Three Ways for Small Cap Companies to Better Tell Their IR Brand Story

Let's be honest, financial communications can often be dry and formulaic. While it's necessary to inform investors and markets using narrative and numbers, a bit of creativity can make a significant difference in attracting the attention of would-be investors. However, it is often the rare small cap OTC-traded company that chooses to venture outside the traditional box to employ some of today's digital tools in order to make financial information more compelling, less austere, and easily digestible. Doing this can set oneself apart from the pack-making it more accessible to the target audience.

One explanation for this may be that the majority of small cap OTC-traded companies, given their relative size, view themselves as mere companies but not as "brands". Limiting their vision/ scope can result in a failure to properly engage across social channels and leverage additional web-based forums to amplify other digital assets such as multimedia. This is an enormous, missed opportunity.

Communicating effectively online demands that companies move past mere words and numbers. In today's technology-driven environment, t's become more important to highlight your unique brand story, so as to differentiate oneself, and actively engage customers, stakeholders, and potential investors. The ability to properly articulate the story arc serves to build your brand image, which then must be weaved into the company's IR narrative. This evokes a subtle sophistication and a thorough understanding of your company's mission and journey.

To the average small cap company, this may seem foreign or intimidating. But times have changed, and the company that succeeds at connecting the dots between their brand story and image and the numbers on the balance sheet gains a unique advantage in drawing the affections of today's more discerning investors.

The following are some suggestions:

1. Think Visually

Scientists and researchers agree that about 75 percent of your learning is through your vision. Neuroscientist John Medina states "the more visual the input becomes, the more likely it is to be recognized and recalled". Concurrently, attention spans are diminishing as people gravitate to consuming information in brief, "snackable" formats. Forward-thinking IROs have an opportunity to leverage this learning through modern messaging formats to engage and inform time-pressed investors. What better environment in which to introduce infographics and short-form video to interweave your company's brand and financial story?

2. Integration of Your IR Story into Your Brand's Ecosystem Using Multimedia

Multimedia provides popular, engaging formats that are already broadly used to push financial content to target audiences. Today, state-of-the-art distribution platforms such as SaaS-based newswires and email platforms, make it easy and relatively inexpensive to broadly disseminate compellingly produced digital formats that propel investor interest.

3. Consumers Want a Personal Connection to Your Brand

According to HubSpot, 54% of consumers prefer video content from brands they support and 70% feel more connected to brands whose CEOs are active on social media. That's a recipe for establishing an intimate connection between the brand's leader and its investors using multimedia, especially video of the CEO, in shareholder communications.

The opportunity is ripe for reimagining how to conceive and integrate your financial story into your larger brand narrative through multi-sensory storytelling. Small cap companies who take the leap to deviate from restating traditional numbers /financials and integrate more engaging multimedia formats into their outreach stand a good chance of gaining the attention of today's modern investors.

- Gregg Castano is Chief Executive Officer of News Direct

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