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Mastering Recognition: 4 Steps to Securing Awards
You are award-winning, whether you’ve received an award or not! Your story matters and deserves recognition, and if you are looking to win a few awards, we’ve outlined our simple four-step process below.
“Whether you think you can, or you think you can’t, either way, you’re right.” – Henry Ford
With online businesses and social platforms exploding, you need to stand out. One of the best ways to boost your visibility is through award recognition and subsequent social proof. Awards help establish trust and showcase your services to a broader audience. Not to mention they provide the perfect opportunity to amplify your reach even greater, with an accompanying press release.
Set yourself up for success by using powerful storytelling. The key to an effective awards strategy lies in building a strong connection to your story and its meaningful results. Pay attention to the details by “crossing your t’s and dotting your i’s” by targeting your audience with a tailored approach to inspire audiences with a lasting impact.
STEP ONE: TARGET
Know your audience and cater to your strengths. You don’t need to reinvent the wheel, simply know where you’re at and your ideal destination. Dig deeper to fully understand what market you belong in, and which verticals would benefit from your story. For example, we recently submitted a client’s celebrity online commercial campaign that went viral online and chose to target the Web Excellence Awards!
STEP TWO: TAILOR
Not all awards are created equal. Not that you’ve identified your targets, you will want to customize each entry and determine how to craft powerful submissions for each category. It helps to look at the previous year’s winners and identify what worked well in the past. Uncover new ways to give audiences a sneak peek into the hard work and benefits your campaign provided. For example, behind-the-scenes content is a great way to showcase the level of planning and production that went into a 30-second social spot.
STEP THREE: INSPIRE
Let your customers be the hero. Judges are looking to connect with a compelling narrative, not a list of accomplishments. Move us emotionally by sharing moving images and videos to connect with on a deeper level. Leverage storytelling to humanize your story and gain ambassadors to support your campaign and its mission. For example, share the biggest obstacles you faced, and how you overcame them to deliver an even greater product or service.
STEP FOUR: IMPACT
Be the change you want to see. Showcase your impact on your community with qualitative and qualitative analyses. Number matter. Statistics deliver panelists immediate results, while long-term initiatives showcase your innovation. Summarize complex ideas with a simple video testimonial to demonstrate your overall influence. Paint a picture of how you will continue to build and grow going forward. Lastly, don’t forget to proofread!
“How you do anything is how you do everything.” – T. Harv Eker
Treat the award submission like you would your company. Focus on what you can control, and learn from it while improving your systems, solutions, and strategies going forward. Identify 1-3 awards to maximize your chances of acceptance, while testing different narratives, campaign outcomes, and key content to uncover your highest-yielding results. Now you’re ready to pull out the big guns and shoot for that big industry award you’ve always wanted.
Good luck!
– Stephen Seidel, CEO & Founder of The Seidel Agency.
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