7 Ways to Promote a Business Award
Does winning a business award matter for your business?
Back in my agency days, I spent many long hours compiling and submitting client entries to award competitions. Honestly, at the time, I thought we were doing to stroke their ego.
But awards do more than boost your pride (not that there’s anything wrong with that). Winning an award can boost your business’ reputation and bottomline, when you know how to leverage it.
When your business wins an award, don’t make it your best kept secret! Share it with the world to boost your reputation, get a competitive advantage, increase morale, attract high-profile clients, draw in talent and get publicity. Here’s how:
1. Send out a news release
Many organizations provide winners with a press release template to announce that they’ve won an award so be sure to request one or write your own and send it out to your local business press. Want me to send it out to dozens of online TV, radio and print news sites across the country? Book a free consult with me and I’ll walk you through the details.
2. Share your business award news and media coverage with your social networks
You can announce that you’ve won an award on all your social networks OR you can get two for one by announcing your media coverage of winning the award. Feel free to swipe my LinkedIn post for your award announcement. By the way, this post got far more engagement on LinkedIn than on my Facebook page, so if your audience is on LinkedIn, be sure to post there. 
3. Share with your clients and email subscribers
When sharing your award news with your email subscribers and clients, couple it with content your audience sink its teeth into, like this post on how to leverage your award, or the story behind the award and how you won.
4. Write a blog post (or more) about it
You can easily get at least two blog posts out of winning an award. My post here simply announces the award, while the post you’re reading dives deeper into how you can use your award to boost your authority. You may be able to get several posts that share insights, stories and content around your award.
5. Use the award logo
Adding award and media logos to your website signals instant credibility to visitors who may not know anything about you. Ask your web designer to place award logos in your footer so that they appear on every page of your website. Ask your graphic designer to add the logo to other marketing assets (see #6).
6. Update your marketing assets
Add the phrase “award-winning” to your bio, about page, business cards, social profiles, direct mail, marketing collateral, signs . . . in other words, any written materials you have to promote your business.
7. Update your email signature
You’re emailing people all day, everyday. Take advantage of that opportunity to communicate your business’ award-winning status by adding a line under your email signature about a recent award you’ve won.
Winning an award takes effort beyond the time, energy and money you put into your award submission. You wouldn’t win if you didn’t earn it so why not reap the rewards of all your hard work? That’s sound business strategy!
Oh, bonus tip . . . share your recent business award in the comments below!
Love it, Gayle! I’m with you on how important it is to shine a light on special awards and accomplishments and you share some excellent ways to get it out into the world. Thanks for sharing your tips and strategy!
Hi Deb,
So good to hear from you! I bet you could do a companion post on how business owners can weave awards into their content strategy :).
These are great ideas! I have a related question: due to a family emergency, I was unable to attend the awards ceremony in person and missed the photo opp. I just received my award in the mail this week and I’ve scheduled a session with my photographer so I can include images in my marketing. Do you have any suggestions on best ways to style the photo shoot, or resources where I can be inspired for this shoot? Thanks so much!
Hi Melanie,
Congratulations on your award and great question. Your photographer will likely have some ideas and should be able to help you with this ahead of time, but from a marketing and branding perspective — make sure the look and feel matches your brand, and think about what the award really means for you, your team, your family, your clients. Feel deeply into that during your photoshoot so that your emotion gets expressed. This is probably obvious but make sure you and your award are in the photo, and anyone else who may have contributed to your success. It’s a celebration, right? So you want an image that shows some joy, movement, excitement. Ask your photographer to use different angles and environments, as well as different posing and/or lighting techniques to create something a bit more eye-catching than the standard “grip and grin” or portrait style image. Here are some additional headshot tips that will help you prep for your specific look: https://smallbiztrends.com/2018/04/business-headshot-tips.html. One of the tips is don’t get a haircut before your photoshoot. Don’t get a facial either — I made that mistake with my first ever business headshots. Not good LOL! I’d love to see the photos when you get them back. Good luck.