Check List for Your Dallas Trip

Your coaching team and I look forward to seeing you in Dallas this Sunday, February 28, 2010.

Please arrive 15-30 minutes early to check in and get settled. We will begin promptly at 2:00. We have a lot to accomplish in our 3 1/2 hours together.

Please be sure to bring the following items with you:

1. Laptop, batteries, cords, mouse. We need everyone to be self-reliant with their own computer equipment; however, a few "loaner" laptops will be available for emergency use.

2. Your customized scripts / talking points for both your audio recording and your video recording. You should have received two base scripts - one for the audio and one for the video - to edit and "make your own" (earlier this week, from Mary Ellen Banta at Impact Communications). If you didn't get them or haven't customized them, don't worry, we will have hard copies at the boot camp and you can do quick edits there.

3. Ideas for your first "foundational entries" for your newly established blog and Twitter page. You can also just "get into the spirit" and create them in the moment while in the Content Creation Room in Dallas.

4. URLs, passwords and usernames for (a) your blog account (b) your Twitter account. You will need to get into both your blog and your Twitter accounts to post content.

5. Wear camera-ready attire on Sunday. We will be filming you.

6. Smiling face, alert mind, energy!

Don't worry if you don't have everything "perfect" before arriving in Dallas. Just be sure you have your basic blog and Twitter accounts established. A coach will be on hand in the Foundation Room to help you finish up that process if you have not had time to get through that entire set up process.

The goal of the boot camp is to show you how easy it is to create and upload content to your blog. We will also help you do your first couple of Tweets to draw traffic to your blog and/or website (or to other important articles).

If you need to hold back a little bit due to needing compliance approval first before going "live" with any audios, videos, text, etc., no worries. You can use this as a practice session - and, who knows, compliance may approve your content "as is" once they see it.

Here's contact info for my team:

• (913) 649-5009 - Impact Communications Main Office (will route calls to me)
  
• info@impactcommunications.org - (staff will respond and/or forward notes to me)

My team and I will be flying in to Dallas on Saturday 2/27/10 (today). We will be staying at the conference hotel so if you need to reach one of us, just call the front desk and ask to be connected with either Marie Swift or Quinn Law. We'll be on the premises as of 7 pm cst 2/27/10.

See you there! We are going to have a lot of fun creating and adding content to your newly established blog and Twitter pages.

Warm regards,

Marie Swift
President and CEO
Impact Communications, Inc.

What to expect at the February 28, 2010 Boot Camp

Click player bars below to listen to audio comments

Introduction - from Head Coach Marie Swift

What to Expect at February 28, 2010 Boot Camp - from Head Coach Marie Swift

1. Arrive in the Boot Camp room at 1:45 p.m. local time. Get your name tag. Hook up your equipment. You should bring your own laptop, mouse and all corresponding batteries, cords, etc. We will provide a cable internet connection for each participant.

2. You should dress in a professional manner - business casual, at a minimum. We will be filming your first video-cast. You may write your own script and deliver it on your own, in a one-person face-front fashion. Or Marie Swift will briefly interview and interact with you in a two-way dialog. We will provide the video equipment needed. You will need to bring your talking points / script. We will discuss this on our pre-Boot Camp Webinar, providing tips and advice so that you are ready when you arrive.

3. You should arrive with your initial blog and Twitter pages established and ready to load with the podcast and video clip that we will be creating live at the Boot Camp. Remember: we'll be giving you a step-by-step demonstration of how exactly to set up your initial blog and Twitter pages during our pre-bootcamp webinar on 2/12/10. For the live boot camp: Bring your username, password and urls to both your blog and your Twitter accounts. Again: We will discuss this initial set up requirement on our pre-Boot Camp Webinar, providing a virtual tutorial to get you started.

4. You will be shown how to record your first podcast using a telephone (land line that we will provide). You will need to bring your talking points / script. We will discuss this on our pre-Boot Camp Webinar, providing tips and advice so that you are ready when you arrive.

5. At 2:00 p.m., local time, Marie Swift will welcome the group and introduce the coaches who will be assisting her that day. She will break the room up into 3 groups - Red Team, Yellow Team and Blue Team. Each team will have a team captain (team captains will be determined on site).

For the next 2.5 hours, the 3 teams will rotate to 3 planned workstations:

• Podcast recording room
• Videocast recording room
• Content creation and file upload center
• Brainstorming and coaching room
  

Assistant coaches and team captains will facilitate the process, coaching and rehearsing people as needed.

We will come back together as a big group approximately 5:00 pm to share what we learned, insights gleaned, etc. You may wish to show your newly branded blog and Twitter pages to the group (we will have an LCD projector and screen, as well as an internet connection established, at the front of the room so all you will need to do is key in your blog and Twitter URLs.

6. The session ends at 5:30 pm. You will be encouraged to form dinner groups to continue the dialog and idea sharing. Get a good night's sleep as FPA Business Solutions Conference begins bright and early the next day.

Program Overview

Click player bar to listen to audio comments from Marie Swift

Are you interested in using the latest Web 2.0 technology to drive traffic to your website? This four-part program uses both Webinars and onsite training to help you understand the many things you can be doing now to build relationships with your clients and market your business.

The Web 2.0 and Social Media Boot Camp and three related Webinars will help you harness the power of the worldwide web through blogs, podcasts, video-casts, community forums, multi-media presentations, webinars, etc. that serve as a comprehensive expression of your brand and offering. Impact Communications will show you exactly what to do to use social media and Web 2.0 to your advantage.


Here’s an overview of the four-part plan:

Element #1 – Introductory Webinar (1/20/10)

In an Introductory Webinar, marketing expert Marie Swift (www.impactcommunications.org) and multi-media expert Chris Hall (producer of www.Advisorpod.com) will provide an overview of the various social media tools, such as LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, Blogs, Groupsite and Ning. In addition, Nancy Johnson Jones (www.compliancemaze.com), an industry compliance expert, will provide insights about what you can and can't do as an RIA and/or Registered Representative.

Attend this Webinar FREE if you have already enrolled for the rest of the program, as shown below. Or pay just for this Webinar: $25 if an FPA Member ($35 if non-member) and skip the rest of the program below – but you’ll be missing out on several highly valuable deliverables if you don’t continue on with the rest of the program. If you decide to register for the full program, below, the Webinar fee you paid for element #1 will be deducted from your total fee.

Element #2 – Pre-Boot Camp Webinar (2/12/10)

Building on the Introductory Webinar, above, marketing pro Marie Swift and award-winning graphic designer Christy Barron will tell you everything you need to do to get ready for your live Boot Camp experience in Dallas. They will give you a virtual tutorial, showing you how to set up your own branded blog and Twitter pages. They will give you important homework assignments and encourage you to be ready for the live Dallas Boot Camp session on 2/28/10.

Element #3 – Live Boot Camp Experience (2/28/10)

Then, in the live onsite Boot Camp, Impact Communications' team of experts will help you build out your branded Twitter and a branded blog pages, complete with your first videocast, podcast, and several foundational entries. This will be a hands-on, roll-up-your-sleeves working session. You will be provided with a cable internet connection; attendees are asked to bring their own laptop, batteries, cords and mouse (some “loaner” laptops may be available if you really can’t bring your own laptop – inquire). Impact's professional team of graphic designers, copywriters, film producers and web wizards will be on hand to assist you ever step of the way.

See “What to Expect at the Boot Camp” above.

Element #4 – Post-Boot Camp Webinar (3/30/10)

A follow up Webinar will be offered to ensure you have all the help you need to leverage your new tools and build your online presence. Marie Swift and select coaches will answer your remaining questions, take a look at your evolving Web presence, comment on things you are doing wrong/right, etc.

Welcome from Head Coach Marie Swift

Hello! We are excited that you have enrolled for (or are considering enrolling for) the Web 2.0 and Social Media Boot Camp powered by FPA and Impact Communications. I'm Marie Swift, President and CEO of Impact Communications. I am pleased to be working with FPA to mastermind and bring this new and exciting pre-conference event to financial professionals nationwide.

This Event Blog will give you important information and help you leverage your participation. Please read it carefully.

To ensure you get updates and the most current information:

Please sign up to “follow” this blog. Click the “follow” button to the right. If you do not already have a Google Account, set one up now so that (a) you can get automatic updates via email whenever we update this blog (b) you will be able to set up your blogspot account during the pre-Boot Camp preparatory Webinar described below.

If you have questions:

1. Please post them on this blog and one of the faculty members will reply. It is important that you include your phone number and email address in any questions/comments you post.

2. If you need more immediate help, please contact Teresa Law at (913) 649-5009 or via email info@impactcommunications.org.

We look forward to interacting with you on the various webinars, teleconference and live boot camp in Dallas!