The OpenWater Blog

How Social Media Can Actually Save You Time on Your Awards Program

Your awards programs rely on one critical aspect to keep them going: submissions. Traditionally, getting submissions meant getting ads built, sending out emails, and hoping that somehow word of mouth would spread. But relying on methods like this can be extremely time-consuming, not to mention ineffective in many cases.

Unlike traditional marketing, social media has a ripple effect, wherein just one action can multiply and reach thousands of users quickly. That’s the real power of social media: quickly spreading the word about your awards and reaching out to the target audience.  A significant part of the people you want to reach are active on various social networks, so by leveraging your social networks, you can easily create buzz about the event and encourage participation through suggested social sharing and voting.

Create Buzz with Social Sharing

You might not know social sharing by name, but if you’ve ever seen the small box that appears once you finish something that encourages you to share on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn or other social platforms, you’ve encountered the concept.

Social sharing is perfect: it provides you with free advertising and requires virtually no effort from an entrant other than pushing a button. The best part? Getting your awards program in front of more eyes without paying for this exposure! It also gives applicants a chance to share the excitement about your program and create buzz amongst their followers.

Boost Engagement with a Public Gallery and Online Vote

Your entrants are proud of their submissions, so shouldn’t you show it? Of course! And doing this is simple through the creation of a gallery and taking a public vote. Allow people to vote for their favorites while sharing the news of the program with friends and relatives. The social sharing links enable them to spread the word about their voting with fans and friends on social networks and create interest while also encouraging participation. You stand to gain both prestige and traffic when potential entrants see the entries you’ve already received and the pride that entrants have in their submissions.

Each effort that your awards program takes is purposeful, so shouldn’t your efforts be amplifying the energy that you spend instead of stifling it? Feed the social media frenzy by ditching traditional efforts and see how you can energize, multiply, and maximize your efforts easier than ever before.

How are you using social media to market your awards program? Let us know in the comments!

Wondering how you can continue to improve upon your awards marketing strategy? Download our guide to learn how you can market your awards program 7 different ways on social media!

[button id=”” style=”” color=”orange” type=”large” size=”large” href=”http://www.getopenwater.com/subscribe-to-openwater-blog” align=”center” target=”_self”]Like what you’ve read? Click here to subscribe to this blog![/button]

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.

Questions You Should Ask Yourself When Budgeting Your Awards Program

17 More Awesome Awards Websites