Harrisburg Magazine’s Simply the Best competition has begun once again. Every year, it seems the competition gets tougher, so here are six tips on how to get your business nominated. This year nominations will be even tougher because we are reducing the number of nominees from 10 to only 5. Fewer nominees but more categories (so in some ways, more opportunities to be nominated and win).
- ADVERTISE. Sure, advertising in our magazine and on the ballot will help you (and us) a lot. And if you are interested, please contact us at 717-233-0109. And as much as that can help, it should only be where you start. You should also make sure you contact your customers, post signs in your business, link it on your website, post on Facebook and other social media platforms, etc. Advertise as many places as you can as often as you can.
- BE SPECIFIC. Make sure you let people know exactly what to vote. Tell them the groups and the categories that you are competing for. If you are trying to promote a specific location, let them know that as well. Don’t say “Vote for us in Simply the Best” Say “Vote for Bob’s Shoes for Best Shoe Store (under Shopping).” You can also give them the link to the Group your category falls under. To get the link, right click on the group name on the left hand side of the ballot and select “copy link address.”
- UPDATE GOOGLE BUSINESS. Google Business is the system that Second Street (which manages the voting) uses to list business names and addresses. If your business doesn’t show up on the drop down, it’s because it isn’t in Google Business. But that’s easy (and free) to fix. Go to https://www.google.com/business/?ppsrc=GPDA2. This will not only help you with Simply the Best, but help your business show up in Google.
- REGISTER WITH US. Yes, we have our own registration process. This process helps ensure that businesses nominated are interested in participating in Simply the Best AND helps us contact you quickly to let you know if you are nominated and/or if you win. It’s totally free and we don’t share your information with anyone else. To register a business. To register an individual.
- PROMOTE HONEST VOTING. Unfortunately, every year we discover a couple of businesses try ways to get votes that are not legitimate. Thankfully, Second Street is very good at identifying and eliminating them. And at times we have had to eliminate businesses from the competition because of this. We hate it. It’s simple to avoid: promote honest and legitimate voting. During the nomination period people can vote once per day per category. During the voting period, people can vote once per category. People can only vote using their own email and can only use one email to vote.
- VOTE FOR YOURSELF. In the past, we have been contacted by a few businesses or individuals upset that they didn’t get nominated. And in almost every case, their email doesn’t show up as having cast a vote. You’d be surprised at how often winning and losing is separated by one or two votes. However, that they didn’t take a moment to vote suggests they were a little too complacent that they would be nominated and didn’t put any effort into getting nominated. So take a minute and vote. Get your family to vote for you. Get your friends to vote for you. Get your customers to vote for you. Every legitimate vote matters.