This app can help advisers better broadcast messages to clients

According to Bill Winterberg's FPPad Bits and Bytes, the Innovation of the Year award goes to Periscope. Per Bill, “before Periscope was introduced, there really wasn't an easy way for you to stream content in real time for your audience.” Although advisers have long used webinars, Bill noted that these require desktop or laptop computers — which are not as convenient as using your cell phone. The Periscope app (for iOS and Android) is a pretty new invention, launched by Twitter on March 26, 2015. Essentially a way to Tweet with video rather than just words and photos, Periscope was named iPhone App of the Year by Apple on Dec. 9. So, what exactly does it do? Periscope allows you to stream video to viewers in real time. The presenter can Tweet out a link to their “Live Stream” and choose to limit the audience to only select users or make the video public. Alternatively, you can press a button to instantly notify your followers that you are live-streaming. Viewers can express themselves by commenting (if allowed by the presenter) or tapping their screens to send hearts. A potential downside is that, absent using another app to record the video, your Periscope presentation is only available for 24 hours. Why would this tool be valuable to advisers? • Presentations can be done on the fly or scheduled. • There is no complicated invite or sign-in process. • The live element can be seen as more personal and provide a closer connection with your clients. Thinking about actual uses for this by an investment firm, I've come up with a few tangible ideas. You can have regularly scheduled presentations — for example, you can have a weekly update chat at the same time each week. Clients would be notified of this ongoing event and tune in each week. When there's a big event in the market, you can Tweet out a link to your followers and even send out a quick email with information on viewing the Twitter broadcast. Finally, you can schedule a live presentation to complement quarterly reports. It's definitely something I will try. It might not appeal to all of my clients, but I expect it will be welcomed by millennials, along with all those who appreciate new forms of communication. Sheryl Rowling is head of rebalancing solutions at Morningstar Inc. and principal at Rowling & Associates. She considers herself a non-techie user of technology.