How Winning Awards Increases Your Credibility
Posted by Felicia Brown LMBT at 8/1/2008 5:49 AM and is filed under Marketing Ideas and Opportunities,Spalutions Publicity 
I've been really fortunate over they years in terms of receiving great publicity for my various businesses. Some of that publicity came from being in the right place at the right time - like attending a local city council meeting when the city licensing laws governing massage were being discussed.
Other publicity has come from knowing the right people. For example, a good friend of mine used to work at an area television station - he was the weather guy. When I had an event going on at my office, I asked him to help me get coverage of the event on his station. As a result, I made numerous appearances over the years on that station and as result became known as THE massage therapist (then spa owner) in town.
But some of the best publicity I've gotten is from winning awards. (Best Local Spa, Women in Business, Granted, you usually have to "do" something well to win these. But I have found that in many cases, such as local polls or awards sponsored by printed publications, you can often get great press just for being nominated. And you could even win!
Either way, getting your name mentioned in conjunction with being nominated for or winning an award is not only impressive but also is something you can use to gain more publicity in other areas such as your professional trade organizations, local publications and so on. And believe me, your clients, prospects and peers will see these mentions (if they don't show it to them). And every article or television appearance help you to gain better credibility and professional exposure.
Recently I received an award that really caught me by surprise. Six times a year, the Day Spa Association selects a Day Spa Person of the Month from their membership and volunteers. Each month the Day Spa Association will recognize a woman or man who has made a significant contribution to the Spa industry. Then prior to the Day Spa Expo in 2009, the DSA will conduct an on-line poll to vote for one of the monthly winners to select the "Spa Person of The Year". In addition to the award, the winner will also receive this lovely Irish crystal lamp.
Although I've been spending quite a bit of time in my volunteer role as Assistant Editor for the Day Spa/Medical Spa Bible - due out later this year - I had no idea that I might be eligible for this honor. But as I have learned to do over the years, once I got over my surprise I got to work on a press release and getting some good PR from it.
Something new that one of my PR experts suggested (in addition to sending the release to targeted industry and local publications) was to post the release on PR Web. This is an online resource for writers, publications, online journals, etc., for up to the minute news reports and stories that might be of interest to their readers. And as you will see, you just never know who will post your news!
PR Web
eMedia Wire
Beauties News
Carolina Newswire
NeedCheapTickets.com
24/7 Press Release
www.topix.net
Buzz Tracker
PR News Now
News Guide
PR-USA
Jordo Media
Other publicity has come from knowing the right people. For example, a good friend of mine used to work at an area television station - he was the weather guy. When I had an event going on at my office, I asked him to help me get coverage of the event on his station. As a result, I made numerous appearances over the years on that station and as result became known as THE massage therapist (then spa owner) in town.
But some of the best publicity I've gotten is from winning awards. (Best Local Spa, Women in Business, Granted, you usually have to "do" something well to win these. But I have found that in many cases, such as local polls or awards sponsored by printed publications, you can often get great press just for being nominated. And you could even win!
Either way, getting your name mentioned in conjunction with being nominated for or winning an award is not only impressive but also is something you can use to gain more publicity in other areas such as your professional trade organizations, local publications and so on. And believe me, your clients, prospects and peers will see these mentions (if they don't show it to them). And every article or television appearance help you to gain better credibility and professional exposure.
Recently I received an award that really caught me by surprise. Six times a year, the Day Spa Association selects a Day Spa Person of the Month from their membership and volunteers. Each month the Day Spa Association will recognize a woman or man who has made a significant contribution to the Spa industry. Then prior to the Day Spa Expo in 2009, the DSA will conduct an on-line poll to vote for one of the monthly winners to select the "Spa Person of The Year". In addition to the award, the winner will also receive this lovely Irish crystal lamp.
Although I've been spending quite a bit of time in my volunteer role as Assistant Editor for the Day Spa/Medical Spa Bible - due out later this year - I had no idea that I might be eligible for this honor. But as I have learned to do over the years, once I got over my surprise I got to work on a press release and getting some good PR from it.
Something new that one of my PR experts suggested (in addition to sending the release to targeted industry and local publications) was to post the release on PR Web. This is an online resource for writers, publications, online journals, etc., for up to the minute news reports and stories that might be of interest to their readers. And as you will see, you just never know who will post your news!
PR Web
eMedia Wire
Beauties News
Carolina Newswire
NeedCheapTickets.com
24/7 Press Release
www.topix.net
Buzz Tracker
PR News Now
News Guide
PR-USA
Jordo Media
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