RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, NC, July 15, 2011 /24-7PressRelease/ — Bayer CropScience (http://www.bayercropscience.us), one of the world’s top innovative crop science companies in the areas of crop protection, non-agricultural pest control, seeds and traits, has announced that it is a presenting/season sponsor of the North Carolina Theatre. Bayer is donating more than $25,000 to the theatre this season. The North Carolina Theatre’s mission is to strengthen the cultural vitality of North Carolina by cultivating musical theatre appreciation. It strives to produce outstanding professional Broadway musicals and to develop the next generation of artists through youth training, performance and outreach programs.

Bayer CropScience is committed to making a positive difference in the communities where its employees live and work. Over the years, it has sponsored a variety of cultural and educational events as part of its commitment to valuing people and their different perspectives and cultures

Read More:24-7 Pressrelease

Add Your Business Free:Garner NC City Guide

As a small business owner, you know that any moment could be your next business opportunity. Therefore, you would never want to lose an opportunity because you were missing one of the key tools in your marketing arsenal.

Whether it’s checking in with the email marketing company you work with to make sure you’re staying in contact with your customers , or revamping your website, now is as good of time as any to take inventory of your marketing efforts. If you’re looking for a place to start, here are 10 marketing tools – some old-school and some new technologies – that you don’t want to be caught without.

1. Business cards: No matter what type of business you own, you need to be able to pass on your information so those you come in contact with will know where to find you.

2. Customized business forms: Whether it’s invoices and statements or sales transaction forms, including your logo on documents is an easy way to make a professional impression on the people you do business with.

3. Brochures: They provide an easy way to let those you meet know what you’re all about when time is short to explain.

4. Promotional items: Putting your logo on useful items given to your potential clients will keep your business front and center.

5. Special events: There’s no better way to introduce new people to your business or promote interaction with loyal customers than hosting a special event.

6. Websites: Make sure your website is up to date and accurate. Your business domain name should accurately reflect the name of your company. It may also be worth it to purchase similar domain names that you could envision your customers using to ensure they’ll be headed to the right place when they search for you on the Web.

7. Social media: Facebook and Twitter are free to use, and are an increasingly effective way to interact with customers and spread news about your company.

8. Email marketing: Keep your clients aware of new developments at your business by sending out a weekly or monthly newsletter.

9. Search engine marketing: Tailor your message to specific demographics using marketing directly related to where your clients are searching from and what they are searching for.

10. Marketing analytics: Analytics programs can tell you what type of marketing works best for you.

By taking stock of all the tools in your marketing arsenal, you can figure out how to improve your message and make sure you aren’t missing any opportunities to attract new business.

Free Garner NC Business Listing

CHARLOTTE
After her husband died in 2006, Mary Logan found herself alone in Lincolnton, N.C. Retired after years of working in the town’s mill, she decided to move closer to her family in Charlotte.

Though she grew up with very little, Logan never once considered herself poor. Despite her limited means, Logan knew there were some things no one should go without. That’s why she was thankful to find the Free Store, a program sponsored by Crisis Assistance Ministry that distributes clothing, shoes and other necessities to people in need.

“Nobody should go without clothes. Nobody,” she said. “I’ve found things that I thought I would never find. I mean, really, it’s a blessing.”

Logan isn’t someone you might expect to see at the Free Store. By her own admission, she has the means to shop at department stores, but she simply said, “I’d rather come here.”

Surprised? You shouldn’t be, said store manager John Wakefield. He said Crisis Assistance Ministry’s goal is to help everyone, including patrons like Logan.

“We don’t care where you live, how much money you make, if you have a job or not, or if you have a home or not,” he said. “We want you to take that money and go help pay your rent, your utilities, your food bill for your kids, whatever it may be, and just come here and help take that extra pressure off.”

Crisis Assistance Ministry began in 1975, during the mid-1970s economic downturn. A group of local clergy set out with the goal of “pooling resources to more effectively meet the needs of low-income families in financial crisis in Mecklenburg County.” The Free Store became a staple of Crisis Assistance Ministry’s offerings in 1978.

Ministry grows in response to need

Today, Crisis Assistance Ministry has grown to become one of the largest nonprofit agencies of its kind in North Carolina. The organization receives most of its funding from government grants and private contributions. In 2009, grants and contributions exceeded $17 million, with almost half coming from the city of Charlotte, Mecklenburg County, and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Rather than reacting in the wake of financial disaster, Wakefield said the organization takes measures to prevent financial distress for individuals before it occurs. Redirecting funds from expenses like clothing and toward more pressing financial obligations is one way to accomplish the goal.

“We have approximately 7,000 individuals in Charlotte right now without homes,” he said. “We want to keep that number from going up, and that’s truly what we’re here for.”

Last year, Crisis Assistance Ministry helped more than 50,000 Charlotte area families through financial assistance programs, furniture and appliance distribution, as well as the Free Store. Communications Director Akilah Luke said it’s not uncommon to see hundreds of people lined up outside their doors every day as early as 6 a.m., especially during the cold winter months. By intervening and helping these families before their situations worsen, Luke said Crisis Assistance Ministry plays a distinctive role.

“We’re that place — that safety net to catch families before they become homeless, and just allow people to just continue on with their lives and live with dignity,” she said.

But contrary to what one might expect, the majority of their patrons aren’t living in extreme circumstances. Just looking around the expansive waiting room inside Crisis Assistance Ministry’s main branch, there are faces that are not immediately associated with financial hardship. Instead you see folks like Mary Logan, the people you interact with every day.

“The families we serve are the working poor,” Luke said. “These are people that are your school bus drivers, the people who are checking you out at the grocery store, maybe it’s the barista at your coffee shop. These are the people that you’re helping, your neighbors.”

The number of people seeking financial assistance has increased significantly since the beginning of the financial crisis. Before the recession hit in 2006, Crisis Assistance Ministry served just over 40,000 families. Today, due in part to increases of more than 60 percent in hunger and homelessness since 2007, the organization is serving more than 10,000 additional families.

Charlotte city officials are also involved in fighting the growing number of homeless, and the almost 40,000 citizens living in extreme poverty. The city’s communications manager Jamie Banks said one way they are attacking this problem is by seeking to increase the amount of affordable housing throughout the city.

Researchers at UNC-Chapel Hill found that traditional measures of poverty did not adequately reflect the dispersion of poverty in North Carolina. As a result, scholars discovered that large – and largely affluent – metropolitan areas like Charlotte and Raleigh contain sections of concentrated poverty.

READ MORE:REESENEWS

FREE Garner NC Business Listing

FREE! Wake County NC Business Listing, Over $350.00 Value Free!

(NAPSI)—With more than 500 million active users spending over 700 billion minutes a month on its site, Facebook has become a premier platform for socializing, sharing, searching and, now, shopping online. The emerging trend of selling and buying merchandise through Facebook and other social media platforms is here and it’s exploding. Booz & Company estimates that the dollar volume of goods sold through social media overall could increase sixfold, from $5 billion in 2010 to $30 billion in 2015. Businesses and consumers alike refer to this paradigm as “Social Commerce,” a fusion of social media and e-commerce that enables consumers to shop directly through their social networks.

Many stores are leveraging social networks to allow consumers to execute transactions in the comfort of their own Facebook pages, where attention is high and the user’s likes and dislikes are clear. The Social Commerce premise is that the focus is on people instead of products. There is a treasure trove of data based on users’ interests on their Facebook pages, and businesses can finally tailor the presentation of merchandise to offer a truly customized shopping experience. Businesses can now sell consumers exactly what they want, and consumers are reaping the benefits.

Social Commerce helps businesses offer consumers exclusive deals and special promotions while enabling them to connect with, listen to, understand and engage with their customers to improve the overall shopping experience. Furthermore, the information and content on Facebook is “shared,” meaning that friends can update each other on their recent online shopping sprees.

But in addition to benefits and opportunities, emerging communications channels always come with some new potential risks, and Social Commerce is no exception. The main concerns for consumers are security and privacy. Especially when phishing scams, identity theft and hackers are constantly in the headlines, consumers are more aware than ever of the need for online security and identity protection. With Social Commerce, cybercriminals are more likely to exploit the inherent trust that social networking sites enjoy. So how can consumers gain confidence in Social Commerce?

To know if a website, link and transaction are safe, the first thing to look for is an SSL Certificate, a technology that enables encryption when users connect to a website. When the lock icon appears in an Internet browser, this means SSL is in place, encrypting the site visitor’s information.

Symantec, the provider of VeriSign® SSL, has been working with a number of social commerce platform providers to offer enhanced security to organizations with a fan store on Facebook. When fans visit a fan store protected by VeriSign SSL, they will see the familiar “VeriSign Trusted” seal that more than 100,000 online businesses choose to show that their transactions are secure.

When consumers buy directly on their Facebook pages and see SSL, they know they can trust the businesses they “like” and that their transactions are protected with the most advanced and proven security technology.

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Free Listing In Number One Local Wake County NC Business Directory!

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Six North Carolinians are being honored with the highest civilian award the state bestows.

The six will receive the North Carolina Award on Thursday at the N.C. Museum of History in Raleigh.

Among those being honored are Winston-Salem attorney Mike Leonard; High Point poet and author Carole Boston Weatherford; Greenville artist and teacher Robert Ebendorf; and Asheville painter and sculptor Donald Sultan.

Also being recognized are Margaret S. Newman of Winston-Salem, chairman of the board of directors of the N.C. Center for Nonprofits; and F. Ivy Carroll, a scientist in the field of medicinal chemistry.

The North Carolina Awards were created by the General Assembly in 1961 and have been presented annually since 1964. It recognizes contributions to the state and nation in fine arts, literature, public service and science.

Source:MYNC.COM

City5nc Free Premium Business Listing

This Business Directory, City Guide was created for local NC businesses and for Citizens of Wake County and the Triangle area of North Carolina. City5nc.com, in the next few months will be promoting and adding new content to help your business & website to seen by 1000s in your local area, and with your business and website optimized to be search-engine friendly it will be fopund by the mojor search engines like, Google, Bing, Yahoo, and Aol.

We do not use automated imported data-base files software, your listing has no Google ads or pop-up, and you can add your business logo, website link, plenty of space for your info, (html is aloud with some restrictions), graphics or pictures, with many categories to fit your business. We do all the management our selves with accasional freelance contractors.

When our directory fills to over 240.000 businesses from, Raleigh, Garner, Apex, Cary and Holly Springs NC with some of the surrounding area’s Towns, it will be even more valuable as a resource for websites and local busineses in Wake County NC.

As we put the spotlight on local Cities and Towns, we hope that your business contribution will get an immense return from this domain. A Small Donation will help us to add more useful content, upgrades, promotions, full-time, part-time managers and freelance contractors, most businesses donate from $3.00 to $7.00.

Donate what ever you think it’s worth to you, its quick and easy with Paypal or using your credit card, all tranactions are handled by PAY PAL and very secure.

If you can’t donate at this time, please consider adding our directory to your favorites or bookmark us. Some businesses are paying $25.00 to $100.00 a week or more for these services, with little results, few unique visitors, and overall traffic is minium, when your business grow, Cit5nc grows and can provide more resources for small businesses in our area. It’s important for us to promote and grow City5nc, to help fight the high cost of premium advertising online. We where frustrated with trying to promote our businesses and websites online and paying what seemed to fair pricing, but no return on investments. Since we started City5nc.com Business Directory we’ve seen an estimated an increase of 200% and improving each day.

If you are looking for a place you can trust to use all of it’s resources to promote and enhance your business and website profile, then try City5nc local area business directory, it’s really free! and are never asked to commit to any contracts or demand any fees. We do however ask for you help in keeping City5nc free, by a small donation of your choice. You do not have to donate to add your business and your business will be promoted equal to all other businesses. Thank you for all your help. Managers:Sadac and Judy Israel

http://www.city5nc.com/community/

Riding the social media wave: a user’s guide to Web-based communication

(ARA) – Who is using social media? What is it exactly? When and where do people tweet, post and blog? Why do people engage in social media?

Social media is everywhere. It encompasses blogs, social networks (such as Twitter, Facebook and MySpace), professional networking avenues such as LinkedIn, and creative sites like Flickr, a photography-sharing website. People such as the teenager next door, grandma and celebrities are using social media outlets. Remember when Conan O’Brien made news by first breaking his recent public silence on Twitter? Did you know that there are more than 300 million active Facebook users who post nearly 1 billion photos monthly to their accounts? Additionally, it would take 7,000 years for all the photos on Flickr to be developed at a one-hour photo!

People use social media for a variety of reasons. What role does social media play in your life? What role should it play?

“The savvy social media user will know how to maximize social media use for their benefit,” explains Ted Long, academic director of Web Design & Interactive Media at The Illinois Institute of Art – Schaumburg. He recommends pointers from www.kodak.com as a guide to social media beginners. Some favorites follow.

* Know what you are talking about. If you are going to work with social media, be involved in social media. Start your own Twitter account, Facebook page, read blogs and get engaged. That is the best way to understand the culture, tone, best practices, and protocol.

* Always be transparent. When you are communicating in social media say who you are and who you work for. Don’t try to be sneaky and plant comments, don’t hire people to go out and say nice things about you and stay away from ghost writing. Be genuine and be real.

* Post frequently. It’s a lot of work, but don’t post to your blog then leave it for two weeks. Readers won’t have a reason to follow you on Twitter or check your blog if they can’t expect new content regularly.

* Add value. Share tips, tricks and insights. People’s time is precious and they need to get something out of the time they spend with you. Make listening to you worth their time.

* Respond. Answer questions, thank people even if it’s just a few words. Make it a two-way conversation.

* Have fun. If you don’t like what you are doing, others will notice it and won’t enjoy interacting with you.

Vanessa Jackson, assistant director of career services at The Illinois Institute of Art – Schaumburg, reminds users that social media should always be appropriate for a professional setting. “Social networking sites are like the invention of fire for the 21st century. There is great power, possibility and functionality, but use it improperly and you can burn yourself,” cautions Jackson.

Jackson advises:
* You can lock your profile, but remember that a lot of information can be derived simply by looking at your profile picture.

* Keep one clean profile per social media site. Don’t bother having two profiles, one for friends and one professional.

* LinkedIn is for professional networking and shouldn’t be used in the same manner that you use Facebook or MySpace, unless all of your social media profiles are business appropriate.

* Employers (and potential employers) really do check your social networking sites. Spell correctly, use proper grammar and don’t be vulgar or degrading to others.

Social media has revolutionized the way we communicate, leaving many who don’t use it feeling out of touch. To begin, start slow, learn as you go, and remember to represent yourself in a way that is appropriate for the world to see. Then you too can experience the benefits of being more connected than ever before.

To learn more about The Art Institutes schools, visit www.artinstitutes.edu/nz.  

Courtesy of ARAcontent

Garner North Carolina is growing, “as they say” like a weed, well in the mist of all this growth a number of area businesses has found a little hidden treasure that most businesses have over looked, Local online advertising and marketing, meaning locally owned and operated.

Garner NC City Guide has been competing, not only with the online and off-line local newspapers, but other local online business directories and the Internet giants, “Most of the major search engines” for Garner NC business customers for the past few years and Garner NC and the surrounding area’s answered by a 600% increase in free and paid listings since 11/15/2007.

Garner City Guide is nothing fancy, like Other Directories with pop-up all over the pages, other ads all around your listings, promotional music and graphics screeming on your screen, but what Garner City Guide is, is a well managed local online key-word business directory,that brings more traffic to Garner businesses and websites, Free. Silver & Gold Members pay a small affordable yearly fee.

If the search engines can’t find Garner NC business directory and local City Guide, then its of no use to our Garner NC Businesses.

Garner North Carolina Business Directory!

The goal is to provide community businesses and residents with a low cost way to advertise and be seen by many people in and around our growing area. Now with our City Guide Site businesses can finally get the exposure they deserve.

City Guide, business directory, event calendar and free classifieds allows local residents, as well as anyone around the world, to find information about businesses ranging from a wide variety of categories in Garner, North Carolina. Offering a free business listing is nothing new, but wtat is the traffic you receive. Best of all, gold member businesses are evenly rotated and featured on the home page below, as well as on the top of their respective category page. Therefore, receiving the highest level of exposure for their business, plus even more exposure with a new personal webpage on our server. You can also use our MARKETPLACE for buying and selling your products and services in the CLASSIFIEDS ADS Section. Classifieds are Totally FREE, Garner NC City Guide more than just a place to advertise your business or promote your products and services, Find information, useful information about Garner NC and surrounding area’s that you and your business are looking for.

You should use Garner’s Event Calendar, it’s also free, “list your events” -Crafts, Government, Charity, Sports, Holiday, Business, Church, Theater, Party, Networking. Lots of things are happening in Garner NC.

Local Crafts Birdhouses Made In Raleigh NC

 

 

RALEIGH, N.C. – Wake County residents looking for new skills and inspiration came to hear more about the Plus 50 program today at Wake Tech’s Western Wake Campus in Cary. The Plus 50 Open House featured information on the program’s latest course offerings designed with students age 50 and above in mind. Wake Tech is one of 15 colleges across the country participating in a three-year initiative to reach out to these students.

“It’s clear that ‘retirement’ has a whole new meaning for baby boomers,” says Pat Fontana, Director of the Plus 50 program at Wake Tech. “Our Plus 50 courses offer new pathways and adventures for people whose lives are changing direction.”

Wake Tech’s Summer 2010 Plus 50 offerings include:

• Find Your Ideal Career – A workshop designed to help students explore career options by discovering what they really want to do and learning how to use their strengths to their advantage.
• Internet and Email – A course that teaches the basics of the web and how to communicate through email.
• Coupon Camp – A daylong course on couponing and meal planning that includes a hands-on trip to the grocery store.

Future Plus 50 courses include Lifestyle Financial Strategies, Getting Organized and an introduction to becoming a Virtual Assistant. Classes are offered at Wake Tech’s Western Wake Campus in Cary and Northern Wake Campus in Raleigh. For information call 866-5145 or visit http://plusfifty.waketech.edu. Plus 50 is funded by a grant from The Atlantic Philanthropies and is led by the American Association of Community Colleges (AACC).

About Wake Technical Community College:
Wake Technical Community College (Wake Tech) is a two-year, public institution providing education and training for the citizens of Raleigh and surrounding Wake County. As the second largest community college in the state, Wake Tech provides a comprehensive array of learning opportunities and serves an annual enrollment of more than 65,000 students. Wake Tech spans the region with five campuses and two training centers, and offers classes at multiple community sites as well as online, through distance education media. Curriculum (for-credit) programs in a variety of academic and technical specialties offer more than 165 degrees, diplomas and certificates, including two-year associate’s degrees in science, applied science, the arts, and general education. University transfer programs prepare students for entry into four-year institutions; focused training programs prepare students for immediate employment. Wake Tech also offers a broad scope of continuing education courses, including training for entrepreneurs and small business owners, public safety officer training (fire, rescue, and law enforcement), high school equivalency classes, and non-credit courses for personal enrichment and professional development. Wake Tech provides customized workforce training for new and expanding industries and a cooperative education program that interfaces with the corporate community. For more information, please visit http://www.waketech.edu.

SOURCE:CarolinaNewsWire

Garner North Carolina is growing, “as they say” like a weed, well in the mist of all this growth a number of area businesses has found a little hidden treasure that most businesses have over looked, Local online advertising and marketing, meaning locally owned and operated.

Garner NC City Guide has been competing, not only with the online and off-line local newspapers, but other local online business directories and the Internet giants, “Most of the major search engines” for Garner NC business customers for the past few years and Garner NC and the surrounding area’s answered by a 600% increase in free and paid listings since 11/15/2007.

Garner City Guide is nothing fancy with pop-up all over the pages, other ads all around your listings, promotional music and graphics screeming on your screen, but what Garner City Guide is, is bring traffic to your business and website at an affordable yearly fee.

If the search engines can’t find Garner NC business directory and local City Guide then its of no use to our Garner NC Businesses.

Garner North Carolina Business Directory!

Our goal is to provide community businesses and residents with a low cost way to advertise and be seen by many people in and around our growing area. Now with our City Guide Site businesses can finally get the exposure they deserve.

Our City Guide, business directory, event calendar and free classifieds allows local residents, as well as anyone around the world, to find information about businesses ranging from a wide variety of categories in Garner, North Carolina. garnernc-online.Best of all, gold member businesses are evenly rotated and featured on our home page below, as well as on the top of their respective category page. Therefore, receiving the highest level of exposure for their business, plus even more exposure with a new personal webpage on our server. You can also use our MARKETPLACE for buying and selling your products and services in the CLASSIFIEDS ADS Section.Local Basic Classifieds are FREE, however we offer a more advanced level for more exposure for your advertising. Garnernc-online is more than just a place to advertise your business or promote your products and services, we offer information, useful information about Garner NC and surrounding area’s that you and your business are looking for.

We invite you to use Garner’s Event Calendar, it’s also free, “list your events” -Crafts, Government, Charity, Sports, Holiday, Business, Church, Theater, Party, Networking. Lots of things happening in Garner NC- List Your Business Today!

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