How to use social media to drive investor relations
9 March 2022
Australian investors are increasingly incorporating social media into their decision-making processes. To stay visible, content must be able to attract viewers, retain engagement and deliver value effectively.
Current trends indicate that social media has become less of a ‘nice to have’ and more of a non-negotiable. As more investors rely upon social media to help inform their investment decisions, it is important for companies to get their ‘houses in order’ when it comes to social channels.
Understanding the opportunities associated with each channel and identifying the best ways to target investor audiences while managing risk and reputation.
To help you achieve these outcomes, we’ve outlined three important ways to make your content engaging:
1. Optimise for visual and video
Visual information is more memorable than written information, so make an impact and attract readership through infographics, graphs, photos and videos.
2. Make your leaders visible
Investors want to hear from a company’s leadership team, so build trust and confidence by adding leaders to help deliver messages.
3. Bring it all back home
Ensure that all content links back to the company website or investor relations page – the number one source of trusted information for investors.
Risk and issues management
While social media can offer immense value through its ability to drive investor engagement, a comprehensive investor relations strategy should also identify and prepare for reputation risks.
By virtue of social media being a collection of diverse individuals, often sharing diverse opinions, companies should be prepared to deal with issues ranging from minor to significant – all of which can be addressed with the right issues identification and triage approaches.
When integrating social media into investor relations strategies, companies should undertake the following activities:
Identify the potential vulnerabilities of your organisation across its social channels.
Consider particularly vocal groups, the channels they use, and identify any specific targets of misinformation within your company.
Establish a thorough method of social media scanning.
A mixture of digital tool-based and human scanning offers the best opportunity to identify and address issues early.
Prepare and implement a social media policy.
Ensure the policy covers off on key considerations, including responsibility for posting, prohibited and unacceptable behaviour, how non-compliance is managed, and how the policy aligns with the organisation’s other governance documents.
Consider potential scenarios and run simulations.
Identify a range of scenarios, from low risk to high risk, map potential responses and actions, and practice how teams should respond under simulated conditions.
Talk to an expert now
Should you require support with your investor relations strategy, please contact our Managing Director Stephanie Paul.