After SEC Rule Change, KCSA Launches Investor Relations Social Media Index
In April of this year, the SEC reversed itself and stated that public companies could use social media to disclose material information. So at the end of the Q3 earnings season, KCSA–a strategic communications firm focused on finance–studied the behavior of Fortune 100 companies to understand how they are taking advantage of this new opportunity to communicate with their investors.
The findings were not very impressive, according the the study. KCSA found that less than 10 percent of Fortune 100 companies are presently using social media in their IR communications. As a result, KCSA has unveiled a new quarterly index that will track how corporate America is embracing 21st Century technology and communications to communicate with investors. A press release (“Results of Q3 Study Reveal Fortune 100 Companies Aren’t Making the Grade Using Social Media in Their Investor Communications“) as well as a recent CNBC appearance by KCSA’s CEO, Jeff Corbin, show that only two companies–GE and Google–received a grade of B, while 90 percent, including Microsoft, were graded F. LinkedIn, for instance, doesn’t even communicate IR information over its own network! The letter grades are based on four criteria (SEC filing on social media intentions, IR-specific social channels, etc.)–all of which are necessary to receive an A grade in the new Index. The fourth element in a successful strategy, according to KCSA, is a mobile app specific to Investor Relations–even GE and Google lacked this piece of the puzzle. Guess what? KCSA knows where to get one.
