The Lowcountry rallied again this year to help those in greatest need by donating $417,908.31 to the Good Cheer Fund. Those funds will be distributed to The Lowcountry Food Bank, Salvation Army, Star Gospel Mission, Association for the Blind, Catholic Charities, Carolina Youth Development Center, and Charleston Leadership Foundation.
Established in 1927, the Good Cheer Fund has raised a total of $11,018,981.14 since its inception. Every year, the campaign launches the Sunday after Thanksgiving and ends Christmas Day, with the final listing published on December 31. Principal funding comes from individuals and local businesses that respond to newspaper articles written during the holiday season. The Good Cheer fund represents all that is good, charitable, and generous in the Lowcountry.
This year, donations ranged from a few dollars to $35,000 from the employees at Blackbaud. Notably, not only did businesses lend their generous support, but many of their clients made donations in their honor, or in honor of their employees. Here are just a few examples:
In honor of Charleston Financial Advisors, LLC From Grateful Clients
In honor of Elvita at Elvita’s Day Spa on Coleman Blvd.
In honor of Rita at Bernice’s Salon on King St.
Of course, individuals and community organizations were represented as well, such as:
Bill and Cheryl Clair donated over Thanksgiving for their nine beautiful grandchildren
The Society for the preservation of Spirituals
The Village Birthday Group in McClellanville
The Mash Supper Club
Contributions can be made in a variety of ways from honoring a loved one, in memory of someone special, in lieu of Christmas Cards, or anonymously. For more information, visit goodcheerfund.com.
As the South’s oldest daily newspaper, first as The (Charleston) Courier and later The News and Courier, the publication has been a staple of the community here in the Charleston area since 1803. Over the years, the paper’s coverage has included stories about business, politics, food, entertainment and local interests. It also shed light on critical public service and investigative topics, with projects including the 2015 Pulitzer Prize-winning“Till Death Do Us Part”, the Education Lab, and The Greenland Connection. Beginning in 2021, it brought to print the Uncovered series which works in partnership with 18 community newspapers in SC to reveal corruption and misdeeds among public officials.
However, this longstanding commitment to impactful journalism is not the only thing to be celebrated this year. As The Post and Courier enters this 220th year, the paper’s history and success are shared with many of the companies who also call South Carolina home.
“Readers have relied on The Post and Courier for editorial and advertising content for years,” says President and Publisher PJ Browning. “Because of our commitment to quality journalism and our deep roots in the community, advertising in the newspaper and on our website has become a trusted and reliable investment. Advertising is a valuable piece of the content we provide and helps keep people informed of new businesses in the area, sales, and events.”
The Post and Courier has established itself as a lasting part of people’s daily lives both in the tri-county area and throughout the state. This makes the paper a valuable resource for businesses to reach potential and returning customers.
Chief Opportunity & Marketing Officer, Chris Zoeller, shares that “maintaining a balance of great, meaningful journalism alongside long-term partnerships with advertisers makes The Post and Courier an important source of value for readers and businesses alike.”
It’s a special thing to see advertisers in previous editions of The News and Courier still within the pages of The Post and Courier. Zoeller continues, “We want to take this time to not only celebrate our anniversary but also what it means for our partners.”
What does it mean for a newspaper to last well over 200 years? This longevity represents the intertwined success of the paper and its advertisers because of the dedication to and loyalty from the public.
While the achievement of the 220-year milestone is one to be proud of, it would not have been possible without the continuing relationships between subscribers and advertising partners. For that, there is a lot of gratitude to go around – but, more importantly, an even stronger conviction of the commitment and public service to South Carolina.
This mission will take The Post and Courier well into the next 200+ years.
Croghan’s Valentine’s Day ad in The News and Courier, Thursday, February 13, 1958
Croghan’s Mother’s Day ad in The News and Courier, Friday, May 11, 1951
Southeastern Galleries ad in The News and Courier, Friday, August 6, 1976
The largest event of its kind in the state, BASC 2022 welcomed a record number of participants to scenic McCormick County, SC
Since its inaugural ride in 2019, Bicycle Across South Carolina (BASC) has invited participants of all ages and abilities to discover the natural beauty of communities across the Palmetto State while connecting with one another. The annual event, hosted by the Post and Courier, consists of a multi-day bicycle ride, plus camping and nightly entertainment and activities, with the goal of bringing together a community of like-minded enthusiasts.
… And BASC 2022 did not disappoint!
Spotlight on McCormick County
From October 13-16, 400 participants from 18 states and Europe descended to the pines and hill country of Sumter National Forest in McCormick County, South Carolina. From the base camp, located at the South Carolina Governor’s School for Agriculture at John de la Howe (JDLH), participants experienced an adventure of a lifetime, exploring up to 150 miles of beautiful, vast landscapes during one-to-three-day rides. In the evenings, family members, friends, and partners joined riders at the base camp, relaxing around the fire pits and enjoying live music, food, and drinks.
The popularity of BASC has the Post and Courier team excited for the future. Chief Opportunity and Marketing Officer Chris Zoeller said riders return year after year and bring more friends and family.
“BASC is unique not only for the full-service experience, but the riders coming together as a community for their common passion of cycling and adventure,” Zoeller said. “Our riders love to see new parts of our beautiful state. And beyond riding, they love sharing their ride with others over a beer, at a campsite, and with local entertainment. They’re like a second family.”
“I’ve become so attached to this event over the past few years and even more so to the tight-knit community surrounding it,” said BASC Director Alison Warburton. “We’re currently working on a long-term plan for BASC, as gravel and off-road rides are becoming more popular in recent years. We’re definitely on the right path and I’m looking forward to BASC 2023!”
“Sign up for our newsletter!” A phrase you hear quite often. But what are you signing up for? Depends on what site you are on and what that site may be offering to you. Have you ever wondered what exactly those businesses get from having a newsletter? Seriously. What’s in it for them?
The Post and Courier Newsletter Editor, Emily Daily, shares her insights and expertise in newsletters from her 15 years in media, marketing, and public relations.
Leads to Clients
Newsletters being sent to people that already have an established interest in the company or business. These leads come from website submissions, social media, and anytime a person reaches out to the company for more information. When a person signs up for a newsletter or offers their email address, this individual is considered a Marketing Qualified Lead (MQL) and is ready to learn more about your business. Now, you nurture your lead with follow up marketing emails, letting them know about special offers, information that only subscribers or MQLs would get to learn, and anything exciting that may be internally happening with your business.
“Not only is it important for marketing the business and sharing new product news or upcoming sales or events, but it’s also a way to connect with customers on a personal level. Many successful newsletters are written from a personal point-of-view, often from a business owner, CEO, or editor. This gives the readers a chance to feel like they have a true connection to the company.”
– Newsletter Editor, Emily Daily
Building Relationships
People want to feel like they are getting something from a newsletter. What information does your business offer that can be helpful to your target audience? What makes your business stand out? Offering knowledge and delivering it right to your lead’s inbox developing a personal connection that may otherwise have been lost. Newsletter Editor, Emily Daily, explains:
“The advantage of a newsletter versus a typical marketing email is that companies can create an established group of readers who trust their brand and stay updated with their news on a consistent basis. Every time a reader opens a newsletter from that company, they know it won’t simply be a marketing push – it will have other content that interests them as well. Therefore, newsletters tend to have much higher open rates and click-through rates, especially when they’re sent out on a consistent basis.”
If someone signs up to learn more from you, what will they be learning? Here are some options:
Awareness: New products or services? Perhaps a new team member! Let your audience know.
Expertise: What do you know that can help your audience? What resources do you offer? A guide? Article?
Promotion: What’s going on in your business? Having a sale? Special offer? Holidays are primetime to offer your loyal audience something special!
Coverage: Extra! Extra! Read all about it…in our newsletter! Compile a spot for readers, leads, clients to go to know about everything and anything that may apply to them. The Post and Courier often use this method with our niche newsletters – Breaking News, Sports, weather, climate change, food & dining, and so much more! Instead of taking the time to search the website, we send you the links you want to know about it. A one-stop-shop of information!
Not Just Newsletters
A newsletter is not just an informative way to nurture leads and build client relationships. Newsletters are not only a great way to reach new audiences, but they are also a great way to advertise. Joining an established newsletter series can highly benefit your business. Each newsletter that The Post and Courier sends out has sponsorships. These are businesses advertising within a source that they know reaches their target audience and is a trustworthy, primetime, and amicable form of advertising.
“The benefits of being a sponsor for content like this are unique to broad appeal newsletters. The open rates will likely be higher percentages than general newsletters since the readers are specifically seeking out that content. This means they will also have higher trust in the content of the email. This makes your brand stand out even more.” – Marketing Coordinator, Michael Strong writing about Newsletter Sponsorships.
Adding newsletters and email marketing to your budget can significantly help you save in some areas while continuing to grow and nurture leads.
What if we told you that your business can reach a whole new audience, gain quality leads, and be immersed in South Carolina excitement? With Post and Courier events, you can!
That’s exactly what events with Post and Courier can do for your business…and then some!
We had a successful year of events and are looking forward to an even stronger 2021. Your business has the opportunity to sponsor or participate in any and all events that come up.
A partnership through sponsorship or event participation could lead your business to…
200,000 people+ will see your business from email alone
7,000 attendees+, both in-person and virtual, will see your business
4 million+website page views
10 million+ views across platforms including social media and email
Listed below are events YOU can sponsor or participate in during 2021!
1. Kids Club Live! || February 2o, 2021
Kids Club Live is the merging of Lowcountry Family Expo and Kids Club! The inaugural year of the Family Expo happened in February 2020 and was such a hit we had to bring it back! Check out last year’s line up here!More than 2,500 people attended last year’s Family Expo! Kids Club was also a brainchild of 2020 that turned virtual amid COVID-19. More than 8,400 attendees and over 1,400 families tuned in for each event and received more than a million social media impressions! Kids Club and Lowcountry Family Expo were such hits, that we decided to merge the two family fun events into one big event!
Have you heard of The Post and Courier Virtual Events? You can learn, dance, play Bingo, and even cook with us from the comfort of your own home! Over the last 6 months of virtual events, there have been a total of 4,860 registered users. With banners, social ads, email marketing, and other means of promotion, you’re reaching anywhere from 7,000 to over 16 million people while partnering with The Post and Courier to teach viewers and readers alike something new!
3. Night At The Movies|| Next Event on January 23!
The pandemic has us missing heading to the movies with friends and families! A Night At The Movies is a great way to still experience the joy of movie-going. The dog-friendly events are socially distanced, COVID safety compliant, and for all ages that takes place in the Post and Courier parking lot in Downtown Charleston. Our recent movie nights have included food trucks and a photo booth (that your business can sponsor! Your logo on each picture taken!).
4. Bicycle Across South Carolina (BASC) || October
Bicycle Across South Carolina (BASC) is a multi-day ride hosted by the Post and Courier. BASC takes participants off the road and onto the scenic trails of South Carolina. Riders will experience a unique opportunity to explore state parks, off-the-grid-trails, and engage with a community of like-minded enthusiasts. BASC kicked off its inaugural ride in September 2019. In 2020, we were lucky enough to celebrate year two with brand new routes for riders to experience a diverse look at South Carolina’s landscape!
We are actively working on BASC 2021. Make sure to sign up for the newsletter to stay up-to-date on the latest!
5. Steeplechase of Charleston || November 14, 2021
Steeplechase of Charleston 2020 was an outstanding event with 2,500 attendees, 30+ vendors, and a long list of cherished sponsors. Racegoers were able to enjoy a socially distanced tailgate with their friends, shop local vendors, and watch an incredible docket of horse races right here in beautiful Charleston.
These 5 events are incredible opportunities for you to expand and immerse your business in the Palmetto State. Between the variants of these events and a multitude of other events such as We The Women, 12 Leaders To Watch, College of Charleston 250, and Pints and Politics, your business can partner with The Post and Courier and gain so much more than new business and quality leads.
November 15, 2020, starts with sunshine and smog rolling over the hills of the Stono Ferry Racetrack. Clouds pushing through bringing soft rain throughout the morning as people trickle into place. The skies open up and give way to miraculous sunshine just in time for the races, leading to a gorgeous fall day at Steeplechase of Charleston.
As the riders begin to take off, Opening Ceremonies sponsor Hopkins Law Firm gave the first “Riders Up!” followed by Mark Peper of Peper Law Firm who also gave a “Riders Up!”
A Crowning Achievement!
Steeplechase of Charleston became the qualifier of NSA’s trainer and jockey of the year Hall of Fame
trainer, Jonathan Sheppard, and jockey, Gerard Galligan, who both left with winnings from 4 out of 5 of the races, a total of $50,000 in purse money. Read more about the winners here.
Another big winner? James Schelb winning the first-place raffle prize, a trip to Haig Point on Daufuskie Island! Charlie Black coming in second-place winning the raffle prize of a unique equestrian bottle of Blanton’s Bourbon. The raffle overall raising $2,100 for Hollings Cancer Center. Fun for a good cause!
Vendor Village
Between the races, guests enjoy the opportunity to explore the vendor village. Whether it was holiday shopping for designer boots at Charleston Shoe Co., handmade jewelry from Georgia Jewels, or boutique handbags from Darling Clutch Co., the most extravagant gifts were found!
Then, come time for a recharge, guests stop for a snack at Flight food truck or nitro cold brew from Pourly Grounded Coffee.
A popular destination throughout the day: LuXe Mobile Cigar Lounge. Guests found an immersive cigar experience and a moment to take in all of Steeplechase.
The volunteers and Steeplechase team pulled off a wonderful, safe event.
Thank You!
A huge thank you to all the vendors for providing both their time and their resources to enhance the Steeplechase experience. The day would not have been the same without these amazing businesses and organizations! View the full list of vendors and sponsors here.
Charleston’s Choice is the community-based award that customers use to show love and support for their favorite local businesses.
The Charleston community nominates and votes for the top businesses in a variety of categories. Then, business owners highlight their honors and give their businesses the extra boost that awards can provide.
Here in Charleston, customers are always on the lookout for Charleston’s Choice honors, as it shows a business is the best of the best. And this goes for all types of awards any business might be recognized for. Let your community know you’ve been recognized through these branding and promotional strategies.
Are you a business owner that has been nominated? This is how you can boost your honor!
Brag in your email marketing
You’ll want to make sure that you’re bragging about your award everywhere you can. Emails are a great place for that. You can make specialized emails focused on your award. Or simply add in the honors to your existing communications.
If you have a regular newsletter, dedicate a special edition to announcing the honors. Make an event out of it and catch subscribers’ attention by detailing how and why you won.
What makes your customer relations the best in the business? Why is your business the top tourist hotspot? Awards carry prestige by nature. But customers want to know just why you’re the best.
This is also a good place to start incorporating the award logo into your branding. This would be temporary and wouldn’t be applicable in all branding locations, so there’s no need to rework your logo. So find the best way to pair your logo with the award branding and place that naturally in your emails. Have employees update their signatures to include that your business is an award winner.
Show off the award with pride
Take advantage of this time to promote your award in the digital and physical space. SEM campaigns can show web searchers that you are a business worth looking into. And traditional web page ads catch the attention of audiences in your area, if you are employing geomarketing capabilities.
Businesses with a customer-facing storefront will have an easy time showing off their award. On-location signage promotes your success to all potential customers or clients.
But businesses located within a large office complex in their own suite don’t have the opportunity to flaunt as much. Local billboards are a good substitute and open you up for even greater reach.
If physical ads by the side of the highway aren’t your thing, you should at least be showing off your victory on your website and social media pages. Update your website’s hero image and fancy up your homepage for a few weeks to celebrate. Maybe even run a contest to show you want to celebrate with your customers, not just tell them how great you are.
Other benefits of winning awards
If you haven’t gotten your business entered into awards, consider the added benefits outside of attracting new business. The prestige of being an award-winning organization affects all aspects of business.
Awards can bring growth to your business internally as well. It’s not always about showing off the award to the public. Current staff will be able to take pride in the work they do and the company they belong to. It’s an opportunity for a great boost in company morale. So even just putting up the award logo around the office can have great effects.
The celebration events for the awards themselves can also be a great opportunity for employees of winning businesses. Award parties can be a place to network with other winning businesses and build new business relationships.
Our Charleston’s Choice celebration brings together local businesses and gives them a chance to show the community why they were selected for the top honors. Restaurants and beverage companies can share their award-winning creations with attendees.
Signs, advertisements and published announcements are the wide-reaching way to show off your accomplishment. But, an event sponsorship gives you a more intimate way to connect with potential customers or partners.
Finally, it should go without saying that a little time to unwind does wonders for everyone.
By, Sterling Eason, Senior Director of Partnership Development
Now more than ever, consumers are gravitating to brands to hear their authentic stories. They want to see the CEO on Zoom (with her dog) in weekend clothes giving a tour of the factory or follow a social media campaign that teaches them something new. And, it's comforting when the delivery is genuine and authentic. The best part? Authentic communication is as effective as it is affordable.
This is where branded content comes in. It is the vehicle for the authenticity to travel within, which is why it can be one of the most effective tools used by brands today. Trust can be built between the consumer and the brand when they see the people behind the brands and the products.
We recently surveyed our business partners at Steeplechase of Charleston with the majority indicating that their top tools for marketing are social media and branded content. This is where the affordability theme steps in. Creating branded content doesn’t mean slick and expensive productions.
HOW TO GET STARTED
What is your goal?
Let’s start with what branded content is often used to do:
Drive engagement
Increase brand awareness
Improve brand loyalty
First, gather your smartest minds together and talk it out.
Be sure to populate that team with people from multiple areas of the company. Remember, your brand is represented in everything from sales to operations to the front lines of customer service - all these areas should weigh in.
What do you want for the brand? Find your themes.
Start putting them into buckets with ideas attached to each.
If you are efficient, this is a one-hour meeting. Preparing your people before the meeting is key. Give them time to think about the brand and assign them ideas to bring to the table.
Develop the story and concept.
You have your buckets of goals with themes, now pick one. Pick a week on the schedule to push it out and work backward to begin your planning. While you are at that, create a basic content calendar for the year and share it with the team. Be willing to change that calendar as often the market will present new challenges. For guidance, here's a great article discussing the Nine steps to great storytelling.
Develop content that strengthens likability while also carrying out your major goal.
Good content is key to convince consumers to click. People like content that makes them feel good and in turn, they often will feel good about the brand. Make them laugh, teach them something, give them special access. With consumers spending less time commuting, etc., they are looking to fill in gaps. This is your opportunity to bring them content that entertains and informs - resulting in consumers taking action.
A SATISFYING CONTENT EXPERIENCE → DRIVES CLICKS → HOME PAGE → SALES
A few ideas to consider:
Give them access to something - Go behind the scenes and show your process. People love to see things being made!
Give them ‘news-they-can-use’ - break down steps for how they can solve a common problem. Bring in experts. Your base may value entertainment over-analysis and tips, or want both. Understand who you are speaking to. (Map that out in your initial ideation meeting.)
Another suggested strategy is to not only attempt to create a community centered on enthusiasm for your brand, but for your brand to enthusiastically support existing communities that have a purpose separate from, but relevant to you.
How to tell your story
Find the easiest platforms for you to use. This is where Social Media steps in often. It is user-friendly, easily-measured, and inexpensive. (If you aren’t consistent with content on social media, you are likely not going to build your followers.)
However, there are many other platforms such as articles, video calls, virtual events, branded videos, newsletters, as well as conference calls.
Identify the voice: If it is a Zoom call, bring in a moderator to hold the content together by keeping everyone on message; if it’s an article, have your CEO pen the piece from their perspective, or, if you are hosting a virtual event, pin it to a theme and have your host give a strong introduction and close.
Record and reuse. Once you have built a body of content, save it! Use it again. Replay it to a new audience. And by all means, add it to your website so that those visiting for the first time can get a sense of your brand voice.
Here's an example of a branded content video created by Steeplechase of Charleston for our presenting sponsor, Baker Motor Company:
Last but not least, three golden rules:
Have a purpose for what you are doing when you tell your story.
Tie that purpose back to a call-to-action.
Make it easy for them to act as well as react.
The time is now to drive connections. The desire of your customers is there. What are you waiting for?
A partnership with Steeplechase of Charleston can mean much more than exposure on race day. Consider a conversation with me to discuss how your brand can be a part of our overall content strategy that begins well in advance of race day and extends across multiple platforms.
By Sterling Eason, Senior Director of Partnership Development, Steeplechase of Charleston, The Post and Courier
How sponsorships and event partnerships benefit businesses in quarantine
Sponsorships are a key pillar in any businesses’ ability to reach new audiences. In a world under quarantine, it can be tough to find relevant events and other sponsorship opportunities. But as the world figures out how to operate under social distancing rules, certain events are finding ways to thrive.
It's important to consider the benefits that sponsorships can bring your business. Because as with all advertising right now, when the competition is low, it's a great time to put yourself out in front of audiences. So here are some of the top reasons you should sponsor events right now.
Build Consumer Confidence
Any customer that’s willing to attend an event right now likely has trust in the hosting company. Aligning your brand with a company that already has high customer confidence will also help build confidence in your brand. The public perception of your brand will be just as large as that of the event host.
There has been a misconception lately that sponsorships can only build consumer confidence if they are for charitable causes. While customers do value seeing brands align with charities right now, that doesn’t mean that traditional sponsorships are any less valuable for your brand.
Generate Leads
The potential for return on investment with event sponsorships is high. People are there to experience the event and will naturally learn about the sponsoring brands while they are there. Customers are more open to discovering new products and services.
You have your audience’s attention much more than when they can ignore your ad at home or in a print product. These are all people that you need to follow up with after. Build a solid post-event marketing plan around the leads that you capture. Make sure your sponsorship artwork, video, booth, etc. has a solid way of either capturing contact info or driving people to your website.
Be sure to look at the ROI on your sponsorship and use that info to consider future sponsorships and where to invest your money. Getting in front of the right audience in the right way is something that comes with practice.
Reach your target audience
One of the more valuable reasons to sponsor an event is that you can reach a highly-specific audience.
Claire Linney
"For example, our Bicycle Across South Carolina event has an audience of people who are generally active, interested in outdoors and a healthy lifestyle," event sales manager Claire Linney notes.
"This audience matches well with a business like a chiropractic center who wants to reach active people in the community. We can create custom sponsorships that allow the client to connect with attendees one-on-one to build new relationships and generate new leads. In this example, the chiropractor can connect with “active lifestyle” potential patients.
Gather audience insights
Events are a great place to gather valuable information on your potential client base. You get to see what the spenders in your community value and how they like to engage with brands. Demographic data and audience preferences can help you build nurture campaigns. You can learn how and when to talk to your audience in the way they prefer.
Work with the event host to make a plan for capturing that data. Show that you have an active and growing interest in their audience. This will make future partnerships with the host business easier and more beneficial to both parties.
Our annual Family Expo attracts thousands of parents, and a previous financial firm sponsor saw strong return on their investment. "The in-person data collection allows them to have the contact information of these event attendees to re-connect with a follow-up about their services specific to families," Claire said.
"Because the consumer has already met the financial group in person, they are warmed up and familiar with the business, and more likely to respond. "
Increase Visibility
The bigger the event, the better the visibility you’ll get. As the world continues to open up and allow people to gather (at a safe distance), people will be hungry to attend events. Look at your opportunities throughout the end of this year and beyond.
Event sponsorships are a good way to meet non-competitive companies in your area. Always be on the lookout for new partnership opportunities.
Look at the ways that audiences benefit from learning about all of the brands that are sponsoring the event. Maybe there are creative ways to partner with another brand that drives audiences to each business.
Competition is low
As mentioned before, the world is in a unique place in which many businesses aren’t comfortable or able to spend dollars on sponsorships. Unfortunately, these businesses will continue to struggle when the COVID-19 crisis fades away, as they won’t have set themselves up for future success. History shows this has been the case whenever businesses stop advertising during a crisis, and eventually fall behind their competition.
Social media opportunities
Being a part of an upcoming event opens many doors on social media platforms that are great for capturing attention. There are tons of unique ways to promote your participation.
And using the native tools that platforms like Facebook have for events allows you to become a full part of the event’s promotion. Facebook allows event pages or promoted posts to tag a partner business. Whether you are the venue hosting the event or just a paid sponsor, you can appear as an official partner on the event’s social media promotion.
This is a great way to gain new followers. As a part of your promotion, you can potential work out an arrangement for the event host to encourage their followers to follow your business as well.
Social media users are ready for interaction, and are the easiest leads to warm up and get them to click over to your website.
Find sponsorship opportunities as they become available
If any of the reasons above sound like they would lead to higher sales for your business, then now is the time to start planning your event participation for the year. Event dates may have had to change over recent months, but the world will keep moving forward and people are ready to find a new normal.
To find out more about upcoming events and other sponsorship opportunities in the Charleston area, talk to your Post and Courier advertising sales representative, or contact us here.
Award season in Charleston is upon us and we wanted to help winning businesses highlight their success. The Charleston community nominated and voted for the top businesses in a variety of categories. Now is the time for you to highlight your honors and give your business the extra boost that awards can provide.
Here in Charleston, customers are always on the lookout for Charleston’s Choice honors, as it shows a business is the best of the best. And this goes for all types of awards any business might be recognized for. Let your community know you’ve been recognized through these branding and promotional strategies.
Brag in your email marketing
You’ll want to make sure that you’re bragging about your award everywhere you can. Emails are a great place for that. You can make specialized emails focused on your award. Or simply add in the honors to your existing communications.
If you have a regular newsletter, dedicate a special edition to announcing the honors. Make an event out of it and catch subscribers’ attention by detailing how and why you won.
What makes your customer relations the best in the business? Why is your business the top tourist hotspot? Awards carry prestige by nature. But customers want to know just why you’re the best.
This is also a good place to start incorporating the award logo into your branding. This would be temporary and wouldn’t be applicable in all branding locations, so there’s no need to rework your logo. So find the best way to pair your logo with the award branding and place that naturally in your emails. Have employees update their signatures to include that your business is an award winner.
Show off the award with pride
Take advantage of this time to promote your award in the digital and physical space. SEM campaigns can show web searchers that you are a business worth looking into. And traditional web page ads catch the attention of audiences in your area, if you are employing geomarketing capabilities.
Businesses with a customer-facing storefront will have an easy time showing off their award. On-location signage promotes your success to all potential customers or clients.
But businesses located within a large office complex in their own suite don’t have the opportunity to flaunt as much. Local billboards are a good substitute and open you up for even greater reach.
If physical ads by the side of the highway aren’t your thing, you should at least be showing off your victory on your website and social media pages. Update your website’s hero image and fancy up your homepage for a few weeks to celebrate. Maybe even run a contest to show you want to celebrate with your customers, not just tell them how great you are.
Other benefits of winning awards
If you haven’t gotten your business entered into awards, consider the added benefits outside of attracting new business. The prestige of being an award-winning organization affects all aspects of business.
Awards can bring growth to your business internally as well. It’s not always about showing off the award to the public. Current staff will be able to take pride in the work they do and the company they belong to. It’s an opportunity for a great boost in company morale. So even just putting up the award logo around the office can have great effects.
The celebration events for the awards themselves can also be a great opportunity for employees of winning businesses. Award parties can be a place to network with other winning businesses and build new business relationships.
Our Charleston’s Choice celebration brings together local businesses and gives them a chance to show the community why they were selected for the top honors. Restaurants and beverage companies can share their award winning creations with attendees.
Signs, advertisements and published announcements are the wide-reaching way to show off your accomplishment. But, an event sponsorship gives you a more intimate way to connect with potential customers or partners.
Finally, it should go without saying that a little time to unwind does wonders for everyone.
