How measurement is evolving for Investor Relations..
Posted by dna 13 on Mon, Jun 15, 2009
Business today is increasingly global and intensely competitive. A large factor in this is today’s new, more dynamic and aggressive communications environment that continues to grow and change under this social media avalanche. All media are now global, and information travels around the world instantaneously. Situations change with remarkable speed, and if not monitored closely, can quickly become out of control.
Due to the speed of media and communications technologies, an organization’s shareholders have never before been better informed. With instant access to thousands of opinions, facts and figures, they are becoming increasingly demanding in their expectations of public companies and their leaders. To quote List from MediaShop Public Relations "“Keeping investors informed, even when the news is bad, is vital to maintaining trust.”
Abraham Lincoln once said, “Public sentiment is everything. With public sentiment, nothing can fail; without it, nothing can succeed.” Consider how true this is today. Web 2.0 technologies allow opinions to be expressed freely, and distributed and replicated instantly. The voice of public sentiment is louder than ever, and cannot be ignored.
Success in public relations and investor relations can no longer be measured simply by “column inches,” or the number of sell-side analyst “buy” recommendations – if it ever could. Public relations and investor relations teams are often doing their best work when they keep a company’s name out of the media or securities analyst’s research note.
It was Mark Twain who once said, “Never pick a fight with a man who buys his ink by the barrel.” This advice – updated for today’s media environment – is more applicable than ever:
“Never pick a fight with a person who has no need of ink.”
Online technologies, like the dna13
PR software application, help to level the playing field in media, and cannot be overlooked when the opinion of the public and key stakeholders are worth so much.
The rise of global equity markets, the demand for corporate transparency, strong corporate governance, accountability, and full and fair disclosure, in combination with the constant pressure to enhance shareholder value, the increase in shareholder activism, and a more rigorous regulatory involvement, all result in much greater pressures being placed on investor relations departments.
Communications is a demanding environment for investor relations, but if managed properly, can be the key to great success.