ASX100 Social Divide 2019: Using social media for financial results

Mining for engagement

The 8th edition of FTI Consulting’s Social Divide Index confirmed that ASX 100 companies are increasingly using social media to communicate their financial results, with fifty-nine per cent of them engaging with stakeholders on LinkedIn, Twitter and YouTube during the survey period.

LinkedIn led the way as the social platform of choice for announcing financial results, with 51 of the ASX 100 active on this platform. Twitter use increased from 39 companies last year to 48 this year while YouTube use continued to grow steadily from 15 last year to 17 this year.

Investors (both retail and institutional) are an essential audience for the ASX 100 – connecting with them via multiple online platforms ensures a company’s message is heard. Investors have become accustomed to two-way communication with companies and those not on social media may inadvertently damage their corporate reputation by failing to engage online.

There was a 70 per cent increase in engagement with results-related content compared to this time last year – a trend we expect to continue as users increasingly look online for information about listed companies.

The results – digging in on social media

Miners featured prominently in this year’s top 20, using a combination of graphics, infographics, videos and quote graphics for maximum impact.

BHP topped this year’s ranking using a combination of visually-striking and easy-to-consume content on LinkedIn, Twitter and YouTube. The company communicated frequently with its audiences on all social media platforms and was rewarded with strong engagement across the board.

Based on our analysis, the top 20 companies using social media for financial reporting this period were:

1. BHP Group
2. Lendlease Group
3. Macquarie Group
4. Coca-Cola Amatil
5. Fortescue Metals Group
6. Xero
7. Rio Tinto
8. Newcrest Mining
9. Cochlear
10. Coles Group
11. Origin Energy
12. Santos
13. Insurance Australia Group
14. Amcor
15. Downer EDI
16. CSL
17. Charter Hall Group
18. Australia & New Zealand Banking Group
19. Commonwealth Bank of Australia
20. South32

Showcase your leaders and your team

A big trend this year was featuring business leaders, front and centre, in financial results social media content.

Some businesses retweeted their leader’s posts, others led with video content, quote graphics or interviews with executives. Lendlease shared a video of their CEO talking about their exciting ongoing program of work.

This year’s Social Divide leader, BHP, did an outstanding job creating engaging content around their financial results. A key component of their strategy was a series of videos starring BHP employees from Chile, Brazil, Singapore and Australia discussing the FY19 numbers. Subtitles in multiple language helped deliver key messages to a broader audience (and anyone watching with their volume muted!)

A video says 10,000 words

There was noticeable growth in the use of video content this year, aligning with social media consumption preferences. Videos with the best engagement tended to be short, have subtitles and use infographics to present numbers and data. Coca-Cola Amatil moved up ranking to 4th place this year using video content as part of their financial results communication strategy. Videos showcasing the breadth of their employees helped tell their story and demonstrated the range of talent across the business.

South32’s CEO video summed up their results and used professional graphics to highlight the most important takeaways. South32 used this video as an opportunity to highlight their employee safety commitments – demonstrating how to intertwine financial results with important corporate messages.

Download the Social Divide 2019 Edition

The views expressed herein are those of the author(s) and not necessarily the views of FTI Consulting LLP, its management, its subsidiaries, its affiliates, or its other professionals, members or employees.