Michigan Business Owners: Get Noticed With #PitchLeBronContest

The post below is sponsored by CNBC. All opinions expressed belong to me.

There’s one thing that has stuck with me since college and has paid me in spades with blogging and life in general: It’s not what you know, it’s who you know. Love it or hate it, this mentality helps people daily.

But what about the person you *do* know…Are they credible? Are they well-known? Can they hustle to get you what you need?

If there’s one man who knows how to play the game, it’s King LeBron James. Having one celebrity like James promote your business can be a complete game-changer, and it will be a reality for one lucky business.

Here’s the scoop:

LeBron is calling all small/local business owners with brick-and-mortar locations to submit a 23-second video via Twitter or Instagram with the hashtag #PitchLeBronContest to be put in the running to win a social media endorsement from him, in addition to plenty of promotion opportunities on CNBC-TV.

For reference, James has 32 million followers on Twitter and 23 million on Facebook. That’s a lot of folks reached!

The contest is to celebrate the launch of Cleveland Hustles, CNBC’s new show from James and Bonin Bough.

HOW TO PARTICIPATE

Check out the rules and contest information here.

Business criteria:

• Businesses must have no more than 250 employees
• Businesses must have a brick-and-mortar physical location
• Business is not a franchise and does not service customers outside of its immediate local area {no mail-order businesses or online stores}
• Contestants can only enter once

If your business meets this criteria, follow these TWO steps:

Step 1: Create a 23-second video pitch answering the question, “How would my business uniquely benefit from a LeBron James social media endorsement?”
Step 2: Post your video on Twitter or Instagram using the hashtag #PitchLeBronContest

Be memorable | Highlight what’s unique about your business | Keep it short! You have 23 seconds.

Entries will be evaluated for originality by a judging panel. The contest ends August 18, 2016 at 11:59pm ET. The winner will be announced on August 23, 2016.

PRIZE

One local, small business owner will win a promotional package, which includes:

• one (1) social media post from LeBron James
• fifteen (15) on-air promotional spots mentioning the winning small business to air on CNBC
• ten (10) lower-third promotional snipes mentioning winning small business to air on CNBC
• five (5) social media posts mentioning winning small business across CNBC social media platforms
• one (1) digital post mentioning winning small business on prime.cnbc.com

Follow Cleveland Hustles on Facebook // Twitter // Instagram, and tune in as it airs on August 24 on CNBC.

Business owners, what are you waiting for? What do you have to lose?! Go out and get yourself noticed!