Q&A with Dr. Sheila Brooks @BrooksBizReport
Historic Communications Pioneer, Executive Leader, and Role Model
Social Media and Entrepreneurship
@SRBComm
Mike Robinson, Ed.D: Share a little about your background
Sheila Brooks, Ph.D.: Dr. Brooks is an award-winning marketing, media and communications strategist, and an Emmy award-winning former television newscaster and executive producer. She has been providing multicultural, video production, and crisis communications counsel to clients in the energy and utilities, higher education and transportation industries, issue advocacy and political campaigns, for more than 41 years.
Mike Robinson, Ed.D.: Congratulations on your recent honor from BMN and the NABJ’s prestigious Ida B. Wells Award. Please tell me about these prestigious awards and why they are significant accomplishments in your already accomplished career?
Sheila Brooks, Ph.D.: I am honored to have won two coveted national awards: the National Association of Black Journalists’ (NABJ) 2019 Ida B. Wells Award and the Cinderella to CEO Award. The NABJ Ida B. Wells Awards is given to an individual who has made outstanding efforts to make newsrooms and news coverage more accurately reflect the diversity of the communities they serve.The award is named in honor of Ida B. Wells, the distinguished journalist, fearless reporter and Black feminist who led an anti-lynching crusade in the United States in the 1890s. I was presented with this award during the Hall of Fame Luncheon at the annual NABJ Convention & Career Fair in Miami, Florida on Fri., August 9.
The Cinderella to CEO™ Awards features 36 women who have “inspiring, modern tales of transformation, changing the world for the better.” Of the 36 finalists, nine category winners were selected along with one grand prize winner. This award ceremony was inspired by the book “From Cinderella to CEO” and the morals that are found in the classic fairy tales that we all know so well.
Mike Robinson, Ed.D: Dr. Brooks, why do believe educators should embrace and utilize Social Media to enhance their brand recognition?
Sheila Brooks, Ph.D.: Educators should embrace and utilize social media for brand recognition because like any other brand they should take advantage of the tools and resources to connect to their audiences i.e. students, fellow educators, and others. These social network tools can also help improve teaching and learning methods.
Mike Robinson, Ed.D: Can you provide a few examples of educators who you believe to have successfully used Social Media to enhance their scholarship and their brand?
Sheila Brooks, Ph.D.: Dr. Syb Brown, journalism professor at Belmont University, Nashville, TN, www.drsyb.com, https://www.linkedin.com/in/drsyb/ and Eva Gray Coleman – Coleman has served NABJ in numerous capacities, including the 2018 NABJ Convention chairwomen, chapter president, deputy regional director, and regional conference co-chairperson. She is the former executive producer of Frisco High School's first-ever television program, RACC-TV, serving in that role and as a broadcast journalism teacher from 2004-2008. Also, Eva created and launched Ranger News Network (RNN) at Frisco's sixth high school, Lone Star, in 2010.
Mike Robinson, Ed.D: Does the process of branding via Social Media require a slightly different approach if we are talking women and especially women of color?
Sheila Brooks, Ph.D.: Social media is a form of marketing that certainly requires a different approach when targeting women, especially women of color. It is no question that women control an incredible amount of buying power. And women who have diverse interests and experiences need to be targeted with a “winning” strategy, which will affect their purchasing decisions over time.
Mike Robinson, Ed.D: Does the process of branding via Social Media require a slightly different approach if we are talking women and especially women of color?
Sheila Brooks, Ph.D.: We use social media to position ourselves as experts in the marketing industry. It helps us stay up on the trends within the marketing industry as well as the tools and platforms that are important to our audience and our clients. Social media helps us stay connected. Staying connected helps us grow relationships with our customers and influences the way potential clients perceive our business brand.
Mike Robinson, Ed.D: What are the best Social Media platforms for one to market their organization?
Sheila Brooks, Ph.D.: Though the most popular social media platforms are Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn, every organization needs to assess their goals and purpose before deciding on what platforms to consider for their brand. A more visually appealing message might require the use of the most popular social media platforms. However, the organization may consider using Instagram to promote their services or products over others. Visual content is so much more engaging on social networks.
Mike Robinson, Ed.D: What should an online presence look like? And what should those entrepreneurs avoid when integrating Social Media into their organization?
Sheila Brooks, Ph.D.: An online presence should be authentic. Authenticity helps build trust between your brand and the audience. It allows you to interact and engage with customers or clients by creating a space for open dialogue and feedback in real-time. Authenticity in the social media space reinforces the legitimacy of your business or product and positions entrepreneurs as expert leaders in their particular niche. Don’t avoid having a plan. Social media goes much smoother when there are plans and policies. Decide what platforms to use as well as what days and how many times you are Dr. Brooks Interview going to post per week. Decide what your brand voice is and make sure it is conveyed across all platforms. Be consistent.
Mike Robinson, Ed.D: Women, especially women of color aspiring to become Entrepreneurs what do they need to know to be successful and to sustain success?
Sheila Brooks, Ph.D.: One of the strengths of aspiring women entrepreneurs, in particular, is the ability to break out of the traditional “in-the-box” thinking while gaining knowledge in business essentials. It’s no doubt that most entrepreneurs use their experience and expertise to start businesses in the fields they know. And that’s good. However, they should immediately take advantage of the tools and resources designed for business development such as mentoring programs at the U.S. Small Business Administration and the small business development centers located on many college campuses. No longer will we do business in traditional ways. The often changing economy signals a shift to a new business paradigm. Women need to re-invent themselves over and over again and be prepared to have exceptional leadership skills, be brand conscious, innovative, creative, have technological “know-how”, leverage business networks and tap into the global supply chain.
Sheila Brooks, Ph.D.: Dr. Brooks is an award-winning marketing, media and communications strategist, and an Emmy award-winning former television newscaster and executive producer. She has been providing multicultural, video production, and crisis communications counsel to clients in the energy and utilities, higher education and transportation industries, issue advocacy and political campaigns, for more than 41 years.
Mike Robinson, Ed.D.: Congratulations on your recent honor from BMN and the NABJ’s prestigious Ida B. Wells Award. Please tell me about these prestigious awards and why they are significant accomplishments in your already accomplished career?
Sheila Brooks, Ph.D.: I am honored to have won two coveted national awards: the National Association of Black Journalists’ (NABJ) 2019 Ida B. Wells Award and the Cinderella to CEO Award. The NABJ Ida B. Wells Awards is given to an individual who has made outstanding efforts to make newsrooms and news coverage more accurately reflect the diversity of the communities they serve.The award is named in honor of Ida B. Wells, the distinguished journalist, fearless reporter and Black feminist who led an anti-lynching crusade in the United States in the 1890s. I was presented with this award during the Hall of Fame Luncheon at the annual NABJ Convention & Career Fair in Miami, Florida on Fri., August 9.
The Cinderella to CEO™ Awards features 36 women who have “inspiring, modern tales of transformation, changing the world for the better.” Of the 36 finalists, nine category winners were selected along with one grand prize winner. This award ceremony was inspired by the book “From Cinderella to CEO” and the morals that are found in the classic fairy tales that we all know so well.
Mike Robinson, Ed.D: Dr. Brooks, why do believe educators should embrace and utilize Social Media to enhance their brand recognition?
Sheila Brooks, Ph.D.: Educators should embrace and utilize social media for brand recognition because like any other brand they should take advantage of the tools and resources to connect to their audiences i.e. students, fellow educators, and others. These social network tools can also help improve teaching and learning methods.
Mike Robinson, Ed.D: Can you provide a few examples of educators who you believe to have successfully used Social Media to enhance their scholarship and their brand?
Sheila Brooks, Ph.D.: Dr. Syb Brown, journalism professor at Belmont University, Nashville, TN, www.drsyb.com, https://www.linkedin.com/in/drsyb/ and Eva Gray Coleman – Coleman has served NABJ in numerous capacities, including the 2018 NABJ Convention chairwomen, chapter president, deputy regional director, and regional conference co-chairperson. She is the former executive producer of Frisco High School's first-ever television program, RACC-TV, serving in that role and as a broadcast journalism teacher from 2004-2008. Also, Eva created and launched Ranger News Network (RNN) at Frisco's sixth high school, Lone Star, in 2010.
Mike Robinson, Ed.D: Does the process of branding via Social Media require a slightly different approach if we are talking women and especially women of color?
Sheila Brooks, Ph.D.: Social media is a form of marketing that certainly requires a different approach when targeting women, especially women of color. It is no question that women control an incredible amount of buying power. And women who have diverse interests and experiences need to be targeted with a “winning” strategy, which will affect their purchasing decisions over time.
Mike Robinson, Ed.D: Does the process of branding via Social Media require a slightly different approach if we are talking women and especially women of color?
Sheila Brooks, Ph.D.: We use social media to position ourselves as experts in the marketing industry. It helps us stay up on the trends within the marketing industry as well as the tools and platforms that are important to our audience and our clients. Social media helps us stay connected. Staying connected helps us grow relationships with our customers and influences the way potential clients perceive our business brand.
Mike Robinson, Ed.D: What are the best Social Media platforms for one to market their organization?
Sheila Brooks, Ph.D.: Though the most popular social media platforms are Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn, every organization needs to assess their goals and purpose before deciding on what platforms to consider for their brand. A more visually appealing message might require the use of the most popular social media platforms. However, the organization may consider using Instagram to promote their services or products over others. Visual content is so much more engaging on social networks.
Mike Robinson, Ed.D: What should an online presence look like? And what should those entrepreneurs avoid when integrating Social Media into their organization?
Sheila Brooks, Ph.D.: An online presence should be authentic. Authenticity helps build trust between your brand and the audience. It allows you to interact and engage with customers or clients by creating a space for open dialogue and feedback in real-time. Authenticity in the social media space reinforces the legitimacy of your business or product and positions entrepreneurs as expert leaders in their particular niche. Don’t avoid having a plan. Social media goes much smoother when there are plans and policies. Decide what platforms to use as well as what days and how many times you are Dr. Brooks Interview going to post per week. Decide what your brand voice is and make sure it is conveyed across all platforms. Be consistent.
Mike Robinson, Ed.D: Women, especially women of color aspiring to become Entrepreneurs what do they need to know to be successful and to sustain success?
Sheila Brooks, Ph.D.: One of the strengths of aspiring women entrepreneurs, in particular, is the ability to break out of the traditional “in-the-box” thinking while gaining knowledge in business essentials. It’s no doubt that most entrepreneurs use their experience and expertise to start businesses in the fields they know. And that’s good. However, they should immediately take advantage of the tools and resources designed for business development such as mentoring programs at the U.S. Small Business Administration and the small business development centers located on many college campuses. No longer will we do business in traditional ways. The often changing economy signals a shift to a new business paradigm. Women need to re-invent themselves over and over again and be prepared to have exceptional leadership skills, be brand conscious, innovative, creative, have technological “know-how”, leverage business networks and tap into the global supply chain.
Trailblazer
@SRBComm
Dr. Brooks is an award-winning marketing, media and communications strategist, and an Emmy award-winning former television newscaster and executive producer. She has been providing multicultural, video production, and crisis communications counsel to clients in the energy and utilities, higher education and transportation industries, issue advocacy and political campaigns, for more than 41 years. Dr. Brooks serves as the lead strategist for the agency, having received more than 200 entrepreneurial, journalism and marketing awards for her work including NABJ’s prestigious Ida B. Wells Award in 2019. She is a longtime advocate for minority and women’s issues and small business.
Ph.D., Communication, Culture and Media Studies
Howard University
M.A., Political Science, Howard University
B.A., Communications
University of Washington-Seattle (inducted in Alumni Hall of Fame)
Ph.D., Communication, Culture and Media Studies
Howard University
M.A., Political Science, Howard University
B.A., Communications
University of Washington-Seattle (inducted in Alumni Hall of Fame)
President, Founder and CEO
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