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As IR practitioners it is hard enough to keep on top of the ever-changing regulatory environment.  Not to mention the virtual conversations happening about your company and the fact that you know you should be a part of those online discussions through social networks.  But before you can even think of having a social media presence you have to get buy-in from the C-Suite.

What follows are some tips I compiled to help IROs put together a business case to begin using social media as part of their IR plan.  These tips were inspired by the article “Problem Solved: How Do You Convince the Boss That it’s Time to Go Social?” by Claire Coyne of MarketingProfs which are based on ideas from David B. Thomas, Social Media Manager, SAS for convincing your boss it’s time to go social.

TIP #1 – SHOW & TELL
As we all know, not all companies are ready to jump into the world of social media.  And from an IR point of view, they are important considerations such as RegFD.  Additional concerns are a lack of time to take on yet another task (especially from smaller companies which may only have one or two people in the IR department).  I would also venture to say there may even be a general fear of new concepts and using new technology.

I am a hands-on person and typically like to be walked through something to gain a better understanding.  So tip #1 entails putting together a demo (and to quote David) that “is a focused, practical introduction on how you use social media.”

You can get their attention early by doing a general search of your company’s stock symbol on search.twitter.com or on Seeking Alpha.  This will help them realize that conversations are taking place about the company over a broad spectrum of social networks.

TIP #2  WALK THE WALK
Now that you have their attention, you can begin doing an overview of specific social networks.  For example (depending on how big your company is), other departments such as PR or Marketing may already be using a blog or Twitter for their own purposes.   This is a good way to leverage its’ use for IR – by showing how it is being used internally already and how you can begin incorporating IR into the mix as well.

As mentioned, adhering to RegFD is one of the main reasons for not adopting social media for IR.  But taking it slowly and seeing how others are using it is a way to ease it into your existing communications strategy.  So in addition to touting the internal uses as outlined previously, you should definitely be armed with how your peers are using social networks for IR.

While research on the use of social media for IR is still in its infancy, there are some studies such as The Fortune 500 and Blogging: Slow and steady and farther along than expected and a recent report we issued on the use of Twitter for IR that will help to make them aware of the increased adoption of social networks by corporations.

TIP #3 MAKE IT REAL
You can then get down to specifics and “show them the blogs you follow and what useful business information you glean from them. Show them how you use your RSS reader to cut through the noise and present what you most need in an easily digestible way,” Dave says.

You may even feel compelled to bring up the research you brought with you.  In particular you can cite our report that found that the majority of companies are using Twitter as a broadcast channel – which means a link to previously disclosed headlines and other content posted on their corporate or IR websites is being provided.  This is beneficial as it drives traffic back thereby increasing the number of visitors and broadens your following.

Further to this, you can show them how you use tools like Tweetdeck to mine valuable and timely information.  A lot of useful links, market information, and competitive intelligence that’s targeted to your business resides on Twitter, so it is essential to bring this to their attention.

TIP #4 REMIND THEM OF WHAT THEY’RE MISSING
Finally, if they’re still doubting the value of social networks, “show them how many people are sharing information on LinkedIn and Facebook that directly relates to your company,” Dave advises.

We have blogged about the increased use of Facebook by public companies and have come across some examples of those using LinkedIn.  So again, arm yourself with some real-life examples, which will help provide them with concrete evidence.

Thomas concludes by saying that “Every day, your customers and potential customers are posting information about their wants and needs, their plans and concerns, and what’s keeping them up at night, ” which is “The kind of information you used to pay to get from market researchers and focus groups, and now it’s freely and publicly offered, if you just take the time to look for it.”

This can be expanded to all key stakeholders including shareholders, analysts and institutional investors as there is increasing evidence that shows they are using social networks to gain and share information about your company.

The most common reasons given for not using social media (for IR) are disclosure concerns and a lack of time. Bearing this in mind, if you take the time to sit down and show the C-Suite how it can be used and give concrete examples of how your peers are using it for IR, you may just find out that they really didn’t realize the benefits of integrating it as part of company’s broader communications strategy.

Related posts:

1. Webinar Replay – The Current State of Social Media and Investor Relations
2. Examples of small and large companies using Social Media in Investor Relations
3. Q4’s CEO Discusses all things Twitter, Social Media and Investor Relations
4. Leading IR Firm at Forefront of Developing Social Media Strategies for Investor Relations
5. Social Media, Investor Relations and Web Disclosure

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Best Practices, Social Media investor relations, IR Websites, Social Media