Newsletters
Make sure you take full advantage of your newsletters by letting your readers know you have been shortlisted or nominated for an award. This is a great achievement and something worth celebrating! This is particularly important if your chosen award is voted for by the public. Also, by announcing your success at this stage, if you go on to win, it means you have two opportunities for communication.
Social media
Social media is a fantastic cost effective communication tool to give your social profiles a boost. Make sure you always use the organisers handle in your posts and find out what hashtags are being used. It’s likely the organisers will repost your updates…giving you a bigger increase to your social reach and potentially some lovely new followers. Make sure you take photos and do some live posting during the event - congratulate winners and runners up to get more connected online, the name-dropped companies are likely to respond, even if it’s a day or two later after they have recovered from their celebrations.
After the event, if you won, let everyone know by sharing your good news online.However, it’s equally as important to share your news even if you were a runner up or didn’t win at all. Talk about how great the event was and thank the organisers for a wonderful evening (hopefully!).
Networking
Awards create a great opportunity for networking. The entertainment, and dare I say glass or two of something, can create a much more relaxed atmosphere than traditional networking events. Use the opportunity to get to know others on your table. Or if booking a whole table, think strategically about who fills that table - could inclusion be a reward for a high performing team member? Do you have clients you particularly want to thank for their support? Using the awards for corporate hospitality can be a lot cheaper than creating your own event.
Photos and logos
Make sure you make use of the logos that are often provided by the organisers by using them on your website and email signatures. It is often worth waiting for the official photographs before popping your own on your website - you may be able to get away with slightly fuzzy phone snaps on a tweet but you need the best quality for your website.
Press
Contact the press, both online and print, both industry and local community publications. If you are successful at getting them to publish your story, make sure you publish your coverage through social media again, name dropping the awards organisers and the publication, they won’t be able to resist reposting and extending your reach even further.
Well, let’s hope these tips get you exciting about applying, and equally excited about how these awards can help promote your business – winner or not!
Thanks again to Hartley Fowler and Consortium Business Solutions for these useful tips. Click here to apply if this has got you buzzing and excited about the awards.