Small business marketing can be overwhelming for local brands in the DMV, with a seemingly unending list of paid and organic opportunities to build your brand awareness and nurture your audience. In the DMV alone, there are at least 25 local ‘best of’ awards that include magazines, news sites, and business organizations. When you react to these “best of” opportunities as they pop up, rather than following a proactive and strategic marketing plan, that overwhelm only grows. A deliberate strategy gives your small business the clarity it needs to evaluate every option, reach new customers, and drive more sales.
Are ‘best business’ awards worth it for Arlington & DMV small businesses?
Are best business awards a popularity contest? Some are, and some aren’t. Some awards are granted through a formal application process, with a selection committee making the final determination. Other awards are public reader polls that allow daily voting; others allow only one vote and may even require the voter to participate across their poll, not just for a single business or category.
Arlington Strategy was recognized as a Small Business of the Year by the Arlington Chamber of Commerce in 2020. This prestigious annual award recognizes Arlington Chamber of Commerce members who have made significant contributions to the Arlington Community. A committee selects awardees after fellow Chamber members nominate recipients. Unlike many Best of awards offered by media outlets, there is no public voting for the Arlington Chamber’s Annual Arlington Best Business Awards. Additionally, Arlington Strategy was also awarded a Best Business award in the 2023 Gazette Leader Best Of reader’s poll.
In 2026, our long-time client Alair Arlington won Arlington Chamber of Commerce 2026 Service Business of the Year. We partnered with them to articulate their community impact, business growth, and corporate values, helping them secure the top honor.
Why do media outlets offer ‘best of’ contests?
The crass answer is ad dollars. Related, but slightly less crass, is bringing awareness to their own publication. Small businesses that participate in campaigning for a best business award drive a lot of traffic to the media outlet’s website. Voters are typically asked to provide an email address, which helps the media outlet grow its own marketing capability, which in turn helps it grow its revenue.
In other words, it’s business, baby.
Why should my small business try to win a best business award?
There are many reasons why a small business would want to incorporate a best business award campaign into their marketing strategy. Keep in mind that assessing the value of pursuing these should be evaluated in the overall context of your marketing budget and your capacity to implement a campaign. Even though we believe that these award campaigns can be a very effective tactic to reach new audiences, grow brand awareness in Arlington, and engage your brand loyalists, you still need to pick and choose when to participate based on many other factors.
The biggest benefit of doing a ‘best of’ campaign is the simple act of running a campaign. What we mean by that is that, when done well, a well-planned voting campaign results in consistent communications across your channels and provides momentum in sharing your storytelling with your target audiences. If you are following our train of thought here, this rationale applies to any campaign that you choose to run – so it isn’t that the best of campaign is magically more important or effective – it is that marketing campaigns are effective. The contests provide the small business with the tools to make it easier to implement, so time savings can be appealing since the brand is being handed a media kit.
But other valuable tangible benefits come from simply participating in best of campaigns specifically. The biggest value is that you can create enthusiasm and engagement opportunities with your staff and your customers. Customers like to feel that they make the best choices, and voting for your brand – where they choose to spend their money – helps them reinforce their choices as worthy. Imagine bragging that YOUR hairdresser is the best in town! Or that your spouse works at the restaurant that won a best of award. Humans are competitive, and the contests that rely on public voting tap into that energy, and brands can leverage it for fun and brand building.
We advise our clients not to think of these award opportunities as only benefiting them if they win the top accolade. It’s great when that happens (and we have run many successful campaigns for many of our clients over the years), but not ‘winning’ is not ‘losing.’ Many awarding organizations and media outlets give a lot of brand recognition to runners-up. And, even while voting is going on, participating brands are sometimes showing up in public ballots, extending their brand reach.
How do I know if this is a real opportunity?
If you’ve heard of the media outlet, that is a good sign. If you are receiving an invitation to claim a ‘best of’ award and it will cost you money, that requires more due diligence. We are wary of any “opportunity” on a media site that seems to publish only this type of award content. Note: There are very real AEO/SEO reasons why it may make sense for your business to participate with those less consumer-focused sites, but that is beyond the scope of this blog.
Pay-to-play vs. authentic recognition in local marketing
Most of the media outlet awards do not require any fees or prior advertising to participate in their award program. You see more pay-to-enter awards on the industry media side of things. Again, worth considering as part of your overall marketing strategy but not included here.
However, we typically advise our clients that if they are going to invest their time (time=money) into campaigning for a best business award, they also budget for paid advertising placement to leverage their recognition on the other side of the campaign. Even if the award recognition is issued by a non-media organization (like a chamber of commerce), paid advertising to announce your award – claiming those bragging rights – is an effective part of your overall campaign strategy.
What are the downsides of a ‘best of” campaign?
If done with thoughtful planning, there is little downside to participating in these types of campaigns. However, like all tactics, there is an opportunity cost to undertaking a best of campaign. That means what aren’t you doing with your capacity and resources if you are doing this? Carefully consider a best of campaign in the context of your overall local marketing strategy. If you are investing time and resources into marketing in Falls Church or Arlington, only proceed if a ‘best of’ campaign fits your broader marketing plan and doesn’t distract from other mission-critical activities that are underway.
The other big thing to think about – which is an extension of how this kind of campaign fits into your strategy – is being careful that you aren’t asking too much of your audience in a small window of time. Campaigns work best if they are not competing against your other marketing activities. For example, if your marketing strategy includes asking your customers to leave you Google reviews, attend an event, or make a referral, you might consider timing those asks so they aren’t muddying the message of the Best of campaign ask.
How do you ask customers to vote for ‘best of’ awards without annoying them?
You know your customers better than anyone. If you provide great service and are in good standing in your community, people like to support their favorite small businesses with this type of participation. And for those who don’t want to, they’ll simply ignore your campaign.
Make sure that your campaign respects your audience across every channel:
- Email Marketing: Don’t spam your email list with constant requests for support. Limit dedicated voting emails to no more than once per week.
- Social Media: Avoid making your entire feed a series of asks. Post a couple of times per week using varied visual content formats.
- Tone & Messaging: Be humble in your ask. Your customers don’t owe you anything—polite sincerity and genuine appreciation go a long way.
Treat your communications channels as you normally would, simply incorporating this campaign as your single call-to-action for the period you are campaigning. Employ good strategic communications planning here, and you will be good.
How to campaign effectively for local DC Metro awards
Every best of opportunity will have a unique participation window. How long or short it is will ultimately determine how frequently you should do outreach to your audience. In general, email marketing should be no more often than once per week; social media can be a couple of times per week (but with varied post types). Use your website pop-up capability for this, as well as in-store signage to remind people.
Depending on the nature of your business, direct person-to-person requests for support go a long way. Customers and clients are significantly more likely to take action when personally asked face-to-face or during routine client touchpoints.
Next steps: post-campaign strategy & community support
If you win a best of honor, there are going to be paid ad placement opportunities that you want to budget for. These aren’t required elements, but they are a great way to showcase your award and acknowledge your audience for supporting that award.
If you don’t win top honors or formal recognition, you can use the outcome to publicly congratulate fellow local businesses who did earn the recognition. Best business awards offer a prime chance to build community, foster peer relationships, and celebrate small businesses across Arlington, Falls Church, and the greater Washington DC region.
