Joe Ariganello is the vice president of product marketing at Mix modewhere he works with cutting-edge AI technology.
Buried in marketing messages? Are you drowning in security alerts? Cybersecurity professionals and business leaders are bombarded with information and struggle to find what really matters.
Today’s cybersecurity marketing landscape inundates executives with confusing messages. The sheer volume, generic messaging, and FOMO tactics create a market of noise. The lack of transparency, jargon, hidden costs and unrealistic return on investment promise even murkier judgment. Likewise, the competitive landscape around the use of AI in cybersecurity itself is disconcerting, with vendors touting false solution capabilities, vendor lock-in, and a fragmented market.
Unfortunately, the marketing messages that convinced security teams to buy these vendors’ solutions flooded most of them with false positive alerts and lawsuits.
This confusion leads to wasted resources, delayed decisions and an erosion of trust. Marketing needs to stop talking nonsense and talk about how it meets customer needs. Transparent communication is essential to help security leaders and teams make informed choices and build strong security defenses.
The path to follow
The solution lies in a surprising parallel: cutting out the noise. Just as AI helps security analysts prioritize real threats, thought leadership can cut through companies’ marketing noise. Both of these approaches focus on relevance, credibility, and actionable insights.
Filter the noise
Just as AI filters through endless security data to identify real threats, thought leadership cuts through marketing noise and positions a company as a trusted advisor.
Similarities:
Focus on relevance:
• AI prioritizes alerts based on their potential impact, focusing on the most relevant threats.
• Thought leadership content is tailored to address the specific issues and challenges that target audiences face, ensuring its relevance to their decision-making process.
Credibility and expertise:
• AI leverages threat intelligence and vulnerability data to build confidence in its threat assessments.
• Thought leadership content highlights a company’s deep understanding of industry issues and establishes them as innovative and credible experts.
Usable information:
• AI doesn’t just identify threats; it provides context and actionable recommendations to security teams.
• Thought leadership goes beyond raising awareness; it offers practical solutions and best practices to help businesses meet complex challenges.
Offer benefits to everyone
This approach benefits everyone. Whether using AI to filter alerts or thought leadership to improve marketing efforts, marketing teams attract qualified leads and build trust. Security teams see reduced alert fatigue and make better decisions. Businesses benefit from a more robust security posture.
Marketing teams:
By combining thought leadership with traditional marketing efforts, marketing teams can:
Draw attention: Thought leadership attracts the attention of potential customers by demonstrating expertise and offering valuable insights, increasing brand awareness and building trust.
Qualify prospects: Thought leadership content attracts prospects with specific challenges you can address, attracting qualified prospects who are genuinely interested in your solutions.
Brand differentiation: Thought leadership positions your company as a forward-thinking industry expert, setting you apart from competitors offering the same products or services.
Improved credibility: Highlighting expertise builds trust with potential customers, making them more receptive to your marketing messages.
Drive sales engagement: Trust built through thought leadership makes it easier to engage with potential customers because they already perceive your company as an expert with the knowledge to solve their problems.
Security teams:
Effective use of AI in cybersecurity allows analysts to achieve the following:
Reduced alert fatigue: AI prioritizes threats based on their relevance, allowing security analysts to focus on investigating real threats.
Faster response times: By filtering false positives, AI enables faster identification and response to real security incidents.
Improved decision making: AI provides context and intelligence about threats, enabling security teams to make more informed decisions.
Improved efficiency: AI automates repetitive tasks, allowing security teams to devote their expertise to more strategic initiatives.
Takeaways
In the age of information overload, cybersecurity and marketing need strategies to stand out. Just as AI is crucial for cybersecurity professionals, thought leadership is essential in marketing to businesses. With a focus on relevance, credibility and actionable insights, AI and thought leadership can help organizations identify what really matters and achieve their goals.
So the next time you develop your marketing strategy, remember the power of thought leadership. It’s your AI that allows you to attract and engage with the right customers in a world full of unnecessary information.
Forbes Communications Council is an invitation-only community for leaders of successful PR, media strategy, creative and advertising agencies. Am I eligible?
