At Boot Camp, Advisers Learn Social-Media Tools

Dear Boot Camp Graduates,

You may have noticed that Davis Janowski, a reporter from Investment News, sat in on our Web 2.0 and Social Media Boot Camp last week.

Here's his report:

At boot camp, advisers learn social-media tools

Sammie Gatti, Steve Johnson and "Midwest Marty" (Marty Kurtz) are quoted - and our premier got some good, positive ink!

You can "follow" Davis Janowski on Twitter: http://twitter.com/ddjanowski

Enjoy,

Marie Swift
Lead Instructor

Reminder to all Boot Camp Graduates

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. Watch for login / callin instructions to arrive via email directly from FPA.

See you there!

Twitter Digest - A Baker's Dozen

Hey Boot Camp Graduates!

Here's a quick look at what I've been reading and tweeting about:

1. Getting the Most Out of Twitter - good NY Times article - http://nyti.ms/dqg9cU
2. Advisers aim to ramp up marketing spending - Investment News: http://bit.ly/cListy
3. David Drucker profiles @brettellen #1 w/ Securities America multiple yrs - FA mag: http://www.fa-mag.com/fa-news/5252-strong-alliances.html
4. Financial Planning mag: Special Report - Your Practice Management Questions Answered: How do I stand out? http://bit.ly/cmNxeH
5. Happy to be home after a flurry of trips. Spoke at TD Ameritrade conf, #T3Show and #FPABizSol. Next up Tiburon CEO Summit to run press conf.
6. Dare we try this? At least we can read this journalist's blog entries about her travails. No Spend Challenge Week 1 http://bit.ly/bPv7Td
7. FinaMetrica offers risk-tolerance test online FREE thru April if use link www.riskprofiling.com/money (offer in conjunction with MONEY mag)
8. Gauge your appetite for risk FinaMetrica’s 25-question risk-tolerance test www.myrisktolerance.com accurate measure psychological tolerance
9. Good article on balancing appetite for investment risk and capacity for investment risk. http://tinyurl.com/riskprofile
10. From @RIABiz: The FPA's practice management event #FPABizSol boasts two hot speakers in its first day http://www.riabiz.com/a/139166
11. Wow! This is a GREAT site. Full of free worksheets and articles focused on creating Financial Happiness. http://www.financial-happiness.com
12. Securities America Advisors Collaborate and Achieve Success - podcast with Paul Lofties, plus related news release: http://shar.es/m3JOb
13. Estate Planning in 2010 - Good article by Kate McBride, editor, Wealth Manager: http://shar.es/m3iN

Not on Twitter yet? You should be! Sign up for free at http://www.twitter.com and search "people" to find "marieswift". Then follow @marieswift and join in as the spirit moves you.

I learn a lot from following my favorite journalists and industry peers on Twitter.

Why not give it a whirl - if only just to listen?

FPA Business Solutions Conference Recap 2010

Great recap of the conference on Day 2 from Davis Janowski of Investment News!

http://www.investmentnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20100302/BLOG02/100309972/1094/INDaily03

Social Media Boot Camp to the Rescue!

Great recap of our 3.5 hour workshop together in Dallas on 2/28/10 compliments of the FPA national staff. Good photos, too - Julie Littlechild, Sammie Gatti and
Lewis Walker.

Excerpt:
"Marie Swift hosted a Social Media Boot Camp on Feb. 28 as a pre-conference event to FPA Business Solutions 2010 in Dallas. During the live session on Sunday afternoon, participants worked with on-site media experts to learn more about avenues on the Web for building interactions with colleagues, clients and prospects. They also got the chance to record short video and audio clips for uploading to their newly created blogs."


Read FPA's complete boot camp recap by clicking here.

We hope to repeat the Web 2.0 and Social Media Boot Camp in cities across the country in the coming months. "Follow" @marieswift on Twitter to ensure you get the latest and greatest news. You can also "follow" this blog and get updates via email every time something new is posted - just click "follow" on the left hand side of the screen.

Also - don't miss this example of new blog one of our "students" created - complete with video interview, podcast and compelling article - during the 3.5 hour workshop: http://www.andymillard.blogspot.com.

Blog on new students!

Marie Swift
Lead Instructor, Dallas Boot Camp 2/28/10

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.