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On the 16^th of June Springtime hosted an event dedicated to the use of social media within IR. Does the spontaneity of social media have a place in the relatively regulated and structured world of finance? The guest speakers contributed with valuable insights related to this highly up-to- date topic. 

Annica Strahner, IR- consultant at Springtime, talked about how the use of Twitter, Youtube and SlideShare within IR has increased among the listed Nordic large- and midcap companies. Companies use these media for a number of different reasons e.g. to better control the company’s image, improve shareholder- relationships and drive traffic to one’s homepage. To use social media within IR successfully, companies must carefully think through the strategy behind each media channel as well as the intended target groups.

Carina Lundberg Markow, head of Responsible Ownership at the insurance company Folksam, touched upon the main advantage of webcasted shareholder meetings: to reach out to a larger audience. She does not think that webcasted shareholder meetings imply larger risks than regular ones. However, a key success factor here is to be “literate in social media”, in other words, to be able to handle social media channels properly. For inspiration on how to communicate through social media, Lundberg Markow turns to the blog and Twitter feed of the Swedish foreign minister Carl Bildt.   

Margareta Lantz, Investor Relations & Corporate Communications Manager at Axis Communications gave the audience some practical guidelines when she spoke about how her company uses the new media channels in their IR Communication. She believes that it is important to avoid viewing the new channels as something separate, but rather to integrate them into the regular information flow of the company. Other practical tips from Lantz included defining what the target group wants and not being afraid to “throw yourself out there” and try different approaches.

But there is more to IR social media than Twitter, Youtube and SlideShare. StockTwits is a new social media channel that can be seen as Twitter for investors. Chris Bullock, VP Corporate Solutions at StockTwits explained the idea behind the company. This new media channel brings about new opportunities such as tapping into a global network of investors and traders, and thus enables spreading one’s ideas and learning from the ideas of others when it comes to shares.

Link to webcast: http://bambuser.com/channel/SpringtimePR/broadcast/1744444

Link to presentation on SlideShare: http://www.slideshare.net/SpringtimePR/presentatioswedish-listed-companies-use-of-social-media-for-investor-relationsn-ir-salong-110616-slideshare