I first posted this back in February of 2009. Nothing has changed and, in fact, the post has become even more relevant today. If you are looking to take your public company to that next great level, than trust me when I tell you this is the answer:
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You heard it here first. Bookmark it, bet on it. The most successful small-cap stocks of the next decade will overwhelmingly be led by “webified” CEO’s that fully understand:
- Shareholders want to interact and be part of your company’s conversation. Don’t fear them. Contrary to popular belief, 95% of investors want to gain knowledge and provide constructive feedback. Listen to what they have to say, incorporate their best ideas and you will have happy, loyal shareholders.
- Prospective shareholders are looking for you. They are using search engines, electronic shareholder forums, blogs, social networks, videos and good ol’ word of mouth to find a company to park their money with. They are not using their brokers.
- 1-1 communications are over. E-mail, phone calls and visits to your websites are slow, inefficient and over. Today, you have the tools to communicate with hundreds/thousands of people simultaneously.
- Shareholders are global. Tear down barriers related to geography, time zones and language. The best way to both connect with current investors and reach new investors in the four corners of this planet is by incorporating each of the following into your investor relations program (in no particular order):
Fair warning to all small-cap CEO and investor relations officers:Â If you don’t know what these are, never used them and – most importantly – don’t know how to integrate them into your IR program, your chances of success will be significantly diminished.
Believe me when I tell you. We have already entered the next era of investor relations. Thanks to the SEC (they did something right in 2008) the digital investor relations dam has burst and IR departments of the world’s biggest companies are now scrambling to understand and incorporate “IR 2.0”.
The good news? It isn’t as difficult as you think. We know because we’re already using these tools in our daily communications…just click on any of the logos above to see us in action.
Damn, now I have an itch to take AGORACOM public.
Regards,
George