Earned Media Strategy: How to Use Business Awards to Build Credibility

Most businesses treat awards as a vanity play. The ones who get real value treat them as a content and credibility engine.

Nearly every magazine and Chamber of Commerce under the sun hosts some kind of award—Best Places to Work, 10 for the Next 10, Small Business Award, etc. Not only can you nominate yourself (usually for free), but, done right, it can bring you, your business, and your leaders a crazy amount of credibility and buzz.

Example: Free promotion through Best Places to Work

I helped a Springfield-based MSP apply for a Best Places to Work award. The application process included:

• A survey outlining benefits, compensation, and workplace culture

• A survey sent to all local employees

The result? A top 5 ranking—and a full page feature in the print magazine, a digital article, and multiple social posts from the publication. For. Free.

But it didn’t stop there.

Other local publications picked up the story, profiling the top organizations and expanding the reach even further. We also sent out a press release to industry magazines, turning local visibility into national exposure.

This wasn’t just a PR win. It became months of content, social proof, and credibility we could reuse across marketing and sales.

The cost? About $100 and roughly 24 hours of work over a few weeks.

How to build an earned media strategy for local, regional, and national awards?

This is a process I’ve replicated over and over for business and individual awards. What I’ve come to find is that most of these awards ask some of the same questions:

• Why is your company a great place to work for your employees?

• What makes you stand out from your competition?

• Why do your customers want to work with you over your competition?

• What’s one big win from the last year?

Which means, once you’ve got the bones on paper, it's easy to copy, paste, tweak, and nominate your organization in a matter of minutes. So how do you build your earned media strategy and get yourself nominated?

4 steps to boost your earned media strategy with business awards

When it comes to adding business awards to your earned media strategy, create processes to help you systematize your ability to nominate your business or leaders for awards and monetize the promotion once you win. You can break it down into four steps:

1. Find the right awards to nominate yourself for

Nominating your business just to nominate won’t drive buzz, leads, or business. Your target audience has to know, trust, and engage with the host of the award. If your target is local business owners, check out the Chambers of Commerce around you. Most of the time, you don’t even need to be a member to apply for any competitions they host. If your target is VCs or other industry bigwigs, try national industry publications.

Do you have a business journal or magazine in your area? Look for business awards talking about economic impact or some sort of “Best Place to Work” competition.

But don’t stop at nominating just your business.

Promoting your leaders is a great way to generate interest in your business in a non-salesy way that creates trust with your prospective buyers. So look at those same organizations for individual awards that highlight your leaders’ expertise or community involvement!

2. Know when to pay and when to walk away

While most of your local publications will offer nominations at no charge, your Inc.com’s and Forbes magazines will charge a nomination fee. If you’re just starting on your strategy, I wouldn’t recommend paying a nomination fee. First, get a few wins under your belt, understand how the process works and develop your internal processes for this kind of earned media strategy. Make sure to give yourself every opportunity to make the shot before you bet on it.

Most small businesses won’t ever stand a chance at the national awards (and could spend that nomination fee on more lucrative marketing channels anyway). But there are a few scenarios that could give you an edge:

• Did you 10X+ your revenue in the last three years?

• Did you come up with a crazy innovative product or way to do business?

If you shoot your shot without a yes (or maybe) to either of those questions, your success rate is probably going to be low.

3. Don’t just answer the questions, sell yourself!

The biggest mistake I see businesses make on nomination forms is answering only the question that was asked. You want to make it easy for the editors or judges to pick your application. So put on your salesperson hat and make your pitch.

Just like you sell yourself to prospective buyers, your nomination form is selling yourself to a panel of judges. Don’t tell them only what happened, tell them why, how it was impactful to your audience, and how it benefits their target audience.

The trick is to understand your host’s target audience. Their goal is to sell memberships, subscriptions, or magazines. What about your answer will help them do that?

Did you double your headcount in a year giving more people in your community stable income that boosts the local economy? Was your product / service launch so successful that it generated three times the revenue you expected and helped your customers realize X, Y, or Z goal? Does your HR team have programs that promote the hiring of veterans, those with disabilities, or those in the LGBTQIA+ community?

What can the competition host point to from your application that helps it achieve its goals too? When you answer nomination forms from this angle, your answers become more in-depth, engaging, and likely to win.

4. Proudly show off your win to the world

This strategy isn’t just about the win. It’s about what comes after the win. These awards are like badges of honor that you should wear proudly. They’re also a way for you to talk about how amazing your business is without sounding slimy.

You can say you have the best people because you were a “Best Place to Work.”

You can say your leaders have the most expertise because a magazine called them innovators.

You can say your product is better because that’s what a reporter said in their magazine.

You’re validated by trusted, third-parties that validate what you’re saying without your prospective buyer having to do their own research.

So how do you get the word out? This is the exact formula I’ve used for years:

• Write your own press release

• Send it to as many news outlets as you can

• Tell your partners, manufacturers, and other industry leaders in your network

• Get quotes from them about why you deserved your win and what it means for buyers

• Create a blog post on your website about your win and why it’s great

• Develop an enablement plan for your employees so they can talk about it on their own

• Share the blog post on your social media accounts

• Tell your customers about your win in your next eblast

You should take pride in the award you win. But you should also use it to establish credibility and trust with your prospective buyers so they want to work with you instead of your competitors.

How to Turn One Award Into Months of Content

Most businesses stop after the announcement. The ones that actually see results turn that moment into something that lasts. One award can become:

1. A blog post breaking down why you won

2. Multiple social posts highlighting different angles

3. Sales collateral that reinforces credibility

4. Website updates that build trust with new visitors

5. Email content that re-engages your audience

This is where earned media becomes a lead generation tool. You’re not just saying you’re great. You’re showing that someone else already validated it.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is earned media for small businesses?

Earned media refers to publicity gained through third-party recognition, such as awards, press coverage, or mentions, rather than paid advertising.

Are business awards worth it for marketing?

Yes, business awards can build credibility, generate publicity, and create content opportunities that support lead generation when used strategically.

How can you use awards to generate leads?

You can turn awards into leads by promoting them through blog content, social media, press releases, and sales materials to build trust and attract inbound interest.

Should small businesses pay for award nominations?

Small businesses should prioritize free or low-cost awards first. Paid nominations can be worthwhile later, but only when there is a strong chance of winning and a plan to leverage the result.

Final Thoughts

Most businesses are sitting on opportunities like this and doing nothing with them.

They assume PR is expensive.

They assume awards don’t matter.

Or they win something—and move on too quickly.

But done right, this isn’t just about recognition.

It’s about building credibility you don’t have to explain.

It’s about creating content you don’t have to force.

And it’s about giving people a reason to trust you before you ever talk to them.

You don’t need a massive budget to make this work. You just need a process—and the willingness to use it consistently. Because the businesses that win attention aren’t always the best. They’re the ones that know how to capture and reuse it.