Analysis of LinkedIn in investor relations: video content as untapped potential for DAX and MDAX companies

The Hamburg-based communications and strategy consultancy for financial communications and ESG Kirchhoff Consult, together with junicorn Consulting, has analysed the LinkedIn posts of DAX and MDAX companies on the results of the third quarter for the first time. Back in March 2024, the two consultancies published a study that focussed exclusively on the Q3 2023 LinkedIn posts of the 50 MDAX companies. As part of the current analysis, the posts of the company accounts were systematically analysed according to format, content and reactions. The aim of the study was to gain insights into the use of LinkedIn as a communication platform for investor relations and to derive best practices for effectively addressing the target groups.

Jens Hecht, CFA, Managing Partner at Kirchhoff Consult: “Our analysis shows that LinkedIn is gaining ground for social media IR. All DAX companies and the majority of MDAX companies use this channel to publish their figures. However, there is still a lot of potential in terms of formats and engagement. Video is king. And only 40 % of the companies analysed use it. IR departments that rely solely on text and press releases achieve less reach and engagement with the target group.”

Julia Stoetzel, Founder und CEO von junicorn Consulting: “Our study shows that a well-placed LinkedIn post can achieve more reach and interaction than an article in Handelsblatt. Companies that strategically utilise this opportunity strengthen their digital presence and pick up investors where they are active.”

The most important results of the study are summarised below:

• 100% of the 40 DAX companies published a post including key financial figures on the Q3 2024 quarterly figures on LinkedIn In the MDAX, 74% of companies published content on Q3 2024 (Q3 2023: 76%).

• The key figures EBIT/EBITDA (DAX: 90 %; MDAX: 57 %), revenue (DAX: 100 %; MDAX: 68 %) and free cash flow (DAX: 60 %; MDAX: 30 %) were included most frequently.

• 80% of DAX companies and 81% of MDAX companies published content in English.

• 68% of DAX companies published visual content such as visual elements, charts or graphics. 33% of the companies used static images that only showed the reported figures without comparisons.

• 57% of MDAX companies published an image or a series of images to accompany their LinkedIn post (Q3 2023: 53%). Most images (38%) presented key figures, while 10% showed the CEO or CFO.

• 38% of MDAX companies posted a video (Q3 2023: 37%) in which key figures or the CEO or CFO were shown in equal measure.

• Videos dominate the content engagement of DAX companies: Although they are used by less than half of the companies, videos achieve the highest interaction rates.

• 83% of DAX companies and 68% of MDAX companies that published a post provided information on the forecast (Q3 2023: 73%).

• 42% of the MDAX companies that published an article included the CEO and/or CFO (Q3 2023: 42%)

• DAX companies have an average of 1,071,589 followers. Siemens has the most followers with 7.2 million, followed by Bayer and BMW. The MDAX companies have an average of 178,000 followers on LinkedIn. Puma takes first place with 1,328,546 followers, followed by Lufthansa and Thyssen Krupp (Q3 2023: Puma, Thyssen Krupp, Evonik). The average number of likes and reactions per post is 750 in the DAX and 242 in the MDAX.

• The average number of likes and reactions per post is 750 in the DAX and 242 in the MDAX.

• 15% of DAX companies and 2% of MDAX companies have their own IR account.

• Conciseness and visual dynamism are convincing in DAX: short, appealing content and lively image formats are decisive for maximum impact.

Survey methodology

The corporate accounts of the 40 DAX and 50 MDAX companies were analysed for the study. The posts on the publication of the Q3 results were analysed according to the following criteria: Format of the post (video, image, text), indication of key figures, explanations of business development, indication of an outlook, length of the video, visual content, emojis and hashtags, involvement of the CEO or CFO, number of followers, reactions, comments. Reference was also made to the Q3 posts for companies with different financial years.