If the media ring, what will you do?

A journalist wants your comment on food or staff trends. A TV story is being done on your area - how can you use it? After watching two local businessses recently miss golden opportunities, let's have you 'media smart' and grabbing every opportunity.

Making your business media ready:

• A good website is essential, with fresh content and plenty of information. This is the core of your public profile for anyone outside the neighbourhood. Chances are the journalist has already googled it - what did they find? It needs menus, photos and a friendly, informative About Us section with names and faces of owners and key staff, plus some history. This may give the journalist all the words they need to describe your business. Does the site need weeding and replanting? More than 100 great examples in the Best Websites Dept.

• A Smart Facebook Page - it's no longer an option - does it impress? Make sure the Facebook Profiles of senior staff are also respectable, or if not, kept very private. Check the how-to articles on Facebook and on Twitter. Facebook and Twitter pages usually show up high on Page 1 of a Google search, and the comments show what your customers really think.

• Have an 'elevator speech' ready. A quick explanation of what you do and your customers, in 30 seconds. Practise your lines and make it authentic - here's a good online tool to help prepare the Elevator Sales Script.

• Ears and eyes wide open. The technical term is 'media monitoring' - keeping track of what's being discussed. If you can't watch the radio, TV or newspaper trends, there's someone who can - a person working from home, or a family member with time available.

• Talk about what's new in food, drink and entertainment. 'We're amazed at how many gluten-free meals we're selling from the new menu' or 'we have found a very good local pinot grigio - suddenly it's our most popular wine.' Talk about the fresh and unusual, not the predictable. More and more cafes, restaurants and bars are putting their news into blogs and online diaries - a little and often.

• The glass is half-full, not half-empty. Business people complaining about life does not create a good story - save it for the politicians. Even if it's slow, tell us about one of your clever staff or menu changes. 'Fake it till you make it' - this won't be the first time.

• Who's authorised to speak? Probably not the new Duty Manager - she hardly knows the menu or the wedding facilities. Make sure staff who take calls are friendly and follow procedures, getting onto you fast and reassuring the journalist that someone will call back within ten minutes. It's also OK for you to call back in ten minutes - time to consult a colleague or work out your approach. Expecially if it's a bad news story.

• Have something on paper to email - a page of recipes, your 'Top 10 Party Tips' or information about the kitchen's training award. Paper is still useful - have it in PDF format if the appearance is important. To be completely ready, here's How to Create a Hotel, Bar or Restaurant Media Kit.

• Have good photos available. Head shots, working shots and pictures of the business in action. Most magazines or papers want 'high-resolution' photos. 'High res' means 300dpi (dots per inch - dots also equal pixels) photos of at least 4MB. They may be too large to email so have a selection ready on a CD or use a service like YouSendIt. Put a selection up on Flickr so the journalist can see what's available.

• Keep up to date about online references to you, your business and your competitors. List the names with the free Google Alerts, so you receive an email if they're mentioned.

• Sometimes 'perfection is the enemy of progress'. If they need photos, they won't wait until you take new ones, or until the new website is ready. But you will be ready, smiling and helpful - the person they call again next month for comments on another story in the making.

Ready Reference & Downloads for 1st Class Members:

>> Prepare your Marketing with the 4 Hour Marketing Manager - covering all areas.

>> Make Use Of the

Restaurant, Kitchen & Bar Management Downloads - we've done the work for you

>> Ready to Use Staff Management Resources - covering all the key issues

>> Download the hundreds of Staff Manuals and Forms - ready when you need them.

>> Download Cost Control & Profit Calculators to pinpoint problem areas fast!

>>> Click to Join Profitable Hospitality and Start Running a More Successful Business.

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