Here are some key considerations for elevating investor meetings to drive engagement and increase value for both investors and host companies
By: Michele Dobnikar, President of GlobalMeet
Investor meetings are an opportunity for companies to provide updates on strategic direction, release financial updates, highlight progress and milestones, showcase management expertise, introduce new management, and gain valuable feedback. As a pivotal means of strengthening relationships with current investors and attracting new ones, these meetings should be planned and executed to make them engaging, seamless, and accessible.
Here are some key considerations for elevating investor meetings to drive engagement and increase value for both investors and host companies:
Event Preparation Considerations
Involve Marketing: Investor meeting prep typically does not involve the marketing team but to provide a better meeting experience, integrating marketing is a must. The marketing team can help level up engagement in investor meetings by incorporating attention-grabbing, on-brand visual elements and developing compelling content that impactfully tells the company’s story in a way consistent with company messaging.
Prioritize technical run-throughs: In the weeks leading up to the event, prioritize technical rehearsals to review the order of events, workflow, and technical audio and visual needs to ensure the meeting runs smoothly.
Speaker Considerations
Broaden the slate of speakers: While the CEO and CFO are integral to telling the company story in investor meetings, broadening the slate of speakers to include other key company leaders can help tell a more comprehensive story, strengthening the narrative around how the company is achieving its goals.
Rehearse and provide training: Rehearse with all speakers to make sure they are familiar with the content, flow of the event, and potential questions that might be asked. For speakers who are new to public speaking, provide coaching that will help them communicate with confidence.
Use video: Showcasing the speaker through a video feed creates a better, more personalized experience for meeting participants. Many hybrid or fully virtual investor meetings rely too heavily on financial slides and narration for their broadcast. Interspersing live video of the speakers talking to the audience increases engagement through visual interest and creates a higher level of trust for the viewers.
Be strategic about speaker timing: Avoid putting the best speakers first thing in the morning or right after lunch. This will ensure the speakers are ready to go and the audience is warmed up. Aim for placing primary speakers at a 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. timeslot.
Security Considerations
Ensure proper event access: Gated access, password protection, and login authentication are security measures that ensure only those invited get through the virtual door of an event. Event platform technology today makes the process of accessing events easy for the correct viewers. This eliminates instances of event runners removing all security measures right before the start of a live event just to ensure invited guests can access it smoothly.
Consider a referral-checking feature: A referral-checking feature is another effective mechanism for ensuring the correct access to the live meeting and the replay. With this feature, a company can put a unique link in a secure place on their website and if the link is clicked from any place other than their own website, access is denied.
Choose the right technology: The security of virtual and hybrid events is only as good as the events platform selected. Make sure to select a technology partner with deep expertise in supporting investor meetings and be sure the digital event platform selected provides enterprise-level security designed to protect data and ensure the privacy of confidential business information.
Considerations for Optimizing Hybrid and In-Person Meetings
Ensure inclusivity: Use automated captions and on-screen interpreters to ensure content can be accessed by everyone in the audience.
Make it interactive: Make the meeting interactive with Q&As, polling and surveys that allow both in-person and virtual participation. Today, digital event technology provides a mobile-optimized version of these interactive elements that allows for virtual participation. Many virtual event platforms also have a “Meeting Room” feature for in-person attendees which serves up interactive elements such as polls, surveys, and the ability to submit a question. Having access to this allows attendees in the room to type in questions on their mobile devices. Questions submitted by virtual and in-person attendees can be fielded by an on-site moderator during Q&A sessions to keep the interaction flowing with in-person and virtual attendees.
Provide on-demand access: Ensure full, on-demand access to video recordings and other meeting content after the meeting has ended. This allows investors who were unable to make the meeting to access sessions easily and provides a refresh for participants who want to revisit content.
Use analytics: Digital event platforms with integrated analytical data and reporting features are great tools to help meeting organizers understand what worked and what didn’t. Organizers can use these features to analyze how attendees engaged with presentations and meeting content. This can help optimize the format and content of future investor meetings to drive further interest and engagement.
Michele Dobnikar, president of GlobalMeet, is a trailblazer who has built a reputable career in business technology over the last 30 years. Dobnikar’s decades of experience spanning all production, sales, and management levels have helped her spearhead the industry’s most reliable and secure virtual events platform on the market. Her never-ending industry efforts have led her to receive recognizable industry awards, including being named a “40 Under 40” Rising Star by the Colorado Springs Business Journal, a Stevie Award winner, and a recipient of the Award of Excellence, Leader of the Year, and more. To contact Michele, click here.
Any thoughts, opinions, or news? Please share them with me at vince@meetingsevents.com.
