Using Social Media in Investor Relations -- Part 2

Continuing our series on social media in IR, I'd like to discuss a few ways that we have learned to use some of these tools.

For starters, Meetup is a networking site that I have used personally for some time (it's great for when you move to a new city), but only recently have begun to experiment with as an investor relations tool. For those that are not familiar, Meetup.com is a place for like-minded individuals to congregate into groups for the purpose of face-to-face gatherings. There are groups of every imaginable kind including investor clubs.

Now, This can be a great IR resource for at least one reason. The members of these clubs tend to be relatively young. This is in contrast to what is typically found in your database where investors are more likely to be older. Therefore, it's a great place to connect with new investors who are more likely to be active and influential in the future. In fact, I'm tempted to make the same observation about all social media tools in general. Additionally, although I have no hard evidence in support, I suspect that the investors active in social media are more likely to want to invest in technology.

As for Meetup usage, here are a few ways we're beginning to use it.

• Use investor club Meetup gatherings as pitch venue, similar to a roadshow with several participants. This can also approached by IR staff in lieu of management.
  
• Network through these participants to other individual investors and organizations which you can add to your database to increase the magnitude of your other IR efforts.
• Take advantage of the collaborative nature of the groups to gain valuable market intelligence insights.

In other words, think of it as a free conference with an audience that is more unknown. I'm interested in hearing how other IR professionals are working with this site, if they are at all.

So that's all I have for Meetup. This weekend I'll find a few moments to talk about Facebook and Twitter which are the sites that everyone has been in love with for the last few years.

Using Social Media in Investor Relations -- Part 1

Did you know that 57 percent of all internet users have an online profile? Social media on the internet such as Facebook, Twitter, and Youtube have changed the way we communicate. As such, it is changing the way we communicate in an investor relations capacity as well. This blog entry is the first in a series that will examine the way investor relations can be performed using social media.

It is now generally accepted that public corporations should establish social media policies, and not only for IR purposes. When friends read personal messages on social networking sites, it is sometimes easy to gather information pertaining to the writer's employer. In this way information can be disseminated that would otherwise not be. Generally, however, social media is to be viewed in a positive light. Used proactively, social media opens up avenues of information exchange in real time to audiences that can be extremely focused and receptive to your message.

Through social media it is possible to target audiences very precisely and engage in a true dialog in real time. We are only beginning to tap the great potential of these new technologies.

Additionally, It is important to remember to stay within the boundaries of Reg FD and not disclose information that is not available to everyone. This is the inherent danger of social media in IR. Therefore, we recommend using the company website as a central point in all communications. Put everything there first and then use that information as a starting point for dissemination in social media channels.

And above all, content is king. More communications means more noise in an already noisy world. We believe it is important to always prioritize quality over quantity in all IR communications.

Consider some of the more popular social networking entities today:
Facebook
Twitter
Seeking Alpha
Stocktwits
Meetup
Youtube
Blogs
Slideshare
LinkedIn

Over the next several days we will address each one of these tools individually and discuss some of the ways in which we are using them to reach IR goals. We welcome your feedback and ideas as well.