Over the last 11 years we’ve won a number of Business Awards at Altrincham HQ

Those that have won awards previously will be able to tell you what an absolutely massive high those times are when your name gets announced and the spotlight is on you for that one moment

I’m writing this blog to show you the power of business awards, because I believe they truly can help your business

Along the way I’ll tell you why they’re important, give you a few hints and tips, a few things to avoid and hopefully inspire you to treat Business Awards seriously

WHICH AWARDS HAVE WE WON
We’ve won 4 Awards

– Best Social Media Company in Manchester – Talk Of Manchester Awards
– Digital Company Of The Year – Altrincham & Sale Chamber Awards
– Small Business Of The Year x 2 -Altrincham & Sale Chamber Awards

* I’ve also come runner up and highly commended in a number of awards over the years

ANYTHING ELSE WE NEED TO KNOW
On all the awards I’ve been won or shortlisted for I’ve never
– Entered myself
– Paid to enter an awards

A warning on the latter as there are a few “scam” awards who will email you about awards you’ve won if you pay £2500 (or more) for a support package

So let’s get on to 5 Undeniable Reasons Business Awards Are Good For Business

1. Proof Your Clients / Network Believe In You
As I said I’ve never entered myself into Business Awards

There’s a whole PR industry based around PR’s entering clients into Business Awards and don’t get me wrong – it’s great for PR as you’ll find out later

But I genuinely feel in terms of social proof there are 2 ways you can show off social proof
– Your clients leaving great testimonials (we have 500+)
– Your clients nominating and submitting you for awards

Isn’t it such a rewarding feeling that your clients and network believe in you so much and have your back?

They’re telling the world that you’re awesome at what you do

That is powerful!!!

2. Great PR
20,000 screens

That’s the number of screens that our award win on Friday for Digital Company of The Year reached in 24 hours

I’m still getting congratulation messages 4 days later

Naturally we’ll remind people a number of times over the coming week as well which will more than likely take us over 30,000

Now even if the local press decides to feature yet another doom and gloom story over local business success we’ve reached thousands with our positive news

Think how much you’d pay to reach 20,000 people if you were paying for advertising

The positive PR from winning an award is strong

And you then get to update your bio / about section and business profiles so it reaches more people

3. USP / Stand Out From The Competition
In business you’ve got to stand out, not blend in

Award Winning is one of the ways that you stand out from the competition and have a point of difference

Read the following description and then tell us which stands out the most

“We’re Altrincham HQ. We’re a social media company based in South Manchester and help businesses grow via social media training and social media marketing. Over the past 12 months we’ve gone from face 2 face training to training via zoom”

“We’re Altrincham HQ. We’re a social media company who set up 2009 to help businesses take advantage of social media marketing. Initially we set up to help businesses in my home town of Altrincham, but over the years I’ve worked with thousands of businesses including the BBC, Manchester City, NHS, Costa Coffee, Selfridges, United Utilities and many more. We pride ourselves on delivering results for our clients and that’s why we have so many testimonials on LinkedIn. In the last 12 months of the pandemic, we’ve not only helped businesses on our doorstep, but worked with businesses as far afield as New Zealand and Lisbon and that’s why were recently named Digital Company Of The Year at the Altrincham & Sale Chamber Awards”

Notice how each point of the second description really tells a unique story with highlights throughout

4. Employee Motivation
When I say employee motivation, I also mean freelance team / family / friend motivation

Not all of us have a team of employees, but if you think of your wider circle and who is motivated

Your friends
Your family
Your suppliers
Your networking group

I love that fact that an Award Win motivates all those around you

I said on Friday’s nights award ceremony how this award wasn’t just for myself, but for all the clients who’d worked with us. And especially for Mark Winstanley at Altrincham Design Studio who had our back from day one and works so hard for ourselves and our clients

5. Part Of The Sales Process
Business Awards are part of the sales process

You’ve heard the stats on how it takes 7 touch points, 12 touch points, 40 touch points to make a sale

Think of an award win as a touch point which nudges people along the journey to want to work with you

Each social media post
Each testimonial
Each blog
Each award win

They’re all positive touch points which help people decide to do business with you

And that’s the 5 Undeniable Reasons Business Awards Are Good For Business – anything else you’d add?

QUICK TIPS FOR BUSINESS AWARDS
1. If you see an Award announced tell those you know about it – support your circle
2. Nominate businesses that deserve an award and truly sell the businesses you nominate
3. If you’re shortlisted shout about the shortlist (how many Oscar Nominated films do you see – loads)
4. Believe you can win it – if you tell yourself you won’t win, you probably won’t
5. When you win – tell the world!!!

NEED HELP WITH YOUR SOCIAL MEDIA?
Chat to us about Social Media Marketing for YOUR organisation , so we can better understand YOU and what will grow your organisation

We can only find out what is unique to your business by chatting with you

Look at our Social Media Training and Social Media Management services

We offer Social Media Training on
* LinkedIn
* Instagram
* Facebook
* Twitter
* Blogging

We can do this
* 121
* Corporate Workshops
* Group Workshops
* Face to Face or Via Zoom / Skype

Please call Alex on 07806774279 or email alex@altrinchamhq.co.uk

Alex

Alex McCann is owner of Altrincham HQ – a social media management and training company based in Altrincham, Cheshire that has worked with 100s of local business developing their social media strategy. Alex has 500+ LinkedIn testimonials and is Ranked Number 1 for Social Media Marketing in the UK via independent customer reviews on Freeindex.