The basic premise of successful marketing – be it the more traditional forms of print, TV and radio or the modern method of utilizing the Internet as a primary delivery source – is to place the right information in the right audience hands at the right time. But as that famous question asks, “If a tree falls in the forest and no one is there to hear it, does it make a sound?” This really applies well to publicly traded companies that have great news with no audience. It is a common situation with small cap companies that have no analyst coverage and are inefficiently priced. The very same question is successfully applied to a strategy targeting the right type of audience with the right type of information, delivered at the right time.

The ideal goal of publicly traded companies is to deliver company information into the hands of a targeted, potential investor audience. When doing so online, this starts with the development of properly constructed investor relations websites that discuss the company’s offerings in an intriguing and informative manner. Once the site is up and running, it is crucial to develop regularly updated content – optimized for the purposes of Search Engine Optimization (SEO). This is crucial because 53% of investors use the Internet as their primary source for investment ideas, and it is quite common for investors to search the Internet by type, sector, industry or market cap and come up with potential investable ideas. While surfing the Internet, they may read an article of interest, which then leads them to want to pursue more information about a given company or idea. Making sure an IR website is optimized (with the inclusion of relevant keywords, etc.) makes it “easier” to target investors with stronger buy potential and to draw traffic to the site itself.

Generally it will take four to six months for proper SEO to take effect. Such campaigns can include the complete development of an IR site with regular information updating, active participation in blogging and social media, and a variety of other online press and marketing campaign activities. As a result of the Internet marketing efforts, one would expect a significant increase in website traffic, which will often net a solid number of daily hits. It is not uncommon to see 300-500 unique visitor per day to a well optimized, regularly updated IR website – just a few months after an IR marketing campaign is launched. For the purposes of general conversion averages, let’s assume a conversion rate of 5 to 10%. This 5% to 10% is comprised of visitors who first opt in and then leave information. This same group can then eventually become followers and an ideal source from which new shareholders will be acquired over time. With this properly constructed IR marketing campaign, the publicly traded company could potentially have quite a following after a few months. Simply stated, the benefits of a smartly devised IR marketing strategy are quite obvious. It really is the difference between transmitting company news and information to a large, carefully targeted audience versus doing this very same thing in a vacuum.

Just What Is Available for Small, Publicly Traded Companies Using Traditional IR Methods?

Smaller, publicly traded companies looking for retail stock market support with little to no analyst coverage are “up against it” to say the least. These companies do not have the marketing dollars or industry prestige to blanket the media with company information and catchy company slogans. Yet smartly constructed and delivered investor relations is an absolute key to shareholder success.

Traditional IR generally involves stockbroker and portfolio manager introductions and heavy amounts of shmoozing, and will not work for a large number of micro and nano cap companies. Traditional investor relations efforts do not pass brokerage firm compliance departments because of the regulatory Penny Stock Rules that prohibit brokers from buying stocks under $5 per share. Typically, the Catch-22 arises because a portfolio manager will not buy into companies with no analyst coverage and no trading activity, but this activity cannot be increased without IR marketing support.

Why Are Internet Stock Promotion or “Hot Tip” Services Generally Ineffective?

A) The investors using a particular service are generally looking for short-term trading ideas and are not a good source from which to acquire long-term quality shareholders who will take a longer position in a particular stock.

B) The promoters of these “Hot Tip” services control their investor databases, and are interested in maximizing their profits by engaging as many public company clients as possible. What typically happens is the buying will come into a client’s stock as soon as the “Hot Tip” service announces that they are promoting a particular company. But as soon as the next “Hot Tip” comes out, those same investors flip out of the first recommendation into the second. So typically, public companies that use “Hot Tip” services get a very short-term boost in price and trading activity followed by the dumping of the shares by the “Hot Tip’s” investors to move into the next “Hot Tip.” This does nothing to increase long-term shareholder value. In fact, more often than not, it actually hurts.

21st Century Investor Relations Offers the Best Internet IR Marketing Know How in the Business

The most effective way for a publicly traded company to build its shareholder base is to first identify and then target ideal investors. At the moment, a full 53% of investors use the Internet as their primary source of investment ideas. At the same time, many publicly traded companies simply do not possess the where with all to use the Internet as the best way to acquire the kind of IR traffic they seek by going public in the first place. And this is exactly where 21st Century Investor Relations comes in.

For more information on 21st Century Investor Relations’ services, please go to www.21webir.com or contact us directly at info@21webir.com