About 10 or 12 years ago, I discovered something I didn’t know existed: an entire month dedicated to cybersecurity awareness.
I didn’t find it while looking for my next marketing campaign. I found it while researching a problem affecting the people we served.
At the time, I was leading marketing for software and services at a public safety company that was evolving from hardware into software. My team’s portfolio included cybersecurity services, and one of the audiences we supported was public safety answering points: the 911 centers people depend on when something goes terribly wrong.
Cyberattacks on these centers were becoming a serious concern. These weren’t businesses worried about lost files. They were emergency communications centers helping people through some of the worst moments of their lives.
The thought of those systems being disrupted carried a different kind of weight.
I wanted our customers to understand what was happening, which risks were emerging, and what they could do to protect themselves. So I started researching, and that’s when I came across Cybersecurity Awareness Month.
I immediately saw an opportunity. Not another promotion and not another advertisement about why someone should buy our services, but a chance to raise awareness of a problem they couldn’t afford to ignore.
So I built a campaign to educate our customers and become a resource before something went wrong. I wanted people to trust our company, though not because we told them how great we were. I wanted to earn that trust by being useful.
That experience has stayed with me. Now, working in legal technology, I keep asking: Why do we spend so much time telling people how good we are, and so little helping them understand the problems they face?
here’s what i want law firms to think about.
Attorney billboards are everywhere. So are commercials with big promises, memorable phone numbers, and attorneys telling viewers why they should call. There’s absolutely a place for that kind of advertising.
Now imagine what would happen if law firms put just as much creativity into educating the communities they serve.
A family law firm could help people recognize early signs of financial control in a relationship. A personal injury firm could explain what to document after an accident. An estate planning attorney could help adult children start difficult conversations with aging parents before a crisis.
Not every message has to begin with “Hire us.” Sometimes the most meaningful thing your firm can say is, “Here’s something you should know.”
That’s especially true in October. Law firms hold medical records, financial information, family histories, and details of some of the most painful experiences in people’s lives. Clients aren’t just trusting you with documents. They’re trusting you with pieces of their lives.
Use this month to teach them something. Show them how to spot a suspicious request for information, explain how your firm handles sensitive documents, and remind them to verify unexpected payment instructions before sending money. Then keep going after October ends.
here’s the lesson i learned all those years ago.
Some of the strongest marketing ideas don’t come from brainstorming ways to generate more business. They come from paying attention: researching what customers are experiencing, listening to what scares them, confuses them, or keeps them from moving forward, and then being willing to do something useful with what you’ve learned.
That’s how I discovered Cybersecurity Awareness Month, and it’s how I’ve approached marketing ever since. I don’t believe the job is simply to make a company look good. I believe it’s to help people understand why something matters, especially when they may not know what questions to ask.
The best time to earn someone’s trust isn’t necessarily when they’re ready to buy from you.
Sometimes it’s long before that. When you help them recognize a problem. When you give them information that protects them. When you show them that you care enough to have the conversation, even if it never leads to a sale.
That’s the kind of marketing I believe in, and it’s the challenge I want to leave with law firms this month. Don’t just remind people that Cybersecurity Awareness Month exists. Give them a reason to be more aware.
keep the conversation going.
At Neostella, we believe firms should have control over the information their clients trust them to protect.
This Cybersecurity Awareness Month, I encourage legal leaders to ask harder questions about where their data lives, who can access it, and how it’s protected.
Read our latest perspective, your data is not ours, and start that conversation with your team.
