Aggregating, automating and customizing your dynamic content
Rebecca Koar of Ascend Wellness points out that many IR website essentials have at least some elements that can be automated, taking even more of the manual work out of the equation and ensuring data is always accurate and investors always informed.
‘The most important thing is that the information is easy to find and easy to update,’ she says.
‘For example, if you provide all of your key disclosures in a table with a new column for each quarter, your viewers will be able to find the relevant documents over a time series. You can also add plug-ins to your SEC filings and your press release publications so the filings and news releases update on your website automatically.’
The most important thing is that the information is easy to find and easy to update
Andy Kramer, vice president of IR at Cellebrite, agrees. ‘Investors want information about a company at their fingertips,’ he notes, emphasizing how important it is to offer a subscription to news alerts, SEC filings and other corporate developments – or changes to the IR website.
‘While some of the information [you publish] may be proprietary (like a sell-side research report), much of it is publicly available and can best be aggregated by a public company through a third-party platform that offers the ability to combine this content with customized content like investor presentations or management bios.'
Any dynamic content that can be aggregated from a third-party provider can be cost-effectively automated
‘Any dynamic content that can be aggregated from a third-party provider, like stock quotes or SEC filings, can be cost-effectively automated. While IT or website content teams could put that automation in place, those resources are often focused on business-specific projects and workflows. As a result, IROs often turn to third-party IR website specialist vendors that have proven templates for displaying this type of information.’
Winnie Lei, senior director of IR at Suncity, says her firm has automated stock exchange announcements. Its website has a file-grabbing function that automatically uploads announcements from the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong. Previously, such announcements had to be uploaded manually, causing headaches for IR and the IT team.
‘Uploading files is a menial task because there are times when the stock exchange announcements are filed at midnight,’ Lei explains. ‘That means we have to ask the IT team to work overtime with us until midnight.’
Wellness Holdings’ Rebecca Koar says IROs need to remember to make their website accessible. ‘It is important you meet the requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) or equivalent,’ she says, adding that ‘there are many widgets that can transform your website into an ADA-accessible site to ensure all viewers are able to access it.’
