How to avoid being lost in the digital crowd

New communications channels have changed how businesses and their customers interact, making it necessary for businesses to adapt and find new ways to assert their unique brand identities.
The goal of most online marketers used to be to drive traffic to their company websites. But today the channels to keep up with consumers and keep the brand fresh are quickly changing. With consumers increasingly shifting access to mobile devices and social sites, they have less time to spend on an individual company's site.

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This represents both a challenge and an opportunity for businesses. Smart businesses are syndicating their brand experience on these destination sites to extend and strengthen their customer connections. The best of these digital relationships create branded encounters, targeted cross-sells, and a place to provide customized content, customer self-service, and account management.

The fragmented consumer

Consumers today are stretched thin, scrambling to manage more responsibilities than ever, and multitasking at every turn.
As a result, they're flocking to places on the web where they can digitally replace physical activities and do so more quickly and conveniently within a few top destinations. Content consolidation portals have become hugely popular and successful because they offer easy-to-use and efficient access to the things that consumers value:

• Information: Google, Wikipedia, and Twitter have all but replaced card catalogs and reference libraries.
• Shopping: Amazon provides a massive online shopping mall open 24 hours every day of the year and a marketplace of offerings from others.
• Social interaction: Facebook, Twitter, and Google+ have replaced email for younger people to communicate with friends and family near and far. Social networks have also become the online water coolers and informal gathering places for people who telecommute, live far from friends and family, or who have increasingly less time to share news, experiences, and insights through other channels.
• Entertainment: Sites such as YouTube, Pandora, and Hulu serve to provide rich, consolidated online entertainment experiences.
• Financial services: More than four-fifths of customers at major banks such as Bank of America, Chase, Citicorp, and Wells Fargo have access to online accounts.

However, when it comes to asserting brand identity, the challenge remains, as sites like Amazon leave little room for brand influence and online banking portals bear the bank's branding -- it's focused on bill pay, not on the consumer's interaction with the biller.
While search engine marketing and optimization are critical elements of marketers' branding efforts through Google, other sites, such as Google+ and Twitter, offer additional branding opportunities. In particular, Facebook provides the best example of the benefits of building brand identity within a destination site.

The outreaching brand

On Facebook, marketers were quick to launch branded pages linking to their own websites. The traffic to their Facebook pages quickly took off. However, consumers don't always want to leave the Facebook site to click out to individual business websites -- in many cases, they are happier to interact with the brand in the Facebook environment. The key was to bring the brand to the consumer.
Today, successful brands go where consumers congregate rather than wait for consumers to come to them. This requires building up an extensive brand presence within consolidated sites -- in essence, syndicating the brand experience on digital properties outside of their business's own domain. Brands such as Coca-Cola, Disney, and Starbucks have been successful in creating powerful brand destinations within Facebook, with ever-growing fan bases of more than 20 million each.

Standing out against the clutter

A new type of single-consumer destination site is emerging as the physical world mixes with the digital world. Enter the digital mailbox. As the digital mailbox develops, it will become an environment for brands to inform, transact with, and market to customers. It will also change how people conduct their personal business and introduce efficiencies into their busy lives.
We can all agree that people today increasingly prefer to do things digitally. This presents an opportunity for brands to use new consolidated online destinations, like a digital mailbox, to extend their brand's presence and provide customers with relevant, personalized, and interactive communications.
To promote the brand, the digital mailbox concept allows marketers to incorporate logos, styles, personalized offers, one-on-one messaging, links to online account management, product cross-sells, and even offers bill pay, which enables businesses to maintain their personalities while creating a strong brand presence and ultimately strengthen ties between the business and its customers.
For brand marketers, partnering with the right destination mailbox will help capture customers' attention. As you're evaluating these new consolidator sites, keep in mind some of the key features that should be offered to make sure the experience will be a successful one -- for the brand and the consumer. These could include:

• Branded encounters: inbound mail of all types, as well as online bill pay and permission-based marketing; plus creative experiences that leverage the digital medium.
• Targeted cross-sell: analytics-based insights captured and used to drive right-time, relevant messaging.
• Customized content: real, one-to-one focused communications that hone in on and addresses specific consumer needs and concerns.
• Increased self-service: opportunities to get answers and complete transactions more easily and efficiently -- 24 hours, seven days a week.
• Links to web or social media: ways to easily move between different media and destination sites.

As single destination sites for consumers are evolving, forward-thinking brands can have a say in how a solution will work to bolster a brand's identity and integrity, while best serving the needs of its customers. The digital mailbox will change the game in favor of digital marketers who know how to be where their customers can find convenient, comprehensive service.
Chuck Cordray is the president of Volly.

Facebook Pages for Investor Relations

Facebook pages were once heralded as the next innovation in shareholder communication. Though in the wake of the Facebook IPO, press surrounding Social Media Fatigue has reached fever-pitch. The response from many company has been to withdraw from Social Media and Facebook especially.
R “Ray” Wang put together a great article last week titled Avoiding Social Media Fatigue Through Engagement and we believe you can do exactly that. The withdrawal of many competitors from the Social Media landscape is only more reason that your public company should be doing it’s best to engage stakeholders through channels like Facebook. Here’s how…

KEY BRANDING POINTS

Craft Relevant Cover Images

It’s not good enough to simply put up the header of your website. Instead, try to provide value to the visitor with stock information, give the page context with a tagline and finally, overlay your company logo or another branding asset for recognition.
Also, change your cover image regularly. If you have a trade show coming up or a news release just out, add this information graphically to the top of your Facebook page within the cover.

Create A Vanity URL Like This…

One of the simplest branding principles on Facebook, though still one of the most overlooked in Investor Relations. Make sure your company is recognizable through your Facebook Page URL. To set this, visit: facbeook.com/username/ once you have 25 fans and you’ll end up with something like the one displayed above.

Highlight Your Corporate Presentation

Often overlooked is the “Highlight” function of the Facebook Timeline. Use Highlighting to keep relevant information front and centre on the page. This way users don’t have to go digging for it.

Highlight Your Corporate Video

Same concept, different media. Lead with the content you believe to be most compelling for stakeholders or cold leads who have arrived on your page through your engagement practices.

Add Maps And Location Information

Adding location info to your Social Media listings gives the profile a significantly higher chance of appearing in location-based search results. Also, the headquarters of your company is a vital piece of information that stakeholders will seek out.

KEY ENGAGEMENT POINTS

Creating enthusiasm around a Company Facebook Page can be really tough, especially if you’re working for a Startup or a Junior Company. The secret is to focus on engagement, not followers. By following these few engagement tips and saying relevant things to the right people, you’ll be able to achieve a much greater level of visibility for your Page and more importantly, your content.

Mention Other Pages (Sources) In Your Posts

When you find good content, don’t try pass it off as your own. Instead, find the original creator, “Like” their page and then mention it when you re-post the content.
This is done for you if you are re-sharing, but if you stumble across something awesome in your business intelligence, it’s well worth taking the time to generate that connection. You’ll likely have the content re-shared by the original creator and thereby get your company in front of their followers as well.

Comment As Your Company Page

In another recent post of ours titled “Facebook Commenting as a Page? HUGE for Investor Relations!” we explained that the Facebook Commenting system now allows you to place comment by a Page on a web article. Saying something valuable to the conversation will increase company visibility and reader sentiment.

Vary Post Content

Since company press releases are usually quite dull in terms of formatting, it’s a great idea to mix up your content during low company news periods.
Engagement rates increase significantly when posting single images and videos to the Timeline. Try to throw in at least one or two of these per week so that your Company Page has color.
Another good idea is to create Slideshows and Info-graphics from the data published in your press releases in the weeks after they’re published. Graphically displayed data is shown to greatly enhance comprehension so this may also

KEY METRICS

The first step here is to forget about Likes. Yes, one of the purposes of Social Media is to create a following for the Company. But the engagement of audience is far more critical than its size.

Reach

Engagement is driven by high-quality, well-timed content. The result is a high level of Reach. If a Social Media company reports that they’ve delivered you 1000 followers in a month, that’s great, but how many more legitimate eyes are on your content? Total Reach is the best measure of the ROI of your Facebook strategy. If you see it dipping, your audience is not being engaged by relevant content. Stem the tide and be more pro-active in engaging with users using the steps outlined above.

Facebook To Web Conversions

It’s great if all your posts on Facebook are being shared and reaching a large audience. But ultimately, we run a Facebook campaign to get more eyes on our press releases and company content. An excellent measure of this is the Facebook to Web conversion metric provided by Google Analytics. While you won’t be driving traffic daily from Facebook, the idea is to make the spikes you see below as high as possible by maintaining that engaged audience through slow news periods.

CONCLUSION

This is just the tip of the Facebook iceberg. For more information about implementing a Facebook Strategy for your Public Company, please visit our Social Engagement page or Contact Us for a more detailed explanation of any of the points you’ve found here.

Best Practice Examples of IR Blogs

In the first part of this IR blog series, we provided some suggestions for incorporating an IR blog into your communications mix. In this post (based on our research), we will discuss what sectors and size of companies (based on their market cap) are the most prevalent users of IR blogs, and what country has the highest adoption rates. We will also include what we consider some best practice examples of companies who use IR blogs to help tell their investment story.
Sector, Market Cap and Country
Technology companies are the most prevalent users of IR blogs followed by the services sector. Companies in the U.S. are the most dominant users of blogs for investor-related material, with Canada next, closely followed by Europe. Small cap companies use blogs for investor-related material most frequently, followed by large cap and then mid cap companies.
Our research has largely found greater use of social media for IR in the U.S., although it should be noted that our sample includes a large percentage of U.S. companies.
Of the companies in our study, we found the majority is using IR blogs to:

• Provide insight into news, industry developments and the company – not just regurgitating information in press releases or other company materials.
• Compile questions solicited from shareholders (in most cases) in advance of a quarterly earnings call.
• Post videos – again in particular for additional commentary around quarterly earnings call.

Best Practice Examples
Microvision has a great blog and uses it well to engage with investors. They were one of the first companies to solicit potential questions in advance of quarterly call and ask they be submitted on their blog. They have also interviewed their CEO to address questions received on behalf of investors about an upcoming industry-related conference.
Cisco’s blog ‘The Platform‘ is all encompassing and has a stream of posts from technology to a review of the quarterly report by the CFO. They have a great use of video that is evidenced by the recording of their CFO to discuss earnings.
Instead of providing specific context around their earnings, Johnson & Johnson uses their blog to provide commentary on their strategy as outlined by the company’s CEO and Chairman on the quarterly call.
They also use their blog to share the key ideas discussed at their annual meeting, as well as posting the shareholder results.
Earlier this year, their legal counsel, Doug Chia shared a post about how they joined Moxy Vote so that shareholders can directly cast shareholder votes through the site:

Accelyrs Software’s blog is geared toward customers with contributions by product managers, developers and research staff. However, in spite of being mainly used to discuss product and industry information, the company did post the details of their merger with Symyx Technologies.
In January 2010, China Wind Power launched their IR Blog. For a small cap Canadian company, China Wind does a great job of keeping their stakeholders apprised of their business strategy and company developments. For example, the image below provides an overview of one of their development projects:

http://chinawindpower.posterous.com/tag/developmentphases

Emulex has four blogs that cover off all aspects of their business including marketing, R&D and the technology industry in general. They also have a “CEO Blog” which is authored by Jim McCluney, the company’s president and CEO. McCluney uses the blog to convey his expertise of the company’s business through detailed commentary on company news.
Rackspace has a corporate blog that covers a diverse range of topics including corporate strategy, company news, industry events and investor-centric information. For example, recent posts pertained to an overview of a strategic partnership, while another covered an analyst day at the NYSE.
They also posted a video in which Patrick Walravens, an on-demand and enterprise software analyst at JMP Securities (who covers the company) interviewed Lew Moorman, President, Cloud and Chief Strategy Officer.
We are in the midst of updating our research and will be issuing a new whitepaper series in mid-June. Stay tuned!

10 signs social media is taking over the world

The following is an excerpt from “21 signs that social media has taken over the world”:
1. Your baby is born in the hospital and the nurse asks, ”What’s the baby’s handle so we can fill out his birth certificate?”

2. The new name for hide and seek is “Foursquare.”

3. The phrase “He’s all thumbs” is considered a huge compliment for a fast texter.

4. Every house with kids in it proudly displays their avatars on the mantle in the den; no one seems to recall what a school picture is.

5. No one talks anymore. We simply chat.

6. When someone says “Smile for the picture”, you immediately think emoticon :)

7. Kids laugh at their parents when we describe how TweetDeck worked.

8. On special occasions, family dinner means Grandma shares her story, “When I was your age and had to tweet from my Blackberry, we paid $12 to see the ‘Avatar’ movie in 3D and got these silly glasses….”

9. The board game Scrabble now has pieces with .ly and http://

10. Baby bibs that used to say “Spit Happens” now read “Spam Happens, IMHO.”

How to prepare for a media interview in just 15 minutes

Turn off the phone, close the door and prepare to dominate your next interview with these tips.

 

Even the most seasoned media sources need to take time to unplug, focus and take command of a pending media interview. Absent of professional media training (which I highly advocate), there are a few things you can do in a short period of time prior to a scheduled media interview to help get your message across, get quoted accurately, and make you proud of the quotes you read when the story hits.
Here are eight tips:
1.Unplug.
Shut down your email and let your receptionist know that you won’t be taking any calls, starting 15 minutes prior to your scheduled media interview. You need to focus and disconnect.
2.Close your door.
Again, you need to focus before and during the phone interview. Some people speak more freely and confidently behind closed doors. Closing your office door will allow you to maintain focus, be free of distraction, and enable you to speak with confidence and purpose.
3.Get your story straight.
In most cases, you will have at least a general idea of the interview’s subject matter. Take five minutes to jot down three to five points that you absolutely, positively need to make during the interview. Use this as your cheat sheet and, when you can make a natural segue to one of your prepared talking points, do so (without reading your jots word for word, of course).
4.Rehearse.
If you have the time, and generally are the type who needs to do so, rehearse the talking points you jotted down. Some people do a fine job with the written word but stumble when trying to make the same point verbally. Even try this aloud. You might be surprised how difficult it can be to translate your written notes into cogent and compelling oral arguments. Practice makes perfect.
5.Review your work.
Chances are you aren’t the individual who drafted the press release and made the pitch to the reporter. So you need to make sure you have absolute command of the materials the reporter is reading from. Re-read the press release, and make sure you know how your PR professional pitched the topic so you are in complete control at all times.
6. Know the company fight song.
Now is a good time to take a look at your own company’s messaging. Review your elevator pitch, or familiarize yourself with the boilerplate that appears at the end of your press releases. Have a succinct, interesting way to communicate your company’s mission and purpose so you come across prepared and polished.
7. Brevity is the soul of wit.
Remind yourself to keep your responses short and sweet. Don’t give a 10-minute answer to a 10-second question. Speak in sound bites, if you can. The tighter the responses, the easier it will be for the reporter to capture and use them accurately.
8. Be human.
Take a deep breath, and relax. The reporter is a real person, just like you. In most cases, you will not be facing hostility (unless in a crisis situation, which is an entirely different situation), so be yourself and speak in plain English. If you sense disconnects, don’t be afraid to ask if clarification is necessary. The more human you are, the more likeable you are. The more likeable you are, the greater your chances of being that reporter’s “repeat customer.”
These tips won’t replace professional media training, but if you’ve already been media trained, or have an interview coming up later today, use these tips for a successful interview.
Tom Nixon is president of LV8 Communications. A version of this article appeared first on his company’s blog.