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!

Related posts:

1. 2009 IR Magazine Canada Awards Congratulations to all of the IR Magazine Canada Awards winners...
2. Best Investor Relations by a CEO & Sr. Mgmt Here are the IR Magazine Canada Awards nominees for...
3. Best IR web site, use of Conferencing and Goverance Here are the IR Magazine Canada Awards nominees for...

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

Based on these findings, on June 14, 2011 Q4 sponsored a Lunch ‘n’ Learn session at the NIRI Annual Conference which sought to answer this question:

‘Is now the time for all companies to adopt social media disclosure and move beyond compliance to a more efficient and effective model of disclosure?’

During the session, Darrell Heaps, Q4’s CEO moderated and asked pointed questions that prompted insightful input from a great panel including: Robert Williams, VP IR at Dell who discussed their success using social media for IR, including Twitter, StockTwits, SlideShare and YouTube as part of their quarterly reporting process.  We also had Chris Bullock, VP Corporate Solutions at StockTwits who answered why their social investing forum is growing so fast and his thoughts on some driving forces behind the increased use of social networks and blogging by the investment community.  Lastly, Dominic Jones of IR Web Report talked about his research comparing the reach of PR wires vs. social media disclosure.

The audio file from the session has been synched to the slide presentation below (a special thanks to the NIRI 2011 Annual Conference organizers for granting us permission for use of the file on our blog):

The Q&A session was also recorded and questions from the audience are fielded after the panel discussion ends.

Related posts:

1. Former NIRI CEO Lou Thompson talks Reg FD and Social Media Disclosure Last week, we sponsored a Lunch ‘n’ Learn session: ‘Social...
2. NIRI Twin Cities – IR in the Age of Social Media Wrap-up Earlier this week, Darrell Heaps, Q4’s Co-Founder and CEO participated...
3. NIRI Cleveland – Social Media and IR Wrap Up – Top 5 Take Aways I recently had the opportunity to sit on a panel...

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

An interesting discussion developed when Dan Dykens, CEO of Meet the Street and host of #irchat asked “What do you think about Rivel Research’s buy-side survey which suggests that the valuation differential between good and bad IR is 35%?”

This question stirred up quite a debate, especially since no one had access to the methodology or a definition of what constitutes “good” vs “bad” IR.  So the responses were based on the information we had.

Shortly thereafter, Brian Rivel, president of Rivel Research Group, the firm specializing in perception research for public companies posted the following comment:

Glad to see that this data sparked such a debate! One of our most popular findings, as you might imagine. Just as an FYI, the study goes on to define what IS superb IR, according to the buy-side. That result can’t be looked at in a vacuum. I would be happy to provide more flavor to anyone who is interested.

With that, I jumped at the chance and contacted him for an interview:

SJ: Let me begin by addressing something that has been getting a great deal of discussion lately. One of Rivel’s research findings last year dealt with IR’s role in a company’s valuation. There have been conflicting accounts or interpretations of the research; can you clear this up for us?

BR: Definitely. As you can imagine, this is one of our most popular findings as it really comes as close as you can to putting a tangible number on the value of IR. And that always sparks such a fervent debate. Last year we surveyed over 250 buy-side investors from various industries on, among other things, whether or not good IR has a meaningful impact on a firm’s valuation — nearly three out of four said they believe that good IR does have an impact.

We then asked for them to quantify that impact and what we found was quite compelling. IR can account for a total variance of 35% in a company’s valuation – ranging from a premium of 10% for “superb” IR to a discount of fully 25% for “poor” IR. This is notable because just three years ago when we asked the same question, buy-side investors estimated a discount of 15%, so the risk associated with poor IR is increasing, given the level of uncertainty out there.

SJ: Now that begs the question, what constitutes “superb” IR?

BR: Thankfully, we asked the buy-side this follow-up question as well, and what we discovered was while “superb” IR rests on the usual tenets of good disclosure and responsiveness and ample access to senior management, the one standout was transparency.

SJ: But wait, you mentioned disclosure and transparency. Aren’t they essentially the same thing or is there a difference?

BR: Actually there is a big difference in the eyes of the investor. Investment professionals define transparency as clear, unambiguous information through which companies articulate definitive strategic goals, why they are important and the drivers by which they will be achieved. In essence, it’s the clarity of message that brings forward key challenges, how they are being addressed and frank, forthright discussions of the company’s prospects … in good times and bad. That last part is quite important as we’ve seen in many of our custom projects. Being transparent when times are rough goes a long way and is genuinely appreciated by the investment community.

On the other hand, disclosure is simply providing data, metrics, operating figures, what have you, on the many facets of the company, typically in the financial realm, but market share, product development, etc. come into play as well. Normally, disclosure in itself does not provide any color or interpretation on management’s part.

So a company can provide mountains of data on their operations, but they fail to provide any discussion or insight into what it means now or in terms of future performance…for example, how they are connecting the dots between A and B (A being where we are now and B being where the company expects to be in the future). And I can’t stress enough the key to having transparent communications is openness, honesty and frankness.

SJ: I can already hear IROs buckling at the prospect of giving away more information since managements loathe giving away too much disclosure in the interest of their competitive edge. Have you found in your research what the perfect balance is between too much information and not enough, especially as it relates to earnings guidance?

BR: Interestingly, our research shows that the recent implosion of the markets has altered expectations about guidance. First of all, when asked to name the most important aspects of superb investor relations, guidance rarely makes the list. Secondly, guidance is not all about earnings. Relative to a set of five types of corporate insight, earnings guidance ranks fourth. What the investment community is looking for is qualitative insight on the strategy.  How are you going to execute your strategy to achieve the goals you have outlined?  They are saying “connect the dots for us.”

But to answer your question, we haven’t done a definitive study on such a balance since it really varies between types of companies, their sectors, etc. Anecdotally, I can tell you from many of our custom research studies that investors do understand the competitive nature of their business and are aware there’s a fine line between too much and not enough. So they get that. But what they prefer is a sufficient level of disclosure surrounded by a discussion on what management thinks about it. They don’t want volumes upon volumes of data they can’t use. They want management’s take on the data and how that translates into future financial performance. After all, managements theoretically have the best view of what’s going on in their company and their industry.

SJ: So, in a sense, you are saying management has to do more to appease the investment community, even if they think what they are giving is adequate?

BR: In a manner of speaking, yes that’s the case. But it gets back to the original question about IR and valuation. Since the IR program is almost always viewed as an extension of management, if a company wants that premium of 10%, then becoming a superb IR department means having to provide transparency in their communications. It’s not necessarily MORE information, rather, the right information and the right level of transparency…“this is our strategy, these are the key elements, this is some detail around those key elements and this is how we think this will produce future financial performance.”   Without it, you risk being judged on the poor side, and with the continued market malaise, why run that risk when detailed and transparent investor communications are entirely possible with the right amount of work on the company’s part?

SJ: Sounds like a prudent move, but I wonder if management balks at giving such insight in what is a heavily controlled Reg. FD world we’re living in nowadays.

BR: I’m sure there are many internal discussions (or debates, I should say) between the IRO and their management about this subject. But in the end, our research shows that transparency helps set the stage for management credibility, which is at the core of investment decisions today. Having credible senior leadership always tops the list of factors investors take into account when making decisions about a company.

Transparency is also an IR code word for education since now more than ever, educating the investment community is an imperative for IROs as preconceptions about a company’s investment attractiveness are challenged by new economic realities.

SJ: Thank you, Brian for enlightening us on this ever-fascinating topic of IR’s role in valuation. If you have an update to your research, please let us know.

BR: Thank you, Sheryl. I will be sure to that.

Related posts:

1. New Rivel Research: Buy-side Perspectives on Best Practice IR Websites Rivel Research is well-known for their ability to gather, analyze...
2. Best Practices for conducting one-on-one meetings with the buy-side An effective IR strategy has many components.  Such as setting...
3. IR Best Practice: Get to know the Buy-Side Recently, I responded to a discussion on LinkedIN entitled “Required...

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

What follows is some of his advice to IR professionals for keeping pace in this rapidly changing regulatory environment.  He also discusses current challenges and opportunities and ways to address them. 

CHALLENGES & OPPORTUNITIES

Combating External Communications 

Regulation is evolving so rapidly it has become one of the key challenges for IROs right now.  All of these regulations clearly have an impact on how companies are currently conducting business and IROs should be good at:

1. Staying at the forefront of communications and keeping on top of what is being said externally about the company.
2.  Taking that information back to management and incorporating this into your strategy for dealing with shareholders.

Doing More With Less

The current economy has imposed budgetary constraints on companies which has made looking for ways to “do more with less” another key challenge.  Some ways to be more efficient and effective include Notice and Access tools and making improvements to your IR and corporate website.  The IR website is the dominant channel for investor communications and is one of the first places that investors, analysts and the financial media go to for company information.  So it is extremely important that is conveys your investment proposition and outlines your business strategy so potential, current and long-term shareholders have current and up-to-date information at a click of a mouse.

NIRI understands the importance of the website, as they will be launching a new version of theirs in mid-July.   They want members to use it as a first access point and are slowly revamping how information is laid out.  For example, they will group information they put out in categories or ways members will naturally go about seeking that information. The changes are expected soon.

Shareholder Communications

Another challenge facing IROs is how they communicate with shareholders.  Social networking can increase audience reach and allow companies to get to know their shareholders better through direct interaction – as traditional press releases, earnings calls and corporate presentations can be viewed, shared and disseminated on Twitter and discussed on blogs.

Jeffrey sees IR as the gatekeepers in social media and with companies slow to adopt these tools, feels IROs are well positioned to take the lead on implementing this into their communications strategy. “I think IR is in position to work with it. Whether we like it or not, this will happen around IR people. It will touch IR in a way where you can’t be sheltered. So you will have to deal with it—and it’s a good idea to start in a position of leadership, instead of waiting for it to happen to you.”

To summarize, in the coming year, there are three areas that he feels IROs will have to improve their professional skills:

1. Legal – as the leader in FD compliance, IROs must keep apprised of all of the regulation changes and stay on top of understanding what those changes mean. 
2. Social Media – IROs “must understand those communication vehicles. It’s incumbent for any IR person to try blogging, Twitter and using social mediums to bring the discussion back to company. Become an expert in it—that’s my advice now. That also relates to the regulatory and legal side. By understanding this, you can understand how to use it in compliance with Reg FD.
3. Financial Education – IROs need to become educated on alternative trading systems such as dark pools to help them understand who is trading their stock.

All of the aforementioned are ways in which IROs can increase their importance within the company.  For example, staying on top of all the regulatory changes can help elevate you to a key resource within the company.  Secondly, being proactive and communicating in social media forums will help you build better relationships with shareholders and increase your company’s profile.  It may also help you address contentious issues and address them head on in a timely manner before they escalate into a crisis.  Lastly, keeping apprised of alternative trading systems will help you understand  who your investors are and may even provide insights on the hedgers in these areas.

Related posts:

1. From NIRI 2009 – The Evolution of Financial Communication On June 10 I attended a panel discussion at the...
2. How to implement new Reg. FD web disclosure – a legal opinion As many of you know, over the past several weeks...
3. CICA’s Corporate Reporting research documents highly valuable to IROs Last week our CEO, Darrell Heaps, and I presented to...

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

1. Home page/investor index lacks easy access to key information.

2. Content does not convey/summarize a compelling investment proposition.

3. Information is not geared to various investor audiences.

4. Key content is missing, in wrong format or just not engaging.

5. Lack of tools to aid relationship/brand building.

We also used a few case stories to illustrate how leading issuers are maximizing their websites to communicate their investment propositions and unique advantages.

Related posts:

1. IR Website Best Practices Webinar Wrap-Up We had a great turnout at our first ever webinar...
2. IR Website Best Practices – FREE Q4 Whitepaper The IR website is a leading source for the investment...
3. IR Website Best Practices – FREE Webinar Times have changed but have your web communications kept pace?...

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

Since the SEC announced its recognition of corporate blogs as public disclosure in July of last year, social media has been used quite effectively by PR, marketing, and advertising professionals.  However IR practitioners are still pondering the risks and opportunities outlined in the recent SEC guidelines.

There are many things to consider for integrating blogs and other social networks into an IR program – such as disclosure and adhering to legal compliance. This is quite a dilemma as the adoption of social media has exploded and continues to be a medium of choice for millions of individuals hungry for instant information.

THE SEC FACTOR

Add to this, the ambiguous information initially issued by the SEC in which it states that “…company disclosure should be more readily available to investors in a variety of locations and formats to facilitate investor access to that information”, while their report “Guidance on the use of Company Websites” issued last August outlines the boundaries for sharing information as well as holding companies and their employees liable for the information that they post on blogs, networks, communities, and discussion forums.

No matter what, if a public company wants to use the social media outlets available, the SEC guidelines cannot be ignored.  As such, internal policies must be adapted and enforced to minimize the risk of overzealous employees posting status updates thereby triggering an SEC investigation and/or a shareholder revolt.

BROADENING THE COMMUNICATION CHANNEL

Mainstream IR programs target analysts, investors, and other stakeholders through a combination of strategic marketing activities and the ongoing distribution of material information using accepted channels. Now that social programs are being considered (and slowly added) to IR programs, IRO’s must decide what works for them – in particular how and when to engage in social media.

In a previous post I cited some companies who have had success in integrating social media tools into their IR websites to enable communication of both material and non-material information.  For example, Sun Microsystems developed an “Official Investor Communications Portal” which was created as a central source of material information and allows investors to subscribe to SEC filings and the CEO’s blog postings.  Whereas, Microvision implemented a multi-author blog for non-material information entitled “The Displayground” which links to media articles, product demonstrations, and customer testimonials.

Both of these companies chose ways that worked for them in how and when they engaged in communication with investors.  All the while being compliant with Reg. FD that states that material information distributed through social media be consistent in timing and language with conventional press releases.

SIFTING THROUGH THE GUIDELINES

In spite of the reach provided by social networks, few companies are using them for fear of being in violation of federal securities laws.  Fair enough, but the SEC states “it’s the responsibility of any community-focused organization to use all tools and channels in a way that extends and supplements each other.”

Consider the recent article in the Wall Street Journal in which they tell about how eBay launched a corporate blog which included updates about conferences, quarterly earnings calls and other topics by the company’s Chief blogger Richard Brewer-Hay.  Recently, he was required to include regulatory disclaimers with certain posts.

With the eBay case in mind, it is highly recommended that you carefully read the guidelines.  But don’t expect any explicit direction on what you can and cannot do or a step-by-step outline that tells you how to integrate social media into your IR program.

You just have to take it for what is worth – some starting points for implementing social media in the most compliant way, while enhancing your company’s communications platform. For example, companies will need to consider whether and when postings on their Web sites, communities, or networks are “reasonably designed to provide broad, non-exclusionary distribution of the information to the public.”

MODELS TO LIVE BY

When it comes to using social media and tying it in with IR, a lot of companies don’t want to blaze the trail.  Instead, most are content in waiting by the sidelines to see what others are doing to see where the dust settles.   That is unfortunate as social media is here to stay whether you choose to be an early adopter or want to play catch up once it really explodes.

Some large companies such as Johnson & Johnson and EMC Corp have been already been using Twitter to report annual meeting minutes and extend the reach for company news, and Dell has an investor relations blog dedicated to providing transparency and insight related to corporate activity, technology, and products.

Intel has also adopted the use of social media and advises companies to “Start small, do the due diligence and have patience… and be fine with being a change-agent for the following year or two.”

POINTS FOR CONSIDERATION/LEARNING BY EXAMPLE

Brian’s post boils down some of the salient points (from the SEC) to consider:

- Companies are more likely covered under the Fair Disclosure act if they publish information equally and accurately through a variety of traditional and digital passages.

- Companies should create a hub that documents all available mediums to receive information as it’s made public such as:

• Listing all press release services you employ
• Providing a directory of relevant blogs with URLs and RSS Feeds;
• Listing Twitter, FriendFeed, FaceBook or other relevant social network profiles;
• Sharing podcast links and presences on other audio networks such as iTunes;
• Embedding electronic documents and link back to host accounts such as DocStoc and Scribd; and
• Linking to a traditional or social media newsroom if this isn’t already the directory where this  information resides.

- News and intelligence should not reside in any one place. Concurrently, new channels should not suddenly appear without proper attention and disclosure. The SEC advises the practice of writing and distributing Notice and Access press releases to alert stakeholders to upcoming material announcements and pointing them to the place of distribution.

As mentioned earlier, social media is here to stay.  There are many reasons why companies should adopt it, although internal circumstances and other variables need to be properly assessed before moving forward.  As more companies take the leap and adopt social media into their IR program, the SEC guidelines can be refined and tailored to evolve with their experiences.

Related posts:

1. Webinar Replay – The Current State of Social Media and Investor Relations On February 14, Darrell Heaps, our co-founder and CEO, and...
2. Social Media Disclosure: Is Now the Time? Wrap-up and Audio Archive: NIRI 2011 The use of social media by institutional and retail investors...
3. Leading IR Firm at Forefront of Developing Social Media Strategies for Investor Relations Over the course of 2009, I have connected with a...

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

We attribute the large turnout to the fact that the web and the IR website is now the dominant channel for investor communications and many companies are looking for ways to do things better. We were really pleased with the number of people that attended and that we had lots of questions at the end. We’ll be doing webinars on a regular basis so be sure to subscribe to our RSS feed or email alerts to stay up to date.

For those of you who missed it here are some highlights of the common barriers:

1. Information is not geared to a wide range of users – Three main audiences should be considered:  potential investors, new investors, and long-term investors.  Some best practice examples to address these audiences include multiple points of entry to the investor section and content linked directly from the home page as well as including latest news, stock quotes, and what’s new.

2. Key information is not easily accessible – Some best practice solutions for this barrier include a navigational structure that provides entry points to key information such as “About Us”, “Investor”, “Customers”, “Media” etc. ; a home/investor index page that provides quick entry points that drill down into key content; and using quick links to bring information forward with one click.  One example provided had a company using “tag clouds” which is a very useful tool to search information.  It is housed on their homepage and automatically updates with prioritization of most frequently accessed content for the next visit.

3. Content does not convey or summarize a compelling investment proposition – We consider this to be the most common missed opportunity for issuers to communicate why a person should invest.  There are several ways this can be resolved….through a robust homepage that integrates investor content such as providing pull downs for immediate access to key content; “What’s New” – which features anything recently added to the site such as quarterly earnings results and conference call archive, upcoming events such as annual meeting; and an IR index page that has a section entitled “Why Invest”.  One company quite plainly had “Why Invest” as its first link in its left hand navigation on the homepage which had a dropdown menu that linked to “Understanding Our Business” (which included strategy), “Key Performance Drivers” and “History of Our Growth”.

4. Key content is in missing, in wrong format, or just not engaging – This is very common and we often see websites that display too much information in pdf format, long monotonous scrolls in which you have strands and strands of pages to navigate through to get to the information you are looking for, and little or no use of images or multi-media.  Some best practices for this barrier included using the centre area of a page to display some “Fast Facts” and supplementing this information with “Quick Links” situated off to the right as a way of highlighting the information.  Other tips included providing some imagery to supplement the text which makes it more engaging for the investor and a video of your CEO speaking about the company.

5. Lack of methods/tools to aid relationship/brand building – In our experience we have found that companies just don’t make themselves accessible.  This is evident through company’s who use a generic email address such as info@investors. We have also found that simple tools to keep investors informed such as RSS feeds and email alerts are underused.  There are some great ways to aid in relationship/brand building.  For example, one company has made their IRO accessible by providing their full contact information and even put a face to the person by posting their picture.  Another had a “design your own information” page which was very simple to set up and allows an investor to choose the items they want.  Another emerging feature is the “Investor Briefcase” in which one company offered it as a “wish list” whereby one could choose items as you move through the site and then view and retrieve them in a summary area.

The five common barriers we have discussed are by no means an exhaustive list.  They are ones that we continue to see on a recurring basis which can be easily managed by implementing some of the best practice solutions we outlined above.

If you’re interested in recieving a copy of the webinar (and also hearing the Q&A session) please fill out the demo request on our site and ask for the webinar slides in the comment field and I’ll send you a copy.

Related posts:

1. IR Website Best Practices Webinar Wrap-Up [caption id="attachment_1591" align="alignright" width="300" caption="IR Website Best Practices"][/caption] Last week,...
2. Webinar Replay and Transcript: IR Website Best Practices to Optimize your Online Presence On March 22, Catherine Crofton, Q4’s VP Sales & Marketing...
3. Webinar Replay – IR Website Best Practices On January 14, Catherine Crofton, Q4’s VP Sales & Marketing...

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

Access to management and senior executives is obviously most helpful. Some of the other tools that they find particularly useful include investor days, where they are able to get a sense of a company’s culture through speaking in-person with management, and get a chance to see a hands-on demonstration of the product or service they provide. Packaged information on a company website, including company presentations, are particularly helpful in advance of such events as they provide the opportunity to prepare questions that aren’t covered in other material made available.

Some of the efforts that may not be so useful industry sponsored broker conferences, and the four to five hundred emails per day that contain information that they already receive from other sources.

And finally, what role does social media play in keeping them informed? One panelist confirmed that a vast amount of key information is getting pushed through social media, and sees it as the communication way of the future. The other panelist uses blogs often to find out real information about companies; competitive pressures, the way they and their products/services are regarded in the industry, finding out the right questions to ask, etc.

This makes a lot of sense of course; when I think about making a major purchase or contracting a service personally, I simply put out the word to my contacts to ask for advice, input and any information I can, and what I gain from these conversations always factors largely into my buying decisions.

These conversations are taking place constantly, in real time, on the web through Twitter, Friendfeed and various other social media channels. It is critical for companies to take part in those discussions. That this was confirmed at the luncheon yesterday wasn’t rocket science social media is shaping the buy-side’s decisions and its day is coming

Related posts:

1. CIRI Ontario Seminar – Using Advanced Technologies Effectively CIRI Ontario opened the fall season at the Albany Club...
2. IR Best Practice: Get to know the Buy-Side Recently, I responded to a discussion on LinkedIN entitled “Required...
3. NIRI Fundamentals re-cap: A ‘Play Book’ to Help IROs Better Deal with the Buy Side In the second of two posts from the NIRI ‘Fundamentals...

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

The response has been both positive and negative. Criticism has primarily focused on the accessibility of information disclosed in this way – although anyone can receive automatic updates through RSS feeds, which take all of 2 minutes to set up. And North America enjoys the highest penetration of internet usage in the world.

What’s important to note is that GE executives say the blog permits them to disclose more information and on a more frequent basis, which translates into greater transparency regarding issues that would otherwise remain internal. “This is a tough environment, a lot of misinformation in the marketplace,” GE spokesman Gary Sheffer said. “This is just a fast and simple way to punch through it and to make sure that you tell your story in a simple and engaging way.”

This immediacy is one of the many positive outcomes of the new Reg. FD governing corporate web sites and blogs. In terms of engagement, I love the fact that GE incorporates video to support many of their blog stories. (Jason’s post on the Q4 blog yesterday sited another great example of this tactic, as employed by Overstock.com.)

In taking a quick look at the GE blog, one can see that they are receiving numerous comments, which isn’t surprising considering that the company has lost 62 percent of its value in the last year. Many of these comments are asking for more and different information. Some are suggesting specific measures be taken to protect shareholder value.

At first glance, this may seem a frightening scenario for the IRO who feels it’s better to ‘manage’ what’s being said about their company. The reality is that the Internet has provided a voice to everyone (as per Gary Sheffer’s comment on “misinformation”) and social media has amplified that voice. In today’s market there is no way to muzzle disgruntled investors and it’s much better to communicate with them.

Ruth Cotter, Director of Investor Relations, Advanced Micro Devices said it best in a recent presentation on social media, “Our communications are much more proactive. Instead of ‘pushing’ information at investors, we are now engaged in conversations with them. We’re learning a lot from this dialogue.” And this in turn helps shape future communications.

With corporate leaders such as GE embracing the new SEC guidance, it is anticipated that other companies will follow suit.

Related posts:

1. Using Q4 PRESS to Satisfy Reg FD for Blog Content Yesterday I posted about the importance of the controls over...
2. Investor Relations and Corporate Blog Trends As we have said in the past, there is limited...
3. Darrell’s Live Blog from CIRI 2008 on Zu Blog If you weren’t able to attend CIRI 2008, you can...

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

Most of the companies I’ve spoken with are intrigued by the potential cost savings of disseminating their disclosure without the expense of newswires. Some of the companies I’ve spoken with are busy putting plans in place to meet the new SEC criteria. Others have been made to fear that adopting this method of disseminating information to the market would prevent them from attaining simultaneous disclosure.

Most are wondering what steps they need to take to transition to this model. Although I have dealt with this more specifically in previous blog posts, here is my 1,000 foot perspective:

1.       Inform yourself of what’s possible from a technical standpoint and obtain opinions from a number of sources. To optimize web disclosure according to the SEC’s new guidance, your goal should be to investigate technologies that enable you to easily meet the SEC criteria while minimizing risk for your company. You may have to pay more than you do now for this technology, but taking control of your own distribution will allow you to reallocate some of your newswire costs to ensure a more effective web presence.

2.       Seek strategic communications consulting from experts well versed in IR best practices. Your corporate and investor web site is your most powerful stakeholder communications tool, if properly utilized and promoted. Choosing the right web platform and distribution technologies is only one half of the equation – having a strategic approach to your web communications is the other half. Over the years this has become a science in terms of required/expected content, how to structure the site, how to present your information for maximum impact and usability etc.

3.       Seek independent legal counsel in order to plan your company’s response/transition. 

It is to this end that I bring you an excellent article – a legal opinion penned by Colin J. Diamond, a partner in the securities group at the New York office of White & Case LLP – on ‘How to Implement the SEC’s New Guidance regarding the Use of Company Web Sites’. This recent article appeared in the November/December 2008 edition of The Corporate Governance Advisor.

The article is very easy to understand and comprehensive in its approach.  Colin examines each aspect of the SEC guidance and deals with it in detail.  I have provided an excerpt from the article below – a great chart that examines key factors of the SEC guidance along with how to respond to each. I highly recommend that you read the entire article and use it (or something like it) as a foundation on which to examine how to approach the guidance from a technical and communications standpoint.

[1] Note that an earnings release will in any event need to be filed with the SEC pursuant to Item 2.02 of Form 8-K.

Related posts:

1. How to make your website a “public” disclosure channel under new SEC guidance and RegFD If you’ve had a chance to go through the 47...
2. SEC Guidance enables corporate websites and blogs to be fair disclosure Late last week the SEC issued guidance on how companies can use corporate...
3. Legal, Social Networking and Financial Expertise Help IROs Stay on Top of Game In a recent edition of IR Alert, Jeffrey D. Morgan,...

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.