Guest Blogger: David Coe, managing editor of Investor Torque
Welcome to David's final guest blog prior to our May 10 Webinar titled "How Mining can Reach the Next Generation of Investors." If you are an investor relations professional or helping your company raise capital, this short and FREE webinar is for you!
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Investor Torque supports investor social media campaign by telling the story in many ways: LinkedIn profiles of your executives, animated business videos, information graphics, on-camera interviews, landing pages, and investor presentations. You can connect with them at www.investortorque.com
A listed company’s website has the advantage of being able to showcase company’s investment case by telling the corporate story the way you want it told.
Instead of relying on publicity in the business press – if you can get it – to position your company accurately, you can do it yourself in multiple ways that reinforce how you want to be seen.
Unfortunately, getting investors to your company’s website can feel like Mission Impossible – but it can be done with the right tools.
And the rewards are worth it when investors know what sets you apart from your peers.
As an example, a client of ours is a chemical company leveraged to the booming LED and smartphone screen markets through its development of 99.99% pure alumina, which is a critical component in the super tough glass those devices use.
However, the business press always calls it a mining company because it owns its own deposit of the feedstock clay used to make the high-purity alumina.
To counter the demeaning references to it as a mining company, our client realised it had to bring investors to its website where it could show them it was leveraged to booming high-tech global markets without having to buy feedstock.
The challenge for our client - and you - is to reach investors and then capture their interest quickly so they want to visit the website.
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2 seconds or 2 clicks
These days, you have 2 seconds or 2 clicks before you lose them. That means showing investors what’s in it for them almost instantly.
To do that, you need to combine knowledge of how people absorb information, how they surf the web, and what they are looking for – and then give it to them in a form they value.
These days, about 2/3 of website visits are done on tablets and smartphones so make sure your website is mobile-friendly.
This trend is being driven by 3 converging forces:
- People want information immediately and a mobile device puts the internet in their pocket,
- Newspapers and magazines, which are being left behind in the race for immediacy, have less space as their ad revenues shrivel,
- Investors, who increasingly manage their portfolios online, are turning to social media for information direct from companies, brokers, analysts, wealth advisers and market commentators when researching the sharemarket.
And what do investors want most? Company news, announcements and press releases.
Smart companies – particularly the ones that struggle to get publicity from the business press – recognise that corporate blogs are the most powerful form of social media for delivering news to investors.
Facts tell, stories sell
As the old saying goes, facts tell, stories sell.
Research shows that 52% of professional investors read corporate blogs regularly and 29% have been prompted by a blog article to make an investment decision.
Investor presentations may be full of facts but there’s nothing like a good story to engage the head and the heart.
And blog articles allow you to tease out the story and its significance that lie behind a hail of bullet points in an investor presentation. Articles make the information in presentations digestible.
The mistake many companies make is to assume that professional investors shun social media. Don’t be fooled. Their presence is usually unnoticed because they are quietly gathering ideas rather than trumpeting their own plans.
To get maximum benefit, create your company blog and call it your corporate newsroom so investors recognise its importance and value.
Then write articles that amplify your announcements, expand on your news and explain your investment case.
To drive investors to your website, use other forms of social media such as Twitter and LinkedIn as news flashes with clickable links that take investors direct to specific articles.
When they get to your website, investors will discover your presentations, announcements, project details and even media stories about you, with each of these reinforcing how you want to be seen.
And posting articles regularly will keep them coming back.
For tips, techniques and resources on using investor social media, click on www.investortorque.com