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Hybrid Event Planning: The Ultimate Guide For Companies

29 November 2022 by companywebcast

The COVID-19 pandemic saw a major shift in work practices. More than 100 million employees started working from home, with up to 45 million doing so for the first time. Many found it much more convenient and more suited to the way they wanted to live their lives. Others were desperate to return to the office. As the future of work looks to accommodate both preferences and embrace flexible hybrid work, hybrid event planning is essential.

Additionally, the European Union gives parents of children up to at least eight years old the right to request flexible working. This means that, whether you arrange events for internal or external communication, you have to consider this when planning. And this is where hybrid events provide the best possible solution.

What exactly is a hybrid event?

A hybrid event is one that takes place in a physical environment, with some people attending in person and others joining remotely. Successful hybrid events ensure that both physical and virtual attendees receive the same experience, as well as enjoying the same capabilities to vote and interact with the event.

Merely streaming the proceedings of a physical event, where the presentation is directed towards the physical guests, and online attendees can only observe without being able to engage, does not constitute a true hybrid event.

There must be a level playing field for all attendees, no matter how they join the event.

Why organise hybrid events?

There are many benefits of running a hybrid event. They include:

BenefitReasons

Higher attendance

Hybrid events allow those who cannot or do not wish to attend the physical location to still take part, meaning that you make it possible for more people to attend. There are many reasons why someone might prefer to attend online, including:

●      Not having the time to travel to in-person events

●      Travel restrictions

●      Not wanting to pay for travel and/or accommodation

●      Having COVID-19 or another illness

●      Concerns over catching an illness such as COVID-19

●      Being required at home for childcare

●      Living in a different country

●      Working from home as a matter of course.

Greater reach

You can upload the video to your company website and allow those who missed the live event the chance to watch on demand. You can share the link and repurpose some of the content for social media, mailing lists and other marketing uses. This ensures a greater number of people witness your event and its themes.

ESG benefits

Fewer people travelling to an event to attend physically means a reduced carbon footprint. There is also less food waste from refreshments with fewer attendees. In addition, you need to print fewer documents to give to physical attendees.

Cost savings

You can hire a smaller venue if you develop a hybrid event. You also spend less on refreshments, printing and travel and accommodation when some of your presentation team and guests attend remotely.

Better engagement

The ease of use of engagement tools means that you can better encourage attendees to interact with the event. From asking questions to answering polls, all engagement helps with the discussion of the themes of the event.

How to plan a hybrid event

It is important to remember that you are planning an event for two different audiences and that both should enjoy the same experience. This provides challenges, but it is worthwhile making sure that you deliver a coherent and clear message relating to the reason behind the event to everyone who takes part.

These steps to planning a hybrid event will help you create something that speaks to both audiences.

Ensure you have a clear vision

Whether you are running an internal or external event, you should be clear on what you want to achieve and make sure that both sets of attendees understand your key themes by the time it finishes.

Make sure you take all factors into account to tailor your event accordingly. Think about:

  • Who will attend the event?
  • When should it take place?
  • Where will you hold the physical event?
  • Which webinar platform or virtual event platform will you use for the virtual element?
  • What do you want your audience to learn from the event?
  • How will you deliver this in an engaging manner?
  • Who will present the event and who will the guests be?

This provides your starting point for creating the perfect hybrid event. Everything you do has to keep these elements in mind.

When choosing a webinar solution, consider one that will provide the best experience for your online viewers so that they don’t miss out by not being in the room.

Set event goals

Once you have your vision in place for the event, you can set SMART goals to help you deliver what you want to achieve.

SMART goals are:

  • Specific
  • Measurable
  • Achievable
  • Relevant
  • Time-bound

For an event, this could be something like having 40% of your target audience signed up to attend at least a month before. This is a specific number and date, and you can certainly measure your progress towards that goal. It could well be achievable, depending on your industry and the nature of your event. The goal is relevant because these are people who will benefit from attending, whilst the time-bound element of one month before the event gives you additional urgent motivation to work on hitting the target rather than leaving it as a low priority.

Prepare a detailed event plan

This is the point where you need to dig deeply into the event and decide how it will run in order to meet your goals.

Contact your guests and keynote speakers, and find out whether they want to be there in person or remotely. Work out the timings, running order and where you will leave time for questions. Think about guest logistics, maybe alternating between those that are there in person and those that are remote to keep things more varied and interesting.

Consider whether you will hand out physical documents to in-person audiences and think about how you will relay the same information to remote viewers. It might be that you choose to take everything online and put up posters with QR codes in the physical space to send people to the correct place.

Plan your marketing, think about the technical aspects and consider the logistics to create a unique and engaging event.

Set roles and responsibilities

There are many roles involved in a major event, and you should allocate them all so that everyone understands their responsibilities and can play to their strengths. From choosing a presenter to creating the presentation and directing the events on stage, a lot of work goes into making things run smoothly and creating an effective event.

With hybrid events, you also have to consider the technical aspects. Work out how you will film the event to make it easy to follow for remote viewers. Someone else should work on the sound so that it is clear for virtual audience members. There is also a need for someone to direct the camera shots and transitions.

When you use Company Webcast’s onsite webinar solution, we provide professional lighting, sound and crew, HD cameras and a large screen for your background. This means you can ensure your remote attendees receive a high-quality experience from the event.

Create content

You need to create content for your presentation that will work for both in-person and online audiences. Whereas physical audiences are likely to be comfortable sitting through longer sessions with fewer breaks, this might not be true of an online audience in front of a screen. Keep things brief, engaging and to the point so that both audiences are most open to receiving your message.

While some may think that webinar fatigue is the reason for low engagement, this is largely a myth. The problem usually lies with presentations that do not take into account online viewing habits.

Create a story to keep both of your audiences involved with the event and use simple slides that illustrate the point. Still, be careful not to include too many distracting details. The presenter can give the main information, and the slides should back them up.

Humour is another engaging feature of the best presentations, and interactivity maintains involvement with the hybrid conferences and other events.

Hybrid, Virtual or Physical AGM: What Is The Future?

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The challenges of hybrid events

Putting on a hybrid event does come with some challenges. However, they are easy to overcome with the right plan. Here is what to consider:

Timezone differences

When trying to engage stakeholders in multiple locations, you need to consider what the time of the event will be in both your physical location and your key international regions.

For example, it is not good holding the event in Amsterdam at 20:00 if you also want to target a Japanese audience, for whom the start time will be 03:00.

You have to weigh up the online audience you most want to engage and work out a time that suits both them and the physical attendees as well. It is a fine balancing act, but it is possible with thorough planning.

Connectivity logistics

When you want to invite people to join your event online, you might be concerned about connectivity. This is where a professional webinar solution can be of great help.

Company Webcast creates reliable, stable and secure streams that allow you to engage large numbers of online attendees with high-quality video and audio.

If it’s an internal communications event, for example, too many employees watching the broadcast on your internal server could lead to a traffic surge that affects the quality of the stream. Company Webcast has launched peer-to-peer streaming to counter this. It reduces your required bandwidth by up to 95%, meaning everyone should receive perfect sound and vision from the event.

Virtual attendee interaction

With some hybrid event providers, it is not possible for online attendees to interact with the proceedings. A true hybrid event should ensure both online and in-person attendees gain the same experience and have the same opportunities to get involved.

Company Webcast provides a range of interactive features, including chat functions, the ability to ask questions and answer polls, and more. This keeps the online audience engaged and retains the equality between the audiences.

FAQs

What are some examples of hybrid events?

Hybrid event examples include construction firm Royal BAM Group produces hybrid AGMs to allow greater opportunities for attendance. In addition, a CSR association used Company Webcast’s platform to create hybrid events for stakeholders and engage a wider audience.

What technology is needed for hybrid events?

To make truly engaging and professional hybrid events, you need professional video and audio equipment as well as lighting. This comes as standard when you partner with Company Webcast’s hybrid event platform.

What is the difference between hybrid and virtual?

A hybrid event combines physical and virtual elements, with both audiences receiving the same experience. A fully virtual event happens only online.

Conclusion

Hybrid event planning is challenging because there are so many considerations to make. You have two different audiences consuming your message in two different ways, but you should provide them with the same opportunities. This is important for the hybrid event experience. Then you have to consider the technical aspects and other logistical issues. Thankfully, Company Webcast takes care of the technical aspects and allows you to concentrate on creating the most engaging event content you can with your hybrid experiences. Request a free demo today to find out how Company Webcast can revolutionise your hybrid events.

References and Further Reading

  • The most effective internal comms channels
  • Why organise hybrid events?
  • How to level up your internal communications
  • How to create a winning external communications strategy
  • Reasons to improve your internal communications

Filed Under: External Communications, Investor Relations

How To Improve Communication Between Managers And Employees

29 November 2022 by companywebcast

Forward-thinking organisations must continuously seek to improve communication between managers and employees. This should be a frictionless, two-way interaction between these parties in order to facilitate engaging and productive information sharing.   

This article explores why internal communication between management and employees is so important and how you can adjust your processes to improve the way that these stakeholders interact.  

The importance of effective communication between managers and employees 

More than half of communication professionals in research by Social Chorus think that employee alignment with organisational and strategic changes and prevention of misinformation is leadership’s top priority. 

In order to successfully deliver these messages, you must have strong internal communications channels in place. These lines of communication should not just dictate news from the top. Rather, it should engage and listen to staff members so they feel valued and heard in the workplace.   

Management can better steer the company forward if they understand what the situation is like on the ground. Employees deal with the current processes and procedures every day and so are best placed to stop potential problems and instigate innovative solutions. Only by listening as well as talking internally can management take advantage of this.  

Stacey Burke, writing for Forbes, extolls the virtues of employee engagement but warns that it is more difficult to achieve in the current environment, where working from home is ever more prevalent. Burke says: 

quotes
Maintaining the morale of your workforce is crucial for both capitalising on their skills and retaining top talent. As many of us have permanently switched from working in-person to remote employment, we have learned that even the closest teams can grow apart and miscommunicate when deprived of regular face-to-face interaction.

This is why all organisations must consider how best to improve this key element of internal communications.  

Before you start: Assess your current internal communication strategy 

Ahead of changing your strategy for internal comms, look at where you are with your current plan: 

ElementWhat to look at

Goals

How close did you come to meeting your goals? Are the goals still relevant? What do you want to achieve with your strategy?  

Audit

Look at the different aspects of your internal comms policy and work out what has been effective and what hasn’t. Try to analyse the reasons for the outcomes and whether there is anything to do to make your channels more engaging. 

Metrics

Seek out measurable data to understand where your engagement is working and where it isn’t. This includes page views on your intranet, comments on internal social media channels, numbers of attendees at company town halls and similar.  

Employee opinions

Survey your employees and ask them how they feel about the current state of communications in the organisation. Ask them for practical solutions to streamline the internal communications processes in the future. 

How to improve communication between managers and employees 

Lead by example 

Management sets the tone for an organisation, so you should lead by example in terms of internal communications. Be seen to broadcast important information widely and encourage employees to respond and give feedback. This public endorsement of two-way conversations shows employees that you are serious about instilling internal comms best practices in the organisation.  

It is also important to maintain the dialogue and be seen to do so. It is not enough to welcome feedback. You also have to respond and act upon it. Even if you don’t agree with the suggestions that an employee makes, you must explain why and give clear business reasons. This type of engagement helps employees understand that you will take their points of view seriously.  

When leaders interact, employee trust is heightened.  

Promote transparency 

Sharing news and information, no matter whether it is positive or negative, is a part of the transparency that underlines a strong internal communications policy. It is very easy to share the good news, but it can be challenging to discuss the bad ones. 

However, rumours and doubts lead to uncertainty and a drop in morale, as employees worry about the events occurring within the company. By not communicating the negatives, you allow doubts to creep into the workplace, which can stifle productivity and lead to employees seeking opportunities elsewhere.  

You should foster an environment whereby employees know that they are kept in the loop, and that means that they will take even more pride in the positives because they know you are honest and transparent with them and that there is no spin being added to the news.  

Focus on company culture 

Transparency feeds into your company culture, which in turn informs the success or otherwise of internal communications. In a company with a culture of openness, communication flows more easily between all parties.  

By promoting this type of environment where everyone has a right to speak and where you value all opinions, you make all stakeholders more open to conversing and less afraid of being punished for escalating problems. This is also known as a “speak-up culture”, and it is invaluable for keeping channels open and being able to adjust processes and strategies in an agile manner.  

Maintain regular contact  

In a remote working environment, it is important to check in regularly with your team. You don’t want engagement between the parties to stop, but this is a real possibility unless you make an effort to touch base. This isn’t exclusively a remote issue, though, as large organisations sometimes find it a challenge in their physical workplaces, too.  

Sending a message, booking a weekly face-to-face meeting or contacting the team through any other means on occasion reminds them of the communication channels they can use. It keeps the conversation going so that employees understand what is expected of them and management knows what is happening on the ground.  

You should make sure you pass all the important news. In addition to this, regular contact could just be a simple message to ask if employees need anything to help them with their work, for example. 

Foster a team mentality 

The sense of belonging and of being valued within the group is one of the drivers of good, engaging communication. This is facilitated by fostering a team mentality amongst your employees. Here is what you can do to achieve this: 

  • Celebrate your employees’ successes. When they achieve something inside or outside of work, share it on your avenues of communication. 
  • Always deal with internal stakeholders in a respectful manner, both in terms of language and actions. 
  • Mark personal occasions, such as birthdays and work anniversaries, with celebratory internal messages. 
  • Organise a work retreat or day away. Spending time together will strengthen the bonds that make internal communication more effective and productive. 

Build a digital workplace 

Using digital tools to maintain contact between colleagues and management is an effective way to foster good internal communication in the physical office, the remote office or the hybrid workspace.  

Your digital communication outlets could come in any form; it could be an internal newsletter that you send around weekly or monthly, or it could be a digital workplace platform where all the relevant news and information is stored. 

Utilising webinars as an internal communication tool is also a great way to pass on updates and important information. You can organise meetings, training sessions and online events that both office-based and remote staff can attend whilst offering all participants the same experience and the same opportunity to ask questions and interact. You can also archive the proceedings for future reference or viewing.  

Company Webcast provides a professional, secure and engaging platform for internal comms. Using our innovative peer-to-peer technology, we mitigate the issues surrounding many employees maxing out your bandwidth to watch the same broadcast, allowing you to impart your message with no interruptions or IT headaches.  

FAQ 

What are the six qualities of good communicators? 

Good communicators share many traits in common. Here are the skills and qualities they usually possess: 

  • Good communicators are honest. People appreciate being told the truth, even if it is challenging to hear. 
  • They are proactive about communicating. 
  • They ask good questions because communication is a two-way street. 
  • They listen to not just the words but the meaning as well. 
  • Concise language is another skill they possess. It is essential to keep the interest of the audience and put across the message clearly. 
  • They are reliable and trustworthy. 

How should managers talk to employees? 

Managers should be open, honest and respectful in the way they talk to employees. This kind of communication is liable to elicit the most favourable response from an employee and means that they feel comfortable being honest and open in return.  

How can you improve poor communication skills? 

Listening to others helps you pick up on more effective communication skills, as does the process of asking questions. This way, you gain an understanding of how the other person communicates and can adjust your style accordingly to meet theirs. Fitting your communication style to your audience is key to delivering your message correctly.  

Conclusion 

Internal workplace communication is essential to team building and productivity. It helps you understand the challenges at play and their potential solutions. To improve communication between managers and employees, you should keep in constant contact with employees, encourage speaking up, lead by example, be open and explore solutions to communicate in a manner that best fits your team.  

With remote working being such an important part of life now, using video streaming to keep in touch with employees is an innovative solution to improving internal comms. Company Webcast provides professional webcasting capabilities that offer interactive features to keep your employees engaged with your messaging. You can request a free demo for your company today.  

References and further reading 

  • What is a webinar? 
  • The myth of webinar fatigue 
  • Organising hybrid events 
  • How Deutsche Telekom engaged 20,000 employees 
  • Why AstraZeneca started using webcasts for internal comms 

Filed Under: Internal Communications

Here Are 9 Examples of Good Internal Communications To Inspire You

29 November 2022 by companywebcast

Internal communication is all about engaging employees and developing the bond that inspires your team to help you reach your goals. Disengaged employees can prevent this from happening, and that is why we have collected together these examples of good internal communications. We hope they will help you develop your own winning strategy.

Gallup found that 85% of employees are either not engaged or are actively disengaged in the workplace. The company estimates this could cost companies around the world a total of €6.9 trillion.

Much of this disengagement comes as a result of a lack of communication — nearly three quarters of employees feel that they miss out on important company news and updates, and 79% of internal communications teams admit they don’t think employees understand why senior management makes the decisions it does.

Regular lines of communication within an organisation make employees feel like they are an essential part of the company and inspire them to want to succeed for their team.

What is good internal communication?

Good internal communication involves the following factors:

FactorExplanation

It reaches all employees

With the rise in remote and flexible working, as well as the fact that many companies span multiple countries and timezones, it is important that employees don’t miss out on messaging because of their situation or location.

It is a dialogue

Employees want to feel heard. If your internal comms are just one-way, it does nothing to encourage engagement. You employ staff for their expertise, so make sure you listen to the issues they raise and the solutions they suggest. The right internal communication tools will help you achieve this.

It involves a sharing of knowledge

Nothing can hit staff morale like the feeling that they are being left in the dark. Your internal communications channels are the place to share information and make sure that you leave no room for rumour and gossip.

It celebrates good news

Everyone wants to be recognised for the results of their hard work. This means you should celebrate the positive events that occur in your organisation as well as recognising the teams that go above and beyond the call of duty.

It is simple

Good communication involves condensing the message down so that your audience understands it completely. Too much detail can complicate the communication and confuse matters. Shorter delivery also respects the value of your employees’ time.

Examples of good internal communications

Here are some internal communication examples to inspire your next campaign.

AstraZeneca

Pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca uses webinars to effectively and efficiently communicate with its employees around the world. They use the self-service solution from Company Webcast, upgrading their previous email channel for a more immersive and engaging experience.

The power of video over text for engagement cannot be overestimated. About 90% of the total information transmitted to your brain is visual. In addition, your brain can process visuals 60,000 times faster than it can text.

One of the other benefits of a webinar for a global operation is that employees in other timezones can catch up on the recording on demand when it is convenient for them. This increases the reach of the webinar for a company like AstraZeneca.

Another example of internal communications used by AstraZeneca was the Return to Growth video that brought together mobile phone footage created by employees to highlight the company’s new strategic direction.

Starbucks

The international coffee chain Starbucks uses social media to create a community for its employees, or partners as it refers to them. The firm encourages staff to share stories and pictures to its Twitter and Instagram accounts, helping this disparate group find connections and commonalities despite their only connection being that they work for the same business.

This adds to the sense of belonging for employees and makes them feel more loyal towards the organisation. In turn, such an approach can improve performance and reduce turnover, as staff are happy in their work.

Deutsche Telekom

As a fast-growing telecommunications company in which technology is always advancing, Deutsche Telekom needed a way to stay in contact with its 20,000 employees and keep them in the loop.

After a thorough selection process, the company opted for Company Webcast to provide the platform for it to stage up to 100 webcasts, interactive webinars and live streamed internal communications events per year.

The solution also includes peer-to-peer technology which allows for smooth streaming, even when a large proportion of employees are all watching a webinar at the same time. This is crucial to deliver the message to the largest possible audience in the clearest and most effective manner.

Stagecoach

Transportation firm Stagecoach created an employee experience app for its 20,000 bus, coach and tram drivers and engineers, as well as its 2,000 office staff. The company uses the application, accessible by both mobile and desktop, to distribute updates as well as for two-way communication with employees and networking between peers. Staff can also find company policies and training resources in the digital workspace.

The app has won awards for its innovation and the engagement that it facilitates. The company reports that 91% of staff are active users and 96% of users still interact with the app four weeks after downloading it.

DSM

Health and nutrition company DSM uses webinars to inform its 16,000 employees about the latest business information and to consult them on issues related to the company.

The live and interactive nature of a webinar creates an engaging experience for workers and shows them that the company values their point of view on campaigns and matters of strategy.

Virgin Trains

Virgin Trains became concerned its comms were rooted in an old fashioned top-down, dictatorial fashion. To ensure healthy two-way interactions, it introduced a system to underpin all internal communications conversations as part of its company culture. They should involve five Super-Skills, which are:

  • Voicing – speaking out with courage and conviction
  • Decoding – Drawing out what the other person is really saying
  • Presence – Maintaining undivided attention
  • Flow control – Managing the beginning, middle and end of conversations
  • Hyper-awareness – Acute self-awareness of biases, beliefs and emotional triggers

By running each interaction through these filters, Virgin Trains has increased the quality and impact of its internal communications.

Heineken

As Europe’s biggest brewer and the third largest in the world, Heineken faces a challenge to be able to engage its office-based workforce and remote workers across 192 countries.

Its solution is to use webinars for presentations of the market-editing plans, global forum meetings, Heineken brand global platform communications and global company broadcasts.

The main benefits of this approach include the ability to interact with colleagues across the globe, building relationships with them and reaching the largest number of employees possible at the same time; something impossible to achieve in person.

The company ensures that it includes a Q&A session in each webinar, offering workers the opportunity to provide real-time feedback.

Heineken reports that webinars contribute to the involvement, enthusiasm for campaigns and clarity about strategy and execution. They also reduce the time window that is needed to achieve results and provide one voice and one message.

Coca-Cola

Coca-Cola runs an employee-made podcast as part of its internal comms efforts. The show, called Total Refresh, sees the hosts Katherine Cherry and Jamal Booker, who work for the company, interview senior leaders about relevant topics.

The company found that the leaders interviewed would be candid and honest about the topics up for discussion in the podcast, showing a more human side of management to employees and making them more relatable.

KLM

Dutch national airline KLM has always sought to create a family feeling for its 30,000-strong workforce. Webinars are the solution of choice for the company, allowing for an interactive relationship between the company, its CEO and its staff.

Since introducing webinars, which it streams from its headquarters, the company has found that employees reacted positively to having more access to board members. They also feel they can participate in the running of the organisation more effectively and they have more trust in the CEO of the business.

Internal Communication via Webinars

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Tips for better internal communications

Establish an open-door policy

An open-door policy can also refer to virtual doors. If management makes it clear that it values all communication and feedback from employees, your internal communication strategy will be richer for it. You will receive honest, but invaluable feedback, from your workforce that you can use to finetune the way your business operates.

Make your company digital workspace fun to use

If you have a digital workspace to gather all of your important documents, policies and internal chat functions, it doesn’t have to be dull and corporate. As it is not an externally facing facility, you can have a bit of fun with it and make sure it is somewhere that employees enjoy visiting.

Use video

We ignore up to 65% of the emails in our inbox, meaning that we need to look for something more engaging for internal communications. When it comes to video, 72% of people say they prefer it as a medium for learning new information. This is why video should be a key element of your internal comms.

Encourage knowledge sharing

Knowledge sharing brings your employees out of their silos and adds to the wider conversation within the organisation that you want to encourage as part of your internal comms.

Encourage your workforce to bring their experiences, issues and solutions to the table and get departments talking between themselves.

FAQs

How important is internal communication for employee motivation?

Internal communications done well can boost motivation, as it makes employees feel involved in the organisation’s decision making and that their voice is valued. When employees feel that they have a say in the workings of the business then they are more connected to it and motivated to make it a success.

Do you need an internal communication plan?

You should have an internal communication strategy to ensure that you are using the correct channels and disseminating all of the information you need in the most effective manner. Internal communications plans also help you monitor your progress and adjust your approach to make it more effective.

What is the role of leadership in internal communication?

Leaders should engage in your internal communication efforts as their presence represents the importance that the company affords to engaging employees. If leaders do not take part, it can seem pointless for staff to join in because they won’t be heard by the people who can drive change.

Conclusion

These examples of good internal communications show you how organisations are embracing engagement with their employees in order to help them meet their business goals. Using channels that encourage employees to interact and take part is key to effective communication and making them feel part of the company.

Company Webcast’s webinar and webcasting solution allows you to create live events that anyone can attend, whether they are office-based or remote workers. Participants can ask questions, take part in polls and chat with other attendees. Anyone who misses the event can catch up on demand. To find out how you can use Company Webcast’s platform for your internal comms, request a free demo today.

References and further reading

  • What is a webinar?
  • Internal brand engagement
  • Essential types of internal engagement
  • Why webinar fatigue is a myth
  • Effective internal communication channels

Filed Under: Internal Communications

How To Organise A Virtual Press Conference And Make The Best Impression

29 November 2022 by companywebcast

The rise of the virtual press conference has gathered pace in recent years, with a number of factors behind this phenomenon: 

  • Budgets are shrinking, and it’s becoming more difficult for journalists to travel and attend events live. A recent report published by the European University estimates that, during the first lockdown in March 2020, media companies lost 30-50% of their advertising revenue. As a result, newsrooms had to cut budgets for freelancer contributions and end short-term contracts, leading to fewer journalists having to work longer hours. 
  • Remote working is on the rise. After surveying a number of European companies, SD Worx found that 27% of employees work remotely at present, compared to 16% before the pandemic. This means that, to connect with all the people you want to, you need an online presence.  
  • Global firms can have their CEO or other senior leader update all stakeholders online. Hybrid and virtual IR and PR events, such as AGMs and Capital Markets Days, have become a thing because they reach more people and are much more convenient than in-person events. 

If you are thinking about taking your press conferences online, this article explains why you should do it and how to make the most of this powerful opportunity. 

How does a virtual conference work? 

There are a few different ways to host an online press conference. Here are the main methods you can choose from: 

Type of ConferenceWhat it Entails

Online Conference

An online conference involves a number of remote attendees communicating remotely with each other using cameras. They often share screens and present documents to the meeting. This is more like a virtual meeting for a smaller number of people than a traditional press conference.  

Webcast

A webcast resembles a press conference more clearly and is suitable for audiences of all sizes. The host or hosts present to the audience via live streaming. Attendees can chat, ask questions and interact with features such as polls and surveys. 

The hosts may be at a specific venue from which the webcast is streamed live. They can also join remotely.  

Hybrid Event

A hybrid event takes place at a designated location where audience members can attend in person if they like, but it is also available for remote attendees, who have the opportunity to engage.  

Advantages of virtual press conferences 

Different event formats 

The flexibility of online press conferences makes them advantageous to companies. You can choose the format that suits your business, the situation, the audience you want to engage and the outcomes you require from the event. This means you can plan the ideal virtual event to ensure the largest audience participation possible. 

Flexible choice of location 

Taking press conferences online frees you up from having to decide on a single, potentially costly, location for your event. The trend for remote working means that not all your potential audience will be located in large cities and able to travel to your event. This way, they can take part without leaving their home or office.  

In addition, you can broadcast to different regions and countries at the same time without having to book a venue in each territory for that area’s press.  

Your hosts can be located remotely, in your offices, at a conference centre, in a custom studio such as our venues in Amsterdam, Rotterdam, the Hague, Brussels and Paris, or in any location around the world, depending on what works best for your business.  

Cost savings 

Venue hire can prove expensive for face-to-face events. In addition, there are other costs such as refreshments, travel and accommodation expenses for your staff, and printing of the documents you want to distribute to attendees. Taking the event online can help avoid these expenses, as you use digital methods to deliver information to your remote participants.  

Easier for attendees 

With a press conference, you want as many people to attend as possible so that you can get your message out, which means you have to make the process simple for them. If they can take part online on any of their devices, wherever they have internet connections, they are more likely to engage than if they have to travel a hundred kilometres to a specific venue.  

A virtual conference does not eat into their time as much as in-person press conferences. They don’t have to account for travel time, and they can continue working at their desk if there is a delay for any reason, meaning that they do not have to make that time up later.  

More control 

One problem with traditional press conferences is that you are at the mercy of the reporters pulling out the information that they are most interested in, which might not chime with the message you wanted to put across. When you webcast, you can place a recording of the whole briefing on your website and even share the pertinent information in a series of clips for your social media. You control the narrative.  

How to plan a successful virtual press conference  

1. Find the right platform

There has been a huge rise in the use of basic video communication tools, such as Zoom and Microsoft Teams in recent years. But, if you want a secure, stable and truly interactive experience for your online press conference, you need a specialist webcasting platform, such as Company Webcast. 

Company Webcast is ISO certified (27001), which relates to the security of your data and gives peace of mind that your sensitive information will be safe. Our team also boasts a wealth of experience from working with some of the biggest organisations. This means we have the insight to help you make your virtual press conference a huge success.  

The tools at your disposal when you use Company Webcast make interaction and engagement with the audience simple but very effective. This allows you to make it a memorable experience for everyone involved.

2. Identify your audience

Who do you want to talk to? Who needs to hear the news that you have to report?  

These are questions that you need to ask yourself before your event. The people you invite can spread the word quickly in the right circles if you pinpoint who you are talking to.  

With a virtual press conference, you can aim higher and more broadly with your audience, as there are no physical limits to attendance. If there is an influential blogger in your niche that is based overseas, for example, you can invite them to join the conference in a way that would not be possible at a solely physical event.  

3. Send invitation emails

Your mailing list and contact directories are some of your best tools for promoting an event and increasing attendance. These people have already expressed an interest in your company, or you already have a working relationship with them.  

You still need to make sure your email stands out, though, as their inboxes will be inundated with similar invites. Also, don’t be afraid to follow up with people who do not respond within a couple of days. They may just have missed the original message.  

Explain in the email that the event is online and provide simple and clear instructions on registering for the event. Share any password information and details of technical support they may need and even drop a diary reminder in to show up on their calendar. 

4. Practice before you speak

A rehearsal of the press conference before you go live is essential. First, it will help the host understand their script better. The more they read it out loud, the more natural it will sound.  

And second, it will also aid in making the transitions smoother and help improve the operating technical aspects like presentations and slides. The presenter will get a feel for when they need to put each slide up without having to wait for a cue and then leaving a pause whilst they react.  

If the host has practised enough, they will feel more confident in their ability to express the message, and the audience will notice. 

5. Check the tech

With any online event, you need to know that the streaming technology, microphones, lighting, and everything else will work for your purposes. Try a dummy run to check that you can webcast, and it looks the way you want it to be on-screen.  

You should also make sure the operator is comfortable with any cuts and with showing the presentations. If a host has to do anything technical, ensure that they have the ability to do so close at hand, so they don’t need to be worrying about where the button they need to press is situated. 

6. Publish related press releases

If your audience has access to embargoed press releases, fact sheets and supporting materials from the press conference in advance, they will be able to understand why they should attend your announcement.  

They will also be able to concentrate more on what you are saying rather than trying to understand the main concept the first time they hear about it. Distribute these documents by email, and make sure you pull out the most relevant information to make it easy for the journalists to use in their stories. 

7. Keep attendees engaged

Engagement is the key to preventing viewers from becoming distracted, and it can also provide relevant feedback for you. With Company Webcast, you have the facility to keep your guests interacting with polls and surveys that maintain their interest and help you understand how they are reacting to the main subject of your press conference. 

8. Leave time for questions

An important part of a press conference is where the journalists ask the host or experts about the subject of the event. This is essential, as all reporters want to be able to squeeze in more information and additional quotes from the event. Make sure there is a method for attendees to leave questions and interact with the conference, such as a chat function or a chatbox. 

9. Save the video

By recording the event, you can allow other potential attendees who missed the live conference to watch it in full. This also creates a destination on your website for anyone else interested in the press conference.  

And why not publish your online press conference on your YouTube account? As to other social sites and newsletters, you can post short, shareable clips that attract attention and get people to watch your event in full. Or, you could use the audio for a podcast.  

A simple video of your news conference can be transformed into several pieces of marketing content for your business.  

FAQ 

How do you speak at a press conference? 

Speak naturally and slowly, enunciating properly so that people can understand and follow what you are saying. This is particularly important if you are inviting an international audience who might not speak the same language natively.  

There is sometimes a tendency to speed up the way you speak when you are nervous, so be conscious of maintaining a steady pace.  

What should you do after the press conference? 

You should follow up with those attendees that you most want to report your message. Check what their plans are for the media coverage of your live video event. Take a look through your attendee list to see if any major players did not make it, and contact them directly with a link to watch the full conference on demand.  

You should also debrief after the event with all involved parties to work out what you can do to improve the experience next time.  

Conclusion 

A virtual press conference can be a productive and effective tool in your efforts to spread the word about a new product, service or any other company news. Going online allows more flexibility and a broader audience. Besides great PR, you also end up with some excellent content for your website and socials. You can increase attendance rates by allowing people to take part from their office or home.  

And, if you choose Company Webcast, you can make your press conference engaging with polls, surveys and other interactive elements. For more information, request a demo of Company Webcast today.  

References and Further Reading 

  • What can you do with Company Webcast? 
  • Benefits of webcasts 
  • Virtual press conference example 
  • Press conference skills 
  • How to email a press release 

Filed Under: External Communications, Investor Relations

Virtual Or Hybrid Events for PR? Pros, Cons And When To Use

29 November 2022 by companywebcast

Public relations as an industry has had to stay agile in recent years, much the same as the rest of the business landscape. Whereas brands were used to hosting lavish physical events before 2020 to market their products and services and to talk to journalists and other stakeholders, COVID-19 forced a change in attitudes. Now we are emerging from the worst of the pandemic, you have a choice to go back to fully in-person presentations or to embrace virtual or hybrid events for PR.  

And there are real advantages of taking PR events online:  

  • 45.9% of people attend ten or more online events compared to 12.6% who participate in in-person events 
  • 88% of PR professionals believe the future of the field lies in digital storytelling, and online events – hybrid or fully virtual – can play an important role in this strategy.  

This article explores the difference between hybrid and virtual events and how they can bolster your PR efforts. It also explores best practices for organising them and pulling them off successfully. 

Virtual and hybrid events: The future 

Live, in-person events were always the go-to in the PR industry, but the world is changing in terms of where and when people work. PR professionals have realised that, to spread their message as widely as possible, there must be another way to engage the media, thought leaders, influencers and other stakeholders.  

Virtual and hybrid events are the future because they bring PRs closer to the people with whom they most want to network. Here is the difference between the two formats: 

FormatExplanation

Fully Virtual

The presenter hosts from a studio, office, home office or anywhere with an internet connection, and the entire audience attends remotely on their devices. 

Hybrid

The presenter usually hosts from a venue. Some audience members attend in person at the venue, with the rest joining remotely. 

Keep reading to find the pros and cons of both formats and how to use them to increase the effectiveness of your public relations events. 

Virtual events 

When putting on a virtual event, be it a webinar, a conference or something else, you can present it from a professional studio in order to create an impressive first impression on your guests.  

However, it is also possible to run fully-virtual events from your office or even your home. As all attendees will access the event remotely, the only consideration when it comes to the location of your host and speakers is the way that it looks on screen.  

Pros of virtual events 

Increase the number of attendees 

It makes sense that holding an event completely online allows more people to attend. There are no concerns about travel time and potential overnight stays for virtual attendees. They only need to clear room in their diary for the length of the event itself. You can also engage people in other countries so and enable them to attend remotely. 

Widen the field of potential speakers 

Just as you can attract larger virtual audiences for your PR event, you can also widen the field of available speakers and guests. Being able to attract impressive, high-profile guests can be a great sell to attendees and will bring more attention to your message. Not having to worry about the logistics of attending your event makes it more accessible to the speakers who will make your event pop.  

Money saving 

A fully virtual PR event can save a significant amount of money for the company. Without the outlay on the venue hire, accommodation, travel costs, refreshments and print-outs, you can reduce your expenses greatly. 

Environmentally friendly 

There is another benefit of cutting out travel to events and not handing out hard copies of documents. It supports your sustainability efforts and reduces the carbon footprint of the event as a whole. This can be a real selling point for your PR webinar, as often, such events produce significant amounts of waste in the form of handouts and goodie bags.  

Cons of virtual events  

Fear of the unknown 

We have had webinars for many years, but they can still seem like a novelty for some people. As such, they might be reticent to engage with an online event that would have previously been held in person. You may be worried that some potential attendees may opt not to join your webinar.  

Finding the right platform 

Not all webinar platforms are created equal. You need to research the right solution for you and make sure the provider can handle all of the requirements you have to get your brand message out to as many people as possible.  

Best practices for virtual events 

  • Use a reputable and professional provider to run the technical aspects of your event. Company Webcast has more than a decade of experience creating engaging events for some of the biggest companies in Europe and beyond. 
  • Engage with your audience and allow them to interact with the event. Rather than simply showing a live stream of your event, use a provider that offers features to allow you to run polls and for attendees, post questions and even chat. This helps them become more invested in the content of your event. 
  • Prepare your audience for the event by talking them through how to access it and what to expect. This helps ease any concerns of your less tech-savvy attendees. 

Hybrid events 

Hybrid events bring the benefits of the live in-person experience and the convenience of remote attendance together. You offer your guests the choice of how to attend, depending on their preference. By working to ensure that you provide an equal level of attention to both types of attendees, everyone should gain the same outcomes from your PR event.  

Pros of hybrid events  

Very similar to virtual events 

Of course, many of the pros of virtual events are also the benefits of hybrid PR events. Although you cannot discount venue hire and refreshment costs as well as accommodation and travel expenses, they are reduced compared to a fully in-person event.  

At the same time, the fact that there is an online element to the event allows you to increase your potential reach for audience members and guests, just like with a fully virtual event.  

Then, there are also these pros of hybrid events: 

Gives people options 

Everyone is different, and your target audience will all have different preferences when it comes to how they want to engage with you. Some people prefer the convenience of remote events; others enjoy the atmosphere of a live meeting. Hybrid offers the best of both worlds. It is a more inclusive way of running events.  

Increases flexibility 

Hybrid events provide flexibility for attendees but also for your business. If you already have a hybrid setup and there is another event in the future that requires us to once again abandon in-person events, you can quickly pivot to fully virtual events again. You can also move back to the hybrid model seamlessly afterwards, showing an agility that causes the least possible disruption to your PR efforts.  

COVID secure 

Although life in many countries is getting back to a form of normality, COVID-19 still exists and continues to spread around communities. For those who are cautious about joining large groups of people or who are immunosuppressed, adding a hybrid element to your live PR efforts means they don’t have to miss out on your event. They can also have their say or ask questions.  

Cons of hybrid events  

Getting the setup right 

It is challenging to manage an event that combines live and virtual elements and carry it out in a manner that ensures both audiences receive the full experience. This means that you will need an expert webinar provider’s hybrid event platform to help you achieve an event that truly showcases the best of both worlds for physical and virtual audiences.  

Best practices for hybrid events  

  • Use virtual event platforms like Company Webcast that provide interactive features for online viewers, allowing them to get involved in the event just like those in the room. Virtual experiences should match those in the room for the ability to engage in the matters at hand. 
  • Allow your guest speakers to choose how they address the event. Some may be more comfortable attending remotely, whilst others may thrive from being in front of a live audience. Offering both options provides flexibility that widens the potential pool of speakers and allows them to appear in a manner in which they feel able to perform to the best of their ability. This is beneficial for your event. 
  • Ensure both audiences have the same experience. Your hybrid event shouldn’t be geared towards just one of the audiences and ignore the other. For example, if the live in-person audience can ask questions, the organiser should offer the same opportunity to the online attendees. This is a key element of a truly hybrid event. Otherwise, you have a live event with a live stream. The online audience is passive, not active.  

FAQs 

How do you make virtual and hybrid events interactive? 

Using a platform like Company Webcast allows virtual attendees to engage with questions, polls, a chat function and other interactive features. These keep the online audience engaged and provide content for your event, as well as interesting on-demand content for use on your website later.   

How do you engage virtual participants? 

In addition to using interactive features for the virtual component, you should use storytelling to grab the attention of all participants and make sure your presentation is visually stimulating. The event industry thrives on engaging presentations.   

How do you evaluate the success of your virtual or hybrid event? 

Asking for feedback after the event helps you monitor performance to ensure you run a successful event. With the details that you take on sign-up, you can engage your audience afterwards and follow up on the topics discussed.  

Conclusion 

There is no doubt that virtual or hybrid events are the future for all industries, including the PR sector. Solely in-person events are more costly, less environmentally friendly and restrict your ability to attract a large audience or high-calibre speaker that will make your event stand out ahead of your competitors. You do need to make a choice between fully virtual and hybrid, and that choice is down to your individual company and what your target audience would prefer.  

Whatever you decide, leave nothing to chance. Company Webcast can ensure your event runs smoothly, offers a stellar experience to all audiences and helps keep your message high in the mind of your attendees. Request a free demo of Company Webcast for your company today to find out how we can transform your future events. 

References and further reading:

  • Why organise hybrid events? 
  • Infographic: virtual marketing events 
  • How to create a winning external communications strategy 
  • 12 steps to a successful webinar 

Filed Under: External Communications

How To Increase AGM Attendance With A Simple Strategy

13 June 2022 by companywebcast

The role and future of the annual general meeting (AGM) has been debated for many years, long before the COVID-19 pandemic shook the process up completely. The Financial Times reported that, pre-coronavirus, “critics argued the event was outdated, with many attended by just a few shareholders”. The temporary restrictions brought in to allow annual meetings to occur, even under social distancing regulations, may well have expedited the process of change and could, in fact, help increase AGM attendance.  

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As we navigate an uncertain future, adjusting to a ‘new normal’ after COVID-19, shareholder engagement has to be at the forefront of issuers’ minds. Many investors are adamant that whatever happens in terms of AGMs going forward, issuers need to increase, not decrease, engagement with shareholders.

In June 2020, Simon Gergel, chief investment officer for UK equities at Allianz Global Investors, stated that “shareholders need a chance to meet the executives in person and ask them questions in a public forum”. He was referring to the measures taken by some issuers to merely stream AGMs without interaction from investors. But there is a way that you can reap the benefits of online meetings as well as continue to allow shareholders to hold the board of directors to account. This article explains how you can increase attendance at your annual meetings as you maintain and develop deep shareholder relationships.  

Why 2022 AGMs won’t be back to normal 

There is no doubt that COVID restrictions are easing in the majority of countries, but that does not mean that the pandemic is over. And you need to factor that into your planning for the 2022 AGM season. Shareholders and board members alike may still be cautious of meeting in large groups, especially if they are medically vulnerable.  

This means that venues need to be well-ventilated, spacious and it is a good idea to provide hand sanitiser and masks. In addition, providing an option to attend online makes sense. It allows those who are shielding or isolating to take part, as well as those who remain unable to attend because of international travel restrictions.  

In addition, the focus on ESG, sustainability, diversity and other hot topics will only intensify as we move forward. These considerations will play an ever more important role in AGMs, meaning it is unlikely we will return to ‘normal’ any time soon.  

With these issues at play, increasing the reach of your AGM has never been more important. 

Why increase AGM attendance?

ReasonDetails

Get support for your strategy

It is important that issuers and investors are pulling in the same direction. If there is disparity between the parties’ visions, it can cause conflict and hold the business back. Increasing AGM attendance brings the opportunity to discuss and debate the strategy. The board can sell their vision and persuade shareholders to support it, whilst the investors can question it, express any reservations and deliver suggestions. The more attendees, the more voices you can hear and the more you can be sure that there is broad agreement. 

Deepen relationships with investors 

The AGM is one of the few times in the year you have the opportunity to gather a large number of shareholders. Your board might meet with key shareholders and you will run roadshows for smaller groups, but the AGM has the potential to bring everyone together at once.     The more people who attend the annual meeting, the more you get to engage them and connect with them. At an AGM, you are marketing the company as much as you are discussing past and future strategies, so use the chance to talk to many investors at once to provide a presentation that draws them in and shows they are valued. They will appreciate the board interaction and the opportunity to hold management to account.     It is your chance to validate them and bring them closer to the business. 

Demonstrate board accountability

When there are more shareholders in attendance, there are more points of view. You aren’t just “preaching to the converted”, who will accept everything the board says as gospel. You are also more likely to find dissenting voices.     These are the voices who keep the board accountable, who will speak up when they feel the board has fallen short and will keep them on track. Although dissent from investors is not easy to hear, it is an integral part of an AGM and in ensuring transparency and collaboration.  

Align your ESG goals

A larger cohort of shareholders in attendance at your annual gathering provides a broader range of feedback on your environmental, social and corporate governance (ESG) strategy. As ESG factors are driving many investment decisions nowadays, understanding your shareholders’ motivations and wishes is key to aligning your sustainability strategy.     Euronext Corporate Services’ ESG Advisory helps you build the ESG pillar of your equity story to help you prove your sustainable credentials. Shareholder Analysis also gives you rich data insights into your current shareholding and that of your peers, to help you create strategies that will talk to shareholders and strengthen your market position.  

A simple strategy to improve your AGM attendance 

1. Pay special attention to the agenda 

The agenda of your meeting is sent out to invitees in advance and can be absolutely key in deciding whether they attend or not. Remember that they will likely receive numerous agendas for the AGMs of all the companies in which they invest, and you have to make yours stand out from the crowd.   

Think about how to make your agenda engaging and relevant to your investors, and tell them why they should prioritise your AGM over the others. Provide value for them. For example, invite a guest speaker to offer thought leadership on the industry, the future of governance or another relevant topic. Seeing this on an agenda shows it won’t just be another dry, factual string of PowerPoint presentations. Your potential attendees will see and appreciate the fact that you are attempting to produce a worthwhile event.   

2. Notify attendees in due time 

Many countries have a minimum notice period for informing stakeholders of the holding of an AGM. In Ireland, you must give 21 days’ notice, whereas it is 30 days in Italy for a publicly listed company, for example. 

However, the earlier you can inform attendees, the better. It gives them more time to plan for the event, blocking out their diaries, and means that you are likely to get your notice in ahead of another issuer who might want to hold their AGM on the same day. If you inform people early, they can commit to attending your event and you have the best opportunity to increase your attendance.   

3. Promise an open discussion 

You should tackle the fears of people like Simon Gergel from Allianz Global Investors head on when you plan and promote your AGM. Apart from the mandatory Q&A session, budget extra time for discussion, questions and feedback in the agenda. This reassures investors that they will have the chance to have their say at the meeting.  If investors do not think they will be heard, there is no reason for them to attend the AGM, meaning that you miss out on the opportunity to understand their thought processes and to engage them in your business.  With topics such as ESG anddirector remuneration stirring investor passions, it is vital to allow shareholders a platform at the annual meeting. They will take this opportunity, knowing that it is a public forum in which they can hold board members to account.   

4. Offer access to information 

It is good practice to provide meeting notes to shareholders after the AGM. This shows you are serious about following up the issues raised and that you prize shareholder engagement. Investors can also refer to the previous year’s meeting notes when deciding whether or not to attend the next AGM.   

If investors see that there was an engaging and open meeting last year, it will give them confidence that this year’s will follow the same pattern and can help persuade them to attend.  

5. Use a virtual or hybrid setup 

Providing an online option for attending the AGM increases your potential reach. With investors often having numerous invitations to juggle, as well as taking travel and accommodation into account, attending all the required AGMs in person is just not viable. This is even more of a pressing issue today, as COVID-19 rise again across Europe. This means your shareholders may be subject to self-isolation or travel restrictions. 

Many take place during the workday, meaning shareholders can be away from the office for long periods of time if they have to attend all in person. Being able to stream the events means that they only need to free up the duration of the meeting and can attend from home or their office. It also allows those who are still uneasy about attending public gatherings to have their say on annual reports, remuneration and more.   

Using a professional AGM webinar platform like Company Webcast means that your online attendees can get involved with voting and asking questions, just like those in physical attendance, as well as engaging with other interactive features too.   

6. Engage shareholders year-round 

Shareholder engagement is not just an annual activity. In order to make your investors more disposed to attending your AGM, you should show them that they are valued all year round.   

If you show your commitment to investor relations at virtual roadshows and other events for individual shareholders or groups of investors, they will be more confident that the AGM will allow them the platform they desire. They will understand that yours is a company that values input from investors and will be more likely to attend the meeting.   

External communications are key to fostering these relationships. Create an external comms strategy to ensure you are at the forefront of investors’ minds.  

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FAQs

Are private companies required to hold an AGM? 

The requirement to hold an annual shareholder meeting for a private company may alter between jurisdictions. For example, in France, SAS and SARL companies are required to hold at least one general meeting of all shareholders each year. Although they may be private companies, the shareholders still have to meet annually. 

When should AGM minutes be distributed? 

There is no set time frame for distributing meeting minutes. However, it is good practice to send the minutes and documentation of the meeting for review soon after it so that errors can be amended whilst the meeting is still fresh in people’s minds.   

What is the quorum for an AGM? 

The quorum for an AGM is usually determined by the requirements in public companies’ articles of association. If there is no quorum requirement in the articles, you should look to the law in your jurisdiction, where there may be a default quorum requirement for businesses.   

Conclusion

Increasing attendance at your AGM is an excellent way to foster investor relations and forge strong bonds between the business and its shareholders. These tips will help build AGM attendance and increase engagement from your shareholders, helping you to create strategies that meet their approval and ensuring all parties are focused on a goal that works to the benefit of everyone.  

Company Webcast is the perfect solution for meetings, whether they are fully virtual or a hybrid of online and in person. Our professional platform allows you to provide a great stream as well as ensuring remote attendees can interact as much as they could in the venue. Get a demo for your company today.  

References and Further Reading 

  • How to communicate with retail investors 
  • How to organise a virtual capital markets day 
  • Preparing for 2022 AGM season 
  • How to manage shareholder communications from your home office 
  • The 9-step shareholder engagement plan 

Filed Under: Investor Relations

Why Is Internal Brand Engagement Crucial? (And How To Improve It)

14 May 2022 by companywebcast

Internal brand engagement refers to the way employees and other stakeholders interact with your company and its values, ethics and mission. Their connection with the company can be positive or negative, depending on how effectively it embodies, demonstrates and communicates its purpose.

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If you are clear and consistent with your internal brand strategy, employees can fully engage with it and live those values both at work and outside of the office. Effective internal brand engagement drives you towards creating the ethos that you desire in your business.

Why is internal branding important?

A recent survey revealed that 92% of employees would consider leaving their current employment if offered a role somewhere with an excellent corporate reputation. This statistic alone makes it easy to see why your internal brand is key.

Apart from figures, there are also intrinsic benefits to a coherent internal branding strategy. Here are the most important ones:

BenefitExplanation

Motivation

Employees are motivated to deliver peak performance in all areas of their work, which in turn provides an improved customer experience.

Positivity

They are less likely to think negatively at work. Rather than dwelling on or passing on problems, workers who feel an affinity with the organisation are more dedicated to finding solutions. They believe in the business and want the best for it and its clients.

Cohesion

Effective internal branding brings all employees together to celebrate and live the same values, making for a cohesive company culture where everyone agrees on how the organisation should work.

Brand Advocacy

An engaged workforce that believes in what the business stands for will advocate externally for your organisation and its products.

How to increase internal brand engagement

Define your internal culture

Before anyone can buy into your ethos, you need to create a bold story for your organisation. Think about what you want to achieve and how you want to achieve it.

This informs your mission and vision, which feed into the internal culture you want to foster. Without a clear definition of where you are headed, employees will struggle to dedicate themselves wholeheartedly to the project.

There is no doubt that getting the right organisational culture is important. Studies show that those businesses with a healthy and defined set of values are 1.5 times more likely to enjoy revenue growth of 15 per cent or more over three years and 2.5 times more likely to experience significant stock growth during the same period.

A powerful and engaging internal culture encourages trust and appreciation of colleagues, values high performance and encourages collaboration, communication and innovation.

Keep the narrative simple

Your brand story has to resonate with your employees. Don’t overcomplicate it because that makes it vague and less impactful. Give your workforce something that they can easily understand and rally behind.

Weave emotion into it and give your employees a reason to feel passionate about the narrative around your business.

Align internal and external marketing

In the words of Christabel Singh of upGrad KnowledgeHut:

quotes
We are what we communicate. We communicate what we are.

Singh found in her work that many employees are uninspired because they are not sure where their company is heading or what its priorities are. The organisation may well sell itself to customers through external brand engagement, but internally the message is confused or unclear.

Internal and external messaging must align if you are to excite and motivate your employees as much as your marketing seeks to excite your customers. This is the only way that your staff will be able to provide the level of service and care that you promote externally.

Only when you prove to employees the integrity of your message can they properly sell it and believe in it. And this matters because, in the customer journey, they will meet employees in different areas of the business who must show that they understand and live the same values.

To quote Singh again:

quotes
If an employee in sales, customer service, accounts receivable or anywhere else in the organisation does not represent the brand, it’s a sign to coworkers and customers that the company itself does not entirely believe in its own message.

Leverage your digital workplace

The digital workplace is the combination of all of your internal communication channels and plays a key role in creating your internal brand. It is a tool that all employees use and is therefore perfect for communicating the messages that define your ethos.

You can share information quickly and easily with the help of the digital workplace, increasing brand awareness and promoting your culture at the same time. It is also the place to encourage feedback and discussion in order to help workers feel part of the decision-making and inform them about the company culture.

Organise live and hybrid events

A more human way of engaging employees directly is to organise company-wide events. A town hall meeting, for example, is the perfect opportunity to gather all the workforce together, instil the company culture and add a human touch to your internal communications.

These are traditionally in-person events, but in order to include your employees working remotely or flexibly, try a hybrid or fully virtual approach. With a hybrid event, you host the event in a particular location, and some attendees are in person. Others access the proceedings on a live stream and interact with the hosts using virtual tools. It’s important that both the online and the in-person audience enjoy the same experience at a hybrid event.

With Company Webcast’s corporate streaming solution, you can produce professional and interactive events that allow remote attendees to ask questions, vote on polls and respond to surveys. This engagement opportunity helps make them feel fully involved and valued as you speak to the collective and reinforce your mission and internal brand.

Another advantage of a hybrid or online event is that employees can catch up on demand if they cannot attend in person or watch the stream as it goes out. This increases  e.

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Encourage employee input

Valuing the opinions of your employees is a simple way to bring them on board with your mission. As well as being an engagement exercise, it makes business sense in the fact that they are on the ground, seeing how the company serves its customers, receiving first-hand reviews from those clients and working within the systems. They can often better see the issues than executives. Therefore, their solutions are invaluable for improving your processes.

When employees feel that their input counts and has a tangible impact on the way the company runs, they are better bonded to the organisation and its culture.

A  you encourage engagement. Ask questions, and you will spark a discussion.

Run regular feedback sessions, send out surveys, and invite employees to management meetings. All of these improve workforce engagement and buy-in, boosting innovation and creativity across your organisation.

Once they buy in, they become your strongest advocates. They talk to friends and family, they make informed recommendations to customers, and they pitch it just right because they become experts at shouting about the great work that you do.

Examples of internal brand engagement

DSM

Dutch health and nutrition firm DSM employs 16,000 workers across the world. For the company, keeping all employees up-to-date is a priority, increasing transparency and trust in the brand from the workforce.

The company decided to use webinars for this purpose and opted to work with Company Webcast. The client’s spokesperson said:

“It is an effective way to reach a large group of employees and to inform them, to engage them, or to look for interaction with this group on an issue that is important for DSM.”

FAQ

What are the challenges of internal brand engagement?

One of the main challenges of internal brand engagement is being able to communicate with your employees regularly and in a human manner. This is where webcasting comes in. You can talk to your employees whether they are in the room or   in remotely. It brings executives and employees together.

What are the objectives of internal brand engagement?

Internal brand engagement aims to encourage employees to buy into the company’s vision and advocate for it. It provides an emotional connection for workers that creates engaged employees.

How does internal branding lead to brand success?

Internal branding engages workers who are motivated to give 100% to the company, thus improving the customer experience. They are also more likely to offer solutions to issues or improvements to systems, and they will tell their family and friends about your brand in glowing terms as true brand ambassadors.

Conclusion

Internal brand engagement is important for any company. Your employees are a valuable resource — they shape how your customers experience your brand and how many others envisage your brand, thanks to their advocacy. You need a clear, simple vision, a culture of trust and appreciation and to be able to communicate your company mission clearly and effectively. Webinars for internal communications are the answer to this, and Company Webcast is the leading name for professional, high-quality webinars that engage your employees. Request a demo today to start interacting with your workforce.

References and Further Reading

  • Effective internal comms channels
  • Why organise hybrid events?
  • Level up your internal communications
  • Why improve internal communications?
  • What is a webinar?

Filed Under: Brand Awareness, Internal Communications

The Investor Relations Best Practice Guide For Modern IROs

10 May 2022 by companywebcast

The role of an investor relations officer (IRO) has changed significantly as the way investors interact with issuers has evolved. We have developed this investor relations best practice guide in order to help IROs with their shifting responsibilities in this important position. Given the recent volatility in the markets and the rise of shareholder activism, the Harvard Business Review casts a light on the importance of IROs in this uncertain landscape, stating:

IROs are essential for financing an organization and for creating value, given their unique role in bridging the gaps between issuer and shareholder. This article explores how to use this position as effectively as possible to ensure that the connections with your investors remain strong and fruitful.

What makes a leading IR team?

Investor relations best practices

Create an IR strategy

Communicating effectively with investors should be more than several events annually. To increase touchpoints, you need an IR strategy, but many organizations do not systematically link their strategy and investor relations efforts. This approach risks inconsistent messaging to shareholders and blind spots where some investors who could enjoy a fruitful relationship with the issuer are ignored and do not therefore invest. A sporadic approach to communication can also be detrimental to the investors’ trust in the business and decrease the power of the equity story.

An ideal IR strategy should contain:

A simple, clear and compelling story introducing the business and its place in the industry

Identification of key stakeholders, including analysts, current shareholders, potential investors, journalists and even the issuer’s employees, who may sometimes represent a large portion of the shareholding

Messages aligned with the various stakeholder groups and their level of expertise

  • A simple, clear and compelling story

A professional IR website or IR section on the main website, providing information about the company, its products and services, its financials, profiles of the board, an events calendar, latest news and any other resources that would be helpful to investors

Develop an annual timetable

By creating an annual timetable, an IR team can schedule their meetings and roadshows more effectively. There are many events that must be added to the calendar straight away, including the AGM and earnings calls. This allows you to arrange the other essential IR events across the year, plan the logistics involved and being able to work on promoting them in good time to ensure attendance.

By working out the schedule in advance, you can maximize the opportunities to meet new and existing shareholders and plot meetings, investor days, capital markets days and roadshows in a manner that ensures you provide all of your key stakeholders with adequate time to show how much you value their input.

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Move to hybrid events

Hybrid events allow you to increase the reach of your investor relations activities. They involve hosting the event in a physical location with some of the audience members attending in person, as well as broadcasting the event online so that remote attendees can be involved, too.

This allows you to talk to a larger audience, reducing the need to take your executives on the road in order to engage investors. You can present the information to all stakeholders at once, wherever they are based. It is also more convenient for investors who cannot clear a large enough window to travel to a physical location and attend the event.

Hybrid events save money for an organization, reducing venue costs, refreshment expenses, travel and accommodation fees and even printing costs, as there are likely to be fewer physical attendees. They are also more environmentally friendly, using less paper and with fewer people travelling to the venue.

Company Webcast, part of Euronext Group, is a leader in producing professional webcasts and webinars for organizations, helping them host hybrid investor relations events. The platform integrates a number of interactive features, allowing attendees to fully engage with the meeting wherever they are based.

channelproscons

Intranet

Cost-effective to set up Convenience of all information in one place Supports remote work

Holding all company information in one place is a security threat Needs someone dedicated to keeping it updated Easy to ignore by employees Risk of information overload

Emails & company newsletters

Free to use Accessible from anywhere Alerts all users on arrival of new information in inbox

Mailboxes can be packed with too much information Easy to ignore Multiple messages in one day can disrupt work

Project management tools

Easy to track project progress Encourages collaboration Easy for employees to see the bigger picture

Can feel like you are being micromanaged with constant updates on progress Difficult to stay on top of giving the right permissions to the correct people to avoid unauthorised co-workers seeing sensitive information Can be costly to set up for larger businesses

Filed Under: Investor Relations

The Complete Guide to Retail Investors and How to Communicate With Them

18 April 2022 by companywebcast

Europe has seen a rise in the number of retail investors coming to the market in recent years. One reason for this seems to be the impact of the coronavirus pandemic. The French regulator Autorité des marchés financiers (AMF) recently reported that more than 150,000 new retail investors bought blue-chip stock in March 2020 alone. However, the trend continued long after the initial period of market volatility. Euronext found in May 2021 that its markets in Lisbon, Amsterdam and Paris had all seen individual investors contribute to a greater proportion of total turnover for the year to date, compared with the same period in 2020.

Both AMF and Euronext found one significant development — retail shareholders had switched from net divesting to net investing. In 2019, the French stock market SBF 120 saw a retail divestment of €5.9 billion, even though gaming giant La Française des Jeux (FDJ) launched its IPO in that year and attracted 340,000 new investors to the market. By contrast, the first five weeks of the COVID-19 crisis saw retail clients invest €3.5 billion in SBF 120 equities between March 2020 and May 2021. Euronext reports that there were only two months where retail investors sold more than they bought.

What exactly is a retail investor?

Retail investors are also known as individual investors. They use brokerage firms to buy and sell securities and funds in a non-professional capacity. They operate on their behalf, making trades using their funds for the benefit of their account. However, they might take advice from financial planners and other investment professionals, too.

Why are retail investors important?

Although retail investors usually deal in much smaller amounts than institutional investors, they can still have a significant impact. This is particularly evident in the activist behaviour displayed in recent months. In January 2021, retail investors on social sharing site Reddit collaborated to make stock purchases using the Robinhood app and inflate the share price of failing computer game retailer GameStop. This collective effort was meant to “hurt” hedge funds that were trying to make money by shorting the stock. The activity increased the value of shares from US$20 to US$500 before they fell back.

The number of retail investors in the European Union seems to be relatively low at the moment. Steven Maijoor, Chair of the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA), claims that just 4% of European households currently own retail shares. However, 45% of households in the United States own mutual funds, which could offer a glimpse into the future of the EU and offer issuers a chance to prepare for retail investors to wield more power.

The rise of Investor Retail Officers (IROs) over the past year has been welcomed because they provide finance for companies that might be struggling to find other sources of capital and individuals tend to invest for the longer term, bringing some stability to issuers. Retail traders are also often credited with affecting market sentiment towards certain commodities, which can, in turn, have a bearing on stock prices.

Understanding retail investors

  • An individual investor is generally motivated by the long-term benefits of shareholding, such as the growth of their capital and the receipt of dividends.
  • Retail investor portfolios are usually less broad than those of institutional investors, focusing on the best-performing stocks.
  • Individuals are often driven in their decision-making by ESG (Environmental, Social and Governance) and sustainable investing concerns. Two-thirds of individual investors in Germany and France said environmentally-friendly investments were their priority.
  • A small investor is less likely to scrutinise the company’s quarterly and annual reports than institutional investors.
  • Although retail investors tend to invest small amounts, there are often high-net-worth individuals who buy significant amounts of stock.
  • Investment decision-making for individuals is often influenced by the financial media, analysts’ recommendations and even social media.
  • Around a quarter of individual investors say they would like to attend an AGM, but only 6% do so in the United Kingdom, according to research.

Differences between retail and institutional investors

Institutional investorsRetail investors

Professional organisations, such as investment banks, pension funds and insurance companies

Non-professional investor, usually an individual

Pool money from clients

Use own funds and assets to invest

Tasked with increasing the value of clients’ investments

Investing for personal goals, such as retirement and increasing savings accounts

Decisions made by teams of analysts using accumulated data and research

Decisions made by the individual, often with the help of an advisor, based on publicly available information

Trade frequently in large quantities

Trade infrequently in smaller quantities

Can often negotiate lower fees by buying/selling in bulk

Must pay relatively higher fees

Often look for short term investments

More long-term participants

How to communicate effectively with retail investors

Organise online events

Although only 6% of retail investors attend physical AGMs, 45% said they would take part in an online meeting instead. This makes sense since retail clients are not professional investors and are likely to be at work when these meetings take place. For shareholders who do not live near the AGM venue, it would require a full day away from their job for each company they invest in, travelling, attending, and possibly even staying overnight. This is simply not practical.

If you want to communicate with retail investors, you must make it as easy as possible to work around their other commitments. This means organising online events that take up a small part of their day and which they can watch from their home or office, live or on-demand.

Online events should be part of your external communication strategy. And, with the help of Company Webcast’s secure and stable platform, you can make sure you reach all intended viewers, provide a seamless experience, and engage your audience with interactive features. Whether it is an AGM, a non-deal roadshow, a Capital Markets Day or any other event, going virtual helps increase attendance and provides worldwide reach.

Target the right retail investors

Targeting retail investors is different from targeting institutional investors. They have different concerns and need different reassurances. Even within the ranks of retail investors, you need to target accordingly to find those that are the best fit for your organisation. Understand who you are targeting and think about their motivations and requirements before engaging them.

Engage retail brokers

Retail brokers can help you connect to individuals as part of your shareholder engagement. They influence the decisions that some individual clients make, which means that building a good relationship with them can pay off. The more you network with them, the more positively they are likely to view your business and the more likely they are to recommend you when advising clients on investment decisions.

Working with retail brokers could provide you with access to databases of interested investors. This will help you find out more details about those people you are targeting and aid you in adjusting your messaging accordingly in terms of timing, content, and delivery method.

Liven up your social media channels

Retail investors are open to the influence of social media on their transactions. In fact, 34% said they had made at least one change to their investments in the past year based on a social media announcement.

This shows how important it is to be present and engaging on social media. Individual investors see it as a legitimate method of getting to know more about an issuer, so use this channel to keep them informed.

Produce quality blog content

As non-professionals, retail investors might not be aware of many aspects of the investment world or, at least, have some questions about processes and procedures. This is your opportunity to engage them and provide them with answers. If you produce enough quality blog content on relevant topics, you can position yourself as an authority on the subject, which will lead retail investors to your website from Google and other search engines.

Create video content

Video is key to investor relations efforts as it adds credibility to your message. Two-thirds of people would rather watch a video to learn about a product or service, with those who want to read a text-based presentation standing at just 18%. This shows the power of video content resources today. There are no limitations to the types of video content you could use. It can range from pre-recorded videos to more interactive formats such as on-premises and conference-call webcasts.

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FAQ

Where do retail investors get their information?

Retail investors get their information from brokers and advisors as well as from their own research. This could be from your website, your social media, the industry press or anywhere else there is information about what your company does and what it plans to do in the future. Therefore, it is important to be open, to engage and communicate with retail investors in the places they frequent and in their language.

Can retail investors short stocks?

Retail investors cannot short stocks like large institutional investors. Only the latter can borrow the stocks in what they deem to be a failing company, sell them into the stock market and then hope to buy them at a lower price than they sold them for. However, individuals can use a spread bet to speculate on share prices going down.

This information is correct in the UK, but you should check with the regulations in your country for their rules about short selling in retail investing.

Conclusion

If you want to communicate effectively with retail investors, you need to talk in their language and use the channels that they are most comfortable with. Investor Relations Officers (IROs) can try to invite these investors to physical meetings. Keep in mind though, that such events generally do not fit into the lifestyle of an individual investor, who is likely to have commitments when these meetings take place. Webcasts and webinars of virtual meetings make a lot more sense in terms of increasing attendance, along with helpful, informative, and clear social media platforms, online videos, and blogs.

If you want to engage retail investors more successfully, try organising a virtual event with Company Webcast’s market-leading live streaming tools.

References and Further Reading

  • Organising a virtual Capital Markets Day
  • Investor relations webcasts
  • Virtual and hybrid AGMs
  • Retail investor stats
  • The 9-step shareholder engagement programme

Filed Under: Investor Relations

Webinar Fatigue: Myth Or Reality? (And 9 Steps to Engage Your Audience)

14 April 2022 by companywebcast

The rise in prominence of remote working has had more than just an effect on internal business operations. External communications strategies have also had to adapt to people’s new ways of working. For example, holding a press conference in a single location and expecting all the journalists you want to engage to travel to that venue seems outdated now.
Even in 2019, 29% of companies that used webinars for marketing were hosting between 50 and 150 events a year. With the COVID-19 pandemic, travel restrictions and social distancing measures in place since then, even that figure seems modest now. In fact, MarketWatch expects the global webinar market to reach 800 million by 2023, a rise of more than 250 million since 2015.
That’s why external comms embraced the webinar and its many benefits, providing virtual and hybrid briefings for the press, shareholders, customers and other stakeholders. However, now there is a concern that this new way of working could lead to what some people are branding ‘webinar fatigue’.

quotes
With webinars becoming an ever more present part of our external comms package, do we really need to beware of webinar fatigue, or is it just a myth? This article offers practical advice to keep your webinar audience engaged and ready to consume your message.

The benefits of webinars for external communication

Webinars have revolutionised the way companies talk to external stakeholders. Here are some of the major benefits:

  • You increase the reach of your message by allowing your audience to attend from wherever they are based. They don’t have to incur transport and accommodation costs, and they only have to clear a window for the actual meeting itself, rather than having to factor in travel time. When it is easier and more convenient to attend, people will be more likely to do so.
  • Webinars also allow you to expand into new territories with low risk. Rather than sending an executive team on a tour of another continent, for example, they can engage the audience from the office and get a better understanding of whether it would be worth travelling in the future to meet in person.
  • Your company can save on travel and accommodation expenses for staff and speakers, as well as the costs of hiring a huge conference hall and providing refreshments.
  • For ESG-conscious companies, the reduction in travel shows a commitment to climate action.
  • Webinars are ideal for gaining leads. 73% of business-to-business (B2B) marketers say webinars bring them high-quality leads.

Is webinar fatigue a myth?

‘Webinar fatigue’ is a phrase used by some people to describe the feeling that some viewers experience after attending numerous video meetings and webinars. It usually refers to a malaise at the thought of attending more online events. But is this the fault of the webinar itself?


If you spend time in uninspiring webinars, of course, you will begin to tire of them and dread the next one. Just like an unsatisfactory face-to-face in-person meeting would lead to similar outcomes relating to in-person events. However, if you are engaged, interested and gain value from attending a webinar, you are more likely to welcome the idea of more webinars.
Webinar fatigue is a myth because not all webinars cause it. It is more accurately described as ‘disappointing meeting’ fatigue.
The problem is that some webinars are unengaging and disorganised, or they are simply not tailored to an online audience whose needs are different from an in-person crowd. It is not enough to simply open a standard video conferencing program, invite attendees and start talking. Professional and engaging webinars take planning and thought to ensure they keep their audience interested in them and, therefore, the message they are trying to convey. It is important you have an awareness about webinar fatigue being related to the product and the presentation, not the platform or the medium.


Your virtual meetings need to feel professional and special so that they are not a chore to attend, but instead create a valuable experience for your target audience. This is how you prevent attendees from experiencing the feeling that has been branded as webinar fatigue.

The 9 steps to engage your audience and avoid webinar fatigue

1. Pick the right time for your event

The right timing is key for engagement and combating fatigue. There are factors to consider, such as whether there are other similar events happening on the same day. If they are aimed at some of the same people, those attendees might have to hop from one webinar straight into another, which can fuel fatigue.
In addition, if you have key attendees in another timezone, you don’t want to make them wake too early or stay up too late to hear your message. And then there are factors like not holding the webinar late on a Friday afternoon, when people are thinking about stopping work for the weekend and will not appreciate having to concentrate on your event before they can do that.
It needs to be a comfortable experience for attendees if they are going to enjoy it.

2. Connect with your audience

Audiences want value. They are not obliged to sit at their digital device and consume your messaging; you have to give them a reason to want to listen.
Understand who your audience is, what value you want them to take away with them and how you want them to interact with your company. Whether it is a shareholder engagement event or a press conference for industry journalists, you should tailor your webinar content to that audience specifically. Think about what they are interested in and cut out any information that is not relevant to the stakeholders in attendance.
If everything you present is relevant, you will make that connection and retain engagement more easily.

3. Use storytelling

Humans have told stories to each other for centuries. There are cave paintings from 30,000BC that depict rituals and hunting stories. This is because we love to hear stories. They capture our imagination and help us to make sense of our world.
Businesses should leverage the power of storytelling in their webinars because that is how you enrapture the audience, guide them through the points you want them to hear and leave them happy with the information they received. You can have your audience imagine the ‘what ifs’ that your product solves in your story, weave in your brand story and sell without it sounding like a sales pitch.
Effective webinars take their viewers on a journey that eradicates the risk of webinar fatigue.

4. Improve broadcasting quality

One of the reasons people invented the concept of webinar fatigue was as a reaction to confusing video conferences. This was happening in the early days of the COVID-19 lockdown when some companies had only just moved online; the speaker image flicked between multiple attendees whenever someone coughed, and no one knew where the mute button was.
To prevent such frustrating experiences at your webinars, you can use a professional platform like Company Webcast. This enables you to create a studio-grade online broadcast with subtitles, graphics, high-quality vision and sound, and slick presentation tools. With a professional look, you instantly improve the experience for attendees and allow them to focus on listening to what you have to say.

5. Share helpful resources

With a webinar, you can send attendees all the resources you mention directly to them as the event happens. They have them stored in their inbox, ready to use when they need them. They don’t have to write them down and look them up later; they hear about the benefits of these resources and instantly gain access, receiving real value for their time.

6. Make your slides simple

Your presenter and your slideshow are two separate factors for the success of your webinar. They should complement each other, not distract from each other. If your slides are cluttered, your audience will spend the time they are on screen trying to decipher them and not listening to your webinar host or hosts.
Slides should illustrate the presenter’s point and give a visual representation of the key points. You should not use large amounts of text, and you certainly shouldn’t just duplicate the presenter’s script — that would be an unnecessary detail that will distract from what is important. Too much writing makes for a boring presentation and can make your attendees switch off.

7. Include different types of media

Using a variety of media helps to hold the interest of your audience. Simply showing graph after graph can become tedious, but showing a graph, then a video, then an infographic, then a photograph keeps it interesting for the eye and maintains engagement.

8. Light it up with humour

Using humour can be effective in maintaining the thrall of the audience. Laughter is one of the universals in life, as it is a release and a communal experience. It improves the mood and keeps you engaged with the person delivering the humour. These are all great qualities if you want to combat webinar fatigue and increase audience engagement.
A well-placed and pitched joke here and there certainly adds to the experience for the audience, but you do need to be careful. The jokes you use must be appropriate for the audience in terms of their age, background and beliefs. If you are trying to sell products or promote your business, you don’t want to risk alienating those in attendance.
Similarly, you should remember that your brand can come across as jovial, but must never be the butt of the joke. British businessman Gerald Ratner discovered this to his peril in 1991 when he jokingly told a conference of the Institute of Directors that his jewellery company’s products were “total crap”. Ratners Group lost £500 million from its value following the fallout of the speech.

9. Make it interactive

An engaging webinar is not a monologue but a conversation. One way to achieve this is by making the most of the interactive features of a webinar platform, such as Company Webcast. Rather than attendees sitting passively as the presenter talks, you can take the opportunity to set up polls for attendees to vote on. You can ask questions relating to the topic or subject of the event and then update the audience with the results later on.
Attendees can also submit questions that the presenters can answer, allowing them to dig deeper and gain even more insight from the event. If they feel an active part of the meeting, they will be more likely to enjoy it.

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FAQs

How to know if fatigue affects your audience?

You can tell if your audience is feeling fatigued by the webinar when they start to leave the event. Remember, using a webinar as an external communication tool is not the issue — it is the way a webinar is developed and presented. If you find you are losing audience members, you need to review your presentation and try to work out why people are not engaging with it.

How many days in advance should you announce a webinar?

You need to give people enough warning about your webinar so that their calendar does not get filled up in advance. At least two weeks is a good timescale to announce your event. Any more and they might sign up and forget about it. Any less and they could have too much on their plate. Send out an initial email and then retarget those who have not responded a week ahead of the event to remind them that it is happening.

Should you follow up after the event?

Following up after a webinar helps you work on those leads you generated with the event. They have had time to go away and think about what they saw and consider your proposal so it makes sense to talk to them again. You can also gain valuable feedback on your virtual event so you can tweak it and improve it further.

Conclusion

Webinar fatigue is a phrase that you will hear being used, but it doesn’t tell the whole story. Webinars are a hugely popular and beneficial tool for businesses in their external communications. However, bad web-based meetings are an issue. They disappoint and irritate viewers, something which is obviously damaging for the host brand.
Combating webinar fatigue is actually a question of improving your audience’s experience and increasing the appeal and value of your webinars. If you deliver an excellent presentation and include your attendees in it, no one will be fatigued by your webinar.
Company Webcast’s high-end webinar solution is trusted by major corporations who want to look and sound professional and take advantage of interactive features that bring the event to life. Request a demo of Company Webcast today.

References and Further Reading

  • Video conferencing presenting tips
  • How to create a winning external comms strategy
  • 12 steps to a successful webinar
  • The benefits of webinars
  • What does a webinar cost?

Filed Under: External Communications

7 Key Strategies For Promoting Sustainability In The Workplace

18 February 2022 by companywebcast

Increased awareness of the climate crisis has led to a boost in the levels of responsible investing since the 2016 Paris Agreement. With a combination of evermore desperate news about the rise in world temperatures and the increase in shareholder funds flowing towards environmental, social and governance (ESG)-related assets – expected to hit US$53 trillion (€48.8 trillion) by 2025 – it is no surprise that companies are interested in promoting sustainability in the workplace.

However, both internal and external stakeholders demand authenticity when it comes to the environmental programmes of businesses. Accusations of greenwashing – erroneously branding something environmentally friendly when it isn’t – can be damaging for a company, so you have to commit to sustainability in everything you do.

This means getting your own house in order, so to speak, and creating an environmentally conscious workplace. This article explains why and how to go about creating a sustainable workplace.

Why engage employees in sustainability?

When you try to build a company culture, you need buy-in from all parties, starting with senior leadership and moving on to all other employees in the organisation. This does not happen by dictating how internal stakeholders will behave but rather by engaging with them and winning over their hearts and minds.

If you want people to adopt environmentally friendly practices in the workplace, they need to understand what they need to do and why they need to do it. They must believe in the vision that the organisation has and want to work to fashion it into reality.

Staff engagement on sustainability involves a two-way conversation about the best ways your company can cut out damaging practices and integrate sustainability into the working day seamlessly. If employees help shape the policies, they will be more willing to implement them and work at them until they become successful.

Instil a green(er) culture

Company culture is key to driving positive changes, so the first step to promoting sustainability is to promote a green culture within the organisation. Here are some ways to achieve this goal:

Update your mission statement

Your mission statement holds your business responsible for delivering on its promises, so creating a sustainability statement is essential to show you are serious about green issues.

Be clear and concise in your statement, explaining why sustainability matters to your business, what you want to accomplish and what your success criteria will be. It should appeal to all staff and provide them with a rallying call to help the business meet its aims.

Update your company newsletter

Your company newsletter is one of your biggest internal communications channels and should be utilised to update employees on your sustainability push. Showing staff what you want to achieve and documenting your efforts to make a real change helps them to understand your policies more clearly and see that you are serious about your targets.

Sharing your goals and results can inspire employees to set up their own green working practices and provide recognition for those who are already doing their part.

Run employee awareness campaigns

It must be clear to employees how they can improve their sustainable working practices before your strategy can bear fruit. This means running campaigns to raise awareness of what practical steps they can take. For example:

AimPractice

More efficient recycling

Signage explaining clearly which common materials found in your offices, kitchens and other common areas can and cannot be recycled and how to do so.

Lower energy consumption

Screensaver messages on office computers providing tips on ways to reduce energy consumption (turning off the lights, reducing the use of air conditioning, etc.)

Source ideas from employees

Your employees are a great pool of ideas. With so many experiences combined, asking them to share ideas for green activities to increase your sustainability should generate a large number of suggestions.

In addition, having been engaged in the process, they will feel valued and have one more reason to get behind the green strategy that you intend to implement.

Host sustainability workshops

Sending emails and other written communications about your sustainability plans is a good start, but some people are kinaesthetic learners and need to engage in practical activities to really take them on board.

A workshop environment can really bring to life the strategies that you want to put in place and help your employees understand how they benefit them and the world in general.

7 key strategies for promoting sustainability in the workplace

1. Encourage remote and hybrid work

Researchers in Spain have found that implementing remote working for two, three or four days a week can cut the amount of Nitrogen Dioxide polluting the air by 4%, 8% and 10% respectively. Nitrogen Dioxide can irritate the eyes, nose, throat and lungs and worse — areas with particularly high levels of NO2 report increases in cases of asthma and more people requiring hospital stays for respiratory complaints.

By encouraging employees to work from home full time or on a hybrid basis, you can help to improve the air quality in your local area. And it is not only beneficial to have employees dialling in to complete their regular work; there are many areas of the business which you can take online in order to cut your environmental impact. Here are some examples:

AreaHow to perform remotely

Company town hall meetings

Present in a fully virtual or hybrid format with some employees in-person and others watching online through a  professional webcasting platform. This allows staff working remotely or utilising flexible working to attend without travelling to the venue.

Board meetings

Use a board portal to take board meetings online. The portal allows them to collaborate from anywhere and use the video function to attend the virtual meeting.

Investor relations events

Whether it’s an online roadshow or a cutting-edge experience, such as the ESG Days  we’ve been organising at Company Webcast, there is a lot you can do with virtual and hybrid events to engage your current and potential shareholders. A great benefit of this is that you eradicate the need to send executives out on the road.

2. Go paperless

Paperless technologies are becoming ever more effective for organisations, allowing them to cut their carbon footprint. Taking advantage of programs like Google Workspace, on which you can collaborate in the cloud, means that it is entirely feasible for organisations to cut down on their use of paper, and even eradicate it completely.

And, for the environment, that is great news. It takes a lot of energy and water to produce paper, not to mention the problems that deforestation brings. The World Counts states that “from 2001 to 2019, a total of 386 million hectares of forest were lost globally (in all forest types combined). This loss represents an almost 10% decrease in tree cover since 2000”. In addition, paper accounts for around 26% of total waste at landfills. Still, offices across the world are using trillions of sheets every year.

This is not necessary. With all of the digital tools at our disposal, it is easy to at least reduce the amount of paper that your organisation uses.

3. Conserve energy

In large companies, it is common to waste energy. Employees might leave their computers on overnight, for example. Simply shutting them down at the end of the day, rather than leaving them on standby, could save a significant amount of energy when you consider implementing this policy across a large business.

Other ways to save energy in the office include turning down the thermostat or reducing the power of the air conditioning, depending on the season. As long as the room temperature is still comfortable, even slight adjustments can conserve energy and lessen your impact on the environment.

4. Conserve water

Water is a precious resource and we should ensure we do not waste it unnecessarily. With the effects of climate change becoming ever more pronounced, we must guard against droughts and ensure we use the resources that we have wisely.

In an office, you could install waterless urinals and encourage employees to fill a sink when washing up in the kitchen, rather than keeping the taps running as they wash. You can also check for leaks in the plumbing of the building and collect rainwater to water any green areas you have and more.

5. Encourage sustainable transportation

The European Environment Agency states that “transport…leads to releases of pollutants, which can spread beyond the reach of transport networks. They can contribute to background concentrations of particulate matter, ozone and nitrogen dioxide, affecting people, plants and animals. Some areas, including mountainous regions, coastal zones and seas, can be particularly vulnerable to pollution from transport.”

Cutting down on the amount of travelling your employees do for work, particularly by car or aeroplane, is important for your sustainability. You could encourage car sharing for employees commuting to the office or incentivise cycling or walking to work.

Another way to cut down on the impact of transportation relating to your business is to encourage remote or hybrid practices. Taking meetings online, rather than travelling to attend them, is a much more sustainable way of working. For example, using Company Webcast’s professional webinar platform to host events, such as all-hands meetings and training sessions, is a way to eradicate unnecessary travel.

6. Reduce, Reuse, Recycle

An environmental mindset is key to becoming more sustainable, and advocating Reduce, Reuse, Recycle as a mantra is part of this.

You should have intuitive recycling processes on-site so that recyclable materials go to recycling plants, not to landfills. Encouraging employees to use only what they need, whether that is water for hot drinks or electricity when charging devices is also important, as is reusing materials and resources when there is still life in them, rather than throwing them away.

7. Become involved in the community

Your quest for sustainability does not need to end at the lobby of your building. You can show your commitment to the environment by getting out into the local community and becoming involved with environmental projects on your doorstep.

You could plant trees, clean up the local river or parkland, go litter picking or do any other activity that makes your community a better place and helps protect the environment for other people.

8. Light it up with humour

Using humour can be effective in maintaining the thrall of the audience. Laughter is one of the universals in life, as it is a release and a communal experience. It improves the mood and keeps you engaged with the person delivering the humour. These are all great qualities if you want to combat webinar fatigue and increase audience engagement.
A well-placed and pitched joke here and there certainly adds to the experience for the audience, but you do need to be careful. The jokes you use must be appropriate for the audience in terms of their age, background and beliefs. If you are trying to sell products or promote your business, you don’t want to risk alienating those in attendance.
Similarly, you should remember that your brand can come across as jovial, but must never be the butt of the joke. British businessman Gerald Ratner discovered this to his peril in 1991 when he jokingly told a conference of the Institute of Directors that his jewellery company’s products were “total crap”. Ratners Group lost £500 million from its value following the fallout of the speech.

Why sustainability in the office is the future

Your external and internal stakeholders are more invested in sustainability than ever before, and that will only increase with the next generation. This is not a fleeting trend that will go away; it is here to stay, and the only way to future-proof your business is to embrace it.

Not only is it the right thing to do when the data shows that the environment needs our help like never before, but it is essential for your business reputation, too. Consumers and investors have shown they are more inclined to think fondly of sustainable organisations than those that do not have environmental policies in place.

In addition, the cost savings from cutting down on transport and reducing your energy consumption can add up to a significant amount. With these powerful arguments in favour of sustainability, now is the time to engage your employees and empower them to do the right thing.

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FAQs

Do employees prefer sustainable companies?

77% of workers would like their company to be more sustainable, according to the 2021 Corporate Climate Crisis report from PLAY. Companies must take sustainability seriously in order to placate not only investors and customers but also employees.

Should you set sustainability targets for employees?

Implementing sustainability targets can add some clarity to the role that employees play in helping a business be more environmentally friendly. However, good internal communications for spreading the word of the organisation’s green policies also helps to this end, meaning that targets are only part of the answer.

Conclusion

Encouraging sustainability in the workplace requires engagement with employees and good internal communication. It is a two-way street that involves canvassing opinions and then working with employees to develop systems and strategies that will have an impact on the way you look after the environment.

Taking meetings and training sessions online or in a hybrid format is a key element of this. You can achieve this with Company Webcast’s secure, professional webcasting platform. You can try a free demo of Company Webcast now.

References and Further Reading

  • How to find the most efficient internal communications channels
  • How to upgrade your internal communications strategy
  • How to deal with investors’ increased interest in ESG
  • Why your organisation’s ESG rating is increasingly important
  • How sustainability is linked to strategic management

Filed Under: Internal Communications

Creative AGM Presentation Ideas To Engage Your Shareholders

11 February 2022 by companywebcast

Your investor relations strategy can be key to the success of your organisation. Indeed, 91% of investors say that they prioritise companies who provide board-level engagement, as they find it the most effective way for them to influence board policies. The Annual General Meeting (AGM) is the perfect opportunity to engage your shareholders, which is why we have compiled these AGM presentation ideas to help you communicate more effectively with your investors.  

Rather than seeing an AGM as an annoying obligation to tick off every year, organisations can use it to prove their shareholder transparency credentials and to create ever-closer ties with those who invest in them. After all, operating in a manner that meets your investors’ approval is surely beneficial to the business, and the only way to find out what they approve of is to engage with them in a deep and meaningful manner. 

Michael Kind, campaign manager at Saver Networks, talks of his disappointment that AGMs tend to be poorly attended and encourages investors to turn up. He sees the future of the AGM as “an opportunity to engage with company stakeholders, and observe how a company responds. We want to see investors make the most of this opportunity – hearing directly from these stakeholders and learning first-hand about a company’s impact.”  

Both parties benefit from greater attendance and engagement at annual meetings, and this article explains how you can achieve that through compelling AGM presentations.  

What hurts engagement at AGM presentations? 

If you continually produce uninspiring or basic AGMs, there is a chance that your shareholders will decide not to come. They are likely to have a number of annual meetings to attend within a short space of time, for different companies in their portfolio, and they will prioritise the meetings where they will be most engaged.  

There are a number of reasons why issuers find themselves delivering unengaging AGMs. Here are some of the common ones.  

Time constraints 

As some of the data you want to present at your annual meeting might not be released until 24 to 48 hours before the meeting takes place, there is little time to do much with it apart from presenting it as it stands. With the last-minute preparations ongoing, you just cannot afford to step back and spend valuable hours creating a fantastical experience to present to investors, full of in-depth analysis and slick animations.   

Lack of resources 

Raw data is useful, and you can pick out many relevant statistics for your shareholders. But to truly turn the data that you generate into a compelling story that engages your audience, you need a dedicated data analyst or data communications specialist.  

They have the expertise to be able to analyse your data, interpret it and script it into a compelling narrative that you can then pass on to shareholders. If you do not have either of these types of professionals in-house, it can prove difficult to translate data into something that hooks your attendees.   

Unwillingness to experiment  

It could be that the culture of the company is to play it safe and continue with the systems that it has always used. For example, when the agenda of the AGM remains the same year after year, just with updated data and company information.  

If your AGMs do not generate an acceptable level of attendance or engagement, simply reusing the same format annually will not do anything to arrest that trend.  

Underestimating the AGM as a whole 

The AGM can supersize your marketing efforts. You engage and interest your current shareholders, making them feel part of the family and showing how transparent you are. At the same time, you get to release the presentation publicly afterwards, which is definitely something that potential investors will read before they buy your company’s stock. If your presentation is interesting and appealing, they gain a great first impression of your business.   

How to make a stand-out AGM presentation 

  • Revamp your slides and template

As a very basic measure, looking at the way you present your slides can instantly refresh your presentations. Rather than simply filling empty slides with content as you think of it, develop some templates in which to work. This provides a sense of continuity and coherence to your presentation. It also allows you to develop a brand style that looks professional and really stands out to the audience.  

Remember that this will be seen by people who you want to impress – both your current and potential investors. It is worth taking time to develop templates for data displays, videos, testimonials, informational slides and more. The good thing is that, once you have the templates, you can use them every year, simply by replacing the content.  

Use a professional graphic designer to create something unique to your business. It may mean an outlay initially, but using someone with design experience is worth it in terms of the impression it gives to attendees and the professionalism it provides, plus the ability to reuse.   

  • Make it visual

A large part of an AGM is the visual performance. Your speaker or speakers stand in front of an audience and attempt to engage them with the material they have at hand. Whether you run your AGM online, in person or in a hybrid form, you want attendees to be visually stimulated. 

Your presentation needs to back this up with strong visual elements. Many organisations make the mistake of simply copying out the script into a wall of text on the slide. For a start, if both your slide and your presenter are saying exactly the same thing, one of them is unnecessary.  

The slide decks should illustrate your point, not simply repeat it. How can you represent what you are trying to say in a way that draws the attention of the shareholders? Consider that when developing your presentation. Make the data meaningful for your audience. Your job, or that of your graphic designer, is to communicate your business updates and aid understanding.   

  • Mix up your presentation formats

Going even further, try to break up the corporate presentation with different content types. Part of keeping an audience engaged is continually capturing their attention with changes of pace and style. It is much easier to maintain focus when your brain is kept stimulated by adjusting to different experiences than, for example, when listening to a presenter talk with the same cadence for an hour.  

Different formats also help you reinforce your messages. Here are some examples of how you can utilise them in your presentation:  

 

The great thing is that, once you have produced the pieces of content, you can reuse these key assets for social media marketing in the future too.   

  • Tell an exciting story

Just because you have a set of results that you want to recount does not mean that you should limit yourself to the dry facts. If this is your intention, you could just hand the attendees your annual report and get them to read through it. Instead, you can involve and interest your attendees by telling a story about your business.   

What were the real wins during the last year? How did they happen? What did you learn? Let them see the real beating heart of the company, not just the topline figures. They are investing for results, yes, but offer them an emotional attachment too by taking them on a journey and revealing the human tale behind the corporation.   

  • Invite a guest speaker

Guest speakers can add an extra element to the AGM, providing an interesting, thought-provoking and relevant take on the main messages or on a topic related to your field and the challenges and exciting prospects ahead.  

This turns the meeting into more of an event and provides additional value for attendees, making it a more engaging and rewarding experience. It could be someone from your own organisation who has insight into a new product, for example, or an industry thought leader. Either way, this breaks up the presentation and gives the audience knowledge to take away with them.  

  • Think hybrid

One way to increase engagement for AGM presentations is to make them more accessible. Many take place during the workday, which means that it is difficult to clear a window long enough to attend if someone has to travel a distance to a physical location. If they have multiple meetings to attend, this becomes even more of an issue.   

The past few years have taught IRO professionals that almost all types of events can be held online or in a hybrid form. From Capital Markets Days to half-year results meetings, companies have found new ways to engage their shareholders. So far, the hybrid approach has been shown to provide the perfect balance between engagement and flexibility.  

Presenting an AGM in a hybrid format, where both online and in-person attendees have the same experience, means engaging more investors to watch the event and interact. Taking away the need for travel time and, potentially, accommodation for an overnight stay, can increase attendance. The investor only needs to free up the time for the meeting itself, taking part from their desk. You can reach broader audiences using this method.   

Using Company Webcast’s platform, you can provide online attendees with interactive features during the corporate presentation, such as polls and the ability to vote and ask questions. This allows them to exercise their shareholder rights in a more convenient manner.   

Sample AGM PowerPoint designs 

  • BIC’s 2021 AGM presentation makes great use of graphics, colours and photographs, as well as having a strong visual theme. 
  • Heineken’s 2021 AGM presentation features strong branding throughout and allows flat icons, images and graphics to tell much of the story.  

FAQs 

What are the main challenges of an AGM meeting? 

COVID-19 restrictions, both within countries and in terms of travel between nations, continue to stand in the way of physical attendance in some areas. Remote and hybrid working has become the norm for many people, and they want that convenience in every part of their lives. Only a small section of investors are able to give up full days to travel to and attend AGMs. This is why a hybrid approach benefits both issuers and investors. You get to engage shareholders and they get to have their say.   

There have been, however, some concerns about the security of online activities in relation to the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Within the first weeks of the war, there was a surge of cyberattacks related to the conflict, causing a disruption around the world. Thankfully, Company Webcast takes the security of your AGM webcast very seriously. Our processes and procedures comply with the ISO 27001 standard and associated ISO 27002 requirements. We follow strict uniform policies to protect your webcast and webinar data. Company Webcast complies with the international standard regarding the security of company data we access. 

How long should an AGM presentation be? 

Generally speaking, the annual meeting can be as short or as long as you wish, providing you perform all the necessary actions and cover the most important topics. Many factors will affect the length, including the number of questions being asked, any disagreements, special reports being made and more.   

Remember, too short a presentation and it might feel rushed and superficial. Too long a presentation and you could lose the attention of the audience. This is why it is important to be engaging, so you can keep the audience with you.   

What is a hybrid AGM? 

A hybrid AGM is one that takes place at a physical location but is also open to online attendees. Keep in mind that this isn’t simply recording and streaming your meeting online. A hybrid AGM involves providing the same interactive experience to both online and in-person attendees. This is usually facilitated by a professional webinar provider such as Company Webcast, who can ensure a polished and interactive experience for remote audience members.

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Conclusion 

Being able to engage your shareholders allows you to foster a strong relationship with them. If you keep them interested, they are more likely to support your organisation in difficult times. Laying out the key facts from the annual report in a compelling presentation that holds their attention and generates mutually beneficial feedback is essential, and we hope these AGM presentation ideas will help you do just that.  

Company Webcast takes your annual meeting to the next level, allowing remote participation and many interactive features to keep attendees engaged.   

References and Further Reading 

    • Royal BAM Group online AGM 
    • Video conference presentation tips 
    • Why AGMs are changing 
    • Prepare for the 2022 AGM season 
    • Engage investors digitally
    • How to ace your half-year results meeting 

Filed Under: Investor Relations

How To Create A Winning External Communications Strategy + Example

23 December 2021 by companywebcast

In a world where we are more connected than ever with friends, colleagues, and businesses, it is key to have an external communication strategy that makes you a part of the conversation. If you are not constantly present, you will lose customers to competitors that don’t shy away from making themselves known.

Steve Harvey of creative agency Fabrik Brands in London defines a solid external communication strategy as follows:

“External communication strategies are the methods you use to capture the attention of the public…initiating a conversation with the world that exists beyond your business. That means they include everything from social media marketing to presentations for shareholders and customer service.”

The difference between external communications and targeted marketing campaigns is that the former looks to make the brand known to a larger audience, whereas the latter looks to focus on a specific audience.

However, the more wide-ranging approach can prove difficult to get right. As US-based PR firm, Rave Agency, formulated it:

“Merely communicating your message to a broad audience without any strategy…will likely result in failure. Brands need effective communication to survive. For communication to be effective, a strategy with outlined objectives needs to be established”.

This brings us to the next topic. Let’s find out how you can make a difference for your organisation and create a winning external communication strategy.

What is external communication today?

Your external communication is an attempt to speak to as many people as possible about your business. It needs to reflect what your target audience cares about. With that in mind, it should include the following elements:

Crisis planning

Some organisations handled the pandemic better than others. Firms like the Spanish Banco Santander showed the world their agility and proved their commitment to employee wellbeing. They enabled all 26,000 Spanish staff to work from home before the government even announced a national lockdown. This was a sign of expert crisis planning, which will certainly play a key role in communications strategies across the board, especially following the events of the last two years.

Reintroduction to the audience

The pandemic has changed the way most of us live and work. We interact with brands differently than we did prior to March 2020, so now is the time to reintroduce yourself as a business. Even if you can no longer rely on the loyalty of customers from before the coronavirus era, there are opportunities to appeal to many people who might be new to your brand.

Sustainability

Issues of sustainability are high in the minds of customers, and you need to show them that you are on the same page. This was confirmed by a recent McKinsey study:

 “European consumers want a stronger focus on sustainability and the environment—and they want industry stakeholders to act accordingly.”

If you are going to sway consumers towards your brand, you must show them how you are embracing a more green, environmentally friendly way of working and how you envisage it affecting the battle against climate change and similar risk factors.

Diversity and inclusion

The murder of George Floyd by a white police officer in Minneapolis in the US brought the subject of racial segregation back into sharp focus. From that incident and the ensuing Black Lives Matter protests, the discussion widened to include questions of where society is in terms of diversity and inclusion. This sparked debates not just about race, but about gender equality, treatment of those with disabilities, LGBTQ rights and more.

It makes sense that a business should reflect the society in which it works and the broad customer base it wishes to attract. Therefore, diversity and inclusion will form an ever more important element of external comms.

How to develop an external communication strategy

1. Define your mission statement

Your mission statement is the North Star of your communications strategy. It guides you in the right direction. Whenever you develop a message to send out into the world, you should check that it aligns with the values and goals instilled in your mission statement and you will achieve the consistency you need.

2. Define the objective

Work out what you want to achieve with your strategy. It could be that you want to bring in more customers, but it could also be for brand-building or another reason altogether. You should understand why you are communicating so you can work out how to achieve that objective.

3. Know your audience

External communications typically target a broad audience but, within that, you need to focus on the different groups you want to talk to. It is not a ‘one size fits all’ situation. You need different types of website content or advertising copy to talk to your investors compared to your customers. Both are important to consider in your strategy, but both want to hear different information and in a different manner. Remember who you are communicating with before you send out any message.

Analyse your organisation’s current situation

To know how to move forward, you need to understand where you are now. There are three key elements to help you assess your current situation. They are:

  • PEST Factors – These are the political, economic, social, and technological elements that could affect your business, positively or negatively. Work out how you would handle a change in any of them so you can be agile if the change does occur.
  • SWOT Factors – What are your strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats? How can you communicate your strengths, fix your weaknesses, make the most of your opportunities and turn threats into more opportunities?
  • Competitors – Rank yourself against your competitors as objectively as you can. How do you compare? What are they doing that you are not and vice versa?

Establish your tone of voice

The best external communications plans are instantly recognisable as coming from the brand in question. That’s why you need to develop a tone of voice in your messages that sums up what your brand is and does, in a way that engages with the people you want to talk to. Don’t copy your competitors. Make it your own.

Choose the right platforms to distribute

There is no point in trying to employ the same key messages over every available platform and network. It is not an efficient use of time, and you should instead concentrate on the outlets that will best reach the audiences you want to engage with.

For customers, these might be your blog articles, social media profiles such as Facebook, Instagram or Twitter, podcasts, stories based on your press releases. For investors, you might try videos, newsletters or webinars, for example.

Involve customers and employees

Both customers and employees can be great ambassadors for your business. They have access to social media where they can provide word-of-mouth recommendations.

A happy customer sharing their experience online can be indispensable to your external comms. Their friends, family and followers will trust their first-hand experience more than any type of branded message.

Your employees have the inside scoop on the business, so their recommendation shows others that they are proud to work in the organisation.

Determine how to measure success

To understand how successful your strategy is, you need to be able to measure your progress towards your goals. Otherwise, you will not know when to keep going with a plan and when to change course for a more effective external communication strategy. Pick KPIs that will allow you to measure the impact of your communication strategy.

Tips to improve your external communications strategy

Be relatable

Customers like to feel that they are heard and seen, so try to put yourself in their shoes when communicating with them. Investors want to know that you understand their hopes and fears, too. Listen to both audiences and learn about their concerns, their interests and how they feel. Then, reflect that in your messaging.

This shouldn’t be a one-way street. Be sure to respond to feedback so that it becomes a conversation, and your stakeholders feel included.

Know the value of repetition

You want to make sure that people remember your brand’s message, so you must keep putting it in front of them. Sometimes, it’s as simple as that. However, this requires you to constantly look for new ways to communicate that message so that you don’t annoy your audience.

Keep it simple and short

People are busy. They don’t want to read through reams of reports or listen to podcasts that last longer than their commute. They also don’t want to have to spend additional time trying to understand jargon and unnecessary technical language.

Your messages should be short, to the point and easy to understand. You are trying to spread the word about your brand, not overwhelm people with unnecessary information.

Always deliver value

It can be a massive turn-off to be the target of an external communications campaign from a business that offers no value. It is instantly forgettable if it adds nothing to the recipient. You won’t be successful if the message doesn’t interest them, make them think, solve a problem, provide them with social currency to pass on to their friends or have some other way of making them feel that they were enriched by reading, watching, or listening to it.

Align internal and external communications

When you attempt to create a consistent brand identity for your business, it needs the input of both internal and external stakeholders. There is no point in creating a brand image externally, only for customers to engage with employees and find that this company culture is only an image. Everyone needs to buy into your message to make it authentic.

If you communicate your brand values internally in the workplace, they will be seen by an external audience too. Employees need to feel that the messages the company puts out reflect their experience too to act as brand ambassadors for the business.

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Conclusion

Creating a cohesive external communication strategy can be a challenge but it is incredibly valuable. With so much choice in the market, customers and investors need to know what you stand for, how you can improve their lives and why they should shop with you or buy your shares. Standing out from the crowd is key, as is making sure you communicate with stakeholders using the external communication channels most likely to reach them and listening to what they have to say too.

Hopefully, we have helped you come up with some ideas on how to move forward. If you want to engage customers and shareholders with quality, secure and professional video communications, try Company Webcast.

References and Further Reading

  • About Company Webcast
  • Virtual conference room
  • Communication strategies for CEOs
  • Communication failures
  • Internal and external communication issues
  • Webinars for Investor Relations

Filed Under: External Communications

How To Organise And Run a Virtual Capital Markets Day

22 November 2021 by companywebcast

As more aspects of our everyday lives go online, both professionally and recreationally, it makes sense to embrace a virtual Capital Markets Day (CMD). Communicating over the internet is a natural occurrence for us today and the technology now exists to make it accessible and valuable.

Many companies are already leading the way by taking their CMDs online. Here are two examples:

  • Bpost – the Belgian postal group had 26 people physically attend a recent CMD, with a further 166 watching online.
  • Aalberts NV – The Dutch manufacturer had approximately 60 people physically present at their CMD, with 354 online webcast viewers. This meant they reached around 70% of their total target group of approximately 500 (potential) investors.

quotes
Read this article to find out the benefits of holding a virtual Capital Markets Day, the different formats available and how to organise a successful online CMD.

Why organise a virtual Capital Markets Day?

There are a host of benefits to organising a virtual Capital Markets Day but here are the most important ones.

Increased attendance

By offering the chance for investors, analysts, journalists and employees to watch the Capital Markets Day event online, you can reach more people than with an in-person event. Attendees don’t have to take time off work, travel to the event or book accommodation. They can access the webcast at home, in the office or anywhere else they like. If they don’t catch the presentations live, they can watch them on-demand later to view the video in their own time.

At Company Webcast, we have found that the average CMD event was attended in-person by 43 people, with 411 online viewers. Taking into account the proportions of analysts, current investors and potential investors (as opposed to employees), within both types of audiences, we found that a webcast reached 4.2 times more of these key attendees than a solely in-person event would have.

Improved global reach

Not only can a virtual CMD help reach more people within your home country, but it can also increase your reach across the world. Our recent research found that this helps spread your message beyond country borders and is one of the reasons why 95% of CMDs are held in English.

A webcast maximises the ROI of your CMD as it exposes more potential investors to your IR message.

Reveal more about the business

Your investors may have access to your CFO and CEO at roadshows and other events, but the CMD is the opportunity to introduce them to more members of your management team who can pass on relevant information about their roles and projects.

Steps to organise virtual Capital Markets Days

1. Choose the format

There are three different ways to create a virtual Capital Markets Day. You should choose the format that works best for you and the individual requirements of your organisation. Here are the options:

  • On-demand only: The CMD takes place at a venue during the day and the video of the event goes online afterwards. This allows more people to find out what happens, but they have to wait until after the physical attendees have heard the update before receiving the information themselves.

  • Online only: The CMD is held at a location of the organisation’s choosing, usually their premises. If you’re using Company Webcast, the event can also be streamed from one of our state-of-the-art studios, with attendees joining remotely.

  • Hybrid: The CMD is held at a specific venue where investors and analysts can attend in person. There is also a live webcast of the event that people can access remotely at the time. Furthermore, attendees can catch up on the event at a later date if they wish.

2. Decide on the structure of the event

A CMD is your opportunity to detail your strategy, show investors and potential investors how you will add value to their shareholding and allow them to meet management  figures that they might not otherwise get to know at other events.

You should carefully pick which information you want to share, who will speak and if there is a theme you would like to explore for the event. Considering the increasing interest in ESG, you might want to concentrate on this topic and how it relates to your future decision making, for instance.

You might have, for example, a section where you analyse recent performance, another to discuss goals and targets, and yet another to go over the strategy for achieving them. You should also allow time for questions and answers so your online audience can interact with you.

3. Inviting analysts and investors

It goes without saying that you should invite analysts and investors to join your CMD. Send them your invitation, detailing when the event will take place and how to access it, whether that is physically or virtually.

Make sure you give them an idea of the content of the presentations that will take place on the day of the event, as well as the theme or message that you want to promote during the event. You should also add details of how they can sign up to attend either the in-person event or online.

Send this information out to the analysts and investors you are targeting or want to engage. It’s also a great idea to post it on your website and social media for others to find.

4. Make registration easy

The Capital Markets Day is your opportunity to present your story, successes and strategies to your current and potential shareholders as well as to sell-side analysts. The platform you use for your virtual CMD should be easy to use and register with so that you can engage as many people as possible.

5. Issue a press release

You can explore the main points of the CMD in a press release that you issue just before the event. It tells the media more about what you are going to discuss and announce in the presentation, pulling out the most noteworthy points and highlighting them.

It’s a good idea to include quotes from relevant members of your team to help journalists add colour to their stories. You can also provide access to the webcast for the press so that they can find out more from the presentation itself and ask questions to clarify any points.

Send this to all the relevant journalists in your industry’s press to make sure you have the best chance of earning coverage for your event.

6. Measure the impact

The final step is to evaluate the effect of your online Capital Markets Day. Was it a success? Was the audience able to actively participate? Did the virtual event have a positive effect on analysts’ perceptions? Were more investors attracted?

There are many questions to ask at this point and answering them depends entirely on the solution you have chosen.

If you are using Company Webcast, you have access to Euronext’s proprietary data, which makes it easy to see the big picture. Besides the usual attendance statistics, you can also measure your company’s market performance and analyse market participants following your virtual CMD or any other digital investor relations activities.

Best practices for virtual Capital Markets Days

Choose the right topics for discussion

There are many topics that you will want to present to your audience on your investor day, including those areas in which you are excelling. But you should also consider what investors are interested in and what concerns them about the issuers they buy shares from.

Environmental, Social and Corporate Governance (ESG) matters are high in the minds of many investors. So much so that the world’s largest asset manager, BlackRock, is actively voting against or threatening to vote against directors of issuers it says have failed to address climate change adequately. Executive compensation is also high on the list of topics investors are interested in.

Research what matters to your targeted shareholders across all of the different territories and be sure to focus on that during the CMD.

Prepare and rehearse

A fully virtual event means your presenters are not in the same room as the audience, but they still need to prepare to the best of their ability. If anything, the Q&A section of the webcast can be more active, meaning there is more opportunity for them to be wrongfooted by a question out of leftfield. This is why it’s important to rehearse and explore the questions attendees could potentially ask.

It’s equally important to check if your hardware and software are working properly. A rehearsal allows you to work out the optimum camera angles, ensure the best sound and make the lighting perfect. Besides, the presenters might not be used to the technology at hand during a virtual Capital Markets Day, so running through the event will help ease their worries.

Remember the branding

“Companies holding virtual capital markets days need to think like TV show producers to keep the audience engaged.” — Vladimir Zaluzhsky, Head of Communications and IR, Severstal

Your brand will be in the spotlight and you need to make sure everything that happens during the CMD fits in with your corporate image. This includes having consistency with the backgrounds that you use for each speaker and displaying your company logo on the screen.

This is why Company Webcast’s studios come with a green screen. You can overlay any colour or image you like, as well as take advantage of our professional sound, lighting and crew.

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Conclusion

Holding a virtual Capital Markets Day is a great way to share your story and vision with your retail investors, institutional investors and analysts. It provides the opportunity to reach more people because the attendees don’t have to book annual leave, travel to the event or find accommodation.

Our experience shows that more and more companies are choosing to webcast their CMD or transform it into a hybrid event. This way, they can get more of the important people to watch their proceedings live and re-watch the recorded stream later. But, most of all, they are able to increase their reach beyond country borders, build trust in their brand and solidify their presence on the international market.

If you want to learn more about the possibilities that a virtual Capital Markets Day could bring, request a demo of Company Webcast’s platform.

References and further reading

  • Webcast information
  • How much does a webcast cost?
  • Company Webcast Testimonials
  • Aalberts Capital Markets Day

Filed Under: Investor Relations

How to Find the Most Effective Internal Communication Channels for Your Organisation

1 November 2021 by companywebcast

McKinsey found that teams who are better connected can be up to 25% more productive. In addition, 80% of workers in a survey by Lexicon admitted that employee communications are a key factor in them developing trust in their employers. These and many other studies show why knowing how to choose appropriate channels for workplace communication is essential for teams.

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However, it is not as easy as simply deciding to improve communication lines in the workplace. There are multiple options to choose from, each of which brings different benefits and drawbacks. This article explains all you need to know about the types of workplace communication channels you could implement and how to decide if they are right for your organisation.

Considering that 60% of companies do not have a long-term strategy for internal communications, creating one can help you gain a competitive edge from the increase in productivity and employee retention rates that come with it. Keep reading to find out about the best communication channels for businesses.

What are communication channels in the workplace?

Communication channels in the workplace are used to pass on important news and information from business leaders to team members. This keeps everyone in the loop with the latest developments, issues, opportunities and more.

These channels form part of your internal communications strategy. Effective internal connectivity has never been more important than now. When you consider the sheer numbers of employees that began remote working during the COVID-19 pandemic and may never return to the office, you can see that there is a risk of silos forming where some departments have no idea what other departments are up to. Internal comms help to prevent that from happening.

The most common internal communication channels

Intranets

An intranet is like a website that is based on an internal network so that only employees of an organisation can access it. It is used to distribute secure communications within the business and as learning resources.

Emails and company newsletters

Companies can distribute information internally using regular company emails. This might include a round-up of important information, sent in a monthly newsletter, for example.

Project management tools

Apps such as Monday, Asana, Height and Trello are collaborative tools for managing projects but you can also use them for internal communication. You can employ these platforms to distribute tasks to team members, provide essential information and track the progress at the different settings.

Private messaging software

Using software like WhatsApp or Slack enables you to send private messages to individuals or groups of colleagues. Each project or department can have its own channel or group for more specific information, with larger groups for the company as a whole.

Document sharing software

Document sharing is also part of internal communications because it enables you to share important documents such as a company handbook or compliance policy. While it’s easy to share large files and documents between co-workers using apps such as Dropbox or WeTransfer, a cloud-based solution will ensure that everyone has the latest version. For example, if you want to enable directors to share important documents during virtual or hybrid board meetings, you can utilise a board portal such as iBabs.

Video conferencing software

Broadcasting internal video conferences is an effective way to impart information and company updates to staff. You can take traditional company town hall meetings online, for example, allowing remote workers to attend.

Employees can watch video conferencing live, wherever they are. This helps include those who work remotely, those who are travelling for work and those who are uncomfortable with attending large gatherings. In addition, anyone who misses the meeting when it happens can catch up later on-demand. This is also a useful archived resource for reference in the future.

Internal podcasts

Some companies share internal communication podcasts with team members, using them as a way of updating information and sharing other relevant content.

Internal company blogs

Having employees share their thoughts on various important topics related to the company’s business on an internal blog keeps everyone informed and provides opportunities for collaboration.

Employee feedback software

When employers want to gather information on the thoughts and opinions of their employees, using feedback forms and surveys is a great way of performing the task in a digital manner.

Internal social media

Enterprise social media platforms such as Meta Workplace and Yammer bring the convenience of public social interaction to businesses.

Workplace communication channels: Comparison table

ChannelProsCons

Intranet

Cost-effective to set up Convenience of all information in one place Supports remote work

Holding all company information in one place is a security threat Needs someone dedicated to keeping it updated Easy to ignore by employees Risk of information overload

Emails & company newsletters

Free to use Accessible from anywhere Alerts all users on arrival of new information in inbox

Mailboxes can be packed with too much information Easy to ignore Multiple messages in one day can disrupt work

Project management tools

Easy to track project progress Encourages collaboration Easy for employees to see the bigger picture

Can feel like you are being micromanaged with constant updates on progress Difficult to stay on top of giving the right permissions to the correct people to avoid unauthorised co-workers seeing sensitive information Can be costly to set up for larger businesses

Private messaging software

Can chat in real-time Available anywhere on most devices

Instant nature means you don’t have time to reflect on an answer before you send a response Text messages can get lost in a fast-moving conversation Easy to get caught up in work issues outside of office hours

Document sharing software

Easy collaboration Everyone has access to the latest version of documents in the cloud Transparency as you can see the version history

Too many voices having their say can slow down progress, especially if they offer conflicting input Often reliant on internet connection Vulnerable to hackers

Video conferencing software

Allows for visual face-to-face communication so you can gauge body language Employees can attend live events wherever they are Saving on venue hire costs for meetings and events

Don’t get to socialise with colleagues as you would at an in-person event Potential for technical problems with the stream

Internal podcasts

Workers can listen when performing other tasks Popular form of media consumption

Colleagues may feel pressure to catch up outside of work hours For workplaces used to face-to-face comms, podcasts can seem disconnected

Internal company blogs

Simple way of sharing knowledge Can help with communication across teams

Employees could use to rant about issues, causing a dip in morale Requires team members to make an effort to keep up to date

Employee feedback software

Get instant reactions to take the temperature of the workforce Employees feel like they have a voice

People might not fully disclose feelings for fear of repercussions Multiple choice surveys do not allow for detailed answers

Internal social media

Helps develop internal working relationships Transparency on what other teams are doing

Maintaining the network is labour intensive Can affect productivity

How to choose the right communication channel

1. Understand your team

The right communication channel is the one that suits your team, how they work and what you want to communicate with them, so you should first consider your prevailing company culture. Implementing a channel that is far removed from what your employees are used to could lead to friction from those who are change-averse.

2. Consider your message

If you merely want to improve your workflow, a project management tool is right for you, but for instant collaboration, you will need to pair it with a document sharing app. You may want to pick different channels for different purposes. For example, there may be one channel for company updates and another for collaborative purposes.

3. Consider the type of communication

Different types of communication are suitable for different situations. Studies show that we remember 10% of what we hear, 20% of what we read and 80% of what we see. This makes video communication particularly effective. However, audio is preferable for employees who spend their time on the road, so it is worth considering how your team works and lives when deciding how best to communicate with them.

4. Take a look at your budget

Money is always an important factor in any business decision. This will play a part in your decision-making over your internal comms strategy. Using a WhatsApp group, for example, is free for instant messages, whereas putting together your own professional-sounding podcast can come with a bill that you might not be willing to pay.

Tips for effective workplace or team communication

Have more than one channel for communication

It is unlikely that any single workplace communication channel will serve all of your needs, so be prepared to implement two or more into your strategy. You might choose to use video conferencing for major company meetings and a company newsletter for weekly updates.

Assign someone to be in charge of each communication channel

Your communication channels require management to make sure they continue to serve a purpose. You may need a moderator for internal social media or to make sure your business WhatsApp doesn’t descend into a non-business related chat thread, for instance.

Document your communication plan

Whichever types of communications channels you choose, you should create a plan for how they should (and shouldn’t) be used, how they will be maintained and what their purpose is. Otherwise, they will not be as effective and team members could be confused about where they should go to find vital information.

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FAQs

What’s the most effective communication channel?

The most effective communication channel is that which fits your team and style the best. This will be different for every company and depends on what you want to communicate and what you want to achieve with that information. For your business, it could be conference calls or it could be some other form of digital communication.

How do you manage internal communication channels?

The first step in managing your communication channels is to choose those channels that best fit your organisation. If you try to use all channels, you can end up not being able to keep on top of all communications and some will be updated more regularly than others, causing confusion. This can also lead to information overload for employees who don’t know which channels they should monitor most closely.

Once you have selected your channels, you must remain in control over them and not let them become full of unnecessary information that makes it more difficult for users to receive the most important updates. Nearly 35% of employees say the reason their company’s internal comms are ineffective is that important information gets buried.

Remember to check in with colleagues as part of monitoring your policy to understand how effective your channels are and how you can improve your processes.

What are the preferred channels for remote workers?

Remote teams thrive on tools such as Slack and Google Docs. These allow for collaboration and discussion even when teams are based in disparate locations. For boards that work remotely, iBabs is a board portal that allows for a consistent experience when conducting remote or hybrid board meetings. Video conferencing solutions such as Company Webcast help keep your remote team together through online events such as virtual town hall meetings, enabling them to watch a catch-up version of the meeting if they cannot attend live.

Conclusion

Your choice of communication channel will be dictated by the type, size, budget and culture of your organisation. By reading this article, and comparing the pros and cons of each type, we hope it will be easier for you to choose appropriate channels for workplace communication in your business.

Successful businesses formulate communication strategies that take into account what they want from their internal comms. They then choose the best-fit channels for their aspirations. If you decide to employ professional video conferencing, Company Webcast can help. We deliver thousands of high quality, secure and informative webinars every year for some of the biggest companies in the world. Request a demo for your business today.

References and Further Reading

  • Organise hybrid events
  • About Company Webcast
  • Institute of Internal Communications
  • How to use social media for business
  • Internal podcasts

Filed Under: Internal Communications

The 6 Essential Types of Internal Communication + Examples

13 July 2021 by companywebcast

The workforce has never been more disparate. Flexible schedules and remote working were already becoming important to employees before spring 2020, but the COVID-19 pandemic supercharged the move towards them becoming the norm.  

Many workers will never return to the office full-time and, whilst that might make them happier in their employment, it leaves companies with the tricky task of keeping them engaged, informed and focused. If you are looking for effective ways to reach your remote workers, the types of internal communication and examples in this article will help you cultivate a winning strategy.   

There are many perils of poor internal communication. For example:   

  • 74% of employees feel they miss out on company news and information, according to Gallup. 
  • 72% of employees say they do not fully understand their company’s strategy, claims an IBM report.
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When employees disengage from the business, it can affect their productivity and, if they do not really grasp the strategy, they might not work toward the correct goals.

 

Simply by communicating more effectively, you can ensure all employees are focused on the right targets, that they feel part of the business and that they understand why management makes the decisions that it does. This cuts suspicion and rumour and adds a level of transparency that breeds mutual respect between employee and employer.   

The 6 essential types of internal communication (with examples)  

Employers must implement a number of different types of internal communication in order to create a rounded strategy that cultivates the maximum benefit for the business. Here are the essential types of communication you need:  

1. Leadership-down communication 

This is the very basis of much of your internal communication efforts. As seen in the statistics above, if there is no communication from leadership down the chain, employees will simply not know what is happening in the organisation or what the strategy is for meeting company goals.   

Information should flow from leaders to employees to keep everyone in the loop. Writing about a time when he was developing a new product with a small team, Jason Fried, CEO of project management platform Basecamp, explains that many workers not involved in the project were confused about the snippets of information that they had gleaned. He said,  

“It’s easy to forget, as a leader, that when employees don’t get the wide view, not only does the point of their work escape them, but it can also lead to real frustration. It’s hard to feel pride and ownership when you don’t understand where things are going.” 

Examples of leadership-down communication: 

ExampleDetails

Progress reports

A progress report is a regular update on the tasks ongoing in the company so everyone understands where they are, what is holding them up, where there have been successes and what the next stage will be. This aligns staff, whether they are part of the task or not, allowing everyone to see an overview. As well as being used for information, they can generate input from employees on other tasks who might have an innovative solution.

Business updates

The business update is more of an overview of the company as a whole and the issues affecting it. You can use it to celebrate successes as well as to identify challenges, and it is key to improving transparency between the leadership and the workforce.

2. Employee-up communication 

Just as it is important that employees receive the latest information from top-level managers, leaders also need to hear feedback from employees. Whether it is listening to challenges with the current systems or the results of collaborative efforts of departments, bottom-up communication, or upward communication, can help find solutions and develop new processes that benefit the business.  

The experiences of those who work “on the ground” are valuable to the company, because they are best placed to understand what is working and what needs improving. They deal with these systems on a day-to-day basis in a way that leadership might not. This is why management should encourage a culture of employee-up communication.  

Examples of employee-up communication: 

Example Details 

Discussion forums

Having discussion forums as part of your company intranet allows you to ask direct questions and receive answers from your workforce. Employees can flag concerns and issues as well as tell you what is successful. This is an important method for helping leaders understand what is happening within the company.

Polls and votes

You can use polls and votes to establish everything from employee satisfaction to views on company strategy. These tools help engage employees and allow you to understand the issues that they face. With Company Webcast, you can add polls and votes to internal communications webinars. This enables you to harvest real-time opinions and to gain a better sense of the employees’ viewpoints whilst a large proportion of your workforce is in one (virtual) space.

3. Peer-to-peer communication 

Encouraging discussion between colleagues is an excellent way to enable collaboration. If there are open lines of dialogue across the company, often called lateral communication, then issues can be discussed and solved more quickly. This type of communication pools the resources and accumulated experience of your workforce for the good of the organisation.   

This fosters a camaraderie and team mentality that is beneficial for morale. In turn, it can lead to an increase in productivity and improved job satisfaction. Moreover, when departments talk freely, it is easier to keep projects on track, as everyone understands where the others are in the process; there are fewer stumbling blocks and unwelcome surprises along the road.  

Examples of peer-to-peer communication: 

Example Details 

Communication hubs

Having a communication hub, such as a chat platform, that employees can access remotely, helps to facilitate peer-to-peer communication. It should feature the necessary tools, updates and communication channels for them to be able to collaborate with colleagues wherever they are based.

Social media apps

As most people have access to social media accounts, using apps for peer-to-peer communication makes sense. Using WhatsApp, a private Facebook group or another similar platform for collaboration keeps people in the loop in the way they are used to in normal life.

Project collaboration

Using a project collaboration tool like Asana creates a more structured way of hosting internal communication between peers. You can set up different channels for different projects and even add due dates and other features that help projects stay on track.

4. Information communication 

Information communication is the distribution of documents that an employee might need to access during their working life. There should be a repository for these important company policies and practices that employees can utilise whether they work from the office or dial in remotely.  

Examples of information communication: 

Example Details 

Brand positioning

An employee might need to check the company’s brand positioning guidelines when working on a project. This information should be easily available in order to ensure everything the business eventually makes public remains consistent with its aims and image.

HR policies

It is essential that your HR policies are accessible to all employees so they can check everything from holiday entitlement to sickness procedures and grievance procedures.

5. Culture communication 

Peter Ashworth, chief marketing officer of Humanity One, says “a strong organisational culture can clearly differentiate a business from its competitors in the mind of its stakeholders”. The way to instil this culture is to ensure that it is communicated freely throughout the business.   

Research shows there is a clear connection between company culture and financial performance, so make sure that all employees have access to all relevant information.  

Examples of culture communication:  

Example Details 

Mission and value statements

Mission and value statements can be communicated on documents, email signatures, poster boards, computer login screens or anywhere else they will be seen by employees. This visibility keeps everyone focused on the company’s mission.

Onboarding procedures

Communicating the company culture throughout the onboarding process ensures new starters understand expectations before they begin work. They begin their role fully versed in the way the business works internally.

6. Crisis communication 

The other types of internal communication revolve around collating information to provide an update or providing a space to find existing resources. Crisis communication relies on informing as many colleagues as possible as soon as possible, and it is a crucial part of your internal communications strategy. You must have processes, strategies and systems in place to allow you to communicate effectively during a crisis and make sure everyone knows how to react and what to do next.   

Agility in responding to critical events can be the difference between being able to navigate the situation with minimal damage and struggling to compete.   

Examples of crisis communication: 

Example Details 

Communicating health and safety procedures to employees

When the first COVID-19 restrictions came into place, companies with good crisis communication were able to mobilise teams to work from home effectively, minimising health issues and stress.

Building an internal communication strategy 

  • Review your old strategy and understand what works and what needs improvement. 
  • Keep the working elements and consider how to make them even more effective. For example, you might hold company town hall meetings in person, but you could also increase attendance and engagement by webcasting them. 
  • Identify which key metrics you want to measure and monitor them to understand whether your strategy is a success. You might want to increase employee engagement or employee satisfaction, for example. These are measurable and will tell you whether your strategy is moving in the right direction. 
  • Provide your team with the tools they need to succeed. This might be a project management tool, such as Monday, or it could be access to a professional platform for internal webinars, such as Company Webcast. 
  • Evaluate and improve. This will lead to increasingly effective communication.

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FAQs  

What makes great internal communication? 

Great internal communication features initiatives and platforms that enable the company to reach and engage as many employees as possible. It makes them feel involved in and valued by the company, knowing that they are in the loop with all the information they need. 

Who should own internal communications?

You may have an internal communications team to organise the logistics of your strategy, but managers hold a key role, too. Managers have the most direct impact on your workforce of any figure in the company, and that means that filtering your internal comms strategy through to your employees should be their responsibility.  

However, everyone in the organisation has a role to play, as both downward communication and upward communication are important to making the whole system work. Employee engagement works in both directions.  

What are the best internal communication channels? 

It’s difficult to pick just a few, but video has a lot of unrealised potential, as it is hugely effective for internal communications. Studies show that 90% of the information transmitted to the brain is visual, and visuals are processed much more quickly than the written word in an email, for example. It is also more engaging, with viewers retaining 95% of the information relayed by a video.   

Conclusion 

With no likelihood of ever having 100% of your staff on site at any one time, we have to embrace remote and hybrid working. Although this provides challenges in communicating the same message to all employees at the same time, it is possible to achieve. We hope the above types of internal communication and the examples help you get a better idea of what you can implement in your organisation.  

Technology allows us to send messages instantly, dial into servers remotely and communicate via video, too. This requires an upgrade to previous methods of internal communication, but the companies that embrace this remote and hybrid approach to business communication will reap the benefits.   

One way to increase the impact of your internal communication in a world of remote and hybrid work is to employ webcasts and webinars.  

As a market leader with more than 10,000 webinars and webcasts organised every year, Company Webcast can help you provide next-level experiences for your employees. Get a free demo of Company Webcast.  

References and Further Reading 

  • Reasons to improve internal communications 
  • Benefits of hybrid events 
  • Video conference presenting tips 
  • AstraZeneca’s internal comms 
  • Heineken’s internal comms  

Filed Under: Internal Communications

6 Steps To Hosting Your Company’s Town Hall Meeting Online

27 May 2021 by companywebcast

A company town hall meeting is the perfect opportunity for organisations to engage with their employees. Also called all-staff meetings or all-hands meetings, these events have historically focused on one-way communication — from management to staff. However, things have changed. The best and most effective town halls consist of a collaborative dialogue to help create a shared set of goals for all employees. 

According to a Forbes study, 74% of employees say they are more effective at their job when they feel heard. The company town hall is one important place to make that happen.  

Engaging employees in more and better ways is increasingly important. This is especially true in Europe where polling company Gallup reported that employee engagement rates have stagnated. At the same time, they are continuing to rise in the US.  

Another factor is the remote office. The percentage of workers in Europe working from home has increased from 5% to 12% since the COVID pandemic hit, presenting additional challenges to organisations that are looking to engage with workers. This is where the virtual company town hall meeting comes in.  

What exactly is a virtual company town hall meeting? 

A virtual company town hall meeting is an online variant of the traditional in-person event. This could be a fully virtual meeting where all participants join on their various devices. Alternatively, it may be a hybrid event where some people attend live and others take part remotely.  

The meeting usually involves the entire company. It is an opportunity to update staff on the most recent developments as well as to ensure everyone is aligned with the overall mission and goals of the business. The company town hall is also a chance for employees to connect with management and clarify any areas of concern.  

A virtual town hall takes place using video conferencing or webcasting technology, such as Company Webcast.  

Why should I host my town hall meeting online? 

There are a number of reasons to hold your town hall online. 

  • Remote working is an ever more common practice and a virtual event makes it easier for those working from home to attend the meeting. Even before the pandemic, working from home was becoming more of a regular occurrence. A virtual town hall simply reflects this change in the way we work.  
  • Similarly, flexible working arrangements mean that not everyone is on-site at the same time or able to be physically present at the meeting venue when the event is scheduled. For example, if you hold your town hall at 9am, this makes it difficult for parents who begin their working day later to make the physical meeting after the school run. However, it is likely that they will be able to drop their kids off and then return home in time to join the virtual version.  
  • You might also have employees that work in various locations. Rather than take up their time by asking them to attend the event in person and spend money on travel and accommodation, you enable them to dial in from their home or office to take part. This is a more efficient use of their time, saves the company funds and is better for the environment, too.  

Virtual vs hybrid town hall meeting 

Here is a comparison between fully virtual and hybrid town hall meetings: 

Fully Virtual  Hybrid 

No venue costs  Don’t need to spend time finding and booking the right venue  Can be organised more quickly  No travel or accommodation costs  You don’t have to worry about protests outside or inside the venue if you are discussing fraught topics

Provides more flexibility and convenience as staff can choose the option that suits them best  Offering both options can increase the reach of your event  Venue costs are lower than fully live events as you don’t need as large a capacity  Fewer travel and accommodation costs than fully live events

Both types of online company meetings offer the benefit that the meeting can still continue even if there are adverse weather conditions. They would also be minimally affected by incidents such as roadworks and accidents that could significantly delay an in-person town hall.  

Another benefit of both fully virtual and hybrid events is that you have a recording of the meeting to keep and make available on your employee intranet for anyone who couldn’t attend or for staff to rewatch if they wish to.  

How do I plan a virtual town hall meeting? 

  • Choose your platform

The platform you use is important to the success of your virtual town hall. It should be stable and secure as well as able to take a large amount of traffic, particularly if you work for a multinational business. You should look for a tool that is specifically created for these sorts of events, rather than a simple video conferencing solution. You need access to the specialist technology that enables you to stream large-scale events.  

It should also be as simple as possible for users to join. 

If you are currently considering solutions for your online town hall meeting, we invite you to try Company Webcast. The platform has created smooth, professional webcasts for more than 15 years and is ISO certified (27001), meaning that it can keep your sensitive information secure. You can take polls and ask questions. Your attendees will enjoy a simple user experience with easy sign-up, invite and log-in procedures.  

  • Define the objective of the meeting

Every town hall meeting has to have an objective — a reason for taking place and an area of the organisation’s work to concentrate on. This could be a major business development such as discussing sales figures or the details employees need to know about a new product launch. It could also be to foster trust within the business or to provide motivation.  

The objective helps you plan the right agenda, decide on the speakers and work out whether you need any breakout sessions or exercises, for example.  

  • Set a fixed date

You should fix a date for the town hall as soon as you can to give people as much notice as possible. When plotting the time and day, you should take into consideration the availability of your staff. This could involve thinking about different time zones as well as employees who might work in countries where the workweek is different from where you are based. But it might also include not holding the meeting too early or late in the working day so that you don’t exclude flexible workers.  

  • Build a clearly structured agenda

Once you know the date of the event, you can build the meeting agenda whilst bearing in mind the objective. This helps you choose the speakers and plan the presentations in a way that keeps the interest of the attendees and also delivers the information you need to impart.  

Ensure that you don’t devote too much time to one particular area as you need to keep people engaged. There is also the danger of trying to fit too much in. Instead, choose two or three crucial areas that relate to the objective and concentrate on them. The topics you cover must add value to the employees. Otherwise, they could become distracted and stop listening.  

  • Send out meeting invites

With the date and agenda settled, it is time to invite your staff. Include the agenda so they know what to expect and lay out the details of how the event will run on the day. This should explain how the live stream will work, what will be expected of the participants during the meeting and when they will have a chance to contribute. Also, note down the technical requirements for joining the meeting as well as details on who to contact in case of issues.  

  • Prepare your presentation

Presentations should be as engaging as possible, so it’s best to think beyond slides. Try to include visuals such as images and video, audio and other elements to capture the audience’s attention. Keep it simple and provide new information that staff need to hear. Returning to old topics that employees already understand can prove a turn-off in situations like this.  

You could even ask employees in advance about what they would like to hear regarding the topics on which you will be talking. This will enable you to prepare the content that is likely to be of most value on the day.  

Once you have your presentation complete, you should make sure you practise it as much as possible to ensure it runs smoothly on the day.  

Tips for holding your company’s town hall meeting online 

Keep the opening short and use icebreakers 

To give the meeting some momentum, the opening should be short and interactive. There is no point in spending a lot of time telling people what is going to happen. First, they know because they have already seen the agenda and, second, they are about to hear the speakers anyway. If people are watching from home, there are many distractions that can seem more attractive when the stream is not offering them any value. 

It is more useful to settle people in with some interactive icebreakers. This could be a poll, a fun question or a story related to the point you want to make. Such an opening immediately grabs attention and engages people. 

Celebrate the company 

You want to foster an atmosphere of togetherness and community with your assembled staff, so celebrate their achievements and wins. Mention the successes of individuals or teams. Highlight milestones that staff members have hit. Talk about the business results and show that you appreciate everyone’s hard work for the cause.  

Team spirit is key and this is your opportunity to help develop that. Forbes found that  employees who acted collaboratively stuck at their tasks 64% longer than their solitary peers. These employees also reported higher engagement levels, lower fatigue levels and higher success rates. 

Give employees a voice 

Your virtual company town hall should offer the chance for a discussion on topics that matter to employees. That’s why we recommend dedicating time to a live Q&A session. It is certainly handy to invite questions in advance because it gives management an idea of what might come up and helps them prepare, but you should also allow staff to ask questions live as a marker of the company’s dedication to transparency, openness and honesty.  

Give department leaders a chance to speak 

Leaving the entire event to be hosted by the CEO can be seen as only offering a narrow view of the company. Team members want to see their departments’ leaders talking on their behalf. Allowing your top-level managers to take part in planning the agenda and announcing their news makes for a more inclusive experience.  

Choose the right frequency of virtual town hall meetings 

The frequency of your virtual town halls depends on the nature of your business. Some companies hold them once a quarter, others once a month. If you do them too often, people will be less likely to attend as they can become run-of-the-mill. However, have them too infrequently and you lose momentum with the sense of community that a virtual town hall can foster.

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Conclusion 

As more of modern life goes online, elements of working life like the company town hall meeting begin to change. Going online makes sense to fit in with the way we work and play today, offering the chance to staff members who live further afield and don’t visit the workplace to take part and feel like a valued member of the team. It also brings teams together across different territories and fits in with flexible workers. However, it is essential that you choose the correct platform for your needs.  

Company Webcast is experienced in delivering seamless online events, with innovative peer-to-peer technology ensuring everyone attending receives a quality experience. Contact us here to learn more. 

References and further reading 

  • Hybrid events 
  • What is a webcast? 
  • Internal communication webinar solutions 
  • Forbes on employee engagement  
  • Employee engagement in Europe  

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