A few weeks back the SEC (The Securities and Exchange Commission) ruled that public companies were now free to release their important information though social media channels. Since this ruling there has been a debate in the investment community as to what this means for the future of the industry. Some welcome the use of social media while others are continuing to lobby that the way things were worked just fine.

Because of this debate, we took to the street, Wall Street, to ask the people that this ruling will affect what they thought. We surveyed stock brokers, financial and market analysts, financial advisors, individual traders and fund managers, and made their results into the infographic below.

What we learned by doing this was that Wall Street, and investor relations in general, is changing. As the younger generation that embraces technology is coming into power in the workplace, we found that they are also the new workforce that embraces social media. And for more than just keeping in touch with friends.

We found that the investment crowd under 40 support the SEC’s decision to allow the distribution of information through social media. In fact, 60% of those surveyed and were under 40 said that they regularly consult social channels to research investments. But it’s not just the under 40 crowd. 40% of all survey respondents said that they were using social media to find information.

We also found that 49% of our responders companies blocked social media from the workplace, making it hard for them to use it as a source while at work. However, 48% of those people said that they had witnessed colleagues using personal devices, like a smartphone or tablet, to consult social media for investment information anyways.

It appears that the younger generation of investors is rewriting how business is done, and social seems to be part of it.

What do you think?

By Darin Wolter, EVP of Global Sales for Marketwired

By now, you have probably either read or heard about the SEC’s latest ruling regarding social media and how companies can disclose material information, such as earnings or market moving information via social channels. In an evolving age of social communication, this is an important step and a natural one. While the ruling came as big news to many, those of us at Marketwired were happy to learn the SEC is embracing options that make it easier for companies to share information with their stakeholders in ways that work for them.

We recognize that not every company is going to immediately turn to Facebook and Twitter to post their acquisitions and earnings, but if you are an IRO, Investor Relations Professional, you likely have questions, which is good, now is the time to begin planning. Here are a few guidelines we recommend following:

• All Smart Social Strategy starts with listening. Start monitoring social media if you aren’t doing so already. Watch for your company name and keywords related to your company and industry. Tune into what employees and executives are saying. Also tune into what your investors are reading on social channels (because they are paying attention.)_ It is likely your PR or Marketing Department is already listening, meet with them to discuss what information you need and how to monitor for IR’s interests.
• Join the conversation, begin to better understand what social disclosure strategy is best for your company and gain comfort with the process. You can start simple, by tweeting a link to your earnings press release.  The immediate benefit is to create a reputation, crisis and general risk management channel that is trusted by the organization’s top investors and analysts.
• Review your company’s social media policy. Make sure it covers disclosure issues and what to do if a mistake is made. Make it a point to educate executives and share updates.
• Register an Investor Relations (IR) Twitter handle and dedicate a portion of your Facebook page to IR. Your social channels should reflect your website and have a dedicated IR section.
  • The IR section of the newsroom has to reflect that a company uses its social handles to disseminate information.
  • Establish these social sources as credible, corporate social channels. This will decrease confusion if there are others.
  • Publish handles everywhere: on your website, on news releases, etc.
  • Use these handles to tweet links to releases and blogs.

• Educate investors on which social channels they can leverage and how to do so, then publish this information on your IR website. A thorough Q&A will help your analyst and financial community, as well as the general public, better understand the disclosure process.
• Spend time with top investors, prospects and analysts to understand their views on social channels as acceptable and useful forms of disclosure.
• Develop a solid social media crisis plan that addresses a range of “what if?” scenarios. It is critical to ensure there is a crisis plan in place for the company. From people to procedures, the planning should be proactive.

Ultimately, the market sets what qualifies as good communication and transparency for a publicly traded company. Companies have many options, which gives them the ability to develop a communication plan that works best for their stakeholders and investors. IRO pros should be motivated by the social demand of their key audiences, and inspired to embrace options that support effective, efficient communication. This isn’t a revolution; it’s an evolution.

Your investors are active on social channels, which means there is an increasing expectation that all of your company is represented in the social space as well. This expectation isn’t limited to IR pros, it extends to engagement, marketing, sales and customer service, too. Your investors want to see that you are accessible, engaged and a part of the conversation.

What is your company doing to prepare for distributing news over social channels? How are you complementing your existing disclosure practices? What are your next steps toward social disclosure?

Perhaps more often than anything else, I am asked about press releases and their continued role and relevancy as communications vehicles. “Has social media made traditional media irrelevant?”  “Can the process of distributing a press release simply be replaced with a tweet?”  “Have companies abandoned releases as a means to share their news with stakeholders?”  My answer to all of these questions is quite simply, “No.” 

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The social media landscape has become more vibrant than ever before as an increasing number of companies are using these channels to their advantage for building online credibility.  Considered to be a social media leader among public companies, NovaGold Resources Inc. has used social media tools to spread its corporate brand and expand stakeholder reach, as described at a recent seminar — Social Media: Best Practices for Canadian Public Companies – that was put on by Fasken Martineau DuMoulin LLP, a leading international business law and litigation firm. (more…)

Adam Bryant, deputy national editor of The New York Times, spoke at the National Investor Relations Institute’s (NIRI) annual conference that took place this past week in Orlando, Florida. He oversees coverage of education issues, military affairs, and law and works with reporters in many of the Times’ domestic bureaus. He also conducts interviews with CEOs and other leaders for Corner Office, a weekly feature he started in 2009 for the Sunday “Business” section and on nytimes.com. (more…)

Over the years, we’ve come to affectionately refer to June as “Conference Season,” because we sponsor, attend, speak at, host and exhibit at more events in this one month than any other throughout the year.  

Well, it’s that time again, when Marketwire folks ready their best smiles and handshakes, and prepare to meet and greet clients, prospects and peers at conferences and special events across North America.  From Saint John to San Francisco, the Marketwire gang sets forth by planes, trains and automobiles to mix, mingle and learn what’s new in the world of public relations, investor relations, social media and marketing. (more…)

A rash of incidents in recent financial quarters has seen public companies (including Disney, Microsoft and others) prematurely disclosing their earnings information — from news posting early to their website, to lags between the time of distribution and posting, to files containing material information made available online ahead of time. With the rising importance of investor relations websites as recognized communications channels, it’s only getting worse. In addition to individual snoopers, news agencies and market intelligence firms now have automated crawlers that scour corporate IR sites during earnings season, looking for news ahead of an official announcement or posting. (more…)

Earlier this year, a group of 60 senior-level investor relations officers (IROs) gathered at IR magazine’s invitation-only West Coast Think Tank in Palo Alto, Calif. to discuss pressing issues and trends affecting their profession. Hot topics included equity research challenges, say-on-pay, trends and pitfalls in disclosure, and working with various stakeholder groups.

The first issue in the discussion on disclosure was “The State of Social Media and IR.” Panelist Darin Wolter, Marketwire’s EVP, global sales, asked a question of the audience: “How many of you represent companies that have a social media policy”? Only a very small number of attendees raised their hands. (more…)

On a rainy Tuesday in April, I had the rare pleasure of a guided tour through the Manhattan office of Bloomberg, one of the largest organizations in the world that provides business and financial news, data and analytics. In spite of the calming river carp swimming throughout the office walls, I haven’t seen any organization more obsessed with speed since my trip to NASCAR’s Charlotte Speedway. (more…)

I recently had the pleasure of being a panelist at two National Investor Relations Institute (NIRI) events centered around social media and investor relations, including a Seattle Chapter program on Disclosure and Best Practices and a Rocky Mountain Chapter program on Measuring, Monitoring and Evaluating Social Media. Both spoke to the increasing role that social media is playing in investor relations and indicated that it is a top-of-mind subject among investor relations officers (IROs). For instance, in a recent survey of NIRI Silicon Valley members, when asked which topics they would like an SEC attorney to address at a future event, nearly 50% said they wanted to know more about the intersection of social media and RegFD. (more…)

The term “emerging market” is vague enough that it could have a variety of meanings. Are we talking business verticals or Whole Foods’ newest rival? Actually, neither. An emerging market is any nation that is experiencing rapid growth, usually with regards to society and business, while undergoing political reforms. Or, so says Wikipedia. For example, China and India are emerging markets. (more…)

Regulating employee use of social media is no easy feat for an organization, but with increasing frequency, companies are finding out just how critical it is to mandate the behavior of those they employ when it comes to their activity on Facebook, Twitter and other social sites.  Tweets, posts, comments and opinions shared by an employee can reflect directly on the company they work for, positively and negatively.  For publicly traded companies, there can be even greater risk of exposure and negative repercussions if employees inappropriately share material news or make comments that breach the rules of fair disclosure. (more…)

Note: IR Alert’s Brian Pittman sat down with Marketwire CEO Michael Nowlan for an exclusive interview. Check out the original article, posted on August 12, 2010.

As anyone following industry news knows, Marketwire acquired Toronto-based social media monitoring and sentiment analysis provider Sysomos one month ago this week. Since then, we’ve seen a spate of alerts, Tweets and byliners flowing from the wire service sector, touching on everything from evolving web disclosure and online newsroom services to competitive providers challenging each other’s claims.

The upshot: Changes are afoot as the wire services jockey for position in the era of social media–and the beneficiaries are you, our readers.

So what exactly does the Sysomos acquisition mean for you? How could such a move help you identify, analyze, reach and understand your publics and even shareholders more effectively? What market forces set it in motion–and what strategy is driving Marketwire’s response to them? Who is the face behind this vision? And what other developments can you expect to see from your wire service providers in the future? (more…)

The hot topic du jour at IR magazine’s West Coast Think Tank 2010, an invitation-only event held in Palo Alto, California on March 18, was social media – the good, the bad and the ugly. Social media is definitely a love-hate relationship for the investor relations officer and the publicly traded company. It seems that larger companies are more out there with Twitter feeds, blogs and Facebook pages than are smaller companies, and several attendees suggested it’s because larger (and often retail) brands tend to be earlier adopters and have more resources to dedicate to social media. But that also puts them at greater regulatory risk. (more…)

It didn’t happen. Social media didn’t go away. In fact, quite the opposite has occurred: Social media has exploded in its usage and ubiquity, and now significantly influences many communications around the world. The challenges of strengthening corporate reputation and building trust among stakeholders can prove difficult for any professional communicator. Across investor relations circles, the practice of supplementing more traditional IR strategies with social media is not widespread. Certain functions specific to IROs, namely the disclosure of material news, make adopting social media and using its channels as primary communication tools something to be thoughtfully considered. So, for the sake of this brief discussion, let’s sidestep the legal department and address the “relations” function of the IRO so that we can better understand how channels like Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and corporate blogs can work to enhance shareholder relations and improve the corporate bottom line. (more…)

It was made abundantly clear in discussions at the fifth annual IR Magazine Canada Think Tank, held October 1 in Toronto, that social networks, Web 2.0, and our real-time, mobile nature of communicating with each another have radically changed the practice of investor relations.   A growing percentage of the Canadian financial community is embracing social media and reaping its rewards.  They are tapping into channels like Facebook and Twitter to listen to and engage stakeholders, employees and analysts, and they are utilizing digital channels like YouTube, SlideShare, and podcasts to expand the reach of corporate messages and materials. (more…)