Official Rules & Eligibility

Reference this page for the official rules of the Golden Post Awards program. During the active season, any changes to the rules will be noted at the top of this page. Please contact us if you have any questions. 

Page last updated: Tuesday, December 2, 2025 (to publish updated rules for the awards season)

Entry Deadline

Your entries must be submitted by 11:59pm pacific time by the stated deadline on Golden Post Awards homepage. Please note there are no extensions and the platform will not allow you to submit entries after this time.

Eligibility

You may only nominate your own agency. If you want to recognize another agency, please reach out to them and encourage them to submit an entry.

Entry Requirements

GSM reserves the right to assess entries on a case-by-case basis to confirm eligibility, and to move any entry to a more appropriate category, provided the entrant has not already submitted in that category.

Note that entries submitted for "Post of the Year" and "Best Video Strategy" categories cannot also be submitted in any other category.

Entry Fees

Your first entry is free. Your second and third entries will have an entry fee associated with them, based on what date you submit them. Everyone is incentivized to submit their entries in a timely manner. Multiple individuals from the same organization may not submit separate entries solely to bypass the fees associated with a second or third submission.

Your first entry is free, no matter which timeframe you submit it. Up to 3 total entries by each entity are allowed in the competition.

Early-bird entry timeframe: December 2 – 29, 2025

• 2nd entries cost $50
• 3rd entries cost $75

Regular entry timeframe: December 30 – February 2, 2026  

• 2nd entries cost $75
• 3rd entries cost $100

Examples for illustration: 

• You submit only 1 entry. Total is $0.
• You submit your 1st (free), 2nd ($50) and 3rd ($75) entries all during the early-bird timeframe. Total is $125.
• You submit your 1st (free) and 2nd ($50) entries during the early-bird timeframe and your 3rd ($100) entry during the regular timeframe. Total is $150.
• You submit your 1st (free), 2nd ($75) and 3rd ($100) entries during the regular timeframe. Total is $175.

Judging Process

Golden Post Award judges include social media thought leaders and industry experts from all over the United States & Canada. Entries will be thoroughly reviewed and considered based on several aspects such as goals, strategy, tactics, results, engagement, customer service, inclusivity and overall creativity. 

We reserve the right to reassign categories deemed incorrectly entered, and we also reserve the right to pull/cancel any category due to receiving a lack of entries. We are committed to selecting finalists and winners reflective of the spirit of the awards, therefore lack of competition in any category will not guarantee an award. 

Finalists

Finalists in each category will be named in late March 2026. Our goal is to name the top finalists in each category, and some categories may have fewer finalists depending on the judging and scoring process. All finalists will receive a certificate.

Prizes and Award Ceremony 

Just like the Oscars, one overall winner in each category will be announced during the GSMCON2026 event. There are no “places” in the competition, only one overall winner in each category. Category winners will receive an engraved trophy, and all finalists will receive a certificate. 

The Golden Post Awards ceremony will take place in-person on Wednesday, May 6, 2026, at the GSMCON venue.

Only registered GSMCON attendees will be able to attend the in-person ceremony, so we encourage you to register for attendance! New for 2026: The award ceremony will be livestreamed to the public and registration is not required to watch. However, a virtual ticket is recommended to be able to interact with other event attendees during the ceremony and throughout the event.    

While not required, attending the awards ceremony is a fun and rewarding way to support your peers and celebrate together! Finalists and winners are not required to attend. If winners aren’t present, they will be notified by email, and their trophy will be mailed to their agency. Finalists who are unable to attend will also receive their certificates by mail.

Nominees, finalists and winners do not receive discounted GSMCON registration.