Taking into account 85% of our mobile traffic across a sampling of our clients sites comes from iOS (iPad/iPhone/iPod) devices, we wanted to find out which device people in the IR space prefer.  We consider “in the IR space” to be IRO’s, retail investors, institutional investors and bloggers/analysts/media people.  We consider “not in the IR space” to be people who do not work in IR in any capacity and people who do not invest.

These are the results of the survey:

If you’re interested, here are the questions we asked:

1) What best describes you:

• I work in an Investor Relations office (IR manager, director, executive etc)
• I’m a retail investor
• I’m an institutional investor
• I’m an analyst, blogger or media person

What is your primary mobile device?

• Apple (iOS)
• Android
• Blackberry
• Windows Phone 7
• I don’t know/other

Do You Use and iPad?

Yes/No

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Howard Linzdon, co-founder and ceo of StockTwits had this to say about the collaboration:

Public companies are trying to find ways to connect directly with investors, analysts and other key constituencies as the number of potential communications channels expand dramatically. IR professionals at public companies are increasingly facing challenges in reaching all their key audiences in the most effective way, with limited resources. Our partnership with Q4 provides simple, time saving access to our solutions to public companies using Q4 products.

Darrell Heaps, Q4′s ceo added:

By integrating StockTwits Investor Communications Solutions, we help IR professionals build stronger relationships with their stakeholders across the financial web. We are a leader in optimizing investor relations websites and social media strategies for effective communication, and using StockTwits products has become a critical ‘best practice’ in helping companies attract and engage investors.

Companies such as Teekay Corporation, Ryder System, Inc., Shuffle Master Inc, and Vical Inc., all utilize Q4’s customizable IR website system, as well as StockTwits’ Investor Communications Solutions to optimize investor relations activities.

The video below shows how Q4′s platform integrates with StockTwits:

Q4 Web StockTwits Integration from Q4 Web Systems Inc. on Vimeo.

You can read the release in its entirety here:
http://mwne.ws/zHVzvq

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Short and long-term goals and objectives can include identifying investors who are interested in your sector and/or known to have invested in your peers to meet with over the course of the year. (Although making sure you also meet with your current investors should also be a priority).

Okay, so you (the IRO) have your targeted list of investors, now what? What follows are some thoughts to help you and your management team make the most out of the one-on-one meeting.  I’d like to thank Rivel Research Group as these ideas are derived from their best practice reports based on topics of interest from members of the Rivel Intelligence Council (comprised of senior level investor communications executives) and assessed by buy-side investment professionals in both the US and Europe.

Adequately preparing the management team is essential. It may seem obvious, but having a discussion about Reg FD is important – as this meeting should not be used to divulge new information.

Another effective way to prepare management is compiling a list of questions and conducting a mock Q&A. As the IRO, you should work with management to come up with a list. It can also be useful to go through transcripts from previous events such as an earnings call to ensure a good sampling.

Be sure to include tough questions and how you will handle them if asked.  It is important that management not get defensive if asked difficult questions and be conscious of not sounding too rehearsed. As a one-on-one may do more harm than good if management comes across as overconfident, hard selling or as setting overly aggressive goals.

You should also take into consideration who you are meeting with and tailor the information accordingly.  For example, if this is a new investor, you may want to give a bit more detail around certain areas than you would for someone you have met with before. That said, don’t get caught up in too many details – stay focused on high-level details such as the ‘how’ behind the strategy.

Insight and transparency into growth drivers and key business goals are preferred over a regurgitation of previously disclosed information shared via press releases and on earnings calls.

A decision should also be made as to whether using a powerpoint presentation to supplement the discussion will be useful.  If you do decide to use a presentation, make sure the slides have minimal text and instead whenever possible, use visuals. Doing so, will help alleviate the temptation to read directly from the slides.

If it’s possible, having an Internet connection will allow management to access the company’s website to show a video or other asset that is housed on there on the fly.

Bear in mind, that whatever additional materials you choose, that they are helpful and relevant to the discussion. Also have a few printed copies and/or a softcopy on a usb key to leave behind – just in case.

Lastly, if there is anything that comes out of the discussion that needs to be followed up on, do so.  For example, providing supplemental material to help address an unanswered question. It also doesn’t hurt to send a follow up note to thank them for the meeting.

The buy-side values one-on-one meetings as it gives them the opportunity to have direct interaction with senior management.  Companies can maximize this experience by considering some of the ideas presented above.

Related posts:

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Every year, we, at Q4 look forward to networking and the amazing show put on by @irmagazine.

We’d like to take this opportunity to congratulate our clients who have been nominated:

Grand prix for best overall investor relations – large cap (C$10 bn and over)

Goldcorp

Best investor relations officer – large cap

Goldcorp

Best IR by a CEO – large-cap

Goldcorp

Best IR by a CEO – mid-cap

Intact Financial

Best financial reporting

Goldcorp

Best investment community meetings

Goldcorp

Best use of technology

Agnico-Eagle

Best Practice of corporate social responsibility

Barrick Gold

Best Crisis Management

Agnico-Eagle

Best IR by a Canadian company in the US Market

First Quantum Minerals

SECTOR AWARDS

Materials
Agnico-Eagle
Barrick Gold
Goldcorp

Real Estate
Riocan

Congratulations and good luck!

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Following on our recent announcement of our Investor Relations iPad and iPhone apps, I’m please to report that last Friday we launched an iPad investor relations app for Stanley Black and Decker.

The Stanley iPad app supports landscape and portrait views, Stanley’s latest news and stock price, ability to subscribe to their podcasts, videos from their 2010 Year in Review as well as other IR information. This is our second IR app that has been posted to the App Store with the first being for Avion Gold Corporation

One question we get is “why do you only support Apple devices?”. The answer is simple, we looked at aggregate stats of 25 client sites that run on our Q4 Web platform and found that on average, 85% of the traffic from mobile devices was from iOS (iPad, iPhone, iPod) devices.

It’s interesting given Android is leading global mobile OS installations, however Apple is gaining market share. According to Nielsen, from October 2011 – December 2011, Android market share dropped from 61.6% to 46.9% while iOS increased from 25.1% to 44.5%.

That said, I’d be interested to hear about what is your device of choice is. Take a moment and answer our poll below.

If you can’t see the embedded survey, try this link.

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Advisors understand that social media is one of the fastest growing communications channels in the world. Social networks improve the ability of financial advisors to increase the amount of clients under management as well as increase their interaction and visibility with them. Unfortunately financial advisors still struggle to adopt and maximize social media and its benefits. Our study points out many of the challenges faced by financial advisors in utilizing social media, but it also seeks to emphasize the reasons behind these struggles while offering advice to help the financial community succeed.

From July to November 2011, linkedFA asked 1,599 advisors* 12 questions that sought to answer:

1. How do advisors spend their time online?
2. What goals do advisors have for social media?
3. What social networking tools do advisors find to be the most successful?
4. What are the biggest stumbling blocks

Here are some of the highlights:

• Nearly 80% reported using LinkedIn
• Almost 40% are on Facebook
• Only 7.6% reported using no social media for business

ROI

• 43% reported seeing very little to no returns from social media
• 23% were unsure of their returns of using social media

GOALS

• 37% sought referrals from current clients and colleagues
• 24% sought to manage their online reputation
• 15% desired to register new clients

BIGGEST CONCERNS

According to nearly half of advisors surveyed, compliance is the biggest concern limiting their ability to effectively utilize social media. FINRA guidelines for social media require constant archiving and approval and the possibility of any failures can result in firms being hit with substantial fines.

SOCIAL MEDIA USAGE

• 34.3% reported only creating a social media account and responding reactively to contacts
• 31% reported logging on only once per week
• 10.96% reported logging on to a network daily to view and post information
• 70% reported spending more than half a day looking at news stories online (half reported spending over an hour per day viewing news)
• 73% reported their primary source of professional news was internet-based (with 49.64% reporting financial news sites as their primary resource)
• Almost 30% sought enhanced capabilities with regards to sharing news stories through social media

MOBILE USAGE

• Just under 40% reported using their mobile device for social networking as more or more than their desktop
• Only 27% reported using mobile social media for more than just browsing

You can download the executive summary and/or whitepaper by clicking here.

* Of those surveyed 34.43% reporting having over 200 clients, while more than 60.15% reported having over 100 clients. The survey reached a wide distribution of financial advisors, with 73.77% associated with independent broker-dealers and 13.73% at bulge-bracket firms.  Respondents had an average of $50.8 million of assets under management.

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All of the aforementioned are important considerations. A recent article I read posed 6 questions for companies to think about before getting into social media: http://smallbiztrends.com/2012/01/social-media-ready.html.

The article was not necessarily public company specific, but I thought the ideas presented would be valuable to share with IROs. That said, I’m going to reiterate the ideas the author presents as I feel it applies to IR. As well as some further thoughts to ponder from an IR standpoint. Please note all of the text in bold is verbatim.

1. Do you have a clear reason for being in social media? Before you spend time in social media, ask yourself:

• What are you hoping to get from your participation?
• What business goals do you want to achieve through social media?

It is not uncommon for marketing or advertising departments to start using social media first. If another department is using social media, ask them what their experience has been and dovetail off of the objectives and goals they have put in place to formulate IR-specific ones.

2. Do you have any reasons for not using social media to improve communications with your shareholder base and improve awareness for your company? (as recommended by one of our many good friends and IR pros @TrevorHeisler).

I think this is a good addition to the checklist.  As it will foster a balanced conversation and help bring issues to the surface. This would be a good thing to discuss with management and legal to table everyone’s opinions and openly address all concerns.

3. Do you know which social media sites are for you? For your specific purpose?

Again, if another department in your company is using social media, have a discussion with them. You may very well find out that just because your marketing department has had success with a particular channel, doesn’t mean it’s the right channel to share investor-related information.

You should also check out whether your peers are using social media, paying particular attention to their preferred channels and the information they are sharing on these channels. It is also important to see if the company is engaging with their followers/friends as it will help you get a sense of the kind of conversations (if any) that are taking place.

The author goes on to advise to ‘check your analytics to see which social media sites are already sending you traffic.’ Monitoring is an important aspect of a successful communications plan. So if you aren’t listening to what is being said about your company, you should be. Of course if you (or another department) are already monitoring discussions about your company, you should make sure that the online ones are included.

4. Do you have resources to continue the investment? Social media is an ongoing process. If you’re not going to stick with it, don’t waste time starting it.

Once you decide to sign up for a particular channel – there is no ‘set it and forget’ aspect, so make sure you have an internal discussion of who is going to be the key content person. (It’s also important to have another person trained on using the channel, in the event the main person is unable to do so.)

In addition to populating the channel, the key content person would also be in charge of monitoring the channel and answering any questions. Regular monitoring will also help the company correct any misinformation being shared.

5. Have you carved out a social pipeline? What are you going to do with the information gleaned from social media? If someone approaches you about a customer service issue or makes a recommendation for a new product or feature, do you have a process for how you’ll quickly get that information to the right person on your team so it can be used? Before you enter social media, create that workflow or pipeline for how you’ll disseminate social media information internally. It will help ensure that you’re getting the most value possible from your social media investment.

When it comes to IR, you need to be aptly prepared to deal with questions. If another department in your company uses social media, then it is wise to have a procedure in place where any investor-related questions get re-routed to the IR point of contact in a timely manner.

6. Is there a social media plan on record? When jumping in the water, make sure you grab the life vest known as your social media policy! Your social media policy is an internal document that helps a business to navigate the social media waters. It breaks down rules for engagement, how to handle common occurrences, what you’ll do when negative mentions appear, how to start conversations, how to use the different networks, etc. It’s vital to the success of any campaign and I wouldn’t recommend any business enter social media without it.

We often get asked for examples of companies who have social media policies. Here are a few links you may find useful:

Compliance Building website: http://www.compliancebuilding.com/about/publications/social-media-policies/

socialmediatoday website: http://socialmediatoday.com/ralphpaglia/141903/social-media-employee-policy-examples-over-100-companies-and-organizations

Social Media Governance website: http://socialmediagovernance.com/policies.php#axzz1jM4WAdnK

7. Can you measure it? Remember, social media is a tool, it’s not a destination. You want to measure your use of social media just like you would measure anything else you’re doing as part of your communications efforts. Based on your initial goal for social media the metrics you use to judge success may differ from others, and that’s okay. You may choose to track Facebook Likes, ReTweets, change in sentiment, number of mentions, engagement, etc. What’s important is that you’ve decided which metrics are important to your business and that you’re using social media tools to help measure them.

Is there anything missing from this checklist? Let me know in the comments.

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A quote from the author Esteban Contreras:

There might be saturation, but social media has changed the way we live. And this means social media is no longer a question for marketers. Companies of all sizes have accepted and even embraced the importance of social media. Investments are starting to increase and companies are now building teams to tackle the new risks and opportunities that social media has created.

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The primary change that we made to Q4 Web to make these Widgets possible is to move to JSON feeds for the delivery of all investor and financial content (news, events, presentations, reports). Previously, content would come from the Q4 Web CMS and be displayed using a module and HTML. Q4 has always been the anti-template solution, offering a high degree of flexibility and customization. We have now taken this to an unprecedented level among IR focused providers

Now with JSON feeds, all of this content is pushed out of Q4 Web as a structured data feed – which means web designers can use any aspect of this data and create new ways to display it for the desktop, mobile, apps, etc. In addition, because the content all comes in a JSON feed, clients continue to be able to easily manage everything from the Q4 Web CMS.

JSON feeds + Widgets provide total flexibility with design combined with complete content management control – a perfect combination.

Using JSON Feeds as the source, we then created a JQuery Widget Library that is completely extensible. Which allows our web design partners to create and share new and interesting Widgets for all types of corporate website content.

Our initial release includes Widgets for Financial content such as news, events & SEC filings and social content such as Twitter, YouTube and Flickr. You can also just use an external RSS feed. This is only the beginning, as each time a new widget is created, they are added to the JQuery Widget Library and made available for use by all clients and designers!

Finally, we made Widgets embeddable not only on the company website, but also on 3rd party sites like blogs. Controlled entirely by the company, the embed code for any widget can be shared and used to embed on any other website or blog. We’re very excited about this and look forward to our clients’ widgets being embedded across the web. With all content being all controlled from their Q4 Web CMS instance.

Check out the Live Demo on the earlier post or the new Widgets page on the Q4 product website.

We’re super excited about this release and look forward to working with our many web design partners and our clients in 2012!

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This first generation investor relations app is a low cost entry-level product that is completely customizable with company colors, fonts and images. There is no content management requirement by the company to keep the app up to date, as it automatically pulls content from a company’s corporate website along with a broad array of social content including:  YouTube, Vimeo, Flickr, Slideshare and Twitter.

The new Q4 Investor Relations iPad apps give public companies the ability to easily deliver engaging mobile experiences to investors and stakeholders.

The Q4 investor relations app also includes an optional discussion capability, allowing anyone who has downloaded the app and the IR department an efficient channel to engage in discussions inside the app. Future releases will expand this discussion channel to the company’s website and other locations (if the company desires).

Check out the brief video below to see the app in action:

For anyone that has ever used an iPad for business, it is clear that tablets are here to stay. Mobile apps are an important aspect for public companies to engage all stakeholders, whether they are investors, analysts or activists.  The new Q4 investor relations apps offer a unique opportunity to create a close connection to these users and when combined with notification and commenting services, the app becomes a real-time two-way communication channel between the company and investors.

Introductory pricing of $7000 setup plus $500/month subscription is available through to March 31, 2012. Subscription fees include maintenance, support, app store management and regular upgrades.

Stanley Black & Decker and Avion Gold Corporation are among the first companies to sign up for the app. Keep an eye open for these and more apps in the Apple app store in the very near future!

You can learn more by visiting the Q4 website: http://www.q4websystems.com/Tour/iPadApps/default.aspx.

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