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 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?

With three decades of experience in connecting newsmakers to news consumers, Marketwire has a great deal of insight into information distribution and content sharing – communication is our business.  To say that the press release has changed over those 30 years is an understatement, and much of the functionality that seems so obvious in 2011 was unimaginable just ten years ago: direct feeds into newsroom editorial systems around the world, releases containing hyperlinks, embedded multimedia and optimized content, and the ability for readers to immediately share content they “like” with thousands of personal connections.  And while it’s far easier to see where the press release has been than it is to predict where it is going, there are three undeniable truths that will see the press release not only survive – but thrive – for years to come:

Truth #1:  Audiences will continue to play an important role in shaping how news and information is published and shared. 

Press releases have evolved not only as a result of advances in technology, but also in response to the needs, demands and behaviors of both newsmakers and news consumers.  Today’s news consumers are everywhere – Google, Facebook, Twitter, numerous web portals and company websites, and more — and they are demanding content be available to them in the format of their choice, and often in real-time.   Press releases continue to provide timely, direct-from-source news to media and financial recipients worldwide, and when they are indexed by online search, the same releases shared with editors and journalists are being found and read by the public. Press release content is blogged about and posted to Facebook, and headlines are tweeted and re-tweeted. Companies that provide news consumers and customers with up-to-date content in their online media rooms are providing news consumers and customers with a reliable source for information, insight and education about their products and services.  Knowing where your audience gathers and how they want to engage with your content will dictate how you create, publish and share your information. 

These are all developments and directions that Marketwire is actively involved in, and we work with our clients to help them leverage all channels.  Frankly, we are agnostic as to which channel is chosen. The simple fact is that we encourage our clients to choose what make sense for their particular audiences.   We view it as our role to ensure we make it easy to access all those channels as effectively and productively as possible.  

Truth #2:  Enhancements to the content and structure of the press release will continue to evolve. 

It’s difficult to remember a time when the world wasn’t online and the news we shared was on text-only pages transmitted to media, investors and other recipients.  The digitizing and socializing of press releases has liberated content, allowing us to create and share richer, fuller and more interactive stories. A simple scan through the Marketwire News Room demonstrates the myriad of ways communicators use press releases to engage their audiences: YouTube video, embedded product manuals, financial tables, executive interviews, and so much more, all of it immediately viewable, downloadable and sharable. And as communicators grow savvier with creating content that is search-friendly and optimized for online audiences, press releases play a pivotal role in a company’s ability to directly and indirectly leverage connections with other credible online sources.  Integrating press releases into today’s SEO strategies is key to a company’s lead generation and branding objectives.  

It’s important to remember that at its core, a press release is about telling a story — the opening of a new hotel, the launch of a new medical technology, the discovery of an iron ore deposit — and as the structure of the press release continues to allow for enhanced content, it will continue its evolution from a communications ‘tool’ to an interactive platform for content-sharing and audience engagement.   I like to view a press release as a distributed marketing landing page.  It is powerful and interactive content that can be distributed to and shared with thousands of relevant recipients to help a company build relationships with its audiences and achieve its business goals . 

Truth #3:  Consumer demand for relevant, customizable and portable content will continue to increase. 

The ability to send, share and receive information across countless personal channels and social networks invariably leads to increasing difficulty in managing the volume and flow of that information.  With greater frequency, we are able to customize not only the amount of content that comes to us, but also the kind of content we receive.  Press releases will continue to meet those demands, enabled by RSS functionality, social media sharing and tagging, and mobile-friendly content.  They’ll also serve to direct consumers to other relevant content destinations, be they a company’s website, marketing campaign microsite, blog, or other places where end-users can customize their experience and seek out the information that is most relevant to them.  The evolution of “more like this” and “related news” functionality within press releases will allow readers to further personalize their experiences and interact with curated content that resonates with them.

There is no doubt that the future of the press release will be dictated by a mix of what consumers want and what technology makes possible.  Our role will be as it has always been:  to stay on the leading edge of what is possible so that we not only provide what our clients expect today, but anticipate what they will want tomorrow.

Related Channel M posts:

• The 5 Ws of Successful Website Content
• Still think audience engagement isn’t essential to public relations? Three reasons why you need to think again
• You.com: Storytelling at its best takes social media To Infinity and Beyond

For NovaGold, it was a slow and measured start as the company built a business case for social media.  They watched their peers, collected statistics and success stories, compiled the why’s and the how’s and then explained the benefits to management.

More importantly, NovaGold, a precious metals company located in Vancouver, laid the internal groundwork to ensure a solid foundation for social-media success.  A comprehensive policy was drafted for legal review with a clear strategy that included a time management plan. Employees were educated and signed into the policy. Now, shareholders can access the company in their chosen medium and the company has more opportunities to push their information out quickly and frequently. NovaGold’s social media strategy has helped build their reputation for openness and accessibility.

While it is quick and easy to get started, you could easily step into a minefield of regulatory implications with a simple click, especially since every tweet and post is more or less permanent. There are no take-backs.  While there is potential for misrepresentation due to character limits, being open to social media also means being open to risks, which should be addressed in advance in order to avoid them. A few things to consider as you consider social media for your own company:

• Mandated disclosure is also subject to disclosure law in social media.  Material changes must be generally disclosed so issue a press release on the wire before disclosing on other channels.
• A practical way to protect the company using forward-looking information and technical information is to link back to Safe Harbor for each posting since each stands alone when found on search engines.
• Act with care if you are using third-party information such as analyst reports, endorsements and news sharing.  If you are pulling third-party information onto your website, ensure copyright approval and that the information is current and balanced.
• Analyst reports cannot be selectively posted.  Post all positive and negative reports and articles, not just the best ones.
• Prepare a corporate social media policy and plan.  And be sure to consult with your legal team.

It is worthwhile for public companies to take advantage of the opportunities provided by social media tools to help build their online credibility and expand shareholder reach.  But do your homework before participating.

Related articles:

• Keeping financial data secure: Best practices for investor relations websites
• IROs and social media: A tenuous relationship

During his tenure, he has interviewed more than 100 CEOs, who he cleverly referred to as “Chief Education Officers,” and shared insight into the minds of some of our most prominent corporate leaders.  

What makes a great leader?

Creating strategies is only a small part of the CEO’s role — it’s more about managing, leading, and fostering teams that co-exist within the corporate culture, which is the new “X Factor” of successful corporations.

How does a CEO hire his or her team?

There are five qualities of people who will move up the corporate ladder:

1. Unbridled passion and curiosity
2. Battle-hardened confidence
3. Team smarts: Knows how people interact as a group and engages with them
4. Simple mindset: Ability to look at an ocean of data and boil it down to the three most important elements
5. Fearlessness: A bias to action and to taking calculated risks

 How does one become a better leader?

Leaders need to lead from their desks.  Once they have their message down, they have to repeat it over and over again to make things stick in the minds of the employees. And the No. 1 recommendation? Head to the golf course. Based on correlating golf handicaps to stock performance, “the green” is where deals are sometimes made.

Relatled articles:

• When CEOs Speak: IABC conversation offers insight into leadership and the importance of communication
• Chicks Rule: Women Transforming Internet leads discussion at the Econsultancy Peer Summit

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.

Here’s a few of the events we’ll be at – will we see you there?

The Canadian Public Relations Society (CPRS) Annual Conference, “The Power of PR,” June 5-7, Saint John, New Brunswick:  PR professionals from across Canada will connect for three days to share best practices in communications management with some of the industry’s leading experts and creative thinkers.  And in keeping with our long-standing tradition, Marketwire will host a fabulous night out with delegates for dinner and entertainment with a local flair.  This year’s “Maritime Kitchen” party is sure to be a hit.

The Canadian Investor Relations Institute’s (CIRI) 24th Annual Conference, June 5-7, Lake Louise, Alberta:  Investor relations professionals will discuss a broad range of industry- and issue-specific topics and trends relevant to financial communication, from a discussion about the proposed merger of the TMX Group and the London Stock Exchange, to a presentation about the use of digital media and social networks for stakeholder engagement.  We’re pleased to host Precision Drilling’s Vice President & General Counsel Joanne Alexander for “Precision Rig 421: The Chilean Miner Rescue,” a presentation about how the company handled the challenges of being in the middle of a global human-interest story when the Government of Chile contacted Precision to supply its rig and services as part of the effort to rescue 33 trapped miners in Copiapo, Chile.

The International Association of Business Communicators (IABC) 2011 World Conference, June 12-15, San Diego:  More than 1,400 business communication professionals from 40 countries will come together to learn about the latest trends, issues and best practices in communication, via a diverse agenda and speaker list that represents some of the most innovative and provocative communicators in the industry. We are thrilled to be part of two incredible sessions:

• “A Flash in the Pan: Finding Gold in Social Media Traffic Mined During Canada’s Federal Election” — Traditional politics and public affairs strategy and tactics will never change. However, digital has introduced the most aggressive evolution in the way campaigns are—or should be—run. Presenters Mark Blevis, Gosia Radaczynska and our own Nygel Weishar will share their experience monitoring and analyzing online conversations during the recent Canadian election, including insights from social media post-election and the impact of the digital evolution on politics. 
• Marketwire’s Paolina Milana moderates a discussion with three chief executive officers featured in the IABC Research Foundation/Marketwire study “Conversations with CEOs: The communication function in modern organizations.” Panellists will discuss best and evolving practices in CEO communication and how effective communication directly affects financial performance and business success.

2011 National Investor Relations Institute (NIRI) Annual Conference, June 12-15, Orlando, Florida: More than 1,300 delegates will come together at the world’s largest, most comprehensive investor relations education and networking event, and IR services showcase.   From C-suite leadership and digital media usage by the investment community to Dodd-Frank and Say-on-Pay, NIRI’s agenda is a bevy of information for the IRO, whether a rookie or seasoned vet.  And when the Monday sun sets, Marketwire will be ready to mix and mingle as the host of NIRI’s Signature Event. 

The Corporate Social Media Summit, June 21-22, New York:  The only social media conference catered exclusively for corporate practitioners, this event hosts some of the world’s biggest brands and brightest minds to discuss the power of social media in marketing and customer engagement.  Nygel Weishar joins a panel discussion with Kodak, “How to ensure that you can use what you hear to drive brand strategy,” to discuss how companies that use social media correctly can collect a vast amount of business-critical data quickly and (relatively) easily.

But there’s no rest for the wicked!  Fall is just around the corner, and that means the Pivot Conference, Public Relations Society of America, BlogWorld…lots more details to come.

Many of these incidents have to do with a content management system (CMS) publishing tool being used incorrectly, or a client who is self-publishing content on their own website without the assistance of a CMS tool. (If used correctly, it should be noted, CMS software provides infinitely more safeguards and conveniences than do-it-yourself publishing and posting of material news.)

These incidents of premature disclosure have highlighted the need for security and careful coordination in the processes and systems that companies use to maintain and update their IR websites. Following are some best practices and recommended tips to help you keep your news secure, and ensure that it’s only made public at the appropriate time.

• Coordinate your distribution and posting times.
  Whether or not you use a CMS to update your website, be sure that your news is posting online at the closest time possible to when it’s going out on any push-distribution channels, such as a newswire, Facebook fan-page update or a Twitter account. Some of the recent incidents have seen news posted to corporate IR sites 15 or 30 minutes before it’s sent out via a push announcement. If you’re going for a Web-only disclosure, this may work, but if you want a coordinated, simultaneous effort across multiple channels – to cover all the bases – you need to ensure that it will be synchronized.
• Use scheduled publishing.
  A good CMS will allow you to compose a page or linked-file ahead of time and upload it to the system without posting it live. Then, you can select the date and time that you’d like to publish the information and keep it offline until that time. (A very good CMS, by the way, will keep the information completely hidden within a database – away from prying eyes who may try to guess the URL – and not just hide the link to an unpublished page on a live server.)
• Make use of user rights.
  Another useful feature of a good CMS is rights and roles. These allow you to delegate tasks (such as writing, editing and approving) among different team members while retaining publishing control with only those who should have it. This way, nothing gets published to your IR site without an authorized user approving it.
• Use encrypted ID mames for linked files.
  A good CMS will utilize encrypted identifiers (usually called “Document IDs”) to mask the name and location of a linked file, such as an Excel file containing earnings tables. With these Document IDs, files can be linked from a public-facing HTML page without giving away the file-location and file-naming convention, thus protecting these file names and locations from identification in the future. (A few of the recent incidents have involved “sequencing,” where automated robots and crawlers – from news and market-intelligence firms – have changed a “Q1” to “Q2” in a file name (or similar) and accessed a file ahead of its scheduled release time. Encrypted file names prevent this vulnerability.)
• Self-publish, smartly.
  If you are not using a CMS to maintain your IR website and, instead, manually managing the pages, files and directories, be sure to keep these additional tips in mind:
  • Change file names.
    One of the greatest vulnerabilities that allow security breaches is the ability to switch a single letter or number in a linked file name, and find a file ahead of time. To prevent this, change your naming conventions from quarter to quarter; for instance, “Q1Earnings.pdf” to “EarningsQ2.pdf”, or a similar variation. Also, for added protection, change your file type, if practical. Switch from a PDF to an Excel or a Word document so prying eyes won’t know what’s coming next
  • Change file locations.
    Similar to the last item, be sure to change the folders or directories where any linked files are located (again, if practical) from one quarter to another. Files cannot be accessed ahead of time unless someone can guess both the name and location of the file. (This is especially important because the file path is often displayed in the browser’s URL line, if a CMS tool isn’t being used.
  • If it’s on the live server, it’s public.
    A good CMS has the ability to keep non-public information offline in a staging area until its scheduled posting time. However, if you aren’t using a CMS, remember: If a file or text page is on a live, Web server, you should consider it public. It doesn’t have to be openly linked in order to be accessed, which many of the recent breaches have shown, especially those incidents with predictable file names and directory locations.
  • Consider Web scripts.
    If you’re not using a CMS, be sure to check out some simple Web scripts and programs that can help schedule publication of pages or maintain a file library with Document IDs. You may not need the full functionality of a CMS, but for your reputation and peace of mind, you owe it to yourself to consider low-cost scripts that can help you do your job and provide a reasonable baseline of security.

By using these tips and best practices, rest assured that you have taken the necessary steps to safeguard your information and maintain as much control over its disclosure as possible. (Marketwire’s EasySuite 2.0 solution can help you create and maintain a secure website that includes the features mentioned, and more. Contact us for information on how it can help you.) Remember: It’s not just your share price that can be affected in the event of premature disclosure of material information. It can also substantially impact your reputation with investors and the market, as well.

Related articles:

• How to use earned media to boost your brand
• How to incorporate social media into your investor relations strategy

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.

The Downside

Except for some early adopters – usually large, well-resourced firms – public companies and social media still tend to mix like oil and water.  It’s not that IROs aren’t technically savvy. They know that more that 50 percent of institutional investors read financial blogs and that social media influencers can drive stock activity. The fact of the matter is, those things are exactly what they are afraid of. Any slight communication slip could wreak havoc, both for the individual who tweets or blogs something seemingly innocent, and for his or her company. An attendee from a smaller public company said that if there is no answer to a comment on a corporate blog for a couple of days, followers assume the worst and conjecture that there is something the company is trying to hide. In fact, the blogger may be on the road, busy or out sick. A case of limited resources.

The Upside

On the positive side, the use of social media use among investor relations professionals is growing, albeit slowly. One public company in attendance that actively uses social media designates and certifies employee bloggers who are required to stay on top of the latest product messages and communication policies. Another encourages its staff and management to use social media as a way of reaching out to customers, analysts and portfolio managers. Facebook, Twitter and YouTube can all play a supportive role by adding additional detail and color to material information after it is officially disclosed, helping stakeholders better understand the company.

With the overwhelming influence that social media has on all of our lives – including investors, analysts and portfolio managers – it will only be a matter of time before investor relations professionals find more creative ways to leverage this powerful conversation channel. We’d love to hear how your company is using social media.

Ask the Expert Video Interviews

We asked participants to offer their opinions on issues impacting the investor relations officer. Here are a few of them:

• Greg Secord, Vice President of Investor Relations, Open Text discusses how his organization is using social media to reach out to customers, analysts and portfolio managers. Watch the video clip.
• Peter Shankman, CEO, The Geek Factory talks about how companies that are open and “out there” with their social media tend to have a higher rate of transparency. Watch the video clip.
• Tom Johansmeyer, Group Marketing Director, IR magazine says that his organization uses social media to directly reach out to IROs and other IR-related professionals. Watch the video clip.
• Chris Evanden, Sr. Director, Investor Relations, NVIDIA discusses how his organization monitors and correct erroneous online chatter. Watch the  video clip 

As a consultant to investor relations officers (IROs) and corporate communications professionals, my first question was: How are they turbo-charging my clients’ press releases for maximum speed and earning potential? As we made our way through the newsroom, I answered my own question when I saw the sign for “Speed Desk.”

What’s a Speed Desk and what does it do?

The Speed Desk exists to provide Bloomberg clients (i.e., stockbrokers) with headlines within seconds (or fractions of a second) faster than other news organizations. These precious lead times give traders the chance to buy a stock at a better price for a period of time, which makes Bloomberg a source they’ll go to again and again.

How do you gain from this relationship? If your company can deliver its news in a format that makes the Speed Desk faster, chances are good that Bloomberg will use your content over other ones they have to take the time – even a minute or two — to format themselves. When that happens, your company news becomes a valuable resource that contributes to Bloomberg’s $6.9 billion annual revenue stream, which means more frequent Bloomberg coverage for your brand.

How can you please the Speed Desk gods?

Think of Bloomberg’s Speed Desk like a trip to the Emergency Room.

Would you want to show up to the ER at the same exact time that a bus-load of severe trauma patients arrives? No. You would wait for hours and/or be subject to less care and attention from doctors. The same principal applies to your news release.

Tip 1:

If you are a mid-cap technology company, don’t send your news on the same day and time that Cisco releases their earnings so that you won’t have to compete with them. Do your research and identify the heavy-news traffic days for your industry.

Tip 2:

Send your news on an “off-minute.” If 200 other companies “dump” their news on the wire at exactly 7:00 am, the 15 headline editors at Bloomberg’s news desk (i.e., Speed Desk) will be delayed in seeing your news or may miss your announcement altogether because of the other releases that are competing for their attention.

The Gist:

Be smart about when you distribute. Send your news consistently on a free day, on a free minute (Thursday at 7:18 am) and anticipate more immediate attention.

Think of your headline as a snapshot of your news.

If you believe that a picture is worth a thousand words, then you better believe that your headline is worth a million dollars. Between 10% and 15% of these headlines are simply copied and pasted from your news releases to a Bloomberg format. Many traders will execute their strategies based solely on the headlines coming out of Bloomberg’s Speed Desk.

Tip 3:

Bloomberg can only see 65 characters of text for each headline. Keep it short!

Tip 4:

Put your company name in the headline. The headline editors won’t get to know you unless they know who you are in relation to your news and industry.

Tip 5:

Don’t get “cute” with your headline. If your headline reads “Let the Countdown Begin” and you are referring to your next big product launch, your “market gold” has temporarily been placed in the “market trash” basket.

The Gist:

Always write a simple, clear headline that includes your company name and try to keep it shorter than this sentence.

You are going to want to take this call.

Be available! If you send out an important company press release at 4:00 am, you don’t want to use your office’s 9-5 reception phone number as your “contact information.”

Tip 6:

Always provide a direct line to an available IR or communications representative on your release. (If you are worried about spam calls, Marketwire can hide your contact information on public sites but display it to the media.)

Tip 7:

Making yourself available is one thing, but you can also enhance the accessibility of the news itself by using a commercial newswire. While organizations like Bloomberg will make an effort to find your news on a company website or an e-newsletter, too many risks could present delays: server slowness, lack of pre-disclosure editorial review or extra steps that prevent the media from gaining access to your news. (In an industry that measures productivity in milliseconds, try not to slow-down the process.) Releases that are distributed through a newswire will be delivered to places that editors will look: feeds, email accounts, even directly to corporate online newsrooms.

The Gist:

Accessibility is key. Make your company’s information easy to find by distributing it through a newswire and ensure contact information is valid.

At the end of the day, Bloomberg strives for what Matthew Winkler, co-founder and editor-in-chief, calls the “Five F’s: Factual word, First word, Fastest word, Final word and Future word.” By creating a strategy around how you write and distribute your press releases, you’re not only helping Bloomberg reach their goal, but you’re giving them, and other outlets, a reason to pick up your news.

Related articles:

• From the Editor’s Desk: How to write an SEO-catchy headline
• 12 tips on making your press releases stand out
• The history of the boilerplate and 7 tips on how to write one

As director of sales for Marketwire’s Northwest region and as co-VP of marketing communications for the NIRI Silicon Valley Chapter, I also see, on a daily basis, what many IROs are doing (or not doing) to incorporate social media into their investor communication strategy. If you are an IRO who has come to terms with the fact that social media isn’t a passing trend, how can you begin to put social media to work for your IR program? Let’s look at some of the major components of a social media program, and how you can incorporate them into your own IR strategy:

Amplification

Amplification is little more than sending the same content that you’d normally send — whether it be a press release, webcast link, or investor presentation — over a social channel. If you’ve tweeted a link on your earnings release, you’ve “amplified.” It’s simply the step an IRO takes to send the standard message to a new audience, in a new way.

Tweeting the link of a news release or webcast is probably the easiest first step to take, but it’s truly the tip of the amplification iceberg. Another way to amplify includes adding your investor presentation to YouTube, thereby taking advantage of the increased visibility of hosting your presentation on the No. 2 most popular search engine in the world and allowing people to view and re-embed the video wherever they please.

Content Creation

Companies have moved into the content creation stage when they create a new message to support the content they’re amplifying. For example:

• Adding context to the tweet about the earnings release, rather than the simple “click here to see our Q1 2011 earnings release.”
• When a company develops new material to use for investor communications (e.g., a blog post, video, etc.).

Pitfalls abound here as the IRO must be very conscious of whether the content (or context) is actually ”new” information, in which case an 8-K must surely follow. [Note: Publicly traded companies must file Form 8-K, as required by the SEC, when certain events take place.]

Many IROs struggle with convincing analysts and investors to focus on specific corporate messages or financial metrics. The act of calling out these items over social media channels that touch hundreds of millions of people may, over time, influence investor perceptions. Additionally, a pre-recorded video or live video webcast that humanizes executive managers may add a certain level of accessibility, making it much more likely to be shared and syndicated to others. Polycom’s quarterly earnings webcast is a great example of this.

Monitoring and Analysis

Monitoring and analysis can be applied throughout any social media plan, but is arguably the most useful at the very beginning when developing the overall IR strategy. I’m often shocked at how many IROs are unaware of what’s being said about their company across social media channels. Because there is so much noise out there and so many unfounded rumours that stakeholders can easily discover, IROs need to be alerted to the conversation trends. Even if the odds of media or analyst inquiry are low, having an early warning system and the foresight to prepare a response can only help an IRO.

When evaluating your company vis-à-vis competitors, monitoring and analysis of social media can also yield some fascinating trends around sentiment, keyword themes and even geo-demographics. At another NIRI event entitled, Measuring the Success of your IR Program, Laura Graves, VP of IR at Cisco, presented some of the metrics the company follows in the wake of their earnings announcements. In addition to the typical analysis, they focus on message adoption and sentiment, demonstrating a solid understanding of what social and traditional media channels were saying about their results, and those of their peers. This information is relatively inexpensive to obtain, and helps present a much more comprehensive picture to the IRO, executive management and their board.

Engagement

The last major component, the merits of which are fiercely debated by many IROs and general counsels, is engagement. Now that a company is leveraging social media channels as an amplification tool and monitoring what’s being said, at what point do they respond to the key voices discussing topics related to the company’s IR program? The answer is based on a variety of factors, including the company’s industry and its regulatory environment, internal culture and resources, the source of the original chatter (true online influencers or unknowns) and many other variables.

Engagement can be a slippery slope: Once you begin, audience expectations have been set, and it’s difficult to stop without a negative reaction from your followers. That said, it’s important to have a concrete objective and purpose rather than engaging for engagement’s sake. Many IROs I speak with are committed to responding to all investor inquiries, regardless of how many shares the investors hold. For companies with a large retail shareholder base, this can be daunting. Certain social media channels, such as a blog or Facebook page, can provide an excellent platform for open discussion about a company, allowing IROs to quickly address questions and point people in the direction of more information on the IR website. Because these interactions are viewable by anyone, it’s likely that investors with similar questions can be accommodated at the same time.

If you are an IRO, what other ways do you use social media?

Related articles:

• Crafting an investor relations-friendly social media policy
• Think IROs can’t be social? Think again.
• Building strong stakeholder relations with social media