{"id":3951,"date":"2024-09-03T10:04:30","date_gmt":"2024-09-03T08:04:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.beyondproducts.io\/?p=3951"},"modified":"2024-09-06T09:46:58","modified_gmt":"2024-09-06T07:46:58","slug":"leveraging-linkedin-for-cybersecurity-marketing-is-an-untapped-opportunity","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beyondproducts.io\/en\/leveraging-linkedin-for-cybersecurity-marketing-is-an-untapped-opportunity\/","title":{"rendered":"Leveraging LinkedIn for cybersecurity marketing is an untapped opportunity"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Even if you know your target audience well and your product is technically robust, customers won’t just come knocking on your door. By sharing your valuable cybersecurity expertise, they get to know your organization, build trust in you as a specialist, and the sales will naturally follow. Knowledge sharing is, therefore, a strong starting point for the sales process, but which channels should you use for this? Is LinkedIn\u2014with all the ‘LinkedIn Lunatics’ and ‘Look at me’ posts\u2014an interesting platform for cybersecurity companies? <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Knowledge Sharing as the Starting Point of Your Marketing Strategy<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

What we often see in technical companies is the belief that their product doesn\u2019t need marketing. As technical specialists speaking the same language, they instinctively recognize quality work. While we completely understand this perspective, there\u2019s still a crucial step before that. Your target audience can\u2019t simply sense how good your product is. Therefore, sales are not guaranteed, even with a top-notch product. Without visibility and a strong positioning, your sales efforts rely heavily on your existing network. But your ambitions are bigger than that!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It usually doesn\u2019t work well to promote your product directly to ‘cold contacts.’ They don\u2019t yet know who you are, why they should do business with you, or what your product can offer them. That\u2019s why you start with knowledge sharing. Educational content that showcases your expertise, vision, and approach. This makes you visible, helps you build relationships with prospects, and strengthens trust in your cybersecurity knowledge and solutions\u2014without immediately pushing for a sale. The sales will follow naturally!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Why LinkedIn is a Good Marketing Channel for Cybersecurity Companies<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

There\u2019s been a lot of negativity about LinkedIn lately. The platform is often criticized for being dominated by narcissistic individuals, and the boastful posts can come across as insincere. No one wants to see yet another \u201cHow I Built a 6-Figure Business in 6 Months\u201d post. Not sure what we\u2019re talking about? Check out the LinkedIn Lunatics subreddit<\/a>. It\u2019s quite entertaining to read and can be reassuring when you realize your own posts aren\u2019t so outlandish after all!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This post by Bryan Shankman<\/a> is another great example of LinkedIn madness. Although his post went viral and he now has 10,000 followers, it also received a lot of negative feedback. It\u2019s questionable whether, despite the visibility, he actually benefited from it business-wise.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At the same time, LinkedIn remains the largest professional social media platform, and your target audience is active on it. Globally, the IT & Services sector is the most represented on LinkedIn, with an impressive 27 million people in this industry having a LinkedIn profile. In the Netherlands alone, cybersecurity specialists are well-represented on LinkedIn. A quick search among Dutch profiles yields over 2,000 CISOs, many of whom are active LinkedIn users\u2014more than a quarter have posted in the last 90 days. Considering that most people on LinkedIn are \u201clurkers\u201d (they read but don\u2019t comment, like, or post), this is an exceptionally high percentage. The mere presence of your target audience on LinkedIn makes it worthwhile to look past the negativity and engage in knowledge sharing on the platform.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Moreover, knowledge sharing on LinkedIn can truly benefit you. According to research by Sprout Social, 89% of B2B marketers use LinkedIn to generate leads. They leverage LinkedIn to boost conversion rates, seeing an average 33% increase in purchase intent. Additionally, 40% of B2B marketers consider LinkedIn the best channel for generating high-quality leads, partly due to its low costs. For example, the cost per lead is on average 28% lower than through Google AdWords.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To test this, we at Beyond Products took on our own LinkedIn challenge. The goal? To post once a week for six weeks. The impact was immediate\u2014we became more visible, grew our followers (Michelle went from 1,396 to 1,563 in six weeks), and gained clearer insights into our own story. A win-win!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A small caveat: LinkedIn isn\u2019t the perfect channel for everyone. It needs to suit you, and you must be willing to invest time in it. If the thought of posting on LinkedIn stresses you out or simply doesn\u2019t align with your personality, it might be better to explore other knowledge-sharing avenues, such as speaking at events or offering advice in one-on-one conversations. Successful marketing requires a method that fits both you and your organization.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Also, keep in mind that knowledge sharing on LinkedIn won\u2019t instantly flood your inbox with leads. It takes time to find your style, craft your posts, and establish yourself as an expert. So, determine your goal in advance and decide if the effort is worth the potential reward.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tips to Get Started<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

If you want to increase your visibility on LinkedIn, here are some tips to help you get started:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \n
  1. Engage with Others’ Posts<\/strong>: LinkedIn is a social platform, and you won\u2019t achieve much by just broadcasting your own content. It\u2019s about seeking interaction, and a thoughtful comment on someone else\u2019s post can have just as much impact as creating your own post. Ultimately, engaging with others also boosts the performance of your own posts.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  2. Consistency is Key<\/strong>: Posting once on LinkedIn and then disappearing for a long time isn\u2019t harmful, but it also won\u2019t bring you much success. To build an engaged audience, it\u2019s crucial to post and engage regularly. You\u2019ll see your follower count and reach grow significantly over time.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  3. Be Genuine<\/strong>: People can instantly tell if you\u2019re just trying to sell something. Make sure you\u2019re genuinely sharing value, showing real interest in your connections, and helping others. Your primary goal on LinkedIn should be sharing your knowledge\u2014the rest will follow.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  4. Avoid Automation Tools<\/strong>: There are plenty of tools that can take work off your hands, such as automatically sending connection requests or messages. At Beyond Products, we\u2019ve found that people are not receptive to this and that it yields very little. Likely for the same reason we just discussed\u2014it\u2019s not genuine. A personal approach is far more effective. Yes, it takes time, but marketing always requires time. However, you\u2019ll earn that time back many times over!<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  5. Set Realistic Goals<\/strong>: You don\u2019t need to post every day or spend more than a day a week on LinkedIn. Determine what\u2019s realistic for you. Posting once a week or every two weeks is also fine, as long as you\u2019re consistent.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  6. Develop Your Own Writing Style<\/strong>: There\u2019s no maximum or minimum post length, and you don\u2019t have to start a new line after every sentence. There\u2019s no single \u201cright\u201d way to post on LinkedIn, and don\u2019t let anyone tell you how to package your message. Ultimately, it\u2019s your story and your communication style that makes your posts recognizable and unique. Of course, it\u2019s still important to keep your audience in mind and what resonates with them.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  7. Your Opinion is Always Interesting Content<\/strong>: No inspiration for content? Think about tools you\u2019ve recently used, interesting news articles relevant to your audience, or developments in your field, and share your opinion on them. What do you think about this development, tool, or change? Has it benefited you or not? You can also draw inspiration from others\u2019 content that you find interesting and share your own perspective in a new post.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  8. Don\u2019t Stress Too Much About Hashtags<\/strong>: LinkedIn isn\u2019t Twitter (or should we say X now), and you don\u2019t need 20 hashtags in your LinkedIn posts. Hashtags do help with reach, so ask ChatGPT or another tool for help, and you\u2019ll quickly find the right hashtags for your post.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n

    LinkedIn as a Marketing Channel for Cybersecurity Companies<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

    So yes, we believe LinkedIn is a powerful marketing channel, even for cybersecurity companies. Overlook the negativity (you don\u2019t have to join the LinkedIn Lunatics\u2014you can chart your own course on the platform), share your expertise with your target audience, and connect with interesting prospects that way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Is LinkedIn not your channel after all? No worries. It\u2019s certainly not the only way to grow your business. Follow Beyond Products for more ideas. Struggling to get started? We\u2019re here to help! Contact us<\/a>, and we\u2019ll work together to get you on the right track.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    Even if you know your target audience well and your product is technically robust, customers won’t just come knocking on your door. By sharing your valuable cybersecurity expertise, they get to know your organization, build trust in you as a specialist, and the sales will naturally follow. Knowledge sharing is, therefore, a strong starting point…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":3957,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"_kad_blocks_custom_css":"","_kad_blocks_head_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_body_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_footer_custom_js":"","_kadence_starter_templates_imported_post":false,"_kad_post_transparent":"","_kad_post_title":"","_kad_post_layout":"","_kad_post_sidebar_id":"","_kad_post_content_style":"","_kad_post_vertical_padding":"","_kad_post_feature":"","_kad_post_feature_position":"","_kad_post_header":false,"_kad_post_footer":false,"_kad_post_classname":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[20],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3951","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blog-en"],"taxonomy_info":{"category":[{"value":20,"label":"Blog"}]},"featured_image_src_large":["https:\/\/www.beyondproducts.io\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/Ook-voor-cybersecurity-is-linkedin-een-goed-kanaal-1200x780.png",1200,780,true],"author_info":{"display_name":"Michelle Wols","author_link":"https:\/\/www.beyondproducts.io\/en\/author\/michelle\/"},"comment_info":"","category_info":[{"term_id":20,"name":"Blog","slug":"blog-en","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":20,"taxonomy":"category","description":"","parent":0,"count":24,"filter":"raw","cat_ID":20,"category_count":24,"category_description":"","cat_name":"Blog","category_nicename":"blog-en","category_parent":0}],"tag_info":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beyondproducts.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3951","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beyondproducts.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beyondproducts.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beyondproducts.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beyondproducts.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3951"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.beyondproducts.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3951\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3959,"href":"https:\/\/www.beyondproducts.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3951\/revisions\/3959"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beyondproducts.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3957"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beyondproducts.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3951"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beyondproducts.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3951"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beyondproducts.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3951"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}