Amazing Work is Made in HESM
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Why Should I Submit?
Recognition
You make amazing work. Your efforts deserve recognition from your employer, colleagues, and the HigherEd Social community. Show them all what you’re made of.
Celebration
Join with others in the HigherEd Social community and celebrate the incredible creativity and dedication coming out of our corner of the Higher Ed sector.
Impact
Your work can inspire others to create more and better work which helps positively evolve and progress the quality of work found within the HigherEd Social Community.
Meet Our Sponsors
Meet The Judges

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HESM Professional
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HESM Professional
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HESM Professional
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HESM Professional
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Everything You Need To Know

Eligibility
Check whether your work or employer are eligible.
Eligibility
- Entries may be submitted by any institution, company, or individual involved in the creation or production of the work for the higher education sector.
- You do not need to be a member of HigherEd Social to enter (although members receive discounted entry fees).
- Non-members will have the option to join HigherEd Social and take advantage of reduced entry fees when entering.
- Work must have been published after May 31, 2020.

Submission Guidelines & Costs
All the info you need to submit!
Costs
EARLY BIRD | STANDARD RATE | LATE FEE | |
3/1 – 4/15 | 4/16 – 5/31 | 6/1 – 6/5 | |
MEMBER | $25 | $50 | $75 |
NON-MEMBER | $50 | $70 | $100 |
STUDENT-MEMBER | $10 | $25 | $50 |
STUDENT-NON-MEMBER | $20 | $40 | $60 |
Terms & Conditions
HigherEd Social takes no responsibility for determining official authorship or ownership of websites or digital entries. The judges will review all pieces submitted to the competitions, and the final number of pieces accepted into the show will be at their discretion. The judges may re-categorize entries; if so, there will be no adjustment of entry fees. Decision of the judges on entries accepted and the level of awards are final. HigherEd Social is not responsible for non-functional URL links or entries that provide incorrect login credentials during the competition judging. HigherEd Social will make reasonable attempts to remedy any entry problem prior to competition judging.
Guidelines
You must submit the following evidence to complete a full submission to the competition.
- Images
- Attach screen captures, designed graphics, or photo images.
- Videos
- Links to videos will only be accepted.
- YouTube, Vimeo, Dropbox, or Google Drive are accepted.
- Do not attach full video files.
- Posts
- Links accepted
- Screen captures accepted.
- Entry Details
- Include the submitter name, e-mail, phone, physical address, website.
- List members of the team, their titles, and e-mails.
- Provide a maximum 2 paragraph (8 sentences) synopsis of your submission.
- Identify the proper categories for your submission.

Judging Criteria
Our judges are highly reputable professionals in our industry. See who they are below and how they’ll evaluate submissions.
The Judges
Coming soon.
Judging Rubrics
Coming soon.

Competition Team
These are the folks who are making this competition happen at a high level. Reach out and say hello!
Timeline

Categories
Submit your work to one or more categories.
People/Teams
- HES Marketer of the Year
- Emerging HES Marketer of the Year
- Best Central Marketing Team of the Year
- Best Department/College Marketer/Marketing Team of the Year
- Best Social Media Educator of the Year
Single Campaign
- Best Multi-Platform Campaign of the Year (of which social is THE critical piece of)
- Best Integrated Campaign of the Year (of which social is THE critical piece of)
Campaign By Area
- Best Admissions Social Media Campaign of the Year
- Best Athletics Social Media Campaign of the Year
- Best Student Life Social Media Campaign of the Year
- Best School or College Social Media Campaign of the Year
- Best Student Organization Social Media Campaign of the Year
- Best Engagement Social Media Campaign of the Year
- Best Local Social Media Campaign of the Year
- Best Global Social Media Campaign of the Year
- Best Mobile Social Media Campaign of the Year
- Best Administrative/Non-Academic Department Campaign of the Year
Campaign By Platform
- Best Facebook Campaign
- Best Twitter Campaign
- Best Instagram Campaign
- Best LinkedIn Campaign
- Best YouTube Campaign
- Best TikTok Campaign
- Best Snapchat Campaign
Campaign By Discipline
- Best use of Video/Digital Media in a Social Media Campaign
- Best use of Graphic Design in a Social Media Campaign
- Best use of Web Design in a Social Media Campaign
Best Overall Social Media Marketing (All Platforms)
EARLY BIRD | STANDARD RATE | LATE FEE | |
3/1 – 4/15 | 4/16 – 5/31 | 6/1 – 6/5 | |
MEMBER | $25 | $50 | $75 |
NON-MEMBER | $50 | $70 | $100 |
STUDENT-MEMBER | $10 | $25 | $50 |
STUDENT-NON-MEMBER | $20 | $40 | $60 |
Best Overall Social Media Marketing (By Platform)
- Best Facebook
- Best Twitter
- Best Instagram
- Best LinkedIn
- Best YouTube
- Best TikTok
- Best Snapchat

Submission Timeline
Timing is critical. Make sure your timing lines up with the competition.
Timeline
- Early Bird runs from March 1 to April 15.
- Standard Rate runs from April 16 to May 31.
- Late Fee runs from June 1 – June 5.
- June 6: Judging: June 6 – June 13.
- July 5: Winners Announced.

Awards Presentation
What would a competition be without awesome awards? Check out what you get if you win.
Timeline
If you win, you will receive:
- A PDF certificate
- Some Stickers
- Other stuff
Enter Your Submission
Stay connected
Competition Updates
Send a Message
Interested in driving growth? Have a general question? We’re just an email away.Competition Updates & Featured Posts
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