Learn how Social Media can tell your CFO and CEO market reactions
just moments after your RNS hits the wire
‘How on earth can the likes of Facebook and Twitter have any influence n my share price’, you might ask. Well the truth is ‘a lot’! In our latest Social Media blog, we will look at three areas in which online networking can be seen as an essential part of your existing investor relations programme. We will look at –
- How private investors and analysts can influence your stock price through Social Media
- How your group website and Twitter feed are essential to keep investors up-to-date on your successes
- How Social Media can tell your CEO and CFO how the market reacts and your industry press,
just moments after you distribute your RNS on the wire
Believe it or not we have recently seen an increasing trend in private investors and small equity firms influencing large analyst firms and financial institutions through their use of Social Media. Private investors with significant holdings are tweeting and posting to blogs, their thoughts on performance and how they feel a given company is doing. A Social Media listening strategy or agency must be on hand for any forward-thinking investor relations department to provide daily analytics, sentiment, tone of investor related tweets or posts, as well as offering an executive summary of the mentions. A head of IR can then start to see trends and top influencers on social networks, and then accordingly build a strategy to engage with key individuals in the online space. This step is a must in the ongoing development of any investor relations strategy.
Most publically traded companies now have a corporate or ‘group’ website devoted to promoting investor relations online that can also incorporate IR or Group Twitter feeds, as well as a blog and corporate and financial news sections. Most of these elements are now considered as standard. But let’s focus on the Twitter feed for a moment. Those corporations who have group Twitter feeds find that not only major financial institutions follow them, but also private investors!
As a working example, Thomas Cook’s corporate twitter feed is a good example of this practice @ThomasCookGrp. From assessing this particular feed, you will notice that they live-tweet from all earnings calls, providing any industry news that influences the market, good stories around company innovations, as well as coverage that may be published from both the national and travel press. The group even retweet industry-related posts from the company CEO and CFO, further raising the online profile of key individuals within the business.
While the majority of the followers to the Group twitter feed are trade publications and business press, a notable number of key investors and analysts are also looking to the account for up-to-date information which could consequently effect their decisions.
Many publically listed companies will still follow existing traditions of posting their RNS or earnings report on the wire and then simply waiting for market reaction after their press briefing, analyst and investor calls. The more forward-thinking companies however are now utilising Social Media to their advantage. Once a company distributes their RNS, there is instantly a great opportunity through Twitter to learn what investors and analysts are already saying about your earnings results before briefing calls! Again, Thomas Cook uses this to its advantage.
During the time their quarterly results are sent out via RNS at 07.00 and the actual investor / press / analysts call, Thomas Cook’s Social Media monitoring agency, Chapel Social, gathers all Tweets, online news and social mentions that are IR-related to provide an executive summary on the overall sentiment towards the earning results. The CEO and CFO are then able to be briefed prior to the earning calls to prepare them for any negative market reaction, giving them extra time to prepare for potentially awkward or unexpected questions.
As you see, Social Media is no longer just focussed on customer interaction or supporting marketing campaigns. Nor is it simply “just for young people” on sites such as Facebook or Twitter. Social networking offers clear benefits for all investor relations programmes, and should clearly integrate into all aspects of your IR strategy.
For more information on how to integrate Social Media into your Social Media strategy, simply use our Get in Touch page or email info@ChapelSocial.com
