How to Implement Cybersecurity Best Practices Into Your Marketing

Even before Covid, the world was becoming increasingly accustomed to moving their lives online. Shopping, news, and connecting with loved ones were all daily activities. Since 2020, however, there has been a remarkable shift to even more staple life activities on the internet. People work from home, run businesses, and even go to school online in unprecedented numbers.

These shifts make it almost impossible for internet users to avoid providing sensitive information that could put them at risk for hacking scams, financial loss, or other personal data being exposed through digital channels. In addition, cyber-attacks were at an all-time high in 2021, with some attacks making big splashes in the media and putting cybersecurity top-of-mind for today’s consumers. However, amid cyber threats, a new, emerging opportunity is materializing for companies: merging marketing with cybersecurity puts today’s consumers at ease.

Typically thought of as two separate departments, marketing and cybersecurity teams are at the precipice of a new era where combining cybersecurity best practices with marketing strategy will become a best practice unto itself. Here is how companies can start protecting their customers’ data and effectively communicating about their practices through marketing.

How Cybersecurity and Marketing Work Together

85% of consumers wish they could trust online companies more to protect them from cyber-attacks. The seeds of trust are sewn through marketing and nurtured through customer experience. Typically, technology and marketing may as well live on different planets, even if working for the same company. But the increasing demand for top-notch cyber security means that CMOs and CTOs can work together to bolster security and design quality customer service.

With these two departments working together, marketing can paint a picture of what consumers can expect in terms of their data being well-taken care of, and the technology department can deliver the experience the consumers expect.

Cybersecurity and Marketing Strategy Best Practices

As this is an emerging collaboration new to many companies, it’s essential to follow best practices when implementing cybersecurity best practices into your marketing.

Be Transparent

Let the consumer know how you will use their data, how you collect it, and where you store it.

Focus on Earning and Building Your Customers’ Trust

By anticipating your customers’ questions and concerns about cybersecurity, you’ll position your company as a trusted authority capable of keeping their information safe from cyber-attacks. In addition, you foster long-term relationships by actively educating them about your cybersecurity practices and delivering on their expectations.

Different ways to inform consumers about cyber security practices include:

• Long-form blog posts
• Mini-courses
• White papers
• Webinars

Collect Only the Data You Need

Data is precious in today’s marketplace and the inclination to gather as much as possible is understandable. However, a trusted brand reputation is just as, if not more, valuable as data. By collecting only the data you need, you show restraint, which is likely a welcome respite from the many requests for personal information that consumers encounter daily.

Establish Safety Nets for the Worst-Case Scenario

Even if you have the most talented and sophisticated tech team at your disposal, there is no such thing as a 100% guarantee against cyber-attacks. Part of being proactive is establishing a protocol for the worst-case scenario and educating consumers about what that would mean for them. It might be uncomfortable to address the possibility of an attack, but ensuring your customers that you have a plan to recover if things go wrong will likely put their minds at ease.

Establish Cybersecurity Policy Based on the Customers’ Best Interests

It might seem obvious, but letting values such as integrity and transparency guide your policies and procedures shows in customer experience. The highly-valued trust factor will start to set in as your customers witness evidence that you have their best interests at heart. Not only can you use trust-building values as a foundation for policy and procedure, but you can weave narratives into marketing to show customers what they can expect.

What’s more, a trust-building experience will generate some of the most effective marketing any company could hope for: testimonials and social sharing.

Integrate Humanity With Technology

Ultimately, technology and gaps in cyber security are driven by human behavior. Staying ahead of the curve in this domain requires creative thinking, just as AwareGo, a cybersecurity awareness training company, expertly demonstrates.

The company’s method of working with tech teams to identify vulnerabilities goes beyond the numbers. It taps into the human aspect, acknowledging and working with the individuals responsible for creating the capabilities that keep personal data safe and build trust over the long haul. It ends up being the perfect marriage of humanity beyond the numbers and screens, a fitting result of the relatively-novel combination of marketing and technology.

You can learn more about human-centric cybersecurity by connecting with AwareGo and we invite you to reach out to our marketing and technology team when you need expert advice on implementing cybersecurity best practices into your marketing strategy.