The importance of entering awards cannot be underestimated. While winning them is even better – who doesn’t want a bulging trophy cabinet in the office? – the act of entering is vital for boosting your business. Getting you noticed among your peers and, most importantly, reaffirming what makes your organisation tick. And if you don’t enter, you don’t stand a chance of winning…

Read on for our top reasons why entering awards is so important. For your marketing, your team, and ultimately, boosting your business.

No entry? No chance

The simplest reason is that, if you don’t enter awards, you can’t win them. While it’s not advisable to frivolously enter awards that aren’t suited to your expertise and experience – especially if an entry fee is involved – if you don’t ask, you don’t get. As S Club 7 sing, ‘reach for the stars’. And you might just grab one!

Being longlisted, shortlisted or winning an award is the perfect way to stand out from your peers. Placing you among the leaders of your industry and highlighting your skills to prospective clients.

Time to shine and celebrate

Writing an award entry is also the perfect opportunity to sit down and evaluate your business’s achievements. It’s all too easy to get caught up in the everyday tasks of running your organisation. We rarely get the time to sit down and consider our successes – but award entries force you to do just that.

Many entry forms will ask you to consider your successes and highlights of the past year. Taking the time to really think about this will not only aid your award entry but helps to put your year into perspective. Whether this is moving into a new office, hiring new team members or increasing your client portfolio, it’s an opportunity to celebrate your achievements. Awards are more than just about the trophy. They recognise your achievements – and they don’t need a certificate to prove them.

Don’t keep this information to yourself either. Share it internally with your team to motivate them, with clients in a newsletter, in email signatures and on social media posts and profiles. Sometimes achievements can unwittingly pass us by, so it’s important to take the opportunity to celebrate them whenever you can.

The value of re-using content

As marketeers, we understand the value of quality content. And the best content is versatile – adaptable for different locations and purposes. While communicating award wins on social media platforms and websites is regular practice, use the information from your awards entries as inspiration for other pieces of content, like blog and social media posts. Whether this is sharing your development over the past year, or casting a spotlight on a specific area that you hadn’t even realised was worth shouting about, an award entry isn’t just an award entry. It’s:

A blog post A case study A social media post An important part of proposals and tenders A recruitment tool An opportunity

Although using your entry word-for-word will probably not be appropriate for many contexts, lots of it can be repurposed for a range of destinations. Not to mention being a useful reference for future submissions…

And the benefits of communicating your expertise and achievements are endless. From acting as a draw for incoming talent, to cultivating a sense of pride among your team (even if you don’t win), it’s an opportunity to showcase yourselves.

We love communicating our clients’ expertise. Through considered thought leadership, awards entries and more, we establish them where they belong – at the forefront of their respective industries. The importance of entering awards cannot be underrated.

We have helped our clients win everything. From Show Space Design of the Year (Design Awards 2019), Global Leaders in Legal Strategy and Consulting (Lawdragon 2022) to Staffing Solution of the Year Finalist (HSJ Partnership Awards 2022).

And we’re an award-winning business ourselves, having won the Best Small PR Consultancy in the South of England in CIPR PRide Awards 2021 and Best Use of Content. Plus our founder, Veronica Hannon has been recognised as one of Wiltshire’s Top Inspirational Women by The Business Exchange Swindon and Wiltshire. If you would like us to help you win that coveted industry award, get in touch with us today.