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Awards Marketing FAQs: Answers to 5 Questions You’ve Always Wanted to Ask

Even though you’re exposed to businesses’ ads, commercials, and Facebook posts constantly, you’ve probably still got questions about marketing, especially awards marketing. It can be difficult to not only find the time to effectively marketing your awards program, but also to know exactly where and how to spend that time.

But don’t worry, you’re not alone! We’ve all got things we’re not sure of, and that’s ok.

The truth is, you probably know more about marketing than you think you do. And you already know everything about your awards program that you need to market it: how it performed in the past, who’s applying, who you want to apply, what your program is about, and what makes it unique and interesting for those in your industry.

With that in mind, take a look at these 5 questions we’ve all asked ourselves at one time or another when planning our awards marketing campaign, plus the answers you’ve been looking for!

1. Is Marketing Through Social Media Worth it?

Yes – Industries, associations, and organizations of all kinds are now using social media to reinforce their message and goals by posting helpful content about their industry, posting photos of what an average day in the office is like, all in order to connect to their audience, members, and consumers.

And why are these organizations doing all of this on social media?

Because that’s where their audience is! Emarketer.com found that in 2013 1 in 4 people used social networks, which is about 1.73 billion people! You definitely don’t want to miss out on that opportunity. We recommend posting regularly about your awards program on different social media platforms to engage with people on their own turf.

2. Should I invest in ads?

Whether it’s worth investing in advertising depends on your awards program; ads shouldn’t be the first marketing effort your awards program tries out. After you’ve established your other marketing tactics, a well-run program can then use ads as extra fuel for their marketing. Look into the different kinds of advertising and the costs associated with them before making any decisions.

If you do decide to invest in ads, there are two different approaches you can take:

• Traditional – What most people think of when they think of advertising: a paid announcement in newspapers and magazines, or on radio television.
• Social – Promoting tweets, posts, or updates on your social profiles.

3. Should I be sending emails? If so, what kind?

Yes, email marketing is a great way to connect with people! Despite floods of spam and the increased use of social media, email marketing is relevant and essential to your marketing efforts.

There are several different types of emails you can use to market your awards:

• Stand-Alone
• Newsletters
• Lead-nurturing
• Sponsorship
• Transactional

To learn more in depth about each of these email types, check out our free guide.

4. Are people even going to read my emails?

Well, that depends partially on you. While you can’t guarantee that your contacts will read your emails, you can ensure that you’re doing everything right on your end to increase the odds that they will. (But don’t worry, Litmus found that 82% of consumers open emails from companies.)

To make sure each and every email you send out is doing its best, follow these best practices:

• Pay attention to your subject line
• Find the right tone
• Keep it entertaining
• Be brief
• Segment your contact lists
• Pay attention to visuals
• Include social sharing buttons
• Test your emails

5. My website is kind of dated — should I bother updating it?

Yes! If your awards website has become outdated, it’s time to start thinking about sprucing things up. Why? Because your awards website is important. Not only is it the source of information concerning your program and the point from which people can apply, it’s also your program’s first impression.

You need to make sure you’re including up-to-date information like: current call for entry, contact information, & an archive of previous winners. You also want the layout and design of the website itself to be interesting and memorable enough to get visitors to stay and check it out.

What other questions do you all have about awards marketing? Let us know in the comments – we’d love to help!

Miriam Hancock

Miriam Hancock
Miriam is the Marketing Coordinator for OpenWater. When she isn't writing and designing content she paints and cooks for her own personal blog.

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