- Staying consistent with an ongoing outreach plan is one of the most accessible forms of success for a business looking to claim a spot in its respective industry
- IBN’s Communications Director Jonathan Keim spoke about how this plan can be created and three important ways a company can achieve effective visibility: podcasts, OTT platforms and content syndication
- Finding what works and sticking with it is imperative to making the outreach plan a success
What investors see about a company online is critical, which is why organizations need to find effective ways to engage more potential investors using digital channels and continually give them a good reason to become active followers, according to InvestorBrandNetwork (“IBN”) Director of Communications Jonathan Keim during LD Micro’s virtual event held August 31-September 2.
In his presentation, titled “Reaching Investors with Podcasts, OTT and Syndication,” Keim explained to executives and IR teams that most of the information a potential investor gathers about a company is via online research, whether they are looking for new investment ideas or specifically for information about the company. Either way, organizations should employ a dual-pronged strategy that targets both their already-loyal following of investors via company-specific subscription platforms as well as the millions of investors who haven’t heard about the company via external channels such as industry-specific publications.
According to Keim, when an organization joins these two approaches in a singular strategy, in-house audiences are prone to grow indefinitely. His team has employed this strategy to grow IBN’s collective audience to more than 2 million likes and followers among multiple social media platforms. There are many ways to integrate digital content with existing IR strategies, as well as the nurturing of channels a company already leverages. In fact, between strategy, distribution, and development, there are over 25 different routes utilized on a regular basis. IBN’s LD 500 presentation focused mostly on how companies can use podcasting, OTT platforms, and digital media syndication to augment investor outreach efforts.
To watch the presentation using LD Micro’s official conference platform, visit: https://www.webcaster4.com/Webcast/Page/2019/37203
To watch the presentation using your favorite online-connected device via YouTube, visit https://youtu.be/lZAU0UbH5TU. You can also watch the presentation from the comfort of your living room via ROKU, Amazon Fire and many other OTT media streaming platforms by downloading the “InvestorBrandNetwork” app.
Podcasts, OTT Platforms, Content Syndication
Podcasts are a platform that cannot be ignored by investor relations professionals, as they are believed to reach more than 100 million Americans a month. According to pre-COVID statistics, 49 percent of podcast listening was done at home, but the number is likely to have grown substantially since the pandemic, making podcasts a great avenue of investor outreach. Even if a company doesn’t have its own podcasts, getting invited and participating in already-established shows is a great way to increase a brand’s visibility.
Over The Top (OTT) video platforms have become popular among American homes, with four out of five households owning at least one streaming device. Putting content out through the streaming networks, such as video interviews, presentations, and audio content paired with b-roll footage, gets a company seen. Securing a company-specific channel or app on streaming platforms that draw attention, like Apple TV, Amazon, and ROKU, is closer to impossible than obtainable. But partnering with a media company that already exists on these platforms with the ability to readily upload third-party content can help a company quickly gain a presence via the streaming devices.
Article syndication is another critical element of a solid investor outreach strategy that incorporates online visibility. The critical takeaway with syndication is to make sure that the covered topics are attractive to the audience a company wants to target. Once the content is created, the next objective is to get placement on high-traffic platforms that have the reputation and following to make a company seen. This placement should evolve into a strategy that also includes syndication to the company’s official newsfeed on sites like MarketWatch and StreetInsider.
Keim explained that NetworkNewsWire’s article syndication network can help with article publication, much like editorial content. A company can leverage the reputation of the publisher while benefiting from the organic traffic. For example, participants of the LD 500 event were featured in virtual coverage syndicated to NetworkNewsWire’s 5000+ outlet network.
The Value of Virtual Investor Events
Virtual investor events enable organizations to easily connect with new audiences. Additionally, as compared to traditional on-site events, virtual events cut out the travel time and provide everyone involved with better analytics.
In addition to those advantages, getting to learn from the experience of other speakers enables a company to gain knowledge it may not have had. A marketing keynote of IBN’s presentation was the use of push notification marketing. The entire world has become dependent upon smartphone technology, and statistics say that 95% of the text messages sent are read within the first five minutes of being received, making for a much more efficient outreach tool than any social media post or email newsletter broadcast.
With push notifications to smartphones through text messaging, hyperlinks can be used to drive users to long-form content that wouldn’t fit in a text message. Pairing this marketing with other complementary solutions can provide the right momentum for a solid content outreach strategy.
Succeeding with Consistent Planning
In a well-connected outreach strategy, the idea is to keep things going, without allowing momentum to fizzle out before success is reached. Each of the pieces function as a cog in a machine, where the company is the machine and the outreach strategy is represented by the cogs as moving parts.
For instance, during the downtime between press releases, a company can work on syndicating articles that will engage the current and loyal readers while attracting new audiences. Personalized emails between an organization and journalists can boost the potential for further reach, or alternatively, companies can hire a PR firm to handle this for them.
Once an organization lays the foundation of an outreach plan, it needs to keep learning what works and what does not, and to repeat what works in order to grow its audience and keep it engaged. Having a consistent plan that connects with supporting strategies is how a company really succeeds, Keim concluded.
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