IR on the web

Investor Relations (IR) is a longtime specialty of Big Creative Studio. So we know that keeping up with the latest in this ever-changing marketing discipline is no easy task. And that’s especially true of advances in how IR leverages the web.

Fortunately, we can help bring you up to speed on today’s best practices, and make sure your site is ready for tomorrow. To learn more, just get in touch. In the meantime, here are a few hints to get you started:

1. Make a proper introduction—leverage your landing page.
Analysts who follow your company aren’t the only people landing on your IR site. And even if they were, do you want to pass up the chance to influence their thinking? To present your investment opportunity in keeping with the communications strategy you’ve worked so hard to create? Don’t bury your message and brand in podcasts and downloads. Put it right up front.

2. Tell the whole story—including “Why invest?”
You tell people all the time why your company is a smart investment. You’ve created a great story, fleshed it out, honed and refined it. Don’t leave it off the web. Start it right away on the landing page, and continue it on your top tier. Experts say include all the most compelling points, like:

  • Why the market opportunity is great.
  • Why your strategy is sound.
  • Why the leadership can execute it.
  • Where you rank in the industry.

3. Start a conversation—make it personal and engaging.
IR 2.0 is as much about tone as technology. Today’s most successful sites pull back the curtain and reveal the human personality behind the corporate formality. A personality that’s interesting—and interested in what the audience has to say. So maybe you put up a message from the CEO. Or better yet, a video. But whatever you do, make sure it’s real. And invite feedback.

4. Explore other best practices—add what makes sense for you, one step at a time.
Now let’s look at a few other best practices—the more technical kind. Some you may already be following, like interactive, XBRL-tagged financials. Others you may not feel quite ready for, like social media. Whatever is right for you, we can collaborate with your web vendor to make sure components are added in a way that enhances your brand and message.

  • 2-way communication: Blogs and boards. Recommended as ways to build engagement, a regular blog and/or a message forum can extend the conversation that you begin on the landing page.
  • Wider reach: Social media. Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn—all kinds of social media are increasingly recommended by IR experts, as a way to widen your reach and influence the influencers.
  • High-tech tools: automation and customization. Real-time email alerts, auto-posting of press releases, an investor briefcase—there are more and more ways to automate your release of information and customize the site visitor’s experience.
  • Risk reduction: Disclosure management and recording. Advances in this category include software that helps ensure Reg FD compliance and automatic website records that allow the recall of complete site versions from any point in time.
  • Numbers that count: Dynamic and easy-to-access. It’s not just a matter of compliance with the SEC’s XBRL mandate; offering HTML-formatted reports rather than pdf’s, for instance, helps make all your numbers more accessible.