10 Ways to Leverage Awards and Accolades to Improve Your Online Brand
Winning an award is a momentous occasion for any business or entrepreneur — and certainly cause to share with everyone you know. But this win doesn’t just have to be about celebration; it’s also a great opportunity to raise your brand’s status in the eyes of your customers.
With these awards to back up your company’s credibility, potential customers will be more likely to view you as a quality, trusted source and be more willing to give you their business. But to truly leverage these accolades, you’ll first need to consider these tips recommended by the members of Rolling Stone Culture Council for how to use these awards to improve your online brand.
Turn the Article into a Targeted Ad
One tactic I’ve used successfully in the past to leverage media coverage to benefit my online brand is to turn the article into a targeted social or digital ad. For example, if you’ve been featured on a list of the most successful high-growth companies in the music industry, you could use that coverage to target VCs and potential investors on a platform like LinkedIn. – Pat MacFie, Indigo
Thank Your Audience
When my company receives an accolade, I will share the information on social media with a special thank you to everyone who has helped make this possible. Posting it online and sending out emails is also beneficial for those not able to see or hear what happened in real time because they would be missed without them. – Kelley Swing, Head Case Hair Studio
Add the Accolade to All Your Bios
Add accolades to your online bios and also share the news in your owned media network — company blog, business cards, website. You can also leverage recognition to boost your position as a domain expert in your field. We mention ShearShare’s L’Oreal Women in Digital win in our boilerplate and email signatures. It’s now part of my personal bio, which has helped to earn more speaking engagements. – Courtney Caldwell, ShearShare, Inc.
Send Out a Press Release
Send out a press release that gets distributed on the wire highlighting where and why your company was featured. Create an accompanying video of your founder or CEO saying a few words about your company’s journey. You can include this video in your press release and also post on social media. Run targeted ads to your social media post for additional awareness and engagement. – Danielle Sabrina, Tribe Builder Media
Share Across Your Social Channels
When Hempful Farms has been featured on a media list or awarded an accolade, we have been able to use this to leverage our brand by sharing across the board on all of our media platforms. We have multiple Facebook, Instagram and Twitter pages that have quite a few followers. We also email blast through our servers. “Connecting the digital dots” is what we like to call it. – Chris Martin, Hempful Farms
The Rolling Stone Culture Council is an invitation-only community for Influencers, Innovators and Creatives. Do I qualify?
Mention the Award in Your Online Signatures
Add the award to you and your employees’ online signatures, then link to that awards placement that’s already online. Make sure the appropriate handle and hashtag are there. This way, that one click opens up all of those avenues for retweets, shares and engagement. This also lets the company that awarded you know that you are proactive in the press, and they most likely will keep this in mind for next year’s consideration. – Susan Johnston, New Media Film Festival®
Create Engaging Social Media Content
Leverage accolades by creating engaging social media content. For example, if the accolade is featured in a magazine, take a photo of yourself holding the magazine to announce the award, or take a photo of the page you or your brand is highlighted in and share it with your audience. Make sure to link to the article, and don’t be afraid to celebrate these wins online! You’ve earned it. – Jamie Evans, The Herb Somm
Add a Badge to Your Website Footer
One thing is never a big deal, but when you consistently perform and showcase these accolades, it can build slow trust through overlapping audiences. We showcase all of our editorial badges and digital achievement medals in our footer. – Justin Brock, Medicare Gurus
Tell a Personalized Story
Being featured on a media list is a great way to get your brand out there. However, it’s just part of the process. Sharing and personalizing that post on your social media channels and putting it up on your website are crucial to getting the word out. Do it in a way that educates and tells a story, and also put it in your bio. Most of all, be proud to put it out there! – Karina Michel Feld, Tallulah Films
Make It the First Thing People See
Third-party validation is pure gold. We list every top-rated media piece as the first thing you see when visiting our site. People wish to do business with groups they know, admire and can believe in. These simple “proof” pieces show our new audience they can place their trust in us as we are a valued and notable “credible source.” – Greg Reid, Greg S Reid