New online community to benefit women
Stationery company DaySpring launched a new Web site for women this month. The site, www.incourage.me, aims to reach Christian women and build long-term relationships with them.

"We saw a gap in what was available for Christian women-especially those under the age of 40," said Holley Gerth, editorial director at DaySpring. "At the same time we saw a significant rise in social media and sites like Facebook, Twitter and other forms of online connection. So we began to ask ourselves, ‘What if those two worlds came together?' "

The site is the creation of a group of women at DaySpring led by Stephanie Bryant, business development manager, Lainie Button, product manager, and Gerth. They realized changes in communication provided opportunity for innovation and sharing the DaySpring vision of "messages of hope encouragement, everyday, everywhere" in new ways.

"A lot of companies make the mistake of trying to use social media and those involved in it for a quick transaction, when really it's about building a lifelong relationship with the consumer, incorporating all aspects of her life, including products," Bryant said.