How to Promote a Chapter Award
Have you or your Chapter won an award or received a hard-earned professional certification and wondered how to get the word out without appearing self-congratulatory? First, recognize that people want to know about you and your organization's accomplishments. Second, understand that getting the word out about your recognition helps to build credibility. The most common way to let others know of your recognition is to send a media release. Here are some tips to increase your chances of getting coverage: 1. If possible, have the conferring organization send the release. If a professional association has recognized you, ask if they will send a release from the home office to media people you've identified as being in your target market. Having a release distributed by a national organization carries a little more weight than one from your office, especially if yours is a small business. If you must send it out yourself, send the news on plain white paper (when faxing or mailing) with an appropriate headline and contact information. Don't use your company stationery. Your release will look more selfpromotional than newsworthy. 2. Make sure the news is timely. Remember, a media release is news. It should go out as close to the actual event as possible. If sending a release after the award event has occurred, don't indicate the date of the award; instead, use phrasing like, "has been awarded" or "has been named." 3. State the facts, then get out of the way. The news is the bestowing of the award or certification, so that should be the lead paragraph, followed by the criteria for the recognition, any gee-whiz information (such as famous people who have received the same award, or data that demonstrates the uniqueness of receiving such recognition). Resist the temptation to write a couple of paragraphs about yourself and what you do. Keep reading to find out why. 4. Add a boilerplate. Large companies understand and usually practice the effectiveness of adding what's known as a "boilerplate" at the end of the release. Essentially, the boilerplate is a description of the company. In your case, the boilerplate would be a paragraph about who you are, what you do, where you do it, and for whom. Putting the boilerplate at the end of the release allows an editor to quickly surmise the significance of the news. Further, it shows that you're sophisticated enough to realize that the award or certification is the meat and you're the "gravy." 5. Send the release to the appropriate targets. Include local media, your college alumni publication, professional association newsletters and, of course, your Web site.
These tips were provided with permission by NSA member Marilynn Mobley. You can sign up for her free e-zine called PR Tips and Techniques at www.prtipsandtechniques.com.