While the worst of the COVID-19 pandemic is behind you, it’s not exactly over yet, either. As your team debates the merits of returning to an entirely in-person event schedule, existing in this grey area can be hard on your investor relations strategy.
What’s best for your team may not always be best for your investors, especially as attitudes towards meeting under one roof diverge. Meeting somewhere in the middle with a hybrid event might be your best bet.
A Hybrid Model is Gaining Popularity
How will my investor events look in a post-COVID world? For a growing number of IROs, the answer is a hybrid experience.
That may come as a surprise as a large number of companies held their AGMs in person this year. According to data collected by law firm White and Case, roughly 94 FTSE 350 companies are hosting purely physical meetings with zero digital engagement options.
However, a good-size minority of the FTSE 350 — some 56 companies — are organizing fully hybrid events that allow both in-person and digital attendees to interact with the proceedings.
This shift towards hybrid meetings is a boon to many shareholders, especially those in Asia. Researchers on the COVID-19 Update 2022 report found that most Asian investors worry they’ll lose access to the C-suite by returning to a physical event, so they overwhelmingly support digital events.
What Are the Benefits of Running a Virtual/Hybrid Investor Event?
Running a hybrid virtual event will help you assuage investor fears about losing corporate access, which can help build better relations with global shareholders. Fully hybrid events mean anyone can tune in to your important meeting without the need to travel, no matter where they are in the world.
It’s also a strategic move for your investor relations strategy, according to the consulting experts in Q4. With the right webcasting platform and engagement analytics, you can collect invaluable data about your investors and the media through these hybrid events — more so than if you adopt wholly physical events.
You can track investors’ digital footprint across your IR website and capital markets events; this makes it easy to connect to capital markets with Q4 IR tools, aggregating leading indicators and engagement metrics in one platform.
With a few clicks, you can analyze this information and gain a better understanding of your shareholders and the market. And with that information, you can make tailored, proactive changes to your IR strategy that deliver results.
How to Promote an Engaging Attendee Experience in a Virtual Investor Event/Conference?
An engaging attendee experience hinges on quality technology to deliver seamless access to your event. Your webcasting tools should be purpose-built for hybrid capital markets events, as this sophisticated tech will help you simultaneously support your virtual guests and post-event analytics.
As the end of the year approaches, and leftover funds may be available in your accounting, now’s the perfect time to upgrade your webcasting platform. Shop for an industry-leading IR firm that can deliver a fully branded experience, award-winning design, reliable connections, tech support, and cybersecurity.
Better yet, make sure you can integrate this tool into a broader all-in-one IR platform so that you can streamline access to all the data you collect during your events.
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