Marketing

Public Relations and Press Release

By September 15, 2020 No Comments
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Public Relations and Press Release

There is an enormous number of public relations techniques and one of these methods ‘press releases’ is discussed below:

The importance of an effective press release

You only have one chance to make a good first impression.  This adage is especially true in the case of writing and distributing a restaurant press release to the media.  Sloppy, inaccurate and pointless releases are the first to hit the bottom of a reporter’s bin.  To make sure yours isn’t one of them, consider these points:

Accuracy Counts

It is better to not send a press release at all than distribute one that is full of typos and inaccuracies.  Make sure you thoroughly proofread the copy and provide the necessary contact information.

Write about a newsworthy story

This is the most crucial element of a restaurant press release.  If the story you are pitching is not newsworthy – if it is not a subject the media is interested in pursuing – then the press release is a waste of time.

Think like an editor

If you have the ability to get inside an editor’s head and learn what he/she is thinking about, then you will have success in getting stories published.  If you learn what editors want – what they are looking for in a story – then you will see your restaurant’s name in print often.

Relevance is crucial

Tie yourself in with a news event and make yourself part of a trend.  Editors and reporters are always searching for interesting business companies to include in trend stories and current events articles.

Be persistent

It does no good to send out a press release and then wait for results to occur.  That practice is lazy and ineffective.  If you believe in your story, and you believe that it’s right for a particular media outlet, you need to have thick skin to see it in print.  Send a pitch letter before you send a press release.  Follow up with an e-mail and a phone call reinforcing your willingness to answer questions and provide more information.  If one editor says no, try somebody else.  If they all say no, come back at them with a different story angle.

Hire an Expert

To increase your chances of an effective public relations campaign, hire an expert who has been there and knows how to communicate with the media. 

Keep the release to one or two pages.  Identify it as a press release, either across the top or in the upper right-hand corner.  On the left side of the page, but the date the release was written, who the contact person is, and day and evening phone numbers.  Then, come back to the right side of the page and put the date the release must be used by, or type “For Immediate Release”.  Next, skip two spaces (your entire release should be double spaced) and put the title, underlined.

The next line begins with the city and state of the release.  As you start to write the release, be very specific,  Put the who, what when, where and how in the first one or two paragraphs.  The rest of the release goes from the specific to the general.  Remember that editors will edit your release from the bottom up.  So you must get everything that is important for you to say in the first two paragraphs,  If the release continues on to the second page, put “More” at the bottom.  At the end of the release, put either three # signs or the number 30 to show the reader the release is finished.

How to Discover Your Market

Marketing impacts on almost all areas of business and having good marketing knowledge and skills could mean the difference between business success or failure.

Want to know more about marketing and public relations?  

For a very low investment, why not download a copy of 

How to Discover Your Market’ eBook

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