Top tips for helping your spokespeople unleash your cybersecurity firm’s voice
Having the right spokesperson can make or break a cybersecurity firm’s PR success.
From securing regular coverage in top tier trade publications, to branching out into national media and broadcast coverage, having someone who can compellingly share your company’s story is invaluable.
So here are a few tips on finding the right media representatives in your ranks and making the best of their talents.
Look for strong communicators
The ability to explain security trends in a clear and compelling way is worth its weight in gold. This includes adapting the message for the audience and medium. With national print and broadcast for example, it’s usually important to bring complex issues to a level that non-technical audiences can connect with.
Being an engaging speaker is also naturally useful. Using impactful phrases and weaving in analogies will help them to relate to the audience and stand out from the crowd, whether in interviews or written copy.
Having an affable, approachable nature helps too. Although a certain amount of gravitas can work wonders.
The value of knowledge and experience
Cybersecurity is a very precise field, so an experienced professional who can offer genuine insight and knowledge is one of the most valuable people to have in your lineup. This could be around a particular specialist field like threat hunting, or just a high degree of industry knowledge. Bringing real-life experiences and anecdotes into the conversation helps to build credibility.
Subject specialists are also strong candidates, even if they aren’t actively out there discussing it. Someone who can serve as a leader on a key topic like AI, vulnerability management, or regulatory compliance is a real boon to both securing media coverage and informing your strategy.
Diversity is also something to champion. With just a quarter of security practitioners being female for example, there is strong demand for women who can share their experiences and offer advice.
Anyone already active in the company or security community is an ideal candidate. Perhaps they’re contributing to the company blog, holding court on LinkedIn, or posting their own explainer videos on YouTube. Or better yet they might be out there speaking at industry events.
Nurturing your talent
We all know someone who manages to be knowledgeable, eloquent and personable all at the same time. To really rub it in, they might be humble about it too.
Most of us though will likely need some help to round out some skills.
For example, a naturally talkative and engaging individual may need to rein in their enthusiasm to keep on topic or hold back on things that aren’t publicly disclosable. It’s important to keep some things under wraps, such as a customer name under NDA or an upcoming announcement that is still being worked on.
On the other hand, a highly technically gifted practitioner could perhaps do so with some help opening up and relating high-level concepts to non-technical audiences.
Conducting media training can help less experienced spokespeople feel more at ease and get those fundamentals right. This will help cover the groundwork about what focus on and set out key messaging to incorporate.
There are two main approaches we find useful in nurturing your spokespeople’ talents.
Conduct interview workshops
Interviews are one of the best mediums for a skilled spokesperson to really make a difference. This could be a fact-finding discussion to help inform a journalist’s article, an interview for a Q&A style piece, or even a segment for TV or radio broadcast. It can be a daunting prospect if you’re not used to it.
We find journalist workshops can work wonders here. We like to have one of our team roleplaying as a journalist, or we may call in one of our friendly media contacts for the day. Once we’re set, we conduct mock interviews on the hot topic of the day, whether it’s a new company expansion or insight into the latest cyber threat trends.
Throwing in some curveballs and asking tough questions can test the spokesperson and prepare them for the experience of a genuine interview.
Support spokespeople with ghost writing
Written content is another highly valuable outlet, giving more direct control over your message and tone. However, not everyone has the time or experience to easily share their knowledge.
In this case, our specialist team of content writers excel in asking the right questions to tease out the key points and the right messaging and turns of phrase. The result is high quality copy that captures the spokesperson’s views, experience and personality.
If you’d like to get more of your team shouting from the rooftops and supporting your media ambitions, why not get in touch to see how we can help?