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Finding Relevant Blog Content (It’s easier than you think!)

 Recommended Reading  No Responses »
Jul 272011
 

By:Brittany Hollman

Blogs are becoming more and more a culture of today’s online society.  Most people you meet will have most likely read a blog or have one themselves.  The great thing about blogs is that you can literally blog about anything.  But to craft a great blog it takes a lot more than just writing about random topics.  You must know ahead of time what key words to use within your blog and which subjects will be most useful and interesting to your target audience.  For example, if you are working for a large non-profit you probably shouldn’t be blogging about the latest car gadgets.  People who are reading non-profit blogs probably won’t find that as interesting as a blog about fundraising strategies.

Blog content is easier to find than we think.  It could be something that’s right in front of us but something we have not considered.  This is why brainstorming with a group of people is important.  Also browsing other people’s blogs can be helpful; not to steal their ideas but just to see how they are targeted to their audiences.  This is all part of the research step which is required if you’re ever going to make an educated blog posting.

Because many blogs are such a popular medium for getting information, it is important for your company to have fresh topics and ideas and to make the blogs interactive as well (including links, pictures, and videos).  You want to keep prospective customers returning to your blog on a regular basis.  This is part of your “inbound marketing” strategies to engage your audience.

Short on time or staff?  If your company needs help keeping up with the blogging scene, that’s where companies like ABS come in.  We can help keep your blog as current as possible and at the same time give you some great and relevant content.

Three of the many sources that can help you find some great blogging content related to your profession are:

1. LinkedIn the LinkedIn Today section contains the most widely shared news that is happening within your industry or other industries that you can personally customize.

2. Google Reader:  this lets you subscribe to millions of RSS feeds to keep you up to date with current happenings and news within your interests.

And last but not least….

3. Yourself:  look no farther than your own thoughts. Things that you are doing for your company can be potentially helpful to audiences all over the web.  Whether it’s an event you are planning for a client or a new tool you’re using, great blogging ideas can be right in front of you.

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 Posted by ABS at 1:22 pm  Tagged with: , ,

Dropbox… The Invisible Flash Drive (video)

 Recommended Reading  No Responses »
Jul 082011
 

by Brittany Hollman
ABS Intern

Have you ever wanted to access your files on any computer without the hassle of using a USB device or even the long process of emailing them to yourself? During our hectic days we need something to simplify our lives. So what if there is a program to keep all our files in one place without having to use any other excess technology?

That’s where Dropbox comes in. It is a tool that uses something called cloud computing to let users access, store, and share files with others across the internet using a tool called file synchronization. Started up in 2007 Dropbox has now become something that more and more internet users are becoming familiar with. It is a free service but has payment options if you’re looking for a larger amount of storage space. The 2GB they give you though it more than enough to hold a fair amount of pictures, documents, music, and more. It’s like having an invisible USB port. All you need is your log in information and you can get you files anywhere that has internet access.

Some key reasons Dropbox can help you and your business are:

  • The share folder option which allows you to share files with friends and co-workers. So every time a file is modified and saved it will sync in all of the other peoples folders in the shared group as well.
  • They have space options to fit whatever business needs you might have. It helps if your company is global and you are working with people in another country. So you can all access the same files.
  • You can get the Dropbox app on your smartphone so then you can also access your files on the go.
  • It’s a great back up tool. If you don’t have money to invest in a hard drive this is something that can be used to keep everything backed up in case your computer crashes.
  • The Dropbox folders are organized just as on your computer, making group collaboration very easy.

Dropbox is something that everyone should try especially if they are running a business or working in teams. There are many new options out there but Dropbox has become a proven tool. The program now has over 25 million users. Apple Corporation soon will be coming out with something similar called the iCloud which has a lot of the same capabilities as Dropbox does. However the iCloud can only be used on Mac products whereas the Dropbox has compatibilities on Windows and Macs alike.

And if you were wondering about security, Dropbox is safe too. All the files you upload cannot be viewed by anyone else unless stored in the public folder or you invite them. Dropbox uses the same security that banks and the military do. Plus all your files are automatically encrypted once downloaded. Also Dropbox uses Amazon’s Simple Storage Service (S3) for storing your files, which has a very secure policy of its own.

Check out the brief video:

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 Posted by ABS at 4:18 pm

The 200 Club of Mercer County’s Annual Luncheon June 8

 Events  No Responses »
May 192011
 

Event Details

Wednesday, June 8, 2011 • 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. 
Stone Terrace by John Henry’s
2275 Kuser Road, Hamilton Square, NJ 08690
$40 per person or $400 for table of 10.
Directions

Guest Speaker

Bill Baroni, Deputy Executive Director Port Authority of New York & New Jersey“Rebuilding the World Trade Center”

Valor Award Recipients:
Hamilton Officers Tom White and Nick Avanzato

For more information on how to register for the event or become a member visit   http://www.mercer200club.org/events.htm

To read the event press release click here

 

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 Posted by ABS at 11:09 am

Baroni, Deputy Executive Director of the Port Authority of NY & NJ will Speak about “Rebuilding the World Trade Center” at 200 Club Luncheon

 Press Releases  1 Response »
May 192011
 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                                     

Contacts:        
Karla Pollack                                                      
(609) 498-7727
info@mercer200club.com

Gregory Blair, Board President
(609) 587-1600
gblair@nottinghaminsurance.com      
 

The 200 Club of Mercer County Hosts Annual Luncheon on June 8th
Bill Baroni, Deputy Executive Director of the Port Authority of New York & New Jersey will Speak about “Rebuilding the World Trade Center”

MERCER COUNTY, May 19 — The Annual 200 Club of Mercer County Luncheon will be held on Wednesday, June 8th, at 11:30am at the “Stone Terrace by John Henry’s” on Kuser Road in Hamilton.  It will feature Bill Baroni, the Deputy Executive Director of the Port Authority of New York & New Jersey, as Guest Speaker. The Deputy Executive Director grew up in Hamilton Township, and previously served as State Senator in the 14th District. As the director of a Port Authority which operates some of the most critical infrastructure points in the nation, Mr. Baroni also oversees the rebuilding of the World Trade Center. Please join us as he discusses the direction and status of this important project. 

The 200 Club will also present Valor Awards to two members of the Hamilton Township Police Department, Tom White and Nick Avanzato for their heroic actions at the scene of a fire in Hamilton Township this past January. The Valor Award is presented to an individual who has committed an act of bravery, beyond the call of duty, and imminent personal risk to his own life and safety, and is the highest award given by a 200 Club.  A 200 Club Valor pin is the only pin allowed to be worn on the uniform of a New Jersey State Police officer outside of its own awards.

“We are pleased to honor both Officers White and Avanzato at this year’s luncheon,” states Greg Blair, President of the 200 Club of Mercer County. “I feel there is an outpouring of support for all the dedicated law enforcement, fire and rescue organizations in Mercer County. These men and women play an essential role for the security and safety in our community.”

“We also welcome Deputy Executive Director Bill Baroni to this year’s luncheon,” continues Blair. “I believe hearing Mr. Baroni speak about the new World Trade Center will give us a brighter hope for the future and at the same time honor the men and women who dedicate their lives for our safety just like many did that grave day ten years ago.”

The 200 Club of Mercer County is one of several hundred associations nationwide dedicated to providing financial assistance to the families of our public safety and rescue personnel who are killed in the line of duty. This includes the police officers (state, county, and municipal), correction officers, fire fighters, and rescue squad technicians of Mercer County.

Established in 1979, The 200 Club of Mercer County has provided funds to a multitude of families. The club also supports organizations like local chapters of The American Red Cross, Mercer County Fire Academy, NJSP Museum honoring fallen Troopers, NY/NJ Port Authority Police Widows Fund, and more. Becoming a member of the 200 Club of Mercer County will support an honorable cause at a time when the families of these dedicated and brave individuals need it most.

The luncheon is open to the public and costs $40 per person. Attendees who apply for membership will get the luncheon as part of their application cost. Membership is $200 and is tax deductible to the extent permitted by law. The 200 Club of Mercer County is a tax-exempt charity under section 501(c)(3). Corporate sponsorships are also encouraged and appreciated.  To order tickets or make a donation, please send a check to: The 200 Club of Mercer County, P.O. Box 6755, Lawrenceville, NJ, 08648. 

The 200 Club gratefully acknowledges the Gold Sponsors for this year’s luncheon: Doerler Landscapes, Inc., Port Authority of New York & New Jersey, and Roma Bank.

For more information, or to register for this important event, call Karla Pollack at 609-498-7727. To apply for membership to The 200 Club of Mercer County or register online, please visit www.mercer200club.org. 
                                                                                            ###

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 Posted by ABS at 10:41 am

Association Business Solutions Hires New Summer Intern

 ABS in the News  No Responses »
May 182011
 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                                     

Contact:
Karla Tillman Pollack
609-392-3800
karla@absnj.org      

Brittany Hollman of Hackettstown, NJ will be interning at ABS for summer 2011

Trenton, NJ – Association Business Solutions (ABS) announced today that Brittany Hollman has joined the company as their summer intern, effective May 4th.

Hollman studies both public relations and event management at Champlain College in Burlington, VT where she will be a junior in the fall. This is her first official internship. “I am very excited to be part of the ABS team,” Hollman says. “I am always up for a new challenge and can’t wait to start learning.”

In her new position, Hollman will be responsible for assisting ABS with communications, public relations, and event planning work, along with other projects. She has had previous employment experience working for the Alumni Office at Champlain, The Book Loft, (a local bookstore) and volunteer work at The Northwest New Jersey Regional Women’s Center.

Hollman has also had many hands on classes in her two years at Champlain that have helped her gain the knowledge she needs to write effectively and work in other roles of the communications field .“We are pleased to have Brittany with us this summer,” says ABS co-founder Paula Hartman. “Her enthusiasm for the field and fresh perspective will be a great addition to our summer work.”

About ABS
Association Business Solutions, Inc. (ABS) is an Association Management Company that provides results-oriented executive management, communications and administrative solutions. Please visit for more information www.absnj.com.

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 Posted by ABS at 4:54 pm

A Taste of the Arts

 Events  No Responses »
May 022011
 

Food and Wine Tasting to Support Arts Programs for Children in Trenton

Friday, May 13, 2011 from 6:00 PM – 10:00 PM (ET)
The Mountain Lakes House
57 Mountain Ave.
Princeton, NJ 08540

Tickets: $50  Click Here to register

Honoring Dan Gardiner, Marc Linowitz and Trenton’s Own 2011 Best Actor ~ Alphonso R. Jones II from Broadway’s The Lion King.

Enjoy an evening of arts samplings offered by members of the CityArts Coalition of agencies serving kids in Trenton.  Proceeds to benefit CityArts and Storytelling Arts, Inc., CityArts 2011-13 fiscal sponsor.

For more information, contact:

Edna Friman at CityArts, (609) 310-1339; cityarts4u@gmail.com or

Carrie Wainwright from Storytelling Arts, (609) 430-1922; info@storytellingarts.net

Thank you for your support!

CityArts is a Coalition of over 25 agencies and nonprofit organizations whose mission is to increase artistic opportunities for children and youth in greater Trenton. Storytelling Arts is a nonprofit that has provided literacy and character education programs to over 20,000 children and teachers in New Jersey since 1996.

CityArts vision is to provide access to quality arts experiences, advocate on behalf of collaborating arts organizations, and to assist in the development and expansion of social capital in the greater Trenton community.

CityArts Coalition Members include:

Alborada Spanish Dance Theatre

Artworks

Blue Mountain Chamber Music Festival

Boheme Opera

Catholic Youth Organization

CitySmiles

Conservatory of New Jersey

City of Trenton

Destination Trenton

Ellarslie – The Trenton City Museum

Garvey School/Makeda Kemit African Dance

Get Set (at Westminster Presbyterian)

Kidsbridge Tolerance Museum

New Jersey State Museum

Passage Theatre

Storytelling Arts, Inc.

Studio City

Trenton Area Soup Kitchen

Trenton Children’s Chorus

Trenton Community Music School

Trenton’s Cultural Heritage Collaborative

Trenton Education Dance Institute

Trenton Film Society

Trenton Museum Society

Trenton Teen Leadership Corps

YouthStat – City of Trenton

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 Posted by ABS at 7:31 pm

NJ Housing Forum Meeting in April

 Client News  No Responses »
Apr 232011
 

The New Jersey Housing Forum hosted a meeting and member drive at the Trenton Country Club on April 13.  The investors in attendance networked and discussed issues facing their businesses.

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 Posted by ABS at 2:40 pm

Last chance in 2011 for non-profit employers to opt out of state unemployment insurance program!

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Jan 242011
 

Notice from the Center for Non-Profits

Do you have 10 full-time employees or more? You could add thousands of dollars back into your budget while reducing unemployment costs.

NJ Unemployment Insurance tax has increased by an avg. of $130 per employee. Switch to UST before Jan. 31, 2011 and avoid paying the increased rate after that date.

UST (Unemployment Insurance Trust) is an alternative to the state unemployment insurance system, helping nonprofit organizations save money on their unemployment costs through lower rates and expert claims monitoring. This savings can then be put toward fulfilling organizational missions, including building assets to fund programs and to enhance outreach.

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 Posted by ABS at 6:37 pm

To Blog or Not To Blog: Part 3 – Social networking friends with blog benefits

 Recommended Reading  2 Responses »
Nov 192010
 

Thus far, in Part 1, we’ve scoped out the concept of blogging. Then from there we progressed to Part 2 and hit a couple of the benefit highlights. So far so good, right?

“Actually, I’m still on the bubble. Are there any other benefits?”

Yes, there are. The most significant additional benefit is SEO. SEO stands for search engine optimization. If you like, you can read the Wikipedia definition of SEO here.  In a nut shell, SEO is anything you do to make your site more findable. The idea is simple. With more content – presumably relevant to your company, niche and/or target market – there are naturally more opportunities for search engines to connect you with someone doing a search. Without such content, there is zero opportunity for that match to be made.

In addition, a blog also enables you with a means for your site not to get stale. All things being equal, Google’s algorithm is going to recommend a site that appears to be more current and more active. Google is just like you and I. Who wants old news?

Another SEO related tactic is to use media sharing sites such as Flickr and YouTube. The benefit is simple. Each of these sites has their own communities. In fact, YouTube is the third most utilized “search engine” after Yahoo and Google. Therefore, by using these sites to host your media there is the added possibility of gaining exposure within these communities. Think of it as reaching out instead of being protectionist and self-contained.

Once they find you, the hope is they might continue on to your website. Worst case, they have at least found out about your brand. You’ve staked out some mind space. .As tiny as it might be it is a start.

What nice is, while your media might be hosted on these media sharing sites, most blogs make it easy to embed the player from Flickr, YouTube and the like. Your blog is still your main focus but now it’s more of hub in a broader marketing effort than a free standing, self-contained island.

“Okay, I’m finally sold. But I have to ask, is that it?”

As a matter of fact, as they say in the infomercials, “But wait, there’s more…”  Again, the benefit revolves around social networks, social media and the fundamental basis for their existence – sharing. Typically, people who use social networks will read something – often on a blog – and then want to share that article to their profiles so their friends can read the article too. Taking advantage of that dynamic not only makes sense, but it’s free as well. A good choice for a free sharing service is AddThis.com.

Mind you, you don’t have to have a blog to use AddThis. However, let’s be realistic, the odds of someone repeatedly sharing your home page is unlikely. On the other hand, as you generate blog content, each article becomes another opportunity for your followers to say, “Look what I found.” At the same time the article is also an opportunity for you to say, “We’d like to share this with you.” And you can post the link on your social networking profile. If you have success stories and other good news that would benefit from more people knowing about it, then a blog is the ideal tool for that.

“But I…”

Yes, there’s always a last but, isn’t there? Not to worry, Part 4 is going to address your final set of fears. “What am I going to blog about?,” and “When am I going to find the time?” are both going to be addressed in Part 4. With that said, I’ll give you a couple hints now so you can prepare your questions for next time. “What?” can be anything relevant you and/or target marketing might be interested in. “When?” is best seen within the context of bang for your buck. That is, blogging can often be more cost effective than traditional advertising.

Mark Simchock
Chief Alchemist
Alchemy United

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 Posted by ABS at 1:12 pm

To Blog or Not To Blog: Part 2 – Self-Publish or Perish

 Articles, Recommended Reading  2 Responses »
Oct 282010
 

We are all familiar with the axiom, “Publish or perish.” In other words, be visible or expect to disappear. Restated for the the 21st Century business world, the contemporary version would be, “Self-publish or perish.” To be even more concise, “Blog or die.”

“Blog or die? Ouch! Aren’t there any other options?”

Sure, you can continue to spend increasing amounts of budget on traditional advertsing just to yield the same results. Yes, there continues to be a place for targeted and intelligent use of such mediums, the fact is their influence is diminishing. In fact, maximizing offline mediums often benefits from integration with online efforts.

With that said, there’s no denying that the internet is the channel that is trending up. More importantly, technology has triggered a shift in the public’s expectations. No longer are marketing messages accepted at face value. The Web 2.0 enabled public shuns spin. They now expect, if not demand, transparency and authenticity, as well as the option to participate. We’ve all said it a million times, “I’ll just check their website…” And if a website hasn’t been updated, what do we think then?

“Oh, I see. A blog is a direct communications channel through which the voice of my brand can initiate and participate in a two-way conversation. It’s about sharing and listening.”

Well done! I couldn’t have said it better myself. A blog is an ideal vehicle for letting people get to know you, and you them. The static “brochure” website model from the previous millennium no longer applies. On the other hand, a blog is an ideal opportunity to:

  • show your authenticity
  • share content (e.g., photos) and announcements (e.g., news and/or sales);
  • share your knowledge and expertise
  • listen to input and feedback from an engaged public

In short, a blog is a great vehicle for building trust.

“I agree. I have those same expectations. But it still seems like a lot of work.”

Yes, like anything that adds value to your organization an investment is necessary. The good news is, relative to other media channels blogs and blogging are typically cost effective. I’m going to explore implementation in Part 4.  But before I address the possible scope of the commitment, let’s first cover some of the fringe benefits that blogging can provide.

Mark Simchock
Chief Alchemist
Alchemy United

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 Posted by ABS at 7:43 am  Tagged with:
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