Your Best Of is your #1 initiative of the year, but users are only engaging with your Best Of for about 2 months out of the year. We’ve created a plan for you to utilize your Best Of brand to drive revenue and audience all year long!
Your Best Of Brand
Your Best Of should not be just a special section or segment you have to do each year. It should be it’s own program with it’s own BRAND that is representative of what your Best Of means to your community.
Your Mission Statement
Your mission statement will define the purpose, value, and goals of your Best Of program. It will inform every decision your make about your program like the categories you choose, your marketing language, sales packages, etc. Once you’ve curated your mission statement, be sure to include it on your business resource page.
Once you’ve solidified your brand, mission, and program direction, think about how your Best Of name and logo can expand.
The Year-Round Celebration
Online Winners’ Directory
The winners’ directory is not just for your special section! Publish your winners digitally in an online winners’ directory to drive traffic to your winners year-round. This directory can include ‘Thank You’ ads from winners and also don’t forget to include enhanced listings to highlight your winners.
Event
Throwing an event for your Best Of winners is a way to drive more HUGE revenue within your Best Of program and really celebrate the businesses in the community. Here are types of events you could choose to put on:
- Free Event
This type of event is drop in style and takes place from 5-7pm after business hours. Invite all winners to pick up their certificates, offer light food and a beer/wine open bar, step and repeat for photos, live music.
- Ticketed Event
This is a more formal event with a sit down dinner and presentation of winners. Include a sponsored red carpet, step and repeat, MCs presenting awards to all winners. Sell tables, sell single tickets.
- Party
This event doesn’t have a formal winner presentation, and instead plaques are provided at the door with a photo op. Everything is sold/sponsored – from the signature cocktail to the dance floor. Sell sponsors. Sell tables. Sell tickets. Go all out. Go BIG!
Also consider other ways to celebrate your winners with sponsorships for things like:
- Hall of Fame – celebrate your milestone winners
- Photo Gallery – all photos with event sponsor logos on step and repeat banner
- 360-degree Videos – post the videos on your winners’ directory with a sponsor
Winners’ Ad Program
Create an ad program for your Best Of winners that runs in the ‘off season’ after the event and special section/segment has been published.
These are simply ‘pick-up ads’ that your team has already created! Take the ads you created from the special section, pick them up, and publish them on your site, in your print publications every month, etc. Run them continuously for 6 months leading up to next year’s Best Of.
- Your Daily/Weekly Newsletter
Include a section for your Best Of in your newsletter. Provide quick links to the winners’ directory, the e-edition of your special section, event photos, etc. You can also highlight a different winner with their event photo each week.
Also think about creating a section for categories that weren’t in the ballot, but are engaging for your audience! Think categories like best place to avoid your spouse or best cult following.
- Best Of Newsletter
Curate a Best Of branded newsletter that highlights winners from different groups. This will be sent to your Best Of audience featuring one winner each month. You can also include contests you are running for other Best Of winners and Best Of business ads.
- Best Of Branded Marketing Email Campaigns
These are campaigns that feature winners in groups that like to spend – home services, healthcare, education, physical fitness, etc. Feature 5-8 winners per newsletter and run 1-2 per month. If you’re charging $500-$800 per sponsor, that could equate to an extra $20,000 in revenue!
- Thank You Emails
These are emails dedicated to a specific advertiser send to your Best Of audience. You can include a message from the winner thanking your audience for voting for them and an offer to drive people to their business. Include this in your premium winners’ packages, as these should be exclusive for those that purchase.
Content
Create content that engages your audience and drives traffic back to your online winners’ directory. This could be on-air features/segments, articles, videos, listicles.
Contests
Pull together a contests program that utilizes your Best Of branding. Target winners for opportunities and include these within your winners’ sales packages.
- Custom Lead-Gen Sweepstakes
Provide your winners with exclusive sponsorship and craft a sweepstakes based on their need to drive even more opt-ins and ROI for them.
- Niche Brackets
Think about barstool topics like fall beer, wings, food that is local to your area – all smaller categories that drive engagement.
- Niche Ballots
Target fan-favorite, large, niche categories like Best Pet, Best Prep Sports, or Top Docs. You can create categories within your ballot for sponsors (for Best Pets think Best Attitude or Fast & Furriest). With all of the entries you receive, you’ll have a treasure trove of content you can create. You can even throw a party for the pets!
- National Day/Week/Month Contests
There is a national day/week/month for everything! Take advantage of that and curate niche ballots or brackets or sweepstakes highlighting your winners and that national day/week/month.
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Kristen is a Customer Success Manager and Content Creator. She works to create useful content with thought-leadership our partners can use to drive revenue, engagement, and audience growth with promotions.