Blogging for investors: 4 steps to learning what they REALLY want

Social media, particularly analytics tools, have enabled communicators to delve into the habits of their blog readers—to learn what they do. This is particularly useful for investor relations professionals, who are targeting a fairly small, specific audience.

So far, the IR community has emphasized the communication aspect of social media, which means it’s missing an opportunity. This is what could make the difference for an IR department—understanding that social media isn’t simply about publishing, but gleaning information about stakeholders, too.

By setting specific objectives for an IR blog and watching the analytics closely, IR pros can collect information to improve investor and analyst interaction. They can also determine the return on investment of their efforts, because the results of these conversations can affect the cost of capital.

By social media analytics, I’m talking strictly about the click stream. Retweets and Facebook “Likes” won’t get IR pros far in gathering intelligence about institutional investors and analysts.

Here are four tips for getting started.

1. Plan and build a social media environment around your IR blog.