Category: Digital Marketing

Unleash the Power of ChatGPT: 6 Prompts for Effortless and Efficient Investor Content Generation

Posted on by Priscila Sotelino

Most of the following article was written by ChatGPT, the buzzy new language model developed by OpenAI. Parts of its responses have been edited or cut down for cohesion, but it’s absolutely wild how effective this thing is. And, to this copywriter, a bit terrifying. Through this exercise, I’ve found that ChatGPT is best used with a steward who understands what makes effective content. For example, in generating headlines for this article, the ones it came up with weren’t very good, but when I input my ideas, it improved upon them immensely. So keep that in mind.

Anyway, onto the article:

For public companies, communicating with investors is a crucial aspect of building and maintaining their reputation. Keeping investors informed about a company’s performance and future plans can help build trust and confidence in the brand. With the rise of AI technology, companies now have access to powerful tools such as ChatGPT that can assist in streamlining their investor communication efforts. 

Developed by OpenAI, ChatGPT is a language model that uses deep learning algorithms to generate human-like text. By leveraging this technology, public companies can create engaging and informative investor communications that effectively convey their message. In this article, we will examine how public companies can use ChatGPT to enhance their marketing efforts to investors and drive growth.

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How to use ChatGPT

To use ChatGPT, simply input a prompt or question and the model will generate a human-like response. The quality and accuracy of the response depend on the quality of the input, so it’s important to provide specific and focused prompts for the best results.

Good prompts for a public company using ChatGPT include:

  • Provide an overview of the company’s financial performance for the past quarter.
  • Explain the company’s strategy for expanding into new markets.
  • Discuss the company’s plans for developing new products and services.

A couple caveats

It’s important to note that ChatGPT, like any AI technology, is not perfect and has its limitations. The model can sometimes generate responses that are inaccurate or inappropriate, especially when provided with ambiguous or poorly defined prompts. 

Additionally, the model may struggle to understand complex or technical topics and may require additional training or customization to meet the specific needs of your business. 

Therefore, it’s important to exercise caution and carefully review the output generated by ChatGPT before using it for important tasks such as investor communication. [Author’s note: ChatGPT also currently doesn’t have internet access itself, or access to any information prior to 2021, so if you want to use it for up-to-date data, you’ll have to paste it into the tool. See how that works below.]

The following are a few prompts that your company can use to leverage ChatGPT’s incredible potential to more quickly generate content, get your message out there, and effectively discuss your investment thesis.

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1. Summarize press releases

Example prompt: “Please summarize the following press release in one concise paragraph: [Insert press release text here]. The summary should highlight the main points and key information, such as new product launches, partnerships, financial results, etc.”

The results generated by ChatGPT in response to the prompt can be used for a variety of purposes, depending on the context and the intended audience. Some potential uses of the results include:

  • Quickly disseminating important information to stakeholders such as investors, employees, or customers.
  • Providing an executive summary or overview of a press release, report, or other documents for internal use or for distribution to the public.
  • Creating social media posts or other marketing materials that succinctly communicate key messages to a target audience.
  • Offering insights and analysis of data for informed decision-making.

By generating a concise and accurate summary of a press release or other document, ChatGPT can help save time and effort, and ensure that key information is communicated effectively.

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2. Write email updates for your stakeholders

Example prompt: “Generate a 300-word email news update for our stakeholders, summarizing the key points from the following information: [Insert information here]. Please ensure that the email is written in a professional and informative tone and that all important details are included. Additionally, please include any other relevant updates or developments that you think would be of interest to our stakeholders.”

This ChatGPT prompt would be useful as it allows the user to provide specific information that the model can incorporate into a comprehensive and well-written email news update. By automating the summarization process and incorporating relevant details, this prompt saves time and effort and ensures that important information is communicated effectively to stakeholders.

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3. Generate content for investor presentations

Example prompt: “Please summarize the following information into a concise and compelling narrative that can be included in an investor presentation: [Insert information here]. The summary should highlight key takeaways and provide a clear understanding of the information for the intended audience. The narrative should be written in a professional and persuasive tone, and should be structured in a way that clearly communicates the most important information.”

This ChatGPT prompt would be useful as it allows the user to easily transform complex information into a concise and compelling narrative for an investor presentation.

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4. Write managements bios

Example prompt: “Generate a professional and informative management bio for [Name of individual], incorporating the following information: [Insert information here]. The bio should include key details, such as education, experience, and accomplishments, and should be written in a clear and concise manner. The tone of the bio should be appropriate for a wide range of audiences, including investors, customers, and employees.”

This ChatGPT prompt would be useful to public companies as it streamlines the process of creating comprehensive management bios, saving time and effort.

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5. Write pages for your website

Example prompt: “Generate a comprehensive and informative description of our [Name of project] project, incorporating the following information: [Insert information here]. The description should provide a clear understanding of the project’s goals, progress, and potential impact, and should be written in a professional and engaging tone. The description should also be structured in a way that is easy to understand and appealing to a wide range of audiences, including investors, customers, and employees.”

This ChatGPT prompt could be used by a public company to easily create a detailed and engaging description of a specific project for use on their website or other marketing materials.

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6. Write summaries on macro market conditions, company plans and more

Example prompt: “Generate a brief and insightful summary on the current state of the uranium market, including key trends and factors affecting the market, and explain how EXAMPLE COMPANY plans to capitalize on these trends. The summary should be written in a clear and concise manner and should highlight the unique opportunities and advantages that EXAMPLE COMPANY possesses in the market. The tone of the summary should be confident and persuasive, demonstrating EXAMPLE COMPANY’s expertise and commitment to success in the uranium market.”

[Author’s note: The above prompt could be switched to write about ANY market, and ANY company, with the right information.]

A next-generation tool that’s easy to use

ChatGPT is a valuable asset for public companies in the marketing space. With its ability to quickly generate high-quality content, from summaries to detailed project descriptions, it streamlines the process of creating materials that are tailored to the needs of the company and its stakeholders. Whether used for creating investor presentations or website content, ChatGPT offers a fast and effective solution for automating content creation, saving time and effort while ensuring that key information is communicated clearly and effectively.

3 ChatGPT Alternatives for IROs to Output Tons More Content for Investors

Posted on by Priscila Sotelino

AI has been dominating headlines and is quickly building a reputation as the next big sea change for a wide variety of industries. Chief among these is content creation.

We’ve already written about how ChatGPT can help you easily generate content for your public company. But other options are quickly gaining traction. 

Microsoft recently launched the latest version of Bing, with native ChatGPT implementation, though there’s currently a waitlist. Another large language model in development is Google’s Bard, which the company is reportedly scrambling to finish as ChatGPT dominates the news cycle.

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Each of these are powerful tools, but these massive players aren’t the only kids on the block. At the time of writing, ChatGPT has a few disadvantages:

  • It lacks access to the internet
  • It only has information up to 2022
  • It’s often flooded with users, limiting your access
  • It gets (sometimes even basic) things wrong

It’s also maybe not even the best tool for native content creation. With that in mind, here are three ChatGPT alternatives to help busy IROs and public company marketers put out well-researched, valuable content for their investor base.

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Perplexity.ai

Useful for:

  • Research, and research-based investor content
  • Tracking down further sources for content you’ve already written
  • Keep tabs on peer companies with minimal effort
  • Quick bullet points to support a thesis you’ve already put together (“Why should I invest in X company?”)

Perplexity.ai bills itself as a “conversational search engine,” using similar technology to ChatGPT, but with two important differences:

  • Perplexity has access to the full internet
  • Perplexity cites sources, which you can check yourself

The nice thing is that you can follow the sources. So if you’re looking for information for use in a piece you’re working on (say: “gold outlook for 2023”) you can see key points, then click through the information it provides for further context. This also makes it useful for tracking the movements of peer companies.

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Jasper AI

Useful for:

  • Creating content of all kinds to keep investors engaged
  • Generating ideas for content investors would be interested in about your company
  • Improving, streamlining, and speeding up writing, for both marketing/outreach content and news releases

Jasper AI is an AI tool specifically designed to produce content for businesses. A few key features:

  • Jasper is equipped with a wide variety of task-specific prompts and tools whether you’re writing an email, blog, company bio, tagline, or really anything else you can think of
  • Jasper has access to the internet
  • Jasper can produce specifically SEO-friendly content with quite accurate information

Jasper is built (and advertised) as a “virtual writing assistant,” providing a whole suite of services for anyone who needs to create content. It’s easy to see the utility in this for busy IROs or anyone running an investor marketing campaign.

The tool seems to be a strong choice for IR professionals looking to expand their content and thought leadership output but don’t have a lot of time.

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Writesonic

Useful for:

  • Generating SEO-friendly content to keep you top-of-mind with investors
  • AI-generated images for use in presentations, website content, and headersCreating ad copy for use in investor marketing campaigns

Last we have Writesonic, which at first glance looks perhaps the most like ChatGPT but with a few essential, useful deviations:

  • Like Jasper, it has a wide variety of templates, including landing pages, calls to action, headlines, SEO blog posts, ads for Google, Facebook, and LinkedIn, and general articles
  • It can generate AI images, which can be useful in all sorts of applications

In a lot of ways, Writesonic seems like a cheaper version of Jasper, though we haven’t had a chance to compare them head-to-head. Writesonic clocks in at $12/month, though it also has a free trial.

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This is just the beginning

It’s the early days for artificial intelligence. As these new technologies balloon across virtually every industry, there’s a lot more that AI can do besides content creation. We are already seeing programs that can help public companies connect with institutional investors and of course numerous AI tools for investors themselves.

This tech will only get more advanced over time, which makes it especially important to keep up with the latest developments to stay ahead of your competition. 

7 digital advertising strategies to optimize your IR website and attract investors

Posted on by Marika Hirsch

Once you’ve crafted a unique visual brand, compiled all your IR materials, and poured hours of hard work into your IR website, you need to make sure that investors will see it. There are plenty of ways to increase website traffic, like paying for ads, but there are additional creative and organic ways to drive more activity and engagement. Read through these 7 digital advertising strategies and ask yourself if your IR website is taking advantage of these channels.

1. Focus on keywords to increase search traffic

Before you get too deep into digital advertising, and your own pockets, it’s important to understand the ways companies can organically grow their search traffic through SEO. First, understand the type of content and search terms that investors in your industry are using online. Then create a list of every keyword you’d ideally want to show up for on Google when someone is searching online. For example, as a gold mining company, you might consider ‘best gold stocks’ ‘gold mining investment’, ‘Canadian gold companies,’ etc.

Next, analyze the content you’ve already written online, especially your IR site, and see where you can add some of those important keywords. The more keywords you can place in main headings and page titles, the better. Make sure you don’t overdo it, however, because it can negatively impact your website if Google knows you’re abusing this tactic.

2. Have a targeted content strategy and develop content people want to read

The more quality content you have, the more likely people will value your perspective and want to revisit your site. The same goes for search engines. A common mistake companies make is thinking they can develop lots of content quickly for clicks and lead generation. Badly planned and quickly generated content, however, will reduce your website credibility rather than help it. Always remember that search engines like Google are on the side of the consumer. They work to make the best possible experience for them–as should you. Take your time developing a good content strategy that will directly target specific audiences. Conduct research. Gather as much information as you can on your ideal target audience. People will enter their email for impeccably designed, thoughtfully presented, and well researched digital reports. Some other good examples of high quality content can include industry articles on trending topics, shareable and informative videos, whitepapers, and helpful blog posts. Make sure you remember those keywords and include them clearly in titles, headings, and body of your content.

3. Set up Google Analytics to track campaigns

If you don’t have Google Analytics running on your corporate or IR website, go set up an account right now. It’s impossible to understand the best ways to optimize your website and your content if you don’t have actual data supporting your decisions. With Google Analytics, you don’t have to guess which keywords or ad campaigns are working best for you, and which aren’t performing as well. Using this tool, you can easily track what keywords or ads are driving the most traffic to your website, who is reading your content, where they are located geographically, and what device and browser they’re visiting from. The more information you can gather, the more you can understand the user journey, and the faster you can optimize your website experience.

4. A/B test different ad variants for the same campaign

You might have a very strong indication on who your typical investor would be, but why not confirm that knowledge with supporting data and facts? Test one version of an ad campaign against another to see which gets more impressions and clicks. This strategy is called A/B testing. Facebook has 10 different types of ads to choose from, including carousel ads, regular image ads, and text-only ads. If your strategy is to use social ads, we suggest testing a few different types to see what data you get back. You can also create variants of the same type of ad and change up where you place the call-to-action, what color the button is, as well as what headline is more engaging. Use the data to analyze and gather the most beneficial information for your company. Just make sure when you’re A/B testing ads you only make one crucial change per set, such as placement of title. If you make multiple changes, you won’t be able to tell why one ad is performing better than the other. You can also use ad testing to serve different ads to different audiences to see what type of language sticks to different demographics.

5. Use landing pages for lead generation

Rather than pushing people to a page where you sell a product and service, create well-designed landing pages with the specific purpose of capturing information from a prospective lead. Discuss what info is the most important to gain for your company. Typically it’s their Name and Email Address, as well as Industry (especially for public companies) and potentially Business Phone Number. The three keys of a good lead generation landing page are: A) it’s well designed B) it’s minimal and straightforward and C) it has a clear call-to-action. Just as we discussed above, landing pages are also a great thing to test. You can A/B test one landing page with a Name, Email, and Industry form, another with just email, and a third with the option to add a phone number or subscribe to your newsletter. You would be surprised at what discoveries people have had by understanding who their audience is what information they prefer to offer.

6. Get 3rd party endorsements about projects for ad campaigns

Investors like to see that you have a good track record, and 3rd party endorsements in ads work to build trust. Experiment with different visual techniques in ads to include endorsements from reputable companies that will directly appeal to your target audience.

7. Create waiting lists for content you haven’t written yet to generate advance interest

If you’ve generated a long form report, ebook, whitepaper, or research study and want to create a little buzz around it, try creating an advanced ‘release’ landing page where people can sign up to receive notifications in their emails once the content is published. From these leads, you’ll have the ability to build targeted email lists based on who signed up for what and create more tailored content around what they’re interested in.

Conclusion:

Digital advertising is a big topic, and we know it can get overwhelming to try to choose a path that’s best, whether it’s organically growing traffic through SEO, researching PPC strategies, or focusing on creating great content. At the end of the day, all these can work, but the most important thing is to determine what your company’s goals and objectives are in order to fine-tune a digital marketing strategy. We recommend working with partners who are experts in digital marketing and advertising and who can take a deeper look at your company’s specific needs and create a step-by-step digital marketing plan. Reach out to us at any time at [email protected] to learn more.

3 Ways To Optimize Your Digital Marketing Strategy This Year

Posted on by Nicole Van Zanten

We’re halfway through the calendar year, which is about the time when companies like yours are taking stock of overall progress in 2018 – from company revenue to CSR reporting, expense reports to marketing acquisition and engagement. Optimization in all areas of your business is essential to having a strong final half of the calendar year. One particular area of your business to optimize quickly – and with clear focus – is your digital marketing strategy. Not only are your digital efforts easier to optimize in comparison to traditional marketing, digital and content marketing cost 62% less than traditional, and yields 3X as many leads.

Marketing for public companies and investor relations is constantly evolving, so we’re dedicated to educating ourselves and staying on top of the industry. As we’ve moved through the first half of this year with our clients, we have identified and outlined areas to best optimize their marketing strategies and digital integration efforts.

Bonus: Scroll to the end of this blog for your free downloadable report on Digital Marketing for IR – 7 Tips for 2018.

 

Here are 3 ways to optimize your digital marketing strategy this year.

 

Video and images make a significant impact on engagement

There’s no doubt that video has been an important part of digital marketing for years, though it has been much more prominent and often expected as of late. Similarly, the strategic use of imagery on websites, CSR reports, annual reports, etc. has also increased viewership. The average person watches 1.5 hours of video each and every day, and with video acting as a powerful connector between company and investor, your digital strategy should also include video.

Most innovative digital marketing and video strategies include VR (virtual reality) and 360º video, with companies like Teekay leading the way. Teekay has developed an impressive video strategy to tell their story through 360º videos, which allows viewers to be immersed in experiences such as being in an at-berth ship-to-ship transfer, taking a look inside a pilot’s cabin, being in a helicopter ride and other great adventures. It’s a great way for Teekay to take potential investors through their operation without needing to travel.

 

Integrate social media as part of  your digital strategy

Social media isn’t going anywhere, though the use of social media with public companies and IR has long been at odds with one another. With that said, there are plenty of investors and companies who have certainly embraced networks like LinkedIn, Twitter, and Instagram, while others are just dipping their toes in the water.

These social platforms can be a great way to find potential investors for your company. Connecting with the community by perusing hashtags like #USInvestor, #investorrelations, #IRinvestment on Twitter, Instagram or Facebook, could bring plenty of accounts that could potentially engage with your business. Similarly, searching for specific companies and job titles on LinkedIn is a great tool to connect with like-minded individuals.

Our free downloadable guide has great tips on how to set up your social media accounts, when to post and more.

 

Test your website speed and performance

Your website is the number one driver of online engagement with your brand – it’s a 24/7 representation of your business. This means website speed and performance should be top of mind.

Click here to test your website performance. It’s a handy free tool from Google that will give you insights into your overall speed score, and feedback on what you can optimize to make your website load faster. As of July 9 2018, page speed on your mobile website is more important than ever when it comes to mobile search ranking. Google rolled out an update to mobile websites that makes pagespeed a ranking factor for mobile searches, so if your website is slow, you could see a decrease in organic traffic.

Integrating video content in your digital marketing strategy, utilizing the power of social media and optimizing website speed and performance are three great ways to get your digital marketing strategy ready for the remainder of 2018.

Enjoyed this content? Click here to download your free guide on Digital Marketing for IR – 7 Tips for 2018.

Here’s How You Can Market To Accredited Investors

Posted on by Nicole Van Zanten

When setting the marketing strategy for your business, there are many positioning strategies and tactics your public company can take. From selecting the networks on which you target investors, to the copy points and CTAs that are on your website, how you reach your investors takes plenty of planning and strategic consideration. One of the most challenging targets can often be accredited investors.

Accredited investors are those who have a minimum net worth of $1,000,000. These individuals are clearly separated from the investing public, making up only 5% of the investing population. Attracting these individuals means positioning your company as one that is of specific interest to their portfolio.

If your public company is revising or revisiting your strategy to position yourselves as such, here’s how you can market to accredited investors.

1. Your website should be easy to navigate

Accredited investors know what they need and (typically) won’t be patient when searching for it. With your website being your 24/7 means of showcasing your company’s investor information – presentations, exploration highlights, stock information, financial reports and more – this information should be easy to navigate. By this, we mean that accredited investors should not need to click through layers of drop-down menus to read such information. Instead, limit this to one or two clicks to reach pertinent investor information.

Side note: We love our work with White Gold Corp for this very reason – one or two clicks on their website to obtain presentations, highlights, reports and more.

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2. Address information that accredited investors want to read

Accredited investors want to know how their money will be spent, what the trajectory of the business is, profitability milestones and other such topics. Addressing information that they want to read is not only a great exercise from a business storytelling perspective (the exercise of reviewing collateral you currently have), it can also help differentiate yourself from others in your industry. Companies that are vague in sharing topics such as their business trajectory – will often struggle out against companies who are open and transparent.

3. Make it personal

Business is personal. Whether you’re purchasing a brand new suit, a coffee from your local shop, or deciding to invest in a public company, it’s important for businesses to make it personal and build relationships. Developing a personal relationship or positive rapport with an accredited investor  can impact whether such an individual will decide to believe and invest in your business. Take the time and invest in the effort it takes to create that rapport.

4. Understand where these investors are ‘living’.

When searching for a company like yours, what are accredited investors searching for? Or when perusing networking sites, where are they ‘living’?

Investors are using search engines like Google to find their next portfolio additions. Here’s a great resource on optimizing your IR website for search traffic. When determining what accredited investors are searching for, take Google Analytics into consideration – what are the top organic search terms driving traffic to your website? What are visitors engaging with when they arrive on your website? Where are they dropping off?

Similarly, LinkedIn is a network to certainly pay attention to, with 45% of LinkedIn users earning over $75,000 annually, and 133M+ living in the United States. As a professional business network, this is certainly one to consider as part of your social media strategy.

5. Referrals are the greatest form of flattery.

Digital strategy aside, the greatest form of flattery is a referral. A referred client has a 16% higher lifetime value than a non-referred customer. More often than not, referrals need to be requested. Referrals can come through networking opportunities or asking your contacts if they have an accredited investor in their portfolio who is interested in partnering with a company in your industry. Consider the alternative, too – give and you shall receive. One of the most powerful ways you can generate referrals is to give them yourself. Is there an investor you wish to endorse on LinkedIn? Introduce to another public company? Refer platforms to? Consider the appreciation of a referral from an alternative perspective.

Above all, marketing to accredited investors can take time, patience and the ability to develop an engrained personal relationship. Revising your 2018 strategy with this in mind could yield benefits in the long run.

6 must-know CSR trends for public companies in 2017

Posted on by Marika Hirsch

One of the biggest focuses for public companies in the New Year is improving their Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) in terms of tailored goals, visibility, reporting, and more. The Ethical Corporation recently released a report in which they gathered research from 948 CSR professionals from around the globe on their thoughts of the state of their profession as it moves into 2017. We analyzed their research, as well as our own findings from what was most crucial for our clients this year, and developed these 6 must-know CSR trends for public companies in 2017.

1. CSR is more mainstream, which means more competition

A few years back, it was enough for public companies to have a fairly comprehensive Corporate Social Responsibility section on their website, with a simple PDF presentation and a few images of how they took into consideration the environment, communities, and their social impact. A vague understanding of social impact is no longer enough to stand out amongst the top public companies with the best CSR reputations. Taking action against climate change, contributing to social justice movements, and standing firm in founding principles are trends in themselves for big companies, and have become not just acceptable, but expected. With more companies understanding the value CSR can bring to both their public image and their stakeholders, it’s getting harder to make a message stand out in a sea of ‘do-gooding’. The Bmeaningful Blog writes, “Breaking through the clutter of messaging and advertising will be a challenge but we see tremendous opportunity for professionals who can authentically tell their companies’ cause story”.

2. CSR content will become even more personalized

Focus on CSR goals that make sense for your company and will garner the most trust from your primary stakeholders. As we talk about in our report entitled, What is CSR and Why Your Website Will Tell Your Story, “A trap that many companies fall into is thinking that CSR is only about giving back to the environment…CSR can also focus on efforts with local communities and interactions with your own consumers and what matters to them”. Building investor trust means tailoring content to their main concerns, while also ensuring you’re staying true to your company’s story and goals. If you’ve published multiple CSR success stories to a company newsletter, one focusing on community impact and one focusing on social change, you can serve different content to different investors based on what they most care about. As we discuss in our article about Digital Marketing Trends and Predictions for 2017, investors are looking for more personalized content. This includes what CSR stories you should be promoting.

csr trends for 2017 video

3. Showcase CSR efforts through video and animation     

Perhaps the biggest trend we see each year in the digital marketing world is that the online attention span of consumers is shrinking astronomically. We are so used to getting the information we want online right away, in bite-sized pieces. The same concept applies with investors. Your investors won’t have the time to read a 15 page PDF report on how your latest CSR measure impacted a community and benefited your company. Break down the CSR successes of the past year with videos, data visualizations, or animations on your website. Even more important: make your reporting shareable. Short videos illustrating your impact as a company are the perfect way to get some brand differentiation and easily circulate your message. TELUS’ 2015 Sustainability Report is a great example of how a company can mix text, bold images, and data visualization to highlight impact.

4. Align your CSR goals with those at the top

Ethical Corporation’s report states that “Only 25% of CSR executives [surveyed] stated their CFO is absolutely convinced of the value of the CSR report”. This is a problem. If your company’s CEO, CFO, and more aren’t aware of the CSR goals for the coming year, or don’t see value in spending more time, energy, and money on CSR initiatives or CSR reporting, your company will come across as disjointed and not united in your social message. Ensure that environmental impact, social justice, and community service goals aren’t simply dreamt and executed within one department. The whole company, from the top to the bottom, should understand the importance of what you’re doing and how it relates to your vision and end goals.

5. Make CSR presentations available on every platform

We spoke above about translating your CSR initiatives to video and animation, but it’s equally important to make sure what you’re putting out there can be accessed by anyone who wants to see what your company is up to. 2017 will see even more people disregard their desktops for a mobile phone, so make sure every downloadable CSR presentation, testimonial video, customer story, and website link are available by a smartphone or tablet browser.

csr trends for 2017 tablet

6. Don’t just report, relate back

Don’t focus all your CSR energy on reporting. Ethical Corporation’s report says, “60% of respondents agreed that too much time is being spent on the reporting process”. Investors want to see how CSR initiatives affected the numbers, but that doesn’t mean you can pull a ‘number dump’ and be done with it. Make sure you’re not just reporting the numbers or you’ll create a disconnect between your company and the lives you actually impacted. So this year, think about other ways to illustrate the impact you’ve made. Include more employee testimonials, customer success stories, environmental impact studies, or ‘Message from the CEO’ videos. Mixing up how you deliver CSR good news makes sure investors, as well as your target audiences, don’t get number fatigue.

 

Conclusion: Don’t choose a CSR focus based on what’s trending

Ironically, even though this article is all about CSR trends, make sure you’re not shifting your CSR strategy each year based on what’s trending. Although many big companies have jumped at the chance to show their support for social change in the past few years, that doesn’t mean you have to organize something similar for your company if a big social justice push doesn’t match your short or long term goals. As long as everyone is working towards your company vision, you should be okay.

For a comprehensive look at ways to improve your CSR on your website, as well as some great examples of public companies with great CSR reporting, download our guide below!

 

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IR Resolutions for 2017

Posted on by Nicole Van Zanten

When it comes to resolutions for the New Year, we all have various personal and professional goals that we are seeking to accomplish. Whether it’s a personal goal that will work to make you a stronger leader in your workplace or community, or a professional goal, like creating and launching an optimized online IR strategy for your company, this is time of the year when we are ready to get started on our New Year Resolutions. And if IR Resolutions are what you’re making, this blog is for you.

We’re excited about what is to come in IR for 2017. So excited, in fact, that we’ve compiled the IR resolutions that you need to know about now for this New Year. With a compilation of trends and insights we’re ready to see unfold, you’ll want to bookmark this blog and review in the upcoming quarters.

Here are the IR Resolutions for 2017 you need to know now.

 

Review and determine if your website needs a refresh.

39% of people will stop engaging with a website if images won’t load or take too long to load, so it’s time to ask yourself – does your website need a refresh? Furthermore, given 15 minutes to consume content, two-thirds of people would rather read something well designed than something plain, and a bore to view.

Given the fact that visitors to your website are unlikely to spend 15 minutes on any given page, you have a limited amount of time to make an impression on your IR visitors.

In 2017, it’s time to review and determine if your website needs a refresh.

 

Video is King.

We’ve spoken about this at length, but 2017 is the year when it truly comes into play

59 percent of executives admit that they would rather watch video than read text, which means that your IR decision makers are looking for video content in the New Year. It should be an integral part of your website’s infrastructure, and can no longer be considered an addition to your IR strategy.

Integrate video content on your home page, your company’s about us page, your contact page and more. Ensure it is engaging content – and short! Aim for a video length of 0:30 to one minute in length.

IR Resolutions Video

 

Do you need to update your CSR strategy?

Although we have seen a great number of companies who have an understanding of how CSR can impact their IR strategy, showcasing your efforts will soon be the norm. CSR has been more of a trend seen in the European and Asia-Pacific regions, but 2017 will be the year that it becomes increasingly relevant in North America.

With this in mind, it’s time to review your CSR strategy and online presence in this New Year. Ask yourself – does the CSR section of my website accurately reflect our internal efforts?

 

Use social media to tell your story.

Although you very likely have presence online, and perhaps even use Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and Instagram every single day, this is the time to review how you are telling your company’s story through social media. 62 percent of adults in the United States get their news on social networks, which is up from 49 percent in 2012. It’s clear that this trend will only continue in 2017.

As you are making company announcements or CSR initiates in this New Year, consider how social media can compliment your strategy.

 

From a website refresh to video, CSR to social media, your IR resolutions for 2017 range in topic, but will all play a significant impact on your business within this New Year. Take time this month to review your strategies currently in place, and consider the benefits of making optimizations now.

Digital Marketing Trends and Predictions for 2017

Posted on by Nicole Van Zanten

With the New Year right around the corner, many IR companies are putting the finishing touches on their digital strategies for 2017. Budgets have been approved and wish lists received, meaning that now is the time when the tactics are being throughly reviewed and targets set for the upcoming year. You’ve likely spent time researching the latest digital marketing trends (mobile, mobile, mobile), and have been dissecting predictions yourself for the last few months; however, as we inch closer to the New Year, digital predictions are becoming that much more clear, with key trends emerging in the online space.

We’ve spent time surveying the industry and have determined our top five trends heading into 2017. So, grab a cup of coffee, open your 2017 Digital Marketing Strategy, and consider affirming (or making tweaks!) now, before we get into the Holiday Swing.

 

Below are our Digital Marketing Trends and Predictions for 2017…

 

1.  Your target investor wants personalized content.

In recent years, companies have been developing more content for their websites; blogs, infographics, eBooks and more have filled the pages of content strategies globally.

Now, your target persona wants content – but they want personalized content. With 40% of businesses taking a strategic approach to content, the time is now for your IR company to shine.

By personalized, we mean using content like the aforementioned blogs, infographics, eBooks and more that is suited and targeted to your potential investor. For example, you could create a white paper or case study for a particular segment of your target, like mining. You would then serve this content through an email newsletter or targeted advertising to mining contacts exclusively. Not only does it provide valuable and worthwhile content to your potential investor, it makes him or her feel like your company is taking their wants and needs into consideration.

 

2. Design for multi-platform users.

 

digital marketing trends

 

It’s clear that more and more digital consumers are using multi-platforms to view content online; that is, they have indicated use of mobile, desktop, tablets and more on a frequent basis. Users are coming to your website from a variety of sources, and likely using other devices at various times to return to your website.

This means that instead of thinking mobile-exclusively, consider the benefits of building for multi-platform. Run an audit of your website – is it responsive on desktop, mobile and tablets? What about iPhone VS Android? Is there room for improvement?

 

3. Remember, your target users on are other sites, too.

 

Digital Marketing Trends

 

While the main objective is to drive potential investors to your website, remember that your target investors are on other sites, too.

Primarily, consider the benefits of having active profiles on social accounts, like LinkedIn and Twitter, for example, or perhaps Facebook Groups to peruse for your benefit. Facebook is the leading social network as of Q2 2016, with 1,590,000 million active users and an 18% market share of social media networks.

 

4. Mobile marketing SEO will break you apart from competition in 2017.

When it comes to digital trends in 2017, SEO might very well take the cake for generating the greatest impact.

Google has announced a plethora of updates to search engine optimization in 2017, but the one you primarily need to focus on is around Accelerated Mobile Pages. Accelerated Mobile Pages (or AMP) is a project from Google and Twitter that is designed to make really fast mobile pages. At its core, it’s basically a stripped-down form of HTML.

Anything you can do to help speed the load of your web and mobile pages will significantly help in keeping users on your site. The AMP project from Google and Twitter is performing so well, we predict that this will start to have a real impact on SEO moving into 2017. Make sure AMP pages are on your digital task list for the New Year.

 

5. Nurture your current IR leads.

Nurturing your leads, either through email newsletters or 1:1 contact, is a necessity in 2017.

Much like personalizing your content, it’s more important than ever to keep in contact and deliver the content your potential investor needs. 2017 is the year of reliance on big data and CRM software, so be sure you have the budget and systems in place to start (or continue) your email nurturing strategy. By keeping in contact with leads who have not yet converted to an investor, your company can stay top of mind in 2017.

 

There are big changes in store for the year ahead, and it’s clear that digital marketing will play a significant part in the success of businesses globally. Through these digital marketing trends and predictions, review your current strategic plan and consider the areas you can expand on or update.

Above all, we wish you and your team a joyous Holiday Season and a successful New Year! 

Questions about these digital marketing trends and predictions for 2017? Contact us here.

Connecting with your On-The-Go Investors: Beyond the Website

Posted on by Marika Hirsch

What other aspects of your IR communications can benefit from a mobile-first focus?

Last week, we focused on specific website examples from Canadian public companies who have made mobile a top priority when it came to their website and investor relations section. While mobile optimization is definitely the first step, the job isn’t done once your website looks great on a phone or tablet. A mobile-friendly website is only one step in the process of getting your company ready for a mobile focused future. There are many other ways of communicating with your on-the-go investors that can benefit from revisiting your IR strategy with a mobile lens.

Section Four of Blender Media and CIRI BC’s collaborative eBook, Connecting with Your On-The-Go-Investors takes a look at every part of a conclusive investor relations strategy, beyond the website, and discusses how public companies can benefit from mobile-friendly presentations, reports, email signups, and more. Navigate to the interactive eBook now to take an in-depth look at our findings, or read the highlights below!

 

My website is mobile-friendly, aren’t I done?

Nope. As we mentioned above, having a mobile optimized website is the first step, but definitely not the last in order to have a complete mobile strategy for your public company. Get inside mind of your on-the-go investors and ask yourself: What issues might my investors run into when looking at my company info from their phones? Below are a few of our ideas for potential problems:

“I want to make note of the company’s next conference call/annual report/ tradeshow on my phone’s calendar, but it’s too complicated.”

Build an ‘Add to Calendar’ or ‘Remind Me’ function into your company’s latest updates so on-the-go investors can easily select their type of calendar and have the event saved straight to their mobile device. This process is easy to implement for you, and will save your investors time.

Going Mobile Beyond the Website screenshot

“I want to sign up for email alerts, but it’s too hard to fill out the form from my tablet.”

There is nothing more frustrating than trying to fill out an electronic form on a phone and having the keyboard open and collapse at random times, or the form fields stop registering, or the ‘submit’ button is too difficult to tap. Don’t put your on-the-go investors through that headache and ensure that every form on your website requesting information works flawlessly.

 

“I’ve opened their annual report on my phone, but the PDF is too small to read and I have to keep zooming in with my fingers.”

Ah, the old PDF pinch and zoom. Although downloadable PDFs are still widely used by public companies for annual reports, is that the way it always has to be? What about an interactive annual report as a separate website that functions well on any mobile device? Creating a digital annual report with animated highlights, easily selectable chapters, great design, and more will stand out to your investors much more than the same old PDF. Want to see an example? Navigate to our latest eBook that we call the “PDF slayer.” Connecting With Your On-The-Go Investors gives you a digital reading experience like no other.

 

Read about what other IR materials can be enhanced with a mobile focus (such as news releases, annual reports, and IR presentations), as well as testimonials from the industry’s top IR experts in our full report. Check it out here!

 

Connecting with your On-The-Go investors: Great Mobile Examples

Posted on by Marika Hirsch

Take a lesson from your peers, and get mobile optimized.

We’ve been writing a lot lately about why it’s so important to have a mobile-friendly website in order to better communicate with your on-the-go investors. You’ve learned the basics of what mobile-friendly means for public companies. We explained how giant companies like Google are changing the way their mobile searches work with ‘Mobilegeddon’.

This week, we’re looking at specific website examples from Canadian public companies who have made mobile optimization a top priority. In Section Three of our interactive eBook, Connecting with Your On-The-Go Investors, we pull together examples of great mobile websites from companies of all sizes and all industries.

 

Here’s what you can expect from Section Three: Examples of mobile-friendly websites.

Analyze the mobile readiness of your peers! Below, in this week’s blog, we break down one great example of a mobile-friendly website from our friends at Teck Resources. Section Three of the eBook, however, offers many more examples from great companies as well as an explanation of why mobile optimization should be on your investor relations strategy agenda. You can also read testimonials from IR executives at Teck Resources and others about why mobile was an asset for their investor strategy. The eBook’s collaboration with CIRI BC ensures that each example takes into consideration the needs of Canadian public companies. Navigate to the eBook now for the full experience, or continue reading for one example.

 

Why we love Teck Resources’s mobile website

Many assume that only companies in the technology sector can benefit from having a cutting-edge website. However, Teck is a great example of a natural resources company with a website built for this day and age. Here are some specific reasons why we love them on mobile:

Great Mobile Examples 1

The Design Isn’t Compromised

Teck’s mobile design is just as stunning as their desktop website. Sliding banners with high quality photos capture the attention of on-the-go investors and the mobile design keeps consistent with the same typography and colours as the desktop experience.

 

Great Mobile Examples 2

Company News and Performance Features

Teck’s mobile homepage includes pullouts from the latest company news and investor performance figures with an option to navigate to the full page to learn more. Pulling out performance statistics on the homepage makes it easy for on-the-go investors to quickly get the bite-sized information.

Great Mobile Examples 3

Wealth of Information

Teck’s mobile website provides on-the-go investors with all the information they need, from the latest news release to the importance of CSR and sustainability measures. Oftentimes, a public company’s desktop website offers the full breadth of information, while the mobile website lacks a majority of website sections. Teck’s mobile website, however, uses an intuitive navigation and clean design to display all the information needed in an organized way.

 

Great Mobile Examples 4

Focus on Sustainability

Teck’s mobile website features a section called ‘Our Approach to Sustainability’ with visual icons to help mobile users grasp their environmental plan. At the bottom of the mobile homepage, on-the-go investors can easily find the 2015 Sustainability Report, as well as the latest annual report.

 

Great Mobile Examples 5

Teck is only one example of the many Canadian companies who are helping their on-the-go investors find the information they need with their mobile websites. To see all the examples and learn more strategies, make sure to navigate to Section Three of the eBook: Connecting With Your On-The-Go Investors.