If you disregard the jargony name, it is about being a trusted authority in your industry. This can be a super power when your peers are all just leading with a pitch.
I’m Maddie and I work as a Marketing Manager at Creative Return. I’m a young millennial navigating this world of finance and investor marketing. I hope my blogs can help others who are just getting started in their journey through the world of investor relations and digital investor marketing.
Let’s face it - your company is just one of thousands of investment opportunities that retail and institutional investors have. Further to that, very few people ‘need’ to invest in you as a company.
Knowing this, we need to adjust our approach so that investors ‘want’ to invest in you. They will want to invest in you when they say to themselves or others “I want to invest in that company because __________________."
As investor relations professionals, it is our job to capture investor interest and fill in that blank.
You fill in that blank through being a thought leader compared to your peers.
Thought Leadership - What is it?
Thought Leadership is marketing jargon for being an authority in your space. It is a powerful marketing strategy.
In this blog we’ll share how to establish yourself as a thought leader and build authority in the minds of potential investors and your shareholders.
Let’s start with what thought leadership marketing is. It’s the process of demonstrating knowledge about your field with others. By sharing this information, you increase the knowledge of your investor audience and in-turn increase your reputation as an industry expert.
What is not is direct self-promotion. Instead, it is indirect promotion by increasing an investor knowledge about your space.
For example – you pitching your deal in another virtual conference isn’t act of thought leadership… it is a ‘me too’ effort to drum up interest among a sea of sameness. Investors see that exactly as it is – a pitch.
Examples of thought leadership would be educating your investor audience on specific aspects of your industry. If you are in the business of developing Artificial Intelligence, your CTO speaking to what is and what isn’t AI is thought leadership. A video monologue and a repurposed written article with the headline “How to spot fake AI” is a valuable piece of content for an investor. This not only establishes authority through educating an investor, but it also builds trust with them.
Below are a few things you need to do as you shift to become a thought leader.
Know your target audience
If no one knows who the target audience is, your content might as well have tumbleweeds rolling by. The right people certainly will not see it.
Let's use the example of an institutional analyst or investment banker. They are busy people. Their core knowledge is around finance and banking, and very likely not your area of expertise. By creating easily consumable content that increases their knowledge of your industry, you increase your mind-share with them. In some cases, they may even reference your company in their dealings. Never under estimate the value of being top of mind.
Content needs to create value for investors
To reiterate, your pitch on your investor focused YouTube channel does not create value. It may create some awareness and spark some consideration, but you likely have not elevated yourself against your peers as an industry or topic expert.
By delivering value, your content has a far greater chance to reach the right people. How-To explanations, the latest industry information, and contrarian view points are valuable content that enables investors to think more clearly.
Provide information about your services – without turning your page into a sales pitch
When if comes to your business model, ensure that investors know what you’re offering and what they can expect from your business. An awesome example for retail investors is Sandstorm Gold’s “How a Gold Royalty Works” page. This is investor marketing thought leadership at its finest.
If your business or product is something you believe in, that needs to come across in your content. In the Sandstorm Gold example, they been able to do this through the use of video which shows the face of their CEO.
If you aren’t excited about your deal or only want to pitch, investors will be able to tell and they’ll move on. Come at this from an educational standpoint instead of promotional.
Boost exposure and investor brand awareness
Let’s be real, it’s hard to stand out among your competition. Investor brand awareness is the backbone of investor relations – how can investors invest in your company if they don’t know you exist?
By creating educational content about your industry, potential investors who are actively searching for investment ideas or are looking to enhance their own knowledge find you. And when done well, will likely invest in your opportunity over a comparable one because you’ve demonstrated authority and built trust with them.
This is the power of thought leadership.
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