Challenge:

• For over 20 years, Secureworks has been 100% focused on providing best-in-class cybersecurity solutions to mid-size and enterprise-level companies. In 2021, Secureworks launched Taegis™, a cloud-native security analytics platform built on more than two decades of threat intelligence and research. 
  
  
• Secureworks has been an industry leader in managed services. But with 310 billion+ security events processed daily, it aimed to be recognized for its SaaS solutions with a comprehensive suite of Taegis™ cybersecurity products. According to Lauren Biach, Global Campaign Specialist at Secureworks, “Our main goals in the Demand Center this past year have been generating new prospects for our Taegis™ solution and accelerating demand that’s further down in the funnel.” Specifically, the team sought to increase brand awareness of the new solution and deliver new sales pipeline through Marketing Qualified Leads. 
  
  
• In terms of content creation and promotion, the team at Secureworks had previously tried Sponsored Messaging campaigns for their cybersecurity and IT webinars (without Lead Generation Forms), but didn’t see significant results. They noticed that visitors would consume the content, but few were willing to click to another page and fill out the form.

Solution:

• Lauren’s team reviewed how they were currently leveraging LinkedIn as part of their content campaigns and brainstormed ways to maximize their digital marketing tech stack to be more personalized and targeted.
  
  
• The team decided to deploy Lead Gen Forms on LinkedIn across two targeted content campaigns. They used in-platform targeting to reach prospects interested in trending cybersecurity topics and content, such as ‘cloud software security’ and ‘cybersecurity best practices.’ The first was a Sponsored Message campaign with an on-page Lead Generation Form that promoted their Threat Intelligence Executive Report 2021 Vol. 5. The second Sponsored Content campaign promoted their new Ransomware Report 2021 Vol. 1 and leveraged a similar target audience. The ultimate goal of each campaign was to attract new leads and attract the right target audiences to consume our content.

Result:

• Secureworks’ Sponsored Message campaign for their Threat Intelligence Executive Report generated 275 leads with a $95 cost per lead. Their lead conversion rate exceeded 40%, making it the most successful sponsored message campaign they’ve run. According to Lauren, “When we compare across our marketing channels – organic search, organic social, and display – paid social, and specifically these LinkedIn campaigns, has generated the most direct conversions.”
  
  
• Secureworks’ Sponsored Content campaign for their Ransomware Report generated 118 leads and secured a significant engagement rate from their target audience. 
  
  
• By removing sign-up friction with Lead Gen Forms built directly into their sponsored LinkedIn content, Secureworks saw direct conversions increase by 400% in just seven months. In the year since Lauren first joined the company, direct conversions per month through their sponsored LinkedIn content have increased about tenfold.

>40% conversion rate from LinkedIn sponsored message campaign

+400% direct conversions just 7 months after campaign launch

Reach the right audience at the right time:

• To attract new prospects and rebrand the company to those who only knew Secureworks as a service provider, the team applied a strategic approach. Their campaigns were grounded in three strategic “pillars.” Their first strategic focus was to make sure every campaign and asset was aligned to real pain points that prospects were facing, rather than just promoting one-size-fits-all solutions. 
  
  
• Their second focus was to target the right audience at the right time, based on their current stage in the buyer’s journey. Presenting the right content at the wrong time was a missed opportunity. One critical way they implemented this was by optimizing the use of their marketing technology stack (and integrating with LinkedIn). For example, the team created custom audiences at different stages of the buyer’s journey using intent data from 6sense and Marketo. They then synced them with LinkedIn’s Campaign Manager Tool in order to target those custom audiences directly.

Make converting more convenient:

• Secureworks’ third focus was to remove conversion friction with LinkedIn Lead Gen Forms; they appear directly in sponsored content, so leads can autofill a form without leaving the page. The team hoped to address the challenge of form abandonment. Lauren explained, “What we’ve noticed that’s crucially different with LinkedIn—and what I think attributes to our success— is that, with other channels, we see lower conversion rates when we have to push users to an additional action to access the content.”
  
  
• Removing sign-up friction turned out to have a hugely positive impact, resulting in a 400%+ increase in LinkedIn conversions over seven months. With LinkedIn Lead Gen Forms, signing up is less disruptive, takes less time, and is far more convenient.

Working better together:

• Secureworks was so pleased with the success of their Lead Gen Form campaigns that they’ve decided to increase their investment in LinkedIn this year. “What we've seen is that (of course), when we increase our budget we achieve a greater ROI and significantly more direct conversions,” Lauren said. 
  
  
• In 2022 and beyond, Secureworks plans to test out Lead Gen Forms for other types of initiatives such as marquee events, account-based marketing (ABM), and industry-focused strategies. They plan on testing tailored content and messaging that resonates with target industries to identify the most optimized ad combinations.

• Secureworks plans to continue experimentation with LinkedIn and refine the overarching messaging for their global campaign strategy and content themes. Lauren closed with, “We’ve found our secret sauce, and we’re seeing success from LinkedIn. But in my head, there are endless possibilities, especially now that we’ve nailed down our strategy. We’re just getting started.”

About Secureworks

Secureworks (NASDAQ: SCWX) is a global cybersecurity leader that protects customer progress with Secureworks® Taegis™, a cloud-native security operations and analytics platform built on 20+ years of real-world threat intelligence and research, improving customers' ability to detect advanced threats, streamline and collaborate on investigations, and automate the right actions.