The number of publicly-listed companies using microblogging tool Twitter as a communication channel to investors and the financial community is on the rise, with more than 150 such companies announcing their financial results and tweeting highlights from their earnings calls on Twitter, according to IR Web Report.

[...] While it’s still early in the evolution of investor relations communications on the social web, it’s clear that Twitter is going to be a major channel. Of course, most companies are still learning what works, taking cautious steps. They’re issuing a token tweet, often generated automatically from their website news release feeds. Others, however, have clearly committed themselves to using Twitter to keep investors – and other weird sorts who find earnings interesting – in the loop. They are planning their sessions, carefully scheduling and compiling their tweets, using hashtags and StockTwits tickers, and even actively engaging with their followers.

Twitter is an ideal tool for this type of communication that complements other channels. It enables the tweeter to broadcast simple messages to those who have opted to receive that tweeter’s content, such as the examples shown above from consumer products giant Procter & Gamble, healthcare company Roche, glassmaker Corning and chemical company BASF.

In regulated environments under which many publicly-listed companies operate, great care has to be taken that rules aren’t broken in how, what and when you communicate with the financial community, whether via Twitter or any other means.

The examples IR Web Report’s Dominic Jones highlights of ten companies in different industries who actively use Twitter to tweet to investors, the media and anyone else interested in what those companies have to say illustrate what you can do successfully in such circumstances, and serve as terrific best practice for others to emulate.

The ten companies that Jones examines (with links to their Twitter handles) are:

• Garmin
• Procter & Gamble
• LaFarge
• PotashCorp
• Metso Group
• BASF IR
• Corning
• Roche
• eBay
• Syngenta

Some will be familiar names, others may not be. No matter: if they can use Twitter effectively, imagine what you can do.

Related: In March 2010, Darrell Heaps, founder and CEO of Q4 Web Systems in Toronto, Canada, posted a concise deck on Slideshare highlighting five companies using Twitter as part of their investor outreach and engagement.

The deck – embedded below – also includes an outline of social media best practice in investor relations.

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