Investment Bankers: Blogs Generate More Proprietary Deal Flow At Significantly Less Cost
My blog is about the colliding forces of social media, leadership and the business of relationships (aka business development as a profession). John Grimley captures the essence of how these forces are upending traditional methods of referrals in the investment banking world in his blog post entitled, Why
Investment Bankers Should Be Blogging. John calls out two key drivers:
- The importance of social media in the decision-making process of senior corporate management teams is increasing rapidly, and;
- Compared to the cost of traditional referral methods used to generate proprietary deal flow, a blog is likely to generate more proprietary deal flow at significantly less cost.
John goes on to say, “As more investment banks, private equity groups and law firms dedicated to serving the middle market are joining the ranks of those blogging – it is important for those who wish to remain actively involved in serving the middle market to embrace this new means by which to reach many more among your target audiences.” He adds, “I also strongly believe middle market investment bankers should be blogging – and distributing that content across relevant social media platforms to amplify their message, as well as actively engaging with their audiences on the topics on which they blog.”
John isn’t guessing.
Lee Frederiksen, Ph.D. and managing partner of Hinge Marketing has published research based on 500 professional services firms which ”…demonstrates that firms with a higher proportion of online new business leads grow faster and are more profitable.” John’s post is full of helpful links and citations that make the case for why middle market investment bankers need to engage on relevant social networking platforms in order to maximize their ability to secure new business.
As most middle market advisors secure their deal flow from referral sources, their access to new clients among middle market corporate management teams is limited by the scope of those referral sources reach. — John Grimley
From John’s post: “Forward thinking Middle-Market investment banking professionals are already blogging, and distributing their content across relevant social media platforms including Twitter, Google+, Facebook, LinkedIn and PEHub, among others. This serves to amplify those messages by making them easier to be found and accessed by executives searching for information about who might help them.” But what are they blogging about? According to John:
- Allegiance Capital’s most recent blog post is about whether now is the perfect time to sell an Internet retailing company.
- Corporate Finance Associates most recent post is entitled: 7 M&A Don’ts for Business Sellers.
- Health Point Capital reported on Israel’s Mazor Robotics’ recent $15 million private placement that the company will use to support an ADR program. ADRs allow non-U.S. companies to trade on U.S. exchanges.
- And Manderson, Schafer & McKinlay’s latest blogpost addresses the issue of private equity’s “portfolio overhang” – and what best exit options are available.
I’m in the business of helping B2B professionals increase their online visibility in tasteful, elegant ways. John’s post highlights the opportunity for investment bankers. For case studies and best practices on the use of social media by investment banks see this Social Media Today article.
By the way, John’s post is a benchmark in authorship for those for those professionals wanting to create true engagement online. John is listening before he talks as demonstrated by his rich natural linking to other influencers and thought leaders. Well done, John. Thank you.
Are you a B2B professional? What do you see happening in your vertical? Sharing helps us both grow…