In her article “Should CEOs lose sleep over analyst recommendations” Clare Harrison, IR Magazine’s Deputy Editor, poses the question “How much attention do investors really pay to analyst recommendations?”
I think she raises some interesting points in answering the question. So much so that I’d like to reinforce and provide my two cents from an IRO perspective on those points here.  I’ll also provide some suggested tactics IROs can use to foster relationships and gain credibility with investors, and ways to help them make informed investment decisions about your company.
Recommend …

In a continuing effort to share how public companies are using social networks, Darrell Heaps, Co-Founder and CEO took a large audience of IR professionals on a guided tour of “The Current State of Social Media & Investor Relations”.
Participants were provided with over 50 examples and case studies of how companies are using Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and IR blogs to mitigate share value, dramatically increase web site traffic and broaden their reach to potential investors.
Social media success takes work and things don’t happen overnight. So, based on the plethora of …

On February 14, Darrell Heaps, our co-founder and CEO, and one of North America’s leading authorities on social media for IR hosted a guided tour of “The Current State of Social Media” webinar in which he walked through a current snapshot of what’s happening in the use of social media for IR and why it’s important to your investor relations program. Here is the full replay of the session and the Q&A, it’s 1hr15mins long:

The Current State of Social Media and Investor Relations – A Q4 Webinar from Q4 Web …

Join us on Thursday, February 11th from 4:00 – 5:00 p.m. EST for a guided tour by Darrell Heaps, CEO of Q4 Web Systems, and one of North America’s leading authorities on social media for IR.  If you are thinking about if, when and how to integrate social media with your investor relations program, you can’t affords to miss this interactive demonstration of how public companies are using the social web for IR.
Register now if you would like to learn:

Which social networks are being adopted by your peers for IR …

Last week, Catherine Crofton, Q4’s VP, Sales & Marketing hosted a second webinar on IR Website Best Practices.  Interest was high as we had another great turnout with people from around the globe in attendance. I also tweeted the event so if you were unable to join us, you can do a search on Twitter #Q4BP for a feed of the conversation.
This presentation was a follow up to a webinar Catherine conducted on this topic in April of last year in which she discussed five common barriers that block potential investors …

On January 14, Catherine Crofton, Q4’s VP Sales & Marketing hosted an IR Website Best Practices webinar.  Her presentation focused on how to build investor confidence through effective online communications.  The presentation includes a lot of great examples of companies using best practices and how they can be applied to your own IR website.

In particular she outlined some critical improvements to make to the IR website in 2010 including:

Key information to include for potential new investors in this economy.
Using social media effectively to increase your reach (and website traffic) and …

“My sole objective, and the only bullet on my job description, is to get the share price of TVI to a fair and sustainable value, PERIOD.  I decided the way to do that would be to use all things social media and set some benchmarks for Return on Investment (ROI) so I could measure the results.  Indicators such as increased web traffic, improved liquidity, increased institutional holdings and improved investor sentiment, would all result in a fair share price.”  – Rhonda Bennetto, Executive Director Investor Communications, TVI Pacific Inc.
TVI is …

Times have changed but have your web communications kept pace? Today’s more discerning investor is more open to portfolio diversification – which may mean that you need to provide different information than you are offering now.
Join us on Thursday, January 14th at 4:00 p.m. ET as we share top IR Website improvements to meet today’s challenging economic environment.  If you’re involved in your company’s IR website, this webinar will show some great examples of best practices from the world’s leading organizations as well as innovative small cap companies and how …

Every Thursday @ 1:00 p.m. ET I participate in #irchat on Twitter.  It is a weekly event hosted by Dan Dykens, CEO of Meet the Street, an online matching network for non-deal roadshows, which electronically schedules meetings between the buy-side and corporate executives.
The session only runs an hour so Dan asks one question every 15 minutes which gives us time for usually about three to four questions.  He does a fantastic job of stimulating the conversation by asking thought provoking questions which creates a lot of debate among the experienced …

Over the course of 2009, I have connected with a lot of smart, seasoned IR professionals on Twitter. I have met IROs and IR consultants alike.  One great contact I have made is Trevor Heisler, an IR consultant at TMX Equicom (a TMX Group company).
With experience as both an in-house IRO and IR consultant, I know the day-to-day challenges that IR professionals face.  One newer challenge has been the question of whether to embrace social media as part of the broader communications strategy.  Although I am not a practicing IR …