Cher Murphy Pr Offers Tips For Restaurants To Gain Publicity

According to the National Restaurant Association, there are roughly 935,000 restaurants in America. Faced with stiff competition and a sagging economy, restaurants have to do all they can to keep their name in front of consumers. Generating PR is one of the most effective ways to keep your restaurant name in front of consumers, and to keep people coming through the door when they decide to dine out.

"People are still dining out, even with the economy as weak as it is," explains Cher Murphy, president of Cher Murphy PR (www.chermurphypr.com), a public relations firm with offices in Miami and Virginia. "But they are now a little pickier about where they go. Good public relations can go a long way toward keeping your restaurant afloat and thriving, during these times."

Public relations - or 'PR,' as it is often called - should be an important part of every business model. Unlike traditional advertising, it instead puts your business name in front of consumers by having reporters write or talk about your business. It is so effective because having others speak about your business lends more credibility than if you were simply to offer an advertisement that promoted your business.

Unfortunately, simply knowing the value of garnering good PR is not enough. It is important to know how to go about leveraging the medium in order to get noticed. Here are some tips to keep in mind for getting publicity for your restaurant:

� Charity work. There are many unique ways you can offer charity events in order to place your restaurant in the headlines. For example, you could close the doors for a few hours, one afternoon, and have all your employees perform volunteer charity work. You could also team up with a charity such as a women's shelter or veterans group, to offer free meals or donate a percentage of your proceeds.
� Offer demonstrations. One look at the popularity of television cooking shows reminds us of just how much people love to watch and learn about cooking. You can gain publicity by offering free cooking demonstrations or classes, if you just make sure to inform the media so that the event can be covered.
� Write or hire a ghostwriter. Take every opportunity to write letters to the editor of your local paper on issues that pertain to the restaurant business and to food. You can also write articles for industry-specific publications. If you are not a seasoned writer, a small fee will enable you to hire a ghostwriter to create the articles for you.
� Seek out press. Sending out press releases is an important part of gaining publicity. You should be creating story suggestion releases to send out to journalists on a regular basis. If you are not familiar with the press release process, learn more about it by researching online - or better yet, work with experienced PR professionals who can leverage their skills to get your restaurant positive media exposure.

"Notice what other restaurants are doing to generate publicity," adds Murphy. "When you see a restaurant in the spotlight, whether it is in the newspaper, on the radio or on television, remember that it didn't just happen. There was a savvy PR effort put forth that won them that coverage. And attracting that coverage is what keeps people coming through your doors."

About Cher Murphy PR
Cher Murphy PR is a full-service public relations agency, with offices in Miami and Virginia, which focuses on small-business public relations management. The firm was started by public relations veteran Cher Murphy, who has had experience working in large agencies as a vice president, writer, editor, client account specialist, and media relations professional. She has extensive experience at gaining exposure for small businesses in consumer, restaurant, business-to-business, Web-