IR website best practices to help improve online communications
by Q4 Web Systems- 75% of institutional investors and analysts use corporate websites on a weekly basis (1)
- 95% of financial journalists access corporate and investor websites to research the companies they are writing about (2)
- Provides stakeholders with your company’s ongoing strategy for creating value
- Gives stakeholders context, insight and interactive tools to clearly understand your business today and in the future
Source: 1) Rivel Research | 2) Bulldog Reporter/TEKGROUP International
Six Categories of IR Website Best Practices
- Make investor content easy to access
- Convey a compelling investment proposition
- Provide content in formats that engage investors
- Be accessible and offer multiple ways to stay connected
- Offer investor tools and package useful information
- Highlight social media channels and embed multimedia content
1. Make Investor Content Easy to Access
- Companies should take into consideration three key audiences: potential, new and long-term
- The investor site needs to consider all of these audiences in the way that the site is structured and the manner in which content is layered – from walking a potential investor through the investment proposition to permitting long-term investors to get timely information fast
Make Investor Content Easy to Access - Example
- Homepage Integration of Investor Content
Teekay* uses their homepage to highlight key messages that take into consideration all key investor audiences.
For example, the ‘Why Invest’ targets potential investors, while current and long-term investors are given direct access to the information they seek through the ‘Latest News’ and ‘Events’ tabs.
*Q4 Client
http://www.teekaytankers.com/
To see 4 more examples of this best practice download the whitepaper.
2. Convey a Compelling Investment Proposition
- Companies should be able to effectively articulate why a person should invest in them
- More companies are incorporating a ‘Why Invest’ section on their IR website
- Companies are also providing background and context on their business in the ‘About’; ‘Our Company’; ‘Industry Overview’; and ‘At- A-Glance’ sections
- Others are also detailing their ‘Objectives’; ‘Mission Statement’ and ‘Strategy’ overview
Convey a Compelling Investment Proposition - Example
- Why Invest
‘Why Invest’ should tie together key information and connect the dots on the market opportunity and how the company stands out as a good investment in this particular industry.
Using visuals such as graphs, charts, videos and presentations will help tell the story.
*Q4 Client
http://agnico-eagle.com/English/Investor-Centre/WhyInvestInAEM/default.aspx/
To see 5 more examples of this best practice download the whitepaper.
3. Provide Content in Formats that Engage Investors
- Leading companies are making reports available in a variety of formats such as summary quarterly reports, online HTML versions and video updates
- ‘Fast Facts’ is a great feature to use on the company index or ‘About Us’ page – imagery and relational links enhance this feature
- Scorecards (or some form of measurement over time) are increasingly being used to show how effectively companies are executing their strategy
Provide Content in Formats that Engage Investors – Example
- Multimedia
We are seeing some interesting things on the multimedia front.
For example, investors can download pictures; view videos of company assets and hear management provide color on the latest quarterly financials or commentary by the CEO in the form of a ‘Year in Review’ like BMO does in the image to the right.
http://www2.bmo.com/content/0,1089,divId-3_langId-1_navCode-5077,00.html
To see 5 more examples of this best practice download the whitepaper.
4. Be Accessible & Offer Multiple Ways to Stay Connected
- Companies are using many tools to make themselves more accessible to investors and increase awareness about their brands
- Emerging best practice tools include interactive calendars; a glossary of terms and a FAQ section
- RSS feeds and email alerts are more prevalent with the option to subscribe to specific information such as news releases, events and presentations
Be Accessible & Offer Multiple Ways to Stay Connected - Example
- Email Alerts and RSS Feeds
More companies are now offering segmented email alerts that allow users to select the type of information they want.
For example, TVI Pacific* has a comprehensive ‘Connect with Us’ page with integrated RSS feeds so investors can sign up for news releases, events and presentations.
*Q4 Client
http://tvipacific.com/Investors/Investor-Connect/default.aspx
To see 5 more examples of this best practice download the whitepaper.
5. Offer Investor Tools & Package Useful Information
- The right investor tools can help to effectively aid communication and engage users
- The Investor Briefcase is a common feature that lets investors choose the items they are most interested in and view them in a summary area
- Some emerging trends include analytical tools and historical lookup that make it easy to download and analyze key financial information
- A number of companies are also using tools that allow users to sort, filter and search information
Offer Investor Tools & Package Useful Information - Example
- Sorting and Filing
We’re seeing a much greater use of tools that allow users to sort, filter and search information such as News, Events, and webcasts by date, topic, and speaker.
For example, Adidas Group lets users search their Events by topic, month and year.
http://www.adidas-group.com/en/investorrelations/events/default.aspx
To see 5 more examples of this best practice download the whitepaper.
6. HighlightSocialMedia&EmbedMultimediaContent
- Incremental use of social media for Investor Relations has resulted in an increase in the number of issuers integrating social media with their website
- Some companies are posting social media channels on the homepage of their IR website
- A number of companies are providing links to all of the social networks via a ‘Stay Connected’, ‘Connect With Us’ or ‘Follow Us’ approach
- Some are also using SlideShare and YouTube to publish a presentation or video and embedding it on the IR website
Highlight Social Media & Embed Multimedia Content - Example
- Embed Social Media Content
Providing pictures and videos can help investors get a better understanding of the underlying business of the company.
For example, Magma Energy* makes good use of multimedia by displaying videos and photos of their operations in action. These photos and videos are also published on social media sites Flickr and Vimeo.
*Q4 Client
http://www.magmaenergycorp.com/Properties/default.aspx
To see 5 more examples of this best practice download the whitepaper.
Download the Complete Whitepaper!
- See how leading companies use best practices to separate themselves from their peers and communicate more effectively with analysts, shareholders and the financial media.
- Download and learn how to:
- Improve your investor homepage
- Present a more compelling investment proposition
- Organize information better
- Use social media to expand your reach and increase website traffic
- Download the Complete Whitepaper Now!!
About Q4 Web Systems
- Q4 is the fastest growing IR website provider in North America
- Hundreds of public companies choose Q4 for their IR website and online communications because our web based platform is easy to use and helps them achieve results
- Everything contained in this paper is achievable if you choose Q4 for your IR website
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