Amazing Work is Made in HESM
What you do on social media makes a difference to students. Everything from your recruitment campaigns to your graduation celebrations positively impact the student journey throughout higher education.
Now’s the time to see your hard work rewarded and acknowledged, not just by your colleagues but by a community of social media professionals.
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
Jon-Stephen Stansel
Nikki Sunstrum
Scott Nover
Jenny Li Fowler
Katy Spencer Johnson
Lauren Norris
Kenzie Sprague
Tim Watkins
JMatt
JD Bebe
Bob Bochnak
Tom Chesney
Joy Sinclair
Dominick Tucciarone
Taylor Cohen
Liz Harner
Tristan Bacon
Courtney Raybold
Adam Crisp
Harrison ‘Soup’ Campbell
Austin Braun
Liz Gross
Sydnee Logan
Krista Boniface
Jamila Walker
Christina Garnett
Chris Barrows
Jennifer Radke
Callie Goodwin
Hillary Smith
Amy Jauman
Alexa Heinrich
Alex Duffy
Kati Hartwig
Josie Ahlquist
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 in the world 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 – click HERE to join or join at check-out!).
- Work must have been published after January 1, 2020.
Submission Guidelines & Costs
All the info you need to submit!
Costs
| 0ARLY BIRD | STANDARD RATE | LATE FEE | |
| 3/22 – 4/15 | 4/16 – 5/31 | 6/1 – 6/5 | |
| MEMBER | $25 | $50 | $75 |
| NON-MEMBER | $50 | $75 | $100 |
| STUDENT-MEMBER | $10 | $20 | $40 |
| 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. By submitting your work to this competition, you are agreeing to your work being shared with our sponsor and partner websites, social media, or other marketing output.
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
Judging of submissions
Submissions for each category will be assessed by a minimum of two (2) judges. In the event the presiding judges cannot unanimously decide on a winner, a third judge will be asked to complete an assessment of the two highest ranking submissions to make a final determination for the category winner.
Non-awarding of categories
At the presiding judges unanimous decision a category may not be awarded if no submissions meet the minimum scoring threshold of 85 (or 90) points.
Option 1: Honourable Mention or Award of Merit (Group can decide what we want to call this)
At the presiding judges unanimous decision, submissions may be awarded an honourable mention/award merit if a submission obtains a score of 90 points or higher and is not named winner of the category. A maximum of (1, 2 or 3?) honourable mentions/awards of merit may be awarded for each category.
Option 2: Honourable Mention or Award of Merit
Judges are able to put forth one (1) submission per category for consideration of an honourable mention/award of merit. To be eligible for an Honourable Mention/Award of Merit submissions must score a minimum of 90 points or higher and not be awarded winner of the category. All judges will review nominated submission and select five (5) submissions to be recognized with an Honourable Mention/Award of Merit
Competition Team
These are the folks who are making this competition happen at a high level. Reach out and say hello!
General Support
Coming soon.
Graphic Design
Coming soon.
Marketing & Advertising
Callie Goodwin, Social Media Strategist, Columbia College SC
Alex Duffy, Social Media Manager, Manchester Metropolitan University
Volunteers
Coming soon.
Judging
Coming soon.
Submissions
Sarah Wells, Social Media Communications Officer, Fanshawe College
Competition Chair
RJ Thompson, Associate Director of Student Engagement, College of Business Administration and the Joseph M. Katz Graduate School of Business, University of Pittsburgh
Categories
Submit your work to one or more categories.
People/Teams
This category recognises the talented people who make social media shine. You can nominate an individual or an entire team for this category, and there’s opportunities to recognise both new and veteran marketers.
- 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
If you’ve worked on a great social-led campaign, this category is for you. Your work can stand alone or fit into a wider project, but as long as social media is the main part of the campaign it’ll be eligible for one of these awards.
- 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
These awards are for campaigns focusing on a specific aspect of the higher education journey, from recruiting new students to keeping them engaged throughout their education.
- 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
Campaign By Platform
If you’ve run a campaign on a specific social media platform, this category is for you. These awards celebrate those amazing projects brought to life by a channel’s unique features or engaged audience.
- Best Facebook Campaign
- Best Twitter Campaign
- Best Instagram Campaign
- Best LinkedIn Campaign
- Best YouTube Campaign
- Best TikTok Campaign
- Best Snapchat Campaign
Campaign By Discipline
They say a picture is worth a thousand words; in this category, it could also be worth an award. If you’ve worked on an incredible visual design project such as a video, here’s your chance to show it off to the world.
- 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 (By Platform)
Does your channel stand tall above the rest? Here’s the category to prove it. These awards recognise the work that goes into making a specific platform excel, from the regular posts to the special projects.
- Best Facebook Campaign
- Best Twitter Campaign
- Best Instagram Campaign
- Best LinkedIn Campaign
- Best YouTube Campaign
- Best TikTok Campaign
- Best Snapchat Campaign
Best Overall Social Media Marketing (All Platforms)
This category recognises higher education institutions whose amazing social media work shines through. If you’re proud of the work your team produces, don’t be modest; this is the time to be proud.
Submission Timeline
Timing is critical. Make sure your timing lines up with the competition.
Timeline
- Early Bird runs from March 22 to April 15.
- Standard Rate runs from April 16 to May 31.
- Late Fee runs from June 1 – June 5.
- Judging: June 6 – June 13.
- Winners Announced Date TBD
Awards Presentation
What would a competition be without awesome awards?
What do I get if I receive an award?
Award winners will receive the following:
- A high-resolution award certificate in PDF format.
- A high-resolution award letter in PDF format.
- HigherEd Social stickers!
- Bragging points: you’ll be the inaugural winner of the category you submitted to.
- Your work will be featured on our social media, website, partner websites, and more! A member of our team will reach out to you for an interview.
- And a physical award!
When will I be notified if I win or lose?
Award announcements are tentatively scheduled for July 5, 2021. You will be notified via e-mail. A live Zoom presentation will also be livestreamed and recorded, date and time to be determined.
Stay connected
Competition Updates
Competition Updates & Featured Posts
Never Applied For An Award? Here’s Why You Should.
by Alex Duffy, Best of HESM 2021 VolunteerIn 2020, five years into my social media career, I applied for my first ever award. My (then) head of department suggested I enter my work for the Best Use of Instagram category, focusing on a campaign I ran using user...
Top reasons to enter the #HigherEdSocial Awards!
by Sarah Wells, Best of HESM 2021 VolunteerWinning a #HigherEdSocial Award comes with some serious bragging rights! You could be the first EVER winner of a #HigherEdSocial Award These are the ONLY awards for social media professionals working in higher education It is...
How To Prepare Your Submissions
by RJ Thompson, Best of HESM 2021 Competition ChairLet's see what you've got.The Best of HESM 2021 Competition isn't the first social media competition on the internet. It is, however, the first competition for Higher Ed social media (HESM). It was also created by and...
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