Get More Media Coverage for Your Restaurant

Get More Media Coverage for Your Restaurant

It’s not enough to have a brilliant business idea and the drive and determination to see it through: all restaurants must face the need for media attention to promote word-of-mouth, new customers and investor interest.

Gist.com has published a media relations primer for restaurants with three main steps to demystify the process:

Step #1 – Get in the habit of thinking in numbers

News outlets know that readers are drawn to demonstrable numbers. Can the advantages of your offerings be rephrased in numbers such as lists of items, statistics, percentages and other quantifiable information? If not, start thinking think about how you might translate your food, services or benefits numerically.

Step #2 – Begin building industry connections now

Whether or not you’re ready for press coverage, get started early on building industry media contacts. Don’t just focus on the big hits; seek out growing websites in your industry, especially those with author bios for contributing writers. Identify the individuals with the closest match to your product or service rather than the broad-stroke approach to the editorial department. Begin by commenting informally on their posts to build a relationship for when you’re ready to receive media attention.

Step #3 – Pitch, pitch and pitch some more!

Despite how revolutionary your food or service might be, it is one in a sea of pitches the media receive day in and day out. Here are some tips for PR protocol and etiquette:

Save your press releases for truly important events

Rather than announcing every minor tweak to your business, save your ammunition for the really important stories and updates.

Focus on how your release benefits the news outlet

Spend some time analyzing and pointing out the benefits of your news to the outlet’s readers.

Don’t be “that guy”

Don’t bombard, badger or pester your busy media contacts.

Get used to rejection

You’re likely to meet with more rejection than success. Just keep at it.

Offer exclusivity

“Sweeten the deal” with an offer of exclusivity on your news. Make sure to agree on clear terms about the outlet’s response time and length of exclusivity.

Read the entire Gist post here. More insider tips on PR are available from PR Newswire here, and Ragan’s PR Daily offers “The best advice I’ve received about PR.”

Sintel Systems is a quality provider of communication and Point of Sale systems across retail and service industries, including frozen yogurt shops, pizzerias, sushi restaurants, cafés, retail stores and a myriad of other tailored systems.

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