YouTube is a credible channel to consider in cybersecurity marketing, but available evidence does not show that it is uniquely effective—or the top channel—for CISOs, managed security providers or small and midsize businesses (SMBs). The strongest case is that video can help educate and build familiarity during a broader B2B buying journey, before a formal procurement process begins. Marketers should test that role against their own qualified-lead and revenue goals.
What the evidence says about YouTube and B2B buying
Think with Google reported in May 2024 that Gartner found 65% of B2B buyers were influenced by YouTube during a recent purchase decision. This is a broad B2B figure: Google is reporting Gartner’s finding, and the article does not supply the underlying report details. It does not establish the same influence among cybersecurity buyers specifically, or prove YouTube outperforms other channels. Think with Google’s B2B marketing article is the source context.
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The same article summarizes Google and Bain research on the wider B2B buying process: buying committees averaged 17 cross-functional stakeholders, and 92% of buyers already had a preferred-vendor shortlist before beginning the buying process. These figures support a practical point: awareness and trust may matter before a buyer raises a formal request. They are not cybersecurity-specific measurements.
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One free scan finds every outdated or missing driver and matches the right update for your exact hardware.Free scan · exact hardware matchIn April 2026, Think with Google summarized U.S. Google/Kantar viewer research fielded from December 10, 2025, to January 12, 2026. It reported that 87% of surveyed U.S. viewers said YouTube introduces them to new things they would not have found on their own. YouTube VP of Ads Marketing Anne Marie Nelson-Bogle wrote, “Viewers rank YouTube as the No. 1 platform they turn to when they want to research or make a decision about a brand, product, or service.” Both claims concern broad U.S. viewer research published by the platform, not cybersecurity decision-makers. The April 2026 article gives the study context.
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Why CISOs, MSSPs and SMBs need separate strategies
The three audiences in the headline are connected, but they are not interchangeable. A CISO may evaluate risk, governance and business continuity; an MSSP may assess service delivery, differentiation and operational fit; an SMB may seek practical protection and decide whether to buy directly or through a provider. Those are useful message-planning distinctions, not findings measured by the cited YouTube studies.
CISOs: earn attention with substance
For security leaders, use video to explain a meaningful risk, control or operational decision clearly. Avoid treating a broad B2B influence statistic as proof that CISOs use YouTube to select vendors. The landing page for ISMG’s 2025 CISO Engagement and Decision Drivers Study describes research into cybersecurity content engagement, but it does not publish a YouTube-specific finding. See the study page.
MSSPs: speak to both buyers and partners
Service providers can use educational video to clarify what a service does, which organizations it suits and how delivery works. Whether YouTube reaches the relevant decision-makers or channel partners is something to validate with audience and campaign data; the sources reviewed do not establish an MSSP-specific YouTube effect.
SMBs: account for managed-provider purchasing
An Analysys Mason 2025 survey found that over a third of surveyed SMBs purchased cybersecurity solutions from managed service providers (MSPs). The survey covered Germany, Singapore, the UK and the U.S.; the channel question had 1,215 respondents. This shows managed providers matter in those markets, not that SMBs use YouTube to choose one. The survey question asked, “From which of these channels does your company purchase the majority of your cyber security solutions”. Read the survey report hosted by Check Point.
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Use video for a defined job in the buyer journey
Rather than treating YouTube as a standalone answer to cybersecurity marketing, assign each video a purpose and an intended audience. A coherent sequence might introduce a problem, explain the available approaches, and then answer detailed questions for prospects evaluating a solution. This is a planning framework, not a promise that video will outperform another channel.
- Discovery: Use concise videos to introduce a specific problem or idea to people who may not yet be evaluating vendors.
- Education: Use explainers to make a security concept, risk or service easier to understand.
- Evaluation: Use demonstrations or in-depth walkthroughs to answer concrete questions a prospective buyer is likely to ask.
- Credibility: Consider a specialist creator partnership only when that person has a genuine fit with the audience and subject. Google documents creator partnership options, but their effectiveness depends on the campaign and audience.
Google’s advertising guidance covers multiple YouTube formats and recommends varied creative. Treat that as platform guidance to test, not as evidence that every format works for every cybersecurity audience. Google’s November 2024 overview describes options for brands.
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Compare YouTube with other channels on the measures that matter
The available figures do not establish that YouTube leads other channels for CISOs, MSSPs or SMBs. A fair comparison should account for:
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- Audience fit: Are the intended buyers or influencers actually engaging with the content?
- Funnel role: Is the channel meant to create awareness, explain a complex issue, or generate a conversion?
- Creative effort: What does it take to produce and maintain useful video, and is that effort proportionate to the objective?
- Attribution and delay: Can the organization connect exposure to qualified inquiries or revenue, including when conversions happen later?
- Business results: How does the channel perform against the organization’s own qualified-lead and revenue measures?
Set up campaigns to learn, not just to spend
Choose a measurable objective before launching: for example, qualified inquiries, attended demonstrations or another outcome that can be tied to the campaign. Make sure conversion tracking reflects that objective, and define the audience and creative variations to test. Google’s current Demand Gen documentation recommends practices involving creative variety, audience setup and conversion measurement; these are platform recommendations, not a guarantee of results.
Google Ads Help reports that advertisers adopting at least three of its four recommended Demand Gen practices saw, on average, over 40% more conversions and 30% higher conversion value. Those are Google-reported platform outcomes, not independent forecasts for cybersecurity advertisers. The same guidance warns that conversion lag and daily volatility can make a single day’s results a poor basis for judgment. Evaluate performance over a period appropriate to the campaign and the time it takes prospects to convert. Google Ads Help: The YouTube Performance Four.
Quick Recap
What the current evidence does—and does not—establish
- Supported: Broad B2B research reported by Google indicates YouTube can influence purchase decisions, while Google and Bain’s reported findings highlight the importance of early awareness in buying journeys.
- Supported with a different scope: The Analysys Mason survey shows MSPs are a meaningful cybersecurity purchase channel for surveyed SMBs in four named markets.
- Not established: The cited material does not prove YouTube is the leading or most effective marketing channel for CISOs, MSSPs or SMBs, nor that the SMBs buying through MSPs used YouTube to choose them.
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