If your business has been recognized with an award, congratulations! Whether it was given by a trade association or an industry group or a local community organization, your award signifies that you have been doing great work. So what now? Many small to midsize businesses know that winning an award is a great honor and achievement but don’t know how to make the most of the opportunity. By taking a few extra steps to promote your award you can maximize the benefits. You have already put the time into doing the work that won you the award, so investing a little more time into making the most of it is an easy win for your business.
Celebrate your achievement internally. Winning an award is a great time to acknowledge everyone who was involved in making it happen. Taking the time to show your appreciation means a lot to your team and helps everyone stay focused and excited about their work.
Let your current clients know about your accomplishment. Not only does this increase your top of mind awareness but it reminds your clients why they are working with you. The supply manager who made the decision to give your company their business feels good about his choice and that is always good news for you.
Write a press release and submit it to local news outlets as well as all relevant industry publications. Everyone likes to showcase success whether in their local community or their industry. If your press release is published it might lead to additional publicity or just might end up in front of potential customers.
Utilize the Award website. Award programs typically highlight information about their previous recipients on their websites. Take advantage of whatever space they offer and provide a link back to your website whenever possible. The link to your site may provide search engine optimization benefits in addition to the publicity and referral traffic you may receive.
Update your social profiles to highlight any awards that you have won. This applies to both your company and personal profiles. Posting updates brings you to the top of the news feeds and announcing an award is likely to generate comments and feedback, increasing the reach of your post.
This short list should get you started, but with a little creativity you may be able to find many more ways to promote your business in light of your awards.
One other thing to note: Even if you don’t think a particular award is very impressive, still take the time to take advantage of all of these opportunities. Your clients and prospects may not know or care how prestigious one award is over another; the fact that you are winning awards is impressive in and of itself.
Last but not least, the most important thing to do after winning an award is to go after another one!