Abstract:

On the basis of public relations activities, there are objectives such as informing the target audiences, getting their support, creating an atmosphere of trust, creating positive corporate image and corporate reputation. In the financial public relations process, an accurate, fast, up-to-date and transparent flow of information between the organization and its target audiences is important. In an environment where time is very valuable and instant changes occur in the markets, different financial target groups have different needs and expectations. Websites have become an important public relations tool in this sense. They create the opportunity to respond quickly to the expectations and needs of financial target audiences both nationally and internationally. They also enable an interactive communication process. The main target audiences of financial public relations within corporate public relations can be listed as follows (Reilly, 1987:450; Clarke, 2006:285-286; Göksel, 2010:116-17, Sayımer, 2012:156): Individual/institutional investors, banks, portfolio management companies, finance professionals/analysts, shareholders, financial media, intermediary institutions, administrators, customers, employees. The ability of an organization to draw financial capital from its external environment plays an important role in the success of the organization. While organizations can find money in different ways such as selling shares, issuing bonds, and borrowing, the following element is very important at this point for financial capital to come to them: The element of trust. It is the trust of the investors in the company, the operation and management of the company (Baskin and Aranoff, 1987:305). The main duties of financial public relations can be listed as follows (Sayımer, 2012:155): Creating a communication strategy in line with corporate goals, measuring opinions about the company and the industry, communicating with the financial media, organizing finance meetings, preparing financial press releases, providing information to the financial target audience, to increase the recognition of the company in the financial sector. One of the communication tools that organizations use to create a positive perception in their target audiences and to ensure the continuity of this positive perception is corporate websites. One of the communication tools that organizations use to create a positive perception in their target audiences and to ensure the continuity of this positive perception is corporate websites. Thanks to their websites, institutions have the opportunity to share information about themselves with their stakeholders and target audience at first hand (Genç; 2019:879). The purpose of this study is to examine the investor relations sections on the websites of companies listed on the BIST30 Index and evaluate them in terms of financial public relations. In this study, which is carried out according to the case study -one of the qualitative research method-, document analysis was used as data collection technique and content analysis method was used for data analysis. The information under investor relations sections of the websites of companies listed in the BIST30 Index has been analyzed under the categories of "access", "clarity", "content", "investor support", "technology" using content analysis method. As a result of the analysis, 11 companies in the access category, 3 in the clarity category, 17 in the content category, 1 in the investor support category, and 11 in the technology category have achieved top score. Access category focuses primarily on the company's financial target audiences' access to the website within the scope of investor relations and whether there is an investor relations page there. The information in clarity category does not only serve financial public relations purposes but also general public relations purposes of the institution. The information of the institution in this category also serves the promotion of the institution and contributes to the corporate image. The information in content category rather focuses on the financial data of the institutions, stock information, annual activity reports, dividend, and capital increase data. Another piece of important information in this category includes the investor information sheet. Investor information sheet is the section where investors can quickly obtain a lot of information. Investor support category offers calendar and calculation features to existing and potential investors, which gives speed to investors. Technology category covers the important tools used by public relations to achieve their goals in today's world. Webcasts and teleconferences play an important role in informing target audiences and in decision-making processes. Other elements in this category include sub-categories such as useful links, mobile applications, social media referrals, interactive services etc.