The Journey to Press Coverage in the Restaurant World
At ASTRALCOM, we are fond of integrating PR in content marketing & digital strategy initiatives. Like any business, restaurants seeking press coverage will do well first to consider their target audience. Once you’ve identified your customer, you can prepare a messaging strategy that is most likely to resonate with them. For instance, the message to busy business professionals is different from a message that targets families.
Once you’ve honed-in on a target audience, you can narrow down the media outlets you’d most like to work with. How does your target audience consume media? News sites, social media, radio shows, etc., are all possible avenues. Determine the best channels; then track down writers and producers who are getting the media out into the world. Getting press coverage involves much outreach – knowing what writers or media makers’ priorities are and the formats they tend to use can help you pitch your campaign in a way that will appeal to them. Keep a list of all relevant media outlets so that you have a reliable way to revisit your research. Seek out contact information and gather notes on how you’d like to approach each outlet.
As with many things, good PR is all about whom you know. Cultivate relationships with your press leads – don’t swoop in and out. Just as long-term readers are likely to trust a particular news source over time, your source needs to trust you. You can invite press contacts to dine at your restaurant and offer a special experience in exchange for having them write about you.
The best news is newsworthy. If you have a big story to tell or a seasonal update that the world needs to know about, give your press contacts a holler. Better yet, come ready with a press release. Once you have a good hook, and you’re on the path to getting press coverage, set aside time and make it your priority to be responsive, available, and on top of communicating with your press partner to ensure that you’re supporting them in meeting deadlines.
Certainly, restaurant brands can find experienced digital marketing partners in ASTRALCOM. Learn more about how we work with restaurants and other food and food service-related businesses.
