You’ve just learned that your business has been chosen for the Employer of the Year Award. In your excitement, you announce it at your staff meeting and pat yourself on the back. But, not wanting to seem too big-headed, your lauding ends with a phone call to your mother. Although it may be in your nature to accept an award graciously and quietly, not wanting to boast, this sort of behavior does you no favors in the business world. Instead, you should be shouting the news from every mountaintop (and in every valley), building third party credibility, extending your brand and gaining positive recognition for your business. Consumers look favorably on award-winning companies and, in comparison, are more likely to do business with someone who has gained positive recognitions, like awards, than someone who hasn’t.

Today’s best mountaintop from which to shout your achievements happens to be right at your fingertips—the Internet. Post awards, press releases or articles on your website, tweet them, take photos of the ceremony and upload them to Facebook, change your status on LinkedIn. The more your business is discussed online, with updated and current discussions, the more your site benefits from that interest with SEO (search engine optimization). Get people talking about your business and its accomplishments. Articles featuring your business are excellent ways to gain third party credibility. Additionally, back links from prominent websites to your website increase your site’s ranking in search engines as well, so sharing the good news turns into an avalanche of accolades from your initial announcement.

In essence, don’t be shy! If your business is doing well, you want people to know. So don’t sit on valuable marketing material; put it out there for the world to see. And remember the immortal words of Walt Whitman: “If you done it, it ain’t bragging.”