We are pleased to announce that Q4 has partnered with StockTwits to address the increasing demand of establishing direct communication and engagement between public companies and their key stakeholders. The partnership will provide Q4′s best-in-class corporate IR website and social media solutions and integrate StockTwits platform for sharing financial information and news directly with investors, and leveraging a broad distribution network where messages are disseminated across the financial web.
Howard Linzdon, co-founder and ceo of StockTwits had this to say about the collaboration:
Public companies are trying to find ways to connect …

Twitter is increasingly being used by public companies to share key messages via live-tweets from their earnings call, annual meeting or analyst day.
As we are in the midst of earnings, and as annual general meeting season is just around the corner, I thought I would share some thoughts on best practices for live-tweeting.  Note: these best practices have been put together based on observations we have made through our research on how public companies are using social media for investor relations.  Here is a list of what we will cover …

The 25 most valuable Blogs in the US – 2011: http://bit.ly/t2KAlJ
Social Media — 4 Trends To Watch in 2012: http://huff.to/uIiBoS
How Investors Select Financial Advisors: http://bit.ly/vVKi5w
6 Reasons Most Infographics Don’t Cut It: http://rww.to/voBYCR
SEC Releases New Draft on EDGAR Filing Manual: http://ir4.me/tBSwZ
Eye-Tracking Study Finds iPhone, iPad Draw More Attention Than Android Devices: http://t.co/5x8Dak71
Social Media Monitoring: You re Doing It Wrong: http://bit.ly/sXAu7q
TMX board recommends Maple Group takeover bid: http://tgam.ca/DC4R
Groupon’s IPO: What you need to know: http://on.mash.to/vHASB3
Recommend on Facebook Share on Linkedin Tweet about it Subscribe to the comments on this post

Here’s what we’ve been reading and sharing on Twitter this week:
Social network popularity around the world in 2011: http://bit.ly/sTfqkK
US Trails China in almost every mobile usage trend: http://rww.to/tTPwZG
Netflix lost 800,000 U.S. subscribers in third quarter: http://bit.ly/uJHlWg
Building a Community Around Your Blog From Scratch – Ten Steps: http://ow.ly/78jaC
5 Deadly Twitter Sins to Avoid: http://ow.ly/78oik
Time for Investor Relations Departments to go Social: http://ow.ly/78H0o
Although the Markets have turned hostile to IPOs, Now is the right time for companies to prepare for a Stock Market Listing: http://bit.ly/vggw92
Company Directors See Pay Skyrocket: http://bit.ly/s5XY72
12 Most Successful …

A lot of great stuff was shared on Twitter this week:
Mary Meeker on 2011 Internet Trends [VIDEO]: http://youtu.be/Xdx0ezyUTTo
Perspective on Occupy Wall Street: SUZANNE: http://stks.co/dvA
Mobile Social Networking App Audience Grows 126% In Past Year: http://zite.to/n1cYt0
Can watching Twitter trends help predict the future?: http://zite.to/qfvcb4
Web savvy boosts client trust level: http://bit.ly/pqcVpX
The State of Social Media 2011: Social is the new normal: http://bit.ly/o3lcMW
The Missed Red Flags on Groupon: http://nyti.ms/r3LTIU
Report: Social media drives sales—especially when combined with PR: http://bit.ly/paFKnI
European Crisis Competence Barometer: http://bit.ly/pbPtBK
Is there a legal obligation to produce a paper copy of your Annual …

Here’s this week’s roundup of what we’ve been reading and sharing here at Q4 on Twitter:
 
A front row seat to Steve Jobs’ career:  http://tnw.co/pC9x4w
Twitter Is #1 social network for financial groups: http://bit.ly/ojpaO6
Investor Relations Atwitter Over New Technologies: http://t.co/08ElEHH
Bank of America Fires Back at Henry Blodget: http://t.co/j2uew0E
Mckinsey report predicts return to basics for investors: http://t.co/MjziXHY
Canadian Investor Relations Institute issues backgrounder on social media: http://t.co/i2q82g1
How baby boomers could depress stocks for decades: http://on-msn.com/rc9YCo
Financial Services Clamor for Social Media Guidance: http://bit.ly/prbkYl
B2B social media: Highlights from new benchmarking research: http://bit.ly/pL7dQ3
How to deal with the …

Last week I had the pleasure of speaking at Deutsche Bank’s annual capital markets client training seminar in New York.  The session was entitled: Leveraging Technology: Online Communications and the Role of Social Media.
The audience spanned many countries such as China, Hong Kong, Russia, Germany, UK, Switzerland, The Netherlands, Brazil, South Africa and many more.  Knowing this I made sure that I included relevant information on what countries are using social media for investor relations.  I also thought the audience would appreciate some background on sector use as well.
I also …

Financial blogs, social networks and other social media sites are changing the way investors conduct research and collaborate on investment ideas.
Join Darrell Heaps, CEO of Q4 Web Systems on Wednesday, May 4, 2011 from 1:00 – 2:00 p.m. EDT as he moderates a panel of experts behind some popular financial blogs and social networks including:
Howard Lindzon, co-Founder and CEO of StockTwits®
Zack Miller, a professional investor and author of Tradestream your Way to Profits: Building a Killer Portfolio in the Age of Social Media (Wiley, 2010)
Mick Weinstein, Head of Editorial …

I missed this week’s #irchat.  As I was reading through the transcript (which can be accessed here), I thought I would transcribe the discussion for the benefit of everyone.
Typically, three or four questions are asked.  But this week, the first question dominated the hour-long session. @meetthestreet asked:
Q1: Institutional Investor recently wrote about social media’s role in equity research: http://bit.ly/94w06K. Do you think this has legs?
Here is a snippet from the article:
Bolstered by the low cost of online publishing and the rising popularity of blogs, discussion forums and commenting, a growing …

On April 8th, 2010 I presented to a group of investor relations professional in Montreal, Quebec. I was fortunate to present alongside Lorne Gorber, VP, Global Comm. & IR at CGI Group Inc. The following is the deck that I used during the session. It contains updated trends and statistics on the use of social media in the capital markets. I also included a handful of examples of companies that I think are doing a good job at using these new channels. Hope you enjoy the new deck!
…