Tag: IR Websites

The Story Behind a Winning IR Website, Perfect for the Age of Digital Healthcare | CloudMD Case Study

Posted on by Matt Freeman

CloudMD is a digital healthcare platform with an array of offerings for patients, healthcare practitioners, and enterprise operations. The company is constantly working to streamline the healthcare process, unifying the three categories into a single easy-to-use ecosystem.

When the company approached Blender with a need for a new IR website, we were immediately intrigued. CloudMD’s old platform really only conveyed one aspect of their complete, multi-part offering, employing an outdated model that was aimed more directly at individual patients.

Replace1

 

 

The challenge

The team at CloudMD hoped to totally overhaul their site, reworking the content and structure to focus on their new, up-to-date model with three distinct verticals: patients, providers, and enterprise solutions. They also wished to combine their corporate and investor relations sites, and to hone their IR site to better speak to their investors and prospects.

It can be a challenge to concisely convey the complex offerings of a company like CloudMD, but it’s the kind of challenge we at Blender love to take on. We knew that the company needed a truly standout IR website in order to compete in the rapidly growing digital healthcare space.

 

 

Replace3

The solution

To accomplish this, we communicated closely with the team at CloudMD. It was essential that we understood the ins and outs of the company. The first step was to establish a new site architecture, including an in-depth IA process with extensive client discovery, wireframing, and several rounds of revisions. 

Ultimately, we spent over half of the project in these initial steps, ensuring we had a strong grounding as we moved into the visual design phase. We then advised the team on the best way to present key elements of their site, where to improve their messaging, and what could stand to be eliminated. Again, this led to a fair amount of iterating, with our design team addressing every one of CloudMD’s concerns until arriving at a visual direction everyone felt truly enthusiastic about. Then we rolled that out across all of the site’s page designs.

Replace2

 

The CloudMD team was deeply involved in the process from the start and communication was open throughout, allowing us to tailor the site to their precise needs.

We are deeply proud of the end result. CloudMD ended up with a modern look and feel for their 2022 audience, with a strong user experience that speaks to each of their three key verticals. 

The result

We believe the results speak for themselves. CloudMD’s IR website is now easy to navigate, visually distinct and inviting, with a clean aesthetic and clear site architecture. Both our team and theirs were thrilled with the finished product, and the cohesive experience it created for each of their unique audiences. 

“Working with Blender on our custom CloudMD website project was easy and efficient,” CloudMD’s VP of investor relations, Julia Becker, says of the new site. “The team is dedicated to providing best in class, unique design and collaborates and communicates very well. Our project team worked very closely with the Blender team on this multi-phase project, and their expertise and professionalism made what often can be a complex and overwhelming process easy to navigate, inspiring, and an exciting process from start to finish.”

“I have used Blender throughout my career, and one of their key differentiators is you have a dedicated team at your fingertips 24/7, when you need it and the turnaround time is always very fast, which is very important in my business. I am very impressed with the final outcome and feel very proud of our new website.”

Blender prides itself on building the best of the best investor-focused websites for public companies. We strive to get it right every time, working closely with all our clients to realize their specific vision. But of course, there are always a few sites every year that truly encapsulate what we are about, that we believe stand out in a crowded field.

CloudMD is just one of the many award-winning, unique platforms we’ve created for public companies over the years, but we felt it was too good not to share.

If you’d like to learn how the team at Blender can overhaul your own investor-centric site, contact us to start a project today!

Why It’s Important to Highlight CSR On Your Website

Posted on by Nicole Van Zanten

If a tree falls in a forest and nobody’s around to hear it, does it make a sound?

It’s an age-old question, with an answer that has long been unknown (kind of like the chicken and the egg – and really, what did come first?), but one thing we know for certain – differing opinions make for great conversation, and it couldn’t be more true when it comes to CSR.

At Blender, we’re believers that your website should act as your best employee; your spokesperson, your sales person, and above all, a reflection of who you are as a business. For businesses actively engaged in CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) your website is the single best channel to extend the communication of your efforts.

So, if you’re actively engaged in CSR, but you’re not communicating your involvement, is it really happening?

It’s important to highlight CSR on your website. Here’s why.

It breaks you apart from your competition.

Every business should be performing some sort of regular competitor analysis, especially companies working in Investor Relations, and CSR is a great way to break apart from your competition.

Coca-Cola and Pepsi are great examples of using CSR to differentiate themselves from competition. While both perform CSR in a similar way (these companies aim for sustainability in water usage), they’re taking hold of CSR communication on investor websites, knowing the impact it has on not only consumers, but investors alike.

CSR on your website 1

It increases sentiment of your business online.

Much like competitor reporting, most companies are also focused on sentiment about their business online. Positive sentiment can lead to an upward trend in revenue, while negative sentiment can lead to a downward trend in revenue (as these Korean tech firms experienced, for example).

Ask any Communications Manager and they’ll agree that positive brand stories should be in their arsenal to mitigate potential neutral or negative quarters. These positive stories are also excellent to release throughout the calendar year as your business goes through natural ebbs and flows.

Using CSR to increase the sentiment of your business online can not only impact the success of your business offline, but it can also impact the online sentiment of your brand with investors and consumers.

CSR On your website 2

It attracts talent (making your HR Department your BFF).

Picture this. You and your competitor have a job opening for the exact same position. You’ve posted within the same week, and you’re going after the same group of candidates. It’s down to a few potential candidates, and you have your eye on one target that you feel would fit so well within your company culture.

Now, picture yourself on the other end of the table. This candidate is deciding between yourself and your competitor, and they’re ranking the pros and cons of both companies – until they realize that you have a strong CSR program, and actively give back within the community. Your company encourages employees to volunteer, and has a number of partner non-profit organizations that you donate to each and every year.

Which company do you think this candidate would choose? The company that understands the importance of contributing to the community, or the company that doesn’t?

It’s a choose-your-own-adventure type of story, with your business coming out on top.

CSR On your website 3

It contributes to cost-savings (encouraging consumers to think the same) and acts as a natural PR story

One of the easiest places for a company to start engaging in CSR is to use it as a way to save on costs and overall expenditures. Whether it’s using less energy or using less packaging, these savings add up quickly.

A great example is General Mills. They’re on a path to reduce cost and energy savings, as they’ve installed energy monitoring meters on several pieces of equipment at its HQ. In doing so, the company saved $600,000.

General Mills went far and wide with PR for this strategy, focusing first on their website. It was included in all CSR material, and was quickly picked-up by publications around North America.

So, not only did this move increase sentiment of their business, it also contributed to cost-savings. It was a natural story for their PR team as well, circling back to an arsenal of content, if and when you need to mitigate neutral or negative sentiment online.

Conclusion

If you’re actively engaging in CSR and not highlighting your endeavours on your website, take note – the pros far outweigh the cons (really, are there cons?)

From differentiating your business from competition to engaging potential talent, the importance of highlighting CSR on your website is real. And, truly, it’s so easy.

To get started, just click here. We’d love to show you how we’ve helped businesses in your industry.

 

 

5 Common CSR Questions Answered

Posted on by Nicole Van Zanten

CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) has quickly become the buzz term that everyone in investor relations is talking about. Loosely speaking, CSR is the idea that a company of any size should contribute to a better society and cleaner environment, with the understanding that doing so will enhance business operations and competitiveness. With this often comes common CSR questions, so take – for example – Google Green. Google Green is a corporate effort to use resources efficiently while supporting renewable power. Not only does this program lower costs for Google as a business, it drastically impacts the bottom line; Google has seen an overall drop in power requirements for their data centers by an average of 50 percent.

Knowing that we’re not all powerhouses like Google (though the sky’s the limit!), any IR business can benefit from CSR.

That’s why we’ve put together common CSR questions we’re asked all the time. We love CSR so much, we’re here to help answer your burning questions about this area of opportunity for your business.

5 Common CSR Questions Answered

1. Why should I have a CSR section on my website?

This is a question that we hear often, and one that we always love answering.

Implementing CSR on your site will directly and indirectly improve your overall competitiveness in the market. Common advantages of a company that has CSR presence on their site, versus a company who does not, include:

  • Creating shareholder value, which strengthens stakeholder relationships
  • Enhancing brand reputation, both in the community and within the business
  • Improving employee recruitment and retention
  • Highlighting and showcasing responsible leadership

And so much more.

While your business might already be active within your community, it might not translate online. Showcasing a strong CSR section on your website has a plethora of benefits.

5 Common CSR Questions Answered 1

2. Where should I place my CSR section on my website?

When consumers seek out information about your CSR involvement and can’t find it, they assume it doesn’t exist. Make your CSR section on your website clear and easily available. If you’re not communicating responsibility practices, you run the risk of having consumers think you’re not participating at all.

We recommend giving your CSR practices a dedicated section on your IR website. Rogers is a great example; on their consumer-facing site, CSR is easily located as a drop-down beside “Contact Us”. It’s easy to find and even easier to navigate.

3. What should be included in my CSR section?

What is included on your CSR microsite or CSR section of your website is often dependent on your company or industry, but generally we recommend the following to be included:

  • Your history, business and overall economic impact of your CSR endeavours
  • Community Investment section, including a list of highlights from the past year (this could be overall funds donated, employee time spent volunteering in the community and more)
  • News and Media Relations section. This allows you to share dedicated press releases for your CSR activity, including contact information to get in touch with your Communications team
  • CSR report downloads from both current and past years
  • In addition to your News and Media Relations section, an active CSR blog will showcase authenticity from your business and differentiate yourselves from competitors.

What is included in your CSR site is dependent on your overall strategy and goals, though we suggest that you include these four points at minimum.

5 Common CSR Questions Answered 2

4. Who should be involved in creating your CSR strategy?

CSR strategy and implementation comes from your Leadership and Executive team, with involvement from Human Relations and Communications. For a CSR program to truly work, Leadership must pave the way and lead by example.

Human Relations is an important stakeholder in this process because they are often one of the key benefactors of a successful CSR program. A CSR program can be an aid to recruitment and retention, especially when you’re hiring in a competitive graduate market.

5. How can I stand out from my competitors with CSR?

The answer here is authenticity. Your investors and customers have excellent BS meters, so make sure that your CSR communication is authentic in nature.

Be honest about your efforts and activity, but also be honest in areas that need improvement. If you have areas of your CSR strategy that needs improvement, acknowledge this and provide updates along the way.

As you develop your CSR website (or perhaps take inventory of your current site), ensure you are telling your story effectively and honestly. Make customers want to share your content, and tell your own story. If you do not have CSR presence or if you’re not telling your story effectively, your customers might think you’re avoiding or hiding something entirely.

 

campaign4_button

 

Must-have elements of an investor website

Posted on by Marika Hirsch

Introduction: what’s the most important content for investors to see?

A good investor relations website or investor section relies on good content strategy. As public companies, you want to think like your investors and figure out what content is important to showcase first, as well as pay attention to what investors want to see during different times of the year. In this blog post we’re focusing on some must-have elements of an investor website. You may already know that contact information should be on a website, but at what point and which information? How important, really, is a media section, or news? We break it all down for you below.

Thinking it’s time for a website refresh, but not sure where to start? Check out The Complete Checklist for Hiring a Website Agency. 

 

Here are 8 must-have elements of an investor website

1. Multiple touchpoints asking for signups

As investors are browsing through your IR section, they should be subtly pushed to areas to sign up in order to receive the latest news and updates from your public company. And we don’t mean long forms in which you attempt to collect everything from their name to place of business to what they ate for breakfast that morning. A simple slide out prompting them to add their email address to your mailing list to ‘never miss out on updates’ will do just fine.

 

must-have elements of an investor website

 

2. Focus on the latest publication

The biggest draw on the front of your IR website should be the latest quarterly results, a recently released annual report, or a blurb about a hot-off-the-press release which links to a more detailed news section. Think of the space at the forefront of your IR section like your shop window: what is the biggest seller that people walk into your store to look at? Most investors will look to your website for up-to-date documents. Don’t make them search for them.

 

3. Upcoming events calendar

Don’t expect investors to know when your next shareholder meeting is happening: post about it on your investor website! Better yet, allow them to sign up for calendar notifications or send them an email reminder. And don’t forget to pay attention to the calendar yourselves. Is your company going through a big transition such as a merger or leadership change? Once the press release is done and dusted, highlight the change on your calendar so investors can understand the scope of what’s happening.

 

must-have elements of an investor website

 

4. ‘At a Glance’ or ‘Why Invest’ area

Potential investors most likely aren’t going to read paragraphs of content when they’re first browsing your website. We’ve come to the age where consumers like their information in bite-sized, often video produced, pieces and everyone is skimming.  (If you’ve read this far into the blog post, we’d like to give you a high five). Break down the most ‘bragworthy’ information of your company into a bullet pointed list of why you’re worth the investment. If you’re feeling extra creative, create small data visualizations so investors can see your progress as a company. These little touches are some must-have elements of an investor website that make the difference to your audience.

 

5. Keep your stock symbol at the top of every page

Many companies only provide their stock symbol within the ‘stock information’ section of their IR site. We’d argue, especially for our friends in the natural resources industry, that keeping your stock symbol at the top of each page is one of the must-have elements of an investor website. A fixed stock symbol ensures that investors never need to search through your investor website to find it. Or, take it one step further, as we did for our friends over at B2 Gold in the example below. A fixed stock information area at the top of each page shows the current price of gold, as well as the company’s current share price. Clicking on the fixed navigation at the top brings a user to a more detailed stock information page.

 

must-have elements of an investor website

 

6. Think mobile

More and more investors are viewing IR related content on their phones throughout the workday. What does your public company’s mobile presence look like? A current digital trend sees companies designing ‘mobile-first’, or putting a pristine mobile experience as a top priority. If investors can’t download your investor presentation or view it properly on their mobile devices, you could be in trouble.

Have you taken our Ultimate Mobile Optimization Test? See if your IR website makes the cut, or else it may not show up in Google search results!

 

must-have elements of an investor website

 

7. Investor FAQ

This is a simple add-on that not a lot of public companies think about. Most companies offer FAQ sections on other areas of their website, but not usually as part of their investor website. Apple’s investor website includes a thorough FAQ area addressing questions like, “What exchange does Apple trade on?” and “When was Apple’s initial public offering?”

 

must-have elements of an investor website

 

8. Offer specific IR contact info (if available)

If you have a specific investor relations email address or point of contact, offer opportunities for general inquiries as well as investor specific questions on your IR section. This not only gives potential shareholders more choice, but shows that there is a direct line of contact for them.

 

Conclusion: Now go above and beyond

These must-have elements of an investor website are great starting off points to ensure that your shareholders are happy and receiving all the information they need. What’s next, you ask? Start thinking of some ways you can improve the investor experience. Whether it’s adding a CEO video addressing your shareholders, an animated data visualization to showcase your company’s growth in the past five years, or a mobile-first way of thinking.





The




Mobile websites vs responsive design

Posted on by Marika Hirsch

Introduction: Google is making a fuss about being mobile optimized (and for good reason)

Do you remember Mobilegeddon? It was the Google update released last year that favoured mobile optimized websites over ones that were not. We’ve written all about it here. If your company’s website isn’t mobile configured the way Google wants, then you won’t show up very high in mobile search results. In order to make the mobile cut in Google’s eyes, you have two choices. And that’s where mobile websites vs responsive design come in. These options are the two typical types of configuration that will boost your website’s mobile-friendliness.

Want exact steps of how to get mobile-friendly? Download The Ultimate Mobile Optimization Test to see if you are good to go with Google.

 

mobile websites vs responsive design

What is the difference between mobile websites vs responsive design?

Mobile websites

A mobile website is a parallel website created just for mobile phones and tablets. Both the content within the mobile website and the website address (URL) will be different than your original website. Usually, to avoid confusion with your original URL, a mobile website looks like “www.m.company.com”. The great thing about mobile websites is that you can select specific content to only be shown to mobile users. For instance, if a large section of your corporate website won’t apply to those viewing on a phone, or if you have a corporate video that isn’t optimized, you can select which pieces to remove. This is also possible with responsive design, but that may require a website redesign.

mobile websites vs responsive design

 

Responsive design

A responsive website ‘responds’ to the device you’re using; whether it’s a smartphone, tablet or on desktop. Due to the flexible format and design, the site’s content automatically resizes itself to work seamlessly on the screen on which it’s being viewed. Responsive design, while it may require a redesign before you get started, ensures that your site stays on one URL and updating content is easier to implement.

mobile websites vs responsive design

Which one should I use?

When it comes to mobile websites vs responsive design, both get you a ‘pass’ from Google. However,  Google prefers responsive design and so do we. Why? Google gives a lot of reasons, and you can read them all here. Here’s why we recommend it:

  1. Responsive design makes sharing content across different devices easier since the URLs stay the same.
  2. Any content changes only need to be made in one place, so there’s less risk of duplication.
  3. It’s probably just smarter to go the way Google recommends if you’re trying to ensure that your website is favoured on Google’s search engine.

 

Conclusion: choose one and get started

Regardless of the method you choose, it’s important to start mobile optimizing your website if you haven’t already. We’re moving to a mobile-first world, and you don’t want your company to be left behind. A recent study by Google showed that a third of all internet traffic now comes from mobile devices, and that number is increasing every day. Seem overwhelming? Don’t worry, because we have a complete mobile optimization checklist. See if you pass Google’s test, and if you don’t, we’ve provided a list of steps to ensure mobile optimization. Download the checklist below!





mobile websites vs responsive design




5 ways to create the best investor mobile experience

Posted on by Marika Hirsch

Introduction: how does your investor section look on mobile?

This week, we’re analyzing five different ways you can make your IR corporate site easy to view on mobile for your investors. We’re using General Electric’s  investor mobile experience and investor relations website as a shining example.

Learn the basics of mobile optimization and take a do-it-yourself mobile test to see if your website passes. Download The Ultimate Mobile Optimization Checklist. 

 

 

investor mobile experience

 

5 tips to provide a great investor mobile experience

1. Include an “Add to Calendar” function for your next event or presentation.

This is a simple enough trick that will definitely get you ‘ease of use’ points and boost the investor mobile experience. Help investors stay up-to-date with your next event such as a shareholder’s meeting or live webcast by including an ‘Add to Calendar’ component which sets the reminder in your investors’ personal calendars.

 

investor mobile experience

2. Stick with the navigation that everyone knows, but have fun with it.

GE’s mobile investor experience perfectly blends new mobile optimized navigational elements with the classic logo in the left of the screen and three line bar on the right (hamburger button, for the design-savvy lingo.) In this way, they impress investors with new scrolling features and an interactive mobile side bar, but don’t lose the audience who isn’t ready for this new type of functionality. While General Electric experiments with the mobile platform and what opportunity it brings, they also understand that keeping with the elements everyone knows ensures a smoother transition and better experience.

 

investor mobile experience

 3. Keep the email signup form on every page

General Electric’s investor relations section features a banner that sticks to the top of the page, no matter where investors are on the website. The banner says ‘sign up for GE investor newsletters and alerts’. Clicking the banner reveals an easy input email sign up. Because this banner stays always at the top of the website, investors don’t have to click through to the contact form.

investor mobile experience

 

4. Focus on the downloads that investors look for the most

General Electric’s feature page on their investor relations section makes for a great investor mobile experience. Easy access buttons feature the most important downloads like the latest CEO letter including an interactive annual report, as well as the 10-K summary CEO Letter. Including the most popular investor downloads on the front page of your investor section ensures that the investor mobile experience isn’t spoiled with visitors searching through pages to find your presentation.

 

investor mobile experience

 

5. Give each section its own flair

An important element to consider when optimizing your corporate website for mobile is how the design on the smaller screen will affect the investor mobile experience. General Electric distinguishes each area of their investor section with a coloured overlay over photography and different icons. Incorporating unique design elements to each section of your website will help with mobile navigation. Just be sure that everything matches your overall brand.

 

investor mobile experience

 

 

Conclusion: think of ways to ‘wow’ them with the mobile screen

Mobile optimization and thinking of the investor mobile experience shouldn’t be considered a burden. Think of it as a new platform in which to impress your audience and make your investors’ lives easier. Take a look at General Electric’s 2015 annual report, that’s also an interactive mobile experience, from your own smartphone and see how they’re incorporating the latest design trends, multimedia components and visuals to engage their audiences and bring their investor strategies into this new mobile facing world.





The Ultimate Mobile Optimization Test




The best mobile investor relations websites

Posted on by Marika Hirsch

Introduction: Investors are looking at you on mobile.

The best mobile investor relations websites are the ones that will capture the most investor attention. The IR App, with IR Magazine, surveyed 300 institutional investors at the end of 2014 about their mobile usage. The survey found that 83% of investors rely on mobile when it comes to their work, and 68% of investors look at IR related content on their mobile device. For a more in-depth look about investor mobile usage, download our ebook about 9 tips to improve investor communication with your website. But this week on the blog, we’re singing the praises of the best mobile investor relations websites. We take a look at companies from all sectors, including resources, biotech, and manufacturing. Each of these IR websites follow best practices and make accessibility and investor communication paramount.

the best mobile investor relations websites

5 of the best mobile investor relations websites

1. Amcor – visual and easy to follow

Amcor’s ‘Amcor at a Glance’ overview page in their investor relations section offers investors the most important statistics and information about the company in visual and easily digestible pieces. Their mobile IR section utilizes data visualization to really drive their points home.

best mobile websites for investor relations

2. EXL – dedicated investor website

EXL’s dedicated investor website is eye candy. Their mobile focused investor section is even better than on desktop screens. The website is beautiful to look at and even simpler to use.

best mobile investor relations websites

3. Barrick Gold – easy access to company reports

While Barrick Gold’s investor section isn’t as dazzling as EXL’s, they rely on investor accessibility with easy to read objectives for the company followed by a section of download links. Each report is readily available for shareholders to look through.

best mobile investor relations websites

4. Biogen – scroll through the latest webcasts

Biogen’s investor relations section begins with their objective and easy to use buttons for requesting further information and signing up for company alerts. Their latest webcasts can also easily be accessed on scroll.

best mobile investor relations websites

5. Critical Outcome Technologies Inc. – investor connect

COTI comes from our own wheelhouse, and is a site we’re very proud of. The mobile-friendly investor overview section features investment highlights, easy investor connect opportunities through email signup and an easy path to the company’s website awards.

best mobile investor relations websitse

Conclusion: get mobile-friendly and stay current for investors

If your investor relations section, or IR website, isn’t mobile-friendly, you are losing a serious audience. If an investor tries to access your corporate presentation or latest quarterly numbers while they’re on the go, your IR section must have clear pathways to information. Don’t make the process more difficult with small text, buttons that can’t be pressed, or necessary public company materials stored away in the basement where no one can find them. Do follow the examples of the companies above and see how each industry uses the best mobile investor relations websites to their benefit.

 





9 tips to improve investor communication with your website




3 simple ways to engage investors on your website

Posted on by Marika Hirsch

Introduction: Get investors to listen up

Your website is your first impression when it comes to getting attention of the investment community. With such a short window of time to grab that attention, how do you guarantee they’ll listen to your story? We’ve written many blogs that got really in-depth and technical about ways to make your investor website stand out, and we encourage you to read them if you’ve got the time. But this week, we’re giving you a quick one-two (three) punch of three easy takeaways that you can implement on your website right away to gain investor attention.

 

1. CEO Message or Project Video

Videos are great because they have the ability to clearly and efficiently convey a message. Think videos aren’t useful for public companies, or for your industry? Think again. Our friends at Brazil Resources Inc. needed a way to communicate their plan for the future to their shareholders, especially with the tougher markets. The CEO and Chairman were able to touch on all the market opportunities for the company. The video emphasizes that a downturn can be the best time to grow a new company.

3 simple ways to keep your investor website engaging

2. Investor Highlights Page

Investors are short on time, so your investor website should give them all the info they need to know right away, in a visual and engaging way. Check out how BRI’s investor highlights are displayed below. The first element a viewer sees when clicking onto BRI’s IR site is a visually appealing highlights area. Each area focuses on a strong tagline informing investors why the company is worth the investment. ‘Strong Management’, ‘Strategic Acquisitions’ and ‘Why Brazil?’ answers the questions investors have before they even need to ask them.

3 simple ways to engage investors

3. Mobile-friendly reports and presentations

If investors are interested in learning more about you, they’ll most likely try to locate your most recent annual report or investor presentation. It’s important to make sure all that important info is presented with ease. Investors will thank you for it. And make sure it’s mobile-friendly! How easy is it for investors to click your presentation link on their phones and have the material pop up? Check out how Teck Resources and BRI showcase their reports with ease on desktop and mobile.

 

3 simple ways to engage investors on your website

3 simple ways to engage investors on your website

 

How to use Call-to-Actions for investor relations

Posted on by Marika Hirsch

Introduction: Why having Call-to-Actions for investor relations is useful

Most people are familiar with Call-to-Actions when it comes to buying a product online or starting a free trial with a company. But what about public companies and their investor relations strategies? With a public company IR section or IR website, you often get a very short amount of time to articulate the most information to potential investors. CTAs are great because they can help fluidly move viewers throughout the different pages of your site. Here are seven different ways to use Call-to-Actions for investor relations to get potential investors directly to the pages you want them to see. Interested in specific ways to improve your digital investor strategy? You can also download our free eBook for 9 tips to improve investor communication with your website.

 

1. Joining an email list

The CTA for your email signup should clearly explain upfront what the subscriber will get. ‘Subscribe’ buttons are great, but consider adding a quick sentence underneath outlining what to expect from your emails. Amcor takes the classic investor ‘subscribe’ and turns it into more of an information filtering system. Some investors may not want to sign up if they think they’ll get pestered with emails, but would be willing to participate for specific annual reports and briefings.

How to use Call-to-Actions for investor relations

 
 
 

2. Read/download thought leadership

If you’ve produced a whitepaper, a guide, or any other form of thought leadership available for download, highlighting it on your investors section shows that your company is an expert in the space. Let investors know that it’s free with phrases like ‘Get your free guide now’ or ‘Send me my free ___’. General Electric is well-known for the content they produce in their thought leadership section that they describe as “innovation insights, bringing you the latest from clean technology, commercial innovation, energy, mining and oil & gas”. In a smart move, GE includes a Call-to-Action to read thought leadership on their main investor relations page. In addition to financial information and pushing their investment opportunity, General Electric knows that showcasing their innovative endeavours greatly helps their case.

How to use Call-to-Actions for investor relations

 
 
 

3. Showcase events you’re attending

We love the call-to-action Mastercard added to their IR homepage page underneath their upcoming investor events. The CTA button ‘Add to Calendar’ makes it a cinch for anyone to immediately have the event included in their personal calendar with the date, exact time, and reminder. It’s a subtle yet forceful way to make sure people people will listen in or at least be aware of  your next earnings call.

How to use Call-to-Actions for investor relations MasterCard

 
 
 

4. Highlight your investment opportunity

We love Silver Standard’s CTA on their investors page that immediately directs interested parties to ‘Watch Our Corporate Video’. Clicking the button opens the video right on the page, without any extra effort. It’s a great idea to pull out 1-2 of your most enticing investment highlights or the most important aspects of your company, like your annual review, and feature them with their own CTA button. This CTA gives important features more real-estate on the page and subtly directs users to other pages on your IR site.

How to use Call-to-Actions for investor relations

 
 
 

5. Direct to other pages

For consumer and retail brands such as Under Armour and Lululemon Athletica, their website is also one of their main sales tools. Under Armour’s investor section features an area where browsers can easily click onto their main corporate site through an easy ‘gateway’. Use your discretion about when and where it’s best to use Call-to-Actions for investor relations in a way that directs your audience to your corporate site. These CTAs are useful on an IR homepage to push browsers deeper into the website and encourage them to learn more about you than just your highlights and greatest hits.

How to use Call-to-Actions for investor relations UA

 
 
 

6. Follow on social media

‘Stay informed’ is one of our favourite ways to use Call-to-Actions for investor relations when talking about social media. This type of Call-to-Action includes the immediacy-type language that highlights the main benefit of following a public company on these channels. Both General Electric and FedEx embed their Twitter timeline on their investors page with a CTA button that makes it easy for anyone to become a follower.

How to use Call-to-Actions for investor relations GE

 
 
 

7. Contact IR 

A public company’s investor section is full of information, so include a Call-to-Action that connects a user directly with an IR point of contact who can answer further questions or provide investment information. Most investor relations sections already have the general ‘contact’ tab, but including an easy-to-find button that sends an investor directly to the appropriate email address erases that extra step and makes life easier for them. (Always be thinking mobile-friendly, too. A ‘Connect with IR’ CTA button that opens straight to an email? They’ll thank you later).

How to use Call-to-Actions for investor relations

 
 
 

Conclusion: it’s all about making lives easier

Call-to-Actions for investor relations take all the guesswork out, and that’s a good thing. Most of the time, investors navigate to your IR section for a specific document they’re looking for. CTAs push them right where they need to go. For those visiting your IR website simply to browse, a very obvious Call-to-Action on the page that prompts viewers to request more information or sign up for a newsletter is a good way to hope they stick around.

Now that you’ve learned about Call-to-Actions, what are some other areas of your IR website that can be improved to help your company get more investors? We’ve done years of research on this subject, and written an eBook too. Download it below!



9 tips to improve investor communication with your website




How to use video for investor relations

Posted on by Marika Hirsch

Introduction: Incorporate video for investor relations to up your IR game

There are many ways a company can use video for investor relations in order to grab an investor’s attention. We’ve made a list of some ways you can start using video in your future investor relations strategies with five examples of companies doing it the right way.

If you’re interested in more ways to connect with investors, download our free eBook about 9 ways to improve investor communications with your website.

1. Educate people about what you really do

Here’s a video we did for the folks at Uranium Energy Corp. The company wanted to talk about the new ISR mining technology they’re incorporating into one of their projects. Instead of attempting to describe the technology in long paragraphs, we produced a short animated video under their website section ‘Uranium 101.’ Educating about your product is a great way to utilize video for investor relations so potential investors and current stakeholders can learn what the company does.  Click to :45 to see the animations really kick in.

httpss://vimeo.com/139989401

 

2. Address big company changes and common questions

If something really big is happening in your company, address it with a video. Stakeholders and community members alike are sure to have questions when it comes to a big transition, like new leadership or a merger. A concise company video can answer most questions at once and shows you’re on the ball in addressing the situation first.

Here’s an example from Medtronic, a medical technology and services company, who acquired the company Covidien last year. They utilized video for investor relations initiatives to educate stakeholders shortly after the merger about the ‘Medtronic story’, and said in a statement, “as we welcome Covidien to Medtronic, learn about our journey to alleviate pain, restore health, and extend life for millions of people around the world”.

 

Another example is Bill Gates (yeah that guy) welcoming Microsoft’s new CEO. If Bill Gates is telling you about the new CEO, you listen.

Want some other great tips on getting your website investor ready? Download our free eBook about 9 ways to improve investor communication with your website.

 

 

3. If you like it, then you shoulda put a face on it (aka CEO videos)  

Get your CEO talking. Microsoft is a great example of how company videos don’t have to include crazy animations or special effects to be interesting and get an important point across. To introduce their new CEO Satya Nadella, Microsoft published this video of Nadella and an interviewer just strolling around the Microsoft campus talking about life and his exciting new role. Nadella takes the opportunity to say how “honored, humbled, and excited” he is to be offered the position. Face time with the boss, even in video, goes a long way. 

 

4. Three words. Corporate. Social. Responsibility.

TD Bank has an entire video gallery within their Corporate Responsibility tab showcasing different ways the bank gave back to their community. To put it plainly, it’s a lot more motivational watching a video about the affected community rather than reading paragraphs on a website.

using video for investor relations

Videos not only showcase what you’ve been doing in terms of CSR, but also why the acts themselves are so beneficial for public companies. Nielsen, a global information and measurement company, posted a video on their investors page of the executive director Nic Covey giving an interview about the extreme importance behind Corporate Social Responsibility and public companies. This is a brilliant move because it positions Covey, and by association the company, as a thought leader in CSR and CSR reporting.

 

using video for investor relations

 

 

 

Conclusion: Go beyond best practices

Yes, it’s perfectly fine to have an investor relations website without multimedia elements. The most important part of your IR site is to ensure investors can get the information they need right away. Using video for investor relations, however, can really give you an edge over your peers. Everyone is checking off the best practice lists, but how many are thinking of how they can take their corporate IR website beyond that? Introducing video, even a small 30 second CEO message, could really take your investor relations section to the next level.

 




9 tips to improve investor communication with your website