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So this was my pitch to Professor Linda Menck, back in October, after she charged our Emerging Media class to come up with a final-exam-worthy idea for demonstrating what we have learned this semester:

"Michele Roseman, a former colleague of mine at the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation, is creating a new brand for herself called 'Business Briefs." I regularly get e-mails via Constant Contact from her promoting "a free, 15-minute, weekly teleconference that promises to inspire, refresh and uplift.' The message continues: "You've been connecting the dots between your projects, goals and personal worlds. Why not take some time to make a connection with the one who made the world?' The e-mail newsletter also promotes a weekly devotional book that 'will allow you to connect with God at your own pace. It features the same-easy-to-follow connections between business people and biblical principles.' There's a companion website, www.businessbriefs.info. Both the marketing approach and website could and should be much more. Here's a chance to help someone I care about reach more people she wants to help – and to help us both learn more about developing a brand effectively and efficiently on a grand scale."

Well, after several weeks of development, this evening I revealed the new-and-improved Business Briefs website to our class in a 10-minute Keynote presentation. The presentation mostly focused on how Michele and I worked to create – as a guest speaker urged us this semester – one sight-one sound for her and her brand. First, she shared with me sample websites from other marketplace ministers she likes. She shared some very nice and useful digital assets (videos, audio files and photos) previously used to market and sell her "Business Briefs" book. We updated her bio and made sure to provide links to related articles and appearances elsewhere on the Web. We also created one-stop places for her site's visitors to join her teleconference and, of course, buy her book.

It helped that Michele has some prior Web management experience. So she could right away develop a new blog. But our greatest opportunity was to push Michele and the "Business Briefs" brand further into social media. She had already developed accounts for her brand on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn – yet she had not fully engaged. Well, she committed to tweeting and we're still working on getting her focused on Facebook and LinkedIn. (Help her out by adding her as a friend and liking her page, following her, and inviting her to connect.) Happy to report, though, that there's a new Flickr presence. And, yes, we made sure to have the ubiquitous social media icons on the new site.

A great thing about this project is that Michele will take over managing the site after I get my final grade. We have talked about adding more video to the site and creating an archive section for her past and future teleconferences. We have talked about posting new entries on the blog at least once a week and tweeting morning, noon and night. We have talked about her finding ways to be part of the workplace-faith conversation, even 140 characters at a time.

Well, don't know that I have ever enjoyed working on a final exam more than this one. Please be sure to visit www.businessbriefs.info and to spread the word about Michele Tapp Roseman and her "Business Briefs" brand.
 


Comments

Mark Strotman
01/20/2011 8:13pm

Did you read the book and, if so, what did you think of it?

Reply
Joshua Arter
01/23/2011 5:28pm

I was going to ask the same question. Is it available in stores or just online?

Reply
01/24/2011 8:25pm

To answer your question Josh, I think you can purchase the book at Barns and Noble stores, but you might have to pre-order the book. Looks like a very inspiring book. I'll definitely have to check it out!

Reply
Jodi Denk
01/24/2011 8:32pm

The website offers a lot of insight into the book and makes it easier to understand what it's about. I especially liked the testimonials tab. It's nice to people's take on it in their own words. And it's all in one place.

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Trey
01/24/2011 11:03pm

I always think it's a great technique to reach out to people through religion and the idea of people connecting with God through business can help bridge the gap that sometimes forms between religion and the sometimes considered cold and calculated business world.

Reply
Ashely De La Torre
01/24/2011 11:52pm

I agree with Jodi, I like when you can here peoples honest opinions on something and I feel it creates a more personal relationship between author and user.

Reply
Jon Mattrisch
01/25/2011 9:53am

Ive heard about this but have never explored it. But like others, I also agree that honest and true opinions can definitely help increase the sense of relationship and personal direction between the writer and reader.

Reply
01/27/2011 11:11am

It's the perfect thing for this University, professor. I think I saw it somewhere unless I am mistaken. But I think it's only best to be honest in any kind of writing!

Reply



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    Journalism faculty member and graduate student at Marquette University. Native of Camden, N.J.; former president of the National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ); former communications director for the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation (CBCF).

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