Custom IR Site vs. Ready-to-Use Template: Which Should You Choose?

One of the first decisions you have to make as an IRO building a new IR website is also one of the most consequential: Do you build the site out from a template, or do you go fully custom? 

Unsurprisingly, this is also one of the most common questions BLENDER gets from clients. The answer depends upon your company’s particular needs.

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Every BLENDER site is among the best in the industry

All of BLENDER’s sites are professional, industry-leading platforms that include the foundational elements that appeal to investors and convey key information quickly. All our sites include the option to have your email list set up with BLENDER to start forming a list right away, as well as a live stock ticker feed on the homepage. We use proven best practices for digital IR in everything we build, and the results show in our satisfied clients and the increased traffic they receive.

But if all our sites include everything you need, why would you choose a custom site over a template?

There are advantages to each. In short, templated IR sites have a faster turnaround time and cost less, while custom IR sites have superior flexibility.

For most of our clients—small- to mid-cap public companies working primarily to capture the attention of more investors—a template, or a template with a few modifications, is an ideal choice. But for bigger public companies, with a global presence and an already extensive digital presence, a custom site will meet their precise specifications.

But why is this, and which should YOU pick? Here, we’ll dive into all the benefits and drawbacks of ready-to-use IR templates vs. custom IR sites, and help you make the right choice.

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Ready-to-use templates are fast, inexpensive, and hands-off.

Because they require far less initial design and development, off-the-shelf IR templates are perfect for IROs looking for the following:

  • To upgrade their outdated, DIY site. If you’ve been running a public company from a basic WordPress or self-built website, we’re confident the investor experience would be massively elevated by a new, templated BLENDER site.
  • A rapid turnaround. In ideal conditions, the BLENDER team can get a templated Piknic site launched within four to six weeks; with a few small modifications, we can get it up and running within six to eight weeks.
  • Low cost. All our sites cater to the budget of our clients, but ready-to-use platforms will always be the most cost-effective option.
  • To leave the details to the professionals. Most small- to mid-cap companies lack internal experts in digital design and more than anything, want BLENDER to deliver a striking, intuitive, and user-friendly finished product with minimal involvement of their own. Templates are perfect for this approach.
  • A platform that allows you to add content later. Many of our clients launch their Piknic sites before they go public, so it’s important that they be able to add or hide specific pages or their stock ticker as information becomes public. It’s also always essential that they be able to modify the existing content as the company grows and evolves.

See BLENDER’s ready-to-use templated sites in action:

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Custom sites offer boundless possibilities and laser focus.

Custom sites allow developers and designers to tailor every element of the site to a public company’s specific needs. This can take a bit more time and resources, but the results can truly be stunning. In general, custom sites are best for companies that have…

  • An established digital presence and already extensive content. When a large company approaches BLENDER, they often do so with a range of imagery, video, news, media, and project assets that need to be displayed in a carefully tailored manner. For example, a biotech company that wants an interactive graphic to show how their product is unique, or a large royalty company that needs a custom map.
  • Someone internally who has a highly specific vision for the website, and who wants to be hands-on throughout the design process with input on layout details and multiple rounds of feedback.
  • The space to take their time to perfect every aspect of the site. With BLENDER, custom sites usually take around three to four months.
  • A global presence and/or multiple audiences. For bigger companies with a presence across the globe, there might be a need for multiple languages, or multiple different sections of the sites for different kinds of users (e.g. customers, investors, employees, etc.).

See BLENDER’s custom sites in action:

It’s a tough choice—BLENDER can help.

Whatever choice you make, with BLENDER, you can be confident that you’re getting a powerful platform that will have a significant effect on your public company’s investor outreach efforts. 

If you’re planning to build a new site for your company, we can guide you in the direction best for your team.

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5 Best Practices to Manage Your IR Email List

Email outreach is among the most powerful tools public companies can use to keep investors engaged. But our team at BLENDER sees too many IR professionals failing to utilize their email lists effectively.

A big part of success in email outreach is proper management of your email list. Effective email list management allows you to collect useful information about your subscribers, empowering you to better understand your audience, increase engagement with your email communications, and maintain a clean list of actively interested subscribers.

 

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Verify new contacts

Email list management allows you to easily remove unengaged contacts, but if you have a double confirmation opt-in, it’s more likely that your contacts will be high-quality in the first place.

In the sign-up form, notify the subscriber that they need to verify their email via a confirmation link in their inbox. Ensure that the contact then receives a confirmation including a link that verifies their submission. 

In every case, you also want to ensure that your opt-in forms are absolutely transparent about what subscribers are signing up for and gain explicit permission to send marketing emails.

This way, fake emails or typos won’t make it onto your list—and email service providers get a signal that you’re a solid sender, ultimately increasing deliverability.

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Welcome new contacts

A user’s interest in and engagement with your public company will likely never be higher than when they first sign up to your list. So send them a welcome email—or a full onboarding welcome sequence that provides various facets of your company’s story—to bring them into the fold.

The typically high engagement rates of welcome emails also increase your sender reputation, again increasing deliverability.

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Reach out to unengaged subscribers and remove those who don’t respond

Almost certainly, you have a number of subscribers who haven’t opened one of your company’s emails in 90 days or more.

This may be because they failed to open several emails in a row, and their email service provider started dumping your emails into Spam, or it may be that they’re simply not interested in your company anymore.

You don’t want to leave these unengaged subscribers in your list: email providers pay close attention to how engaged your list is with your emails, and dead leads drag your stats down, reducing your deliverability.

It’s a good idea to have an automated re-engagement email campaign in place to check in with these disengaged contacts and see if you can get them interested again. 

If your re-engagement campaigns don’t succeed, it’s a good idea to consider removing the contacts from your list completely.

Of course, every lead counts, but if you’re leaving those contacts who don’t open in your emails, it’s ultimately hurting your deliverability and email performance. 

So, either set up an automated workflow that removes contacts after they fail to open your re-engagement email, OR manually remove all contacts after they’re dormant for over 90 days or more.

This step is absolutely essential to maximize your deliverability.

 

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Consider using a sub-domain

Utilizing a dedicated sub-domain for email marketing offers various benefits, including enhanced branding, improved deliverability, and easier tracking and analytics. 

By isolating email marketing activities on a sub-domain, you can safeguard your main domain’s reputation and manage email-specific functions more effectively. This separation can also aid in complying with regulations and maintaining a professional image.

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Use A/B testing to determine what works

The better the stats on the emails you send out (open rate and click-through rate being the two key metrics) the more engaged your list is with your company, AND the better your deliverability will be.

The key to maximizing engagement is providing content that your audience will actually care about, and sending it out using A/B testing.

During A/B testing, you create two different versions of an email and compare the results on each to see which performed better. Here are a few variables to test:

  • Subject lines
  • Headers
  • Email length
  • Email content
  • Email layout

Testing allows you to zero in on what really works for your audience, improving both deliverability and engagement over time. It empowers you to optimize your emails, getting the most out of all the effort you’re putting into them. 

Emails are a powerful, underutilized tool among public companies, which gives those that use them effectively an edge of their competition. If you’re interested in giving your email efforts a serious boost, reach out to BLENDER and we can help you create a tailored campaign that gets genuine results.

Start a project today

6 must-know CSR trends for public companies in 2017

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

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.

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

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

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.

Connecting With Your On-The-Go Investors – The “Mobilegeddon” Update

On April 21 2015, businesses everywhere were watching Google search rankings intently.

It was on this day that Google released an algorithmic update that revolved around mobile-friendly websites. This essentially meant that websites optimized for mobile received a boost in their mobile search results, whereas those that were not mobile-friendly dropped in their overall search rankings.

Hence, the term ‘Mobilegeddon’.

‘Mobilegeddon’ has emerged in various forms since April 21 2015. In May of 2016, ‘Mobilegeddon’ 2.0 was released; this update further increased the rankings of companies with mobile-friendly, optimized websites. Those who invested the necessary time and effort into making their sites mobile-friendly benefited from this update, whereas the businesses that did not follow the mobile-optimized trend were further dropped from the pack.

That’s exactly why we paid closed attention to ‘Mobilegeddon’ in Section 2 of Connecting With Your On-The-Go Investors. Since these updates are so important to public companies, we deemed it as an integral part of our collaborative resource with CIRI.

Here’s what you can expect from Section Two: The ‘Mobilegeddon’ Update.

Although you now know what ‘Mobilegeddon’ is, Section Two will take you through why it was released.

As Google collected web traffic and search data, they realized that more and more traffic was coming from mobile devices, primarily smart phones. To fuel a positive user experience on their network, Google announced the ‘Mobilegeddon’ change. This announcement was made in February of 2015, giving companies just three months to prepare.

Google’s primary focus was to “work towards delivering high quality search results that are optimized” for mobile devices. As traffic to their network was increasing on mobile, the goal of this change was to create seamless user experiences online.

What happened after The ‘Mobilegeddon’ Update?

So, this begs the question – what happened after April 21 2015? What did Google look like on April 22nd?

Content marketing company, BrightEdge, has tracked over 20,000 URLs since the update. They found that there was a 21% decrease in non mobile-friendly URLs on the first 3 pages of search results.

Similarly, a search by s360 showed that mobile friendly websites have received 32% more organic mobile traffic than non-mobile friendly websites.

Could you imagine receiving 32% more traffic to your website, simply because you made the decision to optimize your website for mobile?

What does it mean for my public company?

connecting with your on-the-go investors mobilegeddon

68% of investors look at investor related content throughout the day on their mobile device, which means that nearly three quarters of traffic to your website could be coming from mobile. If your website isn’t mobile-friendly, not only will it be slammed by ‘Mobilegeddon’, your user experience will start to decline from the very moment that a potential investor visits your website.

‘Mobilegeddon’ had a significant impact on the websites of public companies, many of which are still feeling such impact on their search rankings. In an effort to help public companies with their website’s user experience, we made sure to include Section Two: The ‘Mobilegeddon’ Update in Connecting With Your On-The-Go Investors.

With Section Two: The ‘Mobilegeddon’ Update reviewing what you need to know about Google’s change in April of 2015, we’ll follow-up next week with an overview of Section Three: Examples of Mobile-Friendly Websites.

 

Connecting With Your On-The-Go Investors: The Basics

Are you reading this blog on your smart phone right now?

With the number of global mobile phone users expected to pass the five billion mark by 2019, there’s a good chance you’re browsing through our site on your iPhone, Android, Windows or Pixel phone.

And, when it comes to using your mobile device for work, 83% of institutional investors rely on their smart phone when it comes to decision making.

That’s exactly why we released “Connecting With Your On-The-Go Investors”, in collaboration with CIRI. It’s your resource on mobile optimization – what it means, how it impacts SEO for your business, and how it is being embraced by users across Canada. It is meant to serve a go-to reference as you review your company’s IR digital and outreach strategy for 2017.

So, what’s in “Connecting With Your On-The-Go Investors”?

The resource is divided into five sections, with each serving a unique purpose in the process of understanding the impact of mobile on your business. Over the next five weeks, we’ll highlight each of these sections, diving deeper into what you can expect from the resource that is available now.

With that said, here’s what you can expect from Section One: The Basics.

What does “The Basics” of being mobile friendly actually mean?

In very simple terms, being ‘mobile-friendly’ means that a website renders well on your smart phone, regardless of the device.

For example, you know the pain of checking a website on mobile that isn’t optimized for your smartphone. Whether you’re filling out a contact form, or simply information-gathering, the experience can be less-than-stellar.

connecting with your on-the-go investors

But if that was the extent of it, we’d stop right there.

In “The Basics”, we outline everything Google assesses when it comes to the mobile-readiness of your website. This includes:

  • Website structure
  • Page loading speeds
  • Content relevance
  • Meta-descriptions and title tags
  • And more…

How can I tell if my website is mobile friendly, and what should I do for my business?

There are so many ways to test the mobile-readiness of your website; in Section One: The Basics, we’ll take you through the benefits of responsive design, and why we believe it’s the strongest option for your business.

Responsive design is an approach to web design that is aimed at developing sites to provide an optimal viewing experience, both on desktop and on mobile. It makes for easy reading and navigation with a minimum of resizing, panning, and scrolling. It’s also the strongest option for your business when it comes to SEO and placement on sites like Google, which is integral to IR and decision making versus competitors. So, if your website isn’t ready for smart phone users, it’s important that you take responsive design into consideration as you plan for your IR strategy in 2017.

Throughout this collaborative resource, “Connecting With Your On-The-Go Investors”, we’ll take you through the importance of building a website that caters to your business persona, and leave you with tips you can implement now to build a stronger brand presence online.

With Section One: The Basics setting the stage for what is to come, we’ll follow-up next week with an overview of Section Two: The ‘Mobilegeddon’ Update.

 

7 Reasons Why Public Companies Can’t Afford to Miss Out on Mobile

When companies the size of Apple make announcements, the whole world listens. And, in fact, the whole world changes. Remember when the initial reaction to the iPad was resoundingly negative? (It was even referred to as the “big yawn”, courtesy of Business Insider). Fast-forward six years, and Apple has sold over 282 million of the tablet devices, all the while making way for competitors like Samsung to create their own version of the iPad.

The same can be said for Google. When Google released the first round of, what was quickly referred to as “Mobilegeddon”, the whole world knew they needed to listen. And when the second round of “Mobilegeddon” was released this past year, it was another reminder that Google truly sets the rules of anything and everything to do with how people will find and access your company’s website.

What is “Mobilegeddon”?

On April 21 2015, Google released a mobile-friendly ranking algorithm that impacted businesses around the world. Ultimately Google decided that, if your website was not mobile-friendly, your search ranking would be negatively impacted. This means that if your business and a fellow public company competitor both had stellar websites, but yours was mobile-friendly and theirs wasn’t, your company would show up higher in mobile Google searches.

Make sense?

In this algorithm, there are no degrees of mobile-friendliness. You either are, or you aren’t.

Why does this matter?

Simply put, not having a mobile-friendly website for your public company could break your business online. We hate to be the bearer of bad news, but it’s true. Read why below.

So here’s why public companies can’t afford to miss out on mobile…

public companies can't afford to miss out on mobile 1

1. You’re putting the future of your company’s online presence at risk.

Without a mobile-friendly website, your company will suffer in Google search rankings. As both Apple and Google have well demonstrated in the last six years, it’s time to pay attention to the big players in the game for your business to truly take advantage of your online strategy.

(As a side note, we have a handy checklist to determine if your website is mobile-friendly. Give it a spin here.)

public companies can't afford to miss out on mobile 2

2. Mobile use has skyrocketed.

It’s true.

Mobile now represents 65% of digital media time, which means that the desktop is now a secondary touch point.

Now, that’s not to say that your business can forget about desktop, but if a potential 65% of your target audience is on mobile, wouldn’t you want to speak to them?

public companies can't afford to miss out on mobile 3

3. Investor interaction is all about mobile.

If you caught yourself thinking, “yeah, yeah – but those 65% are all Millennials or even teenagers,” from our last statistic, think again.

68% of investors view investor-related content each and every day through their mobile device.

Your target audience.

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4. Emails are primarily read on mobile devices.

Do you catch yourself skimming through an email on mobile, only to click off into link-land to other websites and platforms?

That’s because over 67% of email is opened on a smartphone device. That’s well over half of each and every email that is sent and received every single day.

So, if your company is sending newsletters or issuing press releases, it’s important to ensure these are mobile optimized, too. And if you’re driving traffic back to your site, having a website that is mobile-friendly is key.

Since 67% of email is opened on smartphone devices, more email read on phones will translate to more mobile page views, making your user experience integral to your online strategy.

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5. Website design instills trust.

According to a Stanford study, 75% of us admit to making judgments about a company’s credibility based on the design of their website.

So, can you imagine a potential investor arriving on your website through their smartphone, only to find that they can’t engage or interact with your content because it’s not mobile-friendly?

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6. Speedy sites make for happy visitors.

Imagine if your website took forever to load? Fingers crossed this isn’t the case for your company (and if it is, click here).

Content that’s above the fold (the first content you see when you land on a site) on mobile should load in under one second. You can take a speed test here.

Speedy sites make for happy visitors, which means that these visitors are more likely to stay on your site and make their way to more pages on your website.

public companies can't afford to miss out on mobile 77. Responsive websites will set your business for the future.

One of the greatest benefits of responsive web design is that the site is designed to look good on any screen size, not designed specifically for a certain monitor or device. What does this mean? In the future, as new devices are released, your responsively designed website will still be set up for success.

 

Having a mobile website for your public company is no longer simply a nice feature; rather, it is a necessity and literally impacts the growth of your business online. As more and more investors are visiting your website to learn about your company, you truly can’t afford to miss out on the mobile experience.