3 Ways to Level-Up Your Next Earnings Call
When it comes to preparing to communicate quarterly earnings, it’s easy to fall into routine – and with good reason – in a challenging market, it’s critical to remain steady, predictable and minimize risk. However, the rise of communications technology has given both Investor Relations and Public Relations teams access to stakeholder data that can help to inform strategy – from understanding stakeholder sentiment, to monitoring social media channels to stay on top of conversations among investors and the media.
Here are three ways to level-up your next earnings call by making better use of audience analytics:
Powerful Preparation: In addition to preparing standard, required materials – including the call script, press release, Q&A docs etc. – investor relations and PR teams should spend time ahead of earnings ensuring that they’re able to accurately measure stakeholder sentiment pre and post-call, beyond stock performance. From understanding the platforms where investors engage, to auditing online forums (like Stocktwits and Reddit) and media coverage, to analyzing whether key messages were received and understood by the market, communicators have the opportunity to collect intelligence that can help to inform future messaging and positioning. This type of intelligence, when combined with investor and analyst feedback can paint a powerful picture when it comes to reputation management – and can help fuel future corporate communications strategies during times of both success and challenge.
Improving Engagement: It goes without saying that to properly position a corporate narrative, business leaders must put themselves in the shoes of their stakeholders – and too often, prepared remarks are lacking that perspective. By proactively addressing investor concerns or areas of interest during the earnings call – the c-suite has an opportunity to better contextualize the messages that they hope will resonate. For example, companies that target retail investors can consider soliciting questions in advance of an earnings call (and can even allow upvoting for prioritization) – and then vet and decide which questions will be addressed as priority during the call.
Driving Post-Call Momentum: With analytics and listening tools in place, communicators have the opportunity to benchmark how earnings were received and provide powerful insights to the management team post-call. When combined with investor and analyst feedback – PR pros have the opportunity to use this intelligence to inform their business, financial and even trade media strategy going forward – doubling down on the information that is most likely to resonate, using the numbers as proof points. In a challenging media environment, communicators should also consider ways to ensure that earnings messaging is clear and think beyond the traditional media interview. Platforms like LinkedIn Live, Clubhouse or even owned corporate channels provide an opportunity for a CEO or CFO to humanize and personalize the quarter’s key highlights.
While there is no single solution to assure that an earnings call will be effective – media monitoring and social listening tools can provide company leadership with a real-time analysis of stakeholder feedback. By putting solutions in place in advance of the call, determining metrics and using feedback to strategically double down on key messaging – communicators can level-up in anticipation of next quarter.
3 Ways to Level-Up Your Next Earnings Call - Sylvie Harton
About the Author: Sylvie Harton is SVP, Strategy & Global Head of PR and IR Solutions at Notified where she leads M&A, strategic partnerships, and its global PR and IR solutions business. She draws on 25 years of leadership in the public relations, investor relations and marketing industries, with extensive experience driving M&A, strategic partnerships, business development, and global expansion.
Sylvie is passionate about ensuring a customer-driven approach to strategic direction and decision making. Prior to Notified, Sylvie held various executive positions with Nasdaq and Marketwired, where she spent a decade growing the organization to its successful exit to Nasdaq.
Sylvie is a recent graduate of The Wharton School and the University of New Haven EMBA program. She holds a Law and Finance degree from Université de Montréal and Concordia University in Canada.
