A frosty ice cream cone on a hot summer day sells itself, as long as potential customers know when and where it's available. Promotions are one facet of an effective marketing campaign. While ice cream has a longer shelf life than fresh produce for example, it's still perishable. Getting the ice cream out of the freezer and to your customers results in fresher inventory for them and increased sales for you.

Social Media

Establishing a social media presence has helped food truck businesses tell their customers where they plan on being for each meal and when. Whether you sell your ice cream on the go with a cart or truck or have a brick and mortar ice cream store, social media works for you as well. Promote your new flavors with Google Plus, Twitter and Facebook. Encourage your followers to post what they think of the new flavors. Followers can also post their orders for ice cream to be picked up later. Photograph your ice cream, the ingredients, your store and the ice cream being made. Post the photos on Pinterest, Instagram and YouTube. Link to the photos when you promote discounts and coupons to your social media friends and groups.

Email and Text List

Compile a list of potential customers by offering a free ice cream cone if they sign up for your list. The cone can be extra small and not your usual serving size if you make that clear in the offer. Include the offer on your social media sites as well as in person. When you offer a special -- such as any chocolate flavor at half price -- mail it to your email list. Texting the promos is also an option.

Mobile Advertising

Users of smart phones and other mobile devices give their permission to allow the service provider to access their location through their phone. Advertisers then send ads to the mobile devices when the user is in their geographic location. Advertise after lunch through late afternoon and early evening after the dinner hour when ice cream is most appealing to those mobile device users who work, live or are shopping close to your store.

Group Coupons

Your goal for this promotion is to find new customers who enjoy your ice cream products so much that they come back again and pay full price. If you're considering using a company that sells coupons such as Living Social, Daily Deal and Groupon, you must offer at least a 50 percent discount to participate. When the coupons sell, the company pays you half the value. For example you offer $10 worth of ice cream for $5. The coupon company pays you $2.50 for each coupon sold. The customer redeems the coupon for $10 worth of ice cream. That $10 of ice cream costs you $3. In effect you lose $.50 on each coupon. That's the cost of advertising the promotion. The customer may order more than the $10 coupon, or come in with friends who also order ice cream but don't have a coupon to redeem.