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IR Voice - The investor relations podcast
Are finfluencers a good idea for your business – or your investor relations?
In this episode of IR Voice, we talk about the use of finfluencers by IR teams at public companies.
IR Magazine reporter Noemi Distefano speaks to Katie Perry, head of marketing at Stakeholder Labs and co-host of the After Earnings podcast; Bill Kaitz, president of Promethean Marketing; Veronika Kuznetsova, advisor at Xploration Capital and former director of IR at Russian company MMK; and Eugeniu Baltag, director of IR at Purcari Wineries.
Guests share insights on the way companies are using finfluencers and other innovations to engage with their retail investor audiences.
Kuznetsova and Baltag share how their companies have successfully integrated influencers into their IR strategies, emphasizing the importance of transparency and carefully curated content to maintain credibility and align with company messaging.
But Kaitz is more skeptical. He talks about why the use of financial influencers is risky in the US and offers practical examples of what exactly can go wrong. He points to the dangers of market manipulation and ‘guilt by association’ – advocating for a safer, alternative, three-step strategy.
In this episode you will hear:
· How company executives are directly engaging with retail audiences
· About the regulatory risks of tapping into finfluencers in the US
· Examples of successful partnerships between IR teams and finfluencers
· How to measure the success of using finfluencers to reach your retail investors.
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