Six Simple Ways To Improve Your Restaurant’s Publicity

Ask yourself, “Will I eat in my own restaurant?”

The easy answer is “Yes,” but then again that’s an easy question, too. If you really want to understand how the customer’s mind works, you need to put yourself in his or her shoes, and ask yourself the real painful question, “Why should I eat in my own place when there are dozens of restaurants in the area?”

How do you solve this age-old business dilemma? Simple. Work on your restaurant’s publicity. The more you put your restaurant’s name out there, the more people you’ll see coming in.

That’s why, in this article, I’m going to talk about the six most effective ways to raise your restaurant’s publicity. Here goes.

1.    Web and interactive marketing
These days restaurant marketing begins and ends on the Internet. Period. Raise your restaurant’s publicity through blogs, podcasts, YouTube videos, etc. Online viral marketing also comes to mind.

Burger King’s Subservient Chicken website is perhaps one of the first successful online campaigns that demonstrated the power of advertising on the Internet. Online marketing is an effective way to increase restaurant publicity, and the practice is definitely here to stay.

2.    More viral campaigns
Viral marketing isn’t limited to the Internet. Think Starbucks and learn by example. Some years ago the coffee giant sent a car around Washington DC with a coffee cup affixed to the roof. It handed out coupons to good Samaritans who notified the driver. The campaign went viral faster than Dominos could deliver pizzas. It created a buzz around town, and Starbucks received plenty of media attention, locally and nationally.

3.    Larger than life PR events
Creating controversial PR events would eventually stir viral news about your restaurant business, which in turn would prompt bloggers to talk about you, and your new place, on the Internet. It’s a vicious yet healthy cycle for a restaurant operator.

Senor Frog celebrated its first location’s opening in Myrtle Beach by creating the world’s largest pair of underpants. It got some restaurant publicity alright, and a spot in the Guinness Book of Records to boot. KFC did something similar by being the first business to erect a logo visible from outer space.

4.    Environmental marketing
Environment-friendly marketing as a way to raise restaurant publicity is always a good thing. Not only are you generating awareness towards your restaurant business, but you’ll be doing the environment a big favor, too.

Refer to this article for tips on how to go green in your restaurant. Then use any of the marketing tactics I mentioned above to tell the world about it.

5.    Niche marketing
It helps to know that Hispanics are the fastest-growing demographic in the country. So expect to see more Spanish-language ads, family-oriented promotions, and authentic Hispanic dishes in restaurants over the next couple years or so. As a restaurant operator, what ideas do you have in mind that takes advantages of this growing Hispanic audience?

6.    Brands with more personality
Eating out isn’t all about eating. It’s about the experience too. As customers continue to look to restaurant dining as a form of entertainment, you need to be ready to offer exemplary dining experience to your patrons, not just the meal.

Simply put, the restaurant’s personality plays a big part in the overall dining experience. It helps establish your brand name as well.

I think I hit the nail on the head when I said eating out is as much about experience as it is the taste of the food. While good food and great value is still the knockout combination that would send your competitors out cold, it doesn’t hurt to work on other things such as PR events and personalizing your restaurant brand.

I’ll say it again. Improve your public relations, and everything else will follow. Generate sales by going all out on your restaurant’s publicity.