GROW! Marketing and Public Relations Tips

2018 is officially here!

This year Garden Media Group is taking a break – a mental break that is. Our focus for this year is mental wellness and with that comes a few resolutions to make that happen.

Before we jump into what resolutions we are looking forward to, let’s take a look back in 2017.

Brands did some great things and some not so great things. In the spirit of growing, let’s see what we can learn from 2017.

Use Your Voice: Thousands of women stood up and spoke up with #MeToo. This led to a cover of Time magazine as “Person of the Year.” As Trump took office, companies raced to get their brand in order to see what they were going to do to help immigrants have a voice of their own.

Using your voice doesn’t mean speaking out against every issue – it does mean backing the issues your brand, customers and employees might be dealing with.

Podcasts and Videos: It has been shown time and time again video marketing is here to stay! How-To videos are great for millennials and vlogger influencers are trending like crazy. Podcasts are picking up quickly. Branded video content being featured or even sponsoring a podcast is a great way to get your name out there in a new niche.

Narrow it down: Brands that have narrowed down their audience and created content for specific people have hit the nail on the head. Netflix did a great job of this while promoting the newest Stranger Things season. They used era specific photos and hints to really drive the nostalgia of the 80s.

Continue reading to see what resolutions to follow in 2018.

Patience has never been my virtue. I tap my feet waiting in line, traffic is a nightmare and “take the long way home” never made sense to me.

In business, I never thought this was an issue. Getting the task done as quickly as possible was always something I was praised for, when I was someone else’s employee.

Now that I’m managing people, this lack of patience may be my downfall.

Without even realizing it, most leaders do and say things that create ineffective employees. Christine Comaford, author of SmartTribes: How Teams Become Brilliant Together says even good leaders unconsciously strike fear in the hearts of their work force.

“From time to time, we all say or do things that spark unconscious fears in our employees,” says Comaford. “The primitive ‘fight, flight or freeze’ part of the brain takes control. When that happens, when people are stuck in what I call the Critter State, all they can focus on is their own survival.”

Just like the garden, no one wants critters. But, I get the feeling my lack of patience is creating this mental state.

Continue to reading to learn how to practice patience and put people first.

Trade shows are one of the best places to learn, network, garner new business, attract new customers and interact face-to-face with trade show attendees.

They are also a huge investment. Are you making the most out   of every dollar that you're putting into garden industry trade shows? 

Chances are, your garden business could be doing more. 

Mastering the art of PR at a trade show is not easy.  You will  have a lot of balls in the air if you're trying to both sell and  market at the same time. 

But, don't overlook marketing! It is just as important as selling.

Read on for 10 tips for to master garden industry trade shows, conferences and events

As millennials step into becoming homeowners, Home Depot sees them ringing up more do-it-yourself projects at its stores.

Give and Take. One of the most simplified principles of physics. Energy, inertia and other terms help explain the physics principle but what about in business? What are some Give and Take principles for business?

Sharing Feedback (give) and Effective Listening (take) are the two I’ll be focusing on. Both can be very difficult to do but they are extremely important and don’t need to be stress inducing. Sharing feedback can make people feel uncomfortable for both the giver and the receiver and listening effectively can be challenging when you have so many other things on your mind.

Continue reading for some tips on how to do both with ease.

With Black Friday behind us, who do you think will be the big spenders this holiday?

According to a recent survey by The National Retail Federation (NRF), young adults ages 18-24 plan on spending more this holiday season compared to last year.

54 percent of consumers overall, plan to spend about the same as last year, while 24 percent plan to spend more. Among those aged 18-24 — which includes the oldest members of Generation Z — 46 percent say they will spend more than last year.

“As Gen Z and Millennials get older, their purchasing power increases, and the rise in disposable income is sure to be seen by retailers,” NRF President and CEO Matthew Shay said. “This group of consumers has spent time carefully researching gifts for friends, family and themselves, and are ready to begin knocking out their shopping lists.”

What do these holiday spending trends mean for garden businesses?

Read more to find out how to ensure these big spenders are shopping your products or store.

TrendKite just released a fantastic article with tips to secure your PR budget for the new year.

While Garden Media Group handles this on a different end, we know some of our readers need to fight for every dollar in their company's marketing budget so we wanted to share tips on being the most effective you can be.

Companies often take the money that is budgeted for PR and put it into a different area of marketing. It is up to PR professionals to fight for their budget - and hopefully an increase.

Continue reading for tips on how to secure your PR budget for next year.

Everyone gets old, if we're lucky. But getting old doesn’t mean you stop caring about your well-being, looks and insecurities, so why do businesses assume as much?

In a recent Atlantic article, “Why Businesses Misunderstand Old People,” Joseph Coughlin touches on this intriguing thought.

According to the article, 80 percent of Americans who could benefit from hearing aids aren't seeking them out. 

Is it poor marketing channels? Maybe. But according to Coughlin, traditional hearing aids make people feel old, and no one wants that. 

As influencers in the garden industry, we need to take this into account.The scale of the gardener demographics is largely tilted to an older audience, and if you are missing the mark on what they want, your message will fall flat.

Continue reading to see what businesses are doing to accommodate the older generation.

What do an abacus, a calculator and an iPhone have in common? They all represent a decline in learning everyday practices.

Less real world learning opportunities are offered in school today while more Googling anything continues to rise. The latest internet meme revolves around knowing what mitochondria are, but not how to file taxes – or even how to care for houseplants.

Generations Y and Z are all about YouTube and will look up just about anything from how to boil an egg, change a flat tire or French braid hair. In fact, no feat is too small for YouTube. The Wall Street Journal recently reported that America’s Retailers Have a New Target Customer: The 26-Year-Old Millennial. This age bracket, bigger than any other, is pushing companies to revamp marketing and products, including a lot of remedial education.

Being able to follow step-by-step instruction offers more to its user than assuming they know what to do with the product. Companies that offer how-to content are quickly climbing the ladder to the most influential brands.

REI’s loyal customer base is the leading example; they have over 500 in-depth articles and videos. In addition, they also have a LIVE chat feature and Q&A on their website.

Continue Reading to see how your brand can utilize How-To content.

At a recent Hubspot conference, creative director Katie Dubow learned the importance of getting different perspectives for your idea, brainstorm session or project.

"You can't think in new ways if there isn't diversity of perspective and experience," said Elaine Welteroth, editor-in-chief, Teen Vogue.

The new collaboration between Vogue and Vice is a perfect example of this because as the new Project Vs tagline says, "opposites attract.”

Learn more about Project Vs, set to launch in 2018, and how going outside the box can attract new audiences and strengthen your brand.