IR needs more Active Engagement on Facebook

• As IR Web Report blogger Dominic Jones reported, TVI Pacific Inc. has used its Facebook page since Nov. 2009, and its forum was started by retail investors and has received over 200 questions to company responses! The company made their Facebook page the sole source for corporate discussion. The plus side of Facebook? More user privacy. (Source)

• 58% of Facebook users log in from work, but only 1 out of 4 is Facebook friends with their boss (Source)

• Communicate Magazine reported 46% of the attendees at Tuesday night's Investor Relations Society conference said that they don't use social media as business tools EVER! Risks involved with social media engagement include time and limited control, but the benefits of taking advantage of these popular outlets is more evident. This gives investors and shareholders a place to engage with the company through the websites they are already members on. As reported by IR Web Report, companies are putting themselves in risk by not jumping on the social media bandwagon because they aren't monitoring, managing, or engaging. The number of investors/analysts' usage of these sites is increasing, but the accounts are managed by inexperienced employees not aware of all of the rules that regulate IR postings to investors. If IROs cannot fully be involved on social websites, they need to listen to what investors and shareholders are saying and posting (Source).

• Social media is a great outlet for companies to learn more about your fans, and Facebook is engaging with brands in order to do so. Facebook is developing Facebook Questions and trying it out on certain profiles and brand pages. This application would be similar to Formspring.me which allows users or site visitors to anomously post questions privately and answers are shared with everyone. On Facebook, this will allow brands to respond directly and privately, communication not usually linked with brands. I am interested to see users' engagement in this added feature, and if brands can keep up with consumers' and investors' questions and concerns. (Source)