After weathering the pandemic storm, it’s never been a better time for small businesses in the public relations industry to celebrate their achievements, reconnect with peers, and get together again at glittering in-person events.
The FSB Celebrating Small Business Awards is the largest event of its kind in the small business calendar and showcases the remarkable successes, creativity and resilience of the community over the last year.
It’s a great opportunity for small businesses – from sole traders to those with up to 250 employees – to have their work recognised and celebrated. The 12 diverse categories, including Start-up Business of the Year, Young Entrepreneur of the Year, and the Business and Product Innovation Award, allow a wide breadth of opportunity to showcase important work across the UK. Here’s five reasons why you should aim for one of their prestigious awards.
1. National recognition
With winners from each of the geographical finals gaining a place at the grand UK final, it’s an opportunity to gain national exposure for your business in the press and across social media. And there will be some great stories to tell – whether it’s ecommerce innovation, producing ground-breaking products and services or demonstrating a commitment to wellbeing in your workforce.
2. Networking opportunities
The UK final will see 132 finalists come together in Glasgow on 19 May 2022 to find out who will be named overall winner in their category – and who will be crowned FSB Small Business of the Year. Being among peers at the awards is the perfect time to network in person, share ideas and benchmark what you have achieved against other businesses.
3. Be seen by the best
Entering the awards will put your work in front of a panel of leading business experts – including Environmental/Sustainability Awards judge Becky Toal, managing director of Crowberry Consulting, who has worked in the environmental space for 20 years – which offers an unrivalled opportunity for exposure and future collaboration.
4. Give your staff a morale boost
Putting an awards entry together is one of the best ways to look back over what your small business has achieved over the last year, recognise your employees’ hard work and give them a pat on the back. And if you win, it’s a great excuse for a team celebration.
5. Attract the best talent and win new business
Don’t be afraid to shout about your achievements. Award-winning businesses can benefit from promoting recent accolades to showcase the value of their work when making new contacts or pitching for new business. It can also set you above competitors when recruiting new staff, as the best talent will be attracted to companies producing industry-leading work.
If you would like to enter this year’s FSB Celebrating Small Business Awards, visit fsbawards.co.uk where you’ll find all the information you need to prepare your entry, including a full list of awards categories. The awards are free to enter and you don’t need to be a member of the FSB to take part.
Closing dates for entry
• 9 January Yorkshire & Humber
• 16 January South West; East of England
• 23 January London; North West
• 30 January North East; West Midlands
• 6 February South East England
• 13 February Scotland
• 20 February East Midlands; Wales
• 27 February Northern Ireland
This article was originally published on Campaignlive.
