Business Wire recently attended the 2024 annual NIRI and CIRI conferences in San Francisco and Calgary, where we had the opportunity to engage with the investor relations community. We left both exhilarating events full of invaluable insights. Here’s a recap of what resonated with us most.
- Data-Driven Strategies Maximize ROI
- Visual Content Generates Results
- Safely Leveraging AI Tools in IR
- Social Media Broadens News Release Reach
Data-Driven Strategies Maximize ROI
Modern IR strategies are increasingly data-driven, leveraging advanced analytics to gain insights into investor behavior and market trends. Tech-savvy IR professionals stay updated on the latest tools and best practices, incorporating data into their strategies to drive better outcomes.
Predictive analytics empowers companies to forecast investor behavior and market trends, facilitating proactive decision-making and strategic planning. Analyzing historical data, market intelligence, and advanced modeling techniques enables organizations to anticipate reactions to news, regulatory changes, and market developments. This foresight gives IR pros the ability to adjust their communications strategies in real-time, mitigating risks and seizing opportunities.
Segmenting the investor base through analytics helps identify distinct personas based on factors such as investment objectives, risk tolerance, geographical location, and investment history. Tailoring outreach and engagement initiatives to resonate with each audience strengthens relationships and drives long-term loyalty and advocacy.
Measuring and demonstrating ROI in investor relations can be challenging, but data analytics provides the necessary tools and metrics. Tracking key performance indicators (KPIs) such as investor engagement, shareholder activism, stock price performance, earnings release impressions and clicks, analyst coverage, and more, allows companies to quantify the ROI of their IR initiatives.
Visual Content Generates Results
Incorporating data-driven and eye-catching visual elements like financial tables, infographics, and other multimedia assets into earnings releases further increases the impact and accessibility of a company’s financial news. Visual elements make releases more valuable to journalists and consumers and help simplify complex information.
Business Wire has noticed a significant increase in the use of infographics with earnings releases. Infographics capture reader interest and make key information memorable. Multimedia also helps accommodate diverse learning styles and varying levels of financial literacy, broadening the accessibility of investor news.
Balancing AI with Human Relationships
Mey Saephanh, Customer Success Account Manager at Business Wire, noted a common topic of conversation was artificial intelligence and how to safely leverage it as a tool in the IR space. While generative AI tools continue to grow in popularity, especially for generating earnings script ideas, there are concerns about privacy and security.
Head of Sales at Business Wire, Matthew Policastro, also noted the adoption of AI by IR teams but emphasized the importance of “relations” in investor relations. The relationships companies have with investors, analysts, and media cannot be solely built or solidified with AI alone.
According to Richard Barber, CEO of Mind Tech Group, "Having surveyed the membership of the Canadian Investor Relations Institute, I found that over 90% are seeing ‘Time Savings’ benefits, primarily through writing and communication." AI might not take your job, but IROs who leverage AI will likely outperform those who don't. The key is to structure your AI processes with your clients in mind.
On the topics of privacy and security, Barber claims "putting your AI application inside your corporate firewall can provide a safer way to use AI from a data confidentiality and privacy perspective.”
Social Sharing
In addition to helping catch viewer attention, adding multimedia to financial updates and earnings releases also makes these announcements easily shareable. Posting company news or media coverage to social media channels like LinkedIn and X helps reach a broader investor audience. Adding relevant hashtags and cashtags allows companies to follow conversations on X, which comes in handy for monitoring engagement public sentiment.
What We’re Excited to Share
- With IPO activity off to a strong start in 2024, and a hopeful outlook for the rest of the year, Business Wire is ready to support companies moving from filing to listing.
- Corporate Social Responsibility is top of mind, and Business Wire’s CSR Circuit is the best avenue to publicize your initiatives.
- Bring your next earnings release to life with multimedia. Business Wire offers several multimedia distribution options, including Interactive Media, which boost awareness and engagement of your news.
- Workiva and Business Wire offer a seamless integration, saving you time and mitigating risk during busy earnings periods.
- Q4 provides comprehensive IR tools including websites, newsrooms, and webcasting services. Joint clients benefit from Business Wire-distributed releases automatically posting to their Q4 newsrooms.
- Q4’s new AI-enabled IR Ops Platform assists IR professionals in creating events and websites, streamlining data and workflows, and more.
Learn More
- Make an Impact with Your Earnings News
- Communicating Throughout Funding Rounds
- 3 Tips for Creating Powerful News Release Headlines
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