Winning a prestigious industry award or a spot on a well-known business list is a big deal — and so is the branding potential it brings to your business. According to successful entrepreneurs, here are nine ways to leverage your achievement to build awareness and credibility for your company.
How can you get the most out of winning an award or being featured on a list such as the Inc. 5000?
1. Build Credibility With Reporters
You can sign up for a free press tool like Help A Reporter Out to get mentions that not only help with brand recognition, but also increase your domain authority. Reply to any relevant question and include your winning award in your signature under your name. This way you build credibility with the reporters without coming across as self-promotional. – Chris Christoff, MonsterInsights
2. Pair It With Great Ratings and Reviews
In today’s day and age, consumers like to see different awards, honors, and badges of recognition. So having a great rating with the Better Business Bureau and Yelp, along with getting on the Inc. 5000 will always assist in painting a pretty picture of you and your business. It also helps with consumer confidence. – Engelo Rumora, List’n Sell Realty
3. Weave Your Recognition Into Your Story
There’s no better way to demonstrate your passion and commitment to a customer than by telling your story. Use awards, features and recognition as a way to not only show your success and prove your merit as a company, but also to show how hard you worked to get there and what trials you went through to get to where you are. That kind of honesty and authenticity will always be your best messaging. – Peter Kozodoy, GEM Advertising
4. Network With the Other Awardees
The best part of being awarded “100 Most Intriguing Entrepreneurs” by Goldman Sachs was being able to network and connect with the other entrepreneurs. Most entrepreneurs scaling their companies do not have time for outside conferences or events. Taking advantage of meeting and connecting with other individuals going through the same issues you are is incredibly beneficial. – Jennifer Mellon, Trustify
5. Promote the Achievement on Every Channel
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Make sure that you promote the awards and achievements that your company receives through all of your channels. Add a badge to your website, promote any relevant articles on social media and put out a press release. It’s also important to make the most out of your award by attending any events given by the awarding body to expand your network and outreach even further. – David Ehrenberg, Early Growth Financial Services
6. Add It to Your Social Media Accounts
Whether it’s Linkedin, Facebook or Twitter, most social media accounts have a bio section where you can add information about your company. Add your award to this section to make it more highly visible to potential investors and customers. – Syed Balkhi, OptinMonster
7. Retarget PR Audiences to Your Website
There’s no better way to build credibility than to use your PR and market it to that publication’s audience and then retarget that specific audience to your website. When you do this, you’re not only able to capture an audience but you’re able to build that extra level of trust with them with your reward or accolade. – Sweta Patel, Silicon Valley Startup Marketing
8. Boost Your Thought Leadership and Speaking Engagements 
Killer Infographics has been listed on the Inc. 5000 for the past two years, and we’ve used this recognition to boost our position as thought leaders in visual communication. We’ve made sure to mention Killer’s membership in the Inc. 5000 in everything from our company boilerplate to our email signatures. It’s now part of my personal bio, which has helped me earn more speaking engagements. – Amy Balliett, Killer Infographics
9. Tie the Award to a Larger PR Push 
Awards are great for using as a PR tool. I reach out to my PR list when we win awards and try to pitch the win as part of a larger company narrative. Depending on the award, I also make sure to put the win in the company’s email signature for a few weeks to help spread the word. – Lisa Curtis, Kuli Kuli Inc.