Why Community Matters for Cybersecurity PR Professionals 

Community is at the heart of everything we do at Eskenzi PR, instinctively. It may seem strange that, as a cybersecurity PR agency, we spend so much of our time immersing ourselves in the wider community, yet that’s a key cornerstone of our day-to-day. 

Getting involved in the wider community deepens our technical knowledge, helps us to understand the problems and pain points of our client’s target audiences, and helps us build meaningful connections and trust with our peers, from practitioners and CISOs to journalists, analysts and marketing teams.

Going Old School: Meeting People in Person

In many ways, the pandemic changed how us cybersecurity PR professionals ‘meet’ the wider community. For many years, in person meetings took a step back in favour of virtual meetings. However, the physical meeting has since made a comeback. From our popular journalist drinks last Christmas and meeting up with clients in person to attending tradeshows and hosting global analysts and CISOs at The IT Security Analyst and CISO Forum, in person meet ups – as ‘old school’ as they might seem – are definitely making a comeback.

However, the ability to connect virtually has exponentially expanded our ability to reach and connect with people across the globe. This has meant that we’ve been able to build our community on a global scale. 

Immersing Ourselves as Cyber Pros, Not PR People

As a dedicated cybersecurity PR agency, we live and breathe cyber. That means that many members of our team engage with the community outside of the 9 to 5 job. For example, some members of our team are personal WiCyS UK members, others volunteer on cyber community events. By being visible in these spaces, we strengthen our individual connections with the industry too.

Curating Community: Pioneering Events 

At Eskenzi PR and Marketing, we also curate these communities ourselves as part of our wider approach to cybersecurity PR. From our popular Security Serious Unsung Heroes Awards to The Most Inspiring Women in Cyber Awards, we have spent many years curating and pioneering our own accessible events that bring the entire community together. Through sponsorship, these events proudly remain completely free to engage with, lowering the barriers of entry for those who may need, but not be able to access, a community of like minded professionals. 

We also work closely with the CISO community through events like the IT Security Analyst and CISO Forum, our partnership with Pulse Conferences and our co-founder Neil Stinchcombe’s voluntary work with the White Hat Ball.   

Building trust with partners, journalists and industry pros

Finally, being immersed in the community helps us as cybersecurity PR professionals build trust with partners and clients, industry professionals and journalists alike. We’re the friendly faces that our peers can rely on every time.