As long-time experts in Investor Relations, we at Big help our clients keep up with the latest thinking and best practices, both in print and online. Of course, online is where change is occurring most rapidly. So we not only monitor the ever-evolving best practices of IR websites, we also offer ways for our clients to implement these advances. From video, blogs, and message boards to social media integration to disclosure management software and XBRL, we can help our clients identify the upgrades that make the most sense for them, and then put together the resources to make it happen. And when we assemble these resources, we are completely vendor-agnostic. Thomson Reuters, Shareholder.com, Q4 Web Systems, SNL, BusinessWire—regardless of who you already work with, or who you’d like to work with, we can successfully collaborate with them all.

Still, what is perhaps today’s most essential best practice is one that does not require special technical resources. This best practice has to do with the message and the personality and the ability to engage of your IR website. More and more, the home page of your IR site or section is expected to tell a full story, rather than rely on the main corporate site to fill in the gaps. Your IR landing page should answer the question, why invest in your company? It should provide an explicit market opportunity statement and a clear strategy description. It should not only provide links to bios of your leadership, it should explain why this leadership is the right group to execute your strategy and seize your market opportunity. And it should do all these things in an engaging, conversational, human manner. The web allows you to have a conversation. Your site should get that dialogue started. And this is where we at Big excel. Out of all of today’s best practices, this is where we put our emphasis and best apply our expertise. Because this is where it all begins.

To learn more about how Big can help your company implement IR best practices on the web, contact our president, Ed Lacy, at 804.355.9151 or ed@bigaddress.com.