The OpenWater Blog

Four Ways to Showcase Your Awards Judges

When it comes to awards judging, prestige is everything. For many, selecting the right judges is not a first priority. However, taking the time to choose relevant judges is necessary for many reasons.

Judges are an essential source of prestige for your program, and through proper showcasing, your entrants won’t be able to resist creating a submission. And, by taking advantage of the proper platforms to do so, you can build up the legitimacy of your awards program in the process as well.

Update Your Website

If you haven’t already created a high-quality website for your awards program, you should. And before you freak out about the thought of how many hours it will take to create this website, rest assured that it is actually easier than you think.

Dedicate a good chunk of your website to highlight your judges, relaying crucial information such as:

• Their biography
• Qualifications and credentials
• History with your program
• Photograph
• Contact information, when appropriate

By making this information both available and easily accessible, you can add to the prestige of your program while humanizing it too, drawing in entrants.

Distribute a Press Release

After you’ve selected your awards judges, your initial knee-jerk reaction should be to spread the word through a press release. This professional medium makes it simple to reach large sections of your potential entrants on multiple platforms. In fact, a press release is one of the most versatile ways that you can feature your program, because you can reuse the copy on your website, social media platforms, and in email marketing outreach.

So, what makes up the perfect press release? I’m glad you asked!

• Catchy headline
• Crucial information, provided up front
• Relevant quote, either from a judge or awards administrator
• Additional information relevant to your topic
• Information about your company, including a link to your awards website

Take it to Social Media

Social media is the easiest way to create inexpensive and widespread excitement regarding your awards program, especially when it comes to showcasing your prestigious judges! Of course, social media can save you time and energy in making entrants aware of your program’s updates too, especially when you want to showcase your judges.

Each social media message should relate to the platform you’re using, meaning that your LinkedIn updates should be longer than your Twitter messaging. Of course, it’s always beneficial to include some extras like photos and a personalized awards hashtag. By doing so, you can elevate your showcasing to give your judges the attention they deserve, while engaging your followers.

Send Out an Email Newsletter

Speaking of inexpensive marketing opportunities, email marketing is another great way to showcase your judges. By doing so, you can keep your email list in the loop about your program. And when you feature a prestigious judge, you’ll be able to encourage submissions and get potential entrants excited.

So, what should you be including in your email newsletter? Do a quick awards program review and the answer will seem easy:

• Judge’s biography
• Experience and qualifying credentials
• Link to your awards website
• Photo
• Short, but interesting subject line
• Any other key details you feel that are essential to your awards judging

You already know that showcasing your awards judges is important, and now with the tools discussed above, you can put this into practice! By doing so, your program will have the prestige and excitement needed to generate high quality submissions and make your awards program the successful event you want it to be.

Not sure if you’ve taken the right steps for showcasing your judges? Download our checklist to make sure that you’re hitting all the right points!

What strategies does your program use to showcase your judges? Share your success in the comments below!

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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