May 2010

Improve Your Odds of Speaking at RSA: Simple Tips for Success

It seems like RSA Conference 2010 was just yesterday, but already the RSA Conference 2011 has opened its call for speakers. The RSA Conference call for speakers is one of the most competitive selection processes among security shows, so we at Schwartz wanted to offer some inside information, “dos” and “don’ts” to help improve the chances that your selection proposal is accepted.

The RSA selection committee is comprised of industry-leading CISOs, security researchers, security analysts, government officials and lawyers. In 2010, the most common delegate demographics skewed toward government, financial services and IT security. It is also worth noting that one-in-five RSA attendees have been working in security for more than 16 years. It is essential to keep this audience in mind while developing your abstract.

Please DO:

•    Be compelling—Use the title of your proposal and the short abstract to grab the attention of the committee. There will be dozens of submissions on the same topic (cloud computing anyone?), so it’s up to you to come up with a creative way to break away from the blah, blah, blah.
•    Be detail-oriented—Use the long abstract to provide the line-by-line technical detail that illustrates you can deliver on the short abstract. Use the learning objectives as the foundation for your eventual presentation. This is the time and place to use the advanced terminology that would normally make a layman’s eyes glaze over. Dazzle the committee with your brilliance.
•    Be controversial—No one wants to attend a panel where everyone is arguing the same point-of-view, so if you can assemble a panel that debates many sides of a pertinent issue then the RSA selection committee will notice. For more bonus points, secure a well-known speaker as one of the panelists.
•    Put your best face forward—The RSA Conference call for speakers welcomes video submissions to support the full abstract. Plan ahead to produce a video that demonstrates your stage presence and expertise – or speak with Schwartz to learn about how our Digital Content Services can provide audio-visual support.

Please DON’T:

•    Don’t wait to submit your abstract until midnight on July 9—The early bird gets the worm. If you wait until the last minute then your submission will be lumped together with all the other last-minute proposals.
•    Don’t pitch your product—You aren’t Billy Mayes and RSA isn’t an infomercial. The selection committee will shred any submission that is product-focused. Even if you sneak past the selection committee, delegates will give you bad marks for a commercialized presentation, marring your record for the future.
•    Don’t speak outside your comfort zone—The selection committee will compare your speaker bio to the abstract and no matter how compelling the topic seems, if the speaker experience isn’t consummate with the abstract then it will get trashed.
•    Don’t skimp on the details—The long abstract should not be a copy and paste of the short abstract. The majority of rejected submissions get the axe because they lacked technical information in the long abstract, so provide the data to support your thesis.

To sum it all up: be interesting and original, detail-oriented and technically-proficient, don’t pitch your product and enter your submission as early as possible. What are you waiting for? Hop to it! (Or contact us for help).

Posted by Clinton Karr on May 25, 2010 at 1:44 PM
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Schwartz Security PR Team Wins SABRE Award

May is treating the Schwartz security team well. Last week, we were recognized with a SABRE Award in "Research for Publicity" for our work in "Research for Publicity" on behalf of Javelin Strategy & Research.

Schwartz and Javelin combined professional and social media to promote Javelin's annual identity fraud report, increasing media coverage 126 over previous years, and a whopping 97 percent of all articles emphasizing at least two key messages.

In addition to Javelin, some terrific Schwartz clients were recognized as SABRE Award finalists: antivirus and desktop security software provider ESET, medical device company Bioness and boutique healthcare investment services provider Leerink Swann. Although they didn't take home trophies, it's the first time the agency has emerged with four finalists in the SABREs.

Posted by Laura Kempke on May 21, 2010 at 9:51 AM
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RSA 2011: Call for Speakers

It seems like just yesterday that the IT security world converged at San Francisco’s Moscone Center for RSA 2010, and already, the call for speakers has opened for next year’s event.

Speaking at RSA is one of the most strategic ways to get involved in the conference from a company visibility and thought leadership perspective. But getting accepted can be challenging. The competition is fierce.

Based on many years of securing RSA speaking slots for clients, we’ll be sharing tips and tricks in subsequent blog posts for increasing your chances of success. To start, we encourage you to attend the following webcast:

Date: Thursday, May 20, 2010
Time: 2:00 p.m. ET (11:00 a.m. PT) 

Webcast: Getting Your Session Proposal Accepted

Overview:  

Improve your chances of becoming a speaker at RSA Conference 2011! Get the inside track on Conference requirements and how to increase your visibility amongst the Program Committee.

This webcast will cover the details of the RSA Conference 2011 Call for Speakers submission process. Join Program Committee Chair, Hugh Thompson and Jeanne Friedman, RSA Conference Content Editor, as they provide a detailed understanding of how the selection process works.

If you can’t attend, don’t sweat it. The Schwartz security practice group will be tuning in to make things easy on you. Post-webcast we’ll post our notes right here to Tangled Web.

Posted by Tiffany Darmetko on May 20, 2010 at 9:13 AM
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Reap and Sow: Cultivating Media Relationships Delivers Dividends

There is an age-old adage that you reap what you sow. You can't grow a tree if you don't plant a seed. It’s no different in public relations. You can’t generate coverage if you don’t build relationships with the media and you can’t build those relationships unless you have something of value to offer. A public relations professional that is helpful and friendly becomes viewed as a resource over time.

For example, in 2008, a system administrator named Terry Childs made news in San Francisco when he changed network passwords and locked city government out of critical systems. When the story broke in San Francisco, none of the usual security publications had posted a story, which presented an opportunity to educate them on the situation.

Schwartz notified Computerworld reporter Jaikumar Vijayan of the breaking news and offered to connect him with our client, Vormetric, a data encryption company. Vijayan was grateful to be made aware of the incident and his follow up story on insider threats included commentary from Vormetric CEO Richard Gorman.

Even better, Vijayan followed up with Schwartz two years later to request another interview with Gorman after Childs was found guilty. With all of the pro-active and outbound communication Schwartz conducts for our clients, it’s nice to know that we are also building great relationships with reporters that turn to us when they need a source.

Posted by Clinton Karr on May 19, 2010 at 9:33 AM
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Security Companies: Five Simple Reasons Why You Need To Be On Twitter

If you are a marketing or communications professional who has either asked the question or have had it asked of you, "Why should our company be on Twitter?" -- the following thoughts and tips can serve as a primer to help answer that question. However, because communications is not a black and white science, Twitter (or other social media tools) might not be for everyone. And like all communications vehicles, if you don't feed it consistently, don't expect anything in return.
 
For many, Twitter has very quickly become a vital communications tool in the world of marketing and communications and those who have embraced the tool and put a strategy in place have reaped some nice benefits. It is no longer just a bunch of people fiddling with the technology and saying, "I am having pizza for dinner" or some other mindless sharing of information that they believe is somehow of interest to those in their network. Sure, there is plenty of mindless chatter that takes place on Twitter, but if you build a particular ecosystem that works best for you or your company, you will find that even some of the mundane chatter can be helpful in getting to know folks that run in the same circles as you -- and can be put to use in a variety of ways as part of your relationship development efforts.
 
With that said, here are a few reasons why security companies need to be on Twitter:
 
1.  YOUR COMPETITION IS ON THERE
Believe it or not, there are a lot of security companies that have Twitter handles. Some use Twitter as a very effective communications tool and others are still trying to figure out how to best leverage the social media phenomenon and micro blogging site in a way that makes the most sense for their company and corresponding audience. But make no mistake about it, they are on there. And if they aren't very active now, you can bet they are trying to figure out a way to be.
 
Starting point recommendation: At a minimum, if you are thinking about jumping into the Twitter fray, have someone on your team sign up and secure a company handle. Similar to how URLs were snatched up in year's past and held hostage, there are no protection mechanisms in place to keep people from registering a handle under your company name. So, the sooner you do it, the better -- even if you don't do anything with it initially (at Schwartz, we have done this on behalf of several of our clients, just to ensure they have the handle they want when they are ready). Also, check out what your competitors are doing on Twitter to see what ideas you might be able to incorporate into your own game plan and to learn more about how to build or enhance your presence and how it can tie into your other communications efforts.
 
2.  JOURNALISTS, ANALYSTS AND PUBLICATIONS TOO!
Lately, I have heard people saying, "Traditional public relations is dying." I would (and have) argue that point by saying that it is not dying, but it is most certainly evolving. Keep in mind, there was a time when traditional public relations consisted of mailing hard copies of press releases. Then came the fax machine. Then email. Twitter and other social media tools are simply an extension of how PR practitioners communicate with journalists, analysts and publications (be it print or online). Make no mistake about it, though, while not every journalist, analyst and publication out there is actively Tweeting, more and more are each and every day. Don't believe me? Check out tools like Muck Rack if you haven't done so already.
 
Starting point recommendation: "Follow" any and all of these folks who you perceive to be influencers in the security space. Often times, many will reciprocate and will "follow" you back. Then you are off to the races in starting to build out your audience and create a "following" that enables the powerful viral effect of Twitter to work on your behalf. If nothing else, be a "lurker" and keep tabs on the types of conversations that these folks are having. You will be surprised how much you learn about their day to day lives and the types of stories they work on.
 
3.  INDUSTRY INFLUENCERS AND EXPERTS
A great way to get an education on the types of conversations that are being had on Twitter that are directly relevant to your company's world is by following many of the other industry influencers and experts out there. These are not necessarily journalists or analysts, but in the security community it may consist of very active voices that you might see regularly on the trade show circuit speaking, authors, researchers, etc. While some of these chats might be down in the weeds and on a technical level beyond your own personal comprehension, it is important to see what these folks are discussing so that you may share it with the experts on your own team who are not on Twitter or continue to tell you that there is no value in their having a handle due to lack of relevance.
 
Starting point recommendation: Leverage your existing internal resources by asking your company's own experts to find out who they feel are the true gurus in the security space and if they were on Twitter, who they would consider following. You can do searches on Twitter for the names that you come up with. Another easy way to find out if these people are on Twitter is to do a simple Google search with their name and Twitter (ex: "First Name Last Name" Twitter). This will very likely open up a whole new world of security contacts out there for you to follow. And be sure to take a look at who is following them. Chances are pretty good you will uncover a bunch of journalists, or at least the ones who are most active on Twitter and best connected to industry sources.
 
4.  YOUR PEERS
Similar to keeping tabs on other companies that compete with your own, consider following those who you consider to be your peers in the industry. If you are a late comer to Twitter, know that Twitter is not like Facebook where you need to make a request to be "friends" or to follow. Once you click "Follow", you are automatically able to view that person's updates, as well as those they follow and who follows them. You do have the option of "blocking" someone on Twitter to keep them from being a part of your personal community, but from what I have seen, not many make that an active practice. This can be a very effective way to do some easy research to get a sense as to who your competition considers to be a important influencers in the specific area that you compete in. As the  saying goes, "Keep your friends close, but your enemy closer."
 
Starting point recommendation: Make a list of the companies that your company competes with. Start with the most direct competitors first, then move on to the next tier. Also include those organizations whose marketing and communications efforts you admire. From there, if you are not aware already, learn who your counterparts are at these organizations and begin following them. Learn what types of posts they make on a regular basis as well as keeping tabs on who they are following. This process may provide you with some excellent ideas to incorporate as part of your own Twitter best practices for your personal handle or the company's handle alike.
 
5.  IT IS AN EXTENSION OF YOUR COMMUNICATIONS PLAN
Twitter is not the end-all, be-all answer to the social media bucket, but it is certainly a powerful component. As mentioned above, Twitter (and other social media tools) is a part of the ongoing evolution of PR and how you as a communications professional must evolve as well. As you continue to put together your communications plans, whether near term or broad view, consider adding a bullet point (or section) for how you will leverage Twitter as a part of the overall strategy. Many companies will use it to let folks know when (and where) they are at events, promote announcements, discuss upcoming webinars and the like, contribute to the "conversation" when it comes to industry chatter taking place across their own "Twitterverse".
 
Starting point recommendation: Be sure to first understand what you want to get out of your Twitter experience, as this can be different for everyone. Knowing this will help you better understand the resources that you choose to put behind it. Like with PR and any other form of marketing or communications, if you fail to have a true game plan that includes goals, objectives and execution strategy, you are less likely to fully leverage the tremendous benefits that this powerful viral communications tool has to offer.  
 
Final parting thought:
Once you reach the point where you are ready to take your personal or corporate Twitter presence to the next level, keep in mind the following: In order for your message to be heard, you need to have followers and the "If a tree falls in the woods..." adage holds true, especially on Twitter.  So, once you have your initial Twitter strategy and infrastructure up and running, do your best to build your following by including your personal and/or corporate handle in your marketing and communications materials, as well as on your business cards or email auto signatures -- much the same as you do with your company's website URL.
 
Best of luck to you and your organization in your new Twitter adventures. You can follow us at: 

@SchwartzComm (Schwartz Communications)
@TangledWebPR (Schwartz Security Practice)
@prman (Me)

Posted by Tim Whitman on May 11, 2010 at 12:55 PM
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