How to Write a Winning SMMA Entry

Written By Lucy Hall

How to Write a Winning SMMA Entry

At SocialDay we want to help you share your story and show the real impact of your social campaigns. A strong submission combines human moments with clear results and reads like a story, not a report. Here’s how to do it.

1. Hook Judges with a Human Moment

  • Open with a concise, powerful quote that highlights the human impact of your campaign.

  • Choose a quote from a client, customer or community member that feels authentic to your brand.

  • Briefly explain why this moment mattered to people and how it illustrates your campaign’s value.

2. Set Up the Challenge Set Up the Challenge

  • Describe the obstacle you faced. Maybe it was a tight budget, a new market or a tricky regulation.

  • Share what success would look like in real-world terms. For example, turning customers into brand advocates or sparking a movement.

3. Reveal Your Insight

  • Tell us about the moment you knew you were onto something. Maybe a data trend jumped out or a user comment sparked a new idea.

  • Show how this insight shaped your strategy.

4. Tell the Strategy Story

  • Breakdown your approach at scale: outline how you identified priority channels, defined creative pillars and balanced resource allocation across markets.

  • Describe how internal teams (marketing, creative, analytics) worked together and how you managed stakeholder expectations from brief through launch.

  • Explain any phased roll‑out or pilot testing you ran to inform larger rollouts under tight budgets.

  • Highlight how you adapted messaging or assets for different audiences, regions or platforms without inflating costs.

5. Share the Pivotal Moments

  • Identify the specific instances that shifted outcomes—this could be a creative adaptation that resonated unexpectedly, a strategic partnership that unlocked new audiences, or a timely response to real-world events.

  • Describe how you spotted these moments using data signals (such as a sudden spike in engagement, sentiment shifts or referral traffic) and explain the decisions you made in reaction.

  • Emphasise cross-channel effects: for example, how a single tweet triggered discussion across forums and influenced traffic back to your owned channels.

  • Highlight your agility under budget constraints—detail how swift, low-cost tactics (like repurposing user-generated content or reallocating ad spend mid-campaign) maximised impact when you saw what worked.

6. Mix Data with Real Voices

  • Pair stats with customer or team quotes. For example, “Engagement grew 80% and Jenny said ‘I finally felt my voice was heard by the brand.’”

  • Compare before and after: for instance, “Video completion rate went from 35% to 70%, and click-throughs increased by 120%.”

7. Show Your Creative Risk

  • Talk about the experiments you ran, even if they felt a bit risky - like trying an AR filter or a new platform.

  • Briefly note what you learned and how you’ll use that next time.

8. Include Community and Values

  • Highlight how you listened to your audience. Did you add captions or include diverse voices?

  • Share any social responsibility efforts - charitable partnerships, sustainability highlights, or wellness check-ins.

9. Show What Judges Are Looking For

  • Clear Criteria: Judges score entries on innovation, impact, strategy, content quality, engagement and ethics.

  • Evidence of Success: Provide clear metrics (engagement rates, click-throughs, conversions) and explain why they matter.

  • Authenticity: Stories that feel genuine stand out. Avoid buzzwords and focus on real experiences.

10. Present a Case Study Effectively

  • PDF Document: Bundle your narrative into a branded PDF (3-5 pages). Use headers, pull-quotes and visuals to guide the reader.

  • Screenshots and Visuals: Include annotated screenshots of posts, dashboards and campaign assets. Label each screenshot with a brief caption.

  • Links to Live Work: Point to your best-performing posts, videos or pages. Shorten long URLs with bit.ly or your own domain.

11. Provide Strong Evidence

  • Data Exports: Attach CSV exports or dashboard snapshots showing key metrics.

  • Third-Party Endorsements: Include quotes from clients, influencers or partners in your PDF.

  • Before and After: Show clear comparisons - follower counts, sentiment analysis or conversion rates.

12. Stand Out from the Competition

  • Unique Approach: What did you do that no one else tried? Emphasise your original ideas and learning mindset.

  • Visual Branding: Use consistent colours, fonts and layouts in your PDF to mirror your brand identity.

  • Engaging Storytelling: Break the text with pull quotes, callout boxes and bold stats to keep judges engaged.

13. Editorial Showcase Opportunity

  • If you agree, your shortlisted or winning case study may be featured on SocialDay’s editorial channels: socialday.live, newsletters and partner publications.

  • Indicate your permission in the entry form. This exposure can amplify your work to a wider audience.

14. Final Tips and Checklist

  • Write in your own voice. Use we and us to sound approachable.

  • Keep sentences short and paragraphs focused.

  • Use headers, bullet points and visuals to guide the reader.

Entry Checklist

  • Human-centred opening story

  • Clear challenge and goal

  • Insight that drove your idea

  • Strategy overview in plain language

  • Key turning points and results

  • Data paired with real quotes

  • Examples of creative risks and learnings

  • Community voices and ethical actions

  • PDF with screenshots and links

  • Permission for editorial showcase

Submit your entry at socialmediamarketingawards.co.uk/enter by 15 May 2024. We can’t wait to read your story and share it with the wider community!

Lucy Hall