MQL pipeline and revenue targets. 
“We did have an extremely positive relationship with sales, maybe the only positive relationship with sales I've ever experienced in my life. But it

From Startups to Google with Christopher Mitchell

Hosts Gianna Whitver and Maria Velasquez sit down with guest Amy Fair to discuss being laid off and how to navigate it in stride. Gianna and Maria ask Amy about her own experiences being laid off as they approach the rarely-discussed but important topic. Amy dives into what it means to be laid off in the cybersecurity content marketing industry and how she has turned layoffs into new opportunities within weeks. In their conversation, Maria, Gianna, and Amy highlight the importance of networking and community and how it is vital to maintain lasting relationships in the content marketing industry. Amy shares how, at the end of the day, these connections can lead to amazing opportunities. 
We’re joined this week by Amy Fair, Content Marketing Manager at SpyCloud, 
 
Timecoded Guide:
[8:50] The value of building a network and maintaining a community
[17:29] Using Slack in job hunting and making connections
[23:21] The value of mentors and keeping people in your corner
[25:48] Advice for those anticipating a layoff
How can you prepare to be laid off?
Amy opens up with stories about getting laid off and how she was able to quickly land new jobs. Sometimes layoffs are expected and sometimes they can be a shock. Amy shares how she used the community around her in both scenarios to turn the layoffs into success. There’s a lot of stigma surrounding the topic of being laid off and Amy offers a dose of optimism to those who come to her for help. She seeks to take away the stigma as she mentions that the attitude towards layoffs has changed over the years. They are even expected in many industries now. Amy highlights how her experiences have taught her that, in content marketing, it’s not only about ‘making connections’ but nurturing relationships that make the most impact along the way.
“I also want to kind of remove the stigma that comes with it . . . I think it might even be more rare for people to not have been laid off in their career, then, you know, for those who have experienced that. But I don't think it's a shameful thing.”
How “your network is your net worth” and why a strong personal brand matters
Amy shares how vital it is to open up outwardly into circles to build lasting relationships with people who will have your back. Having a strong standing in the content marketing industry starts from the beginning: personal brand. Amy shares how those in the content marketing industry can apply their expertise to themselves if they want to build a solid personal brand. She also highlights how building a personal brand can save someone from a lengthy job hunt after being laid off. Having a resume counts but a personal brand extends to networking and recognition. Doing this is vital in the cybersecurity marketing industry as Amy shares how it’s a field where layoffs are widespread.
“We make our brands look good, we make our products look good, we make our customers look good. We can take all those skills that we have making everybody else look good. And we can make ourselves look pretty damn good. . . it doesn't have to be when you lose your job, you can do that all day every day.”
Slack, newsletters, and job boards: why community counts
Amy, Gianna, and Maria dive into their experiences in how something like Slack can lead to lasting connections and to rekindling valuable relationships with people. Amy shares a story on how she stumbled upon an old coworker on Slack while Maria and Gianna share how they have found a lot of success in finding job candidates by using newsletters, job boards, and meeting people through their Slack channel. Maria emphasizes how, through community and reaching out to others, a boss can get to know someone before their resume shows up on a pile. People make lasting impressions through these connections. The hosts also discuss how building these connections throughout the interview process is valuable regardless of whether someone gets the job.
“Even if you feel like maybe you're new in your career, and you don't really have a network, if you have a mentor who can connect you with so and so for XYZ, like that is huge tap into that resource. That is something that can make a huge impact on your own network.”
Advice for those anticipating a layoff
In cybersecurity content marketing, people need others to lean on in every step of the way. The business can get competitive, leading to unexpected job turns and layoffs. One thing that can stay constant, though, is maintaining steady and solid connections with people in the industry. Amy talks about how someone can have a network of dozens but it’s the three or four people who they have kept in touch with and have built relationships with that matter the most. She adds how it’s a two-way street and that these interactions aren’t transactional but they’re reciprocal: like friends, the people in someone’s corner should be willing to give just as much as they’re willing to take. Making connections is similar to lead generation. To find success after getting laid off, Amy says that those in content marketing need to nurture their relationships all the way through the funnel just like marketing business leads. 
“You need to nurture your relationships, like we do that as marketers, with our leads, we nurture them all the way through the funnel: you need to nurture your relationships all the way through your career and beyond. I think that's so important. Because they might need to lean on you too.”
 
----------
Definitions:
Funnel: Top-funnel/mid-funnel: Levels of an audience to a brand or company and their awareness of the products or services—top funnel being those not yet aware of the company and the mid-funnel being those who have shown interest and might engage with the company. Marketers ‘move through the funnel’ to build an audience for their brand.
 
Links:
Get tickets for our upcoming<a href='https://cybersecuritymarketingsociety.com/conference2022/'> CyberMarketingCon2022</a>. 
Spend some time with our guest Amy Fair on <a href='https://www.linkedin.com/in/amy-fair/'>LinkedIn</a> and <a href='https://twitter.com/amylonghorn'>Twitter</a>.
Check out SpyCloud on <a href='https://www.linkedin.com/company/spycloud/'>LinkedIn</a> and <a href='https://spycloud.com/'>the SpyCloud website</a>.
Keep up with Hacker Valley on <a href='https://hackervalley.com'>our website</a>, <a href='https://www.linkedin.com/company/hackervalleystudio/'>LinkedIn</a>, <a href='https://www.instagram.com/hackervalleymedia/'>Instagram</a>, and <a href='https://twitter.com/TheHackerValley'>Twitter</a>.
Follow Gianna on <a href='https://www.linkedin.com/in/giannawhitver/'>LinkedIn</a>.
Catch up with Maria on <a href='https://www.linkedin.com/in/maria-vepa/'>LinkedIn</a>.
Join the Cybersecurity Marketing Society on <a href='https://cybersecuritymarketingsociety.com'>our website</a>, and keep up with us on <a href='https://twitter.com/CyberMSociety'>Twitter</a>.

Hosts Gianna Whitver and Maria Velasquez sit down with guest Amy Fair to discuss being laid off and how to navigate it in stride. Gianna and Maria ask Amy about her own experiences being laid off as they approach the rarely-discussed but important topic. Amy dives into what it means to be laid off in the cybersecurity content marketing industry and how she has turned layoffs into new opportunities within weeks. In their conversation, Maria, Gianna, and Amy highlight the importance of networking and community and how it is vital to maintain lasting relationships in the content marketing industry. Amy shares how, at the end of the day, these connections can lead to amazing opportunities. 
We’re joined this week by Amy Fair, Content Marketing Manager at SpyCloud, 
 
Timecoded Guide:
[8:50] The value of building a network and maintaining a community
[17:29] Using Slack in job hunting and making connections
[23:21] The value of mentors and keeping people in your corner
[25:48] Advice for those anticipating a layoff
How can you prepare to be laid off?
Amy opens up with stories about getting laid off and how she was able to quickly land new jobs. Sometimes layoffs are expected and sometimes they can be a shock. Amy shares how she used the community around her in both scenarios to turn the layoffs into success. There’s a lot of stigma surrounding the topic of being laid off and Amy offers a dose of optimism to those who come to her for help. She seeks to take away the stigma as she mentions that the attitude towards layoffs has changed over the years. They are even expected in many industries now. Amy highlights how her experiences have taught her that, in content marketing, it’s not only about ‘making connections’ but nurturing relationships that make the most impact along the way.
“I also want to kind of remove the stigma that comes with it . . . I think it might even be more rare for people to not have been laid off in their career, then, you know, for those who have experienced that. But I don't think it's a shameful thing.”
How “your network is your net worth” and why a strong personal brand matters
Amy shares how vital it is to open up outwardly into circles to build lasting relationships with people who will have your back. Having a strong standing in the content marketing industry starts from the beginning: personal brand. Amy shares how those in the content marketing industry can apply their expertise to themselves if they want to build a solid personal brand. She also highlights how building a personal brand can save someone from a lengthy job hunt after being laid off. Having a resume counts but a personal brand extends to networking and recognition. Doing this is vital in the cybersecurity marketing industry as Amy shares how it’s a field where layoffs are widespread.
“We make our brands look good, we make our products look good, we make our customers look good. We can take all those skills that we have making everybody else look good. And we can make ourselves look pretty damn good. . . it doesn't have to be when you lose your job, you can do that all day every day.”
Slack, newsletters, and job boards: why community counts
Amy, Gianna, and Maria dive into their experiences in how something like Slack can lead to lasting connections and to rekindling valuable relationships with people. Amy shares a story on how she stumbled upon an old coworker on Slack while Maria and Gianna share how they have found a lot of success in finding job candidates by using newsletters, job boards, and meeting people through their Slack channel. Maria emphasizes how, through community and reaching out to others, a boss can get to know someone before their resume shows up on a pile. People make lasting impressions through these connections. The hosts also discuss how building these connections throughout the interview process is valuable regardless of whether someone gets the job.
“Even if you feel like maybe you're new in your career, and you don't really have a network, if you have a mentor who can connect you with so and so for XYZ, like that is huge tap into that resource. That is something that can make a huge impact on your own network.”
Advice for those anticipating a layoff
In cybersecurity content marketing, people need others to lean on in every step of the way. The business can get competitive, leading to unexpected job turns and layoffs. One thing that can stay constant, though, is maintaining steady and solid connections with people in the industry. Amy talks about how someone can have a network of dozens but it’s the three or four people who they have kept in touch with and have built relationships with that matter the most. She adds how it’s a two-way street and that these interactions aren’t transactional but they’re reciprocal: like friends, the people in someone’s corner should be willing to give just as much as they’re willing to take. Making connections is similar to lead generation. To find success after getting laid off, Amy says that those in content marketing need to nurture their relationships all the way through the funnel just like marketing business leads. 
“You need to nurture your relationships, like we do that as marketers, with our leads, we nurture them all the way through the funnel: you need to nurture your relationships all the way through your career and beyond. I think that's so important. Because they might need to lean on you too.”
 
----------
Definitions:
Funnel: Top-funnel/mid-funnel: Levels of an audience to a brand or company and their awareness of the products or services—top funnel being those not yet aware of the company and the mid-funnel being those who have shown interest and might engage with the company. Marketers ‘move through the funnel’ to build an audience for their brand.
 
Links:
Get tickets for our upcoming<a href='https://cybersecuritymarketingsociety.com/conference2022/'> CyberMarketingCon2022</a>. 
Spend some time with our guest Amy Fair on <a href='https://www.linkedin.com/in/amy-fair/'>LinkedIn</a> and <a href='https://twitter.com/amylonghorn'>Twitter</a>.
Check out SpyCloud on <a href='https://www.linkedin.com/company/spycloud/'>LinkedIn</a> and <a href='https://spycloud.com/'>the SpyCloud website</a>.
Keep up with Hacker Valley on <a href='https://hackervalley.com'>our website</a>, <a href='https://www.linkedin.com/company/hackervalleystudio/'>LinkedIn</a>, <a href='https://www.instagram.com/hackervalleymedia/'>Instagram</a>, and <a href='https://twitter.com/TheHackerValley'>Twitter</a>.
Follow Gianna on <a href='https://www.linkedin.com/in/giannawhitver/'>LinkedIn</a>.
Catch up with Maria on <a href='https://www.linkedin.com/in/maria-vepa/'>LinkedIn</a>.
Join the Cybersecurity Marketing Society on <a href='https://cybersecuritymarketingsociety.com'>our website</a>, and keep up with us on <a href='https://twitter.com/CyberMSociety'>Twitter</a>.

breaking-through-cyber-marketing.podbean.com/91ccd603-6248-3cd5-bca3-6526f2bbe00e

Hosts Gianna Whitver and Maria Velasquez sit down with guest Amy Fair to discuss being laid off and how to navigate it in stride. Gianna and Maria ask Amy about her own experiences being laid off as they approach the rarely-discussed but important to...

Hosts Gianna Whitver and Maria Velasquez sit down with guest Amy Fair to discuss being laid off and how to navigate it in stride. Gianna and Maria ask Amy about her own experiences being laid off as they approach the rarely-discussed but important topic. Amy dives into what it means to be laid off in the cybersecurity content marketing industry and how she has turned layoffs into new opportunities within weeks. In their conversation, Maria, Gianna, and Amy highlight the importance of networking and community and how it is vital to maintain lasting relationships in the content marketing industry. Amy shares how, at the end of the day, these connections can lead to amazing opportunities. 
We’re joined this week by Amy Fair, Content Marketing Manager at SpyCloud, 
 
Timecoded Guide:
[8:50] The value of building a network and maintaining a community
[17:29] Using Slack in job hunting and making connections
[23:21] The value of mentors and keeping people in your corner
[25:48] Advice for those anticipating a layoff
How can you prepare to be laid off?
Amy opens up with stories about getting laid off and how she was able to quickly land new jobs. Sometimes layoffs are expected and sometimes they can be a shock. Amy shares how she used the community around her in both scenarios to turn the layoffs into success. There’s a lot of stigma surrounding the topic of being laid off and Amy offers a dose of optimism to those who come to her for help. She seeks to take away the stigma as she mentions that the attitude towards layoffs has changed over the years. They are even expected in many industries now. Amy highlights how her experiences have taught her that, in content marketing, it’s not only about ‘making connections’ but nurturing relationships that make the most impact along the way.
“I also want to kind of remove the stigma that comes with it . . . I think it might even be more rare for people to not have been laid off in their career, then, you know, for those who have experienced that. But I don't think it's a shameful thing.”
How “your network is your net worth” and why a strong personal brand matters
Amy shares how vital it is to open up outwardly into circles to build lasting relationships with people who will have your back. Having a strong standing in the content marketing industry starts from the beginning: personal brand. Amy shares how those in the content marketing industry can apply their expertise to themselves if they want to build a solid personal brand. She also highlights how building a personal brand can save someone from a lengthy job hunt after being laid off. Having a resume counts but a personal brand extends to networking and recognition. Doing this is vital in the cybersecurity marketing industry as Amy shares how it’s a field where layoffs are widespread.
“We make our brands look good, we make our products look good, we make our customers look good. We can take all those skills that we have making everybody else look good. And we can make ourselves look pretty damn good. . . it doesn't have to be when you lose your job, you can do that all day every day.”
Slack, newsletters, and job boards: why community counts
Amy, Gianna, and Maria dive into their experiences in how something like Slack can lead to lasting connections and to rekindling valuable relationships with people. Amy shares a story on how she stumbled upon an old coworker on Slack while Maria and Gianna share how they have found a lot of success in finding job candidates by using newsletters, job boards, and meeting people through their Slack channel. Maria emphasizes how, through community and reaching out to others, a boss can get to know someone before their resume shows up on a pile. People make lasting impressions through these connections. The hosts also discuss how building these connections throughout the interview process is valuable regardless of whether someone gets the job.
“Even if you feel like maybe you're new in your caree

Life After Layoff With Amy Fair

We’re joined this week by Peter Wheeler, Senior Manager PLG - Partnerships, Startups, Nonprofits at Auth0, to find out just what makes him…the most interesting man in the world! After years as a serial entrepreneur, Peter joined Auth0, powered by Okta, to positively impact nonprofits, charities, and for-profits working to benefit social issues. Peter talks with us about product led growth, giving back even when you don’t have the budget, and caring about customer advocacy before it was cool.
 
Timecoded Guide:
[00:00] Founding businesses & joining the Auth0 team during COVID
[07:01] Making a conscious effort with cyber to give back for greater good
[12:18] Diving into cybersecurity special audiences & product-led growth
[19:42] Understanding customer advocacy & reducing verification friction
[27:40] Collecting anecdotal and case studies from self service customers
[33:11] Being bitten by a fiberglass alligator & biting down on some brisket
 
What advice do you have for cybersecurity companies that would want to have corporate social responsibility, but are either too small or don’t have the funding? 
Instead of hiding behind the excuses of not being big enough or wealthy enough, Peter believes that cybersecurity companies all have the potential to give back to nonprofits and startups. Peter says, when in doubt of what to do, think simple. If your company is interested in equitable product access for companies with limited budgets, consider offering mentorship or training opportunities, or engaging your staff by offering time off for volunteering. 
“You can never be too small. We can all volunteer independently, we can all sit on a board, we can all show up. That's it, just show up. You can mentor. Yeah, you might not have enough money. You can avoid that, you can skip that. Just simple things, it doesn't have to be a lot.”
 
What are your “strong opinions” on special audiences, now that you work with them? 
Many of the audiences Peter works with have not made a budgetary allocation mentally, nor financially, towards things like cybersecurity. Part of his work with Auth0, because of this unaware audience, has involved implementing training and educational processes for these businesses. Showing them why cybersecurity is so important and teaching them to implement good first steps like stronger passwords is vital for marketing efforts and product led growth. 
“In nonprofits, in startups, there's a big shareholder footprint, stakeholder footprint, people that are affected by what the organization does. Educating that audience is good. Making them understand what cybersecurity truly is is good, so they implement at least the simple things.” 
 
How does Auth0 implement product-led growth? 
Auth0’s freemium, self-service product can satisfy just about everyone. The secret sauce of their success? Increasing customer advocacy and refusing friction. Good documentation, strong outside of network customer support, being active with customers, and having your staff invigorated about your product all contribute to a more satisfying and therefore more trustworthy environment, which keeps companies coming back for more.
“If you're building community, you're working with developers, you're working with individuals, you're working with smaller organizations, and you're putting a free or cheap product in front of them, whether it be discounted enterprise or freemium model, you're developing that trust.”
 
What are you doing for this user so they feel like they're being treated like an enterprise, even though they may be a team of one? 20:13
Self-service customers are rarely given the same treatment as enterprise customers in most companies, Peter explains, but Auth0 works hard to provide the documentation and ease of access needed to make things as frictionless as possible for those users. Additionally, validating an organization’s startup or nonprofit status can take time and create friction, too. Auth0 works with third-party organizations to quicken and simplify this process as well. 
“Reducing customer friction to come on is key. Somebody signs up, don't make them verify their email, skip that step. Let them play with the dashboard. Let them build something, because guess what? They're going to verify their email at some point.”
----------
Links:
Get tickets for our upcoming <a href='https://cybersecuritymarketingsociety.com/conference2022/'>CyberMarketingCon 2022</a>. 
Spend some time with our guest Peter Wheeler on <a href='https://www.linkedin.com/in/jpeterwheeler/'>LinkedIn</a> and <a href='https://www.jpeterwheeler.com/'>his personal website</a>
Lend your ear to Peter’s podcast, <a href='https://www.heygoodchat.org'>Hey, Good Chat!</a>
And of course, who could forget Peter’s theme song? <a href='https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vx2u5uUu3DE'>It’s My Life by Bon Jovi</a>
Check out Auth0 on <a href='https://www.linkedin.com/company/auth0/'>LinkedIn</a> and <a href='https://auth0.com/'>the Auth0 website</a>. 
Learn more about Okta on <a href='https://www.linkedin.com/company/okta-inc-/'>LinkedIn</a> and <a href='https://www.okta.com/'>the Okta website</a>.
Keep up with Hacker Valley on <a href='https://hackervalley.com'>our website</a>, <a href='https://www.linkedin.com/company/hackervalleystudio/'>LinkedIn</a>, <a href='https://www.instagram.com/hackervalleymedia/'>Instagram</a>, and <a href='https://twitter.com/TheHackerValley'>Twitter</a>.
Follow Gianna on <a href='https://www.linkedin.com/in/giannawhitver/'>LinkedIn</a>.
Catch up with Maria on <a href='https://www.linkedin.com/in/maria-vepa/'>LinkedIn</a>.
Join the Cybersecurity Marketing Society on <a href='https://cybersecuritymarketingsociety.com'>our website</a>, and keep up with us on <a href='https://twitter.com/CyberMSociety'>Twitter</a>.

We’re joined this week by Peter Wheeler, Senior Manager PLG - Partnerships, Startups, Nonprofits at Auth0, to find out just what makes him…the most interesting man in the world! After years as a serial entrepreneur, Peter joined Auth0, powered by Okta, to positively impact nonprofits, charities, and for-profits working to benefit social issues. Peter talks with us about product led growth, giving back even when you don’t have the budget, and caring about customer advocacy before it was cool.
 
Timecoded Guide:
[00:00] Founding businesses & joining the Auth0 team during COVID
[07:01] Making a conscious effort with cyber to give back for greater good
[12:18] Diving into cybersecurity special audiences & product-led growth
[19:42] Understanding customer advocacy & reducing verification friction
[27:40] Collecting anecdotal and case studies from self service customers
[33:11] Being bitten by a fiberglass alligator & biting down on some brisket
 
What advice do you have for cybersecurity companies that would want to have corporate social responsibility, but are either too small or don’t have the funding? 
Instead of hiding behind the excuses of not being big enough or wealthy enough, Peter believes that cybersecurity companies all have the potential to give back to nonprofits and startups. Peter says, when in doubt of what to do, think simple. If your company is interested in equitable product access for companies with limited budgets, consider offering mentorship or training opportunities, or engaging your staff by offering time off for volunteering. 
“You can never be too small. We can all volunteer independently, we can all sit on a board, we can all show up. That's it, just show up. You can mentor. Yeah, you might not have enough money. You can avoid that, you can skip that. Just simple things, it doesn't have to be a lot.”
 
What are your “strong opinions” on special audiences, now that you work with them? 
Many of the audiences Peter works with have not made a budgetary allocation mentally, nor financially, towards things like cybersecurity. Part of his work with Auth0, because of this unaware audience, has involved implementing training and educational processes for these businesses. Showing them why cybersecurity is so important and teaching them to implement good first steps like stronger passwords is vital for marketing efforts and product led growth. 
“In nonprofits, in startups, there's a big shareholder footprint, stakeholder footprint, people that are affected by what the organization does. Educating that audience is good. Making them understand what cybersecurity truly is is good, so they implement at least the simple things.” 
 
How does Auth0 implement product-led growth? 
Auth0’s freemium, self-service product can satisfy just about everyone. The secret sauce of their success? Increasing customer advocacy and refusing friction. Good documentation, strong outside of network customer support, being active with customers, and having your staff invigorated about your product all contribute to a more satisfying and therefore more trustworthy environment, which keeps companies coming back for more.
“If you're building community, you're working with developers, you're working with individuals, you're working with smaller organizations, and you're putting a free or cheap product in front of them, whether it be discounted enterprise or freemium model, you're developing that trust.”
 
What are you doing for this user so they feel like they're being treated like an enterprise, even though they may be a team of one? 20:13
Self-service customers are rarely given the same treatment as enterprise customers in most companies, Peter explains, but Auth0 works hard to provide the documentation and ease of access needed to make things as frictionless as possible for those users. Additionally, validating an organization’s startup or nonprofit status can take time and create friction, too. Auth0 works with third-party organizations to quicken and simplify this process as well. 
“Reducing customer friction to come on is key. Somebody signs up, don't make them verify their email, skip that step. Let them play with the dashboard. Let them build something, because guess what? They're going to verify their email at some point.”
----------
Links:
Get tickets for our upcoming <a href='https://cybersecuritymarketingsociety.com/conference2022/'>CyberMarketingCon 2022</a>. 
Spend some time with our guest Peter Wheeler on <a href='https://www.linkedin.com/in/jpeterwheeler/'>LinkedIn</a> and <a href='https://www.jpeterwheeler.com/'>his personal website</a>
Lend your ear to Peter’s podcast, <a href='https://www.heygoodchat.org'>Hey, Good Chat!</a>
And of course, who could forget Peter’s theme song? <a href='https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vx2u5uUu3DE'>It’s My Life by Bon Jovi</a>
Check out Auth0 on <a href='https://www.linkedin.com/company/auth0/'>LinkedIn</a> and <a href='https://auth0.com/'>the Auth0 website</a>. 
Learn more about Okta on <a href='https://www.linkedin.com/company/okta-inc-/'>LinkedIn</a> and <a href='https://www.okta.com/'>the Okta website</a>.
Keep up with Hacker Valley on <a href='https://hackervalley.com'>our website</a>, <a href='https://www.linkedin.com/company/hackervalleystudio/'>LinkedIn</a>, <a href='https://www.instagram.com/hackervalleymedia/'>Instagram</a>, and <a href='https://twitter.com/TheHackerValley'>Twitter</a>.
Follow Gianna on <a href='https://www.linkedin.com/in/giannawhitver/'>LinkedIn</a>.
Catch up with Maria on <a href='https://www.linkedin.com/in/maria-vepa/'>LinkedIn</a>.
Join the Cybersecurity Marketing Society on <a href='https://cybersecuritymarketingsociety.com'>our website</a>, and keep up with us on <a href='https://twitter.com/CyberMSociety'>Twitter</a>.

breaking-through-cyber-marketing.podbean.com/bba4cd6b-ae66-34bc-b8a4-d6da3e87c494

We’re joined this week by Peter Wheeler, Senior Manager PLG - Partnerships, Startups, Nonprofits at Auth0, to find out just what makes him…the most interesting man in the world! After years as a serial entrepreneur, Peter joined Auth0, powered by Okt...

We’re joined this week by Peter Wheeler, Senior Manager PLG - Partnerships, Startups, Nonprofits at Auth0, to find out just what makes him…the most interesting man in the world! After years as a serial entrepreneur, Peter joined Auth0, powered by Okta, to positively impact nonprofits, charities, and for-profits working to benefit social issues. Peter talks with us about product led growth, giving back even when you don’t have the budget, and caring about customer advocacy before it was cool.
 
Timecoded Guide:
[00:00] Founding businesses & joining the Auth0 team during COVID
[07:01] Making a conscious effort with cyber to give back for greater good
[12:18] Diving into cybersecurity special audiences & product-led growth
[19:42] Understanding customer advocacy & reducing verification friction
[27:40] Collecting anecdotal and case studies from self service customers
[33:11] Being bitten by a fiberglass alligator & biting down on some brisket
 
What advice do you have for cybersecurity companies that would want to have corporate social responsibility, but are either too small or don’t have the funding? 
Instead of hiding behind the excuses of not being big enough or wealthy enough, Peter believes that cybersecurity companies all have the potential to give back to nonprofits and startups. Peter says, when in doubt of what to do, think simple. If your company is interested in equitable product access for companies with limited budgets, consider offering mentorship or training opportunities, or engaging your staff by offering time off for volunteering. 
“You can never be too small. We can all volunteer independently, we can all sit on a board, we can all show up. That's it, just show up. You can mentor. Yeah, you might not have enough money. You can avoid that, you can skip that. Just simple things, it doesn't have to be a lot.”
 
What are your “strong opinions” on special audiences, now that you work with them? 
Many of the audiences Peter works with have not made a budgetary allocation mentally, nor financially, towards things like cybersecurity. Part of his work with Auth0, because of this unaware audience, has involved implementing training and educational processes for these businesses. Showing them why cybersecurity is so important and teaching them to implement good first steps like stronger passwords is vital for marketing efforts and product led growth. 
“In nonprofits, in startups, there's a big shareholder footprint, stakeholder footprint, people that are affected by what the organization does. Educating that audience is good. Making them understand what cybersecurity truly is is good, so they implement at least the simple things.” 
 
How does Auth0 implement product-led growth? 
Auth0’s freemium, self-service product can satisfy just about everyone. The secret sauce of their success? Increasing customer advocacy and refusing friction. Good documentation, strong outside of network customer support, being active with customers, and having your staff invigorated about your product all contribute to a more satisfying and therefore more trustworthy environment, which keeps companies coming back for more.
“If you're building community, you're working with developers, you're working with individuals, you're working with smaller organizations, and you're putting a free or cheap product in front of them, whether it be discounted enterprise or freemium model, you're developing that trust.”
 
What are you doing for this user so they feel like they're being treated like an enterprise, even though they may be a team of one? 20:13
Self-service customers are rarely given the same treatment as enterprise customers in most companies, Peter explains, but Auth0 works hard to provide the documentation and ease of access needed to make things as frictionless as possible for those users. Additionally, validating an organization’s startup or nonprofit status can take time and create friction, too. Auth0 works with third-party organ

Corporate Social Responsibility & Fiberglass Alligator Bites with Peter Wheeler

How do you make B2B cybersecurity marketing interesting? This episode brings Travis Hawley, the Director of Media at BlueVoyant, to the Breaking Through in Cybersecurity Marketing podcast to find out. He talks about his background that led him to cybersecurity marketing, his current role at BlueVoyant, how companies can use emerging media to promote products or services, and indeed how to make B2B cybersecurity marketing more interesting. Plus, Travis shares the Facebook groups he created and introverts in cybersecurity.


Timecoded Guide:

 [05:20] What BlueVoyant does and the stage of the company

[08:40] How companies with limited resources can use emerging media

[11:17] How to make B2B marketing engaging, educational, and sticky
[23:14] How to get your employees engaging and sharing content
[27:26] How to get founders or CEOs engaged and what to do if you can’t
[42:21] Travis’ Facebook groups and meme culture
 
What is emerging media and how can companies with limited resources use it?
Traditional media is your white papers, blogs, reports, email marketing, etc. Those have their place and are useful but emerging media is two-fold. But Travis believes it’s video but it’s also what new platforms arise (like TikTok). In terms of limited resources, work with what you do have. For example, if you have a two-hour long webinar already recorded, you can take that and break it up into shorter 30-second video clips. Now you have content already done you can simply post in your marketing campaign.
“If you have limited resources, you have to be creative. And you may not be able to do it at the scale you want. But you can still get video out there, even if it isn't the most ideal video experience that you want. Start small, start with what you have, and just start creating that account of the data of any kind of video and you'll most likely start seeing the results of that.”
 
How do you make B2B marketing engaging?
Travis says you need two big things: faces and voices. People want to engage with content featuring someone who looks like them and talks like them. Graphics and the like aren’t engaging enough. You need to feature the faces and voices of your target audience and/or your employees, because people don’t buy from companies; they buy from people. You can even do an animated video of text of someone's quote and their headshot.
“So to me, in most cases, all content will fall under two buckets: it's either educational, or I would say utilitarian, useful. Or it's entertaining. And then hopefully, the best of both worlds is if you can have overlap there. And if they are educational and entertaining, and there's overlap to some degree, then the content is sticky, you're gonna have retention.


How do you get employees engaged with marketing?
Again, faces and voices. In Travis’ experience, employees generally like to celebrate their co-workers achievements. So if you post a video of someone in one department and tell the rest of the company, it’s much more impactful than a paid actor. Because the employees know this person, they work with this person, they want to support this person. Employees don’t necessarily have a relationship with other employees, but they have a relationship with their co-workers.
“Employee advocacy starts from the ground up, any employee needs to be empowered to create content, to co-develop content, to ideate content, and to star in the content. And that's how you get people to want to engage more is to support their own colleagues.
 
What about founders, how do you get founders or CEOs engaged with marketing strategy?
Founders and C-suite executives are very busy people. So start with trying to figure out the value that marketing is adding to your company, go to the data. Show the founder the value and see if you can get buy-in from them but if you can’t, that’s okay. You can find other influencers and subject matter experts in the company who want to advocate for the services and the company itself. Employees are just as effective evangelizers.
“They're the leaders of the company. And they have the most knowledge and on the vision and on the services and things like that. But you don't need them, let's just be honest, you don't.”
---------- 
Links: 
Get tickets for our upcoming <a href='https://cybersecuritymarketingsociety.com/conference2022/'>CyberMarketingCon2022</a> 
Spend some time with our guest Travis Hawley on his <a href='https://www.linkedin.com/in/travishawley21/'>LinkedIn</a> or on his <a href='https://twitter.com/TravHawley'>Twitter</a>.

Follow Gianna on<a href='https://www.linkedin.com/in/giannawhitver/'> LinkedIn

</a>Catch up with Maria on<a href='https://www.linkedin.com/in/maria-vepa/'> LinkedIn

</a>Join the Cybersecurity Marketing Society on<a href='https://cybersecuritymarketingsociety.com'> our website</a>, and keep up with us on<a href='https://twitter.com/CyberMSociety'> Twitter

</a>Keep up with Hacker Valley on<a href='https://hackervalley.com'> our website</a>,<a href='https://www.linkedin.com/company/hackervalleystudio/'> LinkedIn</a>,<a href='https://www.instagram.com/hackervalleymedia/'> Instagram</a>, and<a href='https://twitter.com/TheHackerValley'> Twitter</a>

How do you make B2B cybersecurity marketing interesting? This episode brings Travis Hawley, the Director of Media at BlueVoyant, to the Breaking Through in Cybersecurity Marketing podcast to find out. He talks about his background that led him to cybersecurity marketing, his current role at BlueVoyant, how companies can use emerging media to promote products or services, and indeed how to make B2B cybersecurity marketing more interesting. Plus, Travis shares the Facebook groups he created and introverts in cybersecurity.


Timecoded Guide:

 [05:20] What BlueVoyant does and the stage of the company

[08:40] How companies with limited resources can use emerging media

[11:17] How to make B2B marketing engaging, educational, and sticky
[23:14] How to get your employees engaging and sharing content
[27:26] How to get founders or CEOs engaged and what to do if you can’t
[42:21] Travis’ Facebook groups and meme culture
 
What is emerging media and how can companies with limited resources use it?
Traditional media is your white papers, blogs, reports, email marketing, etc. Those have their place and are useful but emerging media is two-fold. But Travis believes it’s video but it’s also what new platforms arise (like TikTok). In terms of limited resources, work with what you do have. For example, if you have a two-hour long webinar already recorded, you can take that and break it up into shorter 30-second video clips. Now you have content already done you can simply post in your marketing campaign.
“If you have limited resources, you have to be creative. And you may not be able to do it at the scale you want. But you can still get video out there, even if it isn't the most ideal video experience that you want. Start small, start with what you have, and just start creating that account of the data of any kind of video and you'll most likely start seeing the results of that.”
 
How do you make B2B marketing engaging?
Travis says you need two big things: faces and voices. People want to engage with content featuring someone who looks like them and talks like them. Graphics and the like aren’t engaging enough. You need to feature the faces and voices of your target audience and/or your employees, because people don’t buy from companies; they buy from people. You can even do an animated video of text of someone's quote and their headshot.
“So to me, in most cases, all content will fall under two buckets: it's either educational, or I would say utilitarian, useful. Or it's entertaining. And then hopefully, the best of both worlds is if you can have overlap there. And if they are educational and entertaining, and there's overlap to some degree, then the content is sticky, you're gonna have retention.


How do you get employees engaged with marketing?
Again, faces and voices. In Travis’ experience, employees generally like to celebrate their co-workers achievements. So if you post a video of someone in one department and tell the rest of the company, it’s much more impactful than a paid actor. Because the employees know this person, they work with this person, they want to support this person. Employees don’t necessarily have a relationship with other employees, but they have a relationship with their co-workers.
“Employee advocacy starts from the ground up, any employee needs to be empowered to create content, to co-develop content, to ideate content, and to star in the content. And that's how you get people to want to engage more is to support their own colleagues.
 
What about founders, how do you get founders or CEOs engaged with marketing strategy?
Founders and C-suite executives are very busy people. So start with trying to figure out the value that marketing is adding to your company, go to the data. Show the founder the value and see if you can get buy-in from them but if you can’t, that’s okay. You can find other influencers and subject matter experts in the company who want to advocate for the services and the company itself. Employees are just as effective evangelizers.
“They're the leaders of the company. And they have the most knowledge and on the vision and on the services and things like that. But you don't need them, let's just be honest, you don't.”
---------- 
Links: 
Get tickets for our upcoming <a href='https://cybersecuritymarketingsociety.com/conference2022/'>CyberMarketingCon2022</a> 
Spend some time with our guest Travis Hawley on his <a href='https://www.linkedin.com/in/travishawley21/'>LinkedIn</a> or on his <a href='https://twitter.com/TravHawley'>Twitter</a>.

Follow Gianna on<a href='https://www.linkedin.com/in/giannawhitver/'> LinkedIn

</a>Catch up with Maria on<a href='https://www.linkedin.com/in/maria-vepa/'> LinkedIn

</a>Join the Cybersecurity Marketing Society on<a href='https://cybersecuritymarketingsociety.com'> our website</a>, and keep up with us on<a href='https://twitter.com/CyberMSociety'> Twitter

</a>Keep up with Hacker Valley on<a href='https://hackervalley.com'> our website</a>,<a href='https://www.linkedin.com/company/hackervalleystudio/'> LinkedIn</a>,<a href='https://www.instagram.com/hackervalleymedia/'> Instagram</a>, and<a href='https://twitter.com/TheHackerValley'> Twitter</a>

breaking-through-cyber-marketing.podbean.com/56b0bce3-683d-3bd0-848f-7c5dbcf86f10

How do you make B2B cybersecurity marketing interesting? This episode brings Travis Hawley, the Director of Media at BlueVoyant, to the Breaking Through in Cybersecurity Marketing podcast to find out. He talks about his background that led him to cyb...

How do you make B2B cybersecurity marketing interesting? This episode brings Travis Hawley, the Director of Media at BlueVoyant, to the Breaking Through in Cybersecurity Marketing podcast to find out. He talks about his background that led him to cybersecurity marketing, his current role at BlueVoyant, how companies can use emerging media to promote products or services, and indeed how to make B2B cybersecurity marketing more interesting. Plus, Travis shares the Facebook groups he created and introverts in cybersecurity.
Timecoded Guide: [05:20] What BlueVoyant does and the stage of the company
[08:40] How companies with limited resources can use emerging media
[11:17] How to make B2B marketing engaging, educational, and sticky
[23:14] How to get your employees engaging and sharing content
[27:26] How to get founders or CEOs engaged and what to do if you can’t
[42:21] Travis’ Facebook groups and meme culture 
What is emerging media and how can companies with limited resources use it?
Traditional media is your white papers, blogs, reports, email marketing, etc. Those have their place and are useful but emerging media is two-fold. But Travis believes it’s video but it’s also what new platforms arise (like TikTok). In terms of limited resources, work with what you do have. For example, if you have a two-hour long webinar already recorded, you can take that and break it up into shorter 30-second video clips. Now you have content already done you can simply post in your marketing campaign.
“If you have limited resources, you have to be creative. And you may not be able to do it at the scale you want. But you can still get video out there, even if it isn't the most ideal video experience that you want. Start small, start with what you have, and just start creating that account of the data of any kind of video and you'll most likely start seeing the results of that.”
 
How do you make B2B marketing engaging?
Travis says you need two big things: faces and voices. People want to engage with content featuring someone who looks like them and talks like them. Graphics and the like aren’t engaging enough. You need to feature the faces and voices of your target audience and/or your employees, because people don’t buy from companies; they buy from people. You can even do an animated video of text of someone's quote and their headshot.
“So to me, in most cases, all content will fall under two buckets: it's either educational, or I would say utilitarian, useful. Or it's entertaining. And then hopefully, the best of both worlds is if you can have overlap there. And if they are educational and entertaining, and there's overlap to some degree, then the content is sticky, you're gonna have retention.How do you get employees engaged with marketing?
Again, faces and voices. In Travis’ experience, employees generally like to celebrate their co-workers achievements. So if you post a video of someone in one department and tell the rest of the company, it’s much more impactful than a paid actor. Because the employees know this person, they work with this person, they want to support this person. Employees don’t necessarily have a relationship with other employees, but they have a relationship with their co-workers.
“Employee advocacy starts from the ground up, any employee needs to be empowered to create content, to co-develop content, to ideate content, and to star in the content. And that's how you get people to want to engage more is to support their own colleagues.
 
What about founders, how do you get founders or CEOs engaged with marketing strategy?
Founders and C-suite executives are very busy people. So start with trying to figure out the value that marketing is adding to your company, go to the data. Show the founder the value and see if you can get buy-in from them but if you can’t, that’s okay. You can find other influencers and subject matter experts in the company who want to advocate for the services and the company itself. Emp

B2B Cybersecurity Marketing Tactics with Travis Hawley

“Brand marketing” may sound like just another branding buzzword, but this episode tackles this concept as a real strategy with data behind it. Kayla Rice, Senior Manager of Brand and Creative Studio at SpyCloud, joins the pod to discuss brand awareness, brand marketing strategy, refresh vs. rebrand, and so much more about all things branding. Learn how to make brand marketing a part of your marketing growth team, how to handle a big or small brand refresh, and how to balance your messaging across platforms.


Timecoded Guide:
 
[03:20] Deciphering Kayla’s title: Senior Manager of Brand and Creative Studio

[07:48] Focusing marketing team members on seeing brand as influencing pipeline

[15:39] Comparing and contrasting brand refresh and rebrand
[23:59] Understanding the phenomenon of debranding
[34:28] Balancing your brand messaging across social media platforms 
[40:58] Looking at metrics from a brand growing perspective
 
How do you get non-brand focused marketers to see brand as influencing a sales pipeline?
Focusing your marketing team on branding can depend on the size of the organization, according to Kayla. In smaller organizations, there are pieces to branding that every member of the marketing team can appreciate. Smaller teams also encourage members to work together to create the best experience for audience members and product launches, whereas teams at larger organizations can have less interconnectedness and less role appreciation.
“Whether it be launching a sponsored report, whether that be podcast ads, organic, social, there's so many levers your company can pull to really make people understand who you are, what you stand for, what you're trying to solve, and the people who are backing all of that.”
 
What’s the difference between a brand refresh and a rebrand?
Some marketing teams think they’ve changed color palette or logo and they’ve rebranded. Unfortunately, Kayla explains that this is not the case. A rebrand happens in situations when you experience an acquisition or you’re truly renaming your company. In contrast, a brand refresh is more of an evolution of your brand. It’s taking from what you’ve learned in your brand marketing campaigns and growing upon those lessons with your team.
“It really is so much more than just updating a logo or color palette, it's really digging into: What is your messaging framework? Who are you going after? It’s being able to speak to them where they are, meet them where they are, and then, dangling that carrot in front of them of what could be.”
 
How do you balance your messaging across social media platforms?
Kayla believes that balance across social media platforms requires staying flexible and adaptable. Marketing teams can and should adjust their tone depending on the channel and messaging. Social media should be more of a place to experiment and see what works with your brand and audience, as well as what doesn’t. Do your market research, adjust your content across popular social media platforms, and see where each step takes you.
“It's been really exciting to see and it's ever growing, and always new ideas and new things that we're going to do.”
 
What metrics should you look at from the perspective of growing your brand?
While metrics should be measured in different ways depending on the source, Kayla explains that website metrics should involve visits, time on the page, and click-through rates. From a social media perspective, follower count matters, even if it feels like a vanity check. More followers and visitors equals more eyeballs on your content and a larger potential user base. Kayla also advises not to forget about reposts, reshares, and interactions with your paid ads.
“If we're opting to do paid ads or podcast sponsorships, for example. Okay, what is their viewer or their listenership? What does their audience look like? How many times are we a participant in that? How many downloads were there?”
---------- 
Links: 
Get tickets for our upcoming <a href='https://cybersecuritymarketingsociety.com/conference2022/'>CyberMarketingCon2022</a> 
Spend some time with our guest Kayla Rice on her <a href='https://www.linkedin.com/in/kaylarice'>LinkedIn</a> or email her at <a href='mailto:kayla.rice@SpyCloud.com'>kayla.rice@SpyCloud.com

</a>Follow Gianna on<a href='https://www.linkedin.com/in/giannawhitver/'> LinkedIn

</a>Catch up with Maria on<a href='https://www.linkedin.com/in/maria-vepa/'> LinkedIn

</a>Join the Cybersecurity Marketing Society on<a href='https://cybersecuritymarketingsociety.com'> our website</a>, and keep up with us on<a href='https://twitter.com/CyberMSociety'> Twitter

</a>Keep up with Hacker Valley on<a href='https://hackervalley.com'> our website</a>,<a href='https://www.linkedin.com/company/hackervalleystudio/'> LinkedIn</a>,<a href='https://www.instagram.com/hackervalleymedia/'> Instagram</a>, and<a href='https://twitter.com/TheHackerValley'> Twitter</a>

“Brand marketing” may sound like just another branding buzzword, but this episode tackles this concept as a real strategy with data behind it. Kayla Rice, Senior Manager of Brand and Creative Studio at SpyCloud, joins the pod to discuss brand awareness, brand marketing strategy, refresh vs. rebrand, and so much more about all things branding. Learn how to make brand marketing a part of your marketing growth team, how to handle a big or small brand refresh, and how to balance your messaging across platforms.


Timecoded Guide:
 
[03:20] Deciphering Kayla’s title: Senior Manager of Brand and Creative Studio

[07:48] Focusing marketing team members on seeing brand as influencing pipeline

[15:39] Comparing and contrasting brand refresh and rebrand
[23:59] Understanding the phenomenon of debranding
[34:28] Balancing your brand messaging across social media platforms 
[40:58] Looking at metrics from a brand growing perspective
 
How do you get non-brand focused marketers to see brand as influencing a sales pipeline?
Focusing your marketing team on branding can depend on the size of the organization, according to Kayla. In smaller organizations, there are pieces to branding that every member of the marketing team can appreciate. Smaller teams also encourage members to work together to create the best experience for audience members and product launches, whereas teams at larger organizations can have less interconnectedness and less role appreciation.
“Whether it be launching a sponsored report, whether that be podcast ads, organic, social, there's so many levers your company can pull to really make people understand who you are, what you stand for, what you're trying to solve, and the people who are backing all of that.”
 
What’s the difference between a brand refresh and a rebrand?
Some marketing teams think they’ve changed color palette or logo and they’ve rebranded. Unfortunately, Kayla explains that this is not the case. A rebrand happens in situations when you experience an acquisition or you’re truly renaming your company. In contrast, a brand refresh is more of an evolution of your brand. It’s taking from what you’ve learned in your brand marketing campaigns and growing upon those lessons with your team.
“It really is so much more than just updating a logo or color palette, it's really digging into: What is your messaging framework? Who are you going after? It’s being able to speak to them where they are, meet them where they are, and then, dangling that carrot in front of them of what could be.”
 
How do you balance your messaging across social media platforms?
Kayla believes that balance across social media platforms requires staying flexible and adaptable. Marketing teams can and should adjust their tone depending on the channel and messaging. Social media should be more of a place to experiment and see what works with your brand and audience, as well as what doesn’t. Do your market research, adjust your content across popular social media platforms, and see where each step takes you.
“It's been really exciting to see and it's ever growing, and always new ideas and new things that we're going to do.”
 
What metrics should you look at from the perspective of growing your brand?
While metrics should be measured in different ways depending on the source, Kayla explains that website metrics should involve visits, time on the page, and click-through rates. From a social media perspective, follower count matters, even if it feels like a vanity check. More followers and visitors equals more eyeballs on your content and a larger potential user base. Kayla also advises not to forget about reposts, reshares, and interactions with your paid ads.
“If we're opting to do paid ads or podcast sponsorships, for example. Okay, what is their viewer or their listenership? What does their audience look like? How many times are we a participant in that? How many downloads were there?”
---------- 
Links: 
Get tickets for our upcoming <a href='https://cybersecuritymarketingsociety.com/conference2022/'>CyberMarketingCon2022</a> 
Spend some time with our guest Kayla Rice on her <a href='https://www.linkedin.com/in/kaylarice'>LinkedIn</a> or email her at <a href='mailto:kayla.rice@SpyCloud.com'>kayla.rice@SpyCloud.com

</a>Follow Gianna on<a href='https://www.linkedin.com/in/giannawhitver/'> LinkedIn

</a>Catch up with Maria on<a href='https://www.linkedin.com/in/maria-vepa/'> LinkedIn

</a>Join the Cybersecurity Marketing Society on<a href='https://cybersecuritymarketingsociety.com'> our website</a>, and keep up with us on<a href='https://twitter.com/CyberMSociety'> Twitter

</a>Keep up with Hacker Valley on<a href='https://hackervalley.com'> our website</a>,<a href='https://www.linkedin.com/company/hackervalleystudio/'> LinkedIn</a>,<a href='https://www.instagram.com/hackervalleymedia/'> Instagram</a>, and<a href='https://twitter.com/TheHackerValley'> Twitter</a>

breaking-through-cyber-marketing.podbean.com/3f9582e4-958e-362c-b354-f4f2537c24e4

“Brand marketing” may sound like just another branding buzzword, but this episode tackles this concept as a real strategy with data behind it. Kayla Rice, Senior Manager of Brand and Creative Studio at SpyCloud, joins the pod to discuss brand awarene...

“Brand marketing” may sound like just another branding buzzword, but this episode tackles this concept as a real strategy with data behind it. Kayla Rice, Senior Manager of Brand and Creative Studio at SpyCloud, joins the pod to discuss brand awareness, brand marketing strategy, refresh vs. rebrand, and so much more about all things branding. Learn how to make brand marketing a part of your marketing growth team, how to handle a big or small brand refresh, and how to balance your messaging across platforms.
Timecoded Guide: [03:20] Deciphering Kayla’s title: Senior Manager of Brand and Creative Studio
[07:48] Focusing marketing team members on seeing brand as influencing pipeline
[15:39] Comparing and contrasting brand refresh and rebrand
[23:59] Understanding the phenomenon of debranding
[34:28] Balancing your brand messaging across social media platforms 
[40:58] Looking at metrics from a brand growing perspective 
How do you get non-brand focused marketers to see brand as influencing a sales pipeline?
Focusing your marketing team on branding can depend on the size of the organization, according to Kayla. In smaller organizations, there are pieces to branding that every member of the marketing team can appreciate. Smaller teams also encourage members to work together to create the best experience for audience members and product launches, whereas teams at larger organizations can have less interconnectedness and less role appreciation.
“Whether it be launching a sponsored report, whether that be podcast ads, organic, social, there's so many levers your company can pull to really make people understand who you are, what you stand for, what you're trying to solve, and the people who are backing all of that.”
 
What’s the difference between a brand refresh and a rebrand?
Some marketing teams think they’ve changed color palette or logo and they’ve rebranded. Unfortunately, Kayla explains that this is not the case. A rebrand happens in situations when you experience an acquisition or you’re truly renaming your company. In contrast, a brand refresh is more of an evolution of your brand. It’s taking from what you’ve learned in your brand marketing campaigns and growing upon those lessons with your team.
“It really is so much more than just updating a logo or color palette, it's really digging into: What is your messaging framework? Who are you going after? It’s being able to speak to them where they are, meet them where they are, and then, dangling that carrot in front of them of what could be.”
 
How do you balance your messaging across social media platforms?
Kayla believes that balance across social media platforms requires staying flexible and adaptable. Marketing teams can and should adjust their tone depending on the channel and messaging. Social media should be more of a place to experiment and see what works with your brand and audience, as well as what doesn’t. Do your market research, adjust your content across popular social media platforms, and see where each step takes you.
“It's been really exciting to see and it's ever growing, and always new ideas and new things that we're going to do.”
 
What metrics should you look at from the perspective of growing your brand?
While metrics should be measured in different ways depending on the source, Kayla explains that website metrics should involve visits, time on the page, and click-through rates. From a social media perspective, follower count matters, even if it feels like a vanity check. More followers and visitors equals more eyeballs on your content and a larger potential user base. Kayla also advises not to forget about reposts, reshares, and interactions with your paid ads.
“If we're opting to do paid ads or podcast sponsorships, for example. Okay, what is their viewer or their listenership? What does their audience look like? How many times are we a participant in that? How many downloads were there?”
---------- 
Links: 
Get tickets for our upcoming CyberM

Hitting the Refresh Button on Your Brand Marketing with Kayla Rice

We’re joined this week by Jason Cenamor, Founder of the CISO Society, to talk about the community he’s focused on building for fellow CISOs, as well as his extensive background in cybersecurity events. Events aren’t always an easy topic for cybersecurity marketers looking to make the most of their marketing budgets, but Jason has the dirt on all things events; the good, the bad, and the downright scary. Looking to spot an event red flag before it wastes your time and money? Jason is your guy!
 
Timecoded Guide:
[00:00] Introducing Jason Cenamor & the CISO Society
[05:50] Transitioning from cyber event management into community building
[15:59] Noticing best event strategies & prioritizing transparent event vendors
[24:16] Understanding the value of custom curated events and targeted invite lists
[32:27] Building events better to provide value and community in cybersecurity
[41:59] Getting the best price from event vendors, no matter who you choose
 
Did you envision your career would shift towards community building, content creation, and networking?
Until recently, Jason didn’t consider his career path would’ve evolved and shifted into a focus on the CISO Society. Originally started as a side project, the CISO Society was born from Jason’s passion for building community and putting on hybrid in-person and virtual events. When the Society took off and continued to grow larger under Jason’s care, he realized more and more of his passion and energy belonged with the CISOs he was working with everyday. 
“I started the CISO Society as a side project, because obviously, what's better than to start developing a network of CISOs that I could get access to for real market intelligence when I'm working with these advisory boards.” 
 
What are some noticeable green lights of a good event vendor for cyber marketers to look out for? 
While Jason dives deep into the red flags of bad cybersecurity event vendors, he also reassures us that there are incredible events out there. Jason recommends his favorite companies, including the always consistent Evanta, but more than that, he gives us advice on what makes a good cybersecurity event. Unsurprisingly for cybersecurity practitioners, transparency in invitees and agendas signify an event vendor is much more trustworthy. 
“I think the key is how transparent the event company is going to be with the information they give you. A typical tactic of some event companies is to password protect their attendee list. In my personal opinion, all that does is show that you have something to hide.”
 
What are the event vendor red flags we should worry about?
We want the dirt on what makes an event vendor a waste of time or resources, and Jason delivers with a list of red flags. From password protected invite lists to calendars full of unpromising events to not giving money back, Jason has seen the worst of the worst in events. Despite the scary practices in place, Jason is happy to report that many of these elements are on the outs in the cyber world as we continue to call companies out and hold them accountable in groups like the Cyber Marketing Society.
“That is such an important question for any vendor to ask: How are you forming the agenda? Because that shows how much they care about the CISO experience or not. If they don't care about the CISO experience, they're not going to have a good audience.”
 
What sort of content makes a good event for CISOs? 
Many of the event vendors Jason discusses with us have been approved not only by his own experience running events, but by his fellow CISOs in the CISO Society. But what really makes an event worth it for a CISO? Why are they showing up, and how can we help them show up more? Jason explains that CISOs thrive in a collaborative environment and don’t just want pitch after pitch of standalone presentations. 
“CISOs actually provide more value in collaborative roundtable discussions, right? That will always be my recommendation. It's great to stand up and to do your thing, but it's better to be part of a conversation and then say, ‘Can I come to your office and do my thing?’”
----------
Links:
Get tickets for our upcoming <a href='https://cybersecuritymarketingsociety.com/conference2022/'>Cyber Marketing Con 2022</a>. 
Spend some time with our guest Jason Cenamor on the <a href='https://www.thecisosociety.com/leadership'>CISO Society website</a>, or send him an email at <a href='mailto:Jason@LoremAdvisory.com'>Jason@LoremAdvisory.com</a>.
Check out some of the events Jason mentioned on the show: <a href='https://www.evanta.com/calendar'>Evanta</a>, <a href='https://hmgstrategy.com/events/overview'>HMG Strategy</a>, <a href='https://www.cvisionintl.com/events/'>C-Vision International</a>, <a href='https://www.cxosync.com'>CXOSync</a>, <a href='https://securitycurrent.com/events/'>Security Current</a>, <a href='https://cisosconnect.com'>CISOs Connect</a>, <a href='https://psialliance.org/events/'>PSI Alliance</a>
Learn more about the CISO Society on <a href='https://www.thecisosociety.com'>their website</a>.
Follow Gianna on <a href='https://www.linkedin.com/in/giannawhitver/'>LinkedIn</a>.
Catch up with Maria on <a href='https://www.linkedin.com/in/maria-vepa/'>LinkedIn</a>.
Join the Cybersecurity Marketing Society on <a href='https://cybersecuritymarketingsociety.com'>our website</a>, and keep up with us on <a href='https://twitter.com/CyberMSociety'>Twitter</a>.
Keep up with Hacker Valley on <a href='https://hackervalley.com'>our website</a>, <a href='https://www.linkedin.com/company/hackervalleystudio/'>LinkedIn</a>, <a href='https://www.instagram.com/hackervalleymedia/'>Instagram</a>, and <a href='https://twitter.com/TheHackerValley'>Twitter</a>.

We’re joined this week by Jason Cenamor, Founder of the CISO Society, to talk about the community he’s focused on building for fellow CISOs, as well as his extensive background in cybersecurity events. Events aren’t always an easy topic for cybersecurity marketers looking to make the most of their marketing budgets, but Jason has the dirt on all things events; the good, the bad, and the downright scary. Looking to spot an event red flag before it wastes your time and money? Jason is your guy!
 
Timecoded Guide:
[00:00] Introducing Jason Cenamor & the CISO Society
[05:50] Transitioning from cyber event management into community building
[15:59] Noticing best event strategies & prioritizing transparent event vendors
[24:16] Understanding the value of custom curated events and targeted invite lists
[32:27] Building events better to provide value and community in cybersecurity
[41:59] Getting the best price from event vendors, no matter who you choose
 
Did you envision your career would shift towards community building, content creation, and networking?
Until recently, Jason didn’t consider his career path would’ve evolved and shifted into a focus on the CISO Society. Originally started as a side project, the CISO Society was born from Jason’s passion for building community and putting on hybrid in-person and virtual events. When the Society took off and continued to grow larger under Jason’s care, he realized more and more of his passion and energy belonged with the CISOs he was working with everyday. 
“I started the CISO Society as a side project, because obviously, what's better than to start developing a network of CISOs that I could get access to for real market intelligence when I'm working with these advisory boards.” 
 
What are some noticeable green lights of a good event vendor for cyber marketers to look out for? 
While Jason dives deep into the red flags of bad cybersecurity event vendors, he also reassures us that there are incredible events out there. Jason recommends his favorite companies, including the always consistent Evanta, but more than that, he gives us advice on what makes a good cybersecurity event. Unsurprisingly for cybersecurity practitioners, transparency in invitees and agendas signify an event vendor is much more trustworthy. 
“I think the key is how transparent the event company is going to be with the information they give you. A typical tactic of some event companies is to password protect their attendee list. In my personal opinion, all that does is show that you have something to hide.”
 
What are the event vendor red flags we should worry about?
We want the dirt on what makes an event vendor a waste of time or resources, and Jason delivers with a list of red flags. From password protected invite lists to calendars full of unpromising events to not giving money back, Jason has seen the worst of the worst in events. Despite the scary practices in place, Jason is happy to report that many of these elements are on the outs in the cyber world as we continue to call companies out and hold them accountable in groups like the Cyber Marketing Society.
“That is such an important question for any vendor to ask: How are you forming the agenda? Because that shows how much they care about the CISO experience or not. If they don't care about the CISO experience, they're not going to have a good audience.”
 
What sort of content makes a good event for CISOs? 
Many of the event vendors Jason discusses with us have been approved not only by his own experience running events, but by his fellow CISOs in the CISO Society. But what really makes an event worth it for a CISO? Why are they showing up, and how can we help them show up more? Jason explains that CISOs thrive in a collaborative environment and don’t just want pitch after pitch of standalone presentations. 
“CISOs actually provide more value in collaborative roundtable discussions, right? That will always be my recommendation. It's great to stand up and to do your thing, but it's better to be part of a conversation and then say, ‘Can I come to your office and do my thing?’”
----------
Links:
Get tickets for our upcoming <a href='https://cybersecuritymarketingsociety.com/conference2022/'>Cyber Marketing Con 2022</a>. 
Spend some time with our guest Jason Cenamor on the <a href='https://www.thecisosociety.com/leadership'>CISO Society website</a>, or send him an email at <a href='mailto:Jason@LoremAdvisory.com'>Jason@LoremAdvisory.com</a>.
Check out some of the events Jason mentioned on the show: <a href='https://www.evanta.com/calendar'>Evanta</a>, <a href='https://hmgstrategy.com/events/overview'>HMG Strategy</a>, <a href='https://www.cvisionintl.com/events/'>C-Vision International</a>, <a href='https://www.cxosync.com'>CXOSync</a>, <a href='https://securitycurrent.com/events/'>Security Current</a>, <a href='https://cisosconnect.com'>CISOs Connect</a>, <a href='https://psialliance.org/events/'>PSI Alliance</a>
Learn more about the CISO Society on <a href='https://www.thecisosociety.com'>their website</a>.
Follow Gianna on <a href='https://www.linkedin.com/in/giannawhitver/'>LinkedIn</a>.
Catch up with Maria on <a href='https://www.linkedin.com/in/maria-vepa/'>LinkedIn</a>.
Join the Cybersecurity Marketing Society on <a href='https://cybersecuritymarketingsociety.com'>our website</a>, and keep up with us on <a href='https://twitter.com/CyberMSociety'>Twitter</a>.
Keep up with Hacker Valley on <a href='https://hackervalley.com'>our website</a>, <a href='https://www.linkedin.com/company/hackervalleystudio/'>LinkedIn</a>, <a href='https://www.instagram.com/hackervalleymedia/'>Instagram</a>, and <a href='https://twitter.com/TheHackerValley'>Twitter</a>.

breaking-through-cyber-marketing.podbean.com/12894806-f508-30ba-89a6-6e288cb65b3d

We’re joined this week by Jason Cenamor, Founder of the CISO Society, to talk about the community he’s focused on building for fellow CISOs, as well as his extensive background in cybersecurity events. Events aren’t always an easy topic for cybersecu...

We’re joined this week by Jason Cenamor, Founder of the CISO Society, to talk about the community he’s focused on building for fellow CISOs, as well as his extensive background in cybersecurity events. Events aren’t always an easy topic for cybersecurity marketers looking to make the most of their marketing budgets, but Jason has the dirt on all things events; the good, the bad, and the downright scary. Looking to spot an event red flag before it wastes your time and money? Jason is your guy!
 
Timecoded Guide:
[00:00] Introducing Jason Cenamor & the CISO Society
[05:50] Transitioning from cyber event management into community building
[15:59] Noticing best event strategies & prioritizing transparent event vendors
[24:16] Understanding the value of custom curated events and targeted invite lists
[32:27] Building events better to provide value and community in cybersecurity
[41:59] Getting the best price from event vendors, no matter who you choose
 
Did you envision your career would shift towards community building, content creation, and networking?
Until recently, Jason didn’t consider his career path would’ve evolved and shifted into a focus on the CISO Society. Originally started as a side project, the CISO Society was born from Jason’s passion for building community and putting on hybrid in-person and virtual events. When the Society took off and continued to grow larger under Jason’s care, he realized more and more of his passion and energy belonged with the CISOs he was working with everyday. 
“I started the CISO Society as a side project, because obviously, what's better than to start developing a network of CISOs that I could get access to for real market intelligence when I'm working with these advisory boards.” 
 
What are some noticeable green lights of a good event vendor for cyber marketers to look out for? 
While Jason dives deep into the red flags of bad cybersecurity event vendors, he also reassures us that there are incredible events out there. Jason recommends his favorite companies, including the always consistent Evanta, but more than that, he gives us advice on what makes a good cybersecurity event. Unsurprisingly for cybersecurity practitioners, transparency in invitees and agendas signify an event vendor is much more trustworthy. 
“I think the key is how transparent the event company is going to be with the information they give you. A typical tactic of some event companies is to password protect their attendee list. In my personal opinion, all that does is show that you have something to hide.”
 
What are the event vendor red flags we should worry about?
We want the dirt on what makes an event vendor a waste of time or resources, and Jason delivers with a list of red flags. From password protected invite lists to calendars full of unpromising events to not giving money back, Jason has seen the worst of the worst in events. Despite the scary practices in place, Jason is happy to report that many of these elements are on the outs in the cyber world as we continue to call companies out and hold them accountable in groups like the Cyber Marketing Society.
“That is such an important question for any vendor to ask: How are you forming the agenda? Because that shows how much they care about the CISO experience or not. If they don't care about the CISO experience, they're not going to have a good audience.”
 
What sort of content makes a good event for CISOs? 
Many of the event vendors Jason discusses with us have been approved not only by his own experience running events, but by his fellow CISOs in the CISO Society. But what really makes an event worth it for a CISO? Why are they showing up, and how can we help them show up more? Jason explains that CISOs thrive in a collaborative environment and don’t just want pitch after pitch of standalone presentations. 
“CISOs actually provide more value in collaborative roundtable discussions, right? That will always be my recommendation. It's great to sta

The Scariest Cybersecurity Event Red Flags with Jason Cenamor

Serena Raymond, Marketing Director at DNS Filter, walks us through her career journey from social media content creation to Marketing Director at DNS Filter. Serena explains the recipe for virtual event strategy, including how to leverage social media and email marketing to gain speakers and attendees, as well as how your virtual event can translate directly to your sales pipeline. Serena also discusses her opinion on agency marketing company vs internal teams, and reveals her secrets for optimizing impact.

Timecoded Guide:
 [01:53] Moving from social media content creation to Marketing Director

[05:12] Getting started with virtual event marketing strategy

[12:52] Understanding what makes your virtual event worthwhile for sales
[20:25] Taking advantage of being on the internal side of marketing
[25:23] Comparing and contrasting agency and internal marketing
 
How should you host a successful virtual event?
A strong, successful virtual event should include both your company’s internal SMEs, or subject matter experts, and industry experts from outside of your organization. Serena recommends deciding first on the top tracks you want to pursue, before tackling speaker research. Once relevant, experienced speakers have been found, Serena explains that choosing an event platform that meets both your and your audience’s needs is essential.
“Our platform was a huge obstacle for doing a virtual event. There's so much vetting you have to do. I was kind of thinking, ‘Oh, we'll choose a platform and we’ll run.’ There's so much work that goes into that, and that was pretty eye opening.”


What is one key way to entice your desired audience to your virtual event?
Enticing your desired audience should start with LinkedIn and Google ads, which are consistently effective. However, Serena believes the key to your target audience resides with your speakers. Find speakers who appeal directly to your target audience and give them a high quality social media kit. Make it very easy for your speakers to share to followers and potential customers about your event with personalized images, text, and messaging.
“What I think was most key, above all else, was we had a lot of speakers who appeal to that audience. We gave them a really cool social kit, with the links and custom images with their faces, and they were able to share it with their audience on social media.”
 
How do you know if your online event is justifiable in terms of sales pipelines?The
justifiability of your virtual event extends beyond the pipeline and merges into retention. Your goal is to host an event that provides value to both your attendees and speakers. Serena recommends having sales touchpoints at your event, like a happy hour, where folks can gather and connect. Then, once you build that relationship, your sales and marketing teams can remind the potential client about the happy hour and follow up with them.
“We had a little happy hour after the event, and we had some customers come and we actually got great feedback from that. Our sales team was there and we chatted with that customer and took it offline, and we wouldn’t have had that conversation without that event.”

What’s the difference in effectiveness between internal marketing and agencies
With experience in both internal and agency marketing, Serena explains that a key difference between the two is that being at a marketing agency puts you on the “outside.” You’re not in the company’s Slack channels or taking part in staff meetings, and you don't have their customer service records. Marketers at agencies don’t have real buy-in or “skin in the game” when it comes to a specific company. The internal marketing teams, on the other hand, have crucial inside information that can help them perform better and boost employee engagement.
“One of the things I loved about being a marketer for a dedicated company, was I got to get really good at it. I got to go deep on the product and understand our audience. I got to listen in on demos, talk to customers, talk to people who aren't in marketing.”
---------- 
Links: 
Get tickets for our upcoming <a href='https://cybersecuritymarketingsociety.com/conference2022/'>CyberMarketingCon2022</a>. 
Spend some time with our guest Serena Raymond <a href='https://www.linkedin.com/in/serenaraymond/'>on LinkedIn</a>.
Follow Gianna on<a href='https://www.linkedin.com/in/giannawhitver/'> LinkedIn</a>.
Catch up with Maria on<a href='https://www.linkedin.com/in/maria-vepa/'> LinkedIn</a>.
Join the Cybersecurity Marketing Society on<a href='https://cybersecuritymarketingsociety.com'> our website</a>, and keep up with us on<a href='https://twitter.com/CyberMSociety'> Twitter</a>.

Keep up with Hacker Valley on<a href='https://hackervalley.com'> our website</a>,<a href='https://www.linkedin.com/company/hackervalleystudio/'> LinkedIn</a>,<a href='https://www.instagram.com/hackervalleymedia/'> Instagram</a>, and<a href='https://twitter.com/TheHackerValley'> Twitter</a>.

Serena Raymond, Marketing Director at DNS Filter, walks us through her career journey from social media content creation to Marketing Director at DNS Filter. Serena explains the recipe for virtual event strategy, including how to leverage social media and email marketing to gain speakers and attendees, as well as how your virtual event can translate directly to your sales pipeline. Serena also discusses her opinion on agency marketing company vs internal teams, and reveals her secrets for optimizing impact.

Timecoded Guide:
 [01:53] Moving from social media content creation to Marketing Director

[05:12] Getting started with virtual event marketing strategy

[12:52] Understanding what makes your virtual event worthwhile for sales
[20:25] Taking advantage of being on the internal side of marketing
[25:23] Comparing and contrasting agency and internal marketing
 
How should you host a successful virtual event?
A strong, successful virtual event should include both your company’s internal SMEs, or subject matter experts, and industry experts from outside of your organization. Serena recommends deciding first on the top tracks you want to pursue, before tackling speaker research. Once relevant, experienced speakers have been found, Serena explains that choosing an event platform that meets both your and your audience’s needs is essential.
“Our platform was a huge obstacle for doing a virtual event. There's so much vetting you have to do. I was kind of thinking, ‘Oh, we'll choose a platform and we’ll run.’ There's so much work that goes into that, and that was pretty eye opening.”


What is one key way to entice your desired audience to your virtual event?
Enticing your desired audience should start with LinkedIn and Google ads, which are consistently effective. However, Serena believes the key to your target audience resides with your speakers. Find speakers who appeal directly to your target audience and give them a high quality social media kit. Make it very easy for your speakers to share to followers and potential customers about your event with personalized images, text, and messaging.
“What I think was most key, above all else, was we had a lot of speakers who appeal to that audience. We gave them a really cool social kit, with the links and custom images with their faces, and they were able to share it with their audience on social media.”
 
How do you know if your online event is justifiable in terms of sales pipelines?The
justifiability of your virtual event extends beyond the pipeline and merges into retention. Your goal is to host an event that provides value to both your attendees and speakers. Serena recommends having sales touchpoints at your event, like a happy hour, where folks can gather and connect. Then, once you build that relationship, your sales and marketing teams can remind the potential client about the happy hour and follow up with them.
“We had a little happy hour after the event, and we had some customers come and we actually got great feedback from that. Our sales team was there and we chatted with that customer and took it offline, and we wouldn’t have had that conversation without that event.”

What’s the difference in effectiveness between internal marketing and agencies
With experience in both internal and agency marketing, Serena explains that a key difference between the two is that being at a marketing agency puts you on the “outside.” You’re not in the company’s Slack channels or taking part in staff meetings, and you don't have their customer service records. Marketers at agencies don’t have real buy-in or “skin in the game” when it comes to a specific company. The internal marketing teams, on the other hand, have crucial inside information that can help them perform better and boost employee engagement.
“One of the things I loved about being a marketer for a dedicated company, was I got to get really good at it. I got to go deep on the product and understand our audience. I got to listen in on demos, talk to customers, talk to people who aren't in marketing.”
---------- 
Links: 
Get tickets for our upcoming <a href='https://cybersecuritymarketingsociety.com/conference2022/'>CyberMarketingCon2022</a>. 
Spend some time with our guest Serena Raymond <a href='https://www.linkedin.com/in/serenaraymond/'>on LinkedIn</a>.
Follow Gianna on<a href='https://www.linkedin.com/in/giannawhitver/'> LinkedIn</a>.
Catch up with Maria on<a href='https://www.linkedin.com/in/maria-vepa/'> LinkedIn</a>.
Join the Cybersecurity Marketing Society on<a href='https://cybersecuritymarketingsociety.com'> our website</a>, and keep up with us on<a href='https://twitter.com/CyberMSociety'> Twitter</a>.

Keep up with Hacker Valley on<a href='https://hackervalley.com'> our website</a>,<a href='https://www.linkedin.com/company/hackervalleystudio/'> LinkedIn</a>,<a href='https://www.instagram.com/hackervalleymedia/'> Instagram</a>, and<a href='https://twitter.com/TheHackerValley'> Twitter</a>.

breaking-through-cyber-marketing.podbean.com/8a8268f8-0a0e-3390-a811-c9eef55ce1f0

Serena Raymond, Marketing Director at DNS Filter, walks us through her career journey from social media content creation to Marketing Director at DNS Filter. Serena explains the recipe for virtual event strategy, including how to leverage social medi...

Serena Raymond, Marketing Director at DNS Filter, walks us through her career journey from social media content creation to Marketing Director at DNS Filter. Serena explains the recipe for virtual event strategy, including how to leverage social media and email marketing to gain speakers and attendees, as well as how your virtual event can translate directly to your sales pipeline. Serena also discusses her opinion on agency marketing company vs internal teams, and reveals her secrets for optimizing impact.Timecoded Guide: [01:53] Moving from social media content creation to Marketing Director
[05:12] Getting started with virtual event marketing strategy
[12:52] Understanding what makes your virtual event worthwhile for sales
[20:25] Taking advantage of being on the internal side of marketing
[25:23] Comparing and contrasting agency and internal marketing
 
How should you host a successful virtual event?
A strong, successful virtual event should include both your company’s internal SMEs, or subject matter experts, and industry experts from outside of your organization. Serena recommends deciding first on the top tracks you want to pursue, before tackling speaker research. Once relevant, experienced speakers have been found, Serena explains that choosing an event platform that meets both your and your audience’s needs is essential.
“Our platform was a huge obstacle for doing a virtual event. There's so much vetting you have to do. I was kind of thinking, ‘Oh, we'll choose a platform and we’ll run.’ There's so much work that goes into that, and that was pretty eye opening.”
What is one key way to entice your desired audience to your virtual event?
Enticing your desired audience should start with LinkedIn and Google ads, which are consistently effective. However, Serena believes the key to your target audience resides with your speakers. Find speakers who appeal directly to your target audience and give them a high quality social media kit. Make it very easy for your speakers to share to followers and potential customers about your event with personalized images, text, and messaging.
“What I think was most key, above all else, was we had a lot of speakers who appeal to that audience. We gave them a really cool social kit, with the links and custom images with their faces, and they were able to share it with their audience on social media.”
 
How do you know if your online event is justifiable in terms of sales pipelines?The
justifiability of your virtual event extends beyond the pipeline and merges into retention. Your goal is to host an event that provides value to both your attendees and speakers. Serena recommends having sales touchpoints at your event, like a happy hour, where folks can gather and connect. Then, once you build that relationship, your sales and marketing teams can remind the potential client about the happy hour and follow up with them.
“We had a little happy hour after the event, and we had some customers come and we actually got great feedback from that. Our sales team was there and we chatted with that customer and took it offline, and we wouldn’t have had that conversation without that event.”What’s the difference in effectiveness between internal marketing and agencies
With experience in both internal and agency marketing, Serena explains that a key difference between the two is that being at a marketing agency puts you on the “outside.” You’re not in the company’s Slack channels or taking part in staff meetings, and you don't have their customer service records. Marketers at agencies don’t have real buy-in or “skin in the game” when it comes to a specific company. The internal marketing teams, on the other hand, have crucial inside information that can help them perform better and boost employee engagement.
“One of the things I loved about being a marketer for a dedicated company, was I got to get really good at it. I got to go deep on the product and understand our audience. I got to listen

299 Minutes of Content with Serena Raymond

Chris Cochran and Ron Eddings are two very special guests on this episode of Breaking Through in Cybersecurity Marketing. Chris and Ron are from Hacker Valley Media, the producers and sponsors of this podcast. Gianna and Maria chat with them about successful content strategy and marketing in cybersecurity, digital marketing successes and failures, and they drop hints about what to expect in their workshop at Cyber Marketing Con 2022.

Timecoded Guide:

[01:51] Successful content marketing strategy in cybersecurity
[05:32] Successes and failures in cybersecurity marketing strategy

[15:01] Cyber Marketing Con workshop hints and teasers
 
What does a successful content marketing strategy look like in cybersecurity?
Putting out content, including audio files, is just the beginning. You have to put out valuable content that’s not always looking to make the sale or fill the sales funnel. It’s also important to know that content strategy and successful marketing campaigns will change over time. You might be completely sold on your cybersecurity marketing strategy only to realize a few months later that you need to pivot. So putting out valuable content but staying flexible is key.
“Everyone should have a content strategy. If you're in business, you have to do content. That's just the name of the game these days.” –Chris Cochran


What are some successes and failures in cybersecurity marketing strategy?
One of the biggest failures in content marketing strategy is when you’re trying to entice someone to come to an event but don’t give them any more information. The company tells the audience when and where but leaves out exactly what the event is about. That’s not enticing, that feels like the company is simply trying to fill out their sales funnel. They're not addressing pain points.
One of the biggest content marketing strategy successes is giving value to your community. Yes, you need to think about business objectives. But if all you’re doing is selling, it’s not a two-way conversation with your audience. It’s an inauthentic ad campaign when it's not offering value.
“So you have, whether it's a lead, whether it's me signing up for a demo, but I don't necessarily feel invited to this event, I feel invited to your funnel.” –Ron Eddings
“We can also serve people instead of sell to them in order to really build that community, build that engagement with everyone that you're trying to speak to.” –Chris Cochran
 
What kinds of things can Cyber Marketing Con attendees expect from Chris and Ron’s workshop?
Everyone wants to start a podcast, but not everyone will be successful at it. There are so many details to figure out, from platform to people to solutions to problems. Chris and Ron are going to help people learn how to start and submit your podcast effectively. And even more importantly, how to record and edit a popular podcast that actually has meaning and value to podcast listeners. You’ll learn the tips and tricks Chris and Ron didn’t know when they launched their first podcast.
“I would say the thing that we're going to talk about the most, some might say that it's harder than it looks: making a podcast that has impact. I would say podcasting is more nuanced than it looks.” –Chris Cochran
---------- 
Links: 
Get tickets for our upcoming <a href='https://cybersecuritymarketingsociety.com/conference2022/'>Cyber Marketing Con 2022</a>. 
Spend some time with our guests Chris and Ron on their<a href='https://www.hackervalleymedia.com'> website</a>.
Follow Gianna on<a href='https://www.linkedin.com/in/giannawhitver/'> LinkedIn</a>.
Catch up with Maria on<a href='https://www.linkedin.com/in/maria-vepa/'> LinkedIn</a>.
Join the Cybersecurity Marketing Society on<a href='https://cybersecuritymarketingsociety.com'> our website</a>, and keep up with us on<a href='https://twitter.com/CyberMSociety'> Twitter</a>.
Keep up with Hacker Valley on<a href='https://hackervalley.com'> our website</a>,<a href='https://www.linkedin.com/company/hackervalleystudio/'> LinkedIn</a>,<a href='https://www.instagram.com/hackervalleymedia/'> Instagram</a>, and<a href='https://twitter.com/TheHackerValley'> Twitter</a>.

Chris Cochran and Ron Eddings are two very special guests on this episode of Breaking Through in Cybersecurity Marketing. Chris and Ron are from Hacker Valley Media, the producers and sponsors of this podcast. Gianna and Maria chat with them about successful content strategy and marketing in cybersecurity, digital marketing successes and failures, and they drop hints about what to expect in their workshop at Cyber Marketing Con 2022.

Timecoded Guide:

[01:51] Successful content marketing strategy in cybersecurity
[05:32] Successes and failures in cybersecurity marketing strategy

[15:01] Cyber Marketing Con workshop hints and teasers
 
What does a successful content marketing strategy look like in cybersecurity?
Putting out content, including audio files, is just the beginning. You have to put out valuable content that’s not always looking to make the sale or fill the sales funnel. It’s also important to know that content strategy and successful marketing campaigns will change over time. You might be completely sold on your cybersecurity marketing strategy only to realize a few months later that you need to pivot. So putting out valuable content but staying flexible is key.
“Everyone should have a content strategy. If you're in business, you have to do content. That's just the name of the game these days.” –Chris Cochran


What are some successes and failures in cybersecurity marketing strategy?
One of the biggest failures in content marketing strategy is when you’re trying to entice someone to come to an event but don’t give them any more information. The company tells the audience when and where but leaves out exactly what the event is about. That’s not enticing, that feels like the company is simply trying to fill out their sales funnel. They're not addressing pain points.
One of the biggest content marketing strategy successes is giving value to your community. Yes, you need to think about business objectives. But if all you’re doing is selling, it’s not a two-way conversation with your audience. It’s an inauthentic ad campaign when it's not offering value.
“So you have, whether it's a lead, whether it's me signing up for a demo, but I don't necessarily feel invited to this event, I feel invited to your funnel.” –Ron Eddings
“We can also serve people instead of sell to them in order to really build that community, build that engagement with everyone that you're trying to speak to.” –Chris Cochran
 
What kinds of things can Cyber Marketing Con attendees expect from Chris and Ron’s workshop?
Everyone wants to start a podcast, but not everyone will be successful at it. There are so many details to figure out, from platform to people to solutions to problems. Chris and Ron are going to help people learn how to start and submit your podcast effectively. And even more importantly, how to record and edit a popular podcast that actually has meaning and value to podcast listeners. You’ll learn the tips and tricks Chris and Ron didn’t know when they launched their first podcast.
“I would say the thing that we're going to talk about the most, some might say that it's harder than it looks: making a podcast that has impact. I would say podcasting is more nuanced than it looks.” –Chris Cochran
---------- 
Links: 
Get tickets for our upcoming <a href='https://cybersecuritymarketingsociety.com/conference2022/'>Cyber Marketing Con 2022</a>. 
Spend some time with our guests Chris and Ron on their<a href='https://www.hackervalleymedia.com'> website</a>.
Follow Gianna on<a href='https://www.linkedin.com/in/giannawhitver/'> LinkedIn</a>.
Catch up with Maria on<a href='https://www.linkedin.com/in/maria-vepa/'> LinkedIn</a>.
Join the Cybersecurity Marketing Society on<a href='https://cybersecuritymarketingsociety.com'> our website</a>, and keep up with us on<a href='https://twitter.com/CyberMSociety'> Twitter</a>.
Keep up with Hacker Valley on<a href='https://hackervalley.com'> our website</a>,<a href='https://www.linkedin.com/company/hackervalleystudio/'> LinkedIn</a>,<a href='https://www.instagram.com/hackervalleymedia/'> Instagram</a>, and<a href='https://twitter.com/TheHackerValley'> Twitter</a>.

breaking-through-cyber-marketing.podbean.com/0813ec0f-5686-3ea4-950e-5d189d368b71

Chris Cochran and Ron Eddings are two very special guests on this episode of Breaking Through in Cybersecurity Marketing. Chris and Ron are from Hacker Valley Media, the producers and sponsors of this podcast. Gianna and Maria chat with them about su...

Chris Cochran and Ron Eddings are two very special guests on this episode of Breaking Through in Cybersecurity Marketing. Chris and Ron are from Hacker Valley Media, the producers and sponsors of this podcast. Gianna and Maria chat with them about successful content strategy and marketing in cybersecurity, digital marketing successes and failures, and they drop hints about what to expect in their workshop at Cyber Marketing Con 2022.Timecoded Guide:[01:51] Successful content marketing strategy in cybersecurity
[05:32] Successes and failures in cybersecurity marketing strategy
[15:01] Cyber Marketing Con workshop hints and teasers 
What does a successful content marketing strategy look like in cybersecurity?Putting out content, including audio files, is just the beginning. You have to put out valuable content that’s not always looking to make the sale or fill the sales funnel. It’s also important to know that content strategy and successful marketing campaigns will change over time. You might be completely sold on your cybersecurity marketing strategy only to realize a few months later that you need to pivot. So putting out valuable content but staying flexible is key.
“Everyone should have a content strategy. If you're in business, you have to do content. That's just the name of the game these days.” –Chris Cochran
What are some successes and failures in cybersecurity marketing strategy?One of the biggest failures in content marketing strategy is when you’re trying to entice someone to come to an event but don’t give them any more information. The company tells the audience when and where but leaves out exactly what the event is about. That’s not enticing, that feels like the company is simply trying to fill out their sales funnel. They're not addressing pain points.
One of the biggest content marketing strategy successes is giving value to your community. Yes, you need to think about business objectives. But if all you’re doing is selling, it’s not a two-way conversation with your audience. It’s an inauthentic ad campaign when it's not offering value.
“So you have, whether it's a lead, whether it's me signing up for a demo, but I don't necessarily feel invited to this event, I feel invited to your funnel.” –Ron Eddings
“We can also serve people instead of sell to them in order to really build that community, build that engagement with everyone that you're trying to speak to.” –Chris Cochran
 
What kinds of things can Cyber Marketing Con attendees expect from Chris and Ron’s workshop?
Everyone wants to start a podcast, but not everyone will be successful at it. There are so many details to figure out, from platform to people to solutions to problems. Chris and Ron are going to help people learn how to start and submit your podcast effectively. And even more importantly, how to record and edit a popular podcast that actually has meaning and value to podcast listeners. You’ll learn the tips and tricks Chris and Ron didn’t know when they launched their first podcast.
“I would say the thing that we're going to talk about the most, some might say that it's harder than it looks: making a podcast that has impact. I would say podcasting is more nuanced than it looks.” –Chris Cochran
---------- 
Links: 
Get tickets for our upcoming Cyber Marketing Con 2022. 
Spend some time with our guests Chris and Ron on their website.
Follow Gianna on LinkedIn.
Catch up with Maria on LinkedIn.
Join the Cybersecurity Marketing Society on our website, and keep up with us on Twitter.
Keep up with Hacker Valley on our website, LinkedIn, Instagram, and Twitter.

Content Marketing Strategy with Chris Cochran & Ron Eddings

Elliot Volkman, Director of Brand, Content, and Community at Drata, joins us in this episode to talk about demand generation strategies, also known more casually as demand gen. Demand gen consists of targeted marketing programs to drive brand awareness and build interest for qualified leads in products, services, and more. Tune in to our discussion with Elliot to learn how demand gen intersects with sales enablement, brand, content, and even community. 

Timecoded Guide:

[03:52] Demand gen vs. brand message

[07:40] The goal of demand gen in an organization

[14:48] How demand gen ties into content and community members

[22:45] Key metrics and KPIs to track brand awareness
[31:04] Experimentation and demand gen
 
How does demand gen differ from and bring focus to brand awareness?
Elliot believes that a lot of C-level executives mistake brand awareness for traditional marketing or product marketing. Brand awareness is more about what customers see when they encounter your company via search engine. Product marketing is instead about targeting specific personas. Demand generation fits into brand awareness because it’s designed to drive customer’s awareness of your company and build interest in your products, rather than directly marketing those products to them through product marketing strategies.
“The most important and critical aspect that organizations fail to pay attention to is building your brand, especially building voice and messaging around it that resonates.”


What is the goal of demand generation if not to drive sales?
A lot of organizations have an executioner and a product marketing lead, with various jobs for each role. Demand gen’s job is to take the webinars the executioner makes and the messaging the product marketer makes, and then guide those towards business alignment and increased brand awareness. Elliot emphasizes that demand generation drives sales, but does not drive lead generation. Demand gen is not supposed to chase leads the way a product marketing manager might, it’s instead supposed to build awareness.
“I think there's two aspects of demand gen, depending on the organizational size and what they do, but at the end of the day, the demand generation strategy does have to drive pipeline.”

How does demand gen tie into content and community?
Oftentimes, in Elliot’s opinion, marketing can rely too much on technology. While technology is critical, you don’t have to educate anyone on why it’s important. Demand gen focuses more on humanizing the brand and building something fully centered around the customer. You rely on internal experts to build a community that ties everything together from marketing to security to visuals, and beyond. And in the end, the customer should be the hero and should feel like one in your demand generation strategy.
“It’s about focusing on people, focusing on processes, and embracing technology, of course. At the end of the day, having our customers be a voice is absolutely critical to the success of our future.”

What are the KPIs to track brand awareness?
There may be numerous ways to track brand awareness, but Elliot explains that the main KPI is organic traffic to the website. The byproducts of increased organic website traffic include organic increases in demo requests, nurturing people through the buying process, and acting as fuel for the engine of marketing campaigns. There’s no direct selling in a demand generation strategy. You can avoid those most-hated marketing tactics, like when you cold call or appear in their already crowded email inboxes. Demand gen is all organic and based on nurturing the customer.
“We're not trying to brainwash people by any means, we're actually able to help educate them along the way. We build a relationship through that education and through those materials, and then, maybe they'll check out what our product does, or they've decided to download something, and we can continue to nurture them.” 
---------- 
Links: 
Get tickets for our upcoming <a href='https://cybersecuritymarketingsociety.com/conference2022/'>Cyber Marketing Con 2022</a>. 
Spend some time with our guest Elliot Volkman on <a href='https://www.linkedin.com/in/elliotv'>LinkedIn</a>, <a href='https://twitter.com/TheJournalizer'>Twitter</a>, and his podcast, <a href='https://www.adoptingzerotrust.com/'>Adopting Zero Trust</a>.
Follow Gianna on<a href='https://www.linkedin.com/in/giannawhitver/'> LinkedIn</a>.
Catch up with Maria on<a href='https://www.linkedin.com/in/maria-vepa/'> LinkedIn</a>.
Join the Cybersecurity Marketing Society on<a href='https://cybersecuritymarketingsociety.com'> our website</a>, and keep up with us on<a href='https://twitter.com/CyberMSociety'> Twitter</a>.
Keep up with Hacker Valley on<a href='https://hackervalley.com'> our website</a>,<a href='https://www.linkedin.com/company/hackervalleystudio/'> LinkedIn</a>,<a href='https://www.instagram.com/hackervalleymedia/'> Instagram</a>, and<a href='https://twitter.com/TheHackerValley'> Twitter</a>.

Elliot Volkman, Director of Brand, Content, and Community at Drata, joins us in this episode to talk about demand generation strategies, also known more casually as demand gen. Demand gen consists of targeted marketing programs to drive brand awareness and build interest for qualified leads in products, services, and more. Tune in to our discussion with Elliot to learn how demand gen intersects with sales enablement, brand, content, and even community. 

Timecoded Guide:

[03:52] Demand gen vs. brand message

[07:40] The goal of demand gen in an organization

[14:48] How demand gen ties into content and community members

[22:45] Key metrics and KPIs to track brand awareness
[31:04] Experimentation and demand gen
 
How does demand gen differ from and bring focus to brand awareness?
Elliot believes that a lot of C-level executives mistake brand awareness for traditional marketing or product marketing. Brand awareness is more about what customers see when they encounter your company via search engine. Product marketing is instead about targeting specific personas. Demand generation fits into brand awareness because it’s designed to drive customer’s awareness of your company and build interest in your products, rather than directly marketing those products to them through product marketing strategies.
“The most important and critical aspect that organizations fail to pay attention to is building your brand, especially building voice and messaging around it that resonates.”


What is the goal of demand generation if not to drive sales?
A lot of organizations have an executioner and a product marketing lead, with various jobs for each role. Demand gen’s job is to take the webinars the executioner makes and the messaging the product marketer makes, and then guide those towards business alignment and increased brand awareness. Elliot emphasizes that demand generation drives sales, but does not drive lead generation. Demand gen is not supposed to chase leads the way a product marketing manager might, it’s instead supposed to build awareness.
“I think there's two aspects of demand gen, depending on the organizational size and what they do, but at the end of the day, the demand generation strategy does have to drive pipeline.”

How does demand gen tie into content and community?
Oftentimes, in Elliot’s opinion, marketing can rely too much on technology. While technology is critical, you don’t have to educate anyone on why it’s important. Demand gen focuses more on humanizing the brand and building something fully centered around the customer. You rely on internal experts to build a community that ties everything together from marketing to security to visuals, and beyond. And in the end, the customer should be the hero and should feel like one in your demand generation strategy.
“It’s about focusing on people, focusing on processes, and embracing technology, of course. At the end of the day, having our customers be a voice is absolutely critical to the success of our future.”

What are the KPIs to track brand awareness?
There may be numerous ways to track brand awareness, but Elliot explains that the main KPI is organic traffic to the website. The byproducts of increased organic website traffic include organic increases in demo requests, nurturing people through the buying process, and acting as fuel for the engine of marketing campaigns. There’s no direct selling in a demand generation strategy. You can avoid those most-hated marketing tactics, like when you cold call or appear in their already crowded email inboxes. Demand gen is all organic and based on nurturing the customer.
“We're not trying to brainwash people by any means, we're actually able to help educate them along the way. We build a relationship through that education and through those materials, and then, maybe they'll check out what our product does, or they've decided to download something, and we can continue to nurture them.” 
---------- 
Links: 
Get tickets for our upcoming <a href='https://cybersecuritymarketingsociety.com/conference2022/'>Cyber Marketing Con 2022</a>. 
Spend some time with our guest Elliot Volkman on <a href='https://www.linkedin.com/in/elliotv'>LinkedIn</a>, <a href='https://twitter.com/TheJournalizer'>Twitter</a>, and his podcast, <a href='https://www.adoptingzerotrust.com/'>Adopting Zero Trust</a>.
Follow Gianna on<a href='https://www.linkedin.com/in/giannawhitver/'> LinkedIn</a>.
Catch up with Maria on<a href='https://www.linkedin.com/in/maria-vepa/'> LinkedIn</a>.
Join the Cybersecurity Marketing Society on<a href='https://cybersecuritymarketingsociety.com'> our website</a>, and keep up with us on<a href='https://twitter.com/CyberMSociety'> Twitter</a>.
Keep up with Hacker Valley on<a href='https://hackervalley.com'> our website</a>,<a href='https://www.linkedin.com/company/hackervalleystudio/'> LinkedIn</a>,<a href='https://www.instagram.com/hackervalleymedia/'> Instagram</a>, and<a href='https://twitter.com/TheHackerValley'> Twitter</a>.

breaking-through-cyber-marketing.podbean.com/412f53af-fa9b-3c5f-80d5-0508571c1a69

Elliot Volkman, Director of Brand, Content, and Community at Drata, joins us in this episode to talk about demand generation strategies, also known more casually as demand gen. Demand gen consists of targeted marketing programs to drive brand awarene...

Elliot Volkman, Director of Brand, Content, and Community at Drata, joins us in this episode to talk about demand generation strategies, also known more casually as demand gen. Demand gen consists of targeted marketing programs to drive brand awareness and build interest for qualified leads in products, services, and more. Tune in to our discussion with Elliot to learn how demand gen intersects with sales enablement, brand, content, and even community. 
Timecoded Guide:[03:52] Demand gen vs. brand message
[07:40] The goal of demand gen in an organization
[14:48] How demand gen ties into content and community members
[22:45] Key metrics and KPIs to track brand awareness
[31:04] Experimentation and demand gen 
How does demand gen differ from and bring focus to brand awareness?
Elliot believes that a lot of C-level executives mistake brand awareness for traditional marketing or product marketing. Brand awareness is more about what customers see when they encounter your company via search engine. Product marketing is instead about targeting specific personas. Demand generation fits into brand awareness because it’s designed to drive customer’s awareness of your company and build interest in your products, rather than directly marketing those products to them through product marketing strategies.
“The most important and critical aspect that organizations fail to pay attention to is building your brand, especially building voice and messaging around it that resonates.”
What is the goal of demand generation if not to drive sales?
A lot of organizations have an executioner and a product marketing lead, with various jobs for each role. Demand gen’s job is to take the webinars the executioner makes and the messaging the product marketer makes, and then guide those towards business alignment and increased brand awareness. Elliot emphasizes that demand generation drives sales, but does not drive lead generation. Demand gen is not supposed to chase leads the way a product marketing manager might, it’s instead supposed to build awareness.
“I think there's two aspects of demand gen, depending on the organizational size and what they do, but at the end of the day, the demand generation strategy does have to drive pipeline.”How does demand gen tie into content and community?
Oftentimes, in Elliot’s opinion, marketing can rely too much on technology. While technology is critical, you don’t have to educate anyone on why it’s important. Demand gen focuses more on humanizing the brand and building something fully centered around the customer. You rely on internal experts to build a community that ties everything together from marketing to security to visuals, and beyond. And in the end, the customer should be the hero and should feel like one in your demand generation strategy.
“It’s about focusing on people, focusing on processes, and embracing technology, of course. At the end of the day, having our customers be a voice is absolutely critical to the success of our future.”What are the KPIs to track brand awareness?
There may be numerous ways to track brand awareness, but Elliot explains that the main KPI is organic traffic to the website. The byproducts of increased organic website traffic include organic increases in demo requests, nurturing people through the buying process, and acting as fuel for the engine of marketing campaigns. There’s no direct selling in a demand generation strategy. You can avoid those most-hated marketing tactics, like when you cold call or appear in their already crowded email inboxes. Demand gen is all organic and based on nurturing the customer.
“We're not trying to brainwash people by any means, we're actually able to help educate them along the way. We build a relationship through that education and through those materials, and then, maybe they'll check out what our product does, or they've decided to download something, and we can continue to nurture them.” 
---------- 
Links: 
Get tickets for our upc

Build Brand Awareness via Demand Gen with Elliot Volkman

Matthew Delman, Director of Product Marketing at LookingGlass Cyber, joins the show this week to discuss all things related to sales enablement strategy. Sales enablement helps businesses provide consistent messaging throughout all their content. This enables (Get it?) potential customers to have a seamless journey from discovery of a company to purchase of products or services. In this episode, Matt teaches us how to boost a sales cycle, streamline communication, and improve internal organization, all through the magic of sales enablement.

Timecoded Guide:

[02:48] Explaining sales enablement and how it fits into marketing strategy

[06:31] Transforming sales enablement into a faster sales cycle

[14:00] Integrating sales enablement into company culture

[20:20] Essential tools to include in your future sales enablement kit
 


What is sales enablement and why is it important?
The core of sales enablement is ensuring your message gets out to your marketplace with consistency. During this process, Matt explains that your team is supporting the buyer journey with one-to-many messaging. This ensures a consistent flow in each stage of the sales journey and enables each department to touch on the same concepts. Essentially, sales enablement helps your customer avoid confusion and pain points so that they can go from first contact to purchase seamlessly.
“When your buyers read your content, or they download a white paper, or they go to an event, and then, they're contacted by your salesperson, they should get an extension of that same message.” –Matthew Delman


How does sales enablement convert into a faster sales cycle?
Sales teams are usually hyper focused on making sales. While this fits their goals and metrics, this one-track mindset breeds confusion if they can’t find exactly the materials they need when they need them. In order to save the sale with potential clients, your sales team might create one-off materials that are a good fit in that moment, but do not match what the marketing team is saying. Successful sales enablement streamlines internal processes so that sales teams have exactly what they need, when they need it.

“Sales enablement is about training your sales team to make sure they're confident in talking about your solution, but it's also making sure that they can find the collateral that they need when a prospect asks for it.” 

How do you get sales teams to buy into sales enablement and use the organizational tools you create?
Sales enablement starts with sales leadership, according to Matt. If you tell the sales manager that your sales enablement strategy will help them close deals faster, essentially every single decision maker will sign on. Once you have the leadership on board, the sales team will follow their guidance. You might have to do some negotiation in terms of support and positioning for the team, but once the sales enablement leaders understand it will increase business, it usually becomes an easy sell.
“With sales enablement, your whole goal is to make the deals move faster, to make them smoother, to essentially smooth out the lumps in the sales cycle because you are responding to your prospects' questions in a timely manner with consistent information.” –Matthew Delman

What are the key tools to include in a sales enablement kit?
Matt explains that a few tools need to be included in your sales enablement kit to ensure success. His list includes a unified pitch deck, educational videos or an educational call recording, high-level product trainings, and a few plug-and-play email templates. The pitch deck shouldn’t have the exact same slides for everything, but rather allow for customization within limits, a sample call can provide a real-time example of the sale, and trainings and templates make sure your sales team are knowledgeable and have structured responses ready at all times. 
“You want to have your main points for each slide in the deck, and basically say, ‘Here's the main points that you should hit on this slide. How you say it, I don't care. But here's the main points.’” 

---------- 
Links: 
Get tickets for our upcoming <a href='https://cybersecuritymarketingsociety.com/conference2022/'>CyberMarketingCon 2022</a>. 
Spend some time with our guest Matthew Delman on <a href='http://twitter.com/dellersinfosec'>Twitter</a> and <a href='https://www.linkedin.com/in/matthewdelman/'>LinkedIn</a>.

Follow Gianna on<a href='https://www.linkedin.com/in/giannawhitver/'> LinkedIn</a>.

Catch up with Maria on<a href='https://www.linkedin.com/in/maria-vepa/'> LinkedIn</a>.

Join the Cybersecurity Marketing Society on<a href='https://cybersecuritymarketingsociety.com'> our website</a>, and keep up with us on<a href='https://twitter.com/CyberMSociety'> Twitter</a>.

Keep up with Hacker Valley on<a href='https://hackervalley.com'> our website</a>,<a href='https://www.linkedin.com/company/hackervalleystudio/'> LinkedIn</a>,<a href='https://www.instagram.com/hackervalleymedia/'> Instagram</a>, and<a href='https://twitter.com/TheHackerValley'> Twitter</a>.

Matthew Delman, Director of Product Marketing at LookingGlass Cyber, joins the show this week to discuss all things related to sales enablement strategy. Sales enablement helps businesses provide consistent messaging throughout all their content. This enables (Get it?) potential customers to have a seamless journey from discovery of a company to purchase of products or services. In this episode, Matt teaches us how to boost a sales cycle, streamline communication, and improve internal organization, all through the magic of sales enablement.

Timecoded Guide:

[02:48] Explaining sales enablement and how it fits into marketing strategy

[06:31] Transforming sales enablement into a faster sales cycle

[14:00] Integrating sales enablement into company culture

[20:20] Essential tools to include in your future sales enablement kit
 


What is sales enablement and why is it important?
The core of sales enablement is ensuring your message gets out to your marketplace with consistency. During this process, Matt explains that your team is supporting the buyer journey with one-to-many messaging. This ensures a consistent flow in each stage of the sales journey and enables each department to touch on the same concepts. Essentially, sales enablement helps your customer avoid confusion and pain points so that they can go from first contact to purchase seamlessly.
“When your buyers read your content, or they download a white paper, or they go to an event, and then, they're contacted by your salesperson, they should get an extension of that same message.” –Matthew Delman


How does sales enablement convert into a faster sales cycle?
Sales teams are usually hyper focused on making sales. While this fits their goals and metrics, this one-track mindset breeds confusion if they can’t find exactly the materials they need when they need them. In order to save the sale with potential clients, your sales team might create one-off materials that are a good fit in that moment, but do not match what the marketing team is saying. Successful sales enablement streamlines internal processes so that sales teams have exactly what they need, when they need it.

“Sales enablement is about training your sales team to make sure they're confident in talking about your solution, but it's also making sure that they can find the collateral that they need when a prospect asks for it.” 

How do you get sales teams to buy into sales enablement and use the organizational tools you create?
Sales enablement starts with sales leadership, according to Matt. If you tell the sales manager that your sales enablement strategy will help them close deals faster, essentially every single decision maker will sign on. Once you have the leadership on board, the sales team will follow their guidance. You might have to do some negotiation in terms of support and positioning for the team, but once the sales enablement leaders understand it will increase business, it usually becomes an easy sell.
“With sales enablement, your whole goal is to make the deals move faster, to make them smoother, to essentially smooth out the lumps in the sales cycle because you are responding to your prospects' questions in a timely manner with consistent information.” –Matthew Delman

What are the key tools to include in a sales enablement kit?
Matt explains that a few tools need to be included in your sales enablement kit to ensure success. His list includes a unified pitch deck, educational videos or an educational call recording, high-level product trainings, and a few plug-and-play email templates. The pitch deck shouldn’t have the exact same slides for everything, but rather allow for customization within limits, a sample call can provide a real-time example of the sale, and trainings and templates make sure your sales team are knowledgeable and have structured responses ready at all times. 
“You want to have your main points for each slide in the deck, and basically say, ‘Here's the main points that you should hit on this slide. How you say it, I don't care. But here's the main points.’” 

---------- 
Links: 
Get tickets for our upcoming <a href='https://cybersecuritymarketingsociety.com/conference2022/'>CyberMarketingCon 2022</a>. 
Spend some time with our guest Matthew Delman on <a href='http://twitter.com/dellersinfosec'>Twitter</a> and <a href='https://www.linkedin.com/in/matthewdelman/'>LinkedIn</a>.

Follow Gianna on<a href='https://www.linkedin.com/in/giannawhitver/'> LinkedIn</a>.

Catch up with Maria on<a href='https://www.linkedin.com/in/maria-vepa/'> LinkedIn</a>.

Join the Cybersecurity Marketing Society on<a href='https://cybersecuritymarketingsociety.com'> our website</a>, and keep up with us on<a href='https://twitter.com/CyberMSociety'> Twitter</a>.

Keep up with Hacker Valley on<a href='https://hackervalley.com'> our website</a>,<a href='https://www.linkedin.com/company/hackervalleystudio/'> LinkedIn</a>,<a href='https://www.instagram.com/hackervalleymedia/'> Instagram</a>, and<a href='https://twitter.com/TheHackerValley'> Twitter</a>.

breaking-through-cyber-marketing.podbean.com/a813fc44-3fa0-38f0-b568-09b2db657ef6

Matthew Delman, Director of Product Marketing at LookingGlass Cyber, joins the show this week to discuss all things related to sales enablement strategy. Sales enablement helps businesses provide consistent messaging throughout all their content. Thi...

Matthew Delman, Director of Product Marketing at LookingGlass Cyber, joins the show this week to discuss all things related to sales enablement strategy. Sales enablement helps businesses provide consistent messaging throughout all their content. This enables (Get it?) potential customers to have a seamless journey from discovery of a company to purchase of products or services. In this episode, Matt teaches us how to boost a sales cycle, streamline communication, and improve internal organization, all through the magic of sales enablement.Timecoded Guide:[02:48] Explaining sales enablement and how it fits into marketing strategy
[06:31] Transforming sales enablement into a faster sales cycle
[14:00] Integrating sales enablement into company culture
[20:20] Essential tools to include in your future sales enablement kit 
What is sales enablement and why is it important?
The core of sales enablement is ensuring your message gets out to your marketplace with consistency. During this process, Matt explains that your team is supporting the buyer journey with one-to-many messaging. This ensures a consistent flow in each stage of the sales journey and enables each department to touch on the same concepts. Essentially, sales enablement helps your customer avoid confusion and pain points so that they can go from first contact to purchase seamlessly.
“When your buyers read your content, or they download a white paper, or they go to an event, and then, they're contacted by your salesperson, they should get an extension of that same message.” –Matthew Delman
How does sales enablement convert into a faster sales cycle?
Sales teams are usually hyper focused on making sales. While this fits their goals and metrics, this one-track mindset breeds confusion if they can’t find exactly the materials they need when they need them. In order to save the sale with potential clients, your sales team might create one-off materials that are a good fit in that moment, but do not match what the marketing team is saying. Successful sales enablement streamlines internal processes so that sales teams have exactly what they need, when they need it.
“Sales enablement is about training your sales team to make sure they're confident in talking about your solution, but it's also making sure that they can find the collateral that they need when a prospect asks for it.” How do you get sales teams to buy into sales enablement and use the organizational tools you create?
Sales enablement starts with sales leadership, according to Matt. If you tell the sales manager that your sales enablement strategy will help them close deals faster, essentially every single decision maker will sign on. Once you have the leadership on board, the sales team will follow their guidance. You might have to do some negotiation in terms of support and positioning for the team, but once the sales enablement leaders understand it will increase business, it usually becomes an easy sell.
“With sales enablement, your whole goal is to make the deals move faster, to make them smoother, to essentially smooth out the lumps in the sales cycle because you are responding to your prospects' questions in a timely manner with consistent information.” –Matthew DelmanWhat are the key tools to include in a sales enablement kit?
Matt explains that a few tools need to be included in your sales enablement kit to ensure success. His list includes a unified pitch deck, educational videos or an educational call recording, high-level product trainings, and a few plug-and-play email templates. The pitch deck shouldn’t have the exact same slides for everything, but rather allow for customization within limits, a sample call can provide a real-time example of the sale, and trainings and templates make sure your sales team are knowledgeable and have structured responses ready at all times. 
“You want to have your main points for each slide in the deck, and basically say, ‘Here's the main points that you sh

Sales Enablement to Gain Qualified Leads with Matthew Delman

Diane Shapiro, Social Media Manager for cybersecurity companies, joins us to discuss all things social media. As a social media strategist for top B2B companies, PR agencies, and cybersecurity industries, Diane has over 10 years of experience helping companies broadcast their messages on social media to gain engagement and meet business goals. This week, Diane talks to us about employee engagement, post scheduling, metrics of measuring success, and how to speak to your target audience online.
Timecoded Guide:
[02:03] Engaging employees in your cybersecurity social media strategy
[07:20] Encouraging employees to create company content on social networks
[14:11] Gamifying content strategy to further encourage online engagement
[19:40] Measuring essential metrics when reaching social media goals
[24:40] Crafting a strong message to your target audience through effective customer service
 
How do you sell employees on the idea of social media strategy?
It’s one thing to have C-suite higher-ups pushing out posts on social media, but it’s another thing entirely to have everyday employees engaged and sharing as well. Employee education in the form of webinars allow the opportunity to explain how every member of your company can play a part online. After training team members about the importance of social media, consider incorporating weekly reminders on Slack, or setting aside specific office hours where employees can ask questions about types of content they could be posting.
“I'll do a couple webinars where I communicate the important point that social media really thrives when you have both the company and individuals posting. Employees then can choose the content they know is going to resonate with their social media audience.”
 
Is there a method to encourage people to write their own posts?
In theory, we think social media is easy. We’re not writing a novel or a thesis, it’s usually just a line or two with a simple photo or graphic. In reality, employees outside of your marketing or social media department are already working full-time jobs, making it especially difficult to get people writing and posting about your company online. Making social media posts as easy as possible is key. Pre-draft posts, edit for your employees, and make it a one-click deal. 
“What I've found in my 10+ years of marketing is that if you don't make posting easy for people, they don't do it.”
 
How do you motivate employees to post authentic content?
The employee engagement platforms can be a great asset when motivating employees to post authentically. For example, some platforms offer employers an opportunity to gamify the experience and turn it into a contest. The key is to make the reward something rare enough that employees feel motivated to participate in the content on their social media channels. However, Diane does warn to be aware: it’s not about the quantity of posts, it’s about quality and scheduling. 
“If you've got seven posts in one day on one person's account, and none for the rest of the week, you're only getting the benefit of one of those posts, not all seven.” 
 
What metrics do you measure to make sure your social media strategy is working?
There are two terms here that Diane wants us to remember: vanity metrics and non-vanity metrics. Vanity metrics on social media channels are things like follower count. Follower count can be useful, but followers can be bought to artificially inflate the count. Diane instead advises to look at non-vanity metrics, such as impressions, likes, comments, and clicks. Those metrics will reveal how much your posts are actually getting interacted with and can determine the reach of your account.
“All these platforms measure in analytics. Clicks from the social assets through to the company's website are things you really want to look at, because that tells us how much your posts are getting interacted with. That's really what matters.” 
---------- 
Links: 
Grab your ticket to the <a href='http://cybersecuritymarketingsociety.com/conference2022/'>Cyber Marketing Con 2022</a>.
Spend some time with our guest Diane Shapiro on <a href='https://www.linkedin.com/in/diane-shapiro-sommerfield-724ab31/'>LinkedIn</a> and <a href='https://twitter.com/DESommerfield'>Twitter</a>.
Follow Gianna on <a href='https://www.linkedin.com/in/giannawhitver/'>LinkedIn</a>.
Catch up with Maria on <a href='https://www.linkedin.com/in/maria-vepa/'>LinkedIn</a>.
Join the Cybersecurity Marketing Society on <a href='https://cybersecuritymarketingsociety.com'>our website</a>, and keep up with us on <a href='https://twitter.com/CyberMSociety'>Twitter</a>.
Keep up with Hacker Valley on <a href='https://hackervalley.com'>our website</a>, <a href='https://www.linkedin.com/company/hackervalleystudio/'>LinkedIn</a>, <a href='https://www.instagram.com/hackervalleymedia/'>Instagram</a>, and<a href='https://twitter.com/TheHackerValley'> Twitter</a>.

Diane Shapiro, Social Media Manager for cybersecurity companies, joins us to discuss all things social media. As a social media strategist for top B2B companies, PR agencies, and cybersecurity industries, Diane has over 10 years of experience helping companies broadcast their messages on social media to gain engagement and meet business goals. This week, Diane talks to us about employee engagement, post scheduling, metrics of measuring success, and how to speak to your target audience online.
Timecoded Guide:
[02:03] Engaging employees in your cybersecurity social media strategy
[07:20] Encouraging employees to create company content on social networks
[14:11] Gamifying content strategy to further encourage online engagement
[19:40] Measuring essential metrics when reaching social media goals
[24:40] Crafting a strong message to your target audience through effective customer service
 
How do you sell employees on the idea of social media strategy?
It’s one thing to have C-suite higher-ups pushing out posts on social media, but it’s another thing entirely to have everyday employees engaged and sharing as well. Employee education in the form of webinars allow the opportunity to explain how every member of your company can play a part online. After training team members about the importance of social media, consider incorporating weekly reminders on Slack, or setting aside specific office hours where employees can ask questions about types of content they could be posting.
“I'll do a couple webinars where I communicate the important point that social media really thrives when you have both the company and individuals posting. Employees then can choose the content they know is going to resonate with their social media audience.”
 
Is there a method to encourage people to write their own posts?
In theory, we think social media is easy. We’re not writing a novel or a thesis, it’s usually just a line or two with a simple photo or graphic. In reality, employees outside of your marketing or social media department are already working full-time jobs, making it especially difficult to get people writing and posting about your company online. Making social media posts as easy as possible is key. Pre-draft posts, edit for your employees, and make it a one-click deal. 
“What I've found in my 10+ years of marketing is that if you don't make posting easy for people, they don't do it.”
 
How do you motivate employees to post authentic content?
The employee engagement platforms can be a great asset when motivating employees to post authentically. For example, some platforms offer employers an opportunity to gamify the experience and turn it into a contest. The key is to make the reward something rare enough that employees feel motivated to participate in the content on their social media channels. However, Diane does warn to be aware: it’s not about the quantity of posts, it’s about quality and scheduling. 
“If you've got seven posts in one day on one person's account, and none for the rest of the week, you're only getting the benefit of one of those posts, not all seven.” 
 
What metrics do you measure to make sure your social media strategy is working?
There are two terms here that Diane wants us to remember: vanity metrics and non-vanity metrics. Vanity metrics on social media channels are things like follower count. Follower count can be useful, but followers can be bought to artificially inflate the count. Diane instead advises to look at non-vanity metrics, such as impressions, likes, comments, and clicks. Those metrics will reveal how much your posts are actually getting interacted with and can determine the reach of your account.
“All these platforms measure in analytics. Clicks from the social assets through to the company's website are things you really want to look at, because that tells us how much your posts are getting interacted with. That's really what matters.” 
---------- 
Links: 
Grab your ticket to the <a href='http://cybersecuritymarketingsociety.com/conference2022/'>Cyber Marketing Con 2022</a>.
Spend some time with our guest Diane Shapiro on <a href='https://www.linkedin.com/in/diane-shapiro-sommerfield-724ab31/'>LinkedIn</a> and <a href='https://twitter.com/DESommerfield'>Twitter</a>.
Follow Gianna on <a href='https://www.linkedin.com/in/giannawhitver/'>LinkedIn</a>.
Catch up with Maria on <a href='https://www.linkedin.com/in/maria-vepa/'>LinkedIn</a>.
Join the Cybersecurity Marketing Society on <a href='https://cybersecuritymarketingsociety.com'>our website</a>, and keep up with us on <a href='https://twitter.com/CyberMSociety'>Twitter</a>.
Keep up with Hacker Valley on <a href='https://hackervalley.com'>our website</a>, <a href='https://www.linkedin.com/company/hackervalleystudio/'>LinkedIn</a>, <a href='https://www.instagram.com/hackervalleymedia/'>Instagram</a>, and<a href='https://twitter.com/TheHackerValley'> Twitter</a>.

breaking-through-cyber-marketing.podbean.com/34d53e2f-ede8-3df1-9f4c-4dbd0b10eeb3

Diane Shapiro, Social Media Manager for cybersecurity companies, joins us to discuss all things social media. As a social media strategist for top B2B companies, PR agencies, and cybersecurity industries, Diane has over 10 years of experience helping...

Diane Shapiro, Social Media Manager for cybersecurity companies, joins us to discuss all things social media. As a social media strategist for top B2B companies, PR agencies, and cybersecurity industries, Diane has over 10 years of experience helping companies broadcast their messages on social media to gain engagement and meet business goals. This week, Diane talks to us about employee engagement, post scheduling, metrics of measuring success, and how to speak to your target audience online.
Timecoded Guide:
[02:03] Engaging employees in your cybersecurity social media strategy
[07:20] Encouraging employees to create company content on social networks
[14:11] Gamifying content strategy to further encourage online engagement
[19:40] Measuring essential metrics when reaching social media goals
[24:40] Crafting a strong message to your target audience through effective customer service
 
How do you sell employees on the idea of social media strategy?
It’s one thing to have C-suite higher-ups pushing out posts on social media, but it’s another thing entirely to have everyday employees engaged and sharing as well. Employee education in the form of webinars allow the opportunity to explain how every member of your company can play a part online. After training team members about the importance of social media, consider incorporating weekly reminders on Slack, or setting aside specific office hours where employees can ask questions about types of content they could be posting.
“I'll do a couple webinars where I communicate the important point that social media really thrives when you have both the company and individuals posting. Employees then can choose the content they know is going to resonate with their social media audience.”
 
Is there a method to encourage people to write their own posts?
In theory, we think social media is easy. We’re not writing a novel or a thesis, it’s usually just a line or two with a simple photo or graphic. In reality, employees outside of your marketing or social media department are already working full-time jobs, making it especially difficult to get people writing and posting about your company online. Making social media posts as easy as possible is key. Pre-draft posts, edit for your employees, and make it a one-click deal. 
“What I've found in my 10+ years of marketing is that if you don't make posting easy for people, they don't do it.”
 
How do you motivate employees to post authentic content?
The employee engagement platforms can be a great asset when motivating employees to post authentically. For example, some platforms offer employers an opportunity to gamify the experience and turn it into a contest. The key is to make the reward something rare enough that employees feel motivated to participate in the content on their social media channels. However, Diane does warn to be aware: it’s not about the quantity of posts, it’s about quality and scheduling. 
“If you've got seven posts in one day on one person's account, and none for the rest of the week, you're only getting the benefit of one of those posts, not all seven.” 
 
What metrics do you measure to make sure your social media strategy is working?
There are two terms here that Diane wants us to remember: vanity metrics and non-vanity metrics. Vanity metrics on social media channels are things like follower count. Follower count can be useful, but followers can be bought to artificially inflate the count. Diane instead advises to look at non-vanity metrics, such as impressions, likes, comments, and clicks. Those metrics will reveal how much your posts are actually getting interacted with and can determine the reach of your account.
“All these platforms measure in analytics. Clicks from the social assets through to the company's website are things you really want to look at, because that tells us how much your posts are getting interacted with. That's really what matters.” 
---------- 
Links: 
Grab your ticket to the Cyber Mar

Social Media Strategy to Meet Business Goals with Diane Shapiro

Ross Haleliuk, Head of Product at LimaCharlie, joins us to talk about product-led growth (PLG) and its role in cybersecurity and cloud security. Ross leads us through exactly what PLG is and how SAAS companies can implement it into their product or service processes for customer acquisition, revenue growth, retention, and engagement. Whether you’re a small business or a big company, PLG can ensure your customers are happy with your products and fully engaged with your services— without even going through the traditional sales funnel.

Timecoded Guide:

[02:01] Defining product-led growth and how businesses can use it to acquire customers

[08:33] How PLG is different in cybersecurity and customer data

[20:06] Balancing a security risk with ease of installation and integration

[28:21] Understanding metrics, conversions, and the customer retention journey

[35:36] Best hiring practices for PLG companies interested in implementing PLG
 
What is PLG, and why is everyone talking about it?
PLG stands for “product-led growth.” Product-led growth might just sound like another cybersecurity buzzword, but it’s actually a solid business strategy. PLG positions the product as the main drive for customer acquisition, revenue growth, and retainment. Instead of a sales person or team guiding the customer through their purchasing journey, the product itself is fostering engagement, building relationships with paying customers, and showing them its own value.

“The part that is incredibly important is that a potential customer has the ability to try the product before they start paying for it, before they purchase.”


How does PLG play out in cybersecurity?
Product-led growth can be tricky to implement in a cybersecurity space for a few reasons. The first is that product-led growth requires individual contributors to be empowered to make decisions, try different products, and make suggestions about solutions to problems. This can be difficult to implement in large companies without buy-in from leadership positions. Second, many products in cybersecurity fall under the umbrella of “keeping people safe.” This can be difficult to quantify the specific value of to customers, which is a vital aspect of successful PLG strategies.

“The challenge with those kinds of products is: How do you say if it's working? How do you measure if it's working? If you haven't been breached, is it because nobody tried to do it, [or] is the product so good that it stopped it? Did you just get lucky? It's the value that becomes incredibly hard to measure.”

How is PLG not just giving away a company’s products for free forever?
Implementing a PLG strategy means giving customers a chance to discover the value of your product for themselves, without having to go through a paywall or talk to a sales rep. If customers can immediately see the value of your product, they’re likely to keep using it— and that’s when your sales and/or marketing teams can step in. At the end of the day, PLG doesn’t completely replace a sales team or funnel, but instead makes it easier for your sales team to focus on high-ticket items and customer success.

“If a company has 500 people adopt the product, the freemium version in one of their departments, with only 5 people using it, it means that the sales team can now approach and have a conversation, potentially about expanding the 5 people deployment into the 500 people deployment. The sizing of the opportunities becomes easier.”

How do you measure the value of a PLG strategy in a cyber company?
It can be difficult to measure the value of PLG in a cybersecurity company, but it’s not impossible. What marketers and sales reps need to remember is that there has to be a key event that a customer experiences in order for them to realize the product does what it’s supposed to. For example, if you have an alert set up for someone clicking a link in an email that they’re not supposed to click, that’s a tangible event and alert you can see. That alert shows your customer that the product or software is doing what it’s supposed to do, and therefore illustrates the value of your PLG strategy.
“Building a PLG product requires an incredibly deep knowledge of the customer's needs, motivations, expectations, and everything else that drives the purchasing decisions.”
---------- 
Links: 
Grab your ticket to the <a href='http://cybersecuritymarketingsociety.com/conference2022/'>Cyber Marketing Con 2022.</a>
Spend some time with our guest Ross Haleliuk <a href='https://www.linkedin.com/in/rosshaleliuk/'>on LinkedIn</a> or on <a href='https://ventureinsecurity.com/'>his website</a>.

Follow Gianna on<a href='https://www.linkedin.com/in/giannawhitver/'> LinkedIn</a>.

Catch up with Maria on<a href='https://www.linkedin.com/in/maria-vepa/'> LinkedIn</a>.

Join the Cybersecurity Marketing Society on<a href='https://cybersecuritymarketingsociety.com'> our website</a>, and keep up with us on<a href='https://twitter.com/CyberMSociety'> Twitter</a>.

Additional Resources:

<a href='https://ventureinsecurity.substack.com/p/product-led-growth-in-cybersecurity'>https://ventureinsecurity.substack.com/p/product-led-growth-in-cybersecurity</a>


<a href='https://ventureinsecurity.substack.com/p/h1-2022-cybersecurity-product-led'>https://ventureinsecurity.substack.com/p/h1-2022-cybersecurity-product-led</a>


<a href='https://ventureinsecurity.substack.com/p/plg-is-an-oasis-not-a-mirage-making'>https://ventureinsecurity.substack.com/p/plg-is-an-oasis-not-a-mirage-making</a>


<a href='https://ventureinsecurity.substack.com/p/to-bring-plg-to-cybersecurity-lets'>https://ventureinsecurity.substack.com/p/to-bring-plg-to-cybersecurity-lets</a>


<a href='https://ventureinsecurity.substack.com/p/first-principles-thinking-and-how'>https://ventureinsecurity.substack.com/p/first-principles-thinking-and-how</a>

Ross Haleliuk, Head of Product at LimaCharlie, joins us to talk about product-led growth (PLG) and its role in cybersecurity and cloud security. Ross leads us through exactly what PLG is and how SAAS companies can implement it into their product or service processes for customer acquisition, revenue growth, retention, and engagement. Whether you’re a small business or a big company, PLG can ensure your customers are happy with your products and fully engaged with your services— without even going through the traditional sales funnel.

Timecoded Guide:

[02:01] Defining product-led growth and how businesses can use it to acquire customers

[08:33] How PLG is different in cybersecurity and customer data

[20:06] Balancing a security risk with ease of installation and integration

[28:21] Understanding metrics, conversions, and the customer retention journey

[35:36] Best hiring practices for PLG companies interested in implementing PLG
 
What is PLG, and why is everyone talking about it?
PLG stands for “product-led growth.” Product-led growth might just sound like another cybersecurity buzzword, but it’s actually a solid business strategy. PLG positions the product as the main drive for customer acquisition, revenue growth, and retainment. Instead of a sales person or team guiding the customer through their purchasing journey, the product itself is fostering engagement, building relationships with paying customers, and showing them its own value.

“The part that is incredibly important is that a potential customer has the ability to try the product before they start paying for it, before they purchase.”


How does PLG play out in cybersecurity?
Product-led growth can be tricky to implement in a cybersecurity space for a few reasons. The first is that product-led growth requires individual contributors to be empowered to make decisions, try different products, and make suggestions about solutions to problems. This can be difficult to implement in large companies without buy-in from leadership positions. Second, many products in cybersecurity fall under the umbrella of “keeping people safe.” This can be difficult to quantify the specific value of to customers, which is a vital aspect of successful PLG strategies.

“The challenge with those kinds of products is: How do you say if it's working? How do you measure if it's working? If you haven't been breached, is it because nobody tried to do it, [or] is the product so good that it stopped it? Did you just get lucky? It's the value that becomes incredibly hard to measure.”

How is PLG not just giving away a company’s products for free forever?
Implementing a PLG strategy means giving customers a chance to discover the value of your product for themselves, without having to go through a paywall or talk to a sales rep. If customers can immediately see the value of your product, they’re likely to keep using it— and that’s when your sales and/or marketing teams can step in. At the end of the day, PLG doesn’t completely replace a sales team or funnel, but instead makes it easier for your sales team to focus on high-ticket items and customer success.

“If a company has 500 people adopt the product, the freemium version in one of their departments, with only 5 people using it, it means that the sales team can now approach and have a conversation, potentially about expanding the 5 people deployment into the 500 people deployment. The sizing of the opportunities becomes easier.”

How do you measure the value of a PLG strategy in a cyber company?
It can be difficult to measure the value of PLG in a cybersecurity company, but it’s not impossible. What marketers and sales reps need to remember is that there has to be a key event that a customer experiences in order for them to realize the product does what it’s supposed to. For example, if you have an alert set up for someone clicking a link in an email that they’re not supposed to click, that’s a tangible event and alert you can see. That alert shows your customer that the product or software is doing what it’s supposed to do, and therefore illustrates the value of your PLG strategy.
“Building a PLG product requires an incredibly deep knowledge of the customer's needs, motivations, expectations, and everything else that drives the purchasing decisions.”
---------- 
Links: 
Grab your ticket to the <a href='http://cybersecuritymarketingsociety.com/conference2022/'>Cyber Marketing Con 2022.</a>
Spend some time with our guest Ross Haleliuk <a href='https://www.linkedin.com/in/rosshaleliuk/'>on LinkedIn</a> or on <a href='https://ventureinsecurity.com/'>his website</a>.

Follow Gianna on<a href='https://www.linkedin.com/in/giannawhitver/'> LinkedIn</a>.

Catch up with Maria on<a href='https://www.linkedin.com/in/maria-vepa/'> LinkedIn</a>.

Join the Cybersecurity Marketing Society on<a href='https://cybersecuritymarketingsociety.com'> our website</a>, and keep up with us on<a href='https://twitter.com/CyberMSociety'> Twitter</a>.

Additional Resources:

<a href='https://ventureinsecurity.substack.com/p/product-led-growth-in-cybersecurity'>https://ventureinsecurity.substack.com/p/product-led-growth-in-cybersecurity</a>


<a href='https://ventureinsecurity.substack.com/p/h1-2022-cybersecurity-product-led'>https://ventureinsecurity.substack.com/p/h1-2022-cybersecurity-product-led</a>


<a href='https://ventureinsecurity.substack.com/p/plg-is-an-oasis-not-a-mirage-making'>https://ventureinsecurity.substack.com/p/plg-is-an-oasis-not-a-mirage-making</a>


<a href='https://ventureinsecurity.substack.com/p/to-bring-plg-to-cybersecurity-lets'>https://ventureinsecurity.substack.com/p/to-bring-plg-to-cybersecurity-lets</a>


<a href='https://ventureinsecurity.substack.com/p/first-principles-thinking-and-how'>https://ventureinsecurity.substack.com/p/first-principles-thinking-and-how</a>

breaking-through-cyber-marketing.podbean.com/a69f9f0f-cb36-30ae-9212-3a0f6aec4b01

Ross Haleliuk, Head of Product at LimaCharlie, joins us to talk about product-led growth (PLG) and its role in cybersecurity and cloud security. Ross leads us through exactly what PLG is and how SAAS companies can implement it into their product or s...

Ross Haleliuk, Head of Product at LimaCharlie, joins us to talk about product-led growth (PLG) and its role in cybersecurity and cloud security. Ross leads us through exactly what PLG is and how SAAS companies can implement it into their product or service processes for customer acquisition, revenue growth, retention, and engagement. Whether you’re a small business or a big company, PLG can ensure your customers are happy with your products and fully engaged with your services— without even going through the traditional sales funnel.Timecoded Guide:[02:01] Defining product-led growth and how businesses can use it to acquire customers
[08:33] How PLG is different in cybersecurity and customer data
[20:06] Balancing a security risk with ease of installation and integration
[28:21] Understanding metrics, conversions, and the customer retention journey
[35:36] Best hiring practices for PLG companies interested in implementing PLG 
What is PLG, and why is everyone talking about it?PLG stands for “product-led growth.” Product-led growth might just sound like another cybersecurity buzzword, but it’s actually a solid business strategy. PLG positions the product as the main drive for customer acquisition, revenue growth, and retainment. Instead of a sales person or team guiding the customer through their purchasing journey, the product itself is fostering engagement, building relationships with paying customers, and showing them its own value.“The part that is incredibly important is that a potential customer has the ability to try the product before they start paying for it, before they purchase.”
How does PLG play out in cybersecurity?Product-led growth can be tricky to implement in a cybersecurity space for a few reasons. The first is that product-led growth requires individual contributors to be empowered to make decisions, try different products, and make suggestions about solutions to problems. This can be difficult to implement in large companies without buy-in from leadership positions. Second, many products in cybersecurity fall under the umbrella of “keeping people safe.” This can be difficult to quantify the specific value of to customers, which is a vital aspect of successful PLG strategies.“The challenge with those kinds of products is: How do you say if it's working? How do you measure if it's working? If you haven't been breached, is it because nobody tried to do it, [or] is the product so good that it stopped it? Did you just get lucky? It's the value that becomes incredibly hard to measure.”How is PLG not just giving away a company’s products for free forever?Implementing a PLG strategy means giving customers a chance to discover the value of your product for themselves, without having to go through a paywall or talk to a sales rep. If customers can immediately see the value of your product, they’re likely to keep using it— and that’s when your sales and/or marketing teams can step in. At the end of the day, PLG doesn’t completely replace a sales team or funnel, but instead makes it easier for your sales team to focus on high-ticket items and customer success.“If a company has 500 people adopt the product, the freemium version in one of their departments, with only 5 people using it, it means that the sales team can now approach and have a conversation, potentially about expanding the 5 people deployment into the 500 people deployment. The sizing of the opportunities becomes easier.”How do you measure the value of a PLG strategy in a cyber company?It can be difficult to measure the value of PLG in a cybersecurity company, but it’s not impossible. What marketers and sales reps need to remember is that there has to be a key event that a customer experiences in order for them to realize the product does what it’s supposed to. For example, if you have an alert set up for someone clicking a link in an email that they’re not supposed to click, that’s a tangible event and alert you can see. That alert shows your c

Product-Led Growth as Your Next Marketing Strategy with Ross Haleliuk

Gianna Whitver, our fearless co-host, finds herself on the opposite side of the microphone this week as she talks about community— specifically the community of the Cybersecurity Marketing Society. From the founder’s story to present-day, Maria interviews Gianna about the journey of the Cybersecurity Marketing Society, including how it was formed, who was in mind when it was created, and what’s next for our ever-expanding community. Have you joined the Society yet? You will after this episode! 


Timecoded Guide:
[00:00] Carving out our own community for in-house cybersecurity marketers
[07:29] Aligning our community with the aspects of identity, participation, and rewards
[12:36] Encouraging participation & knowing the limits of the high-stress cyber industry
[16:22] Introducing our upcoming events at RSA and Cyber Marketing Con 2022
[24:45] Connecting our community with marketing job boards, networking opportunities, and a place that they can call their own

Can you walk through the founder’s journey of the Cybersecurity Marketing Society?
After connecting during a job interview, Gianna and Maria developed both a strong friendship and a mutually beneficial relationship as cybersecurity marketers at smaller companies. As many of our Society members know, there are very limited resources for cyber marketing specifically, and even less of those resources provide mentorship or intel. Right before the pandemic hit, an idea was born: What if there could be an entire group of cyber marketers helping each other online? 
“Being cybersecurity marketers at smaller companies, we didn't have a lot of internal resources or people to bounce ideas off of, or people to ask, ‘What are you seeing in the market? What's the best practice in this area? What do you think about this event?’”
 
Community needs to align with identity, encourage participation, and provide reward. In your opinion, how did the Cybersecurity Marketing Society achieve these three?
The Cybersecurity Marketing Society is run by cyber marketers for cyber marketers, and we aren’t afraid to admit that we vet all of our applications for potential new members. While this helps with the identity of our group, it also encourages participation from our members, who know that the CMS is a safe space to inquire and seek more information without just being advertised to or manipulated. Not only is this safe space a reward, we also offer exclusive events, virtual and in-person, and produce assets like the <a href='https://insight.cybersecuritymarketingsociety.com/survey2021'>2021 State of Cybersecurity Marketing report</a>.
“There are some groups I know of that require that you post once a day or once a week, and we actually don't require that. One of the reasons we don't is because we know that cybersecurity marketing can be a really, really intense industry.” 
 
What does the Cyber Marketing Society have planned for Cyber Marketing Con 2022? What about at RSA?
Considering the Cybersecurity Marketing Society was born in 2020, we haven’t been able to execute in-person event opportunities for our members. However, Gianna has incredible news: in-person meetups and events are coming— twice! Join us at RSA on June 7th from 3:30 to 5:30 at the Press Club for a cyber marketing meet-up, and mark your calendars for Cyber Marketing Con 2022, happening virtually AND in-person in November.
“Beyond the internal core, the heart of this, which is the Cybersecurity Marketing Slack community, there's so many ways to get involved. There's so many ways to be rewarded and to feel the connection of the group beyond that, including our Cyber Marketing Con.”
 
What does the Cybersecurity Marketing Society mean to you personally, in your career and in your personal life? 
For Gianna, the community of the Cyber Marketing Society isn’t just about the posts, the events, or the data shared; it’s also about the lives changed and the people helped by everything the Society does. Hearing feedback from cybersecurity marketers who have gotten a job from our job board, improved their budget with the insight they’ve received, and learned something new from what we have to offer has been invaluable.
“My ethos is that I treat everybody who joins the Society as if they're my best friend, and I have made some amazing friendships with some wonderful people, just based off of us congregating in a digital room together every day for the past 600 days.”
----------
Links:
Get tickets for our upcoming <a href='https://cybersecuritymarketingsociety.com/conference2022/'>Cyber Marketing Con 2022</a>, and check out what we did during <a href='https://conference.cybersecuritymarketingsociety.com'>Cyber Marketing Con 2021</a>.
Join the Cybersecurity Marketing Society on <a href='https://cybersecuritymarketingsociety.com'>our website</a>, and keep up with us on <a href='https://twitter.com/CyberMSociety'>Twitter</a>. 
Read the <a href='https://insight.cybersecuritymarketingsociety.com/survey2021'>2021 State of Cybersecurity Marketing report</a>.
Follow Gianna on <a href='https://www.linkedin.com/in/giannawhitver/'>LinkedIn</a>.
Catch up with Maria on <a href='https://www.linkedin.com/in/maria-vepa/'>LinkedIn</a>.
Keep up with Hacker Valley on <a href='https://hackervalley.com'>our website</a>, <a href='https://www.linkedin.com/company/hackervalleystudio/'>LinkedIn</a>, <a href='https://www.instagram.com/hackervalleymedia/'>Instagram</a>, and <a href='https://twitter.com/TheHackerValley'>Twitter</a>.

Gianna Whitver, our fearless co-host, finds herself on the opposite side of the microphone this week as she talks about community— specifically the community of the Cybersecurity Marketing Society. From the founder’s story to present-day, Maria interviews Gianna about the journey of the Cybersecurity Marketing Society, including how it was formed, who was in mind when it was created, and what’s next for our ever-expanding community. Have you joined the Society yet? You will after this episode! 


Timecoded Guide:
[00:00] Carving out our own community for in-house cybersecurity marketers
[07:29] Aligning our community with the aspects of identity, participation, and rewards
[12:36] Encouraging participation & knowing the limits of the high-stress cyber industry
[16:22] Introducing our upcoming events at RSA and Cyber Marketing Con 2022
[24:45] Connecting our community with marketing job boards, networking opportunities, and a place that they can call their own

Can you walk through the founder’s journey of the Cybersecurity Marketing Society?
After connecting during a job interview, Gianna and Maria developed both a strong friendship and a mutually beneficial relationship as cybersecurity marketers at smaller companies. As many of our Society members know, there are very limited resources for cyber marketing specifically, and even less of those resources provide mentorship or intel. Right before the pandemic hit, an idea was born: What if there could be an entire group of cyber marketers helping each other online? 
“Being cybersecurity marketers at smaller companies, we didn't have a lot of internal resources or people to bounce ideas off of, or people to ask, ‘What are you seeing in the market? What's the best practice in this area? What do you think about this event?’”
 
Community needs to align with identity, encourage participation, and provide reward. In your opinion, how did the Cybersecurity Marketing Society achieve these three?
The Cybersecurity Marketing Society is run by cyber marketers for cyber marketers, and we aren’t afraid to admit that we vet all of our applications for potential new members. While this helps with the identity of our group, it also encourages participation from our members, who know that the CMS is a safe space to inquire and seek more information without just being advertised to or manipulated. Not only is this safe space a reward, we also offer exclusive events, virtual and in-person, and produce assets like the <a href='https://insight.cybersecuritymarketingsociety.com/survey2021'>2021 State of Cybersecurity Marketing report</a>.
“There are some groups I know of that require that you post once a day or once a week, and we actually don't require that. One of the reasons we don't is because we know that cybersecurity marketing can be a really, really intense industry.” 
 
What does the Cyber Marketing Society have planned for Cyber Marketing Con 2022? What about at RSA?
Considering the Cybersecurity Marketing Society was born in 2020, we haven’t been able to execute in-person event opportunities for our members. However, Gianna has incredible news: in-person meetups and events are coming— twice! Join us at RSA on June 7th from 3:30 to 5:30 at the Press Club for a cyber marketing meet-up, and mark your calendars for Cyber Marketing Con 2022, happening virtually AND in-person in November.
“Beyond the internal core, the heart of this, which is the Cybersecurity Marketing Slack community, there's so many ways to get involved. There's so many ways to be rewarded and to feel the connection of the group beyond that, including our Cyber Marketing Con.”
 
What does the Cybersecurity Marketing Society mean to you personally, in your career and in your personal life? 
For Gianna, the community of the Cyber Marketing Society isn’t just about the posts, the events, or the data shared; it’s also about the lives changed and the people helped by everything the Society does. Hearing feedback from cybersecurity marketers who have gotten a job from our job board, improved their budget with the insight they’ve received, and learned something new from what we have to offer has been invaluable.
“My ethos is that I treat everybody who joins the Society as if they're my best friend, and I have made some amazing friendships with some wonderful people, just based off of us congregating in a digital room together every day for the past 600 days.”
----------
Links:
Get tickets for our upcoming <a href='https://cybersecuritymarketingsociety.com/conference2022/'>Cyber Marketing Con 2022</a>, and check out what we did during <a href='https://conference.cybersecuritymarketingsociety.com'>Cyber Marketing Con 2021</a>.
Join the Cybersecurity Marketing Society on <a href='https://cybersecuritymarketingsociety.com'>our website</a>, and keep up with us on <a href='https://twitter.com/CyberMSociety'>Twitter</a>. 
Read the <a href='https://insight.cybersecuritymarketingsociety.com/survey2021'>2021 State of Cybersecurity Marketing report</a>.
Follow Gianna on <a href='https://www.linkedin.com/in/giannawhitver/'>LinkedIn</a>.
Catch up with Maria on <a href='https://www.linkedin.com/in/maria-vepa/'>LinkedIn</a>.
Keep up with Hacker Valley on <a href='https://hackervalley.com'>our website</a>, <a href='https://www.linkedin.com/company/hackervalleystudio/'>LinkedIn</a>, <a href='https://www.instagram.com/hackervalleymedia/'>Instagram</a>, and <a href='https://twitter.com/TheHackerValley'>Twitter</a>.

breaking-through-cyber-marketing.podbean.com/b28ec545-2ca6-3819-a5e2-4580bad32b52

Gianna Whitver, our fearless co-host, finds herself on the opposite side of the microphone this week as she talks about community— specifically the community of the Cybersecurity Marketing Society. From the founder’s story to present-day, Maria inter...

Gianna Whitver, our fearless co-host, finds herself on the opposite side of the microphone this week as she talks about community— specifically the community of the Cybersecurity Marketing Society. From the founder’s story to present-day, Maria interviews Gianna about the journey of the Cybersecurity Marketing Society, including how it was formed, who was in mind when it was created, and what’s next for our ever-expanding community. Have you joined the Society yet? You will after this episode! 
Timecoded Guide:
[00:00] Carving out our own community for in-house cybersecurity marketers
[07:29] Aligning our community with the aspects of identity, participation, and rewards
[12:36] Encouraging participation & knowing the limits of the high-stress cyber industry
[16:22] Introducing our upcoming events at RSA and Cyber Marketing Con 2022
[24:45] Connecting our community with marketing job boards, networking opportunities, and a place that they can call their ownCan you walk through the founder’s journey of the Cybersecurity Marketing Society?
After connecting during a job interview, Gianna and Maria developed both a strong friendship and a mutually beneficial relationship as cybersecurity marketers at smaller companies. As many of our Society members know, there are very limited resources for cyber marketing specifically, and even less of those resources provide mentorship or intel. Right before the pandemic hit, an idea was born: What if there could be an entire group of cyber marketers helping each other online? 
“Being cybersecurity marketers at smaller companies, we didn't have a lot of internal resources or people to bounce ideas off of, or people to ask, ‘What are you seeing in the market? What's the best practice in this area? What do you think about this event?’”
 
Community needs to align with identity, encourage participation, and provide reward. In your opinion, how did the Cybersecurity Marketing Society achieve these three?
The Cybersecurity Marketing Society is run by cyber marketers for cyber marketers, and we aren’t afraid to admit that we vet all of our applications for potential new members. While this helps with the identity of our group, it also encourages participation from our members, who know that the CMS is a safe space to inquire and seek more information without just being advertised to or manipulated. Not only is this safe space a reward, we also offer exclusive events, virtual and in-person, and produce assets like the 2021 State of Cybersecurity Marketing report.
“There are some groups I know of that require that you post once a day or once a week, and we actually don't require that. One of the reasons we don't is because we know that cybersecurity marketing can be a really, really intense industry.” 
 
What does the Cyber Marketing Society have planned for Cyber Marketing Con 2022? What about at RSA?
Considering the Cybersecurity Marketing Society was born in 2020, we haven’t been able to execute in-person event opportunities for our members. However, Gianna has incredible news: in-person meetups and events are coming— twice! Join us at RSA on June 7th from 3:30 to 5:30 at the Press Club for a cyber marketing meet-up, and mark your calendars for Cyber Marketing Con 2022, happening virtually AND in-person in November.
“Beyond the internal core, the heart of this, which is the Cybersecurity Marketing Slack community, there's so many ways to get involved. There's so many ways to be rewarded and to feel the connection of the group beyond that, including our Cyber Marketing Con.”
 
What does the Cybersecurity Marketing Society mean to you personally, in your career and in your personal life? 
For Gianna, the community of the Cyber Marketing Society isn’t just about the posts, the events, or the data shared; it’s also about the lives changed and the people helped by everything the Society does. Hearing feedback from cybersecurity marketers who have gotten a job from our job board, improved their

Making Friends & Vanquishing Enemies: The Story of the Cybersecurity Marketing Society

Breezy Beaumont, Head of Growth at Correlated, takes us into the new and noteworthy world of product-led growth this week. Breezy walks us through the essentials of what product-led growth (PLG) is, top strategies in the PLG world, marketing team tactics for PLG cyber companies, and how data looks differently with this go-to-market strategy. Is the secret to tackling the market hidden in product-led growth? Breezy helps us uncover the mystery!
 
Timecoded Guide:
[00:00] Introducing the (still relatively new) concept of product-led growth companies
[05:38] Implementing PLG go-to-market strategies in the cybersecurity industry
[12:29] Breaking through highly competitive industries and being the first to market
[20:35] Understanding the product you’re marketing and achieving customer success
[26:16] Following the journey data takes in a product-led growth company
 
What is product-led growth? 
Product-led growth, or PLG, has become a buzzword that cybersecurity marketers hear, but rarely do we understand PLG as a go-to-market strategy. If you can go to a website and immediately get started with a product, that is product-led growth. Putting product at the forefront of your company, especially if this is a product-led growth cybersecurity company, changes the roles within your organization and removes many barriers in the sales process.
“Product-led growth is a little bit of an umbrella term for a lot of things that people are probably a little bit more familiar with. Basically, it's a way of describing any way that you can go to a website and immediately get started with the product, it's easily accessible to you.” 
 
What are some cybersecurity companies or cybersecurity use cases that you've seen work with PLG?
Although product-led growth can feel at odds with the cybersecurity industry, Breezy assures us that PLG works for companies in all areas of cyber, including identity management, IoT security, and security ops. While PLG can thrive anywhere, tactics can range from freemium product levels, free trials, or product preview options, all of which encourage a product-forward approach to the sales process. Breezy explains that even product tours are becoming an early element of product-led growth strategy for many cyber companies. 
“It's all about reducing friction in the buying process, because the buying process today stinks. It especially stinks for people who don't want to talk to people that much. We shouldn't have to put up X amount of dollars before purchasing.”
 
How do you respond to people who say, "I don't want my competition to see my products?" 
Cybersecurity teaches us to think twice and to act cautiously with our data and information, and cybersecurity companies can embody this mindset as well. Product-led growth can feel like foolishly you’re giving away all your assets and information to your competitors, but Breezy explains that your competitors already have access to previews and demos of your product. Instead of fearing your competitors seeing your product, focus on product-led growth as a means to becoming the first in the market.
“The competition is fierce. And so, I'd say first of all, your competitors are already seeing your product out there, but second of all, you want to be first in the market. You want to get that market share as quickly as possible.”
 
Do PLG companies have to have an official customer marketing team, or one customer marketing person that's fully in charge of customer marketing? 
Roles change when an organization shifts from a traditional go-to-market strategy to a product-led growth strategy. Marketing is not exempt from these changes, and instead often acts as a huge part of the sales and revenue processes as result of these changes. Breezy explains that, although we’re used to each department having separate data silos and clearly divided roles, the streamlined data approach of product-led growth facilitates collaboration and communication. 
“One of the big changes that happens in a product-led company is the data that we're working off of, on both the marketing side and across the company. In a lot of product-led companies, the entire revenue team, if not the entire team altogether, all work off of the same dataset.”
----------
Links:
Get tickets for our upcoming <a href='http://cybersecuritymarketingsociety.com/conference2022/'>Cyber Marketing Con 2022</a>. 
Spend some time with our guest Breezy Beaumont on <a href='https://www.linkedin.com/in/breezybeaumont/'>LinkedIn</a>.
Learn more about Correlated on <a href='https://www.linkedin.com/company/correlated/'>LinkedIn</a> and <a href='https://www.getcorrelated.com/?utm_source=linkedin&utm_medium=social_media&utm_campaign=company_page'>the Correlated website</a>. 
Follow Gianna on <a href='https://www.linkedin.com/in/giannawhitver/'>LinkedIn</a>.
Catch up with Maria on <a href='https://www.linkedin.com/in/maria-vepa/'>LinkedIn</a>.
Join the Cybersecurity Marketing Society on <a href='https://cybersecuritymarketingsociety.com'>our website</a>, and keep up with us on <a href='https://twitter.com/CyberMSociety'>Twitter</a>.
Keep up with Hacker Valley on <a href='https://hackervalley.com'>our website</a>, <a href='https://www.linkedin.com/company/hackervalleystudio/'>LinkedIn</a>, <a href='https://www.instagram.com/hackervalleymedia/'>Instagram</a>, and <a href='https://twitter.com/TheHackerValley'>Twitter</a>.

Breezy Beaumont, Head of Growth at Correlated, takes us into the new and noteworthy world of product-led growth this week. Breezy walks us through the essentials of what product-led growth (PLG) is, top strategies in the PLG world, marketing team tactics for PLG cyber companies, and how data looks differently with this go-to-market strategy. Is the secret to tackling the market hidden in product-led growth? Breezy helps us uncover the mystery!
 
Timecoded Guide:
[00:00] Introducing the (still relatively new) concept of product-led growth companies
[05:38] Implementing PLG go-to-market strategies in the cybersecurity industry
[12:29] Breaking through highly competitive industries and being the first to market
[20:35] Understanding the product you’re marketing and achieving customer success
[26:16] Following the journey data takes in a product-led growth company
 
What is product-led growth? 
Product-led growth, or PLG, has become a buzzword that cybersecurity marketers hear, but rarely do we understand PLG as a go-to-market strategy. If you can go to a website and immediately get started with a product, that is product-led growth. Putting product at the forefront of your company, especially if this is a product-led growth cybersecurity company, changes the roles within your organization and removes many barriers in the sales process.
“Product-led growth is a little bit of an umbrella term for a lot of things that people are probably a little bit more familiar with. Basically, it's a way of describing any way that you can go to a website and immediately get started with the product, it's easily accessible to you.” 
 
What are some cybersecurity companies or cybersecurity use cases that you've seen work with PLG?
Although product-led growth can feel at odds with the cybersecurity industry, Breezy assures us that PLG works for companies in all areas of cyber, including identity management, IoT security, and security ops. While PLG can thrive anywhere, tactics can range from freemium product levels, free trials, or product preview options, all of which encourage a product-forward approach to the sales process. Breezy explains that even product tours are becoming an early element of product-led growth strategy for many cyber companies. 
“It's all about reducing friction in the buying process, because the buying process today stinks. It especially stinks for people who don't want to talk to people that much. We shouldn't have to put up X amount of dollars before purchasing.”
 
How do you respond to people who say, "I don't want my competition to see my products?" 
Cybersecurity teaches us to think twice and to act cautiously with our data and information, and cybersecurity companies can embody this mindset as well. Product-led growth can feel like foolishly you’re giving away all your assets and information to your competitors, but Breezy explains that your competitors already have access to previews and demos of your product. Instead of fearing your competitors seeing your product, focus on product-led growth as a means to becoming the first in the market.
“The competition is fierce. And so, I'd say first of all, your competitors are already seeing your product out there, but second of all, you want to be first in the market. You want to get that market share as quickly as possible.”
 
Do PLG companies have to have an official customer marketing team, or one customer marketing person that's fully in charge of customer marketing? 
Roles change when an organization shifts from a traditional go-to-market strategy to a product-led growth strategy. Marketing is not exempt from these changes, and instead often acts as a huge part of the sales and revenue processes as result of these changes. Breezy explains that, although we’re used to each department having separate data silos and clearly divided roles, the streamlined data approach of product-led growth facilitates collaboration and communication. 
“One of the big changes that happens in a product-led company is the data that we're working off of, on both the marketing side and across the company. In a lot of product-led companies, the entire revenue team, if not the entire team altogether, all work off of the same dataset.”
----------
Links:
Get tickets for our upcoming <a href='http://cybersecuritymarketingsociety.com/conference2022/'>Cyber Marketing Con 2022</a>. 
Spend some time with our guest Breezy Beaumont on <a href='https://www.linkedin.com/in/breezybeaumont/'>LinkedIn</a>.
Learn more about Correlated on <a href='https://www.linkedin.com/company/correlated/'>LinkedIn</a> and <a href='https://www.getcorrelated.com/?utm_source=linkedin&utm_medium=social_media&utm_campaign=company_page'>the Correlated website</a>. 
Follow Gianna on <a href='https://www.linkedin.com/in/giannawhitver/'>LinkedIn</a>.
Catch up with Maria on <a href='https://www.linkedin.com/in/maria-vepa/'>LinkedIn</a>.
Join the Cybersecurity Marketing Society on <a href='https://cybersecuritymarketingsociety.com'>our website</a>, and keep up with us on <a href='https://twitter.com/CyberMSociety'>Twitter</a>.
Keep up with Hacker Valley on <a href='https://hackervalley.com'>our website</a>, <a href='https://www.linkedin.com/company/hackervalleystudio/'>LinkedIn</a>, <a href='https://www.instagram.com/hackervalleymedia/'>Instagram</a>, and <a href='https://twitter.com/TheHackerValley'>Twitter</a>.

breaking-through-cyber-marketing.podbean.com/2e0e1f7f-c9d4-32a7-929c-80175a86d1ad

Breezy Beaumont, Head of Growth at Correlated, takes us into the new and noteworthy world of product-led growth this week. Breezy walks us through the essentials of what product-led growth (PLG) is, top strategies in the PLG world, marketing team tac...

Breezy Beaumont, Head of Growth at Correlated, takes us into the new and noteworthy world of product-led growth this week. Breezy walks us through the essentials of what product-led growth (PLG) is, top strategies in the PLG world, marketing team tactics for PLG cyber companies, and how data looks differently with this go-to-market strategy. Is the secret to tackling the market hidden in product-led growth? Breezy helps us uncover the mystery!
 
Timecoded Guide:
[00:00] Introducing the (still relatively new) concept of product-led growth companies
[05:38] Implementing PLG go-to-market strategies in the cybersecurity industry
[12:29] Breaking through highly competitive industries and being the first to market
[20:35] Understanding the product you’re marketing and achieving customer success
[26:16] Following the journey data takes in a product-led growth company
 
What is product-led growth? 
Product-led growth, or PLG, has become a buzzword that cybersecurity marketers hear, but rarely do we understand PLG as a go-to-market strategy. If you can go to a website and immediately get started with a product, that is product-led growth. Putting product at the forefront of your company, especially if this is a product-led growth cybersecurity company, changes the roles within your organization and removes many barriers in the sales process.
“Product-led growth is a little bit of an umbrella term for a lot of things that people are probably a little bit more familiar with. Basically, it's a way of describing any way that you can go to a website and immediately get started with the product, it's easily accessible to you.” 
 
What are some cybersecurity companies or cybersecurity use cases that you've seen work with PLG?
Although product-led growth can feel at odds with the cybersecurity industry, Breezy assures us that PLG works for companies in all areas of cyber, including identity management, IoT security, and security ops. While PLG can thrive anywhere, tactics can range from freemium product levels, free trials, or product preview options, all of which encourage a product-forward approach to the sales process. Breezy explains that even product tours are becoming an early element of product-led growth strategy for many cyber companies. 
“It's all about reducing friction in the buying process, because the buying process today stinks. It especially stinks for people who don't want to talk to people that much. We shouldn't have to put up X amount of dollars before purchasing.”
 
How do you respond to people who say, "I don't want my competition to see my products?" 
Cybersecurity teaches us to think twice and to act cautiously with our data and information, and cybersecurity companies can embody this mindset as well. Product-led growth can feel like foolishly you’re giving away all your assets and information to your competitors, but Breezy explains that your competitors already have access to previews and demos of your product. Instead of fearing your competitors seeing your product, focus on product-led growth as a means to becoming the first in the market.
“The competition is fierce. And so, I'd say first of all, your competitors are already seeing your product out there, but second of all, you want to be first in the market. You want to get that market share as quickly as possible.”
 
Do PLG companies have to have an official customer marketing team, or one customer marketing person that's fully in charge of customer marketing? 
Roles change when an organization shifts from a traditional go-to-market strategy to a product-led growth strategy. Marketing is not exempt from these changes, and instead often acts as a huge part of the sales and revenue processes as result of these changes. Breezy explains that, although we’re used to each department having separate data silos and clearly divided roles, the streamlined data approach of product-led growth facilitates collaboration and communication. 
“One of the big changes th

Finding Success Under the Product-Led Growth Umbrella with Breezy Beaumont

Carol Meyers is an Independent Board Director, Advisor, and Investor. She has held CMO positions at companies like Rapid7 and LogMeIn, along with numerous consulting and advisory positions at cyber startups. Carol develops go-to-market plans that drive growth and strategy in businesses. In this episode, she shares her wisdom for building a successful go-to-market strategy…and career, covering inbound marketing, target audience development, start-up hiring, and career self-confidence.  
 
Timecoded Guide: 
[01:59] Struggles faced and advice for young women starting out in tech
[03:28] Carol’s components of a go-to marketing plan
[12:10] Who to pick for your team at a start-up
[19:41] Ways to measure success
[28:41] How advisory boards can be your cheerleaders
 
What are the ingredients of a go-to marketing plan?
Carol says to have a solid plan, you have to have the resources and information prepared to best support your channels. If you are unable to tell your channels who you are and what you’re selling, then your business isn’t ready. It’s all about knowing your buyer; who they are and how you can solve their problem. It's also important to consider why they should choose you to solve it. Once you have a clear plan and ways to measure and test it, you will be better suited for taking the first step.
“It's not that someone has to spend money to buy your solution, but they have to invest their personal time to evaluate your solution and to think about the problem that you're solving for them.”
 
What are the most important metrics to keep an eye on? 
The most important metric is also the most obvious; that customers are buying and using your products and services. You might see your audience in varying stages that may not match the one you’re in. Be sure to look at all the stages of conversion. Some that are not on the traditional pipeline might get overlooked when they play a big part in lead generation. Carol reminds us to keep a sharp eye on micro-conversions; while they may not be counted in the pipeline, they can still play a huge factor in a sale or lead.
“Your number one goal in marketing is you've got to be a part of revenue, you've got to be driving revenue.”
 
What is the role of an advisory board? 
Carol explains that the role of an advisory board can look different from company to company. In her experience, a set of challenges are brought to the board, and then they present possible solutions and advice for that problem. There is also a one-on-one side to being an advisor, which is one of her favorite aspects. Talking through roadblocks and bouncing ideas creates a valuable and intimate relationship between advisors and company leaders.
“Having a group of advisers around you and people who can even just be a cheerleader for you can be really helpful.”
______
Links: 
Connect with <a href='https://www.linkedin.com/in/caroljmeyers/'>Carol Meyers </a>on LinkedIn.
Catch up with <a href='https://www.linkedin.com/in/maria-vepa/'>Maria</a> on LinkedIn.
Follow <a href='https://www.linkedin.com/in/giannawhitver/'>Gianna</a> on LinkedIn.
Grab your ticket to the <a href='http://cybersecuritymarketingsociety.com/conference2022/'>Cyber Marketing Con 2022.</a>
Join the Cybersecurity Marketing Society on our <a href='https://cybersecuritymarketingsociety.com/'>website</a>, and keep up with us on <a href='https://twitter.com/CyberMSociety'>Twitter</a>.
Keep up with Hacker Valley on<a href='https://hackervalley.com/'> our website</a>,<a href='https://www.linkedin.com/company/hackervalleystudio/'> LinkedIn</a>,<a href='https://www.instagram.com/hackervalleymedia/'> Instagram</a>, and<a href='https://twitter.com/TheHackerValley'> Twitter</a>. 
Additional resources: <a href='https://blackkite.com/'>BlackKite Security</a>, <a href='https://securityscorecard.com'>Security ScoreCard</a>

Carol Meyers is an Independent Board Director, Advisor, and Investor. She has held CMO positions at companies like Rapid7 and LogMeIn, along with numerous consulting and advisory positions at cyber startups. Carol develops go-to-market plans that drive growth and strategy in businesses. In this episode, she shares her wisdom for building a successful go-to-market strategy…and career, covering inbound marketing, target audience development, start-up hiring, and career self-confidence.  
 
Timecoded Guide: 
[01:59] Struggles faced and advice for young women starting out in tech
[03:28] Carol’s components of a go-to marketing plan
[12:10] Who to pick for your team at a start-up
[19:41] Ways to measure success
[28:41] How advisory boards can be your cheerleaders
 
What are the ingredients of a go-to marketing plan?
Carol says to have a solid plan, you have to have the resources and information prepared to best support your channels. If you are unable to tell your channels who you are and what you’re selling, then your business isn’t ready. It’s all about knowing your buyer; who they are and how you can solve their problem. It's also important to consider why they should choose you to solve it. Once you have a clear plan and ways to measure and test it, you will be better suited for taking the first step.
“It's not that someone has to spend money to buy your solution, but they have to invest their personal time to evaluate your solution and to think about the problem that you're solving for them.”
 
What are the most important metrics to keep an eye on? 
The most important metric is also the most obvious; that customers are buying and using your products and services. You might see your audience in varying stages that may not match the one you’re in. Be sure to look at all the stages of conversion. Some that are not on the traditional pipeline might get overlooked when they play a big part in lead generation. Carol reminds us to keep a sharp eye on micro-conversions; while they may not be counted in the pipeline, they can still play a huge factor in a sale or lead.
“Your number one goal in marketing is you've got to be a part of revenue, you've got to be driving revenue.”
 
What is the role of an advisory board? 
Carol explains that the role of an advisory board can look different from company to company. In her experience, a set of challenges are brought to the board, and then they present possible solutions and advice for that problem. There is also a one-on-one side to being an advisor, which is one of her favorite aspects. Talking through roadblocks and bouncing ideas creates a valuable and intimate relationship between advisors and company leaders.
“Having a group of advisers around you and people who can even just be a cheerleader for you can be really helpful.”
______
Links: 
Connect with <a href='https://www.linkedin.com/in/caroljmeyers/'>Carol Meyers </a>on LinkedIn.
Catch up with <a href='https://www.linkedin.com/in/maria-vepa/'>Maria</a> on LinkedIn.
Follow <a href='https://www.linkedin.com/in/giannawhitver/'>Gianna</a> on LinkedIn.
Grab your ticket to the <a href='http://cybersecuritymarketingsociety.com/conference2022/'>Cyber Marketing Con 2022.</a>
Join the Cybersecurity Marketing Society on our <a href='https://cybersecuritymarketingsociety.com/'>website</a>, and keep up with us on <a href='https://twitter.com/CyberMSociety'>Twitter</a>.
Keep up with Hacker Valley on<a href='https://hackervalley.com/'> our website</a>,<a href='https://www.linkedin.com/company/hackervalleystudio/'> LinkedIn</a>,<a href='https://www.instagram.com/hackervalleymedia/'> Instagram</a>, and<a href='https://twitter.com/TheHackerValley'> Twitter</a>. 
Additional resources: <a href='https://blackkite.com/'>BlackKite Security</a>, <a href='https://securityscorecard.com'>Security ScoreCard</a>

breaking-through-cyber-marketing.podbean.com/cd3b9a67-e659-3243-96b9-5b3dc5aca33c

Carol Meyers is an Independent Board Director, Advisor, and Investor. She has held CMO positions at companies like Rapid7 and LogMeIn, along with numerous consulting and advisory positions at cyber startups. Carol develops go-to-market plans that dri...

Carol Meyers is an Independent Board Director, Advisor, and Investor. She has held CMO positions at companies like Rapid7 and LogMeIn, along with numerous consulting and advisory positions at cyber startups. Carol develops go-to-market plans that drive growth and strategy in businesses. In this episode, she shares her wisdom for building a successful go-to-market strategy…and career, covering inbound marketing, target audience development, start-up hiring, and career self-confidence.  
 
Timecoded Guide: 
[01:59] Struggles faced and advice for young women starting out in tech
[03:28] Carol’s components of a go-to marketing plan
[12:10] Who to pick for your team at a start-up
[19:41] Ways to measure success
[28:41] How advisory boards can be your cheerleaders
 
What are the ingredients of a go-to marketing plan?
Carol says to have a solid plan, you have to have the resources and information prepared to best support your channels. If you are unable to tell your channels who you are and what you’re selling, then your business isn’t ready. It’s all about knowing your buyer; who they are and how you can solve their problem. It's also important to consider why they should choose you to solve it. Once you have a clear plan and ways to measure and test it, you will be better suited for taking the first step.
“It's not that someone has to spend money to buy your solution, but they have to invest their personal time to evaluate your solution and to think about the problem that you're solving for them.”
 
What are the most important metrics to keep an eye on? 
The most important metric is also the most obvious; that customers are buying and using your products and services. You might see your audience in varying stages that may not match the one you’re in. Be sure to look at all the stages of conversion. Some that are not on the traditional pipeline might get overlooked when they play a big part in lead generation. Carol reminds us to keep a sharp eye on micro-conversions; while they may not be counted in the pipeline, they can still play a huge factor in a sale or lead.
“Your number one goal in marketing is you've got to be a part of revenue, you've got to be driving revenue.”
 
What is the role of an advisory board? 
Carol explains that the role of an advisory board can look different from company to company. In her experience, a set of challenges are brought to the board, and then they present possible solutions and advice for that problem. There is also a one-on-one side to being an advisor, which is one of her favorite aspects. Talking through roadblocks and bouncing ideas creates a valuable and intimate relationship between advisors and company leaders.
“Having a group of advisers around you and people who can even just be a cheerleader for you can be really helpful.”
______
Links: 
Connect with Carol Meyers on LinkedIn.
Catch up with Maria on LinkedIn.
Follow Gianna on LinkedIn.
Grab your ticket to the Cyber Marketing Con 2022.
Join the Cybersecurity Marketing Society on our website, and keep up with us on Twitter.
Keep up with Hacker Valley on our website, LinkedIn, Instagram, and Twitter. 
Additional resources: BlackKite Security, Security ScoreCard

Overcoming Startup Go-To-Market Hurdles with CMO & Advisory Board Member Carol Meyers

David Brown is the Director of Global Partner Marketing for ZeroFox, a computer and network security company based out of Baltimore, MD. David has over fifteen years of experience in the international B2B marketing field. He joins us as we discuss partnership channel marketing. David believes it's a positive direction for businesses to go in the future of marketing.
Timecoded Guide: 
In this podcast, David covers: 
<ul><li style="font-weight:400;">[1:06] The breakdown and variables of channel partner marketing</li>
<li style="font-weight:400;">[13:36] Where your program partners are and what they need from you</li>
<li style="font-weight:400;">[21:24] Tactics to enlist new partners for small companies</li>
<li style="font-weight:400;">[35:19] How David’s early career prepared him for cybersecurity marketing</li>
</ul>
 
What is channel partner marketing?
This fresh approach to marketing allows for a broader market and network, while also increasing revenue for the companies involved. When partnering with another company through channel partnership, both remain independent. They share the benefits of re-selling and distributing each other’s products. Not only that, the partners act as influencers for each other’s brands.
 
“Really, what we're looking at with partner marketing is working with another organization in order to amplify your sales and marketing capabilities.”
 
Why is channel partnership the future of marketing? 
David thinks everyone can benefit from a channel marketing partnership, especially when it comes to inbound marketing. This may be his hot-take in the industry, but he has seen the growth and advantage of inviting other companies to endorse your products. With these channels comes influence, and David believes that influence is the new currency of business.
 
“And when the channel team in the partnership team is more integrated into sales, marketing, and product, it seems to be a lot more successful.”
 
How does this fit into sales?
Your channels are out there building brand awareness, relationships, and networking. As they drive engagement up, leads will follow suit. It also gives the sales team more resources to get the job done. By creating a partnership program that works alongside your sales team, hitting target goals becomes much easier.
 
“My job, and people that I work with on the marketing team, is to take our limited resources and direct them at those partners that are starting to build that momentum and go out there.” 
______
Links: 
If you have questions or want to chat, email David at <a href='mailto:dabrown@zerofox.com'>dabrown@zerofox.com</a> or message him on the Cybersecurity Marketing Society Slack!
<a href='https://www.linkedin.com/in/davidclbrown/'>Find David Brown on LinkedIn.</a>
Follow <a href='https://www.linkedin.com/in/giannawhitver/'>Gianna</a> on LinkedIn.
Catch up with <a href='https://www.linkedin.com/in/maria-vepa/'>Maria</a> on LinkedIn.
Grab your ticket to the <a href='https://cybersecuritymarketingsociety.com/'>Cyber Marketing Con 2022.</a>
Join the Cybersecurity Marketing Society on our <a href='https://cybersecuritymarketingsociety.com/'>website</a>, and keep up with us on <a href='https://twitter.com/CyberMSociety'>Twitter</a>.
Keep up with Hacker Valley on<a href='https://hackervalley.com/'> our website</a>,<a href='https://www.linkedin.com/company/hackervalleystudio/'> LinkedIn</a>,<a href='https://www.instagram.com/hackervalleymedia/'> Instagram</a>, and<a href='https://twitter.com/TheHackerValley'> Twitter</a>. 
Additional resources: <a href='https://www.zerofox.com/'>ZeroFox</a>, <a href='https://www.crossbeam.com/'>Crossbeam</a>, <a href='http://cybersecuritymarketingsociety.com/conference2022/'>Cybersecurity Marketing Con</a>, <a href='https://www.forrester.com/'>Forrester</a>, <a href='https://www.menlosecurity.com/'>Menlo Security</a>, <a href='https://www.tierra.net/security'>Tierra Security</a>

David Brown is the Director of Global Partner Marketing for ZeroFox, a computer and network security company based out of Baltimore, MD. David has over fifteen years of experience in the international B2B marketing field. He joins us as we discuss partnership channel marketing. David believes it's a positive direction for businesses to go in the future of marketing.
Timecoded Guide: 
In this podcast, David covers: 
<ul><li style="font-weight:400;">[1:06] The breakdown and variables of channel partner marketing</li>
<li style="font-weight:400;">[13:36] Where your program partners are and what they need from you</li>
<li style="font-weight:400;">[21:24] Tactics to enlist new partners for small companies</li>
<li style="font-weight:400;">[35:19] How David’s early career prepared him for cybersecurity marketing</li>
</ul>
 
What is channel partner marketing?
This fresh approach to marketing allows for a broader market and network, while also increasing revenue for the companies involved. When partnering with another company through channel partnership, both remain independent. They share the benefits of re-selling and distributing each other’s products. Not only that, the partners act as influencers for each other’s brands.
 
“Really, what we're looking at with partner marketing is working with another organization in order to amplify your sales and marketing capabilities.”
 
Why is channel partnership the future of marketing? 
David thinks everyone can benefit from a channel marketing partnership, especially when it comes to inbound marketing. This may be his hot-take in the industry, but he has seen the growth and advantage of inviting other companies to endorse your products. With these channels comes influence, and David believes that influence is the new currency of business.
 
“And when the channel team in the partnership team is more integrated into sales, marketing, and product, it seems to be a lot more successful.”
 
How does this fit into sales?
Your channels are out there building brand awareness, relationships, and networking. As they drive engagement up, leads will follow suit. It also gives the sales team more resources to get the job done. By creating a partnership program that works alongside your sales team, hitting target goals becomes much easier.
 
“My job, and people that I work with on the marketing team, is to take our limited resources and direct them at those partners that are starting to build that momentum and go out there.” 
______
Links: 
If you have questions or want to chat, email David at <a href='mailto:dabrown@zerofox.com'>dabrown@zerofox.com</a> or message him on the Cybersecurity Marketing Society Slack!
<a href='https://www.linkedin.com/in/davidclbrown/'>Find David Brown on LinkedIn.</a>
Follow <a href='https://www.linkedin.com/in/giannawhitver/'>Gianna</a> on LinkedIn.
Catch up with <a href='https://www.linkedin.com/in/maria-vepa/'>Maria</a> on LinkedIn.
Grab your ticket to the <a href='https://cybersecuritymarketingsociety.com/'>Cyber Marketing Con 2022.</a>
Join the Cybersecurity Marketing Society on our <a href='https://cybersecuritymarketingsociety.com/'>website</a>, and keep up with us on <a href='https://twitter.com/CyberMSociety'>Twitter</a>.
Keep up with Hacker Valley on<a href='https://hackervalley.com/'> our website</a>,<a href='https://www.linkedin.com/company/hackervalleystudio/'> LinkedIn</a>,<a href='https://www.instagram.com/hackervalleymedia/'> Instagram</a>, and<a href='https://twitter.com/TheHackerValley'> Twitter</a>. 
Additional resources: <a href='https://www.zerofox.com/'>ZeroFox</a>, <a href='https://www.crossbeam.com/'>Crossbeam</a>, <a href='http://cybersecuritymarketingsociety.com/conference2022/'>Cybersecurity Marketing Con</a>, <a href='https://www.forrester.com/'>Forrester</a>, <a href='https://www.menlosecurity.com/'>Menlo Security</a>, <a href='https://www.tierra.net/security'>Tierra Security</a>

breaking-through-cyber-marketing.podbean.com/48e95f22-ee3a-339e-9b66-7bca5e588a9a

David Brown is the Director of Global Partner Marketing for ZeroFox, a computer and network security company based out of Baltimore, MD. David has over fifteen years of experience in the international B2B marketing field. He joins us as we discuss pa...

David Brown is the Director of Global Partner Marketing for ZeroFox, a computer and network security company based out of Baltimore, MD. David has over fifteen years of experience in the international B2B marketing field. He joins us as we discuss partnership channel marketing. David believes it's a positive direction for businesses to go in the future of marketing.
Timecoded Guide: 
In this podcast, David covers: 
[1:06] The breakdown and variables of channel partner marketing
[13:36] Where your program partners are and what they need from you
[21:24] Tactics to enlist new partners for small companies
[35:19] How David’s early career prepared him for cybersecurity marketing
 
What is channel partner marketing?
This fresh approach to marketing allows for a broader market and network, while also increasing revenue for the companies involved. When partnering with another company through channel partnership, both remain independent. They share the benefits of re-selling and distributing each other’s products. Not only that, the partners act as influencers for each other’s brands.
 
“Really, what we're looking at with partner marketing is working with another organization in order to amplify your sales and marketing capabilities.”
 
Why is channel partnership the future of marketing? 
David thinks everyone can benefit from a channel marketing partnership, especially when it comes to inbound marketing. This may be his hot-take in the industry, but he has seen the growth and advantage of inviting other companies to endorse your products. With these channels comes influence, and David believes that influence is the new currency of business.
 
“And when the channel team in the partnership team is more integrated into sales, marketing, and product, it seems to be a lot more successful.”
 
How does this fit into sales?
Your channels are out there building brand awareness, relationships, and networking. As they drive engagement up, leads will follow suit. It also gives the sales team more resources to get the job done. By creating a partnership program that works alongside your sales team, hitting target goals becomes much easier.
 
“My job, and people that I work with on the marketing team, is to take our limited resources and direct them at those partners that are starting to build that momentum and go out there.” 
______
Links: 
If you have questions or want to chat, email David at dabrown@zerofox.com or message him on the Cybersecurity Marketing Society Slack!
Find David Brown on LinkedIn.
Follow Gianna on LinkedIn.
Catch up with Maria on LinkedIn.
Grab your ticket to the Cyber Marketing Con 2022.
Join the Cybersecurity Marketing Society on our website, and keep up with us on Twitter.
Keep up with Hacker Valley on our website, LinkedIn, Instagram, and Twitter. 
Additional resources: ZeroFox, Crossbeam, Cybersecurity Marketing Con, Forrester, Menlo Security, Tierra Security

Influence as Currency in Modern Marketing: Channel Partnerships ft David Brown

Joining Maria and Gianna this week is Clark Barron, the Demand Generation Manager at Nisos. He has a background in cybersecurity marketing, photography, and independent film, and is an avid gamer. Clark shares his unconventional ways of lead generation through websites. Every marketing campaign might feel like it says the same thing, but Clark defies the user’s expectations to bring in user interest and stand out in the field.
 
Timecoded Guide: 
[05:48] Marketers are hackers of different colors
[09:14] Campaigns that changed the game
[15:08] How Clark tracks his unprecedented marketing campaigns
[22:31] Communicating with leadership to try your ideas


How can marketers apply this approach to messaging branding?
Marketers have more influence and power than they often realize. The similarity between hackers and marketers is that marketers are gathering data in an ethical manner. Both are building personas, exploiting pain points, researching, and reaching vulnerabilities. Clark believes that is the power of choice to be good ethical marketers. 
“Marketers, a lot of times, don't realize the kind of powers that they have, they have to make a choice to use them for good. That's the way I look at it.”
 
How have specific campaigns you’ve implemented changed the game?
Clark started his process by evaluating voice and brand identity. He sat back and watched what others were doing. Noticing that all the cybersecurity websites were saying the same thing over and over, Clark decided to take action in a wacky way. He developed a marketing strategy that changed the game.
“Subvert their expectations from the very beginning. They're expecting one thing, and they're getting something completely different. We know what they're expecting, but instead, what we're gonna do is, we're gonna say, ‘Enjoy a completely different cybersecurity landing page.’”
 
 How do you have conversations with leadership to go along with these ideas?
The first step is to have those conversations. If the CEO or higher-up doesn’t understand marketing processes, then you need to have those conversations with them. Long-term growth is what you should be working toward. Before you cast out the big campaigns, you have to have small wins so you’re better prepared for a marketing plan with bigger risks.
“A lot of bigger organizations are not going to be able to do this. I have that level of self-awareness that I know that, however, what you can do is change the way you look at conversations with leadership.”
______
Links: 
Find Clark Barron on his <a href='https://www.linkedin.com/in/clark-barron-12065728/'>website</a> or <a href='https://www.linkedin.com/in/clark-barron-12065728/'>LinkedIn</a> and check out his blog <a href='https://cybersecuritymarketingsociety.com/in-cyber-security-marketing-you-are-the-threat'>here</a>! 
Follow <a href='https://www.linkedin.com/in/giannawhitver/'>Gianna</a> on LinkedIn.
Catch up with <a href='https://www.linkedin.com/in/maria-vepa/'>Maria</a> on LinkedIn.
Grab your ticket to the <a href='http://cybersecuritymarketingsociety.com/conference2022/'>Cyber Marketing Con 2022.</a>
Join the Cybersecurity Marketing Society on our <a href='https://cybersecuritymarketingsociety.com/'>website</a>, and keep up with us on <a href='https://twitter.com/CyberMSociety'>Twitter</a>.
Keep up with Hacker Valley on<a href='https://hackervalley.com/'> our website</a>,<a href='https://www.linkedin.com/company/hackervalleystudio/'> LinkedIn</a>,<a href='https://www.instagram.com/hackervalleymedia/'> Instagram</a>, and<a href='https://twitter.com/TheHackerValley'> Twitter</a>. 
Additional resources: <a href='https://www.nisos.com/'>Nisos</a>, <a href='https://www.phishfirewall.com/'>PhishFirewall</a>, <a href='https://defcon.org/'>DEF CON</a>, <a href='https://cybersecuritymarketingsociety.com/'>Cybersecurity Marketing Society</a>, <a href='http://www.celestegame.com/'>Celeste</a>

Joining Maria and Gianna this week is Clark Barron, the Demand Generation Manager at Nisos. He has a background in cybersecurity marketing, photography, and independent film, and is an avid gamer. Clark shares his unconventional ways of lead generation through websites. Every marketing campaign might feel like it says the same thing, but Clark defies the user’s expectations to bring in user interest and stand out in the field.
 
Timecoded Guide: 
[05:48] Marketers are hackers of different colors
[09:14] Campaigns that changed the game
[15:08] How Clark tracks his unprecedented marketing campaigns
[22:31] Communicating with leadership to try your ideas


How can marketers apply this approach to messaging branding?
Marketers have more influence and power than they often realize. The similarity between hackers and marketers is that marketers are gathering data in an ethical manner. Both are building personas, exploiting pain points, researching, and reaching vulnerabilities. Clark believes that is the power of choice to be good ethical marketers. 
“Marketers, a lot of times, don't realize the kind of powers that they have, they have to make a choice to use them for good. That's the way I look at it.”
 
How have specific campaigns you’ve implemented changed the game?
Clark started his process by evaluating voice and brand identity. He sat back and watched what others were doing. Noticing that all the cybersecurity websites were saying the same thing over and over, Clark decided to take action in a wacky way. He developed a marketing strategy that changed the game.
“Subvert their expectations from the very beginning. They're expecting one thing, and they're getting something completely different. We know what they're expecting, but instead, what we're gonna do is, we're gonna say, ‘Enjoy a completely different cybersecurity landing page.’”
 
 How do you have conversations with leadership to go along with these ideas?
The first step is to have those conversations. If the CEO or higher-up doesn’t understand marketing processes, then you need to have those conversations with them. Long-term growth is what you should be working toward. Before you cast out the big campaigns, you have to have small wins so you’re better prepared for a marketing plan with bigger risks.
“A lot of bigger organizations are not going to be able to do this. I have that level of self-awareness that I know that, however, what you can do is change the way you look at conversations with leadership.”
______
Links: 
Find Clark Barron on his <a href='https://www.linkedin.com/in/clark-barron-12065728/'>website</a> or <a href='https://www.linkedin.com/in/clark-barron-12065728/'>LinkedIn</a> and check out his blog <a href='https://cybersecuritymarketingsociety.com/in-cyber-security-marketing-you-are-the-threat'>here</a>! 
Follow <a href='https://www.linkedin.com/in/giannawhitver/'>Gianna</a> on LinkedIn.
Catch up with <a href='https://www.linkedin.com/in/maria-vepa/'>Maria</a> on LinkedIn.
Grab your ticket to the <a href='http://cybersecuritymarketingsociety.com/conference2022/'>Cyber Marketing Con 2022.</a>
Join the Cybersecurity Marketing Society on our <a href='https://cybersecuritymarketingsociety.com/'>website</a>, and keep up with us on <a href='https://twitter.com/CyberMSociety'>Twitter</a>.
Keep up with Hacker Valley on<a href='https://hackervalley.com/'> our website</a>,<a href='https://www.linkedin.com/company/hackervalleystudio/'> LinkedIn</a>,<a href='https://www.instagram.com/hackervalleymedia/'> Instagram</a>, and<a href='https://twitter.com/TheHackerValley'> Twitter</a>. 
Additional resources: <a href='https://www.nisos.com/'>Nisos</a>, <a href='https://www.phishfirewall.com/'>PhishFirewall</a>, <a href='https://defcon.org/'>DEF CON</a>, <a href='https://cybersecuritymarketingsociety.com/'>Cybersecurity Marketing Society</a>, <a href='http://www.celestegame.com/'>Celeste</a>

breaking-through-cyber-marketing.podbean.com/e4feb629-5cd8-3cc2-a3ab-75854b53c6d2

Joining Maria and Gianna this week is Clark Barron, the Demand Generation Manager at Nisos. He has a background in cybersecurity marketing, photography, and independent film, and is an avid gamer. Clark shares his unconventional ways of lead generati...

Joining Maria and Gianna this week is Clark Barron, the Demand Generation Manager at Nisos. He has a background in cybersecurity marketing, photography, and independent film, and is an avid gamer. Clark shares his unconventional ways of lead generation through websites. Every marketing campaign might feel like it says the same thing, but Clark defies the user’s expectations to bring in user interest and stand out in the field.
 
Timecoded Guide: 
[05:48] Marketers are hackers of different colors
[09:14] Campaigns that changed the game
[15:08] How Clark tracks his unprecedented marketing campaigns
[22:31] Communicating with leadership to try your ideas
How can marketers apply this approach to messaging branding?
Marketers have more influence and power than they often realize. The similarity between hackers and marketers is that marketers are gathering data in an ethical manner. Both are building personas, exploiting pain points, researching, and reaching vulnerabilities. Clark believes that is the power of choice to be good ethical marketers. 
“Marketers, a lot of times, don't realize the kind of powers that they have, they have to make a choice to use them for good. That's the way I look at it.”
 
How have specific campaigns you’ve implemented changed the game?
Clark started his process by evaluating voice and brand identity. He sat back and watched what others were doing. Noticing that all the cybersecurity websites were saying the same thing over and over, Clark decided to take action in a wacky way. He developed a marketing strategy that changed the game.
“Subvert their expectations from the very beginning. They're expecting one thing, and they're getting something completely different. We know what they're expecting, but instead, what we're gonna do is, we're gonna say, ‘Enjoy a completely different cybersecurity landing page.’”
 
 How do you have conversations with leadership to go along with these ideas?
The first step is to have those conversations. If the CEO or higher-up doesn’t understand marketing processes, then you need to have those conversations with them. Long-term growth is what you should be working toward. Before you cast out the big campaigns, you have to have small wins so you’re better prepared for a marketing plan with bigger risks.
“A lot of bigger organizations are not going to be able to do this. I have that level of self-awareness that I know that, however, what you can do is change the way you look at conversations with leadership.”
______
Links: 
Find Clark Barron on his website or LinkedIn and check out his blog here! 
Follow Gianna on LinkedIn.
Catch up with Maria on LinkedIn.
Grab your ticket to the Cyber Marketing Con 2022.
Join the Cybersecurity Marketing Society on our website, and keep up with us on Twitter.
Keep up with Hacker Valley on our website, LinkedIn, Instagram, and Twitter. 
Additional resources: Nisos, PhishFirewall, DEF CON, Cybersecurity Marketing Society, Celeste

Marketers are Ethical Hackers Prove Me Wrong with Clark Barron

Sky Kennedy, Video Storyteller and Content Creator at Studio Sky, joins us to talk about her expertise— video! Inspired to become part of the cyber world after her work with Cylance, Sky loves teaching the cybersecurity industry about the amazing stories we can tell through videos. Whether you’re a one-person cyber marketing team on a shoestring budget or a corporate marketer looking for your next project, Sky shares the tips and tools marketers need to use video content to connect with their audience.
 
Timecoded Guide:
[00:00] Sky’s history and background in cyber with Cylance
[05:52] Video projects at Cylance and their influence on Sky’s work today
[08:50] Customer testimonials and the value of emotional connection in video
[17:09] DIY video content ideas for low budget marketers
[24:53] Video marketing budget breakdowns for cybersecurity teams
 
In your opinion, what makes a good customer testimonial video?
Testimonials can feel repetitive and disingenuous when customers repeat what a company already says about themselves. “You’ve got a great cybersecurity solution,” is nice to hear, but Sky believes that the value of a good testimonial is in the connection a customer feels to the organization. When a customer is willing to explain how the organization helped them behind-the-scenes, connected with them after their product was purchased, and solved their problems beyond the surface-level solution, that creates a testimonial that makes an impact.
“The best testimonials, in my opinion, are about how the company and the product and the people are really there for the customer, which engages the whole emotional side.”
 
What important aspects of video storytelling are critical to making sure your message gets across?
When cybersecurity professionals tell Sky, “I want a video,” the unfortunate reality is that they rarely know what kind of video content they’re looking for. Sky believes in upfront input and understanding with all of her clients. She goes in depth, asks a lot of questions about what they’re looking for, and guides them every step of the way to ensure success. The end goal is to show off the value of this company, of the products and solutions they create, but Sky understands that she needs to know their value inside and out in order to showcase it.
“I’ve created a list of questions about what a customer wants, what their expectations are, how much they want to spend on the project, and what their timeline is all about. I cover the whole issue of what their expectation is for this particular video that we're going to create.” 
 
Can you share some DIY tools for marketers making video content on a shoestring budget?
We’ve interviewed some one-person marketing teams on the podcast before, so we wanted to ask Sky about what low budget video marketing might look like. Sky explained that the videos filmed on smartphones and edited on simple applications can still make an incredible impact. Numerous commercials, viral videos, and even Oscar-nominated films have used smartphone cameras. What matters more is the value of the content from a messaging standpoint. Use your small budget to show off how much you love your organization, not how much you love your new camera.
“My whole goal is to not use cameras. Not because I don't like video cameras, but I am not a camera technician. Cameras cost a lot of money, and they take a lot of effort and energy to learn how to use them.”
 
What advice do you have for marketers struggling to convince leadership to allocate a part of their budget to video? 
While small teams with meager budgets might have to make something out of nothing, marketers with larger teams and larger budgets have to make value out of their video investment. Sky encouraged us to consider how much content can come from just one video. A couple of minutes of well-planned video content can be broken up, edited, and used in many ways. It’s never just a video. Instead, it’s numerous marketing assets and an invaluable look at the behind-the-scenes of what your organization does and how you can differentiate yourselves from your cybersecurity competitors.
“We can take that video, we can cut it up, and we can use it in a variety of different ways. So, that $5,000 investment, when we amortize over 20 or 30 elements that we're using it in, ends up being only a couple hundred dollars per element.”
----------
Links:
Spend some time with our guest Sky Kennedy <a href='https://www.linkedin.com/in/sky-kennedy-45938a7/'>on LinkedIn</a> and on <a href='https://www.studioskyvideo.com'>her website</a>, or shoot her an email at <a href='mailto:SkyKennedy@StudioSkyVideo.com'>SkyKennedy@StudioSkyVideo.com</a>
Follow Gianna on <a href='https://www.linkedin.com/in/giannawhitver/'>LinkedIn</a>.
Catch up with Maria on <a href='https://www.linkedin.com/in/maria-vepa/'>LinkedIn</a>.
Join the Cybersecurity Marketing Society on <a href='https://cybersecuritymarketingsociety.com'>our website</a>, and keep up with us on <a href='https://twitter.com/CyberMSociety'>Twitter</a>.
Keep up with Hacker Valley on <a href='https://hackervalley.com'>our website</a>, <a href='https://www.linkedin.com/company/hackervalleystudio/'>LinkedIn</a>, <a href='https://www.instagram.com/hackervalleymedia/'>Instagram</a>, and <a href='https://twitter.com/TheHackerValley'>Twitter</a>.

Sky Kennedy, Video Storyteller and Content Creator at Studio Sky, joins us to talk about her expertise— video! Inspired to become part of the cyber world after her work with Cylance, Sky loves teaching the cybersecurity industry about the amazing stories we can tell through videos. Whether you’re a one-person cyber marketing team on a shoestring budget or a corporate marketer looking for your next project, Sky shares the tips and tools marketers need to use video content to connect with their audience.
 
Timecoded Guide:
[00:00] Sky’s history and background in cyber with Cylance
[05:52] Video projects at Cylance and their influence on Sky’s work today
[08:50] Customer testimonials and the value of emotional connection in video
[17:09] DIY video content ideas for low budget marketers
[24:53] Video marketing budget breakdowns for cybersecurity teams
 
In your opinion, what makes a good customer testimonial video?
Testimonials can feel repetitive and disingenuous when customers repeat what a company already says about themselves. “You’ve got a great cybersecurity solution,” is nice to hear, but Sky believes that the value of a good testimonial is in the connection a customer feels to the organization. When a customer is willing to explain how the organization helped them behind-the-scenes, connected with them after their product was purchased, and solved their problems beyond the surface-level solution, that creates a testimonial that makes an impact.
“The best testimonials, in my opinion, are about how the company and the product and the people are really there for the customer, which engages the whole emotional side.”
 
What important aspects of video storytelling are critical to making sure your message gets across?
When cybersecurity professionals tell Sky, “I want a video,” the unfortunate reality is that they rarely know what kind of video content they’re looking for. Sky believes in upfront input and understanding with all of her clients. She goes in depth, asks a lot of questions about what they’re looking for, and guides them every step of the way to ensure success. The end goal is to show off the value of this company, of the products and solutions they create, but Sky understands that she needs to know their value inside and out in order to showcase it.
“I’ve created a list of questions about what a customer wants, what their expectations are, how much they want to spend on the project, and what their timeline is all about. I cover the whole issue of what their expectation is for this particular video that we're going to create.” 
 
Can you share some DIY tools for marketers making video content on a shoestring budget?
We’ve interviewed some one-person marketing teams on the podcast before, so we wanted to ask Sky about what low budget video marketing might look like. Sky explained that the videos filmed on smartphones and edited on simple applications can still make an incredible impact. Numerous commercials, viral videos, and even Oscar-nominated films have used smartphone cameras. What matters more is the value of the content from a messaging standpoint. Use your small budget to show off how much you love your organization, not how much you love your new camera.
“My whole goal is to not use cameras. Not because I don't like video cameras, but I am not a camera technician. Cameras cost a lot of money, and they take a lot of effort and energy to learn how to use them.”
 
What advice do you have for marketers struggling to convince leadership to allocate a part of their budget to video? 
While small teams with meager budgets might have to make something out of nothing, marketers with larger teams and larger budgets have to make value out of their video investment. Sky encouraged us to consider how much content can come from just one video. A couple of minutes of well-planned video content can be broken up, edited, and used in many ways. It’s never just a video. Instead, it’s numerous marketing assets and an invaluable look at the behind-the-scenes of what your organization does and how you can differentiate yourselves from your cybersecurity competitors.
“We can take that video, we can cut it up, and we can use it in a variety of different ways. So, that $5,000 investment, when we amortize over 20 or 30 elements that we're using it in, ends up being only a couple hundred dollars per element.”
----------
Links:
Spend some time with our guest Sky Kennedy <a href='https://www.linkedin.com/in/sky-kennedy-45938a7/'>on LinkedIn</a> and on <a href='https://www.studioskyvideo.com'>her website</a>, or shoot her an email at <a href='mailto:SkyKennedy@StudioSkyVideo.com'>SkyKennedy@StudioSkyVideo.com</a>
Follow Gianna on <a href='https://www.linkedin.com/in/giannawhitver/'>LinkedIn</a>.
Catch up with Maria on <a href='https://www.linkedin.com/in/maria-vepa/'>LinkedIn</a>.
Join the Cybersecurity Marketing Society on <a href='https://cybersecuritymarketingsociety.com'>our website</a>, and keep up with us on <a href='https://twitter.com/CyberMSociety'>Twitter</a>.
Keep up with Hacker Valley on <a href='https://hackervalley.com'>our website</a>, <a href='https://www.linkedin.com/company/hackervalleystudio/'>LinkedIn</a>, <a href='https://www.instagram.com/hackervalleymedia/'>Instagram</a>, and <a href='https://twitter.com/TheHackerValley'>Twitter</a>.

breaking-through-cyber-marketing.podbean.com/a923f47e-5b73-3f6b-8b1c-c1984d6c7a97

Sky Kennedy, Video Storyteller and Content Creator at Studio Sky, joins us to talk about her expertise— video! Inspired to become part of the cyber world after her work with Cylance, Sky loves teaching the cybersecurity industry about the amazing sto...

Sky Kennedy, Video Storyteller and Content Creator at Studio Sky, joins us to talk about her expertise— video! Inspired to become part of the cyber world after her work with Cylance, Sky loves teaching the cybersecurity industry about the amazing stories we can tell through videos. Whether you’re a one-person cyber marketing team on a shoestring budget or a corporate marketer looking for your next project, Sky shares the tips and tools marketers need to use video content to connect with their audience.
 
Timecoded Guide:
[00:00] Sky’s history and background in cyber with Cylance
[05:52] Video projects at Cylance and their influence on Sky’s work today
[08:50] Customer testimonials and the value of emotional connection in video
[17:09] DIY video content ideas for low budget marketers
[24:53] Video marketing budget breakdowns for cybersecurity teams
 
In your opinion, what makes a good customer testimonial video?
Testimonials can feel repetitive and disingenuous when customers repeat what a company already says about themselves. “You’ve got a great cybersecurity solution,” is nice to hear, but Sky believes that the value of a good testimonial is in the connection a customer feels to the organization. When a customer is willing to explain how the organization helped them behind-the-scenes, connected with them after their product was purchased, and solved their problems beyond the surface-level solution, that creates a testimonial that makes an impact.
“The best testimonials, in my opinion, are about how the company and the product and the people are really there for the customer, which engages the whole emotional side.”
 
What important aspects of video storytelling are critical to making sure your message gets across?
When cybersecurity professionals tell Sky, “I want a video,” the unfortunate reality is that they rarely know what kind of video content they’re looking for. Sky believes in upfront input and understanding with all of her clients. She goes in depth, asks a lot of questions about what they’re looking for, and guides them every step of the way to ensure success. The end goal is to show off the value of this company, of the products and solutions they create, but Sky understands that she needs to know their value inside and out in order to showcase it.
“I’ve created a list of questions about what a customer wants, what their expectations are, how much they want to spend on the project, and what their timeline is all about. I cover the whole issue of what their expectation is for this particular video that we're going to create.” 
 
Can you share some DIY tools for marketers making video content on a shoestring budget?
We’ve interviewed some one-person marketing teams on the podcast before, so we wanted to ask Sky about what low budget video marketing might look like. Sky explained that the videos filmed on smartphones and edited on simple applications can still make an incredible impact. Numerous commercials, viral videos, and even Oscar-nominated films have used smartphone cameras. What matters more is the value of the content from a messaging standpoint. Use your small budget to show off how much you love your organization, not how much you love your new camera.
“My whole goal is to not use cameras. Not because I don't like video cameras, but I am not a camera technician. Cameras cost a lot of money, and they take a lot of effort and energy to learn how to use them.”
 
What advice do you have for marketers struggling to convince leadership to allocate a part of their budget to video? 
While small teams with meager budgets might have to make something out of nothing, marketers with larger teams and larger budgets have to make value out of their video investment. Sky encouraged us to consider how much content can come from just one video. A couple of minutes of well-planned video content can be broken up, edited, and used in many ways. It’s never just a video. Instead, it’s numerous marketing assets and an

Video Marketing at Any Budget with Sky Kennedy

Ashish Rajan does SO many things. He is the producer and host of Cloud Security Podcast, the Head of Security & Compliance at PageUp, a Course Instructor at SANS Institute, a Faculty at IANS, a trainer, an AWS builder, and the founder of the DevSECOps Melbourne meetup and Cybersecurity for Startups— and he even has time to have beef with Ryan Reynolds. We asked Ashish on the podcast to find out how he does it all in cybersecurity, as well as his thoughts on cyber marketing and the latest focus on PLG.
 
Timecoded Guide:
[00:00] Introducing the many roles of Ashish, including his meetups with Cloud Security and DevSecOps in London
[05:21] Missed cyber education opportunities with Ryan Reynolds’ 1Password commercial
[15:02] Vendor process for product purchasing, right from the mouth of a CISO
[25:07] Product lead growth (PLG) and how security product become eligible for PLG
[34:44] Ashish’s strategy for consistent multi platform social media marketing 
 
Recently, you were in London for an event. Can you tell us a little bit about that?
Ashish takes his many roles in cyber and tech super seriously, managing to schedule a variety of professional meetups and live streams on his trip to London. Originally planning to travel for personal reasons, Ashish found himself working with DevSecOps, planning a meetup for Cloud Security, and working through a very different, yet very tech savvy live stream setup. Consistency is key from Ashish’s perspective— rain or shine, he’s been running this live stream for three years, which is a huge commitment but a worthwhile investment in his audience.  
“The whole thing took exactly a week to plan, and I think it was really fascinating that we just announced a meetup with the DevSecOps London group over there.  We had about 120 people turn up for that event. That was great.”
 
What was your opinion on Ryan Reynolds’ ad for 1Password?
<a href='https://youtu.be/NSMP0rfEDMM'>Ashish had some choice words on a recent Ryan Reynolds’ commercial online</a>, but we wanted to pick his brain even further. Does Ashish have beef with Ryan? It turns out, not really (although he is definitely open to working with him), but he does think Ryan and 1Password missed an opportunity to further cyber education. With that wide of a platform and that prominent of a figure, Ashish would have liked to see Ryan and his team break down the necessity of strong, secure passwords, as well as advocate for everyday people to consider the security threats they might encounter. 
“I thought: Why not use that video as a way to educate and piggyback on the thing that Ryan Reynolds was trying to talk about? But give it a more cybersecurity value spin. So, the video that I made was more around what he was really trying to talk about.”
 
What are your opinions about marketing in the cyber vendor space?
As a CISO friend of the Cybersecurity Marketing Society, we know we can count on Ashish to notice and pay attention to solid marketing strategy in the cyber industry. A major pain point, not only for us, but for Ashish, has been a lack of creative freedom amongst marketing teams in the industry. Ashish has felt honestly disappointed by the tough constraints that certain cyber companies have placed on their marketing departments, including forcing them to color inside the lines of board and investor opinions on marketing strategies.
“I feel the true marketing is where you're just giving value. Someone buying the product is literally just a byproduct of this. You've given so much value, it doesn't make sense to the person to not buy the product.”
 
Can you expand on your thoughts around PLG?
PLG, or Product Lead Growth, just might be the future for developers in the cyber community. Developers have a voice, and Ashish has encountered a few companies ready to listen to those voices— even though their competitors still might not be. Using ease of adoption, or how fast someone can get used to your product, and time of value, or how fast a developer can see the results of your product, PLG is not only achievable, but profitable. PLG is already happening, according to Ashish, and it's only a matter of time before companies will have to start asking themselves: How do we convince the developers?
“Once you've got there, is it going to take 1 week for them to get the result? Or, is it going to be a few seconds? No developer is going to spend more than an hour waiting for this result.”
----------
Links:
Spend some time with our guest Ashish Rajan on <a href='https://www.ashishrajan.com'>his website</a>, <a href='https://www.linkedin.com/in/ashishrajan/?originalSubdomain=au'>LinkedIn</a>, and <a href='https://twitter.com/hashishrajan?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor'>Twitter</a>.
Follow Gianna on <a href='https://www.linkedin.com/in/giannawhitver/'>LinkedIn</a>.
Catch up with Maria on <a href='https://www.linkedin.com/in/maria-vepa/'>LinkedIn</a>.
Join the Cybersecurity Marketing Society on <a href='https://cybersecuritymarketingsociety.com'>our website</a>, and keep up with us on <a href='https://twitter.com/CyberMSociety'>Twitter</a>.
Keep up with Hacker Valley on <a href='https://hackervalley.com'>our website</a>, <a href='https://www.linkedin.com/company/hackervalleystudio/'>LinkedIn</a>, <a href='https://www.instagram.com/hackervalleymedia/'>Instagram</a>, and <a href='https://twitter.com/TheHackerValley'>Twitter</a>.
The Candy Industry website has a <a href='https://www.candyindustry.com/media/podcasts'>candy-related podcast</a>.

Ashish Rajan does SO many things. He is the producer and host of Cloud Security Podcast, the Head of Security & Compliance at PageUp, a Course Instructor at SANS Institute, a Faculty at IANS, a trainer, an AWS builder, and the founder of the DevSECOps Melbourne meetup and Cybersecurity for Startups— and he even has time to have beef with Ryan Reynolds. We asked Ashish on the podcast to find out how he does it all in cybersecurity, as well as his thoughts on cyber marketing and the latest focus on PLG.
 
Timecoded Guide:
[00:00] Introducing the many roles of Ashish, including his meetups with Cloud Security and DevSecOps in London
[05:21] Missed cyber education opportunities with Ryan Reynolds’ 1Password commercial
[15:02] Vendor process for product purchasing, right from the mouth of a CISO
[25:07] Product lead growth (PLG) and how security product become eligible for PLG
[34:44] Ashish’s strategy for consistent multi platform social media marketing 
 
Recently, you were in London for an event. Can you tell us a little bit about that?
Ashish takes his many roles in cyber and tech super seriously, managing to schedule a variety of professional meetups and live streams on his trip to London. Originally planning to travel for personal reasons, Ashish found himself working with DevSecOps, planning a meetup for Cloud Security, and working through a very different, yet very tech savvy live stream setup. Consistency is key from Ashish’s perspective— rain or shine, he’s been running this live stream for three years, which is a huge commitment but a worthwhile investment in his audience.  
“The whole thing took exactly a week to plan, and I think it was really fascinating that we just announced a meetup with the DevSecOps London group over there.  We had about 120 people turn up for that event. That was great.”
 
What was your opinion on Ryan Reynolds’ ad for 1Password?
<a href='https://youtu.be/NSMP0rfEDMM'>Ashish had some choice words on a recent Ryan Reynolds’ commercial online</a>, but we wanted to pick his brain even further. Does Ashish have beef with Ryan? It turns out, not really (although he is definitely open to working with him), but he does think Ryan and 1Password missed an opportunity to further cyber education. With that wide of a platform and that prominent of a figure, Ashish would have liked to see Ryan and his team break down the necessity of strong, secure passwords, as well as advocate for everyday people to consider the security threats they might encounter. 
“I thought: Why not use that video as a way to educate and piggyback on the thing that Ryan Reynolds was trying to talk about? But give it a more cybersecurity value spin. So, the video that I made was more around what he was really trying to talk about.”
 
What are your opinions about marketing in the cyber vendor space?
As a CISO friend of the Cybersecurity Marketing Society, we know we can count on Ashish to notice and pay attention to solid marketing strategy in the cyber industry. A major pain point, not only for us, but for Ashish, has been a lack of creative freedom amongst marketing teams in the industry. Ashish has felt honestly disappointed by the tough constraints that certain cyber companies have placed on their marketing departments, including forcing them to color inside the lines of board and investor opinions on marketing strategies.
“I feel the true marketing is where you're just giving value. Someone buying the product is literally just a byproduct of this. You've given so much value, it doesn't make sense to the person to not buy the product.”
 
Can you expand on your thoughts around PLG?
PLG, or Product Lead Growth, just might be the future for developers in the cyber community. Developers have a voice, and Ashish has encountered a few companies ready to listen to those voices— even though their competitors still might not be. Using ease of adoption, or how fast someone can get used to your product, and time of value, or how fast a developer can see the results of your product, PLG is not only achievable, but profitable. PLG is already happening, according to Ashish, and it's only a matter of time before companies will have to start asking themselves: How do we convince the developers?
“Once you've got there, is it going to take 1 week for them to get the result? Or, is it going to be a few seconds? No developer is going to spend more than an hour waiting for this result.”
----------
Links:
Spend some time with our guest Ashish Rajan on <a href='https://www.ashishrajan.com'>his website</a>, <a href='https://www.linkedin.com/in/ashishrajan/?originalSubdomain=au'>LinkedIn</a>, and <a href='https://twitter.com/hashishrajan?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor'>Twitter</a>.
Follow Gianna on <a href='https://www.linkedin.com/in/giannawhitver/'>LinkedIn</a>.
Catch up with Maria on <a href='https://www.linkedin.com/in/maria-vepa/'>LinkedIn</a>.
Join the Cybersecurity Marketing Society on <a href='https://cybersecuritymarketingsociety.com'>our website</a>, and keep up with us on <a href='https://twitter.com/CyberMSociety'>Twitter</a>.
Keep up with Hacker Valley on <a href='https://hackervalley.com'>our website</a>, <a href='https://www.linkedin.com/company/hackervalleystudio/'>LinkedIn</a>, <a href='https://www.instagram.com/hackervalleymedia/'>Instagram</a>, and <a href='https://twitter.com/TheHackerValley'>Twitter</a>.
The Candy Industry website has a <a href='https://www.candyindustry.com/media/podcasts'>candy-related podcast</a>.

breaking-through-cyber-marketing.podbean.com/26c5d33f-859b-3fd5-9e72-dabf1b3301b7

Ashish Rajan does SO many things. He is the producer and host of Cloud Security Podcast, the Head of Security & Compliance at PageUp, a Course Instructor at SANS Institute, a Faculty at IANS, a trainer, an AWS builder, and the founder of the DevSECOp...

Ashish Rajan does SO many things. He is the producer and host of Cloud Security Podcast, the Head of Security & Compliance at PageUp, a Course Instructor at SANS Institute, a Faculty at IANS, a trainer, an AWS builder, and the founder of the DevSECOps Melbourne meetup and Cybersecurity for Startups— and he even has time to have beef with Ryan Reynolds. We asked Ashish on the podcast to find out how he does it all in cybersecurity, as well as his thoughts on cyber marketing and the latest focus on PLG.
 
Timecoded Guide:
[00:00] Introducing the many roles of Ashish, including his meetups with Cloud Security and DevSecOps in London
[05:21] Missed cyber education opportunities with Ryan Reynolds’ 1Password commercial
[15:02] Vendor process for product purchasing, right from the mouth of a CISO
[25:07] Product lead growth (PLG) and how security product become eligible for PLG
[34:44] Ashish’s strategy for consistent multi platform social media marketing 
 
Recently, you were in London for an event. Can you tell us a little bit about that?
Ashish takes his many roles in cyber and tech super seriously, managing to schedule a variety of professional meetups and live streams on his trip to London. Originally planning to travel for personal reasons, Ashish found himself working with DevSecOps, planning a meetup for Cloud Security, and working through a very different, yet very tech savvy live stream setup. Consistency is key from Ashish’s perspective— rain or shine, he’s been running this live stream for three years, which is a huge commitment but a worthwhile investment in his audience.  
“The whole thing took exactly a week to plan, and I think it was really fascinating that we just announced a meetup with the DevSecOps London group over there.  We had about 120 people turn up for that event. That was great.”
 
What was your opinion on Ryan Reynolds’ ad for 1Password?
Ashish had some choice words on a recent Ryan Reynolds’ commercial online, but we wanted to pick his brain even further. Does Ashish have beef with Ryan? It turns out, not really (although he is definitely open to working with him), but he does think Ryan and 1Password missed an opportunity to further cyber education. With that wide of a platform and that prominent of a figure, Ashish would have liked to see Ryan and his team break down the necessity of strong, secure passwords, as well as advocate for everyday people to consider the security threats they might encounter. 
“I thought: Why not use that video as a way to educate and piggyback on the thing that Ryan Reynolds was trying to talk about? But give it a more cybersecurity value spin. So, the video that I made was more around what he was really trying to talk about.”
 
What are your opinions about marketing in the cyber vendor space?
As a CISO friend of the Cybersecurity Marketing Society, we know we can count on Ashish to notice and pay attention to solid marketing strategy in the cyber industry. A major pain point, not only for us, but for Ashish, has been a lack of creative freedom amongst marketing teams in the industry. Ashish has felt honestly disappointed by the tough constraints that certain cyber companies have placed on their marketing departments, including forcing them to color inside the lines of board and investor opinions on marketing strategies.
“I feel the true marketing is where you're just giving value. Someone buying the product is literally just a byproduct of this. You've given so much value, it doesn't make sense to the person to not buy the product.”
 
Can you expand on your thoughts around PLG?
PLG, or Product Lead Growth, just might be the future for developers in the cyber community. Developers have a voice, and Ashish has encountered a few companies ready to listen to those voices— even though their competitors still might not be. Using ease of adoption, or how fast someone can get used to your product, and time of value, or how fast a developer can see the results of your

PLG & the Secret Marketing Sauce with Ashish Rajan

How do marketers get “blocked” by cybersecurity practitioners? We’re making a list with Ken Underhill, CEO of Cyber Life. Along with what NOT to do, we’ll also talk about his awesome career in cyber and his most recent work with his company’s training program, Cyber Life School. Using his years of experience and his reputation as one of the funniest guys in cyber, Ken sheds some light on low-cost educational opportunities for future security practitioners, discusses his new book about crushing your next job interview, and even shares what might be next for Cyber Life’s television show.
 
Timecoded Guide:
[00:00] Introducing Ken beyond his accolades & reputation

[07:12] Seeing the human side of technology marketing
[13:34] Private InfoSec communities & cyber safe spaces
[20:00] Future guests & technology topics on Cyber Life’s TV show
[23:45] Hacking your next security job interview with expert advice
 
Can you tell us about your journey in networking and building your brand?
Although Ken has a strong personal brand, he’s completely willing to admit that he took a less traditional route to get there. Focusing less on branding and more on giving back to his community, Ken’s personal brand happened because of his other actions, not because of his focus on personal professional development. Sharing his authentic self with the world on tv, in speaking engagements, or at networking events doesn’t scare Ken, even though he considers himself introverted. It’s instead all about sharing what he’s learned, no matter how small, in cybersecurity, in the other industries he’s been a part of, and in his personal life. 
“Look back a couple of years, or even just six months, right? You were a different person back then. You've learned something since then. Whatever that is, share it.”
 
What are some ways that cybersecurity marketers or marketing cyber products have fallen short or failed you as a security practitioner?
As a security practitioner, Ken represents the people we market directly towards as cybersecurity marketers. Considering his role in our security audience, we were curious about what he considers the dos and don’ts of cyber marketing. Ken’s biggest cyber product pet peeve actually centers around too much focus on the product itself. If you’re spending all your focus and energy on just considering the technology and not acknowledging the humans you’re marketing towards, Ken believes that you’re just shoving tech down someone’s throat and not making an impact. 
“I think the mistake a lot of people make, especially around technology products or services, is they think it's just technology. You have got to remember that there's a human on the other side there.”
 
What are some exciting things in the works at Cyber Life?
With his roots in podcasting and content creation, we’re excited to give Ken the spotlight to share his company, Cyber Life, and the amazing work they’re doing. Currently, Cyber Life centers their services around a television show, which Ken loves being a part of because of its combination of podcast-style interviews and Bill Nye-esque learning segments. However, education television isn’t the only thing Cyber Life is doing these days. Considering Ken’s low income upbringing and his passion for educational programming, Cyber Life School exists alongside Cyber Life to democratize cybersecurity education and offer free training for security practitioners, regardless of their stage in the industry.
“At Cyber Life School, we've democratized cybersecurity education. Everything's the ‘pay what you can’ model. If you grew up like me and have no money, you can still afford to go there, because it's free. If you want to pay, you can pay, if you want to pay at a discount and support us, you can do so.”
 
Can you tell us about the book you co-authored, Hack the Cybersecurity Interview?
Alongside television, education, and security, Ken has most recently dipped his toes in the water as a writer. Co-authoring a book with Tia Hopkins and Chris Foulon, Hack the Cybersecurity Interview will be hitting the shelves soon and is already available for pre-order on Amazon. Using years of experience interviewing and being interviewed for cybersecurity jobs, Tia, Chris, and Ken share personalized advice about the process of job searching and interviewing for open cyber positions. Customized to include numerous types of security practitioner roles, this book is a major resource for future cyber professionals and for cybersecurity marketers looking to better understand their audience.
“Pretty much every interview I've ever been in has the exact same questions, they go off a checklist for the behavioral interview questions. So, the ones in that chapter of the book are things you want to study, definitely, no matter what job you're going for.”
----------
Links:
Spend some time with our guest Ken Underhill on <a href='https://www.linkedin.com/in/kenunderhill/'>LinkedIn.</a>
Learn more about Cyber Life on <a href='https://cyberlife.tv'>their website</a> and <a href='https://www.linkedin.com/company/cyber-life/'>LinkedIn</a>.
Check out Ken’s book, <a href='https://www.amazon.com/Hack-Cybersecurity-Interview-jumpstarting-cybersecurity-ebook/dp/B09V2S1T35'>Hack the Cybersecurity Interview</a>.
The Candy Industry website has a <a href='https://www.candyindustry.com/media/podcasts'>candy-related podcast</a>. 
Follow Gianna on <a href='https://www.linkedin.com/in/giannawhitver/'>LinkedIn</a>.
Catch up with Maria on <a href='https://www.linkedin.com/in/maria-vepa/'>LinkedIn</a>.
Join the Cybersecurity Marketing Society on <a href='https://cybersecuritymarketingsociety.com'>our website</a>, and keep up with us on <a href='https://twitter.com/CyberMSociety'>Twitter</a>.
Keep up with Hacker Valley on <a href='https://hackervalley.com'>our website</a>, <a href='https://www.linkedin.com/company/hackervalleystudio/'>LinkedIn</a>, <a href='https://www.instagram.com/hackervalleymedia/'>Instagram</a>, and <a href='https://twitter.com/TheHackerValley'>Twitter</a>.

How do marketers get “blocked” by cybersecurity practitioners? We’re making a list with Ken Underhill, CEO of Cyber Life. Along with what NOT to do, we’ll also talk about his awesome career in cyber and his most recent work with his company’s training program, Cyber Life School. Using his years of experience and his reputation as one of the funniest guys in cyber, Ken sheds some light on low-cost educational opportunities for future security practitioners, discusses his new book about crushing your next job interview, and even shares what might be next for Cyber Life’s television show.
 
Timecoded Guide:
[00:00] Introducing Ken beyond his accolades & reputation

[07:12] Seeing the human side of technology marketing
[13:34] Private InfoSec communities & cyber safe spaces
[20:00] Future guests & technology topics on Cyber Life’s TV show
[23:45] Hacking your next security job interview with expert advice
 
Can you tell us about your journey in networking and building your brand?
Although Ken has a strong personal brand, he’s completely willing to admit that he took a less traditional route to get there. Focusing less on branding and more on giving back to his community, Ken’s personal brand happened because of his other actions, not because of his focus on personal professional development. Sharing his authentic self with the world on tv, in speaking engagements, or at networking events doesn’t scare Ken, even though he considers himself introverted. It’s instead all about sharing what he’s learned, no matter how small, in cybersecurity, in the other industries he’s been a part of, and in his personal life. 
“Look back a couple of years, or even just six months, right? You were a different person back then. You've learned something since then. Whatever that is, share it.”
 
What are some ways that cybersecurity marketers or marketing cyber products have fallen short or failed you as a security practitioner?
As a security practitioner, Ken represents the people we market directly towards as cybersecurity marketers. Considering his role in our security audience, we were curious about what he considers the dos and don’ts of cyber marketing. Ken’s biggest cyber product pet peeve actually centers around too much focus on the product itself. If you’re spending all your focus and energy on just considering the technology and not acknowledging the humans you’re marketing towards, Ken believes that you’re just shoving tech down someone’s throat and not making an impact. 
“I think the mistake a lot of people make, especially around technology products or services, is they think it's just technology. You have got to remember that there's a human on the other side there.”
 
What are some exciting things in the works at Cyber Life?
With his roots in podcasting and content creation, we’re excited to give Ken the spotlight to share his company, Cyber Life, and the amazing work they’re doing. Currently, Cyber Life centers their services around a television show, which Ken loves being a part of because of its combination of podcast-style interviews and Bill Nye-esque learning segments. However, education television isn’t the only thing Cyber Life is doing these days. Considering Ken’s low income upbringing and his passion for educational programming, Cyber Life School exists alongside Cyber Life to democratize cybersecurity education and offer free training for security practitioners, regardless of their stage in the industry.
“At Cyber Life School, we've democratized cybersecurity education. Everything's the ‘pay what you can’ model. If you grew up like me and have no money, you can still afford to go there, because it's free. If you want to pay, you can pay, if you want to pay at a discount and support us, you can do so.”
 
Can you tell us about the book you co-authored, Hack the Cybersecurity Interview?
Alongside television, education, and security, Ken has most recently dipped his toes in the water as a writer. Co-authoring a book with Tia Hopkins and Chris Foulon, Hack the Cybersecurity Interview will be hitting the shelves soon and is already available for pre-order on Amazon. Using years of experience interviewing and being interviewed for cybersecurity jobs, Tia, Chris, and Ken share personalized advice about the process of job searching and interviewing for open cyber positions. Customized to include numerous types of security practitioner roles, this book is a major resource for future cyber professionals and for cybersecurity marketers looking to better understand their audience.
“Pretty much every interview I've ever been in has the exact same questions, they go off a checklist for the behavioral interview questions. So, the ones in that chapter of the book are things you want to study, definitely, no matter what job you're going for.”
----------
Links:
Spend some time with our guest Ken Underhill on <a href='https://www.linkedin.com/in/kenunderhill/'>LinkedIn.</a>
Learn more about Cyber Life on <a href='https://cyberlife.tv'>their website</a> and <a href='https://www.linkedin.com/company/cyber-life/'>LinkedIn</a>.
Check out Ken’s book, <a href='https://www.amazon.com/Hack-Cybersecurity-Interview-jumpstarting-cybersecurity-ebook/dp/B09V2S1T35'>Hack the Cybersecurity Interview</a>.
The Candy Industry website has a <a href='https://www.candyindustry.com/media/podcasts'>candy-related podcast</a>. 
Follow Gianna on <a href='https://www.linkedin.com/in/giannawhitver/'>LinkedIn</a>.
Catch up with Maria on <a href='https://www.linkedin.com/in/maria-vepa/'>LinkedIn</a>.
Join the Cybersecurity Marketing Society on <a href='https://cybersecuritymarketingsociety.com'>our website</a>, and keep up with us on <a href='https://twitter.com/CyberMSociety'>Twitter</a>.
Keep up with Hacker Valley on <a href='https://hackervalley.com'>our website</a>, <a href='https://www.linkedin.com/company/hackervalleystudio/'>LinkedIn</a>, <a href='https://www.instagram.com/hackervalleymedia/'>Instagram</a>, and <a href='https://twitter.com/TheHackerValley'>Twitter</a>.

breaking-through-cyber-marketing.podbean.com/5c00a65c-366b-3ec5-881b-cc497f2f7cf9

How do marketers get “blocked” by cybersecurity practitioners? We’re making a list with Ken Underhill, CEO of Cyber Life. Along with what NOT to do, we’ll also talk about his awesome career in cyber and his most recent work with his company’s trainin...

How do marketers get “blocked” by cybersecurity practitioners? We’re making a list with Ken Underhill, CEO of Cyber Life. Along with what NOT to do, we’ll also talk about his awesome career in cyber and his most recent work with his company’s training program, Cyber Life School. Using his years of experience and his reputation as one of the funniest guys in cyber, Ken sheds some light on low-cost educational opportunities for future security practitioners, discusses his new book about crushing your next job interview, and even shares what might be next for Cyber Life’s television show.
 
Timecoded Guide:
[00:00] Introducing Ken beyond his accolades & reputation
[07:12] Seeing the human side of technology marketing
[13:34] Private InfoSec communities & cyber safe spaces
[20:00] Future guests & technology topics on Cyber Life’s TV show
[23:45] Hacking your next security job interview with expert advice
 
Can you tell us about your journey in networking and building your brand?
Although Ken has a strong personal brand, he’s completely willing to admit that he took a less traditional route to get there. Focusing less on branding and more on giving back to his community, Ken’s personal brand happened because of his other actions, not because of his focus on personal professional development. Sharing his authentic self with the world on tv, in speaking engagements, or at networking events doesn’t scare Ken, even though he considers himself introverted. It’s instead all about sharing what he’s learned, no matter how small, in cybersecurity, in the other industries he’s been a part of, and in his personal life. 
“Look back a couple of years, or even just six months, right? You were a different person back then. You've learned something since then. Whatever that is, share it.”
 
What are some ways that cybersecurity marketers or marketing cyber products have fallen short or failed you as a security practitioner?
As a security practitioner, Ken represents the people we market directly towards as cybersecurity marketers. Considering his role in our security audience, we were curious about what he considers the dos and don’ts of cyber marketing. Ken’s biggest cyber product pet peeve actually centers around too much focus on the product itself. If you’re spending all your focus and energy on just considering the technology and not acknowledging the humans you’re marketing towards, Ken believes that you’re just shoving tech down someone’s throat and not making an impact. 
“I think the mistake a lot of people make, especially around technology products or services, is they think it's just technology. You have got to remember that there's a human on the other side there.”
 
What are some exciting things in the works at Cyber Life?
With his roots in podcasting and content creation, we’re excited to give Ken the spotlight to share his company, Cyber Life, and the amazing work they’re doing. Currently, Cyber Life centers their services around a television show, which Ken loves being a part of because of its combination of podcast-style interviews and Bill Nye-esque learning segments. However, education television isn’t the only thing Cyber Life is doing these days. Considering Ken’s low income upbringing and his passion for educational programming, Cyber Life School exists alongside Cyber Life to democratize cybersecurity education and offer free training for security practitioners, regardless of their stage in the industry.
“At Cyber Life School, we've democratized cybersecurity education. Everything's the ‘pay what you can’ model. If you grew up like me and have no money, you can still afford to go there, because it's free. If you want to pay, you can pay, if you want to pay at a discount and support us, you can do so.”
 
Can you tell us about the book you co-authored, Hack the Cybersecurity Interview?
Alongside television, education, and security, Ken has most recently dipped his toes in the water as a writer. Co-authoring a book

Treat us like Humans! How Marketers Can Evade the Block Party with Ken Underhill

Rodrigo Leme, Marketing Director at Right-Hand Security, joins us this week to cover the often ignored topic in cybersecurity of marketing to small and medium-sized businesses, or SMBs. Covering the concepts of business use cases, security awareness training, and post-sales support, Rodrigo explains the ins and outs, the good and the bad, the tips and the tricks of cyber marketing in the SMB world and when we should consider the bottom line (hint: it’s probably more than you think).
 
Timecoded Guide:
[03:14] Talking to non-technical customers in SMBs about cybersecurity and security awareness training and getting to the root of their problems and pain points

[08:30] Seeing past the term of SMB to understand the people you’re marketing to and what a good culture of cybersecurity can bring to them
[23:39] Advocating against fear, uncertainty, and doubt when marketing to SMBs and the importance of focusing on what’s good for your people, not what’s scariest
[29:09] Understanding the importance of post-sales support, engaging with customer feedback, and recognizing what customers want to see from your services
[35:39] Exploring strange and unusual business use cases and seeing the commonality of empathy for pain points in marketing 
 
Rodrigo, can you tell us about marketing to the SMB customer?
We don’t always get a chance to dive into SMB marketing with such a knowledgeable source, but Rodrigo invites us to consider the differences between an SMB and a large company customer throughout this episode. First, consider the size of a team you may be working with. Instead of having a CISO or a head of security, a business owner may be working on security themselves, hoping to find guidance from you on how to move forward in a small team. Additionally, Rodrigo warns that many SMB clients may not see the security opportunities beyond their tech goals, such as a restauranter seeking to add WI-FI to their offerings and missing additional security awareness strategies that need to be pointed out to them.
“The SMB customer has problems on the surface that he knows he has, like, ‘I want Wi-Fi in my restaurant for my guests.’ And he has issues that he's not aware of, or he has opportunities he's not aware of, like he may have security issues behind that Wi-Fi access that he doesn't know about.”
 
Can you tell us how Walmart used cybersecurity for PR?
According to Rodrigo, good cybersecurity is even better for PR. This idea could be held up with a myriad of examples, but one Rodrigo is particularly enamored with is Walmart’s prevention of gift card scams. With the ability to prevent scams and return funds before customers lose their money, Walmart has saved their customers over a million dollars and have been praised for this initiative by major news outlets. Although this is a drop in the bucket within an ocean of an issue, Rodrigo points out that saving any customer any amount of money and preventing them from being scammed in any way leads to massive PR benefits, especially when you can show off how well you understand your customer’s pain points. 
“Let's say that you're protecting those customers from getting into scams that make those people lose their mortgage money, or whatever. You're saving them a million, even if it's only a million, that's good PR. That only happens if you understand the end customer pain points, not the immediate pain points of the organization.”
 
What are your thoughts on FUD (fear, uncertainty, and doubt) in marketing to these SMBs and in these business use cases? 
We’ve discussed the idea of FUD before on the podcast, and how it’s never a good cyber marketing tactic to exploit someone’s fear, uncertainty, or doubt. Although our examples have ranged from large corporations to individual consumers, we wanted to talk with Rodrigo about his perspective on marketing for SMBs and the danger of FUD. Rodrigo, considering himself a positive person with a lighthearted demeanor, finds using FUD in marketing to SMBs to be manipulative and redundant. Rodrigo argues that not only do small business owners fear for their security, they also come to Right-Hand with a desire to enhance their security already in mind. They don’t need to be scared further if a positive approach could be just as influential.
“I do not like fear, uncertainty, and doubt. I do believe that, since we're in the education business, I do like educating. We do believe in empathy. We listen to our customers, we do ask the ‘why,’ to understand the pain points of the customers.”
 
What are some best practices around supporting the post-sales process, after you've sold a product? 
Marketing so often focuses on the beginning of the sales cycle. We love to reach out to new customers and encourage those doing their research to check out our products, but we don’t always talk about what happens after a sale takes place. For Rodrigo and his team at Right-Hand, the post-sales process requires its own understanding of your customer and their security goals beyond what they might see for themselves. Following up with customers post-sale not only leads to high-quality feedback for Rodrigo and his team, it also allows for them to see where support is still needed for their customer, including analyzing the results of their security awareness training and setting up further opportunities to reduce human risk.
“Are we really reducing human risk? If we're not: How can we help them? Can we help them leverage the services? Can we sit down with them and help build stronger content training content? Are they having problems creating content for the training?”
----------
Links:
Spend some time with our guest Rodrigo Leme on <a href='https://rodrigolememkt.com.br'>his website</a> and <a href='https://www.linkedin.com/in/rodrigoleme/'>LinkedIn</a>
Learn more about Right-Hand Cybersecurity on <a href='https://www.linkedin.com/company/righthandai/'>LinkedIn</a> and <a href='https://right-hand.ai/why-right-hand/'>their website</a>
Follow Gianna on <a href='https://www.linkedin.com/in/giannawhitver/'>LinkedIn</a>
Catch up with Maria on <a href='https://www.linkedin.com/in/maria-vepa/'>LinkedIn</a>
Join the Cybersecurity Marketing Society on <a href='https://cybersecuritymarketingsociety.com'>our website</a>, and keep up with us on <a href='https://twitter.com/CyberMSociety'>Twitter</a>
Keep up with Hacker Valley on <a href='https://hackervalley.com'>our website</a>, <a href='https://www.linkedin.com/company/hackervalleystudio/'>LinkedIn</a>, <a href='https://www.instagram.com/hackervalleymedia/'>Instagram</a>, and <a href='https://twitter.com/TheHackerValley'>Twitter</a>

Rodrigo Leme, Marketing Director at Right-Hand Security, joins us this week to cover the often ignored topic in cybersecurity of marketing to small and medium-sized businesses, or SMBs. Covering the concepts of business use cases, security awareness training, and post-sales support, Rodrigo explains the ins and outs, the good and the bad, the tips and the tricks of cyber marketing in the SMB world and when we should consider the bottom line (hint: it’s probably more than you think).
 
Timecoded Guide:
[03:14] Talking to non-technical customers in SMBs about cybersecurity and security awareness training and getting to the root of their problems and pain points

[08:30] Seeing past the term of SMB to understand the people you’re marketing to and what a good culture of cybersecurity can bring to them
[23:39] Advocating against fear, uncertainty, and doubt when marketing to SMBs and the importance of focusing on what’s good for your people, not what’s scariest
[29:09] Understanding the importance of post-sales support, engaging with customer feedback, and recognizing what customers want to see from your services
[35:39] Exploring strange and unusual business use cases and seeing the commonality of empathy for pain points in marketing 
 
Rodrigo, can you tell us about marketing to the SMB customer?
We don’t always get a chance to dive into SMB marketing with such a knowledgeable source, but Rodrigo invites us to consider the differences between an SMB and a large company customer throughout this episode. First, consider the size of a team you may be working with. Instead of having a CISO or a head of security, a business owner may be working on security themselves, hoping to find guidance from you on how to move forward in a small team. Additionally, Rodrigo warns that many SMB clients may not see the security opportunities beyond their tech goals, such as a restauranter seeking to add WI-FI to their offerings and missing additional security awareness strategies that need to be pointed out to them.
“The SMB customer has problems on the surface that he knows he has, like, ‘I want Wi-Fi in my restaurant for my guests.’ And he has issues that he's not aware of, or he has opportunities he's not aware of, like he may have security issues behind that Wi-Fi access that he doesn't know about.”
 
Can you tell us how Walmart used cybersecurity for PR?
According to Rodrigo, good cybersecurity is even better for PR. This idea could be held up with a myriad of examples, but one Rodrigo is particularly enamored with is Walmart’s prevention of gift card scams. With the ability to prevent scams and return funds before customers lose their money, Walmart has saved their customers over a million dollars and have been praised for this initiative by major news outlets. Although this is a drop in the bucket within an ocean of an issue, Rodrigo points out that saving any customer any amount of money and preventing them from being scammed in any way leads to massive PR benefits, especially when you can show off how well you understand your customer’s pain points. 
“Let's say that you're protecting those customers from getting into scams that make those people lose their mortgage money, or whatever. You're saving them a million, even if it's only a million, that's good PR. That only happens if you understand the end customer pain points, not the immediate pain points of the organization.”
 
What are your thoughts on FUD (fear, uncertainty, and doubt) in marketing to these SMBs and in these business use cases? 
We’ve discussed the idea of FUD before on the podcast, and how it’s never a good cyber marketing tactic to exploit someone’s fear, uncertainty, or doubt. Although our examples have ranged from large corporations to individual consumers, we wanted to talk with Rodrigo about his perspective on marketing for SMBs and the danger of FUD. Rodrigo, considering himself a positive person with a lighthearted demeanor, finds using FUD in marketing to SMBs to be manipulative and redundant. Rodrigo argues that not only do small business owners fear for their security, they also come to Right-Hand with a desire to enhance their security already in mind. They don’t need to be scared further if a positive approach could be just as influential.
“I do not like fear, uncertainty, and doubt. I do believe that, since we're in the education business, I do like educating. We do believe in empathy. We listen to our customers, we do ask the ‘why,’ to understand the pain points of the customers.”
 
What are some best practices around supporting the post-sales process, after you've sold a product? 
Marketing so often focuses on the beginning of the sales cycle. We love to reach out to new customers and encourage those doing their research to check out our products, but we don’t always talk about what happens after a sale takes place. For Rodrigo and his team at Right-Hand, the post-sales process requires its own understanding of your customer and their security goals beyond what they might see for themselves. Following up with customers post-sale not only leads to high-quality feedback for Rodrigo and his team, it also allows for them to see where support is still needed for their customer, including analyzing the results of their security awareness training and setting up further opportunities to reduce human risk.
“Are we really reducing human risk? If we're not: How can we help them? Can we help them leverage the services? Can we sit down with them and help build stronger content training content? Are they having problems creating content for the training?”
----------
Links:
Spend some time with our guest Rodrigo Leme on <a href='https://rodrigolememkt.com.br'>his website</a> and <a href='https://www.linkedin.com/in/rodrigoleme/'>LinkedIn</a>
Learn more about Right-Hand Cybersecurity on <a href='https://www.linkedin.com/company/righthandai/'>LinkedIn</a> and <a href='https://right-hand.ai/why-right-hand/'>their website</a>
Follow Gianna on <a href='https://www.linkedin.com/in/giannawhitver/'>LinkedIn</a>
Catch up with Maria on <a href='https://www.linkedin.com/in/maria-vepa/'>LinkedIn</a>
Join the Cybersecurity Marketing Society on <a href='https://cybersecuritymarketingsociety.com'>our website</a>, and keep up with us on <a href='https://twitter.com/CyberMSociety'>Twitter</a>
Keep up with Hacker Valley on <a href='https://hackervalley.com'>our website</a>, <a href='https://www.linkedin.com/company/hackervalleystudio/'>LinkedIn</a>, <a href='https://www.instagram.com/hackervalleymedia/'>Instagram</a>, and <a href='https://twitter.com/TheHackerValley'>Twitter</a>

breaking-through-cyber-marketing.podbean.com/78b527e9-b9a0-3842-8bb8-04c1bd248d32

Rodrigo Leme, Marketing Director at Right-Hand Security, joins us this week to cover the often ignored topic in cybersecurity of marketing to small and medium-sized businesses, or SMBs. Covering the concepts of business use cases, security awareness ...

Rodrigo Leme, Marketing Director at Right-Hand Security, joins us this week to cover the often ignored topic in cybersecurity of marketing to small and medium-sized businesses, or SMBs. Covering the concepts of business use cases, security awareness training, and post-sales support, Rodrigo explains the ins and outs, the good and the bad, the tips and the tricks of cyber marketing in the SMB world and when we should consider the bottom line (hint: it’s probably more than you think).
 
Timecoded Guide:
[03:14] Talking to non-technical customers in SMBs about cybersecurity and security awareness training and getting to the root of their problems and pain points
[08:30] Seeing past the term of SMB to understand the people you’re marketing to and what a good culture of cybersecurity can bring to them
[23:39] Advocating against fear, uncertainty, and doubt when marketing to SMBs and the importance of focusing on what’s good for your people, not what’s scariest
[29:09] Understanding the importance of post-sales support, engaging with customer feedback, and recognizing what customers want to see from your services
[35:39] Exploring strange and unusual business use cases and seeing the commonality of empathy for pain points in marketing 
 
Rodrigo, can you tell us about marketing to the SMB customer?
We don’t always get a chance to dive into SMB marketing with such a knowledgeable source, but Rodrigo invites us to consider the differences between an SMB and a large company customer throughout this episode. First, consider the size of a team you may be working with. Instead of having a CISO or a head of security, a business owner may be working on security themselves, hoping to find guidance from you on how to move forward in a small team. Additionally, Rodrigo warns that many SMB clients may not see the security opportunities beyond their tech goals, such as a restauranter seeking to add WI-FI to their offerings and missing additional security awareness strategies that need to be pointed out to them.
“The SMB customer has problems on the surface that he knows he has, like, ‘I want Wi-Fi in my restaurant for my guests.’ And he has issues that he's not aware of, or he has opportunities he's not aware of, like he may have security issues behind that Wi-Fi access that he doesn't know about.”
 
Can you tell us how Walmart used cybersecurity for PR?
According to Rodrigo, good cybersecurity is even better for PR. This idea could be held up with a myriad of examples, but one Rodrigo is particularly enamored with is Walmart’s prevention of gift card scams. With the ability to prevent scams and return funds before customers lose their money, Walmart has saved their customers over a million dollars and have been praised for this initiative by major news outlets. Although this is a drop in the bucket within an ocean of an issue, Rodrigo points out that saving any customer any amount of money and preventing them from being scammed in any way leads to massive PR benefits, especially when you can show off how well you understand your customer’s pain points. 
“Let's say that you're protecting those customers from getting into scams that make those people lose their mortgage money, or whatever. You're saving them a million, even if it's only a million, that's good PR. That only happens if you understand the end customer pain points, not the immediate pain points of the organization.”
 
What are your thoughts on FUD (fear, uncertainty, and doubt) in marketing to these SMBs and in these business use cases? 
We’ve discussed the idea of FUD before on the podcast, and how it’s never a good cyber marketing tactic to exploit someone’s fear, uncertainty, or doubt. Although our examples have ranged from large corporations to individual consumers, we wanted to talk with Rodrigo about his perspective on marketing for SMBs and the danger of FUD. Rodrigo, considering himself a positive person with a lighthearted demeanor, finds using FUD in marketing t

Security Awareness for SMBs with Rodrigo Leme

Sherry Lowe, CMO of Exabeam, joins us this week to talk about marketing strategies during the pandemic as well as representing women in the male-dominated industries of tech and cybersecurity. With CMO experience at Druva, Expanse, and Exabeam, Sherry explains how her encounters with sexism in the cyber industry inspired her to pursue high-level management and board opportunities, including her work with FirstBoard.io, and how she’s pivoted to focus on digital marketing during the uncertainty of COVID-19.
Timecoded Guide:
[01:55] Witnessing changes in cybersecurity marketing tactics and practices as the online and digital world continues to influence our audiences
[04:11] Shifting away from events-based marketing budgets during the COVID-19 pandemic and embracing more digital cyber marketing opportunities
[08:29] Changing her strategies and altering her marketing budget when joining Exabeam as the CMO, especially considering the timing for the pandemic
[15:17] Acknowledging progress being made for women in cyber, while also keeping in mind the impact of the pandemic and the economy on mothers working in tech
[20:18] Dealing with sexism and toxicity in the workplace, especially in male-dominated industries, and advocating for more women in marketing and in leadership
 
How has cybersecurity marketing changed from when you started?
With a storied career both behind and ahead of Sherry, we were excited to ask her about what she’s seen change the most since beginning her career in the cyber industry. Her answer? An increased focus on digital marketing and online content. When Sherry started, websites were not the focus for many cyber companies, versus today where websites are a hugely influential part of the marketing team’s job and generates the best leads for the majority of cyber and tech companies. 
“A really huge shift that I've seen over the years is just how powerful driving prospects to your website is. To interact on the website, not just to land on it and read something, but to actually do something there. Those conversion rates are going to end up being really some of the best leads that you ever see.”
 
Can you pinpoint any specific changes that happened at Exabeam and in cyber marketing, specifically around the pandemic?
Although cyber marketing has changed in leaps and bounds since Sherry became a part of the industry, the pandemic brought a huge shift in the marketing perspective and the marketing budget for cyber marketing and for Exabeam. Joining Exabeam during the pandemic, Sherry was admittedly horrified to realize that a large majority of their budget, nearly 80%, was focused on marketing at in-person events. With the pandemic making travel restricted and group gatherings nearly impossible, Sherry quickly pivoted their efforts and their budget to digital marketing, striving to engage customers online and continue to innovate their outreach beyond what it would be in an event setting or at large gatherings.
“Cyber security marketing loves the trade show. They love the big box trade show, and it was a forced shift for the cybersecurity industry because COVID changed all of that. If you were not a digital-first marketing organization when COVID hit, you had to do that shift so quickly.”
 
What's the mission of FirstBoard.io, and what ceilings are you trying to break?
We’ve accomplished so much in the cyber world, continuing to bridge the gap between where men and women are represented in the industry. However, Sherry points out that a large majority of company boards fail to provide strong opportunities for women in cyber and in tech. Hoping to give more women the opportunity to serve on their first boards and get a start in leadership in the industry, Sherry became a founding member of FirstBoard.io.
“Right now, women are just not as represented as men on boards…and there's a tendency to keep using the same women on boards. So, we're trying to expand it, so that opportunities go beyond just the same four or five women.”
 
Do you have any advice that you could share with people listening today about workplace toxicity and sexism?
There’s thankfully a lot of emphasis around creating safe work environments for any company, but especially in cyber these days. Unfortunately, Sherry has seen the reality of what it’s like to experience unsafe work environments first-hand. After being harassed on more than one occasion by a male coworker, Sherry spoke up and had to cope with the consequences of doing so, losing friends and leaving her job after doing so. As difficult as this situation was, Sherry is thankful for the realization that brought her: she could be a CMO, she could be a leader in cyber, and she could build a safer environment for the women that worked with her.
“Everyone always says, ‘If you see something, say something,’ but what they don't tell you is the sentence that comes after that: ‘But prepare for the consequences of saying something.’ That's the sentence they forget to say after that, and you have to weigh that for yourself.” 
----------
Links:
Spend some time with our guest Sherry Lowe on <a href='https://www.linkedin.com/in/sherrylowe/'>LinkedIn</a>
Learn more about Exabeam on <a href='https://www.exabeam.com'>the Exabeam website</a> and <a href='https://www.linkedin.com/company/exabeam/'>LinkedIn</a>
Keep up with Hacker Valley on <a href='https://hackervalley.com'>our website</a>, <a href='https://www.linkedin.com/company/hackervalleystudio/'>LinkedIn</a>, <a href='https://www.instagram.com/hackervalleymedia/'>Instagram</a>, and <a href='https://twitter.com/TheHackerValley'>Twitter</a>
Follow Gianna on <a href='https://www.linkedin.com/in/giannawhitver/'>LinkedIn</a>
Catch up with Maria on <a href='https://www.linkedin.com/in/maria-vepa/'>LinkedIn</a>
Join the Cybersecurity Marketing Society on <a href='https://cybersecuritymarketingsociety.com'>our website</a>, and keep up with us on <a href='https://twitter.com/CyberMSociety'>Twitter</a>

Sherry Lowe, CMO of Exabeam, joins us this week to talk about marketing strategies during the pandemic as well as representing women in the male-dominated industries of tech and cybersecurity. With CMO experience at Druva, Expanse, and Exabeam, Sherry explains how her encounters with sexism in the cyber industry inspired her to pursue high-level management and board opportunities, including her work with FirstBoard.io, and how she’s pivoted to focus on digital marketing during the uncertainty of COVID-19.
Timecoded Guide:
[01:55] Witnessing changes in cybersecurity marketing tactics and practices as the online and digital world continues to influence our audiences
[04:11] Shifting away from events-based marketing budgets during the COVID-19 pandemic and embracing more digital cyber marketing opportunities
[08:29] Changing her strategies and altering her marketing budget when joining Exabeam as the CMO, especially considering the timing for the pandemic
[15:17] Acknowledging progress being made for women in cyber, while also keeping in mind the impact of the pandemic and the economy on mothers working in tech
[20:18] Dealing with sexism and toxicity in the workplace, especially in male-dominated industries, and advocating for more women in marketing and in leadership
 
How has cybersecurity marketing changed from when you started?
With a storied career both behind and ahead of Sherry, we were excited to ask her about what she’s seen change the most since beginning her career in the cyber industry. Her answer? An increased focus on digital marketing and online content. When Sherry started, websites were not the focus for many cyber companies, versus today where websites are a hugely influential part of the marketing team’s job and generates the best leads for the majority of cyber and tech companies. 
“A really huge shift that I've seen over the years is just how powerful driving prospects to your website is. To interact on the website, not just to land on it and read something, but to actually do something there. Those conversion rates are going to end up being really some of the best leads that you ever see.”
 
Can you pinpoint any specific changes that happened at Exabeam and in cyber marketing, specifically around the pandemic?
Although cyber marketing has changed in leaps and bounds since Sherry became a part of the industry, the pandemic brought a huge shift in the marketing perspective and the marketing budget for cyber marketing and for Exabeam. Joining Exabeam during the pandemic, Sherry was admittedly horrified to realize that a large majority of their budget, nearly 80%, was focused on marketing at in-person events. With the pandemic making travel restricted and group gatherings nearly impossible, Sherry quickly pivoted their efforts and their budget to digital marketing, striving to engage customers online and continue to innovate their outreach beyond what it would be in an event setting or at large gatherings.
“Cyber security marketing loves the trade show. They love the big box trade show, and it was a forced shift for the cybersecurity industry because COVID changed all of that. If you were not a digital-first marketing organization when COVID hit, you had to do that shift so quickly.”
 
What's the mission of FirstBoard.io, and what ceilings are you trying to break?
We’ve accomplished so much in the cyber world, continuing to bridge the gap between where men and women are represented in the industry. However, Sherry points out that a large majority of company boards fail to provide strong opportunities for women in cyber and in tech. Hoping to give more women the opportunity to serve on their first boards and get a start in leadership in the industry, Sherry became a founding member of FirstBoard.io.
“Right now, women are just not as represented as men on boards…and there's a tendency to keep using the same women on boards. So, we're trying to expand it, so that opportunities go beyond just the same four or five women.”
 
Do you have any advice that you could share with people listening today about workplace toxicity and sexism?
There’s thankfully a lot of emphasis around creating safe work environments for any company, but especially in cyber these days. Unfortunately, Sherry has seen the reality of what it’s like to experience unsafe work environments first-hand. After being harassed on more than one occasion by a male coworker, Sherry spoke up and had to cope with the consequences of doing so, losing friends and leaving her job after doing so. As difficult as this situation was, Sherry is thankful for the realization that brought her: she could be a CMO, she could be a leader in cyber, and she could build a safer environment for the women that worked with her.
“Everyone always says, ‘If you see something, say something,’ but what they don't tell you is the sentence that comes after that: ‘But prepare for the consequences of saying something.’ That's the sentence they forget to say after that, and you have to weigh that for yourself.” 
----------
Links:
Spend some time with our guest Sherry Lowe on <a href='https://www.linkedin.com/in/sherrylowe/'>LinkedIn</a>
Learn more about Exabeam on <a href='https://www.exabeam.com'>the Exabeam website</a> and <a href='https://www.linkedin.com/company/exabeam/'>LinkedIn</a>
Keep up with Hacker Valley on <a href='https://hackervalley.com'>our website</a>, <a href='https://www.linkedin.com/company/hackervalleystudio/'>LinkedIn</a>, <a href='https://www.instagram.com/hackervalleymedia/'>Instagram</a>, and <a href='https://twitter.com/TheHackerValley'>Twitter</a>
Follow Gianna on <a href='https://www.linkedin.com/in/giannawhitver/'>LinkedIn</a>
Catch up with Maria on <a href='https://www.linkedin.com/in/maria-vepa/'>LinkedIn</a>
Join the Cybersecurity Marketing Society on <a href='https://cybersecuritymarketingsociety.com'>our website</a>, and keep up with us on <a href='https://twitter.com/CyberMSociety'>Twitter</a>

breaking-through-cyber-marketing.podbean.com/afa0ada9-c8d3-3965-9592-ba7ffc6203d1

Sherry Lowe, CMO of Exabeam, joins us this week to talk about marketing strategies during the pandemic as well as representing women in the male-dominated industries of tech and cybersecurity. With CMO experience at Druva, Expanse, and Exabeam, Sherr...

Sherry Lowe, CMO of Exabeam, joins us this week to talk about marketing strategies during the pandemic as well as representing women in the male-dominated industries of tech and cybersecurity. With CMO experience at Druva, Expanse, and Exabeam, Sherry explains how her encounters with sexism in the cyber industry inspired her to pursue high-level management and board opportunities, including her work with FirstBoard.io, and how she’s pivoted to focus on digital marketing during the uncertainty of COVID-19.
Timecoded Guide:
[01:55] Witnessing changes in cybersecurity marketing tactics and practices as the online and digital world continues to influence our audiences
[04:11] Shifting away from events-based marketing budgets during the COVID-19 pandemic and embracing more digital cyber marketing opportunities
[08:29] Changing her strategies and altering her marketing budget when joining Exabeam as the CMO, especially considering the timing for the pandemic
[15:17] Acknowledging progress being made for women in cyber, while also keeping in mind the impact of the pandemic and the economy on mothers working in tech
[20:18] Dealing with sexism and toxicity in the workplace, especially in male-dominated industries, and advocating for more women in marketing and in leadership
 
How has cybersecurity marketing changed from when you started?
With a storied career both behind and ahead of Sherry, we were excited to ask her about what she’s seen change the most since beginning her career in the cyber industry. Her answer? An increased focus on digital marketing and online content. When Sherry started, websites were not the focus for many cyber companies, versus today where websites are a hugely influential part of the marketing team’s job and generates the best leads for the majority of cyber and tech companies. 
“A really huge shift that I've seen over the years is just how powerful driving prospects to your website is. To interact on the website, not just to land on it and read something, but to actually do something there. Those conversion rates are going to end up being really some of the best leads that you ever see.”
 
Can you pinpoint any specific changes that happened at Exabeam and in cyber marketing, specifically around the pandemic?
Although cyber marketing has changed in leaps and bounds since Sherry became a part of the industry, the pandemic brought a huge shift in the marketing perspective and the marketing budget for cyber marketing and for Exabeam. Joining Exabeam during the pandemic, Sherry was admittedly horrified to realize that a large majority of their budget, nearly 80%, was focused on marketing at in-person events. With the pandemic making travel restricted and group gatherings nearly impossible, Sherry quickly pivoted their efforts and their budget to digital marketing, striving to engage customers online and continue to innovate their outreach beyond what it would be in an event setting or at large gatherings.
“Cyber security marketing loves the trade show. They love the big box trade show, and it was a forced shift for the cybersecurity industry because COVID changed all of that. If you were not a digital-first marketing organization when COVID hit, you had to do that shift so quickly.”
 
What's the mission of FirstBoard.io, and what ceilings are you trying to break?
We’ve accomplished so much in the cyber world, continuing to bridge the gap between where men and women are represented in the industry. However, Sherry points out that a large majority of company boards fail to provide strong opportunities for women in cyber and in tech. Hoping to give more women the opportunity to serve on their first boards and get a start in leadership in the industry, Sherry became a founding member of FirstBoard.io.
“Right now, women are just not as represented as men on boards…and there's a tendency to keep using the same women on boards. So, we're trying to expand it, so that opportunities go beyond just the same f

Marketing in Male-Dominated Fields with CMO Sherry Lowe

We invite Jennifer VanAntwerp, Principal at JVAN Consulting, to talk about taking the challenge of cybersecurity marketing by the horns. Her secret weapon? Kindness. Jen shares stories with us about her marketing journey to becoming a consultant, explains her development of the 10 Commandments of Kindness for Cybersecurity Marketers, and reminds us why communities like the Cybersecurity Marketing Society are so important for marketers and for the cybersecurity industry as a whole.
 
Timecoded Guide:
[02:12] Explaining Jen’s background in automotive marketing and healthcare, as well as connecting those industries to her newer roles in cybersecurity 
[08:36] Breaking down Jen’s 10 Commandments of Kindness for Cybersecurity Marketers and revealing which commandments feel most important for the industry currently
[18:34] Taking the challenge to develop handouts and merchandise beyond cheap plastic pens and unoriginal assets that don’t leave an impact on your audience
[23:40] Avoiding falling into the marketing trap of FUD: fear, uncertainty, and doubt, which is especially common in the cybersecurity industry
[32:08] Wrapping up Jen’s commandments with reading the room, avoiding common lies in marketing, and connecting better with our cyber community
 
You’ve worked in the automotive industry and in healthcare, what have you seen from those two industries be applicable in cyber?
Jennifer VanAntwerp has a very impressive marketing resume, including work in the automotive industry and the urgent care side of the healthcare industry. We were curious about differences, especially with Jen being relatively new to the cyber marketing world. The biggest difference, which we’ve actually discussed previously on the podcast, is the skepticism of the cybersecurity audience. Cyber professionals are already worried about the online threats we see emerge every day, but they're also skeptical, sometimes, of the tactics marketers use and the buzzword-y, almost meaningless language we can fall victim to. 
“There's always a new element or facet of cybersecurity that you can go into, but I would say the biggest difference between cybersecurity and the two other industries that I worked in, is the audience. Our audience is very, very skeptical. We've almost trained them to be.”
 
What do you think are the pros and cons of being a generalist in marketing?
With Jen having experience outside of the industry, she considers herself more of a generalist in her cybersecurity marketing tactics. She’s entirely willing to admit that she’s not the most technical marketer of the bunch. Although this presents a well-rounded mindset for the companies she consults with, she acknowledges that there may need to be an extra set of hands to do some technical explaining or a lot of extra time to do her research. There’s always something new to learn in cyber marketing, but it’s important to point out that it can be overwhelming, which is one of the reasons Jen developed her 10 commandments.
“It's a blessing and a curse. It's a good thing, because I can see the big picture, do a lot of the strategy elements, and understand what levers to pull, but with some of the levers, I might need a specialist to assist in that regard.”
 
Can you tell us about which of your 10 Cyber Marketing Commandments are the most important and why?
With these 10 marketing commandments, Jen shares all the basics of not only being a good marketer, but also being a good human in the cybersecurity industry. One of the most important commandments is the first of the 10, which is to respect your audience’s time. Everyone is busy, with a lot on their plate, and not acknowledging that in your marketing tactics not only can annoy your audience, but it can be a waste of time for you, as well. If your audience doesn’t have the time for your current strategy, you won’t get through to them.
“That's one of the things I love about the Cybersecurity Marketing Society, is that it is a way for us to share ideas and do that coopetition thing. Even though we might be competitors, we can still share ideas within the space, but I feel like it's a good chance for us to have constant reminders of what not to do.” 
 
What is so special about commandment 10: give back to the community? 
Although all 10 commandments offer lessons to be learned for our fellow cybersecurity marketers, commandment 10 emphasizes community and the importance of giving back. This can be traced all the way back to Jen’s mother, a passionate volunteer always lending help to her community. She’s been incredibly influential on Jen’s opinion of community, and the Cybersecurity Marketing Society has given Jen one of many opportunities to give back. From volunteering to donating, mentoring to offering someone a shoulder to cry on, your community needs your help, and the 10th cyber marketing commandment says just that.
“I ended it with that one, because I feel like that's the one that's going to keep going on forever. It's like commandment number 10 lives on for the rest of time, because those little acts of service within your community, they spread tenfold.”
----------
Links:
Spend some time with our guest Jennifer VanAntwerp on <a href='https://www.linkedin.com/in/jenvanantwerp/'>LinkedIn</a>. 
Read Jen’s original <a href='https://cybersecuritymarketingsociety.com/10-commandments-of-kindness-for-cybersecurity-marketers/'>10 Commandments of Kindness for Cybersecurity Marketers</a>.
Follow Gianna on <a href='https://www.linkedin.com/in/giannawhitver/'>LinkedIn</a>.
Catch up with Maria on <a href='https://www.linkedin.com/in/maria-vepa/'>LinkedIn</a>.
Join the Cybersecurity Marketing Society on <a href='https://cybersecuritymarketingsociety.com'>our website</a>, and keep up with us on <a href='https://twitter.com/CyberMSociety'>Twitter</a>.
Keep up with Hacker Valley on <a href='https://hackervalley.com'>our website</a>, <a href='https://www.linkedin.com/company/hackervalleystudio/'>LinkedIn</a>, <a href='https://www.instagram.com/hackervalleymedia/'>Instagram</a>, and <a href='https://twitter.com/TheHackerValley'>Twitter</a>.

We invite Jennifer VanAntwerp, Principal at JVAN Consulting, to talk about taking the challenge of cybersecurity marketing by the horns. Her secret weapon? Kindness. Jen shares stories with us about her marketing journey to becoming a consultant, explains her development of the 10 Commandments of Kindness for Cybersecurity Marketers, and reminds us why communities like the Cybersecurity Marketing Society are so important for marketers and for the cybersecurity industry as a whole.
 
Timecoded Guide:
[02:12] Explaining Jen’s background in automotive marketing and healthcare, as well as connecting those industries to her newer roles in cybersecurity 
[08:36] Breaking down Jen’s 10 Commandments of Kindness for Cybersecurity Marketers and revealing which commandments feel most important for the industry currently
[18:34] Taking the challenge to develop handouts and merchandise beyond cheap plastic pens and unoriginal assets that don’t leave an impact on your audience
[23:40] Avoiding falling into the marketing trap of FUD: fear, uncertainty, and doubt, which is especially common in the cybersecurity industry
[32:08] Wrapping up Jen’s commandments with reading the room, avoiding common lies in marketing, and connecting better with our cyber community
 
You’ve worked in the automotive industry and in healthcare, what have you seen from those two industries be applicable in cyber?
Jennifer VanAntwerp has a very impressive marketing resume, including work in the automotive industry and the urgent care side of the healthcare industry. We were curious about differences, especially with Jen being relatively new to the cyber marketing world. The biggest difference, which we’ve actually discussed previously on the podcast, is the skepticism of the cybersecurity audience. Cyber professionals are already worried about the online threats we see emerge every day, but they're also skeptical, sometimes, of the tactics marketers use and the buzzword-y, almost meaningless language we can fall victim to. 
“There's always a new element or facet of cybersecurity that you can go into, but I would say the biggest difference between cybersecurity and the two other industries that I worked in, is the audience. Our audience is very, very skeptical. We've almost trained them to be.”
 
What do you think are the pros and cons of being a generalist in marketing?
With Jen having experience outside of the industry, she considers herself more of a generalist in her cybersecurity marketing tactics. She’s entirely willing to admit that she’s not the most technical marketer of the bunch. Although this presents a well-rounded mindset for the companies she consults with, she acknowledges that there may need to be an extra set of hands to do some technical explaining or a lot of extra time to do her research. There’s always something new to learn in cyber marketing, but it’s important to point out that it can be overwhelming, which is one of the reasons Jen developed her 10 commandments.
“It's a blessing and a curse. It's a good thing, because I can see the big picture, do a lot of the strategy elements, and understand what levers to pull, but with some of the levers, I might need a specialist to assist in that regard.”
 
Can you tell us about which of your 10 Cyber Marketing Commandments are the most important and why?
With these 10 marketing commandments, Jen shares all the basics of not only being a good marketer, but also being a good human in the cybersecurity industry. One of the most important commandments is the first of the 10, which is to respect your audience’s time. Everyone is busy, with a lot on their plate, and not acknowledging that in your marketing tactics not only can annoy your audience, but it can be a waste of time for you, as well. If your audience doesn’t have the time for your current strategy, you won’t get through to them.
“That's one of the things I love about the Cybersecurity Marketing Society, is that it is a way for us to share ideas and do that coopetition thing. Even though we might be competitors, we can still share ideas within the space, but I feel like it's a good chance for us to have constant reminders of what not to do.” 
 
What is so special about commandment 10: give back to the community? 
Although all 10 commandments offer lessons to be learned for our fellow cybersecurity marketers, commandment 10 emphasizes community and the importance of giving back. This can be traced all the way back to Jen’s mother, a passionate volunteer always lending help to her community. She’s been incredibly influential on Jen’s opinion of community, and the Cybersecurity Marketing Society has given Jen one of many opportunities to give back. From volunteering to donating, mentoring to offering someone a shoulder to cry on, your community needs your help, and the 10th cyber marketing commandment says just that.
“I ended it with that one, because I feel like that's the one that's going to keep going on forever. It's like commandment number 10 lives on for the rest of time, because those little acts of service within your community, they spread tenfold.”
----------
Links:
Spend some time with our guest Jennifer VanAntwerp on <a href='https://www.linkedin.com/in/jenvanantwerp/'>LinkedIn</a>. 
Read Jen’s original <a href='https://cybersecuritymarketingsociety.com/10-commandments-of-kindness-for-cybersecurity-marketers/'>10 Commandments of Kindness for Cybersecurity Marketers</a>.
Follow Gianna on <a href='https://www.linkedin.com/in/giannawhitver/'>LinkedIn</a>.
Catch up with Maria on <a href='https://www.linkedin.com/in/maria-vepa/'>LinkedIn</a>.
Join the Cybersecurity Marketing Society on <a href='https://cybersecuritymarketingsociety.com'>our website</a>, and keep up with us on <a href='https://twitter.com/CyberMSociety'>Twitter</a>.
Keep up with Hacker Valley on <a href='https://hackervalley.com'>our website</a>, <a href='https://www.linkedin.com/company/hackervalleystudio/'>LinkedIn</a>, <a href='https://www.instagram.com/hackervalleymedia/'>Instagram</a>, and <a href='https://twitter.com/TheHackerValley'>Twitter</a>.

breaking-through-cyber-marketing.podbean.com/5376d9e3-8464-35fa-b05f-1a359372bb90

We invite Jennifer VanAntwerp, Principal at JVAN Consulting, to talk about taking the challenge of cybersecurity marketing by the horns. Her secret weapon? Kindness. Jen shares stories with us about her marketing journey to becoming a consultant, exp...

We invite Jennifer VanAntwerp, Principal at JVAN Consulting, to talk about taking the challenge of cybersecurity marketing by the horns. Her secret weapon? Kindness. Jen shares stories with us about her marketing journey to becoming a consultant, explains her development of the 10 Commandments of Kindness for Cybersecurity Marketers, and reminds us why communities like the Cybersecurity Marketing Society are so important for marketers and for the cybersecurity industry as a whole.
 
Timecoded Guide:
[02:12] Explaining Jen’s background in automotive marketing and healthcare, as well as connecting those industries to her newer roles in cybersecurity 
[08:36] Breaking down Jen’s 10 Commandments of Kindness for Cybersecurity Marketers and revealing which commandments feel most important for the industry currently
[18:34] Taking the challenge to develop handouts and merchandise beyond cheap plastic pens and unoriginal assets that don’t leave an impact on your audience
[23:40] Avoiding falling into the marketing trap of FUD: fear, uncertainty, and doubt, which is especially common in the cybersecurity industry
[32:08] Wrapping up Jen’s commandments with reading the room, avoiding common lies in marketing, and connecting better with our cyber community
 
You’ve worked in the automotive industry and in healthcare, what have you seen from those two industries be applicable in cyber?
Jennifer VanAntwerp has a very impressive marketing resume, including work in the automotive industry and the urgent care side of the healthcare industry. We were curious about differences, especially with Jen being relatively new to the cyber marketing world. The biggest difference, which we’ve actually discussed previously on the podcast, is the skepticism of the cybersecurity audience. Cyber professionals are already worried about the online threats we see emerge every day, but they're also skeptical, sometimes, of the tactics marketers use and the buzzword-y, almost meaningless language we can fall victim to. 
“There's always a new element or facet of cybersecurity that you can go into, but I would say the biggest difference between cybersecurity and the two other industries that I worked in, is the audience. Our audience is very, very skeptical. We've almost trained them to be.”
 
What do you think are the pros and cons of being a generalist in marketing?
With Jen having experience outside of the industry, she considers herself more of a generalist in her cybersecurity marketing tactics. She’s entirely willing to admit that she’s not the most technical marketer of the bunch. Although this presents a well-rounded mindset for the companies she consults with, she acknowledges that there may need to be an extra set of hands to do some technical explaining or a lot of extra time to do her research. There’s always something new to learn in cyber marketing, but it’s important to point out that it can be overwhelming, which is one of the reasons Jen developed her 10 commandments.
“It's a blessing and a curse. It's a good thing, because I can see the big picture, do a lot of the strategy elements, and understand what levers to pull, but with some of the levers, I might need a specialist to assist in that regard.”
 
Can you tell us about which of your 10 Cyber Marketing Commandments are the most important and why?
With these 10 marketing commandments, Jen shares all the basics of not only being a good marketer, but also being a good human in the cybersecurity industry. One of the most important commandments is the first of the 10, which is to respect your audience’s time. Everyone is busy, with a lot on their plate, and not acknowledging that in your marketing tactics not only can annoy your audience, but it can be a waste of time for you, as well. If your audience doesn’t have the time for your current strategy, you won’t get through to them.
“That's one of the things I love about the Cybersecurity Marketing Society, is that it is a way for us to sh

10 Cyber Marketing Commandments with Jennifer VanAntwerp

Zereen Ali, Cyberforce Q’s Marketing Coordinator, brings her one-person team to the podcast today. Together, we talk about being new to cybersecurity, finding educational resources for cybersecurity marketers, and growing with Cyberforce Q from regional to national. With a variety of skills under her belt and a work history that includes automotive marketing for a tier-one supplier, Zereen has become a vital part of Cyberforce Q’s success. She hopes to take this company even further with leveraging partnerships and managing data quality. 
 
Timecoded Guide:
[03:08] Transitioning from an automotive to cybersecurity marketing position
 
[07:07] Structuring her work calendar around her one-person digital marketing team
[12:40] Approaching Cyberforce Q’s scaling from a marketing perspective and utilizing former automotive marketing strategies
[16:15] Marketing campaigns and techniques that have worked and haven’t worked for Cyberforce Q
[20:19] Joining the cybersecurity industry during the COVID pandemic
 
What is it like moving from automotive to cybersecurity marketing? 
After leaving the automotive industry during the pandemic, Zereen saw an opportunity in cybersecurity marketing to grow her content strategy skills, as well as learn the technical side of the cybersecurity industry. Leaving behind the more rigid and traditional world of automotive marketing, Zereen joined Cyberforce Q and immediately felt the personal impact that increased security has on their clients.
“In cyber, you can really feel that impact because you’re protecting people…We’re really protecting the end users in a lot of cases, and it feels really fulfilling.”
 
What marketing educational materials have been the most helpful for you? 
New to cyber, Zereen found herself with a lot to learn about the ins and outs of Cyberforce Q and their competitors’ products and services as well. Focusing on researching and networking, she joined our Cyber Marketing Society and has found an incredible community willing to answer questions and provide feedback for people just like Zereen. New to cyber, or looking for fellow cyber security marketers? Check out the Cyber Marketing Society! 
“[Cybersecurity Marketing Society] is such a wonderful place to start because you get an instant network…you can ask anyone any questions.” 
 
How does being a one-person team impact your work and your schedule?
From her experience in automotive marketing, Zereen has gotten used to small marketing teams and high accountability. In her role at Cyberforce Q, Zereen is a one-person marketing team. From email campaigns to content marketing to website editing, she has a high volume of work and often collaborates with only an intern or two. To manage this workload, she keeps a tight schedule and a flexible calendar that allows for last minute changes. 
“The brand touches every single piece of your organization. How I interact with clients, how our sales team interacts, and how our technical team interacts all need to have some strain of our vision within it.”
 
What is the next marketing strategy for Cyberforce Q? 
In the transition from regional to national, Zereen has been focusing Cyberforce Q’s marketing strategy around leveraging strategic partnerships and increasing opportunities for Cyberforce Q to be seen as a subject matter expert. While partnering with other companies and organizations helps potential customers learn about Cyberforce Q, using speaking engagements and other educational opportunities to share knowledge and explain case studies builds trust in their knowledge of cybersecurity.
“[At Cyberforce Q], we are really trying to position ourselves as that subject matter expert.”
 
----------
Links:
Spend some time with our guest Zereen Ali on <a href='https://www.linkedin.com/in/zereenali/'>LinkedIn</a> and <a href='https://www.facebook.com/zereen.ali'>Facebook,</a> or shoot her an email at <a href='mailto:zali@cyberforceq.com'>zali@cyberforceq.com</a>.
Learn more about Cyberforce Q on their <a href='http://www.cyberforceq.com'>website</a>, <a href='https://www.linkedin.com/company/cyberforceq/'>LinkedIn</a>, <a href='https://www.facebook.com/cyberforceq'>Facebook</a>, <a href='https://twitter.com/cyberforceq'>Twitter</a>, and <a href='https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCPXjIh1IlRPMeoTr968ekew'>YouTube</a>. 
Keep up with Hacker Valley on <a href='https://hackervalley.com'>our website</a>, <a href='https://www.linkedin.com/company/hackervalleystudio/'>LinkedIn</a>, <a href='https://www.instagram.com/hackervalleymedia/'>Instagram</a>, and <a href='https://twitter.com/TheHackerValley'>Twitter</a>. 
Follow Gianna on <a href='https://www.linkedin.com/in/giannawhitver/'>LinkedIn</a>.
Catch up with Maria on <a href='https://www.linkedin.com/in/maria-vepa/'>LinkedIn</a>.
Join the Cybersecurity Marketing Society on <a href='https://cybersecuritymarketingsociety.com'>our website</a>, and keep up with us on <a href='https://twitter.com/CyberMSociety'>Twitter</a>.

Zereen Ali, Cyberforce Q’s Marketing Coordinator, brings her one-person team to the podcast today. Together, we talk about being new to cybersecurity, finding educational resources for cybersecurity marketers, and growing with Cyberforce Q from regional to national. With a variety of skills under her belt and a work history that includes automotive marketing for a tier-one supplier, Zereen has become a vital part of Cyberforce Q’s success. She hopes to take this company even further with leveraging partnerships and managing data quality. 
 
Timecoded Guide:
[03:08] Transitioning from an automotive to cybersecurity marketing position
 
[07:07] Structuring her work calendar around her one-person digital marketing team
[12:40] Approaching Cyberforce Q’s scaling from a marketing perspective and utilizing former automotive marketing strategies
[16:15] Marketing campaigns and techniques that have worked and haven’t worked for Cyberforce Q
[20:19] Joining the cybersecurity industry during the COVID pandemic
 
What is it like moving from automotive to cybersecurity marketing? 
After leaving the automotive industry during the pandemic, Zereen saw an opportunity in cybersecurity marketing to grow her content strategy skills, as well as learn the technical side of the cybersecurity industry. Leaving behind the more rigid and traditional world of automotive marketing, Zereen joined Cyberforce Q and immediately felt the personal impact that increased security has on their clients.
“In cyber, you can really feel that impact because you’re protecting people…We’re really protecting the end users in a lot of cases, and it feels really fulfilling.”
 
What marketing educational materials have been the most helpful for you? 
New to cyber, Zereen found herself with a lot to learn about the ins and outs of Cyberforce Q and their competitors’ products and services as well. Focusing on researching and networking, she joined our Cyber Marketing Society and has found an incredible community willing to answer questions and provide feedback for people just like Zereen. New to cyber, or looking for fellow cyber security marketers? Check out the Cyber Marketing Society! 
“[Cybersecurity Marketing Society] is such a wonderful place to start because you get an instant network…you can ask anyone any questions.” 
 
How does being a one-person team impact your work and your schedule?
From her experience in automotive marketing, Zereen has gotten used to small marketing teams and high accountability. In her role at Cyberforce Q, Zereen is a one-person marketing team. From email campaigns to content marketing to website editing, she has a high volume of work and often collaborates with only an intern or two. To manage this workload, she keeps a tight schedule and a flexible calendar that allows for last minute changes. 
“The brand touches every single piece of your organization. How I interact with clients, how our sales team interacts, and how our technical team interacts all need to have some strain of our vision within it.”
 
What is the next marketing strategy for Cyberforce Q? 
In the transition from regional to national, Zereen has been focusing Cyberforce Q’s marketing strategy around leveraging strategic partnerships and increasing opportunities for Cyberforce Q to be seen as a subject matter expert. While partnering with other companies and organizations helps potential customers learn about Cyberforce Q, using speaking engagements and other educational opportunities to share knowledge and explain case studies builds trust in their knowledge of cybersecurity.
“[At Cyberforce Q], we are really trying to position ourselves as that subject matter expert.”
 
----------
Links:
Spend some time with our guest Zereen Ali on <a href='https://www.linkedin.com/in/zereenali/'>LinkedIn</a> and <a href='https://www.facebook.com/zereen.ali'>Facebook,</a> or shoot her an email at <a href='mailto:zali@cyberforceq.com'>zali@cyberforceq.com</a>.
Learn more about Cyberforce Q on their <a href='http://www.cyberforceq.com'>website</a>, <a href='https://www.linkedin.com/company/cyberforceq/'>LinkedIn</a>, <a href='https://www.facebook.com/cyberforceq'>Facebook</a>, <a href='https://twitter.com/cyberforceq'>Twitter</a>, and <a href='https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCPXjIh1IlRPMeoTr968ekew'>YouTube</a>. 
Keep up with Hacker Valley on <a href='https://hackervalley.com'>our website</a>, <a href='https://www.linkedin.com/company/hackervalleystudio/'>LinkedIn</a>, <a href='https://www.instagram.com/hackervalleymedia/'>Instagram</a>, and <a href='https://twitter.com/TheHackerValley'>Twitter</a>. 
Follow Gianna on <a href='https://www.linkedin.com/in/giannawhitver/'>LinkedIn</a>.
Catch up with Maria on <a href='https://www.linkedin.com/in/maria-vepa/'>LinkedIn</a>.
Join the Cybersecurity Marketing Society on <a href='https://cybersecuritymarketingsociety.com'>our website</a>, and keep up with us on <a href='https://twitter.com/CyberMSociety'>Twitter</a>.

breaking-through-cyber-marketing.podbean.com/d59fc305-b329-3836-88de-67de76fd36cf

Zereen Ali, Cyberforce Q’s Marketing Coordinator, brings her one-person team to the podcast today. Together, we talk about being new to cybersecurity, finding educational resources for cybersecurity marketers, and growing with Cyberforce Q from regio...

Zereen Ali, Cyberforce Q’s Marketing Coordinator, brings her one-person team to the podcast today. Together, we talk about being new to cybersecurity, finding educational resources for cybersecurity marketers, and growing with Cyberforce Q from regional to national. With a variety of skills under her belt and a work history that includes automotive marketing for a tier-one supplier, Zereen has become a vital part of Cyberforce Q’s success. She hopes to take this company even further with leveraging partnerships and managing data quality. 
 
Timecoded Guide:
[03:08] Transitioning from an automotive to cybersecurity marketing position
 
[07:07] Structuring her work calendar around her one-person digital marketing team
[12:40] Approaching Cyberforce Q’s scaling from a marketing perspective and utilizing former automotive marketing strategies
[16:15] Marketing campaigns and techniques that have worked and haven’t worked for Cyberforce Q
[20:19] Joining the cybersecurity industry during the COVID pandemic
 
What is it like moving from automotive to cybersecurity marketing? 
After leaving the automotive industry during the pandemic, Zereen saw an opportunity in cybersecurity marketing to grow her content strategy skills, as well as learn the technical side of the cybersecurity industry. Leaving behind the more rigid and traditional world of automotive marketing, Zereen joined Cyberforce Q and immediately felt the personal impact that increased security has on their clients.
“In cyber, you can really feel that impact because you’re protecting people…We’re really protecting the end users in a lot of cases, and it feels really fulfilling.”
 
What marketing educational materials have been the most helpful for you? 
New to cyber, Zereen found herself with a lot to learn about the ins and outs of Cyberforce Q and their competitors’ products and services as well. Focusing on researching and networking, she joined our Cyber Marketing Society and has found an incredible community willing to answer questions and provide feedback for people just like Zereen. New to cyber, or looking for fellow cyber security marketers? Check out the Cyber Marketing Society! 
“[Cybersecurity Marketing Society] is such a wonderful place to start because you get an instant network…you can ask anyone any questions.” 
 
How does being a one-person team impact your work and your schedule?
From her experience in automotive marketing, Zereen has gotten used to small marketing teams and high accountability. In her role at Cyberforce Q, Zereen is a one-person marketing team. From email campaigns to content marketing to website editing, she has a high volume of work and often collaborates with only an intern or two. To manage this workload, she keeps a tight schedule and a flexible calendar that allows for last minute changes. 
“The brand touches every single piece of your organization. How I interact with clients, how our sales team interacts, and how our technical team interacts all need to have some strain of our vision within it.”
 
What is the next marketing strategy for Cyberforce Q? 
In the transition from regional to national, Zereen has been focusing Cyberforce Q’s marketing strategy around leveraging strategic partnerships and increasing opportunities for Cyberforce Q to be seen as a subject matter expert. While partnering with other companies and organizations helps potential customers learn about Cyberforce Q, using speaking engagements and other educational opportunities to share knowledge and explain case studies builds trust in their knowledge of cybersecurity.
“[At Cyberforce Q], we are really trying to position ourselves as that subject matter expert.”
 
----------
Links:
Spend some time with our guest Zereen Ali on LinkedIn and Facebook, or shoot her an email at zali@cyberforceq.com.
Learn more about Cyberforce Q on their website, LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube. 
Keep up with Hacker Valley on our website, LinkedIn, Instagram, and T

Automotive vs Cybersecurity Marketing with Zereen Ali

Lori Cohen, fractional CMO at Chief Outsiders and former VP of Marketing for Percona, joins us this week to talk about the importance of your brand— not just your branding. From popping balloons with Veridium to saying “Mongo Wrongo” with Percona to falling in love with Made In pans, Lori explains how brands earn the right to live in our heads through keeping it personal and not being afraid to have a little fun with longer term strategies.
Timecoded Summary:
[03:27] Navigating brand identity and metrics in a high pressure environment
[07:48] Effective guerrilla marketing through thought interruption
[15:39] Showing up beyond the gimmick to create an impactful convention experience
[25:01] Getting in the heads of your audience and earning brand recognition
[33:36] Personalized communication and its impact on audience connection
Be sure to check out the photos and videos of the Mongo campaign, referenced by Lori, <a href='https://cybersecuritymarketingsociety.com/having-fun-with-a-brand-with-lori-cohen/'>here</a>!
How do you navigate that brand when you're in one of these venture-backed, high pressure, high performance environments?
When talking about branding goals, Lori is quick to explain her distaste for short-term goal measurement and how much focus certain brands spend on MQLs. Although short-term metrics can seem extremely successful, longer term projects with larger goals often lead to higher chances of profitability. Although it might take some convincing, Lori advises her fellow marketers to ask for the resources for longer term projects over the MQL-focused short-term.
“No one likes to talk about it. Nobody likes to put money towards it, and everybody confuses brand with branding. So, those are even some places that we can start.”
Can you explain how you go about sourcing these creative things instead of just sorting by cheapest?
As Lori explains her adventures in brand marketing, one question we kept asking ourselves was: How can we do that? It’s easy to fall for cheap marketing materials, like coffee cups and
pens, but those items rarely connect to our brand’s message. In Lori’s experience, the best way to source these creative ideas is long-term planning, similar to other marketing strategies she endorses. When we make our swag a part of our brand message, we avoid the gimmicks.
“It wasn't just a gimmick for gimmick sake. We got to translate that message into the pain that we know everybody feels and then demonstrate our technology.”
Tell us why you prefer that consumer brand over others. What is it that they do that's really good in brand building?
For an example of a brand that speaks to her heart, Lori tells us about her love of Made In. Made In makes pots, pans, and assorted cookware for people just like Lori, who are passionate about high quality tools to make high quality meals. Made In speaks to Lori and inspires her loyalty not only through living up to their high quality purpose, but for their consistent messaging and their focus on the right audience.
“They want to speak to me. They don't want to speak to my friend Robin, who we may look alike in terms of our demographics, but she has never cooked in our life. They would be wasting a fortune to go after her. They're really going after people like me.”
How would you feel if our brand disappeared?
Brands make their way into our heads and have the permission to stay there through connecting with us on a personal level. Lori is quick to remind us that, no matter how our customers and potential clients are connecting to us, there needs to be a personal approach to what we do and how we speak to them. From making sure our emails aren’t just automated by no-reply accounts to reaching out with fun messages and memes, we only can succeed with inspiring brand loyalty when we make ourselves worthy of that loyalty.
“I'm not saying it's easy, but the ones that do that well, I think they actually get invited into your home and begin feeling about your brand in a different way. And then your emails seem less spammy, and maybe more welcome in their inbox.”
----------
Spend some time with our guest Lori Cohen on <a href='https://www.linkedin.com/in/loricohenbrandstrategist/'>LinkedIn</a>, <a href='https://twitter.com/catstrat'>Twitter</a>, the <a href='https://www.chiefoutsiders.com'> Chief Outsiders website</a> 
Additional resources mentioned in this podcast:
Follow Gianna on <a href='https://www.linkedin.com/in/giannawhitver/'>LinkedIn</a>
Catch up with Maria on <a href='https://www.linkedin.com/in/maria-vepa/'>LinkedIn</a>
Join the Cybersecurity Marketing Society on <a href='https://cybersecuritymarketingsociety.com'>our website</a>, and keep up with us on <a href='https://twitter.com/CyberMSociety'>Twitter</a>
Keep up with Hacker Valley on <a href='https://hackervalley.com'>our website</a>, <a href='https://www.linkedin.com/company/hackervalleystudio/'>LinkedIn</a>, <a href='https://www.instagram.com/hackervalleymedia/'>Instagram</a>, and <a href='https://twitter.com/TheHackerValley'>Twitter</a>

Lori Cohen, fractional CMO at Chief Outsiders and former VP of Marketing for Percona, joins us this week to talk about the importance of your brand— not just your branding. From popping balloons with Veridium to saying “Mongo Wrongo” with Percona to falling in love with Made In pans, Lori explains how brands earn the right to live in our heads through keeping it personal and not being afraid to have a little fun with longer term strategies.
Timecoded Summary:
[03:27] Navigating brand identity and metrics in a high pressure environment
[07:48] Effective guerrilla marketing through thought interruption
[15:39] Showing up beyond the gimmick to create an impactful convention experience
[25:01] Getting in the heads of your audience and earning brand recognition
[33:36] Personalized communication and its impact on audience connection
Be sure to check out the photos and videos of the Mongo campaign, referenced by Lori, <a href='https://cybersecuritymarketingsociety.com/having-fun-with-a-brand-with-lori-cohen/'>here</a>!
How do you navigate that brand when you're in one of these venture-backed, high pressure, high performance environments?
When talking about branding goals, Lori is quick to explain her distaste for short-term goal measurement and how much focus certain brands spend on MQLs. Although short-term metrics can seem extremely successful, longer term projects with larger goals often lead to higher chances of profitability. Although it might take some convincing, Lori advises her fellow marketers to ask for the resources for longer term projects over the MQL-focused short-term.
“No one likes to talk about it. Nobody likes to put money towards it, and everybody confuses brand with branding. So, those are even some places that we can start.”
Can you explain how you go about sourcing these creative things instead of just sorting by cheapest?
As Lori explains her adventures in brand marketing, one question we kept asking ourselves was: How can we do that? It’s easy to fall for cheap marketing materials, like coffee cups and
pens, but those items rarely connect to our brand’s message. In Lori’s experience, the best way to source these creative ideas is long-term planning, similar to other marketing strategies she endorses. When we make our swag a part of our brand message, we avoid the gimmicks.
“It wasn't just a gimmick for gimmick sake. We got to translate that message into the pain that we know everybody feels and then demonstrate our technology.”
Tell us why you prefer that consumer brand over others. What is it that they do that's really good in brand building?
For an example of a brand that speaks to her heart, Lori tells us about her love of Made In. Made In makes pots, pans, and assorted cookware for people just like Lori, who are passionate about high quality tools to make high quality meals. Made In speaks to Lori and inspires her loyalty not only through living up to their high quality purpose, but for their consistent messaging and their focus on the right audience.
“They want to speak to me. They don't want to speak to my friend Robin, who we may look alike in terms of our demographics, but she has never cooked in our life. They would be wasting a fortune to go after her. They're really going after people like me.”
How would you feel if our brand disappeared?
Brands make their way into our heads and have the permission to stay there through connecting with us on a personal level. Lori is quick to remind us that, no matter how our customers and potential clients are connecting to us, there needs to be a personal approach to what we do and how we speak to them. From making sure our emails aren’t just automated by no-reply accounts to reaching out with fun messages and memes, we only can succeed with inspiring brand loyalty when we make ourselves worthy of that loyalty.
“I'm not saying it's easy, but the ones that do that well, I think they actually get invited into your home and begin feeling about your brand in a different way. And then your emails seem less spammy, and maybe more welcome in their inbox.”
----------
Spend some time with our guest Lori Cohen on <a href='https://www.linkedin.com/in/loricohenbrandstrategist/'>LinkedIn</a>, <a href='https://twitter.com/catstrat'>Twitter</a>, the <a href='https://www.chiefoutsiders.com'> Chief Outsiders website</a> 
Additional resources mentioned in this podcast:
Follow Gianna on <a href='https://www.linkedin.com/in/giannawhitver/'>LinkedIn</a>
Catch up with Maria on <a href='https://www.linkedin.com/in/maria-vepa/'>LinkedIn</a>
Join the Cybersecurity Marketing Society on <a href='https://cybersecuritymarketingsociety.com'>our website</a>, and keep up with us on <a href='https://twitter.com/CyberMSociety'>Twitter</a>
Keep up with Hacker Valley on <a href='https://hackervalley.com'>our website</a>, <a href='https://www.linkedin.com/company/hackervalleystudio/'>LinkedIn</a>, <a href='https://www.instagram.com/hackervalleymedia/'>Instagram</a>, and <a href='https://twitter.com/TheHackerValley'>Twitter</a>

breaking-through-cyber-marketing.podbean.com/6324b989-75db-3b7a-b44e-54af2c2bc8ec

Lori Cohen, fractional CMO at Chief Outsiders and former VP of Marketing for Percona, joins us this week to talk about the importance of your brand— not just your branding. From popping balloons with Veridium to saying “Mongo Wrongo” with Percona to ...

Lori Cohen, fractional CMO at Chief Outsiders and former VP of Marketing for Percona, joins us this week to talk about the importance of your brand— not just your branding. From popping balloons with Veridium to saying “Mongo Wrongo” with Percona to falling in love with Made In pans, Lori explains how brands earn the right to live in our heads through keeping it personal and not being afraid to have a little fun with longer term strategies.
Timecoded Summary:
[03:27] Navigating brand identity and metrics in a high pressure environment
[07:48] Effective guerrilla marketing through thought interruption
[15:39] Showing up beyond the gimmick to create an impactful convention experience
[25:01] Getting in the heads of your audience and earning brand recognition
[33:36] Personalized communication and its impact on audience connection
Be sure to check out the photos and videos of the Mongo campaign, referenced by Lori, here!
How do you navigate that brand when you're in one of these venture-backed, high pressure, high performance environments?
When talking about branding goals, Lori is quick to explain her distaste for short-term goal measurement and how much focus certain brands spend on MQLs. Although short-term metrics can seem extremely successful, longer term projects with larger goals often lead to higher chances of profitability. Although it might take some convincing, Lori advises her fellow marketers to ask for the resources for longer term projects over the MQL-focused short-term.
“No one likes to talk about it. Nobody likes to put money towards it, and everybody confuses brand with branding. So, those are even some places that we can start.”
Can you explain how you go about sourcing these creative things instead of just sorting by cheapest?
As Lori explains her adventures in brand marketing, one question we kept asking ourselves was: How can we do that? It’s easy to fall for cheap marketing materials, like coffee cups and
pens, but those items rarely connect to our brand’s message. In Lori’s experience, the best way to source these creative ideas is long-term planning, similar to other marketing strategies she endorses. When we make our swag a part of our brand message, we avoid the gimmicks.
“It wasn't just a gimmick for gimmick sake. We got to translate that message into the pain that we know everybody feels and then demonstrate our technology.”
Tell us why you prefer that consumer brand over others. What is it that they do that's really good in brand building?
For an example of a brand that speaks to her heart, Lori tells us about her love of Made In. Made In makes pots, pans, and assorted cookware for people just like Lori, who are passionate about high quality tools to make high quality meals. Made In speaks to Lori and inspires her loyalty not only through living up to their high quality purpose, but for their consistent messaging and their focus on the right audience.
“They want to speak to me. They don't want to speak to my friend Robin, who we may look alike in terms of our demographics, but she has never cooked in our life. They would be wasting a fortune to go after her. They're really going after people like me.”
How would you feel if our brand disappeared?
Brands make their way into our heads and have the permission to stay there through connecting with us on a personal level. Lori is quick to remind us that, no matter how our customers and potential clients are connecting to us, there needs to be a personal approach to what we do and how we speak to them. From making sure our emails aren’t just automated by no-reply accounts to reaching out with fun messages and memes, we only can succeed with inspiring brand loyalty when we make ourselves worthy of that loyalty.
“I'm not saying it's easy, but the ones that do that well, I think they actually get invited into your home and begin feeling about your brand in a different way. And then your emails seem less spammy, and maybe more welcome in their inbo

Having Fun with a Brand with Lori Cohen

We’re joined by Karen Walsh, Founder and CEO of Allegro Solutions, on the podcast today to talk about the good, bad, and ugly of cybersecurity content marketing. As a compliance expert, former professor, lawyer, and kickass cybersecurity auditor, Karen shares her formula for content marketing success, educates us on educating our audience, and even gives us a quick peek at one of her many talents outside of the cybersecurity space. 
Timecoded Summary:
<ul><li style="font-weight:400;">[01:17] Introducing Karen and the concept of GRC (governance, risk, compliance)</li>
<li style="font-weight:400;">[04:27] Educating your audience through correct usage of webpage real estate</li>
<li style="font-weight:400;">[13:02] Discovering the formula for solid content marketing copy</li>
<li style="font-weight:400;">[22:46] Throwing out a few vague and unhelpful content marketing “bad words” </li>
<li style="font-weight:400;">[34:41] Kicking ass in cybersecurity as a woman, a marketer, and a freelancer</li>
</ul>
Sponsor:
Thank you to our sponsors and producers Hacker Valley Media! Chris Cochran and Ron Eddings run an amazing studio, which produces not only the Breaking Through in Cybersecurity Marketing podcast, but a bunch of other shows that you're going to want to listen to as well. You can check these all out at <a href='https://hackervalley.com'>HackerValley.com</a>. 
 
Do we really need to explain this again? 
When explaining the essentials of educating your audience, Karen encounters more than her fair share of clients who think they don’t have to explain or educate as much as they do. Education cannot be made with assumptions or without proper research into your audience. Although many of your potential clients may understand the terms you’re using, explaining and educating instead of assuming will avoid making an “*ss” out of anyone. 
“Have high standards of educating those who are coming into your website. They need to know things and they're not going to take that next step to convert if they don't understand and if you haven't educated them.”
 
How do you mix in SEO in order to be telling a good story to your buying audience, but also try and rank for terms for when people are searching?
Karen believes that SEO and content marketing is a formula, and bases a lot of her work around the essentials of that formula. These are three challenges that X industry has when trying to do Y security functions. Through explaining the challenges faced and the methods that could be used to solve them, you’re training yourself to not only educate, but to take up essential website real estate with impactful on-page SEO.
“I mean, it's formulaic. You set out a business problem that you're looking to solve, right? You define what that business problem is, and when you're defining what that business problem is, you focus on certain terms.”
 
What are your top marketing buzzwords to avoid on content?
Karen loves many things about content marketing, but there are some words that she cannot stand, including frictionless and actionable. For Karen, these words are vague and unhelpful in your marketing, leaving more questions than answers for potential clients. Get specific and explain why or how what you can provide separates your company from the pack. Don’t fall victim to meaningless marketing words when specificity can help so much more. 
“And I think part of the problem with a lot of these terms is people haven't really thought about what they mean by the term and so, it makes them meaningless.” 
 
How do you earn respect in cybersecurity as a woman and a marketer who knows her shit?
There are already huge barriers for women in cybersecurity, especially when coupled with non-technical roles, such as marketing and writing—  both of which are Karen’s specialties. Karen explains that, for her, there’s also the third layer of being a freelancer. Oftentimes, cybersecurity companies are playing into their own internal biases without realizing it and hurting freelancers by assuming negative things about their skills and quality of work. 
“I know I'm a good writer. It's what I like doing. I don't want to code, but I have to make sure people don't treat me like I'm stupid because I don't do the technical job, which goes along with the marketing because they think marketing is fluff.”
----------
Spend some time with our guest Karen Walsh on <a href='https://www.linkedin.com/in/geekykaren/'>LinkedIn</a>, <a href='https://www.facebook.com/GeekyKaren'>Facebook</a>, <a href='https://twitter.com/GeekmomK'>Twitter</a>, and <a href='https://www.allegrosolutionsllc.com/'>the Allegro Solutions website</a> 
Additional resources mentioned in this podcast: <a href='https://www.ratemyprofessors.com/ShowRatings.jsp?tid=1248772'>Karen Walsh on Rate My Professor</a>, <a href='https://www.darkreading.com'>Dark  Reading</a>, <a href='https://www.securitymagazine.com'>Security Mag</a>, <a href='https://blog.feedly.com/feedly-for-cybersecurity/'>Feedly’s cybersecurity feed</a>, <a href='https://www.helpnetsecurity.com'>Help Net</a>, <a href='https://votiro.com'>Votiro</a>, <a href='https://tryhackme.com'>TryHackMe</a>, <a href='https://www.blackgirlsincyber.com'>Black Girls in Cyber,</a> <a href='https://triciakickssaas.com'>Tricia Kicks SaaS</a>, <a href='https://www.everestshoulderrest.com'>Everest Shoulder Rest</a>, <a href='https://www.lindseystirling.com'>Lindsey Stirling</a>
Follow Gianna on <a href='https://www.linkedin.com/in/giannawhitver/'>LinkedIn</a>
Catch up with Maria on <a href='https://www.linkedin.com/in/maria-vepa/'>LinkedIn</a>
Join the Cybersecurity Marketing Society on <a href='https://cybersecuritymarketingsociety.com'>our website</a>, and keep up with us on <a href='https://twitter.com/CyberMSociety'>Twitter</a>
Keep up with Hacker Valley on <a href='https://hackervalley.com'>our website</a>, <a href='https://www.linkedin.com/company/hackervalleystudio/'>LinkedIn</a>, <a href='https://www.instagram.com/hackervalleymedia/'>Instagram</a>, and <a href='https://twitter.com/TheHackerValley'>Twitter</a>

We’re joined by Karen Walsh, Founder and CEO of Allegro Solutions, on the podcast today to talk about the good, bad, and ugly of cybersecurity content marketing. As a compliance expert, former professor, lawyer, and kickass cybersecurity auditor, Karen shares her formula for content marketing success, educates us on educating our audience, and even gives us a quick peek at one of her many talents outside of the cybersecurity space. 
Timecoded Summary:
<ul><li style="font-weight:400;">[01:17] Introducing Karen and the concept of GRC (governance, risk, compliance)</li>
<li style="font-weight:400;">[04:27] Educating your audience through correct usage of webpage real estate</li>
<li style="font-weight:400;">[13:02] Discovering the formula for solid content marketing copy</li>
<li style="font-weight:400;">[22:46] Throwing out a few vague and unhelpful content marketing “bad words” </li>
<li style="font-weight:400;">[34:41] Kicking ass in cybersecurity as a woman, a marketer, and a freelancer</li>
</ul>
Sponsor:
Thank you to our sponsors and producers Hacker Valley Media! Chris Cochran and Ron Eddings run an amazing studio, which produces not only the Breaking Through in Cybersecurity Marketing podcast, but a bunch of other shows that you're going to want to listen to as well. You can check these all out at <a href='https://hackervalley.com'>HackerValley.com</a>. 
 
Do we really need to explain this again? 
When explaining the essentials of educating your audience, Karen encounters more than her fair share of clients who think they don’t have to explain or educate as much as they do. Education cannot be made with assumptions or without proper research into your audience. Although many of your potential clients may understand the terms you’re using, explaining and educating instead of assuming will avoid making an “*ss” out of anyone. 
“Have high standards of educating those who are coming into your website. They need to know things and they're not going to take that next step to convert if they don't understand and if you haven't educated them.”
 
How do you mix in SEO in order to be telling a good story to your buying audience, but also try and rank for terms for when people are searching?
Karen believes that SEO and content marketing is a formula, and bases a lot of her work around the essentials of that formula. These are three challenges that X industry has when trying to do Y security functions. Through explaining the challenges faced and the methods that could be used to solve them, you’re training yourself to not only educate, but to take up essential website real estate with impactful on-page SEO.
“I mean, it's formulaic. You set out a business problem that you're looking to solve, right? You define what that business problem is, and when you're defining what that business problem is, you focus on certain terms.”
 
What are your top marketing buzzwords to avoid on content?
Karen loves many things about content marketing, but there are some words that she cannot stand, including frictionless and actionable. For Karen, these words are vague and unhelpful in your marketing, leaving more questions than answers for potential clients. Get specific and explain why or how what you can provide separates your company from the pack. Don’t fall victim to meaningless marketing words when specificity can help so much more. 
“And I think part of the problem with a lot of these terms is people haven't really thought about what they mean by the term and so, it makes them meaningless.” 
 
How do you earn respect in cybersecurity as a woman and a marketer who knows her shit?
There are already huge barriers for women in cybersecurity, especially when coupled with non-technical roles, such as marketing and writing—  both of which are Karen’s specialties. Karen explains that, for her, there’s also the third layer of being a freelancer. Oftentimes, cybersecurity companies are playing into their own internal biases without realizing it and hurting freelancers by assuming negative things about their skills and quality of work. 
“I know I'm a good writer. It's what I like doing. I don't want to code, but I have to make sure people don't treat me like I'm stupid because I don't do the technical job, which goes along with the marketing because they think marketing is fluff.”
----------
Spend some time with our guest Karen Walsh on <a href='https://www.linkedin.com/in/geekykaren/'>LinkedIn</a>, <a href='https://www.facebook.com/GeekyKaren'>Facebook</a>, <a href='https://twitter.com/GeekmomK'>Twitter</a>, and <a href='https://www.allegrosolutionsllc.com/'>the Allegro Solutions website</a> 
Additional resources mentioned in this podcast: <a href='https://www.ratemyprofessors.com/ShowRatings.jsp?tid=1248772'>Karen Walsh on Rate My Professor</a>, <a href='https://www.darkreading.com'>Dark  Reading</a>, <a href='https://www.securitymagazine.com'>Security Mag</a>, <a href='https://blog.feedly.com/feedly-for-cybersecurity/'>Feedly’s cybersecurity feed</a>, <a href='https://www.helpnetsecurity.com'>Help Net</a>, <a href='https://votiro.com'>Votiro</a>, <a href='https://tryhackme.com'>TryHackMe</a>, <a href='https://www.blackgirlsincyber.com'>Black Girls in Cyber,</a> <a href='https://triciakickssaas.com'>Tricia Kicks SaaS</a>, <a href='https://www.everestshoulderrest.com'>Everest Shoulder Rest</a>, <a href='https://www.lindseystirling.com'>Lindsey Stirling</a>
Follow Gianna on <a href='https://www.linkedin.com/in/giannawhitver/'>LinkedIn</a>
Catch up with Maria on <a href='https://www.linkedin.com/in/maria-vepa/'>LinkedIn</a>
Join the Cybersecurity Marketing Society on <a href='https://cybersecuritymarketingsociety.com'>our website</a>, and keep up with us on <a href='https://twitter.com/CyberMSociety'>Twitter</a>
Keep up with Hacker Valley on <a href='https://hackervalley.com'>our website</a>, <a href='https://www.linkedin.com/company/hackervalleystudio/'>LinkedIn</a>, <a href='https://www.instagram.com/hackervalleymedia/'>Instagram</a>, and <a href='https://twitter.com/TheHackerValley'>Twitter</a>

breaking-through-cyber-marketing.podbean.com/70b1991d-882b-3649-97a8-71779de51d7e

We’re joined by Karen Walsh, Founder and CEO of Allegro Solutions, on the podcast today to talk about the good, bad, and ugly of cybersecurity content marketing. As a compliance expert, former professor, lawyer, and kickass cybersecurity auditor, Kar...

We’re joined by Karen Walsh, Founder and CEO of Allegro Solutions, on the podcast today to talk about the good, bad, and ugly of cybersecurity content marketing. As a compliance expert, former professor, lawyer, and kickass cybersecurity auditor, Karen shares her formula for content marketing success, educates us on educating our audience, and even gives us a quick peek at one of her many talents outside of the cybersecurity space. 
Timecoded Summary:
[01:17] Introducing Karen and the concept of GRC (governance, risk, compliance)
[04:27] Educating your audience through correct usage of webpage real estate
[13:02] Discovering the formula for solid content marketing copy
[22:46] Throwing out a few vague and unhelpful content marketing “bad words” 
[34:41] Kicking ass in cybersecurity as a woman, a marketer, and a freelancer
Sponsor:
Thank you to our sponsors and producers Hacker Valley Media! Chris Cochran and Ron Eddings run an amazing studio, which produces not only the Breaking Through in Cybersecurity Marketing podcast, but a bunch of other shows that you're going to want to listen to as well. You can check these all out at HackerValley.com. 
 
Do we really need to explain this again? 
When explaining the essentials of educating your audience, Karen encounters more than her fair share of clients who think they don’t have to explain or educate as much as they do. Education cannot be made with assumptions or without proper research into your audience. Although many of your potential clients may understand the terms you’re using, explaining and educating instead of assuming will avoid making an “*ss” out of anyone. 
“Have high standards of educating those who are coming into your website. They need to know things and they're not going to take that next step to convert if they don't understand and if you haven't educated them.”
 
How do you mix in SEO in order to be telling a good story to your buying audience, but also try and rank for terms for when people are searching?
Karen believes that SEO and content marketing is a formula, and bases a lot of her work around the essentials of that formula. These are three challenges that X industry has when trying to do Y security functions. Through explaining the challenges faced and the methods that could be used to solve them, you’re training yourself to not only educate, but to take up essential website real estate with impactful on-page SEO.
“I mean, it's formulaic. You set out a business problem that you're looking to solve, right? You define what that business problem is, and when you're defining what that business problem is, you focus on certain terms.”
 
What are your top marketing buzzwords to avoid on content?
Karen loves many things about content marketing, but there are some words that she cannot stand, including frictionless and actionable. For Karen, these words are vague and unhelpful in your marketing, leaving more questions than answers for potential clients. Get specific and explain why or how what you can provide separates your company from the pack. Don’t fall victim to meaningless marketing words when specificity can help so much more. 
“And I think part of the problem with a lot of these terms is people haven't really thought about what they mean by the term and so, it makes them meaningless.” 
 
How do you earn respect in cybersecurity as a woman and a marketer who knows her shit?
There are already huge barriers for women in cybersecurity, especially when coupled with non-technical roles, such as marketing and writing—  both of which are Karen’s specialties. Karen explains that, for her, there’s also the third layer of being a freelancer. Oftentimes, cybersecurity companies are playing into their own internal biases without realizing it and hurting freelancers by assuming negative things about their skills and quality of work. 
“I know I'm a good writer. It's what I like doing. I don't want to code, but I have to make sure people don't treat me like I

Content Marketing Strategies for “Securing Your Cheese” with Karen Walsh

This week, we interview David Leichner, the CMO of Cybellum, currently residing in Tel Aviv, Israel. We talk to David about his move from America to Israel, his admiration for Israel’s focus on cyber startups, his decades of experience in sales and marketing, and his dedication to relationship building -- no matter what he’s marketing!
Timecoded Guide:
[01:17] David’s personal and professional journey to Cybellum
[05:03] Israel’s transformation into a cybersecurity startup mecca
[08:44] Creation and mission of the Cyber Elite
[18:32] Tying together marketing and sales in the cyber world
[31:27] Passions David has outside of being a CMO
 
How did you get to where you are today to be the CMO of Cybellum?
From his start on Wall Street to his current position in Tel Aviv, David has worn many hats. After taking advice from a VP of Engineering in Israel who advised him that marketing may be a better place for him, he realized his unique perspective and experience working hands-on in cybersecurity and software gave him a leg up and made him a very well-rounded marketer.
“One of the things I realized was that most marketeers at the time didn't really understand technology. I had an advantage that I understood technology on one side, and then I also understood marketing and then, later on, sales.”
 
How has Israel evolved into a place known for very successful cybersecurity vendors?
As a kid, David dreamed of living in a country like Israel, and his dream became a reality when he moved to Tel Aviv to work for the Bezeq. He quickly learned about how much energy Israel focuses on hands-on cybersecurity and tech training, especially in the army. With many resources available for this education, it's clear how Israel has risen to the top of this industry.
“Israel is cultivating, not just in cyber, also in data analytics, also in a lot of biomed technology. There are all kinds of technologies that have come from military bases, and then are commercialized for use in industry.”
 
Can you give us some of your secrets to making a relationship between marketing and sales successful?
With experience in marketing and sales, David is our expert in where those roles need to intersect to be successful. Throughout our discussion, David explains that marketing is a creative role, but the credit to closing deals and making profits can be equally divided between sales and marketing for them to thrive together.
“I mean, we have a fun profession here in marketing, we get to try new things, we get to innovate, we get to be creative, we get to go out to conferences, and to meet people all over the world. It's a great profession.”
 
What are some other things that marketing can learn from sales?
David’s tips and tricks don’t stop with sales and marketing collaboration, they extend also to the relationships cultivated between you and your clients. David has realized that through being genuinely interested in learning about his clients and their problems, he forms an authentic connection and a real sales relationship beyond a quick pitch.
“I think, whether you're doing email sequences, or you're doing events, or you're doing podcasts, whatever it is, you should always have in mind that you have to build the relationship. You're not selling features, you're selling benefits, you're selling value.”
---------
Spend some time with our guest David Leichner on <a href='https://www.linkedin.com/in/davidleichner/'>LinkedIn</a> and on <a href='https://cybellum.com'>the Cybellum website</a>
Follow Gianna on <a href='https://www.linkedin.com/in/giannawhitver/'>LinkedIn</a>
Catch up with Maria on <a href='https://www.linkedin.com/in/maria-vepa/'>LinkedIn</a>
Join the Cybersecurity Marketing Society on <a href='https://cybersecuritymarketingsociety.com'>our website</a>, and keep up with us on <a href='https://twitter.com/CyberMSociety'>Twitter</a>
Keep up with Hacker Valley on <a href='https://hackervalley.com'>our website</a>, <a href='https://www.linkedin.com/company/hackervalleystudio/'>LinkedIn</a>, <a href='https://www.instagram.com/hackervalleymedia/'>Instagram</a>, and <a href='https://twitter.com/TheHackerValley'>Twitter</a>

This week, we interview David Leichner, the CMO of Cybellum, currently residing in Tel Aviv, Israel. We talk to David about his move from America to Israel, his admiration for Israel’s focus on cyber startups, his decades of experience in sales and marketing, and his dedication to relationship building -- no matter what he’s marketing!
Timecoded Guide:
[01:17] David’s personal and professional journey to Cybellum
[05:03] Israel’s transformation into a cybersecurity startup mecca
[08:44] Creation and mission of the Cyber Elite
[18:32] Tying together marketing and sales in the cyber world
[31:27] Passions David has outside of being a CMO
 
How did you get to where you are today to be the CMO of Cybellum?
From his start on Wall Street to his current position in Tel Aviv, David has worn many hats. After taking advice from a VP of Engineering in Israel who advised him that marketing may be a better place for him, he realized his unique perspective and experience working hands-on in cybersecurity and software gave him a leg up and made him a very well-rounded marketer.
“One of the things I realized was that most marketeers at the time didn't really understand technology. I had an advantage that I understood technology on one side, and then I also understood marketing and then, later on, sales.”
 
How has Israel evolved into a place known for very successful cybersecurity vendors?
As a kid, David dreamed of living in a country like Israel, and his dream became a reality when he moved to Tel Aviv to work for the Bezeq. He quickly learned about how much energy Israel focuses on hands-on cybersecurity and tech training, especially in the army. With many resources available for this education, it's clear how Israel has risen to the top of this industry.
“Israel is cultivating, not just in cyber, also in data analytics, also in a lot of biomed technology. There are all kinds of technologies that have come from military bases, and then are commercialized for use in industry.”
 
Can you give us some of your secrets to making a relationship between marketing and sales successful?
With experience in marketing and sales, David is our expert in where those roles need to intersect to be successful. Throughout our discussion, David explains that marketing is a creative role, but the credit to closing deals and making profits can be equally divided between sales and marketing for them to thrive together.
“I mean, we have a fun profession here in marketing, we get to try new things, we get to innovate, we get to be creative, we get to go out to conferences, and to meet people all over the world. It's a great profession.”
 
What are some other things that marketing can learn from sales?
David’s tips and tricks don’t stop with sales and marketing collaboration, they extend also to the relationships cultivated between you and your clients. David has realized that through being genuinely interested in learning about his clients and their problems, he forms an authentic connection and a real sales relationship beyond a quick pitch.
“I think, whether you're doing email sequences, or you're doing events, or you're doing podcasts, whatever it is, you should always have in mind that you have to build the relationship. You're not selling features, you're selling benefits, you're selling value.”
---------
Spend some time with our guest David Leichner on <a href='https://www.linkedin.com/in/davidleichner/'>LinkedIn</a> and on <a href='https://cybellum.com'>the Cybellum website</a>
Follow Gianna on <a href='https://www.linkedin.com/in/giannawhitver/'>LinkedIn</a>
Catch up with Maria on <a href='https://www.linkedin.com/in/maria-vepa/'>LinkedIn</a>
Join the Cybersecurity Marketing Society on <a href='https://cybersecuritymarketingsociety.com'>our website</a>, and keep up with us on <a href='https://twitter.com/CyberMSociety'>Twitter</a>
Keep up with Hacker Valley on <a href='https://hackervalley.com'>our website</a>, <a href='https://www.linkedin.com/company/hackervalleystudio/'>LinkedIn</a>, <a href='https://www.instagram.com/hackervalleymedia/'>Instagram</a>, and <a href='https://twitter.com/TheHackerValley'>Twitter</a>

breaking-through-cyber-marketing.podbean.com/8e80aef3-6f37-372b-a530-f16e48abe65f

This week, we interview David Leichner, the CMO of Cybellum, currently residing in Tel Aviv, Israel. We talk to David about his move from America to Israel, his admiration for Israel’s focus on cyber startups, his decades of experience in sales and m...

This week, we interview David Leichner, the CMO of Cybellum, currently residing in Tel Aviv, Israel. We talk to David about his move from America to Israel, his admiration for Israel’s focus on cyber startups, his decades of experience in sales and marketing, and his dedication to relationship building -- no matter what he’s marketing!
Timecoded Guide:
[01:17] David’s personal and professional journey to Cybellum
[05:03] Israel’s transformation into a cybersecurity startup mecca
[08:44] Creation and mission of the Cyber Elite
[18:32] Tying together marketing and sales in the cyber world
[31:27] Passions David has outside of being a CMO
 
How did you get to where you are today to be the CMO of Cybellum?
From his start on Wall Street to his current position in Tel Aviv, David has worn many hats. After taking advice from a VP of Engineering in Israel who advised him that marketing may be a better place for him, he realized his unique perspective and experience working hands-on in cybersecurity and software gave him a leg up and made him a very well-rounded marketer.
“One of the things I realized was that most marketeers at the time didn't really understand technology. I had an advantage that I understood technology on one side, and then I also understood marketing and then, later on, sales.”
 
How has Israel evolved into a place known for very successful cybersecurity vendors?
As a kid, David dreamed of living in a country like Israel, and his dream became a reality when he moved to Tel Aviv to work for the Bezeq. He quickly learned about how much energy Israel focuses on hands-on cybersecurity and tech training, especially in the army. With many resources available for this education, it's clear how Israel has risen to the top of this industry.
“Israel is cultivating, not just in cyber, also in data analytics, also in a lot of biomed technology. There are all kinds of technologies that have come from military bases, and then are commercialized for use in industry.”
 
Can you give us some of your secrets to making a relationship between marketing and sales successful?
With experience in marketing and sales, David is our expert in where those roles need to intersect to be successful. Throughout our discussion, David explains that marketing is a creative role, but the credit to closing deals and making profits can be equally divided between sales and marketing for them to thrive together.
“I mean, we have a fun profession here in marketing, we get to try new things, we get to innovate, we get to be creative, we get to go out to conferences, and to meet people all over the world. It's a great profession.”
 
What are some other things that marketing can learn from sales?
David’s tips and tricks don’t stop with sales and marketing collaboration, they extend also to the relationships cultivated between you and your clients. David has realized that through being genuinely interested in learning about his clients and their problems, he forms an authentic connection and a real sales relationship beyond a quick pitch.
“I think, whether you're doing email sequences, or you're doing events, or you're doing podcasts, whatever it is, you should always have in mind that you have to build the relationship. You're not selling features, you're selling benefits, you're selling value.”
---------
Spend some time with our guest David Leichner on LinkedIn and on the Cybellum website
Follow Gianna on LinkedIn
Catch up with Maria on LinkedIn
Join the Cybersecurity Marketing Society on our website, and keep up with us on Twitter
Keep up with Hacker Valley on our website, LinkedIn, Instagram, and Twitter

The Intersection of Marketing, Tech, & Sales with CMO David Leichner

“Marketing is too often sidelined from the bad news about the product and from the good news about the competitors. What we do is cool, but we don't do everything and that is okay!”- Allan Alford 
No one knows how to get product marketing in front of a CISO better than, well, a CISO! In this episode, Gianna and Maria are joined by Allan Alford, CISO and CTO at TrustMAPP, to talk about his biggest takeaways from his time spent as a CMO. Allan shares his tips on bringing more personality into cybersecurity marketing, why building your personal brand is just as important as building the company’s, and the best ways to position your marketing to the CISO community. Lastly, Allan shares his philosophy on meeting customers where their challenges are and acknowledging your competition. 
If you enjoyed our guest as much as we did, be sure to check out his show, <a href='https://hackervalley.com/show/cyberranch/'>The Cyber Ranch Podcast</a>
 
Guest Bio:
With 20+ years in information security, Allan Alford has served as CISO four times in three industries. Alford parlayed an IT career into a product security career and then ultimately fused the two disciplines. Alford gives back to the security community via The Cyber Ranch Podcast and by authoring articles and speaking at conferences.
 
Links
Follow<a href='https://allanalford.com/'> Allan Alford</a> on<a href='https://linkedin.com/in/allanalford'> LinkedIn</a> and<a href='https://twitter.com/AllanAlfordinTX'> Twitter</a>
Connect with Gianna on <a href='https://www.linkedin.com/in/giannawhitver/'>LinkedIn</a>
Connect with Maria on <a href='https://www.linkedin.com/in/maria-vepa/'>LinkedIn</a> 
Follow the Cybersecurity Marketing Society on <a href='https://twitter.com/CyberMSociety'>Twitter</a> or learn more at the <a href='https://cybersecuritymarketingsociety.com/'>Cybersecurity Marketing Society</a> website
Check out  <a href='https://hackervalley.com/'>Hacker Valley Media</a> and the <a href='https://hackervalley.com/show/breaking-through-in-cybersecurity-marketing/'>Breaking Through in Cybersecurity Marketing Podcast</a>

“Marketing is too often sidelined from the bad news about the product and from the good news about the competitors. What we do is cool, but we don't do everything and that is okay!”- Allan Alford 
No one knows how to get product marketing in front of a CISO better than, well, a CISO! In this episode, Gianna and Maria are joined by Allan Alford, CISO and CTO at TrustMAPP, to talk about his biggest takeaways from his time spent as a CMO. Allan shares his tips on bringing more personality into cybersecurity marketing, why building your personal brand is just as important as building the company’s, and the best ways to position your marketing to the CISO community. Lastly, Allan shares his philosophy on meeting customers where their challenges are and acknowledging your competition. 
If you enjoyed our guest as much as we did, be sure to check out his show, <a href='https://hackervalley.com/show/cyberranch/'>The Cyber Ranch Podcast</a>
 
Guest Bio:
With 20+ years in information security, Allan Alford has served as CISO four times in three industries. Alford parlayed an IT career into a product security career and then ultimately fused the two disciplines. Alford gives back to the security community via The Cyber Ranch Podcast and by authoring articles and speaking at conferences.
 
Links
Follow<a href='https://allanalford.com/'> Allan Alford</a> on<a href='https://linkedin.com/in/allanalford'> LinkedIn</a> and<a href='https://twitter.com/AllanAlfordinTX'> Twitter</a>
Connect with Gianna on <a href='https://www.linkedin.com/in/giannawhitver/'>LinkedIn</a>
Connect with Maria on <a href='https://www.linkedin.com/in/maria-vepa/'>LinkedIn</a> 
Follow the Cybersecurity Marketing Society on <a href='https://twitter.com/CyberMSociety'>Twitter</a> or learn more at the <a href='https://cybersecuritymarketingsociety.com/'>Cybersecurity Marketing Society</a> website
Check out  <a href='https://hackervalley.com/'>Hacker Valley Media</a> and the <a href='https://hackervalley.com/show/breaking-through-in-cybersecurity-marketing/'>Breaking Through in Cybersecurity Marketing Podcast</a>

breaking-through-cyber-marketing.podbean.com/f4c2e450-2b0d-3f67-b2a1-7333c24d6da3

“Marketing is too often sidelined from the bad news about the product and from the good news about the competitors. What we do is cool, but we don't do everything and that is okay!”- Allan Alford 
No one knows how to get product marketing in front of...

“Marketing is too often sidelined from the bad news about the product and from the good news about the competitors. What we do is cool, but we don't do everything and that is okay!”- Allan Alford 
No one knows how to get product marketing in front of a CISO better than, well, a CISO! In this episode, Gianna and Maria are joined by Allan Alford, CISO and CTO at TrustMAPP, to talk about his biggest takeaways from his time spent as a CMO. Allan shares his tips on bringing more personality into cybersecurity marketing, why building your personal brand is just as important as building the company’s, and the best ways to position your marketing to the CISO community. Lastly, Allan shares his philosophy on meeting customers where their challenges are and acknowledging your competition. 
If you enjoyed our guest as much as we did, be sure to check out his show, The Cyber Ranch Podcast
 
Guest Bio:
With 20+ years in information security, Allan Alford has served as CISO four times in three industries. Alford parlayed an IT career into a product security career and then ultimately fused the two disciplines. Alford gives back to the security community via The Cyber Ranch Podcast and by authoring articles and speaking at conferences.
 
Links
Follow Allan Alford on LinkedIn and Twitter
Connect with Gianna on LinkedIn
Connect with Maria on LinkedIn 
Follow the Cybersecurity Marketing Society on Twitter or learn more at the Cybersecurity Marketing Society website
Check out  Hacker Valley Media and the Breaking Through in Cybersecurity Marketing Podcast

Humanizing Your Cybersecurity Marketing with Allan Alford

“If you want to do something that no one has ever done before, you have to be different.” Nathan Burke
In this episode, Gianna and Maria are joined by Nathan Burke, Chief Marketing Officer at Axonius, to talk about how Axonius approaches innovation and creativity – from company culture to marketing practices. Nathan explores his desire to shake things up in cybersecurity marketing and ways to position both your brand and message in a way that is both unique and effective. He announces his biggest project yet!! – working with CrossFit champion and kickboxer, Amy Bream and US Olympic gold medalist, Simone Biles. He shares how the campaign emerged, from ideation to conception, and his intentions for the future. 
Stop by the Axonius booth, #943, during RSA Conference in San Francisco from June 6-9, 2022, where both Biles and Bream will be making an appearance!
 
Guest Bio:
Nathan Burke is the Chief Marketing Officer at Axonius. Passionate about bringing new technologies to market to solve real problems, he has held marketing leadership roles at Hexadite (acquired by Microsoft), Intralinks, MineralTree, CloudLock (acquired by Cisco), and is a frequent speaker and contributing author on topics related to the intersection of collaboration and security. 
 
Links:
Check out <a href='https://www.axonius.com/plus/controlling-complexity/simone-biles/controlling-complexity-with-amy-bream'>Amy Bream’s promo video</a>, <a href='https://axonius.wistia.com/medias/hjcryu9f5t'>Axonius’s video submission</a> to Simone Biles, <a href='https://www.axonius.com/plus/controlling-complexity/simone-biles/controlling-complexity-with-simone-biles/ixgpurqpvv'>Simone Biles’s promo video</a>, and <a href='https://www.axonius.com/plus/controlling-complexity/simone-biles/dinner-with-the-biles'>Dinner With The Biles</a>
Follow <a href='https://www.instagram.com/onelegtostandon/?hl=en'>Amy Bream</a> and <a href='https://www.instagram.com/simonebiles/'>Simone Biles</a> on Instagram
Stay in touch with Nathan Burke on <a href='http://linkedin.com/in/nathanwburke'>LinkedIn</a> and <a href='https://twitter.com/nathanwburke'>Twitter</a>, and read more about this campaign on the Axonius <a href='https://www.axonius.com/blog/humanizing-cybersecurity-axonius-partners-with-simone-biles-amy-bream'>blog</a>.
Connect with Gianna on <a href='https://www.linkedin.com/in/giannawhitver/'>LinkedIn</a> 
Connect with Maria on <a href='https://www.linkedin.com/in/maria-vepa/'>LinkedIn</a> 
Follow the Cybersecurity Marketing Society on <a href='https://twitter.com/CyberMSociety'>Twitter</a> or learn more at the <a href='https://cybersecuritymarketingsociety.com/'>Cybersecurity Marketing Society</a> website
Hear more episodes from <a href='https://hackervalley.com/'>Hacker Valley Media</a> and the <a href='https://hackervalley.com/show/breaking-through-in-cybersecurity-marketing/'>Breaking Through in Cybersecurity Marketing Podcast</a>

“If you want to do something that no one has ever done before, you have to be different.” Nathan Burke
In this episode, Gianna and Maria are joined by Nathan Burke, Chief Marketing Officer at Axonius, to talk about how Axonius approaches innovation and creativity – from company culture to marketing practices. Nathan explores his desire to shake things up in cybersecurity marketing and ways to position both your brand and message in a way that is both unique and effective. He announces his biggest project yet!! – working with CrossFit champion and kickboxer, Amy Bream and US Olympic gold medalist, Simone Biles. He shares how the campaign emerged, from ideation to conception, and his intentions for the future. 
Stop by the Axonius booth, #943, during RSA Conference in San Francisco from June 6-9, 2022, where both Biles and Bream will be making an appearance!
 
Guest Bio:
Nathan Burke is the Chief Marketing Officer at Axonius. Passionate about bringing new technologies to market to solve real problems, he has held marketing leadership roles at Hexadite (acquired by Microsoft), Intralinks, MineralTree, CloudLock (acquired by Cisco), and is a frequent speaker and contributing author on topics related to the intersection of collaboration and security. 
 
Links:
Check out <a href='https://www.axonius.com/plus/controlling-complexity/simone-biles/controlling-complexity-with-amy-bream'>Amy Bream’s promo video</a>, <a href='https://axonius.wistia.com/medias/hjcryu9f5t'>Axonius’s video submission</a> to Simone Biles, <a href='https://www.axonius.com/plus/controlling-complexity/simone-biles/controlling-complexity-with-simone-biles/ixgpurqpvv'>Simone Biles’s promo video</a>, and <a href='https://www.axonius.com/plus/controlling-complexity/simone-biles/dinner-with-the-biles'>Dinner With The Biles</a>
Follow <a href='https://www.instagram.com/onelegtostandon/?hl=en'>Amy Bream</a> and <a href='https://www.instagram.com/simonebiles/'>Simone Biles</a> on Instagram
Stay in touch with Nathan Burke on <a href='http://linkedin.com/in/nathanwburke'>LinkedIn</a> and <a href='https://twitter.com/nathanwburke'>Twitter</a>, and read more about this campaign on the Axonius <a href='https://www.axonius.com/blog/humanizing-cybersecurity-axonius-partners-with-simone-biles-amy-bream'>blog</a>.
Connect with Gianna on <a href='https://www.linkedin.com/in/giannawhitver/'>LinkedIn</a> 
Connect with Maria on <a href='https://www.linkedin.com/in/maria-vepa/'>LinkedIn</a> 
Follow the Cybersecurity Marketing Society on <a href='https://twitter.com/CyberMSociety'>Twitter</a> or learn more at the <a href='https://cybersecuritymarketingsociety.com/'>Cybersecurity Marketing Society</a> website
Hear more episodes from <a href='https://hackervalley.com/'>Hacker Valley Media</a> and the <a href='https://hackervalley.com/show/breaking-through-in-cybersecurity-marketing/'>Breaking Through in Cybersecurity Marketing Podcast</a>

breaking-through-cyber-marketing.podbean.com/16813996-1232-3b93-82c2-7fe351ac9e19

“If you want to do something that no one has ever done before, you have to be different.” Nathan Burke
In this episode, Gianna and Maria are joined by Nathan Burke, Chief Marketing Officer at Axonius, to talk about how Axonius approaches innovation a...

“If you want to do something that no one has ever done before, you have to be different.” Nathan Burke
In this episode, Gianna and Maria are joined by Nathan Burke, Chief Marketing Officer at Axonius, to talk about how Axonius approaches innovation and creativity – from company culture to marketing practices. Nathan explores his desire to shake things up in cybersecurity marketing and ways to position both your brand and message in a way that is both unique and effective. He announces his biggest project yet!! – working with CrossFit champion and kickboxer, Amy Bream and US Olympic gold medalist, Simone Biles. He shares how the campaign emerged, from ideation to conception, and his intentions for the future. 
Stop by the Axonius booth, #943, during RSA Conference in San Francisco from June 6-9, 2022, where both Biles and Bream will be making an appearance!
 
Guest Bio:
Nathan Burke is the Chief Marketing Officer at Axonius. Passionate about bringing new technologies to market to solve real problems, he has held marketing leadership roles at Hexadite (acquired by Microsoft), Intralinks, MineralTree, CloudLock (acquired by Cisco), and is a frequent speaker and contributing author on topics related to the intersection of collaboration and security. 
 
Links:
Check out Amy Bream’s promo video, Axonius’s video submission to Simone Biles, Simone Biles’s promo video, and Dinner With The Biles
Follow Amy Bream and Simone Biles on Instagram
Stay in touch with Nathan Burke on LinkedIn and Twitter, and read more about this campaign on the Axonius blog.
Connect with Gianna on LinkedIn 
Connect with Maria on LinkedIn 
Follow the Cybersecurity Marketing Society on Twitter or learn more at the Cybersecurity Marketing Society website
Hear more episodes from Hacker Valley Media and the Breaking Through in Cybersecurity Marketing Podcast

Behind the Axonius-Simone Biles-Amy Bream Campaign with Nathan Burke

In this episode, Gianna and Maria are joined by Liam Barnes, Head of Demand Generation & Programs at Bionic, to talk about his transition from SEO to Demand Gen and why he thinks SEO is a ‘confused industry.’ Liam explores the need for more intentional and strategic SEO practices, shares his tips for capturing buyers that are lower in the funnel, and why he chooses not to invest in paid search/PPC. Lastly, he shares his key marketing tools as well as his favorite BBQ restaurants in Texas…plus much more!
 
Guest Bio:
Liam Barnes is the Head of Demand Generation and Programs at Bionic, an Application Security startup. He has previously worked at Harness and consulted for companies like Sumo Logic.
 
Links:
Check out Liam’s key tools <a href='https://metadata.io/'>Metadata</a> and <a href='https://clearbit.com/'>Clearbit</a>, as well as <a href='https://www.canva.com/'>Canva</a>, <a href='http://www.linkedin.com'>LinkedIn</a>, <a href='https://zapier.com/'>Zapier</a>, and <a href='https://slack.com/'>Slack</a>
Get your ‘Liam approved’ Texas BBQ fix at <a href='https://www.terryblacksbbq.com/'>Terry Black’s</a>, <a href='https://roadys.com/'>Roady’s</a> truck stops, and <a href='https://snowsbbq.com/'>Snow’s</a> 
Stay in touch with Liam Barnes on <a href='https://www.linkedin.com/in/liambarnes44/'>LinkedIn</a> and <a href='https://twitter.com/liam_blaise'>Twitter</a>, and listen to his <a href='https://everyday-demand-gen.captivate.fm/listen'>podcast</a>
Connect with Gianna on <a href='https://www.linkedin.com/in/giannawhitver/'>LinkedIn</a> 
Connect with Maria on <a href='https://www.linkedin.com/in/maria-vepa/'>LinkedIn</a> 
Follow the Cybersecurity Marketing Society on <a href='https://twitter.com/CyberMSociety'>Twitter</a> or learn more at the <a href='https://cybersecuritymarketingsociety.com/'>Cybersecurity Marketing Society</a> website
Hear more episodes from <a href='https://hackervalley.com/'>Hacker Valley Media</a> and the <a href='https://hackervalley.com/show/breaking-through-in-cybersecurity-marketing/'>Breaking Through in Cybersecurity Marketing Podcast</a>

breaking-through-cyber-marketing.podbean.com/3af27769-151c-388a-8296-91a7a50bccbf

In this episode, Gianna and Maria are joined by Liam Barnes, Head of Demand Generation & Programs at Bionic, to talk about his transition from SEO to Demand Gen and why he thinks SEO is a ‘confused industry.’ Liam explores the need for more intention...

In this episode, Gianna and Maria are joined by Liam Barnes, Head of Demand Generation & Programs at Bionic, to talk about his transition from SEO to Demand Gen and why he thinks SEO is a ‘confused industry.’ Liam explores the need for more intentional and strategic SEO practices, shares his tips for capturing buyers that are lower in the funnel, and why he chooses not to invest in paid search/PPC. Lastly, he shares his key marketing tools as well as his favorite BBQ restaurants in Texas…plus much more!
 
Guest Bio:
Liam Barnes is the Head of Demand Generation and Programs at Bionic, an Application Security startup. He has previously worked at Harness and consulted for companies like Sumo Logic.
 
Links:
Check out Liam’s key tools Metadata and Clearbit, as well as Canva, LinkedIn, Zapier, and Slack
Get your ‘Liam approved’ Texas BBQ fix at Terry Black’s, Roady’s truck stops, and Snow’s 
Stay in touch with Liam Barnes on LinkedIn and Twitter, and listen to his podcast
Connect with Gianna on LinkedIn 
Connect with Maria on LinkedIn 
Follow the Cybersecurity Marketing Society on Twitter or learn more at the Cybersecurity Marketing Society website
Hear more episodes from Hacker Valley Media and the Breaking Through in Cybersecurity Marketing Podcast

Actual Demand Gen with Liam Barnes

As cybersecurity marketers, we are always in search of ways to get our content in front of the community and stand out from the noise. This, at times, seems like an impossible endeavor – but what if we told you your CISO network could be your missing link?
In this episode, Gianna and Maria are joined by the Vice President of Marketing at Continuity, Doron Youngerwood, to share his experience in establishing successful influencer marketing strategies. Doron dives into the key elements when building an influencer program, how he leverages his network of CISOs to build trust within the cybersecurity community, and the positive impacts the program has delivered both in business and the cyber community at large.
 
Guest Bio:
With a successful track record in B2B tech marketing, Doron has driven significant growth for both early-stage startups and well-established enterprises for 17 years.
 
Links
Stay in touch with Doron Youngerwood on <a href='https://www.linkedin.com/in/youngerwood/'>LinkedIn</a> 
Connect with Gianna on <a href='https://www.linkedin.com/in/giannawhitver/'>LinkedIn</a> 
Connect with Maria on <a href='https://www.linkedin.com/in/maria-vepa/'>LinkedIn</a> 
Follow the Cybersecurity Marketing Society on <a href='https://twitter.com/CyberMSociety'>Twitter</a> or learn more at the <a href='https://cybersecuritymarketingsociety.com/'>Cybersecurity Marketing Society</a> website
Check out  <a href='https://hackervalley.com/'>Hacker Valley Media</a> and the <a href='https://hackervalley.com/show/breaking-through-in-cybersecurity-marketing/'>Breaking Through in Cybersecurity Marketing Podcast</a>.

breaking-through-cyber-marketing.podbean.com/7c9851fc-770e-3b7d-b91e-a3fbd2ea715d

As cybersecurity marketers, we are always in search of ways to get our content in front of the community and stand out from the noise. This, at times, seems like an impossible endeavor – but what if we told you your CISO network could be your missing...

As cybersecurity marketers, we are always in search of ways to get our content in front of the community and stand out from the noise. This, at times, seems like an impossible endeavor – but what if we told you your CISO network could be your missing link?
In this episode, Gianna and Maria are joined by the Vice President of Marketing at Continuity, Doron Youngerwood, to share his experience in establishing successful influencer marketing strategies. Doron dives into the key elements when building an influencer program, how he leverages his network of CISOs to build trust within the cybersecurity community, and the positive impacts the program has delivered both in business and the cyber community at large.
 
Guest Bio:
With a successful track record in B2B tech marketing, Doron has driven significant growth for both early-stage startups and well-established enterprises for 17 years.
 
Links
Stay in touch with Doron Youngerwood on LinkedIn 
Connect with Gianna on LinkedIn 
Connect with Maria on LinkedIn 
Follow the Cybersecurity Marketing Society on Twitter or learn more at the Cybersecurity Marketing Society website
Check out  Hacker Valley Media and the Breaking Through in Cybersecurity Marketing Podcast.

Creating Influencer Marketing Programs with Doron Youngerwood

In this episode, Gianna and Maria are joined by the Vice President of Demand Generation at Tessian, Ronen Shetelboim, to explore his philosophies on company culture and relationship building in the workplace. Ronen shares his tips on remote hiring, how personality tests have helped him become a better, more empathetic leader, and the key to building strategic relationships. Lastly, Ronen reveals why helping others achieve success can greatly impact yours as well. 
 
Guest Bio:
Ronen Shetelboim is a marketing leader and avid learner that is passionate about helping companies scale through developing data-driven, revenue focused marketing. He currently serves as the Vice President of Demand Generation at Tessian
 
Links
Learn more about the Johari window, as mentioned in this episode, <a href='https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johari_window'>here</a>
Stay in touch with Ronen on <a href='https://www.linkedin.com/in/ronenshetelboim/'>LinkedIn</a> and subscribe to his <a href='https://ronenshetelboim.substack.com/'>newsletter here</a>.
Connect with Gianna on <a href='https://www.linkedin.com/in/giannawhitver/'>LinkedIn</a> 
Connect with Maria on <a href='https://www.linkedin.com/in/maria-vepa/'>LinkedIn</a> 
Follow the Cybersecurity Marketing Society on <a href='https://twitter.com/CyberMSociety'>Twitter</a> or learn more at the <a href='https://cybersecuritymarketingsociety.com/'>Cybersecurity Marketing Society</a> website
Check out  <a href='https://hackervalley.com/'>Hacker Valley Media</a> and the <a href='https://hackervalley.com/show/breaking-through-in-cybersecurity-marketing/'>Breaking Through in Cybersecurity Marketing Podcast</a>.

breaking-through-cyber-marketing.podbean.com/075ad83c-e702-34e1-bdfb-f0521ddc3b16

In this episode, Gianna and Maria are joined by the Vice President of Demand Generation at Tessian, Ronen Shetelboim, to explore his philosophies on company culture and relationship building in the workplace. Ronen shares his tips on remote hiring, h...

In this episode, Gianna and Maria are joined by the Vice President of Demand Generation at Tessian, Ronen Shetelboim, to explore his philosophies on company culture and relationship building in the workplace. Ronen shares his tips on remote hiring, how personality tests have helped him become a better, more empathetic leader, and the key to building strategic relationships. Lastly, Ronen reveals why helping others achieve success can greatly impact yours as well. 
 
Guest Bio:
Ronen Shetelboim is a marketing leader and avid learner that is passionate about helping companies scale through developing data-driven, revenue focused marketing. He currently serves as the Vice President of Demand Generation at Tessian
 
Links
Learn more about the Johari window, as mentioned in this episode, here
Stay in touch with Ronen on LinkedIn and subscribe to his newsletter here.
Connect with Gianna on LinkedIn 
Connect with Maria on LinkedIn 
Follow the Cybersecurity Marketing Society on Twitter or learn more at the Cybersecurity Marketing Society website
Check out  Hacker Valley Media and the Breaking Through in Cybersecurity Marketing Podcast.