Creativity and imagination can really fire you up when you are looking for ways to promote a restaurant. Think of what drove you to start a restaurant in the first place and use this fire to come up with a long list of inspired ideas. This is a challenging business, what is your unique selling proposition?

In addition to being a nice way to spend your spare time, you should try and visit the establishments promoted by your competition. Sample their dinner menu – determine their strengths and weaknesses and pick up some good tips. Anyone who wants to promote a restaurant must study the business in-depth and this is a good way of doing so.

You have two things to remember when you are a promoter. Firstly, attract new customers to your establishment initially. Secondly, make sure they come back! How about offering some samples of your product to attract new people? Go out into the marketplace and deliver these samples, even if this means co-promoting with another business for mutual gain.

Consider offering specials for certain demographic groups if you find that you have a slow night or two. This is a good way to promote a restaurant and can have a viral effect, as people may make it a regular date because of the social interaction. For example, offer early bird specials for senior citizens.

Have you heard of social proof? This means that people like to hear that their peers also participate in the same things that they do. Advertise testimonials on your website, together with pictures. The visual image is very powerful. The hottest new way to promote a restaurant is a development of this theme. Take some videos including a testimonial and post this on YouTube. This will undoubtedly get a good exposure.

Try and promote a restaurant by offering complimentary meals to local celebrities. If you can get some star power to visit your restaurant and enjoy your meal, get some photographic evidence of this and make sure it is displayed in a prominent place. Believe me, this kind of exposure does go a long way.

In times of recession many people attempt to cut their marketing budgets. This is almost always the wrong thing to do. To ensure its survival, it is always best to promote a restaurant as aggressively as you can. If you need to cut costs, do so in other areas and note that marketing is the lifeblood of this industry.

To promote a restaurant successfully takes a dedicated plan. It is not done overnight, but you should not be swayed by the many setbacks that you encounter along the way. Employ numerous different strategies and have short, midterm and long-term review points where you can tweak your initiatives as you go.