Use Awards to Build Your Brand

I watched the Golden Globes Pre-Show tonight and noticed that the same question came up for each of the celebrities:

1) Who are you wearing, and
2) what’s it like to work with “insert name of prominent person here?”

I realized, it’s not unlike brand identity for your company. They may not ask who you’re wearing but they do pay attention, and they definitely will ask you who you’re working with. with. It made me think… people want to be aligned with other people that are making an impact in their industry.

I think whether you’re in the entertainment industry or the cleaning industry, winning awards will help you to boost your business in tremendous ways. We often take the beginning of the year to create our marketing plan, and I think we should also create a visibility plan, a deliberate effort to win awards and garner public attention. It’s not as complicated as you may think.

To start, look at any associations that you have memberships with, as well as your local Chamber of Commerce. They will generally sponsor annual awards for businesses that are having a community impact or setting an example of excellence in their industry.

The next thing to do is set a list of Google alerts so that you can be the first to find out when a nomination process or competition begins. For this I think you should have a separate email address to field them (such as alerts@yourdomainname.com) so that you keep them in one place and are able to keep them stored so that you have an archive.

Many awards competitions are free to enter, and some even offer monetary benefits such as cash awards or grants, so be sure to look into the rules and deadlines as you plan your process.

Here are a few keywords to start you off:

nominations being accepted	association award
small business administration	innovation award
business plan contest	Entrepreneurial contest
business leader nomination	entrepreneur of the year award
pitch competition	business contest
business competition	micro business award
small business award	women’s business award

I’ve also gone ahead and looked into some current opportunities for you to start you off. You still have time to meet these national deadlines and who knows, you just might take home the grand prize!

1) The Intuit Love A Local Business Award: Intuit is giving away moolah – that’s always a good thing.click here to find out more

2) The Stevies (American Business Award): There’s sure to be a category here for you to enter. Some are free, most are less than $300 to apply. Take a look and see if something’s a good fit for you by clicking here

This past year I won an award. My peers had to vote for me in a pitch competition and the cash prize was $1,500 (plus a trophy!) – Who’d have thought? You can do it too!

---

Want to use this article on your website, blog or in your own ezine? No problem! Just be sure to include the copyright information noted below:

Article by Beatrice Johnston, Director, BrandExcitement.com, All Rights Reserved. Be sure to subscribe to her weekly tips to boost your own brand at http://www.BrandExcitement.com/subscribe