Audience 1st

How we relate ourselves to others helps us deal with immediate challenges and provides us with the toolbox to navigate our immediate surroundings. If you’re phasing into cybersecurity marketing or are already working in cybersecurity as a marketer, it may come as no surprise that you must have some thick skin for the job. Between aggressive goals, sometimes stressful and fast-response support required, pressure to “rise above the noise”, ever-changing technology, and audiences that are sometimes hard to reach - all that can sometimes take a mental and emotional toll. Despite the challenges we, as marketers, face, it doesn’t mean you have to suffer, lose motivation or have feelings of negativity in your personal and professional life. There are ways to navigate fear, frustration, and imposter syndrome if you feel it like I sometimes do. In this episode, I had a refreshing and open conversation with Nadja El Fertasi, Founder of Founder Thrive with EQ and Emotional Firewalls. We discussed how to build emotional firewalls to become more resilient in today’s age and how to navigate fear, step out of your comfort zone, establish boundaries, and understand your audience. Join Audience 1st Today Join 300+ cybersecurity marketers and sellers mastering security buyer research to better understand their audience and turn them into loyal customers: https://www.audience1st.fm/

Ryan Cloutier, President of SecurityStudio, champions genuine relationships over profit-driven motives in the cybersecurity realm. He emphasizes that engaged employees are essential to defense strategies, challenging misleading industry tactics. Ryan discusses the importance of relatable marketing that resonates personally while addressing frustration with aggressive vendor practices. He advocates for transparency, ethical interactions, and genuine client relationships, encouraging a cultural shift towards meaningful engagement in business and cybersecurity.

It's okay to have a positive, crisp, and clean association with negative press. But it's best to steer clear of it altogether. When’s the last time you’ve heard, ‘simple is more’? Or, ‘keep it basic’? If it’s been a while, this episode will be a good refresher for you. When approaching your marketing strategies and tactics in the cybersecurity industry, particularly your messaging, it's best to just stick with the basics and the fundamentals. There is this constant need to overcomplicate with so many terms to stand out against the competitor, using negative press and ambulance-chasing to get the attention of the security practitioner. According to Allan Alford, CISO of TrustMAPP, “it should really be a conversation with your audience.” In this episode, I had a brutally honest conversation with Allan on what motivates him, what his challenges are, what vendors do that piss him off, and the alternatives. Join Audience 1st Today Join 300+ cybersecurity marketers and sellers mastering security buyer research to better understand their audience and turn them into loyal customers: https://www.audience1st.fm/

In a candid conversation, Chris Roberts, a CISO, hacker, researcher, and advisor, shares his insights into the cybersecurity landscape. He discusses the dual battles security practitioners face against both adversaries and unhelpful vendors, emphasizing the need for genuine relationships in marketing. Chris highlights frustrations with industry shortcomings and the importance of transparency and education in vendor-customer interactions. His call for authentic connections and proactive solutions resonates in an often cynical world, advocating for a community-driven approach.

Understanding your audience is a force multiplier. As a marketer, that is your differentiation. Thank you for joining me on this journey to becoming a more ethical and moral marketer. I want to stress that I am learning just like many of you. Constant learning, failing, and small, consistent, and incremental successes are what drive me forward. My hope is to share my findings, learnings, and successes with all of you, those phasing into the tech or cybersecurity or already a veteran in the space so that we, as marketers, salespeople, and vendors, can all become better at what we do while arming those who are on the front lines battling the latest threats or solving complex challenges as things change in this digital world. Unlock unlimited, premium access to the Vault The Audience 1st Vault is a private and safe space to connect with and learn from equally curious cybersecurity marketers, sellers, and practitioners. Get hundreds of rich cybersecurity buyer insights & discussions, packed with actionable advice from real security pros (+ more bonus, no-fluff content). Join here: https://www.audience1st.fm/vault-membership