Hello, Shareholders: How ANCs keep the lines of communication open.

• Author: Orr, Vanessa
• Position: ALASKA NATIVE

Alaska Native corporations (ANCs) were established to positively benefit their shareholders. To this end, communication is paramount; however, many ANC shareholders live far outside the state's urban areas in places that can be hard to reach by mail, telephone, or even digital means.

Add this to the fact that shareholders range greatly in age, technological savvy, and communication preferences--and it's easy to understand why ANCs corporate communications and shareholder services departments are constantly exploring new ways to reach their audiences. And the continuing pressures of communicating during COVID-19 means even more changes to the way information is being conveyed.

Traditional Media vs. the Digital Age

It used to be that shareholders could expect to receive word of what corporations were doing from targeted mailings, community meetings, and sometimes ad campaigns. Today, ANCs have more options, thanks to growing adoption of and access to technology in the state's rural locations.

"Along with a lot of the traditional media tools, we use our website, social media, and direct email to reach our shareholders," says Matt Carle, senior director of corporate communications at Sealaska. "The most direct way is through e-news; we have approximately 14,000 shareholders on our e-news distribution list."

One of the benefits of using social media, according to Carle, is that when breaking news happens, the shareholders can be informed pretty immediately. "For example, when Sealaska recently acquired New England Seafood International [NESI], a London-based seafood company, we were able to develop a rollout strategy and get it out through e-news and our website while supplementing the message with more information on social media channels.

"More than anything, we try to make sure that all of our communications are integrated," he continues. "When it comes to social media platforms, the type of content we're putting on Twitter may not necessarily be what we're pushing on Instagram, but every message is in support of our overall communication goals. We want to make sure that our shareholders feel informed about what's going on in the corporation and instill pride in the work that we're doing. We also use it as a recruiting tool."

Sealaska relies heavily on metrics to make sure that it is reaching its shareholders with the right message.

"We know the average age of our shareholders and where they are located, and our communications really do fall in line with those demographics," he says...