The OpenWater Blog

5 Examples of How Facebook is Used for Awards

Awards marketing is no stranger to social media. More than ever before, social media is saving people some serious time and energy in marketing their awards programs, Facebook included.

According to Facebook, there are now well over 1 billion active users on the platform every month, giving social media awards marketing serious potential for user engagement. So, how is your awards program taking advantage of the platform? If you aren’t, I have a few suggestions of how you can get started.

1. Change Your Cover Photo to Promote Your Program

This cover photo is great, not only because it promotes the awards program, but because it incorporates other essential aspects of awards marketing as well. By keeping in mind some of the essential guidelines toward making your cover photo a success, the International Photography Awards is able to both promote their program and announce updates.

When you first see the page, you notice the clean graphics and the primary focus on the deadline extension in the cover photo. By doing so, this organization is making sure that its updates aren’t unnoticed by any potential entrants, encouraging increased submissions before the final deadline.

2. Shouting Out to Entrants on Regular Posts

Regular posts don’t just have to be for your own announcements. Instead, treat your Facebook wall as a place to shout out to entrants who have submitted particularly engaging entries. By doing so and tagging them, you can lead to user engagement and create excitement around your contest, just like the IPP Awards did in their post here.

3. Create a Photo Album

Visual rules the web and when it comes to Facebook, posting pictures can make a difference. For The CLIO Awards, this meant celebrating the first ever #CLIOSports Awards with a tribute album detailing individual entries that were shortlisted for the finals.

This can create excitement for potential entrants and showcase the hard work of those who have already submitted high-quality entries. Of course, entrants are also likely to share photos, so the marketing potential is truly remarkable when it comes to photo albums.

4. Status Updates With Vital Information

I love how the London International Awards uses their status updates not only to feature previous winners with their custom #LIAawards hashtag, but that they also use it for important announcements. In this case, using Facebook to spread the word of the extended entry deadline can provide regular social media users with the information they need without them having to hunt for it.

As a result, your program will receive submissions up to the new deadline and past users can stay up-to-date with the information that they need to know, without any added effort.

5. Take a Public Vote

Taking a public vote means creating simple user engagement where people want to share their opinion. Here, the People’s Choice Awards tagged both Game of Thrones and Breaking Bad before including a link to encourage a public vote for which should win the Emmy for “Outstanding Drama Series.”

This is a great way to keep users engaged on a page instead of breezing past posts in their news feeds. This is the best way to keep your awards program relevant throughout its duration and to keep users on your website and other pages rather than just looking at your posts on social media

To Summarize:

Facebook is a great social media marketing platform for your program as the companies above have already realized. By doing the same, you can realize the true potential of your program by reaching more entrants and encouraging engagement in ways that you couldn’t without social media.

What tactics is your program using when it comes to social media platforms like Facebook? Share your success stories below!

Need more help when it comes to marketing your awards program? If so, download our guide and begin getting the traffic and engagement you want for your program!

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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