Breaking Through in Cybersecurity Marketing

This week Gianna and Maria are joined by Mitch Mayne, Cybersecurity communicator and incident responder. Mitch talks about his career journey, and his philosophy on storytelling in cybersecurity while weaving in an important conversation about mental health in cybersecurity!    Mitch's Non-Technical Beginnings: Mitch accidentally entered into cybersecurity while working at IBM. His combination of skills like marketing, writing, and incident response have helped him to succeed. In college, Mitch majored in communication, journalism, and political science. He later joined the tech realm, which led him down the path to cybersecurity.   Philosophy on Storytelling in Cybersecurity: “Stop thinking that statistics tell your story,” Storytelling in cybersecurity should go beyond numbers. It's great to have facts but to speak directly to people, you need to tell a story that they understand. This is why Mitch highlights the importance of developing writing skills for cybersecurity professionals.   CyberMindz and Mental Health in Cybersecurity: The conversation shifts some gears as the hosts and Mitch focus on the introduction to CyberMindz.org and its focus on the mental health of cybersecurity workers. CyberMindz identified 15 factors that contribute to stress for those working in cyber. Mitch also discusses coping mechanisms, including journaling, breathwork, and meditation.   Get to know Mitch: Bio:

In this episode, Cybersecurity Marketing Leader and Former Security Researcher, Corin Imai, joins Maria and Gianna to discuss the individual contributor vs. head of marketing and influencer marketing relationships. Corin has been both head of marketing and an individual contributor (IC) throughout her career thus far. She initially joined Tromzo as an IC when the company was very young. From the time Corin joined, she was wearing lots of hats and constantly learning about different facets of marketing. She has found that being head of marketing usually does mean wearing a lot of hats, and that being an IC is her true passion. The pandemic showcased that the traditional marketing methods were just not working as well as they could be. Corin believes we need to get away from the coldness we treat relationships with if we want an organization to be a true partner to us. Her passion is aligned with how to influence that decision from top to bottom. Corin shares the successful approaches she has seen recently by organizations taking a softer approach to cybersecurity influencing. She believes that the fundamental shift in how we function as vendors will change how we are thinking about content as an industry. Organizations like the Information Security Content Creators Guild, Cybersecurity Marketing Society, and Indoor Labs are at the forefront of implementing fundamental changes. Building these influencer relationships takes time, advocacy, patience, and faith. Corin shares that it would be wildly beneficial for marketing teams to allow for times of reflection in the midst of our busy schedules and long to-do lists. She also shares tips for finding successful influencer partnerships. Finally, our guest and hosts engage in a fun guessing game to reveal what career Corin would pursue outside of the cybersecurity marketing field.   Links: Learn more about Corin Imai. 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.  

In this episode, Dean Pe'er, Head of Product Marketing at Entitle, joins Maria and Gianna to discuss his viral meme. Several months ago, Dean posted a meme on LinkedIn about admin privileges, which promptly went viral. Within four days of the meme being posted, it had acquired over 130,000 reactions, 4,000 LinkedIn page visitors, and two demo requests. The meme was created around the time that King Charles was coronated, so the content was timely. It contains a picture of King Charles in full coronation regalia, and the text reads, “When IT finally approved the admin privileges you asked for 30 years ago.” [view the posted meme here] During the podcast, Dean shares how he arrived at the idea for the meme. He realized how big of a deal the coronation was for so many people and decided it was an opportunity to do something that might resonate with people in the security industry. It took him about 25 minutes to find the picture, write the copy, and publish the post on social media. Dean discussed the fact that many companies may not allow an employee to post something so impulsively because they feel it is not brand-safe or consistent with their corporate voice. This, Dean identifies, is the largest gap between small startups and large enterprises. At Entitle, he did not encounter any hurdles, politics, opinions, or red tape regarding social media posts, and has been fully supported by the executive team at the early-stage startup. Dean shares advice for podcast listeners looking to get into the meme game. To make impactful memes, you should first find a topic that many people can relate to. If it's too “salesy” or overtly focused on your own product or brand, it will likely not resonate with people outside of your organization. Timeliness is also important, as exemplified by Dean taking advantage of the major event of the coronation in his own work. Marketers won't want to miss this episode, as Dean also sheds light on the best platforms for posting memes if you're part of a small-scale startup like Entitle. Shifting gears, Dean explains his role of solo-marketer at the company. He finds that not having a team is challenging, but can also be rewarding. His challenges have been lessened by finding the best independent contractors within Israel's small network. Finally, our guest and hosts engage in a fun guessing game to reveal what career Dean would pursue outside of the cybersecurity marketing field.    Learn more about Dean Pe'er. 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.

 In this episode, Andy Tzortzinis, product positioning and messaging mentor, joins Maria and Gianna to discuss product marketing. Andy's introduction to cybersecurity was several years ago as the Director of Marketing for a small startup where he wore many hats. From this experience, he gained firsthand knowledge of how everything connected within the startup and was able to transfer that generalist skillset into other roles. He began to notice that product marketers were highly coveted and often retained within organizations despite regular layoffs of other marketing roles. Since he moved into the industry, Andy has become passionate about helping his fellow marketing professionals transition into roles that may be a better fit for their particular skills. Andy also shares about his journey from the roles of communication and director of marketing to becoming a product marketer. He found that the most difficult part of the interview process was convincing the interviewers that he was worth the risk because his experience as a generalist didn't instantly translate into a product marketing fit (at least, not on paper). Andy unpacks the many different positions within the product marketing field. Recent cutbacks are causing those who remain to take on more responsibilities than ever before, so product marketing is becoming an increasingly more generalized role. Andy also shares a “hot take” that startups don't need a marketing program, they first need a solid comms program. It takes a good comms program to build trust for your startup. If you can do that successfully, you can then bring a marketing person in to further develop the existing pipeline. Finally, our guest and hosts engage in a fun guessing game to reveal what career Andy would pursue outside of the cybersecurity marketing field.   Andy is open to chatting with people 1:1 about pivoting to PMM roles, you can reach out to him either on LinkedIn.   You can also catch up with our hosts here:  Gianna on LinkedIn. Catch up with Maria on LinkedIn.   Join the Cybersecurity Marketing Society on our website, and keep up with us on Twitter.

After about 90 podcast episodes published on Breaking Through In Cybersecurity Marketing, we are walking down memory lane with our very first episode ever! Gianna and Maria are joined by self-proclaimed “accidental CMO,” Tyler Shields, Vice President of Product Marketing at Traceable. Tyler shares his three-step approach for building marketing programs at startups, establishing company culture remotely, setting realistic expectations with internal stakeholders when building community at companies, and why your company needs a “talking head.” Lastly, Tyler spills the beans on the true mastermind behind his Yeti swag and the marketing models and platforms he's engaging in.    Key takeaways: 00:40  Bio 02:10  Tyler's 3 step Approach for startup marketing 06:39  Remote working - communication is key! 09:54  Trust building and authentic leadership  11:06  Establishing company culture remotely 13:43  Accountability and teamwork  15:35  What's in store for JupiterOne in 2022?! 18:18  Building community - foundation first   22:54  Setting realistic expectations  24:28  Spokespeople and “talking heads” 27:03  Favorite swag and the true Yeti mastermind 31:35  Product-led growth and establishing value 34:10  Social media, podcasting, and modern marketing models 35:41  Platforms - YouTube, Shopify, Slack, and the whole gambit! 39:01  Stay in touch with Tyler   Stay in touch with Tyler on Twitter and 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. We are on hiatus after CyberMarketingCon and the holiday season. We will be back with everything fresh in January. Happy holidays everyone!

CyberMarketingCon2023 has wrapped, and we are so grateful for the support we received from our speakers, sponsors, volunteers, and attendees. The week was jam-packed with networking and education, from demand gen and AI to CISO perspectives and vendor solutions. Stay tuned for more conference content from our podcast, website, and social media channels.  In this episode replay, we are joined by the Founder and CEO of Audience 1st, Dani Woolf, who was also a speaker at CyberMarketingCon this year.  In this episode, Dani discusses her core marketing values:  Empathy  Trust  Loyalty  Creating meaningful, customer-centric experiences and identifying customer challenges and buying motivations while also being able to ask the right questions can transform your marketing efforts. Dani also shares the story behind the uncomfortable encounter that sparked a great friendship with a cybersecurity practitioner.     More on our guest, Dani:  Dani Woolf is a swimmer turned marketer. She has been applying lessons learned as a distance freestyler to B2B organizational success for the past 10 years. Dani's core specialty is in digital marketing, focusing on net new customer acquisition via digital channels - website optimization, SEO, SEM, social media, conversion rate optimization, and marketing automation. Dani currently serves as the Founder and CEO of Audience 1st. Get the book Buyer Personas: How to Gain Insight into Your Customer's Expectations, Align Your Marketing Strategies, and Win More Business by Adele Revella at Amazon or the bookstore of your choice! Stay in touch with Dani Woolf on LinkedIn and Twitter   Keep up with our hosts on their social media channels: Connect with Gianna on LinkedIn  Chat with Maria on LinkedIn  Follow the Cybersecurity Marketing Society on Twitter or LinkedIn, and learn more at the Cybersecurity Marketing Society website. 

Layoffs are always stressful. You can never truly be ready for it, but you have to pick up the pieces after it happens. During our podcast hiatus for CyberMarketingCon2023, we are replaying the “Life After Layoff With Amy Fair”  episode. Our hosts Gianna and Maria sit down with guest Amy Fair, Content Marketing Manager 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 crucial it is to maintain lasting relationships in the content marketing industry. Amy shares how these connections can lead to amazing opportunities.  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  Links: Spend some time with our guest Amy Fair on LinkedIn and Twitter. 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.  

Social media gives us different ways to market, from influencers to gifs, or videos. You can use whatever is at your disposal to boost your company's social media marketing strategies.  In this replay session from CyberMarketingCon2022 speaker Cait Hassett, Channel Manager at Blackpoint Cyber, will give you all that and more. She discusses various aspects of social media, influencer marketing, and cybersecurity. Cait also shares her journey transitioning from consumer-focused marketing to B2B strategies at Keeper Security. Video is also incredibly significant,  the power of video in marketing and the challenges of brand awareness versus category awareness in promoting a password manager within the broader cybersecurity industry. Benchmarks are important, especially in creating regular content, like as memes, employee recognition, partnerships, and cyber news updates. These benchmarks help establish consistent content themes, making the brand recognizable and reliable. Another big part of the session focuses on the creation of a "Cyber News Update," a video series covering cybersecurity-related topics beyond passwords. Cait shares insights into scripting, utilizing company ambassadors, and maintaining a standardized format to produce these updates efficiently. She also highlights the launch of "Keeper Live" on LinkedIn Live, which aims to bring Keeper Security into broader cybersecurity conversations. From the planning process, and the selection of influential guests, to the efforts made to template scripts for comfort and consistency. By the end of the session, Cait emphasizes finding ambassadors within the organization, creating templates for content creation, and leveraging influential figures to engage audiences effectively. The emphasis is on using different platforms, video formats, and influencer marketing to broaden Keeper Security's reach within the cybersecurity space. CyberMarketingcon2023 countdown is officially starting and we are so excited to see everyone virtually or in person so make sure you get that ticket. More on #CyberMarketingCon2023 here, see you in Texas!

In this episode, Charles Gold, Chief Marketing Officer at ThreatConnect, joins Maria and Gianna to discuss why CMOs fail or succeed.  To begin, Charles shares his background in running global marketing organizations. He even started a technology company during the dot-com boom time period.  Then the group discusses a ton of CMO topics, including how CMOs fail and succeed at the role, and how Charles conducted 30 interviews (!!!) to land the company a superstar employee.  Charles' best advice for marketers in security? "If you can understand what the product does and how people use it, that will help you communicate with engineers and have credibility with customers. If you don't have this understanding, it's really limiting."   Links:   Learn more about Charles Gold.  More on Gold's Rules Check out the Washington Post that Charles mentions here.   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.  

When you think humor, comedy, LOL, or even LMFAO if you are fancy, cybersecurity isn't typically the first thing that comes to mind. But who says talking about ROI, demand gen, and marketing has to be boring? Humor exists in everything, and with so much access to ridiculousness (memes, reaction videos, reviews, or TikTok hot takes), anything can be made funny.    Which is why we are replaying: It's Okay to Be Funny - Even in Marketing, from CyberMarketingCon2021. A session by comedic wizard Tricia Howard, a.k.a. Tricia Kicks SaaS, Senior Technical Writer at Akamai Technologies. The session focuses on how to infuse humor into cybersecurity marketing. Tricia uses her background as a theater major and stand-up comedian turned marketer, diving into various joke formats, and emphasizing the importance of understanding the cybersecurity community.   Key points that Trisha discusses:   ➡️ "Pun-liners" – a fusion of puns and one-liners. ➡️ Anatomy of a Joke, and Rule of Three – breaks the joke down into subject, setup, and punchline. ➡️ The popularity of memes in social media marketing and the need for quick turnaround due to meme time sensitivity. ➡️ Creativity and Adaptation – creativity in content creation and the adaptive repurposing of content across different platforms. ➡️ Legal Considerations – the importance of giving credit for borrowed content and being mindful of copyright issues. ➡️ ROI Measurement – Social media metrics, like impressions and engagement rates, are important for measuring the success of humorous content in marketing.   More great sessions at #CyberMarketingCon2023 here, see you in Texas!

Welcome to Breaking Through in Cybersecurity Marketing, where we explore the hottest topics in cyber marketing, interview experts and help you become a better cybersecurity marketer! In this episode, Amy Stokes Waters, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Esc, joins Maria and Gianna to discuss cybersecurity escape rooms and marketing. Amy starts off today's episode by explaining how marketing teams use Esc for team building activities and they are given different scenarios with clues where they have to get the data back. They also have some phishing exercises where participants can have a video call with an AI bot. This is not only fun, but also teaches you more about the dangers of cybersecurity mistakes! Right now, Esc is only available for hire in the United Kingdom since this company has been rebranding, but they are discussing the idea of expanding. Amy started in sales and has been in the industry for a long time. She remembers going to a Reframe women's technology conference in England and in one session, the speaker said, “Don't just do cool stuff, but actually tell people you are doing cool stuff.” This discussion changed her whole outlook and trajected her into the marketing realm. They talk about the importance of investing in yourself to grow professionally. Next, Amy discusses the challenges in marketing including branding. If the branding looks nice, it is so much easier to sell the product, and the company looks more professional and established. The other challenge is how to be different and to not have the same cookie cutter messaging. Amy says if people don't know what service you are selling, then how will they ever buy it? You need to make it as easy as humanly possible to buy from you. Personality is also a critical aspect for being successful, and there needs to be faces associated with the brand as well. Marketing makes the brand, but the sales team has to be the people vocalizing that. Both marketing and sales have to work as one and need to align with each other. They also discuss their favorite words in marketing and how to push the envelope in the field. Finally, our guest and hosts engage in a fun guessing game to reveal what career Amy would pursue outside of the cybersecurity marketing field.   Links: Learn more about Amy Stokes Waters. Keep up with Hacker Valley on our website, LinkedIn, Instagram, and Twitter. 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.

Competitive intelligence programs can be reactionary and one-dimensional due to squeaky-wheel syndrome and we-just-lost-a-deal-to-so-and-so-itis.    Learn from Alex Babar, Vice President of Solutions at Brinqa about 3 categories of competitive intel every marketer in cybersecurity should know about: Marketing, Business, and Technical. Additionally, learn which categories marketers are particularly well-suited to leading and which ones make better sense to collaborate on with other teams like product, customer success, or sales engineers.   In this session:   Cut through the competitive noise in cyber security! Learn the right teams for the proper competitive responsibilities! 3 simple but powerful competitive analysis frameworks!   We have approximately 33 days until #CyberMarketingCon2023, held December 10-13! We can't help but reminisce and replay some of the amazing sessions from previous conferences. This week's episode is from CyberMarketingCon2022, with a session by Alex Babar, Vice President of Solutions at Brinqa. If you enjoy this session, you will enjoy this year's lineup filled with education, the best speakers, hands-on workshops, and networking, networking, AND MORE networking!   More on #CyberMarketingCon2023 here, see you in Texas!

On this week's very special Halloween episode, listen as the hosts embark on a journey beyond the seven seas, a thrilling match filled with spooky stories and of course, lighthearted banter (one can't help but laugh even in fear)... Sink your fangs into this week's Halloween-themed episode. On this adventure, Gianna is joined by hosts from That Tech Pod (https://thattechpod.com/): Laura Milstein, aka (at least on this Halloween episode) “the bread,” and Kevin Albert, wearing a just iconic Bob Ross costume. Apparently, there's a Bob Ross movie starring Owen Wilson? From our research, it is NOT a Bob Ross Biopic…  The first segment dives into a genuinely chilling cybersecurity tale – a ransomware attack on a hospital in Düsseldorf, Germany. This sinister event led to the unfortunate death of a patient as an ambulance had to be rerouted. The hosts discuss the attack in-depth, shedding light on the hospital's security vulnerabilities and how the hackers demanded a ransom, only to target the hospital instead of a university. The aftermath left the hospital's IT systems encrypted for two weeks, causing significant disruptions in patient care. The police investigation treated the incident as a homicide, emphasizing the gravity of the consequences. The hosts also discuss the infamous Bangladesh Central Bank robbery, a cyber heist that occurred in February 2016. The hackers launched a spear-phishing attack to gain access to the bank's network, resulting in the transfer of a staggering $1 billion. However, only $18 million was recovered. The hosts break down the story's humorous elements, like the misspelled instructions and the interesting timing of the cyber heist… which overlapped with a holiday.  The conversation also goes into explaining the role of the SWIFT network and dives into the casino money laundering operation in the Philippines. To add an intriguing twist to the narrative, they reveal that a bank manager was arrested and sentenced to 56 years in prison for their involvement. As the episode ends, we close it with our favorite game of guessing alternate jobs, including Kevin managing a farm and running a cricket shop, Laura becoming the underground ringleader of a high-end casino, and Gianna's passion for iceberg lettuce.    Timestamps for the stories:  04:40 - 09:29 (Death caused by Ransomware) 10:03 - 24:00 (Bank robbery) 26: 06 - 31:30 (LinkedIn hack)  31:45 - 37:30 (Baby dies because of Ransomware)   From spiders to skulls and everything in between. Beware and be scared…Happy Halloween!   Follow Gianna on LinkedIn. Catch up with Maria on LinkedIn.   About ThatTechPod & the Hosts Learn more about ThatTechPod here: https://thattechpod.com/  Laura Milstein is a global eDiscovery and cybersecurity specialist. She has a wide range of experience in the tech space with a main focus on cybersecurity and litigation support in areas such as incident response, vulnerability and patch management, pen testing, data processing, forensic collections, data storage, and artificial intelligence. Laura loves diving deep into conversations and expanding her tech knowledge on That Tech Pod.  Follow Laura on LinkedIn    Kevin Albert is a technology executive with 23 years of experience combining a unique blend of technical expertise, business management, and customer service. His experience includes leading technical teams across a wide variety of environments, spanning large and small consulting companies—including two of the “Big 4”—litigation support vendors, government contractors, and start-ups. Throughout his career, Kevin has conducted forensic acquisitions of all forms of digital evidence and performed data analysis for hundreds of projects in the U.S. and globally. He has managed large-scale investigations, including client-site forensic collection, data processing, hosting, review management, and production. Kevin is currently the Director of Technical Services of Casepoint, a software company specializing in eDiscovery, investigations, data privacy & compliance.  Follow Kevin on LinkedIn  Join the Cybersecurity Marketing Society on our website, and keep up with us on Twitter.

Since #CyberMarketingCon2023 is coming on December 10th through 13th. We can't help but replay some of our sessions from previous conferences. This week's episode is from CyberMarketingCon2022. If you enjoy this session, you will enjoy this year's lineup filled with education, the best speakers, hands-on workshops, networking, networking, AND MORE networking! We cannot wait to see you. Enjoy this episode and be sure to get your ticket by clicking ➡️➡️➡️here! The From the Horse's Mouth: CISO Q&A session is an in-depth conversation about reaching the unreachable buyer. Join us to hear security executives share their insights on why they buy, how they buy, and where they buy.    The speakers are: Michele Perry, Operating Partner at Elsewhere Partners  Rick Howard, Chief Security Officer, Chief Analyst, and Senior Fellow at N2K Networks   Jaclyn Miller,  Co-Founder and Chief Operations Officer(COO) at Stealth Startup Ted Wagner, VP and CISO at SAP National Security Services   In this session you will find:  1️⃣ What works and doesn't work in getting a security executive's attention?  2️⃣ Message trust, message fatigue, and what you can do about it.  3️⃣ Trusted information sources and how security executives use them.  4️⃣ Positioning and messaging that is meaningful to decision-makers.  5️⃣ The security executive's purchasing behavior and why skepticism is the driving force.    The speakers will talk more in-depth about the day in the life of a CISO, and how you can balance innovation and platform suites when considering products/services. From how do you develop trust with your vendors or potential vendors, the boundaries around when to how to contact a vendor and what is the acceptable amount of time for a call back from a potential vendor. The panelists also dive into who are the evangelists that people listen to and how a company can create their own evangelists.    By the end, the host opened the floor for audience questions:     How big is it a disadvantage to require an email/gate to download content?  Any advice you have for vendor websites? How involved would you be in a customer advisory board or executive retreat? Why do you not give survey data much merit (to Rick)?  Do you have a preference for virtual or live events?   More on #CyberMarketingCon2023 here, see you in Texas!

In this episode, Joseph Barringhaus, Director of Demand Generation at Sonrai Security, joins Maria and Gianna to discuss all things demand gen. Sonrai Security is a cloud security startup that focuses on identity, access, and permission in the cloud. To begin, Joseph shares that he has been in the world of cybersecurity and cloud for some time. The ability to build things from the ground up is what he has loved most about working at startups. Then, he explains his current role as Director of Demand Gen at Sonrai. He is responsible for creating awareness for the company's products first and foremost, while also making sure that awareness is brought into the pipeline. Thanks to Sonrai's close relationship with their sales team, Joseph is able to work closely with the entire funnel all the way through the customer journey. His strategy focuses on content syndication and later-stage funnel indicators. He clarifies that he is not in favor of un-gating everything. On the flip side, when things do come out that promote the company, like an e-book, Sonrai will typically un-gate the content to encourage more people to read it. More often than not, Joseph is an advocate for un-gating the things that he and his team put lots of time and effort into. Then, Joseph unpacks MQL and demand gen. Sharing his perspective on brand awareness, Joseph stresses the importance of finding your market audience and the appropriate balance for your specific company. There is real value in knowing where someone remembers you from, which of your marketing strategies did and didn't work, and how many touches it took for a customer to recognize the brand. Before wrapping up, Joseph shares his best advice for making time in the week for product knowledge and learning. In addition to keeping a detailed calendar, Joseph maintains a close relationship with the sales team to hear about what the market is saying through the team. Finally, our guest and hosts engage in a fun guessing game to reveal what career Joseph would pursue outside of the cybersecurity marketing field.   Links: Learn more about Joseph Barringhaus. 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.  

The time for #CyberMarketingCon2023 is fast approaching and we hope to see you in Austin in December. So mark those calendars and get your tickets, the conference will be from December 10th through 13th. It's filled with education, the best speakers, hands-on workshops, networking, networking, AND MORE networking.  Maria and Gianna cannot wait to see you. Enjoy this episode and be sure to get your ticket by clicking ➡️➡️➡️here! In this session, the focus was on understanding the dynamics of channel partner relationships in the cybersecurity industry. The two speakers, Amanda McLaughlin, Director of Mid-Atlantic Marketing at GuidePoint Security (Former Marketing Manager for GuidePoint Security), and David Brown, Head of Global Alliance and Partner Marketing at ReversingLabs (Former Director, Global Partner Marketing at ZEROFOX) are on a mission to educate and dispel misconceptions about VAR (Value-Added Reseller) and vendor relationships while also providing valuable tips and tricks on how to establish and maintain healthy VAR and vendor relationships.    Here are the key points covered: Promoting a better understanding of VAR and vendor relationships. Also highlighting their significance in the context of the cybersecurity industry. An in-depth explanation of what a VAR is: “entities that offer not only products but also their expertise and services in conjunction with solutions provided by solution providers.” The speakers used GuidePoint Security as an example as it is a cybersecurity VAR offering its services and expertise to clients. Addressing Misunderstandings: Amanda and David acknowledged that VAR and reseller relationships can be misunderstood, which is something similar to the classic sales and marketing relationship. But they also highlight how important it is to clear misunderstandings to establish effective partnerships. To close the session the speakers also went into what a successful vendor looks like to a VAR. The key metrics for success and some tips if you feel like your reseller relationship is not working? They also opened the floor for some questions!   More on #CyberMarketingCon2023 here, see you in Texas!

In this episode, Geordie Carswell, CMO at ActualTech Media joins Maria and Gianna to talk about the stuff no marketer wants to talk about right now: lead generation and content syndication! Can lead generation be a successful part of a demand generation strategy? Is there a right way to use content syndication for a cybersecurity audience? What are the strategies - and company qualities - needed to make these successful? Listen to find out! The guest and hosts use their demand gen backgrounds to jam on webinars, content, and other forms of creating engagement with cybersecurity audiences:  The relevance of different webinar topics  Considering whether to go broad or niche based on specific goals.  The importance of personalization and alignment in lead-generation efforts  Plus…learn a little something about grocery store marketing

In this episode, Jake Milstein, CRO, and CMO at Critical Insight, joins Maria and Gianna to discuss his unique perspective on serving underrepresented cybersecurity markets, the importance of establishing trust and personal connection with clients, and more. To begin, Jake shares what makes his job different now that he has the additional role of CRO. One of his favorite parts about his unique perspective is that he can see operations through every step of the way, from the funnel and down the line to customer experience. His responsibilities include marketing, sales, and customer success. He finds that the best CMOs he knows are those who get involved in customer conversations and have a clear understanding of their product market fit. Jake spent 20 years in the journalism field of TV news broadcasting. He believes that where journalism and cybersecurity overlap is in their efforts to give people the facts to help them make educated decisions. Next, Jake shares how Critical Insight came to focus specifically on the underserved cyber markets thanks to the experience of the company's co-founders. They provide consulting services to help clients prepare for an attack, soft services to help detect an attack quickly, and the tools to respond decisively when an attack does happen. Hospitals in rural areas, for example, want a provider whom they can trust and have a personal relationship with. A major part of Critical Insight's marketing strategy is showing up to conferences and events in these rural areas and following up with the people they meet there. Then, Jake sheds light on how the company was able to scale at the rate it did by establishing personal connections and authenticity with the people it serves. He has found that showing up automatically makes you memorable by default. Any time a major national event occurs, Critical Insight hosts an urgent panel webinar in which they present the facts and then have a panel of experts discuss the topic. Before wrapping up, Jake and our hosts discuss the challenge of incorporating humor into cybersecurity. Finally, they engage in a fun guessing game to reveal what career Jake would pursue outside of the cybersecurity marketing field.   Links: Follow Jake on LinkedIn. 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.

In this episode, Mandeep Khera, CMO of SecureAuth, joins Maria and Gianna to discuss the market and economy, changing responsibilities for CMOs, and the role of brand awareness from his perspective.   To begin, Mandeep shares the story of his role as CMO. His career began in finance before shifting to marketing and then cybersecurity. He recognized that the cybersecurity industry was here to stay and decided to devote his career to the field. His security work in the areas of email, application, network, and cloud led him to the authentication space where he is today. He highlights that we are going through a period of headwinds in the industry, but that it isn't all doom and gloom. It is a matter of being patient, sticking with it, and continuing to do the right things. He predicts that in 6-9 months, the economy will start bouncing back. With that, he shares the pivots that he believes cybersecurity professionals should be taking to accommodate these budget changes while keeping their team focused and happy. This means eliminating things that don't matter and increasing focus on the most critical areas.   Next, he offers his perspective on brand awareness, which is best done by thought leadership. He believes that brand awareness should be tied into different campaigns to be the most effective. On the other hand, the role of the CMO has become more challenging than ever. Most important, Mandeep reveals, is making sure you as the CMO are in tune with your CEO, CRO, CCO, and CFO. Another important mindset for CMOs right now is to be more quality and quantity-driven, focusing on ROI and thinking and acting out of the box to stand out. One of his main focuses right now is how to improve the website conversion rate. On the subject of edgy campaigns, Mandeep shares a few of his favorite campaigns he has worked on in his career. As a CMO, one of your responsibilities is to encourage your team to be bold in their risk-taking. All ideas are good ideas until ideas start to be filtered, and everyone can come up with a clever idea. Finally, our guest and hosts engage in a fun guessing game to reveal what career Mandeep would pursue outside of the cybersecurity marketing field.   Links:   Follow Mandeep on LinkedIn. 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.

In this episode, Terra Cooke, Cybersecurity Governance and Risk Compliance Manager at Boom Supersonic. She is also a huge advocate for black women in tech. To begin, Terra shares that she has been in the cybersecurity field for 15 years. She shares how she got interested in the cybersecurity field as a young person in the dial-up days. From a very early age, she knew she wanted to be in tech. Her background is in network security and she earned a very early cybersecurity degree at college. Her first job out of college was as a Information Systems Security Engineer at the NSA. In 2014, she was offered an auditing position elsewhere, where she stayed for several years. One of her favorite things about auditing is seeing people experience their own “aha moments”. Then, Tara gives listeners an idea of what a typical day for her looks like. As a GRC, she is often wearing many different hats throughout the day. Then, Terra shares that she refers to herself as a “magical girl” because she is always able to execute the tasks she is faced with. Within the boundaries around her, she does whatever it takes to execute a vision. We all have our own strengths and weaknesses and Terra's happens to be executing. She loves to collect data to assist her in this execution. She is also inspired by the Black Girl Magic movement several years ago. Then, she normalized the idea of setting professional boundaries. One of the most important things for GRC professionals to avoid while evaluating vendors is to buy tools simply for the sake of buying them, and ending up with poor implementations. Next, she shares her own process for looking at new vendors. Before wrapping up, she identifies the needs within the cybersecurity industry. Simply put, we should all be treating each other as humans with mutual respect when speaking with vendors. Finally, our guest and hosts engage in a fun guessing game to reveal what career Terra would pursue outside of the cybersecurity marketing field.     Links:   Follow Terra on LinkedIn. 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.

In this episode, David Ebner, Founder of Content Workshop, joins Maria and Gianna to discuss the future of writing.   To begin, David offers his own thoughts on ChatGPT. Like any new form of technology, it is understandable that the initial launch of ChatGPT was met with hesitation. Simply put, ChatGPT is a language processing tool that works on probability. Davis sees it more as a muse than a replacement for genuine writing. Content Workshop, he explains, is a storytelling agency helping brands tell their stories to drive new business and leverage their goals. It has not been possible for them to leverage AI to help with their writing simply because AI is not able to convey empathy. Next, hear what storytelling means to David. What really makes storytelling a work of art is its ability to inspire connection and bring an audience to a place they were not at prior to reading the content. Every piece of content should entertain, elevate, and engage their audience in this exact order.   Shifting gears, David explains how engaging people makes for a loyal audience, and loyal audiences will think about your brand and look towards you for answers in times of need. It is so crucial to make content entertaining so that it doesn't feel like a chore for audiences to read. Content workshop takes a unique approach in which they aim to embody the life of the individual, rather than the brand. What problem led them to the brand initially? How is the person's life better now that they have discovered the brand? A brand is not a color or logo, but rather what lives in the hearts and minds of the viewer. From a tone point of view, it's important to have a brand identity and voice first. Finally, our guest and hosts engage in a fun guessing game to reveal what career David would pursue outside of the cybersecurity marketing field.   Links:   Follow David on LinkedIn. 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.  

In this episode, Sean Mattson, Head of Digital Strategy and Operations at Checkpoint Technologies, joins Maria and Gianna to discuss conversion rates and personalization.   To begin, Sean discusses his role at Checkpoint as the management of all digital channels including websites, outbound, marketing automation, digital intelligence, globalization, and SEOs. He has been doing marketing for 20+ years and has 15 people on his current team. Since the team is so small, they use tools like Marketo to help automate tasks. Sean built everything from the ground up in this company and Checkpoint was known as the firewall creator. They needed to work on SEOs and after two years of brand awareness, the traffic on their website went up by 700%. They cross linked all the pages on their own website. They also talk about how the quality over the quantity matters, and how to create leads that can be marketed. Checkpoint does progressive profiling and uses third party data services to do backend form enrichment. This created a 60% lift for Marketo landing page, but Sean asked, “why wait till I'm walking away before you show me any content?”   Then, Sean discusses how Checkpoint uses Hushly for self-nurturing landing pages that has been a game-changer for the company. Hushly sets a preview of the content as the landing page itself, so they are presented with content and value first. Then, the audience can decide whether you like it first. It is in a single field form, and you can set as many pages as you want. There is also a column on the side with alternate content if you don't like the first page. Hushly provides the service, but Checkpoint also uses clear bit forms and zoom info forms. This is enriched in real time and there is a 25% conversion rate across the whole library. In addition, Checkpoint Technologies is rolling out resource hubs for geo sites in 11 languages and this will expand their reach. They are also using Smartling AI. Translating a website is easy, but the whole cycle is difficult to keep consistent and managed. Hushly will help translate all the PDFs and assets as well. There is a fine line between personalization and stock authorization; you need to personalize it without making it extremely obvious. Finally, our guest and hosts engage in a fun guessing game to reveal what career Sean would pursue outside of the cybersecurity marketing field.   Links: Follow Sean on LinkedIn. 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.

In this episode, the hosts are joined by Deidre Frith, the Director of Marketing at Real Time IT. With over 15 years of experience in marketing, Deidre is a one-stop shop for all things creative, social media, graphic design, and PR. She is known for her innovative and humorous marketing campaigns that have garnered attention and success for her company.   The episode opens with a discussion of the success of the funny commercial campaign that Deidre created for her company, as well as her approach to cybersecurity marketing. Deidre also shares insights into the idea and execution behind the campaign, and the results it has achieved, and emphasizes why word-of-mouth marketing is still so important. She also talks about her team and the challenges of tracking ROI for traditional media.    Lastly, Deidre dives into her cybersecurity awareness initiatives that include a quarterly poster campaign and a dedicated cybersecurity website.    The hosts close this episode with our favorite game where Gianna and Maria guess what Deidre would be doing if she wasn't in marketing. Who wins this time? All bets are on the table! Links: Follow Deidre on LinkedIn Check out Hey Y'all Wraps on LinkedIn 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.

Welcome to Breaking Through in Cybersecurity Marketing, where we explore the hottest topics in cyber marketing, interview experts, and help you become a better cybersecurity marketer! In this episode, Josh Feigenbaum, Marketing Manager at Sentra, joins Maria and Gianna to discuss effective email marketing.   To begin, Josh starts off by sharing how almost everyone in the industry has made the mistake where you have sent an email to the wrong chain or group. He gets his creativity from what people have been complaining about, including marketing, campaigns, sales, or what they wish existed. Josh also says he likes to play against what people expect to see in their inboxes by making his emails not look like every other email. The most creative thing he's done was sending out a Merry Christmas email with a surprise at the very end. The surprise was that if they responded back with a time, they would give a fake cyber security phone call to get you out of something with your family over the holidays. They actually had two people participate in it! He also says creativity is not just the email itself, but the offer as well. He also likes to include gifs of himself that are new and different with a caption underneath. Josh shares that he will put emojis into the subject line if it adds to the email, but he doesn't like emojis if they are pointless.   Then, Josh shares how with email marketing, there really is no specific time or day that is best to send out an email. He does say the subject line and content of the email matter more than when you send it. The last time he tried content indication leads, it was not successful but he would try it again. He did warm the lists up with a couple of emails, but they had zero idea what they read. In addition, Josh states it is best to benchmark against yourself with emails. You need to keep improving and the trend lines need to keep going up. They also discuss how companies are not strict enough with emailing only the people affected by that email subject– they do not need to include employees in emails when they opt out of them. They also say not to include people in the email chain list if they haven't opened an email in the last 90 days. This could affect the sending quality if you don't have reasonable open rates. Josh also shares how the cybersecurity marketing society is a great tool to use to see what other people say about vendors. He checks the Slack group to check reviews. Finally, our guest and hosts engage in a fun guessing game to reveal what career Josh would pursue outside of the cybersecurity marketing field.   Links: Follow Josh on LinkedIn. Keep up with Hacker Valley on our website, LinkedIn, Instagram, and Twitter. 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.

In this episode, Brian Whipple, a longtime member of the Cybersecurity Marketing Society, joins Maria and Gianna to share his impressive knowledge on how to create successful, record-breaking webinars in the cybersecurity industry.   Brian Whipple is a Marketing Manager at Conetrix and Tandem. He highlights how important it is to treat webinars as a valuable product that provides value to the audience - not as simply something you “do” because you have to do it as part of the marketing mix.   Brian talks about the key factors that contribute to the success of their webinars, including:   Carefully selecting topics  Having knowledgeable and engaging speakers  Practice, practice, practice! (Yes, even for webinars) And to constantly refine the content   According to Whipple, it's important to focus on positive signals and feedback rather than hard KPIs, while also looking at how making small tweaks to webinar formats can help improve lead generation from these activities. Brian and his team's approach to webinars has led to significant growth in attendance and positive feedback from their audience. ​ The episode closes with the ladies going head to head on their favorite game of guessing what the guest might be if they didn't choose their current career path. Someone's guilty conscience leads them to confess to cheating in the game. Brian also promises to write down what the hosts might say when they first meet him at the CyberMarketingCon2023 in Austin. Also to find Brian online, DO NOT google him as there's another Brian who is more “Successful and slightly better looking,” Check out our guest Brian Whipple in our links below!    Links: Follow Brian Whipple on LinkedIn.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.  

Welcome to Breaking Through in Cybersecurity Marketing, where we explore the hottest topics in cyber marketing, interview experts, and help you become a better cybersecurity marketer! In this episode, Derek Weeks, author and CEO of Unfair Mindshare, joins Maria and Gianna to discuss community.   To begin, Derek shares that he has been working in community marketing for many years. He found that many people did not understand what community marketing is or how to succeed. Unfair Mindshare is all about showing CMOs and marketing leaders how to integrate community marketing as part of an overall integrated marketing program in order to elevate their brands and increase customer retention. This is what Derek unpacks in his book, Unfair Mindshare. He describes marketing in 3 orbits: product-led, brand-led, and community-led. While the first two orbits are transactional,  the latter is really about collaboration and working together. The biggest red flag that you might be doing the community orbit wrong is if you find yourself talking about yourself often. As a CMO, your primary goal is to promote your company and products, build pipelines and drive revenue. However, Derek explains how CMOs can attract an even larger audience by not talking about themselves but being helpful from the beginning.   Next, Derek outlines how to build the best team for a successful community-building operation. He sees community marketing as another functional area within marketing that is equipped with dedicated staff. This function can be 5-10% of the total marketing budget. However, it requires at least 1,000 hours of work per year in order to make a large enough impact. This means that one person on your team should spend at least 50% of their time focusing on this one area. Your team is responsible for creating either a new community or leading within an existing community. Before wrapping up, Derek offers his best advice to listeners. Finally, our guest and hosts engage in a fun guessing game to reveal what career Derek would pursue outside of the cybersecurity marketing field.   Links: Follow Derek on LinkedIn. 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.  

In this episode, Kenneth Ellington, security consultant at Ernst & Young and the founder of Ellington Cyber Academy, joins our hosts to discuss how to foster positive engagement.    Kenneth Ellington is a security consultant at Ernst & Young and the founder of Ellington Cyber Academy and has been in the cybersecurity field for over four years. Ellington talks to Gianna and Maria about his journey into cybersecurity, from starting out as an intern at Publix to becoming a security consultant at Ernst & Young. In the age of social media, he emphasizes the importance of having your own voice and being unique to be able to stand out in the crowd when working on your personal brand.    The years in the industry have taught him the power of networking and being able to build a community that you can always rely on:   "It's not what you know, it's who knows you." - Kenneth Ellington   He also highlights diversity and is especially passionate about advocating for more people of color to get into cybersecurity doing this through his Ellington Cyber Academy. He also offers tips for content creation and personal branding in the cybersecurity industry.   The episode closes with our usual favorite game where Gianna and Maria guess what Kenneth would be doing if he was not in cybersecurity. Who wins? Listen to the episode to find out!   The ladies can be quite competitive, it's even hilarious as Maria tries and fails to convince Kenneth to join her on her quest to add him to her list of candidates to open a food truck with!   Links:  Follow Kenneth on LinkedIn 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.

In this episode, Marc Blackmer, VP of Marketing at Corero Network Security, joins Maria and Gianna to discuss breaking through into marketing, green and red flags in companies and so much more.   Corero Network Security is a leader in real-time with high-performance DDoS defense solutions. Service providers, hosting providers, and digital enterprises rely on Corero's award-winning technology to eliminate the DDoS threat to their environment through automatic attack detection and mitigation. This industry-leading technology delivers flexible protection that scales to tens of terabits, on-premises and in the cloud, with a dramatically lower cost of ownership than previously possible.   Marc takes us on his journey of how he moved to California after deciding to take a year off from college to pursue music. He was involved in marketing for 10-12 years,  Marc said getting the job was easy however, but the actual job wasn't easy. He wanted to be perfect from the beginning, but you can't be when you are starting out and still learning.   Marc also tells Maria and Gianna about some red and green flags to look out for when doing interviews with companies. He states that alignment between marketing, sales, and the product team is extremely important in a company.   The leaders in each of these areas need to: Communicate, Agree on messaging and where the product is going. While working together. He also motivates people to listen to themselves more, when things don't feel right, they likely aren't. If companies ask people to do things that are not okay in interviews, then imagine what would it be like working for them. When looking for green flags in leaders, he advises looking for leaders who are focused, friendly, energetic, and know what they want. Leaders who have a clear and realistic vision. While his advice to marketers is to get to know people, network, and be open to the idea that things that will change. There will be positives that come from change, and you will learn from it.   Links: Follow Marc Blackmer on LinkedIn. Keep up with Hacker Valley on our website, LinkedIn, Instagram, and Twitter. 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.

Welcome to Breaking Through in Cybersecurity Marketing, where we explore the hottest topics in cyber marketing, interview experts and help you become a better cybersecurity marketer! In this episode, Steve LaChance, Founder and CEO of discernr, joins Maria and Gianna to discuss how to foster positive engagement.   Discernr is a consultancy centered around product market fit for product led growth. They are currently building out some digital tools to make the process even more accessible. The company helps organizations at all stages of their PLG journey. Engagement, Steve explains, is a conversation that organizations of all sizes should be having. He also shares how he deals with burnout in the workplace. All leaders should be aware of the importance of maintaining a positive team dynamic in order to steer their staff away from burnout themselves. To do this, leaders and employees alike should each share their own expectations for their role and projected growth. While burnout typically means the employee is gone for good, disengagement is when an employee tends to stick with the bare minimum.   Then, Steve shares his best tactics to inspire change within his team. Step one is around daily communication of both expectations and outcomes. Listeners are reminded that when employees feel they are just doing tedious work, they tend to build up resentment for the work. Leaders should ensure their employees feel like they matter and that their work is appreciated and useful for someone. Sometimes, an employee's lack of engagement can also be a result of a lack of career advancement opportunities. If a leader is not providing a path towards learning and knowing how to level up their skillset, the employee will end up providing those things for themselves and will ultimately leave your team. Steve explains that career advancement does not always mean a succession of higher job titles. Many people are much happier as senior analysts or marketers than they would be in a C-suite position. Before wrapping up, our hosts and guest reiterate the necessity of career advancement for employee retention. Finally, they engage in a fun guessing game to reveal what career Steve would pursue outside of the cybersecurity marketing field.   Links:   Follow Steve LaChance on LinkedIn. Keep up with Hacker Valley on our website, LinkedIn, Instagram, and Twitter. 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.  

Welcome to Breaking Through in Cybersecurity Marketing, where we explore the hottest topics in cyber marketing, interview experts and help you become a better cybersecurity marketer! In this episode, Shlomi Ashkenazy, Head of Brand at Cybellum, joins Maria and Gianna to discuss how to maximize your branding potential.   To begin, Shlomi defines branding as the core narrative and story your organization wants to tell. This narrative can be uncovered by asking customers key driving questions to determine how their perception grows over time. These questions may include things like How well do you know our company? Who do you see us as? and What do we do? Brand momentum is typically generated from a combination of what you do as a founder and the work of the sales team. Next, Shlomi shares his story of tying brand into a venture capital investment. It all comes down to convincing investors that something big is in store for your idea. Shlomi sees branding as an engineering discipline as if you are building out a product scientifically. It requires less intuition and more customer feedback.   Next, Shlomi speaks to how companies can stand out in such a crowded market like cybersecurity. The first thing to do is try to simplify things as much as possible to help people better understand what you do. Then, try to find a niche and really stick with it. He also shares about the efforts he has made which didn't work out as planned. As long as you remain agile and can afford to make mistakes, there is always something to be learned when things don't work out. He also shares his discovery that a CEO is not important for a brand, but rather the CEO is the brand. The best way to know when your company's story is not working is when the sales team is unhappy. If, after trying it out and it still isn't sticking, it's time to change direction. In the first few years of operations, around 30-40% of a brand's budget should go to marketing. Finally, they engage in a fun guessing game to reveal what career Shlomi would pursue outside of the cybersecurity marketing field.   Links:   Follow Shlomi Ashkenazy on LinkedIn. Keep up with Hacker Valley on our website, LinkedIn, Instagram, and Twitter. 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.

Welcome to Breaking Through in Cybersecurity Marketing, where we explore the hottest topics in cyber marketing, interview experts, and help you become a better cybersecurity marketer! In this episode, Emily Cadwallader, Partner Marketing Manager at Binary Defense, shares her expertise with Gianna and Maria.   Emily first joined Binary Defense as a marketing specialist wearing lots of hats. Once the company found its footing in channel strategy, Emily was able to focus all her efforts on that specific area. Channel marketing differs slightly from more traditional marketing, she explains, because it requires a more strategy-focused approach. When it comes to making things exciting, Emily believes that consistent contact with partners is super important. In terms of being there for marketing and collaboration, your partners can almost serve as an extension of your sales team.  Emily and her team at Binary Defense work closely with their partners to ensure they are involved in quarterly training and staying up to date with the latest offerings.    Among Binary Defense's partners include one tenure, several who are currently onboarding, and both regional and national partners. The first step of their most recent portal revamps was understanding what their ideal partner profile looked like. Next, Emily shares some of the company's most successful field events. If a partner already has their year of marketing strategy planned out for the year, it can be a great opportunity to tie in with them. Many partners have a cyber-specific day in which they come to evaluate their clients and prospects. Then, she elaborated on centralizing communications and activities and why it is so important for a successful partner program. These come in two forms: centralizing your communications internally and keeping consistent, open communication with your partners.     Emily received the Star Performer Award at Binary for her work as a partner marketer. She unpacks some of the qualities of someone who excels in partner marketing. First and foremost, you need to be a good communicator and have prior experience in the different avenues of marketing. This role can't be done alone, so the ability to collaborate with others is key. Finally, they engage in a fun guessing game to reveal what career Jennifer would pursue outside of the cybersecurity marketing field.   Links:   Follow Emily Cadwallader on LinkedIn. Keep up with Hacker Valley on our website, LinkedIn, Instagram, and Twitter. 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.  

In this episode, Christophe Foulon, cybersecurity manager at a Fortune 500 company and Founder of CPF Coaching, joins Maria and Gianna.   To begin, Christophe shares that his idea for CPF Coaching came from the pandemic when many cybersecurity employees moved from in-office to remote work. He noticed they struggled with communication, collaboration, and influence in the new setting. His marketing experience comes into play here as he must convince leaders that cybersecurity is crucial to their business. He would sum up his entire career as the connection between the people and the technical side. In addition, Christophe also hosts the Breaking Into Cybersecurity podcast, which stems from his own experience and challenges of breaking into cybersecurity. He is also the author of two books about cybersecurity.   Next, Christophe unpacks how marketers already have the skills needed to break into the cybersecurity field. These skills include communication, collaboration, influence, and prior knowledge of your industry. Together, all these skills can work together to help the business solve solutions in a different way than those from a purely technical standpoint. Today, Christophe's clients as a consultant include different lines of business within a large credit card division, each looking to deliver solutions for their different types of clients. His job is to deliver solutions and ensure that their data is protected. Looking towards the future, his following vision is to lead a security program for a mid-large size organization to help influence the development of a great cybersecurity pipeline and help implement planned growth.   Christophe offers his best advice for navigating these tricky waters. Figure out what problems you want to solve, how you can solve them, and what might set you apart from the competition, and then work with leaders to see where they might be in their program and how your solution can help. Finally, they engage in a fun guessing game to reveal what career Christophe would pursue outside of the cybersecurity marketing field.   Links: Follow Christophe Foulon on LinkedIn. Keep up with Hacker Valley on our website, LinkedIn, Instagram, and Twitter. 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.   Christophe's books: Develop Your Cybersecurity Career Path: How to Break into Cybersecurity at any Level Hack the Cybersecurity Interview: A complete interview preparation guide for jumpstarting your cybersecurity career    

Welcome to Breaking Through in Cybersecurity Marketing, where we explore the hottest topics in cyber marketing, interview experts and help you become a better cybersecurity marketer! In this episode, Ashish Kuthiala, CMO of Traceable AI joins Maria and Gianna.   To begin, Ashish shares his path to his current role. He was raised in several different countries and was able to experience different cultures, countries and schooling systems firsthand. He moved to the U.S. for his studies 25 years ago and now calls the country home. He has since worked in computer science, computer engineering, code writing product development and in various roles on the business side. His introduction to marketing was in product marketing, where he was able to merge his engineering background and his love for connecting people. Traceable is Ashish's fifth startup, which he came to in the very beginning stages of the launch.   Each company Asish has worked for has taught him value lessons and skills which he has brought on to the next. With the mindset of experimenting a lot, learning from your experiments and reiterating a lot to find out what does and doesn't work, he believes you will be successful in any role. As a leader, it is crucial to build a culture in which employees feel free to experiment and learn from their failures. A key goal of marketing is to build a sales pipeline, which takes time and patience. Each quarter, he and his team look at all of the data to determine where they are on their trajectory.   Next, Ashish unpacks his fundamental approach to marketing. Today, most IT buyers educate themselves before deciding on a software. They already know what problems they want to solve, who can do it best and how much they should be paying for the service. From a marketing perspective, the most critical pieces are to be transparent, trustworthy and know your stakeholders. Employees and customers alike should be passionate about what they are building and eager to talk about it. He also addresses the common privacy concerns that transparency entails. This all comes down to velocity and moving faster than our competitors. Finally, our hosts and guest engage in a fun guessing game to reveal what career Ashish would pursue outside of the cybersecurity marketing field.   Links:   Follow Ashish Kuthiala on LinkedIn. Keep up with Hacker Valley on our website, LinkedIn, Instagram, and Twitter. 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.

Welcome to Breaking Through in Cybersecurity Marketing, where we explore the hottest topics in cyber marketing, interview experts, and help you become a better cybersecurity marketer! In this episode, Jennifer Leggio, CMO at Netography, joins Maria and Gianna to discuss the changes she has seen in marketing throughout her career.   To begin, Jennifer shares that she began her career in journalism. In 2000, she decided to make a change and moved to Silicon Valley. She first worked for a small PR agency specializing in cybersecurity for clients. Here, she was able to spin her journalism background into PR. She fell in love with working at startups. Then, Jennifer shares her perspective that comm is separate from marketing before unpacking her perspective of the current market shift. Marketing and the economy come and go in cycles. Throughout her career so far, Jennifer has found that security is very resilient and an always-needed market.    After unpacking how the journey of buyers and marketers has changed, hear what marketers can do to make sure our heads are above water with these changes. Jennifer shares that, sadly, many companies have had to make major cutbacks for their marketing teams, and there will likely be even more to come. Some leaders are making these decisions based on 2008 principles of how marketing is done. Jennifer talks a lot about the importance of doing “outside-in” programs, meaning going where the buyers are. While a sales force is important to build a business, it can't be the only area companies rely on for growth and scale. Cutting off the resources which are more difficult to track right away will nearly always backfire.     The best communications, Jennifer explains, include industry analysts. This all comes back to go where your buyers are rather than waiting for them to come to you. Getting the right type of content that ties into your values and will move a buyer persona in the right direction requires a strong communication team. Before wrapping up, Jennifer shares her best advice for sales and marketing alignment and tips for marketers who want to become CMOs one day. Finally, they engage in a fun guessing game to reveal what career Jennifer would pursue outside of the cybersecurity marketing field.    Links:   Follow Jennifer Leggio on LinkedIn. Keep up with Hacker Valley on our website, LinkedIn, Instagram, and Twitter. 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.

! In this episode, Ashish Malpani, the head of global product marketing for DX, joins Maria and Gianna to discuss the journey into cyber security and digital experience for AR programs.   Ashish shares his thoughts on digital experience, how they provide the right tools to maintain good cyber hygiene, and how to improve the cyber security program. They also try to see what the customer experience is like. He goes on and explains how DX team is spread out in different parts, the types of content Ashish sees resonating so well with developers and technical customers. There are things you can do to reach out to the practitioner developer audience but still reach a high level of management in the IT space. Ashish explains that in the space of cyber security, we are either victims of it or itself serving the narrative.   Ashish further explains how he dealt with analyst relation programs in the past, He explains the different analyst firms and their categorization. Foresters spend a lot of the time in research doing analyst experience, which is the experience of your product to cybersecurity analyst within the company. He shares the tips to get the most out of your product analyst. Ashish shares his opinion on the employee-to-analyst ratio and why marketers need to know employee to analyst ratio. Ashish also tells us how many people are at his firm vs. employees. Market studies can be future looking, but it's a challenge for product marketers to talk about the future and address today's reality. People need to evolve their cyber security programs to address the needs of tomorrow.   Before wrapping up, Ashish is engaged by our hosts in a fun guessing game to reveal what career he would pursue outside of the cybersecurity marketing field.   Follow Ashish Malponi on LinkedIn, Twitter, and  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.

Welcome to Breaking Through in Cybersecurity Marketing, where we explore the hottest topics in cyber marketing, interview experts, and help you become a better cybersecurity marketer! In this episode, Gianna and Maria share some powerful insights into cybersecurity marketing society, what they do, and what other cybersecurity marketing societies are doing. Gianna and Mariana shed more light on the cyber security marketing society. It is the world's largest community for cybersecurity marketers built by cybersecurity marketers for cybersecurity marketers. The cybersecurity community has created an opportunity to get together for those working hard in cybersecurity. They have provided an all-day marketer launch for people and also did a marketer party which was completely sold out. There were around 800 people on the waitlist. The party felt like a reunion where all marketers were coming together. Mariana and Gianna continue to talk more about the changes in cybersecurity since the previous year. They say that the cybersecurity industry lacks creativity. It is great to see vendors stepping up and thinking outside the box, pushing the envelope to get creative, and having fun doing what they are doing. This year there were a lot fewer outside activities than last year. The vibe overall, from the security perspective, feels normal and big again. Maria and Gianna also discussed their favorite booths they had seen. There are fully immersive booths with screens on the ceiling above people's heads. Nowadays, things are moving to screening and lighting. Games are also taking the floor. Multiple people are doing comic superheroes, which is appealing to the audience. Magicians are back, and they are also drawing the crowd. There are so many ways to do things to grab attention. Some other security vendors even use sneakers for everyone to wear. There is also a continuation of the axonious campaign, controlling complexity and more. Even No name security provides rides to go to places around the city. In the marketing community industry, we do not want to lead with fear, uncertainty, and doubt, this industry is stressed enough, and we do not need to add stress from our messaging and marketing perspective. Selling, educating, and helping is a way to market, and the cybersecurity marketing society is here to help you stand out. Finally, Gianna and Maria conclude with conferences for more cybersecurity marketers where they say cybersecurity marketing will host an annual cyber marketing conference in Texas. Cybersecurity is ready to open opportunities for marketers in cybersecurity, cybersecurity agencies, and more. If you work with cybersecurity customers and have references for all customers who are happy with your services, members can find a free and open vendor directory. 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.

In this episode, Wesley Belleman, Consulting Engineer at Colossal LLC,  joins Maria and Gianna to discuss marketing in the federal government.   Wesley began his career in the military in acquisitions, specifically as a cybersecurity operations officer. Here, he was in charge of multi-million dollar programs, acquiring cybersecurity for the space force, and more. From there, he went into Palo Alto Networks and finally Colossal LLC, a value-added reseller providing services specific to the products they sell. Because he has advertised and marketed products internally as a customer in his previous roles, Wesley has a solid understanding of the challenges marketers face. Since the Department of Defense is the country's largest employer, there is a ton of internal business that goes on within it overall. Wesley touches on Kraken, a newly released product that the Space Force is currently leveraging for public defense.  He worked with a team of engineers and contractors to design, build and deploy the product. It required marketing to get people within the space force on board with implementing the product. Wesley also highlights the various AFCEA events coming up nationwide.   When building Kraken, Wesley also had to build consensus internally to get the product off the ground. He began this process by getting certified on the product and fully understanding it inside out.  On that, he leveraged the strength of his colleagues on his team to fulfill different operational roles. The final step was to get to know the customers and what exactly they are looking for. It is crucial to leave your opinions and ideals at the door and understand what the customer wants from a cybersecurity product. He also recommends all founders use the resources and team members they already have. Although it is still growing, Kraken officially launched in 2019. Finally, our guest and hosts engage in a fun guessing game to reveal what career Wesley would pursue outside of the cybersecurity marketing field.     Links: Visit Wesley on LinkedIn. 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.

This week, Beth Barach, the Director of Product Marketing at Onapsis, joins the hosts to discuss the intersection of product marketing with product launches, Cabs, and eCabs. With over 20 years of experience in tech, Beth began her career working with channel and technology partner programs, which ultimately led to her pivot into product marketing. Beth also shares that to execute a successful product launch, it's important to create a plan and synchronize the different teams and departments involved, such as sales, marketing, customer success, and product. getting into the idea of using product launch as an opportunity to educate customers and partners on the value and benefits of the product. Lastly, Beth stressed the importance of using marketing channels to create a buzz and engage the target audience. The conversation also touches on the importance of getting executive buy-in for a product launch. Beth gave an example of someone on the team who is often overlooked but should be included, the support team. While Maria highlighted that product marketers should aim to think beyond their usual suspects when planning a launch. Finally, Beth provided a story about a manager who was great at recognizing the importance of executive support. Timecoded guide: 0:02:44 Product Launch at a Billion Dollar Company: People, Process, and Performance 0:04:43 Conversation on Securing Executive Buy-In for Product Launches 0:07:42 Presenting to the Executive Team: A Successful Product Launch Story 0:09:43 Conversation on Applying the RACI Model to Product Launches 0:11:51 Discussion on Detailed Content Planning for Product Launch 0:13:39 Conversation on Adapting to Delays and Roadblocks in Product Launches 0:16:05 Conversation on Empathy, Cabs, and Testimonials in the Cybersecurity Industry 0:18:04 Exploring the Benefits of Customer Advisory Boards for Product Marketers 0:25:21 Conversation Summary: Potential Career Paths for Product Marketer Beth 0:27:38 Interview with Beth Barach: Exploring the Intersection of Coaching and Entrepreneurship Links: Check out Beth on LinkedIn 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.

In this episode, Daniella Alpher, VP of Marketing at RevealSecurity joins Maria and Gianna to discuss Israeli vs American cyber marketing.   To begin, Daniella shares that she began her career in film and television as a producer for ABC News. In the early 2000s, tech began threatening the television industry. This inspired her to get a degree in business administration and enter the tech sector, specifically focusing on marketing. Next, Daniella highlights the differences she has noticed working as a marketer in Israel vs. America. 10% of attacks at a national level are directed at Israel, 40% of investments in cybersecurity go to Israeli companies and 16% of  cybersecurity vendors are Israeli. Compared to the size and population of Israel tech (specifically cybersecurity) is a huge income-driving sector for the country.  In the last 20-30 years, Israel also built a large strength in product and development of cybersecurity products. In more recent years, it has naturally become a hub for cybersecurity marketing.   For most Israeli startups, the sales portion is often based in the U.S. Marketing, however, is often a mix between the two companies. In Daniela's experience, American marketing tends to have a more long-term philosophy, while Israelis often have a much shorter-term strategy for survival. Israeli marketers are still learning the importance of branding over performance. Most Israeli marketers are focused on selling in the U.S., but it is rare for a U.S.-based company to consider marketing in other countries. Stereotypically, Daniela shares, Israelis tend to come off rude, aggressive, and emotional to American analysts, whereas Americans are the opposite. Then, there are those smaller, technical differences like the use of WhatsApp vs. Slack for digital communication and group messages.   Before wrapping up, Daniela engages alongside our hosts in a fun guessing game to reveal what career she would pursue outside of the cybersecurity marketing field.   Links:   Follow Daniella on Linkedin. Keep up with Hacker Valley on our website, LinkedIn, Instagram, and Twitter. 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.

This week, Brandon Hoe joins hosts Gianna and Maria to discuss controversial topics related to cybersecurity marketing. Brandon is the VP of Marketing at Oxeye and has held CMO and head of marketing positions at multiple cybersecurity companies, including SCYTHE, HackEDU, and StrongKey. Brandon and the hosts also discuss in depth the idea that demand generation as a marketing discipline is the key to success. How while the funnel is still alive, the timelines associated with each step have changed, and the idea that companies often think that bringing on a demand gen wizard will solve all their problems. They concluded that the marketing environment is much more challenging for everyone involved, especially in the cybersecurity world.   Timecoded Guide:   [06:29] Cybersecurity Regulations and Market Trends [12:17] Advice for Marketers Considering Joining an Israeli Startup at the Seed Stage [16:30] Balancing Strategy and Volume of Activity in Early-Stage Leadership Positions [17:59] Demand Generation and Critical Hires [27:35] Pizza Toppings and Alternative Careers [33:28] Starting a YouTube Channel and Noodle Shop Business [34:52] Exploring the Journey of Launching a Product Company ----------- LINKS: Follow Brandon on LinkedIn Check out and follow Oxeye on LinkedIn Keep up with Hacker Valley on our website, LinkedIn, Instagram, and Twitter. 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.

In this episode, Luke Tucker, VP of Marketing at Lightspin, joins Maria and Gianna to discuss building cyber community.   To begin, Luke unpacks his cautious optimism for the current market and shares why startups need to celebrate even the smallest wins. Prior to his current position, Luke held leadership roles in marketing at HackerOne as well as an executive role in the community side. As his very first VP marketing role, he is focused on making the lives of end users and cloud engineers better. Lightspin understands that the most efficient way to secure a cloud is to think like an attacker, then build like a graph. This is how they make their mission, to best support cloud engineers along every stage of their journey, possible.   Community is a popular topic within cybersecurity lately. Luke explains Hackerone's flywheel model. It is the outliers on the fringes of communities that need to be focused on at all times. Having moderation, best practices, and onboarding experiences early on will help to instill company culture. Luke defines community as people who consistently show up to collaborate together on a common cause. It took a physical location to really collaborate on the platform. Luke recounts what it was like seeing the security team face-to-face with the hacker community. It all began with allowing collaboration as bounty sharing and reward sharing within the platform itself. Thankfully due to some of the early adopters, Hackerone was able to build some momentum As the business began to scale, it became necessary to stay up to date with the CFO. The next step was asking users what they wanted to see next on the platform. The majority of users were there to further their careers, so they were given Hacker 101 and CTF. Luke shares that the majority of these hackers just want to have a safe space to share their discoveries with other people. Another key component of community, and where a mission really accelerates, is to give your community members the stage.   Before wrapping up, Luke encourages listeners to join the Cybersecurity Marketing Society.  Finally, he engages in a fun guessing game and reveals what career he would pursue outside of the cybersecurity field.   Links:   Follow Luke on LinkedIn. Keep up with Hacker Valley on our website, LinkedIn, Instagram, and Twitter. Follow Gianna on LinkedIn. Catch up with Maria on LinkedIn.

This week, Cami Ragano, VP of Marketing at SightGain, joins Maria and Gianna to share her expertise as a marketing leader managing SDRs so that SDRs over-achieve their goals!  In fact, Cami's SDR program has helped SightGain achieve significant increases in:    Demos Booked: ⬆ Demos Complete: ⬆ Pipeline Growth: ⬆    From Washington DC to Australia to London, Cami has led digital demand generation and brand campaigns that touch nearly every corner of the globe. With a focus on start-up cybersecurity SaaS enterprise software, she has built a career around innovative digital marketing campaigns and customer-focused events that drive revenue. Prior to joining SightGain, Cami was a marketing and business development leader at Cybrary, Endgame, Invincea (acquired by Sophos), and Risk Analytics—where she developed go-to-market strategies that disrupted and dominated the cybersecurity industry. Cami graduated from Radford University with a B.S. in Communications specializing in Public Relations and a minor in Marketing. In her free time she enjoys spending time with her wife and three golden doodles in Richmond, VA hiking, exploring, and brewery hopping.   Connect with Cami on LinkedIn. Visit the SightGain website or the company LinkedIn page.  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.

This week, Hushly CMO James Kessinger joins hosts Gianna and Maria to talk about the "bowtie" funnel and marketing's new(er) role in creating upsell and cross-sell opportunities. They discuss ABM, the unique buyer in cybersecurity, and tying experiences across the digital journey. James also gives them a peek under the hood into how Hushly uses their integrated experience cloud to market to marketers like us, and shares the data that Hushly has aggregated from their platform on ABM for cybersecurity buying. About James: James Kessinger has been the CMO at Hushly over the past 5 years.  He's expanded his responsibilities and taken on the title of COO with overarching responsibilities for Marketing, Customer Success, Sales, Partnerships, and Revenue Operations. James has built a 20+ year career working at global enterprise technology companies in hardware, software, security, virtualization, SaaS and Cloud. He has held leadership and executive roles across marketing functions such as brand, demand generation, corporate marketing, digital marketing, segment marketing, product marketing, services marketing, along with field and partner marketing where he has led both large marketing organizations and smaller teams.   Connect with James on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jamesbkessinger/ Reach out at james [at] hushly.com  Grab the Hushly cybersecurity marketing report, and learn more about how Hushly helps marketers improve demand generation and ABM results: https://www.hushly.com/solution-cybersecurity-marketing/ Learn about the Cybersecurity Marketing Society Party for Marketers at RSAC2023 here: https://cybersecuritymarketingsociety.com/event/party-rsa-2023/ 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.

Welcome to Breaking Through in Cybersecurity Marketing, where we explore the hottest topics in cyber marketing, interview experts and help you become a better cybersecurity marketer! In this episode, Tom Kish, Director of Growth Marketing at CardinalOps, joins Maria and Gianna to discuss demand gen and more!   To begin, Tom unpacks the difference between the titles demand gen and growth, both of which he has held at various points in his career. Demand gen is a time-consuming role and requires balancing quick wins with long term strategies. Typically, a marketing team will come in to build some foundational elements before demand gen enters the scene to scale up. Since demand gen is so closely tied to pipeline, it is also easily and quickly measured. Tom shares the benefits of working for organizations who were operating with a tight budget and how he has carried that mindset with him to larger organizations. While the goal of demand gen is to create opportunities and revenue, the process of getting there is still part of demand gen, too. There is no one size fits all when it comes to demand gen. Marketers should be constantly adding new things to their toolbox and know when (and when to!) not apply them.   Next, Tom shares the strategies which he has found most successful in his demand gen roles. They all come back to finding the proper balance among the fundamentals goals of creating demand, identifying demand and capturing demand. A successful framework not only finds the proper balance of these things, but ensures that they all flow together seamlessly while covering all of their bases. Checking your social engagement is also really important. Tom's team has designated people who manually identify the individuals who regularly interact with their posts. Building off this, he elaborates on the lack of innovation and creativity he often sees in marketing as a result of the rise of automation and data. His most successful marketing campaigns have been those that were totally creative and were not based on previous engagement.   Before wrapping up, Tom reveals his favorite thing about being a member of the Cybersecurity Marketing Society now that he has been a member for two years. Finally, he engages in a fun guessing game and reveals what career he would pursue outside of the cybersecurity field.   Links:   Follow Tom on LinkedIn. Keep up with Hacker Valley on our website, LinkedIn, Instagram, and Twitter. 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.

In this episode, Samara Williams, Senior Manager of Security Engineering at New Relic, joins Maria and Gianna to share her insights on building relationships and making strategic partnerships in the cybersecurity industry. She talks about the importance of trust and transparency in building successful partnerships, and how working with vendors and other industry players can help organizations make informed decisions and stay ahead of emerging threats. Samara also shares her perspective on the role of VARs and how they can serve as an extension of a security team, providing valuable feedback on tools and partnerships. She emphasizes the need for VARs to understand an organization's goals and pain points in order to provide the best possible solutions, and stresses the importance of transparency in the VAR-buyer relationship. This episode provides valuable insights and practical advice on building successful partnerships and collaborations in the cybersecurity industry. Whether you're a security practitioner, vendor, or partner, Samara's experiences and perspectives can help guide you towards more effective and mutually beneficial relationships   Follow Samara on LinkedIn Keep up with Hacker Valley on our website, LinkedIn, Instagram, and Twitter. 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.

In this episode, Gianna and Maria interview Michelle Radlowski, Sr. Director, AMS & EMEA Regional Marketing and ABM at DigiCert, Inc. (former Director of Regional Marketing at Zscaler). Michelle shares her experience of working in the IT tech space for over 15 years, starting in a small startup that got acquired twice and ultimately became part of Dell Software Group, before joining Zscaler as employee 240, and now the company has almost 6,000 employees globally. She explains that field marketing, which she started doing at Zscaler, is not just about planning events but driving campaign execution in-region, focusing on account engagement, and landing campaigns from corporate marketing. Michelle discusses the misconception about field marketing being solely administrative and event planning, and how her role has evolved to encompass much more.    Michelle talks about the importance of aligning with the sales team and building relationships with them to drive business value. She explains that it is essential to understand the sales team's objectives, pain points, accounts, and personas to align marketing plans with them. She also emphasizes the significance of tracking data to measure the success of field marketing programs. Michelle shares her journey of transitioning from being a marketer who focused on lead generation to a marketer who aligned with the sales team's goals of revenue and pipeline creation. Michelle also highlights the significance of partner ecosystems, and she talks about how Zscaler has a large partner ecosystem, including strategic alliance partners, service providers, and system integrators. She emphasizes the need for a strategic approach to partner marketing that involves sales leadership alignment, account mapping, messaging, and training. Michelle concludes that a better-together story with partners that focuses on bettering the customer experience is a powerful message. Follow Michelle on LinkedIn The Concert in the Clouds Michelle's Non-profit Experience Keep up with Hacker Valley on our website, LinkedIn, Instagram, and Twitter. 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.

This week, Kelsey LaBelle joins hosts Gianna and Maria to talk about marketing soft skills and returning to empathy in the workplace. Kelsey, who is the VP of Marketing at DomainTools, also shares how she works soft skills in her role at the company. Along with the emotional skills, Kelsey goes into creative ways to generate lead pipelines, why you should build trust with an audience, and shares the nuts and bolts of podcast production. Listen in for some deep talk on marketing—and lots of puns!   Timecoded Guide: [07:28] Wrapping uniqueness and empathy into marketing [15:26] Building lead pipelines with domain blooms  [32:00] Podcast workflow and process of production  [34:45] Can you be happy at work?   [36:04] Closing with the guessing game   ---------- Definitions:  DDoS: DDoS or DDoS'ing stands for ‘denial of service attack.” This is a cyberattack in which the perpetrator attempts to render a network resource unavailable to its users by disrupting the services of a host connected to the network.  SANS: SANS stands for SysAdmin, Audit, Network, and Security and is the world's largest cybersecurity research and training organization. DNS: DNS stands for Domain Name System which makes the internet accessible by allowing the use of domain names. ----------- Links: Spend some time with Kelsey on Mastodon and Twitter @punsandrosess Follow Kelsey on LinkedIn. Visit DomainTools on LinkedIn and Twitter. Check out the DomainTools website. Tune into the Breaking Badness podcast. Keep up with Hacker Valley on our website, LinkedIn, Instagram, and Twitter. 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.

This week, Claire Mckenna and Michelle Rawlings join us from BARR Advisory to talk about their roles and how they work with numerous people in the field to bolster their company's goals. Claire is the senior writer and researcher at BARR while Michelle is the media coordinator. Together, they discuss communicating with SMEs, connecting experts in the field, and how they get everyone in their company involved with outreach through a curated media program.    Timecoded Guide: [06:09] Incentivizing SMEs and finding content [10:46] The Media BARR Program [14:12] Choosing content for the program [18:43] Challenges met with the BARR program [23:45] ROI on the Media BARR Program  ---------- Links: Follow Claire on LinkedIn. Spend some time with Michelle on Twitter and LinkedIn. Visit BARR Advisory on LinkedIn and Twitter. Check out the BARR Advisory website Go back and listen to our previous episode on recycling brand content. 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.

Joining us this week is Chris Spellman, Senior Demand Generation Manager at SCYTHE. Chris has been in cybersecurity marketing for over six years and has also worked in marketing operations and analytics. Gianna and Maria ask Chris about his marketing expertise as they cover gated vs ungated content, demand gen, analytics, and much more. Also, listen in to hear about Chris's fantasy novel trilogy that he authors with his wife!   Timecoded Guide: [06:49] Creative ways to generate demand [09:58] Gated or ungated content? [11:51] Big failure or success in cyber marketing [16:26] Where Chris does analytics [18:32] How Chris does attribution ---------- Links: Follow Chris on LinkedIn. Check out the Spellman Books website, LinkedIn, and Facebook. Keep up with SCYTHE on LinkedIn and Twitter. Visit the SCYTHE 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.

Along with your hosts Gianna and Maria, this week we have Joshua Gonzalez joining us from Beyond Identity to talk shop in creativity. Joshua comes from years of experience as an actor on broadway and on screens—you may have even seen him on the Travel Channel! As the Media Producer, Joshua and his team put a twist on marketing at Beyond Identity and he shares some tips that you won't want to miss. This is also the record number of times the word “corn” has appeared in an episode here: tune in to find out why! Hint: it has to do with creative marketing.   Timecoded Guide: [04:21] Applying an acting background to marketing  [06:59] How to sell a product with a story [11:05] Tips on pitching story ideas [14:29] Things learned while catering to a cybersecurity audience [25:47] Advice for companies taking on creatives ---------- Links: Spend some time with Joshua on Twitter. Check out Joshua's memoir!  Tune in to Joshua's podcast. Pictures of Joshua performing Midsummer Night's Dream on broadway. Joshua and his team's latest cyber ad music video. Visit Beyond Identity on LinkedIn and Twitter and 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.  

This week, Wade Wells joins us to talk about being on the board of BSides San Diego, being a brand ambassador, and being on a podcast—all while also being a mentor and working his day job. Gianna and Maria ask Wade about his research workflow and why marketing to CISOs isn't always the best route for leads. Tune in for a mini-lesson on what the “pyramid of pain” is in cybersecurity and to hear how Wade picked up some valuable cybersecurity marketing tips from working at In-N'-Out.    Timecoded Guide: [11:19] Searching for new products and evaluating them  [13:06] The significance of POV (Point of Value) [16:24] Marketing to the CISO's team [17:36] Integration and why it's important  [23:36] Wade's favorite part about his job    Researching new products With the market being saturated with products, it can get tedious, sifting through everything online. Wade has spent a lot of time researching products and Maria asks him about his workflow. First, he says that he lists what they're good and not so good at and evaluates from there. He goes through Google, Twitter, and LinkedIn and pings people about the product, seeking more information. Wade also evaluates through POV for every product and his company tests each one before they put it to use.   “So the first thing we'll do is we'll talk to them, we'll go through and understand: what does it do? How does it do it? ”   Why marketing to the CISO isn't always the best route Maria stresses to Wade that marketers are taught to seek out the CISO. Wade offers some insight into more effective marketing routes. In practice, Wade says that it's often a team that will decide whether or not a particular product would be worth it in their company—and that the CISO just signs it off. So, often, targeting an audience made up of team members rather than only the CISO is a much more effective method of marketing. “It may come down to they just do the check mark to okay, but if we're the ones in the trenches using the product every day, it better be us who really like it.” ---------- Links: Follow Wade on LinkedIn. Reach out to Wade at wade@bsidessd.org Keep up with Hacker Valley on our website, LinkedIn, Instagram, and Twitter. 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.