Investor Relations Archives

Feb 13 2017

Yes, Twitter Is Still Relevant! Here’s Why…

Twitter is dominating the news lately—possibly even more since its 2013 IPO at a whopping $24 billion valuation. The sudden surge of interest is largely related to two factors getting significant media exposure: First, discussions in the financial and business world over whether the company will reach profitability by monetizing its 317 million active users worldwide. Second, whether this microblogging platform may have been instrumental in helping a well-known New York-born businessman become the most powerful person in the world.

Since its inception, Twitter has sparked debates, discussions, laughter and skepticism. The idea of cofounder Jack Dorsey—to launch a social media platform that only allowed 140 characters, including the letters and spaces, while naming these mini-news bleeps “tweets”—was, by any standard, a reach. Yet doubt as we might have, Twitter and tweeting were quickly adopted by people around the world. For many, it became, and still is, their go-to source for quick, searchable headline news, whether global, regional or local. It’s been credited with starting social revolutions—both literally and figuratively.

Twitter is the originator of the hashtag, that “#” sign in front of a phrase, word or acronym. The conceptual value of a hashtag is priceless in that it can be used to search for news about anything. This can include world events, gatherings, topics of personal interest, corporate developments, financial news, celebrity-watching, entertainment and more. The hashtag truly holds a “sky’s the limit” potential. There are hashtags for anything and everything imaginable, and people use them to find what interests them. For example, there was #Election2016 and there’s still #PokemonGo, #Brexit and #MotivationMonday along with #MondayBlues—plus things like #GameofThrones and #SelfieSunday! Many brands launch by attempting to create a trending hashtag and often this strategy aids their success.

When I started a Twitter account in 2007 as the platform first launched, it was due to the hard sell by my head of IT, who was confident that this would be “big.” What started out as a one-follower-at-a-time process for my companies and myself has grown into our own mini-news outlet that benefits me personally as well as our clients and friends, whom we often highlight in our tweets. But still I often wondered: Is the audience real?

I could see that our followers included some high-profile reporters from big news outlets. We also have “personalities” following us—ranging from none other than Mad Money’s Jim Cramer to Little Steven of Bruce Springsteen’s E Street Band! Then, of course, there are my friends, coworkers and clients—and recently, my 88-year-old mom. But who were the other multiple thousands of “followers” who keep adding daily to our growing cumulative audience? To answer this, we conducted TwitterAudits of my personal and multiple corporate accounts. I was pleasantly surprised—shocked, really—to learn that 93 percent of our more than 106,000 followers were “real” people! This is outstanding in a world where “followers”—albeit fake ones—can be purchased just to make someone feel or appear relevant (although this is not at all a recommended strategy).

While questions might abound regarding Twitter’s ultimate viability—the platform seems to be trailing in popularity with millennials behind Instagram and Snapchat—there is still a lot of value for those savvy enough to understand its worth.

Here are my five main takeaways for your consideration along with a last piece of advice regarding Twitter:

1) Twitter allows a direct line of communication. Anyone can see your tweets, and more of the people you seek to reach will find them if you learn to use hashtags together with your main messages. Think of the hashtag as a way you can categorize news in a noisy universe of more than 6,000 tweets per second; 350,000 per minute; and 500 million tweets per day.

2) You can directly reach your exact audience by searching their names to find their Twitter handle which looks like this: @X and is otherwise known as their Twitter address. For example, my Twitter “handle” is @DianGriesel. You can “tag” those you want to reach and fill the Tweet with a link to your content or send them direct messages. Either way, the followers of @DianGriesel (as per this example) will also see what you tagged me with.

3) The 140-character limit in the Twitter world aligns with overall attention spans. Did you know the average television commercial is only 15 seconds long? The point is: Learn to get to the point.

4) Choose your words carefully. Your audience will be trying to assess your mood. Speech experts have been able to determine whether a tweet came from the boss (or the President himself…) or from a social media manager assigned the job.

5) Overhauls—and overthrows—can occur in days versus years. Think about how quickly we are watching management teams at companies comply with or concede the need to listen not only to their customers but to the “CEO” of the United States as well. An unhappy online crowd or a single powerful voice—whether known as POTUS or advocate or influencer—can get resoundingly loud rapidly, if related counterparties aren’t carefully listening to the complaints and responding.

Now for my parting advice: Think very carefully before tweeting. Although you might be able to delete a hasty, ill-considered tweet from your feed…a strong likelihood remains—due to #RT (re-tweet) and #MT (modified tweet)—that it is still roaming around the Twittersphere.

The Twitter platform has G-Force potential, which helps explain why it still seems to be the preferred communication platform of that same New Yorker who harnessed its power to win the most powerful position on Earth.

May the Twitter force be with you. Use it wisely.

Dian Griesel, Ph.D. is an author, strategic visibility expert and President of DGI Comm a public relations firm that can help build corporate and/or personal thought leadership status.

Jan 27 2016

How to Swim with the Sharks and Win Investor Money

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(DGIwire) — How many times have you watched an entrepreneur win the opportunity to court the interest of The Shark Tank investors, yet fail to gain the coveted investment due to poor presentation skills and the inability to articulate their value proposition?

“Many people don’t realize that the need to attract a banker, a “crowd” or other investors begins the day a company is born. Although you may be one of the lucky entrepreneurs that never needs to raise outside capital for growth, you will still need a broad-based, integrated strategy specifically designed to showcase the value opportunity of your company,” says long time communications expert Dian Griesel, Ph.D. “Whether managed in-house or through an outside firm, an effective plan has a dual purpose: 1) to catapult your company to its next level of success and growth, and 2) to serve as a safety net to support you through unexpected times of crisis or need.”

A well- planned program will:

• Provide information to the marketplace.

• Get feedback from the marketplace.

• Build relationships with appropriate banks, investors and third-party endorsers.

• Maintain proper disclosure as required by law and by your market venue.

• Manage expectations and disappointments.

• Communicate management’s vision for the future.

Although not everyone considers the company the best source of information about itself, and some investors are more prone to rely exclusively on quantitative or technical analysis to determine where they will invest, such investors are in the minority. Most do see company management—the key people running the company—as the essential source of information. Many money managers would never even consider making an investment without first having a “touching and feeling” one-on-one meeting with management. These meetings allow would-be investors to evaluate intangibles such as the personalities, honesty and integrity of management, and to develop an opinion as to management’s ability to accomplish the tasks at hand and to think, act and progress in accordance with the company’s mission.

So, how do you prepare to ask for money if you need it?

Nothing happens in a vacuum, at least most of the time. Think Ockham’s Razor—a principle attributed to the 14th-century English logician and Franciscan friar William of Ockham, and frequently paraphrased as “All other things being equal, the simplest solution is the best.”

The lack of investing interest in a good company is often a consequence of its failure to institute a strong communications program. A company must spend the necessary time to ensure that its potential customers and partners, and the investing and media communities, know of its existence—and we are not just talking about putting out the occasional press release.

Let’s assume that you and your company have a great offering and that you have been delivering on your promises. You have a good tale to tell. Are they getting out in public telling it? Or are you spending your time “singing in the shower?”

The shower is warm and safe, but the rewards are on stage, in front of a live audience.

Besides management being reluctant to get out and meet with people, companies too often fail to put sufficient thought, time and effort into their messages and strategies. Add to this news releases that are poorly written, rushed out and ill-timed; conference calls that are treated in an off-the-cuff manner; presentations that lack formality; and crisis management that is not planned and addressed prior to an unanticipated event. Are any or all of these factors contributing to the stagnation or lowering of your company’s valuation? They assuredly will be if you have not carefully considered how to best present your story.

Do you want a higher valuation? Greater sales? Peer recognition? Of course you do! The higher the valuation, sales and/or recognition the more likely you will be able to obtain capital for the financial growth requirements of your company and the less dilutive any future rounds of fundraising will be. More so, you will be better positioned to intrigue a wider circle of possible investors, partners or buyers.

What does all this mean to you? Dian Griesel, Ph.D., president of DGI Comm sums it all up this way: “If you aspire to a place in the big leagues, you need a well-thought-out, progressive, proactive communications program. You need it today, tomorrow and every day that you exist as a company.”

Jan 27 2016

Want Investors? Read This!

(DGIwire) — Let’s say you are at the helm of a company developing a brilliant new tech gadget, a smartphone app, a revolutionary service, a brand, a new drug for one of the illnesses that plague humanity or anything else. Great! After all, business is the driving force in America and every major invention throughout history started with the kernel of an idea. However, without a plan and access to capital to materialize these ideas, many businesses wither before they ever have the time to grow. The fact is: There are over 15,000 businesses trading over the counter (OTC or not on a major exchange) and only about 4,000 of them have made it to the big time: NASDAQ or the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE). The majority of these OTC businesses fold because they can’t raise enough capital to reach profitability because they lack a sound business plan or the management team lacks the necessary presentation skills and the ability to articulate their vision. To ensure this doesn’t happen to your business, you may need a refresher course or coaching on the key messages that must be imparted if you expect to recruit investors that are willing to support your growth and stand by during the inevitable challenges all businesses face at one time or another.

Landing investors—whether high-net worth individuals, angels, venture, institutional or retail—takes time and persistence. People aren’t going to invest their dollars in half-baked ideas, business plans that are poorly articulated or weak managers that lack the ability to impart their vision.

Having coached the management teams of over one-thousand publicly traded companies on how to “get the money,” Dian Griesel, Ph.D., President of DGI Comm, offers the following advice.

Start with why. No investor will buy into your company “just because.” Investments are a commitment and people will want to know exactly what they will be getting…if they should choose to buy in.
Tailor your talk. This is especially important if your company is in the biotech, high-finance, technology or engineering industries. If you are presenting for an audience that may not be well-versed in your field, tone down the jargon and use conversational language. Before getting technical or using too much industry terminology be sure to ask how technically deep the other party wants your explanations. Also– beware of acronyms. Although they might seem like everyday shortcuts to describe…whatever — many people simply don’t like to admit when they are confused during a business pitch. It is the responsibility of the manager seeking the money to constantly ask, gage, rephrase and educate when warranted.
Questions are key. Don’t be worried if people throw a lot of questions at you and interrupt. As frustrating as this can be– it often indicates interest. Worry if they don’t ask questions. Keep in mind that you may not be able to answer every question asked at that moment in time. If you don’t know the answer, be honest about that. Promise to get back to them with the information—and do so in a timely manner.
“Not today” doesn’t mean “never.” No meeting is ever a waste of time. Investors pass on investments for many reasons. If you receive a “no”–at least you know you’ve met with a decision-maker! Be grateful for that. But before leaving, do ask if they would like to be kept informed of your progress. If the answer is yes, reply with realistic goals that you can clearly deliver upon as these can become the catalyst that inspires action by those desired investors. If the potential investor says, “No, not my bailiwick” — thank them for respecting their own time as well as yours and move on. It’s a big, competitive world out there and you don’t have time to waste. There’s another investor who’s interested.
Ask for the Money. Sounds simple enough–but, ironically, it is the most overlooked point of most investor/CEO meetings! If you find yourself shaking hands and leaving your meeting unsure if you’ve landed a new investor, you need to rethink your repertoire. Be clear in asking for the commitment at the end of your presentation, as in, “How would you like to proceed with this investment?” (Notice: That’s not a yes or no question!) If you do happen to get a long winded answer that seems to end with a “no”– your next question must be: “What will it take for you to invest in us?” Then listen and learn.

“Many people find it hard to ask for money,” says Dian. “It might seem difficult at first, but if you seem tentative, potential investors might think you aren’t confident in your own business. You’d be surprised at how many people will declare their investment interest if you simply ask or at least really listen to their concerns regarding what they require to feel comfortable with an investment.”

More of Dian Griesel’s advice can also be found her popular book, FUNDaMentals: The Corporate Guide to Cultivating Mindshare, and her new companion book, ENGAGE: Smart Ideas to Get More Media Coverage, Build Your Influence & Grow Your Business.

Jan 27 2016

Are Road Shows Still Necessary?

Management teams regularly ask whether road shows are still necessary. With a zillion things on the to-do list and with the ability to find information about anything on the Internet (hopefully including plenty of good stuff about your company), this is an interesting question.

Here’s the answer.

Of the large number of buy-side and sell-side managers my firm constantly queries, 95 percent consistently rate one-on-one meetings as their preferred method of learning about a company.

Videos and other presentations, regardless of how spectacularly created and edited, just don’t provide the complete picture many investors seek when they’re making an investment decision.

Conferences are valuable since they are a great way to greet large numbers of investors and can provide a consensus of opinion based on open forum questions.

Nevertheless, the vast majority of fund managers don’t want to disclose their thought processes in a group environment; they would rather hold their questions and ideas close to their vests as they develop their investment thesis.

The next question that arises is:

Can I skip hiring an investor relations firm and just allow banks to book my road shows?

This, too, is a valid question.

Even if you don’t hire my company, you still want a competent, phone-working investor relations firm managing your road shows. Why? So you can retain your “date-able” status.

If other banks view you as “married” to a particular firm, they may stop trying to court you.

This could limit your choices for the best long-term relationships for your company. Most bankers place their deals with a handful of funds that consistently step up to the plate to balance their investing portfolio.

You, however, need variety. It remains the spice of life in almost every area.

This is not to say you shouldn’t take advantage of offers by bankers to take you out to their institutional investor base.

However, manage this process by yourself or ask your communications firm to do so. And be prepared to fill in the blanks, because if a non-deal road show is getting booked by a bank, it will suddenly take back seat priority versus any deal road shows that suddenly land on the plate of that investment bank and its institutional salespeople.

Instant financial gratification from a “deal in the hand” will rule, and you might be left with an airline ticket and hotel room in some city…with no dates.

Booking quality road shows is not easy. It is an art form. Most communications firms do this poorly at best or not at all.

Having spent almost 20 years working with a team that consistently books about 6,000 meetings per year, I can say road shows are the loss-leader division at any firm.

They are immensely time-consuming, not to mention stressful.

But they are so important to the success of our clients we will never stop spending the time researching each meeting carefully, playing phone tag, taking hours to educate and qualify the meeting, confirming the date and following up—because fund managers consistently rate these one-on-ones essential to their ultimate investment decision.

Jan 13 2016

Got “Blog-Block”? Read this!

(DGIwire) Finding ways to keep your blog fresh can be a real challenge…especially with a new blog popping onto the scene every half a second. That’s a lot of content to compete with out there! Here are several actions you can take to renew and refresh your blog’s content:

Participate in the blogosphere. Read and comment on other blogs in your field. Get involved in the conversation, and build your authority on the subject with readers. Find inspiration from the hot topics being discussed in your field. Chances are something will strike a chord with you and you’ll be able to take the idea and run.
Engage your readers. Get them involved in the conversation by asking them to comment on your blog. Maybe even pose a question to your readers in your blog post to get a response and start a dialogue amongst readers. Turning your readers into active participants on the blog makes them feel personally invested. If a reader is concerned about his/her privacy, have the option to submit questions or comments via email.
Survey your readers. Learn more about who your readers are and what interests them. This is another method to actively engage your readers while learning valuable information about your readers. The survey doesn’t have to be anything too formal, just a fun, casual “Buzzfeed” style quiz to help you get to know your readers’ preferences, experiences and interests.
4. Run a contest or giveaway. Everybody loves to be a winner! Holding a contest is a fun way to get your readers to play an active role in the blog’s content. Building this bridge between a brand’s followers and your followers is beneficial to both sides.
Create a ripple effect: Connect your blog to other social media platforms. Utilize the vast network of potential new readers by engaging Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram, and Tumblr communities. Encourage your readers to follow you on these various platforms and share your content with their followers. Follow your readers back to stay in tune with their interests and any trending topics in your field.
Check your blog’s site meter stats. Examine these numbers to show you which of your articles are the most popular. Use this information to guide your future posts; expand on the topics and subtopics that capture the interests of your readers.
Mix it up. Some people like to get their information visually while others prefer more auditory methods. To reach all types of learners, switch up the style of your posts. Try a video entry, image-based post or even a solely auditory podcast. Cover your bases and give all formats a try.
Reconnect with your passion. It can be easy to get bogged down with the statistics and lose sight of what’s really important: your passion, the original inspiration for it all. There was something that ignited your interest in this topic and lead you into the blogosphere. Remind yourself of this and write from that place of genuine enthusiasm for the topic.

Blogging takes discipline and dedication. Constantly coming up with new, creative posts can be a daunting task, but if you remember to stick to your passion, engage with your readers and stay connected to both the industry and the community, you will always have something to post about. Get generating! Or call us!