TomAllinder.com

If you have worked in the “IR” field over the last few (or many) years, you know how secretive every IR entity is regardless if it is a group of people or just one person. In the old world, people needed to garner proprietary information and experience in order to make themselves indispensible. Or, if they found something that worked well, they would keep it to themselves.

Also, in the old world, IR was easily understood; in fact, quite simple compared to facilitating IR in the Web 2.0/Social Media world. There is a genuine interest now in using social media tools and platforms to augment traditional IR. What many people don’t seem to realize (at least early on) is that the complexity of social media does not lend itself to just one or two individuals or even one company. Investor Relations 2.0 is best done collaboratively. What exactly do I mean by this?

There are two basic ways to collaborate:

Collaboratively (1): The IR firm must combine efforts with the client company. IR 2.0 demands a certain amount of attention and time – participation — to realize its full effectiveness. Example: The management team of the company must write blogs, monitor and contribute to pertinent conversations on social media platforms. This means contribution. In the old world of IR, the IR entity did all the communicating.

Collaboratively (2): Because there are so many “moving parts” to Web/IR 2.0, it is far more effective to combine the efforts of traditional IR and IR 2.0 campaigns with those of companies or entities that have expertise and the tools to monitor effectiveness and measure social media efforts. I assure you no one person can do all of this. Some are trying hard but ultimately will fail or die trying.

Expertise?

Another unique thing about using social media/web 2.0 is that there is a ton of expertise in great abundance all over the web. You simply need to find the people that have the greatest influence and pay attention to them. What they know and freely teach applies across the board; not just investor relations or public relations campaigns. I have learned the most from people that are not even remotely tied to public companies.

There is no doubt that there are a lot of social media experts out there. Many dived right in and without really understanding the entire process, hung a shingle and became an “expert”. I am sure that I could be accused of that too. But, I do know how public companies work. I do know what investor relations are and how it all works and I understand the simple principles of Web 2.0. That is not to say that I have not spent many, many hours studying Web 2.0 stuff; the fact is that I have.

People Drive Web 2.0, therefore, People Will Drive IR 2.0

The Web 2.0 differs primarily from Web 1.0 because knowledge is shared freely by PEOPLE, not companies. In the old world, the companies determined what to share. Now people determine what is shared and it appears that not much is off limits.

Let me give you an example of something here that is actually almost relative: A few weeks ago, we had a horrendous storm with lightning and hail. It rained 3 inches in 45 minutes and at some point, I did not think it was going to stop. After the storm, the on-demand water heater in the garage that supplies nearly all the hot water to my house was not working. I went to the company website that had built the water heater and looked there for a troubleshooting guide. They had one and I downloaded it, printed it and started reading all about the water heater. As it turns out, the “tech manual” sucked and had only covered very basic troubleshooting. Then, I went to Google and typed in “troubleshooting water heater” with the brand and model of the water heater. Wouldn’t you know it? I found all kinds of forums and discussions on that particular water heater. There were plumbers and handymen of all types that knew the thing inside and out. I was able to find my problem and fix the water heater.

Just this morning, I had a problem with Google Documents. I could not figure out how to solve it. So interestingly enough, I went to my Google toolbar and put in the problem. There were a number of discussions on how to fix the situation and I quickly solved it. None of the answers came from Google. The answers came from PEOPLE. A lot of people may think that Google does have all the answers; they don’t. They simply provide the platform to connect people to get answers. Think about that for a second; Google is infinitely smart in its simplicity.

Now what am I talking about and what does it have to do with the topic?

Remember “collaboration”? Web 2.0 is about platforms that connect people that enable them to COLLABORATE. There is no need to compete at this time. Doubtlessly there will be a time to compete but there is so much more to be gained by working together. The collective knowledge of a group of people is far more effective at solving problems and innovating than just one or two people.

Finally, collaboration with the right group or people is just as important. In my business, it is a priority to work with others that are established in Web/IR 2.0. There is little to be gained in working with people that lack a full understanding of the new world of communication. Working with others involves risk like any other business venture. But at this point the rewards are much greater than the risks to avoid collaboration and work out of a silo or from an island.