ABS News Center

Mayor Booker and Chase Announce the Firm’s $4 Million Investment in New Jersey Community Capital to Help Preserve Affordable Housing and Expand the Organization’s Work in Revitalizing New Jersey’s Most Distressed Neighborhoods

Karla Pollack — Mon, 05 Dec 2011 19:53:52 +0000

Newark to benefit from organization’s focus on neighborhood revitalization

NEWARK, NJ, Dec. 1, 2011 – Mayor Cory A. Booker, Members of the Newark Municipal Council, Deputy Mayor for Economic Development Adam Zipkin, Director of Housing and Real Estate Michael Meyer, Chase Community Relations Manager in New Jersey Elliott Lee, New Jersey Community Capital President Wayne Meyer, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Newark Office Director Annemarie Uebbing, and other dignitaries announced today that Chase has awarded a $4 million grant to New Jersey Community Capital (NJCC) to help preserve affordable housing and expand the organization’s work in revitalizing New Jersey’s most distressed neighborhoods, with a major focus on Newark. The announcement was made at a property in the City’s West Ward Fairmount Heights neighborhood, which has benefitted from the partnership between Chase and NJCC. Also in attendance were Council Members-at-Large Mildred C. Crump and Carlos M. Gonzalez.

“In neighborhoods across this great City, the partnerships between the City, civic-minded lenders, such as Chase and NJCC, and nonprofit and small, local developers, are creating hope and opportunity where before there was foreclosure and abandonment. As I speak, over 250 homes in Newark’s neighborhoods are being renovated or newly constructed, with an investment of over $14 million of public funds, leveraging a total of over $41 million of neighborhood reinvestment, creating not just new affordable housing, but employment opportunities for Newark residents and business opportunities for local developers. In Fairmount Heights alone, a dozen small developers and contractors will repair over 50 homes, with a total development cost of $5.5 million. This grant from Chase will allow NJCC, the City and our development partners to continue with this important work,” said Mayor Booker.

“Funds such as these, along with the critical resources provided by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), allow local community developers to make a real difference in distressed neighborhoods. We are working hard to keep our neighborhoods strong for the residents who have invested and care for their homes, their blocks and their neighborhoods,” said Mike Meyer, Director of Housing and Real Estate for the City.

In addition to the $4 million grant, Chase has invested more than $3.1 million in NJCC during the last seven years to enhance the organization’s continued leadership in the revitalization of New Jersey’s distressed neighborhoods.

“Access to credit is critical for nonprofit organizations that are working to restore and preserve affordable housing options,” said Mr. Lee. “Chase is proud to continue to support NJCC’s lending efforts aimed at addressing affordable housing preservation to sustain homeownership.”

Newark was selected as the site of the announcement due to the innovative and holistic approach the City and its community partners have taken since the onset of the mortgage and foreclosure crisis. The site of the announcement is a home that was one of 47 vacant properties in Essex County – including 21 in Newark – which NJCC purchased at a discount from Chase in 2009. Newark resident Walter Jones was originally renting a unit on the top floor of the house with his family when Chase conveyed the property to NJCC. NJCC worked with the Jones family and HANDS, Inc., a local nonprofit community builder, to keep the family in the home while it renovated the property floor by floor. The City of Newark provided financial support to NJCC and HANDS to complete repairs to the building. By the time the renovation was complete, the Joneses were able to purchase the home, preserving two units of affordable housing.

“Moving from renters to owners is something we didn’t expect,” said Mr. Jones. “We have lived here for years, so we’re very happy that we were able to stay in place. All thanks to NJCC, HANDS and Newark.”

The $4 million investment will allow NJCC to continue to support a number of similar programs and initiatives aimed at stabilizing New Jersey’s most at-risk communities, including:

• Establishing the Neighborhood Prosperity Fund, a permanent revolving loan fund that will provide accessible and flexible capital to support efficient revitalization of foreclosed properties.

• Establishing a joint venture with Enterprise Community Partners, Mercy Housing, Inc., Housing Partnership Network and the National Community Stabilization Trust, in order to purchase pools of delinquent mortgages in high-impact areas and create an individualized action plan for each homeowner so they can stay in their home.

• Investing in local-level collaborations with community development organizations across the state, including Newark’s Strong Healthy Communities Initiative, the Essex County Community Land Trust, the New Jersey Community Progress Institute and the Ralph W. Voorhees Center for Civic Engagement.

“The development of much needed quality affordable housing is critically important to the well-being and health of individuals, families and communities,” said NJCC President Meyer. “The opportunity to build a better life is a powerful economic lever that makes our communities diverse and vibrant places to live, work, and prosper. That is why we are so grateful to Chase for this generous $4 million grant investment. With these funds we will be able to greatly leverage additional resources and enhance our ability to advance affordable housing solutions of the magnitude and scale necessary to assist in the transformation of neighborhoods and communities.”

“Project Rebuild, which is part of the President’s American Jobs Act, will put Americans back to work immediately by creating 200,000 jobs and continuing to successfully change neighborhoods one block at a time by revitalizing properties that were once abandoned,” commented HUD Regional Administrator Adolfo Carrión, in a statement. “Neighborhood Stabilization efforts in other parts of the country have succeeded in increasing property values. We thank NJCC and JPMorgan Chase for their commitment to help revitalize our communities.”

For more information about any City of Newark program or policy, contact the Non-Emergency Call Center at (973) 733-4311.

- NEWARK -

Contacts:

Press Information Office – (973) 733-8004

E-mail: Pressoffice@ci.newark.nj.us

Chase: Mike Fusco – (212) 270-5089

E-mail: Michael.f.fusco@chase.com

New Jersey Community Capital: Peter Grof – (609) 989-7766, ext. 406

E-mail: pgrof@njclf.com

About Chase

Chase is the U.S. consumer and commercial banking business of JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE: JPM), a leading global financial services firm with assets of $2.3 trillion and operations in more than 60 countries. In New Jersey, Chase serves consumers and small businesses through 226 bank branches and more than 400 ATMs. The firm has more than 6,000 employees working across the state.

About New Jersey Community Capital

NJCC is a 501(c) (3) mission-driven lender based in Trenton that transforms at-risk communities through strategic investments of capital and knowledge. NJCC invests in affordable housing, community facilities, and economic development ventures that strengthen neighborhoods, improve education, and increase jobs, ultimately providing greater opportunities for the low-income residents in these communities. For more information on NJCC, visit www.newjerseycommunitycapital.org

About the City of Newark, New Jersey

Newark, commonly referred to as Brick City, is the third oldest city in the United States and the largest in New Jersey, with a population of more than 280,000 people. Newark sits on one of the nation’s largest transportation super-structures including an international airport, major commuter and freight rail lines, major highway intersections and the busiest seaport on the east coast.

With a new Administration as of July 2006, Newark continues to see signs of a strong revival. Its population showed growth in the most recent census. Its six major colleges and universities are further expanding their presence. The rate of production of affordable housing has doubled, and new businesses are moving in. There is still much work to be done but Newark is on its way to achieving its mission: to set a national standard for urban transformation.

- NEWARK -

For more information on the City of Newark, please visit our website at www.ci.newark.nj.us

Kauffman Foundation’s Video Sketchbook on New Business Financing

Karla Pollack — Mon, 05 Dec 2011 16:22:30 +0000

How do new businesses get ahead in the ‘Money Game’? Kauffman Foundation’s latest animated sketchbook video features Paul Kedrosky illustrating the give and take of new business financing.

There’s no question that startups need money to grow. But although there is not more capital available to new companies, the sources of capital–from personal savings to loan programs to crowdfunding platforms–abound despite the economic downturn.

View the Money Game Sketchbook

Mayors Wellness Campaign Shines at Annual League of Municipalities Conference

Karla Pollack — Fri, 02 Dec 2011 16:36:08 +0000

For Immediate Release: November 29, 2011 (pdf version of news release)

Contact: Melissa Kostinas 609-434-1110

Pequannock Wins $1,000 Wellness Grant
4-Time Olympian Joetta Clark Diggs Honored

West Trenton, New Jersey – Melissa Kostinas, Director of the Mayors Wellness Campaign (MWC), announced today that Pequannock has won a $1,000 wellness grant from the MWC.

Each November, during the annual New Jersey State League of Municipalities Conference in Atlantic City, the Mayors Wellness Campaign (MWC) enters all participating towns into a drawing for a $1,000 Wellness Grant to help with their Mayors Wellness Campaign activities.

“We are thrilled to receive the $1,000 wellness grant from the Mayors Wellness Campaign,” said Pequannock Mayor Richard Phelan. “We will use the grant to jump-start a wellness program in our town that will benefit all our citizens.”

“We are delighted to award Pequannock and Mayor Phelan our annual $1,000 Wellness Grant,” said Kostinas. “We couldn’t be happier with the efforts of mayors to promote active living and healthy lifestyles through the Mayors Wellness Campaign and are hopeful this grant will help Pequannock on the road towards healthy living.”

Twenty additional towns joined the statewide Mayors Wellness Campaign during the recent League conference, bringing the total of participating municipalities to 326. Each town designs their own local campaign around their individual needs.

The MWC panel session during the League conference featured Bay Head Mayor Bill Curtis, Parsippany-Troy Hills Mayor James Barberio, Belmar Mayor Matt Doherty, Chatham Borough Councilwoman Victoria Fife, and MWC Spokesperson former Governor Jim Florio.

In addition, the newest Spokesperson for the Mayors Wellness Campaign, 4-time New Jersey Olympian Joetta Clark Diggs, was honored at a reception.

Joetta was on the U.S. Olympic teams in 1988, 1992, 1996 and 2000 and was America’s premier middle distance runner for over three decades. She is considered by track enthusiasts as the most prolific 800-meter runner of all time and ranked among the top 10 in America for over 20 years. Additionally, she ranked top 10 in the world nine times. While the 2000 season was her last running track, Joetta has continued to make a difference in the world of track and field.

Today, she is the author of “Joetta’s “P” Principles for Success: “Life Lessons Learned from Track & Field” (www.youtube.com/watch?v=gYDs_fH3xEA); President of Joetta Sports & Beyond (www.joettasportsandbeyond.com); and Executive Director of the Joetta Clark Diggs Sports Foundation (www.joettasportsandbeyond.com/foundation).

Joetta spends her time delivering high-energy motivational seminars to athletic programs, businesses, and other organizations across the country. She also works diligently raising funds to provide free fitness, track and field camps and life skills programs for children throughout the country. She is the daughter of Jetta Clark and noted educator, Dr. Joe Clark, the subject of the movie “Lean on Me.”

A graduate of the University of Tennessee, Joetta was inducted into the University of Tennessee’s Hall of Fame in 2001 and more recently, the USA Track and Field Hall of Fame in 2009. To view the video about her amazing athletic career, go to www.philippaluso.com/HOF09/ and click on “Clark Diggs.”

About the Mayors Wellness Campaign

The Mayors Wellness Campaign (www.mayorswellnesscampaign.org) is an initiative of the New Jersey Health Care Quality Institute (www.njhcqi.org) in partnership with the New Jersey State League of Municipalities (www.njslom.org). The mission of the Mayors Wellness Campaign is to equip mayors and other key leaders with the tools to develop and implement active-living initiatives in their communities with the ultimate goal of improving health and reducing the skyrocketing health care costs that come with the obesity problem in New Jersey. Currently, more than half of the New Jersey’s 566 municipalities are participating in the campaign and are working aggressively to decrease obesity rates and increase the overall health of their communities. Major funding for the Mayors Wellness Campaign is provided by The Walmart Foundation. Additional funding for the conference was provided by Partners in Care and Aetna.

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Media Adisory- Press Conference on Thurs, 12/1 at 10am with Cory Booker, Chase and NJCC

Karla Pollack — Wed, 30 Nov 2011 22:29:26 +0000

MAYOR BOOKER TO JOIN CHASE TO ANNOUNCE FIRM’S $4 MILLION INVESTMENT IN NEW JERSEY COMMUNITY CAPITAL, ON THURSDAY, DECEMBER 1, AT 10 A.M., AT 284 SOUTH 11^THSTREET, NEWARK

Investment will help preserve affordable housing in New Jersey;
Newark to benefit from organization’s focus on neighborhood revitalization

Newark, NJ – November 30, 2011 – Mayor Cory A. Booker, Members of the Newark Municipal Council, Deputy Mayor of Economic and Housing Development Adam Zipkin, Director of Housing and Real Estate Michael Meyer, Chase New Jersey Community Relations Manager Elliott Lee, New Jersey Community Capital President Wayne Meyer, The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Community Planning and Development Director, Newark Office Annemarie Uebbing will announce a $4 million grant from Chase to New Jersey Community Capital (NJCC) to help preserve affordable housing and expand the organization’s work in revitalizing New Jersey’s most distressed neighborhoods, with a major focus on Newark. The announcement will take place on Thursday, December 1, at 10 a.m., at 284 South 11^th Street, in Newark.

Newark was selected as the site of the announcement due to the innovative and holistic approach the City and its community partners have taken since the onset of the mortgage and foreclosure crisis. The site of the announcement is a home in Newark’s West Ward that is one of 47 vacant properties in Essex County – including 21 in Newark – which NJCC purchased at a discount from Chase in 2009 to rehabilitate and find permanent tenants. In addition to the grant, Chase has invested more than $3.1 million in NJCC during the last seven years to enhance the organization’s continued leadership in the revitalization of New Jersey’s distressed neighborhoods.

WHO: Mayor Cory A. Booker, Members of the Newark Municipal Council, Deputy Mayor of Economic and Housing Development Adam Zipkin, Director of Housing and Real Estate Michael Meyer, Chase New Jersey Community Relations Manager Elliott Lee, New Jersey Community Capital President Wayne Meyer, and The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Community Planning and Development Director, Newark Office Annemarie Uebbing.

WHAT: Will announce Chase’s $4 million investment in New Jersey Community Capital, to help preserve affordable housing and expand NJCC.

WHEN: Thursday, December 1; 10 a.m.

WHERE: 284 South 11^th Street (Between 12^th Avenue and 13^th Avenue) Newark

Contacts: Press Information Office – (973) 733-8004.

E-mail: Pressoffice@ci.newark.nj.us

JP Morgan Chase: Mike Fusco – (212) 270-5089

E-mail: Michael.f.fusco@chase.com

New Jersey Community Capital: Peter Grof – (609) 989-7766, ext. 406

E-mail: pgrof@njclf.com

-NEWARK-

For more information on the City of Newark, please visit our website at www.ci.newark.nj.us

Coalition of Hearing Specialists Committed to Advancing the Highest Standards in Quality Hearing Health Care

Karla Pollack — Mon, 14 Nov 2011 03:20:17 +0000

For Immediate Release: October 31, 2011
Contact: Libby Vinson (609) 392-3800 ∙ NJAHHP@gmail.com

TRENTON, NJ – The NJ Association of Hearing Health Professionals (NJAHHP), NJ Academy of Audiology (NJAA), and NJ Speech Language Hearing Association (NJSHA) are taking a strong stance against direct Internet sales of hearing aids to New Jersey consumers in the interest of protecting the quality, safety and satisfaction in hearing healthcare that patients deserve and expect. The coalition of hearing health specialists is particularly concerned about the recent announcement from a major health insurance company that it will be selling hearing aids to consumers online without the consultation of licensed hearing professionals.

Not only is it questionable for an insurance company to be profiting from the sale of medical devices to its members, with no professional guidance, assessment or examination by hearing aid specialists, consumers run the risk of purchasing ineffective or ill-fitting devices that can further damage their hearing. Equally concerning is these patients wil l not be monitored for serious hearing problems or undergo important follow-up care that is central to good hearing health.

“Audiologists and hearing instrument specialists are trained and licensed to know what to look for to ensure patient safety and appropriate care in hearing health,” says David Weesner, Au.D., president of NJAHHP. “Their personalized attention and clinical knowledge cannot be replaced by an automated and uncalibrated online hearing test that will no doubt yield unreliable results.”

The direct sale of hearing aids over the Internet by insurance companies turns patient care on its head. Rather than performing hearing tests in a sound controlled environment, patients will undergo a pre-set test where they listen to random tones through the computer. With no guidance from hearing professionals or controls to ensure accurate readings, consumers will be left to analyze their own test results and determine which aid
to select. Then, when they receive their devices through the mail, they will have to program them on their own, which can be a complicated process that can further damage hearing if the output is set too great.

“Hearing loss is a personal condition that deserves personalized attention and care from professionals that have the training and experience to assure that results meet patient expectation,” said Robert M. DiSogra, Au.D., FAAA, President of NJAA. “Hearing aids without consultation and rehabilitation from hearing specialists fall short of meaningful treatment for the hearing impaired.”

Patients that purchase hearing aids from insurance companies will miss out on receiving a thorough otoscopic ear examination by credentialed professionals that have the expertise to evaluate the results and recommend the most appropriate path for care. These specialists have the clinical knowledge to determine type and degree of hearing loss and understand how historical indicators come into play such a family history, medications, noise induced hearing loss, and head injuries in advising next steps in treatment.

“Experience tells us that patient satisfaction with hearing aid devices is directly related to comprehensive care from hearing specialists,” Robert W. Woods, Ph.D., FAAA, Chairperson of the Audiology Committee of the NJSHA. “An insurance company getting involved in the business of selling hearing aids to patients eliminates this vital face-to-face consultation, hampering the benefit, performance and value they will receive from their hearing instruments. Direct hearing aid sales is a delivery system not recommended by state and national professional associations, as well as and such respected national consumer organizations as the Better Hearing Institute,” Dr. Woods concluded.

About New Jersey Association of Hearing Health Professionals
The New Jersey Association of Hearing Health Professionals is the oldest organization representing hearing care specialists in New Jer sey. Organized in 1960, NJAHHP exemplifies honesty, fair practice and professionalism in fitting hearing instruments. We provide for the educational and advisory needs of our professionals to better serve the hearing impaired and their families. For more information, visit www.njahhp.com.

About New Jersey Academy of Audiology
The New Jersey Academy of Audiology was founded in 1992 as a professional organization for all NJ licensed audiologists. Audiologists are licensed to identify hearing and balance disorders in children and adults and provide rehabilitation (including hearing aids) to manage these problems. The majority of NJAA members have a doctoral degree in audiology. The goals of the Academy are continuing education, advocacy and consumer
protection. The NJAA is an affiliate of the American Academy of Audiology. For more information, visit: www.njaudiology.org.

About New Jersey Speech Language Hearing Association
The mission of the New Jersey Speech-Language-Hearing Association (NJSHA) is to serve audiologists, speech-language pathologists, and speech, language or hearing scientists by providing resources, information, programs, and services that meet members’ needs; promoting public awareness; and advocating for professional standards, legislation, and regulation necessary to provide the highest quality of care for the individuals they serve. For more information, visit www.njsha.org.

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QR Codes & Microsoft Tags for Events

Karla Pollack — Thu, 10 Nov 2011 20:58:00 +0000

We’ve all seen bar codes that retailers, magazines and other companies use for internal inventory and subscription tracking. QR Codes are the SM version – they are just a different format for presenting a web address. And because they are social, we want the public to scan them with their mobile phones, visit the site and SHARE them!

What is a QR code?

A QR code is a square matrix code designed by the Japanese corporation Denso-Wave in 1994. QR is short for Quick Response as these codes were designed to be decoded rapidly. QR codes are easy to recognize as they always have a bordered square in three of the four corners.

Microsoft Tags

These are a different format of QR codes created by Microsoft. Microsoft maintains that the size of Tags is the same regardless of the length of your URL or message. This can help when using for printed materials when you need to go smaller. Microsoft Tag, AT&T Mobile Barcodes, and MobileTags are all alternative formats to QR codes that require different apps to scan.

On the other hand, I feel the proprietary formats being marketed by companies like Microsoft, AT&T , and MobileTag throw up an unneeded barrier for consumers. Who wants to download 10 different Apps in order to scan different format codes unless there are features unique enough to matter? I would prefer to have information that can be scanned by all mobile apps.

Download a Scanning App to your phone. Many are free so it’s fun to explore. Simply Google “QR codes” to find a website or mobile App compatible with your phone:. A few options:

· Optiscan (download from iTunes/ phone app store)

· BeeTagg (BeeTagg.com)

· RedLaser (http://redlaser.com/qrcode/)

· TagReader (reads Microsoft Tags http://gettag.mobi; http://tag.microsoft.com to generate tags)

Examples of using QR Codes for events:

1. Event promotion – website address or video invitation

QR code for Trenton Small Business Week:

Tag from a Fair in Washington

2. Trade Show Name Badges:

Large trade shows used to rent clumsy devices that exhibitors could scan regular bar codes on name badges of attendees. Or they could take the time to have a prospect write down their contact info (hopefully legibly) if they ran out of business cards. Now the exhibitor can engage in conversation and if there is to be follow-up after the show they can simply scan the Tag with their phone to capture all the data collected during registration. Contact info, industry sector, etc. This maximizes everyone’s time at a show.

3. Onsite activities, i.e., t-shirts, contests, Scavenger Hunt.

Each June, ARTWORKS takes over a warehouse in Trenton and stages a 24-hour art exhibition, live music, food & wine festival called Art All Night. This year, they had a projector set up in 5 different areas where people could scan a QR code with a clue to find something. I saw a similar mobile scanning activity at a week-long event co-hosted by Lambertville, NJ and New Hope, PA.

4 in 10 U.S. phones are now smartphones. And with Nielsen predicting smartphones to overtake feature phones early 2012, the possibilities of connecting with your audience through mobile is only going to
increase. QR codes are mobile links to your events.

Using Social Media to Promote Your Event

Karla Pollack — Tue, 25 Oct 2011 17:37:13 +0000

These days, many people are beginning to understand the potential use of social media to create event buzz. Whether the occasion is large or small, it can be enhanced tremendously through Social Media.

Posting event information on SM sites is simply the 1st step. The real power comes from the sharing opportunities. How many friends do you on FB? Over 10? Over 100? Keeping the numbers easy, let’s say there are 10 committee members posting to their FB pages x 100 friends = 1,000 sets of eyes seeing something about your event.

Social media allows planners and the organizations sponsoring the events the opportunity to have long-term interactions with the attendees well in advance. Events have become much more exciting and part of that excitement is the anticipation or buzz that starts to build around the event long before it ever takes place.

There are things you can do to leverage your SM promotion like using photos, videos and relevant links in the post instead of just text. It also increases the impact if it’s of interest to one of your friends and they repost to their network. It’s no longer a matter of 2 friends who tells 2 friends… There really is no limit to the power of Social Media to promote your event.

A few of the unlimited number of Social Media sites being used to promote events:

o Facebook event pages
o LinkedIn – We ask our staff to create a LI profile. This helps our company spread our message and it’s a great online resume for them. You can post status updates about events or other projects you’re working on, similar to Twitter. You can also send formal event invitations to your contacts on LinkedIn.
o Eventbrite.com – Eventbrite allows you to sell tickets, if that is something that
you want to do
o Meetup.com
o Twitter – use hashtags to make it easier for people to find people talking about your event
o Committee and attendees spreading the word on their SM sites!

Related article:
Using Social Media for Event Planning

Social Media for Pre-Event Planning & Collaboration

Karla Pollack — Tue, 25 Oct 2011 14:08:26 +0000

One of the difficult logistical aspects of planning an event with a large number of people working from different locations is organizing everyone. Email addresses must be managed and all the decisions, contracts and communication threads need to be tracked. A few Social Media tools help with this process!

Private Facebook & LinkedIn Groups – great for personal events like reunions, birthdays and showers.

Yammer.com – on a more enterprise level. It has none of the ads and other distractions that you findon Facebook. Yammer allows you to organize & archive by topic or project. You can schedule meetings, post documents, throw questions out there. This is geared toward large intercompany collaboration. Or say you have a client you’re coordinating a 25th Anniversary Gala. You can set up a joint Yammer event network between your Yammer network and the company’s network. You can then have specific people organized into, silent auction committee, awards committee…

DropBox.com – Allows you to “drag & drop” large files and invite others to access from any computer or mobile phone. For example, you could put all your sponsor logos and high rez photos in folder for the committee and brochure designer.

Slideshare.net – organize all the speaker presentations & video

Please share tools you use!

Trenton Small Business Week 2011

Karla Pollack — Sat, 15 Oct 2011 20:01:52 +0000

The City of Trenton is once again hosting a weeklong celebration of activities for businesses, entrepreneurs and individuals starting or changing careers from October 17th to the 21st. Last year, more than 5,000 people came to the Capital City and we are expecting an even larger crowd this October.

Visit http://www.smallbizweek.com for the schedule and other details.

TSBW highlights include:

17 FREE seminars on topics like Going Global, Financing, Social Networks, Mobile Marketing, Veterans Programs – all designed to make your business more profitable!
Kick Off Breakfast at the Trenton Marriott with the Mayor’s Awards – October 17
Mercer Regional Chamber of Commerce Luncheon – October 18
TD Bank Networking Reception – October 18
10th Annual Mercer Regional Chamber of Commerce Business EXPO – October 19
Capital City Real Estate Reception – October 19
MRCC Renaissance Ball – October 21

Using Social Media for Events

Karla Pollack — Fri, 14 Oct 2011 21:14:19 +0000

ABS works with a number of non-profits who host Board retreats, committee meetings, workshops and fundraisers. We find ourselves responsible for event planning throughout the year and Social Media has added a powerful tool for our marketing and communications!

Social Media Marketing – broadly defined: sharing in an online community.

Social Media (SM) allows for the creation and exchange of user-generated content. This form of marketing is driven by word-of-mouth, meaning it results in earned media rather than paid advertising. People generally pay more attention to an event if they hear someone they know talking about it.

Whether or not event planning is your job or business, you’re going to be involved with planning events of some sort – birthdays, retirement parties, reunions. SM helps make it easier to organize, promote and share.

The following just scratches the surface for how event planners are using social media. Please add to the conversation about your experiences using Social Media for events!

I. Pre-Event Planning/Collaboration

II. Promotion

III. Location Based Apps

IV. QR Codes & Microsoft Tags

Click here to download a discussion at Middlesex County College on the subject of Social Media in Event Planning – October 15, 2011.