We're now accepting entries for the 2014 Forrester Groundswell Awards — the deadline is February 28 — and we'd love to recognize your social marketing programs at our Marketing Leadership Forum this April. But in what category should you submit your program?

Just as in 2013, our award categories are based on Forrester’s marketing RaDaR research. Both our business-to-consumer (B2C) and business-to-business (B2B) awards will offer three categories:

  • Social reach. This category recognizes social programs that delivered marketing messages to new audiences. (After all, people can’t discover what you’re selling if they’re never exposed to it.) If your social program was designed to create awareness for your brand or product or promotion, it was probably an example of social reach marketing. If you focused your efforts on word-of-mouth marketing, paid social advertising, or thought leadership work, it also probably fits into this category.
  • Social depth. This category recognizes social programs that helped prospects explore your products in detail and make a purchase decision. If your social program was designed to close existing prospects or leads, it was probably an example of social depth marketing. If you focused your efforts on on-site social tools like blogs, ratings and reviews, or communities that help prospects get information from existing customers, it also probably fits into this category.
  • Social relationship. This category recognizes social programs that engaged existing fans and customers in order to increase their lifetime value. If your social program was designed to create loyalty and repeat business, it was probably an example of social relationship marketing. If you focused your efforts on branded Facebook pages, Twitter accounts, Pinterest pinboards, or LinkedIn groups, it also probably fits into this category.

We’ve also updated our business-to-employee (B2E) categories to better recognize social programs that companies target to their own workforces:

  • Employee collaboration. These programs help employees work better together using collaboration and social technology.
  • Employee empowerment. These programs help employees better serve customers using collaboration and social technology.
  • Mobility. These programs improve employee or partner productivity with mobile apps on smartphones or tablets.

If you want more details, check out our video explanation. And remember: The deadline is February 28. You’ve got eight weeks to prepare and submit your company’s best social work. We look forward to your entries!