When I first started working in public relations, I had no idea that relationships were going to be such an important part of my career. After the first year of handling PR for a high-tech company, I quickly learned that earning media coverage requires strong working relationships with journalists.

Even after more than twenty years, I still keep in touch with many of the journalists I met early on in my career.

Now with even more platforms to cultivate media relationships, making these connections has become easier than ever.

Continue reading to learn how you can build strong relationships with journalists.

Memorial Day Weekend is right around the corner and at Garden Media we’re finalizing our travel plans, getting excited to visit family or friends, or simply looking forward to a long, relaxing weekend.

Unfortunately, this isn’t the case for everyone.

Project Time Off, a movement powered by the US Travel Association, encourages people to take a vacation. Research shows that year after year, fewer Americans are using all of their allotted vacation hours. While many think skipping out on vacation and working extra hours is beneficial for their careers, it may actually have the opposite effect.

Read more to learn how going on vacation can improve your business.

Move over Miller Lite, craft beer is here to stay.

Craft breweries are becoming a big player in the beer industry. With over 4,000 breweries nationwide and an increasing share of the beer market, there’s definitely something to learn from the booming success of craft beer over the last five years.

Besides selling tasty cold beer, what factors contribute to this success? With craft breweries popping up left and right, plus having national and international beer distributors as tough competition, it can be hard to stay afloat.

Craft breweries are staying relevant by personalizing their brands, offering a wide variety and using a lot of creativity.

Continue reading to see what your garden brand can learn from the craft beer industry.

Instagram was one of the first major photo-based social networks when it launched in 2010. By the end of April 2012, there were already over 100 million active users.

After recognizing its success and the potential for competition, Facebook purchased Instagram in April 2012. They paid a total of $1 billion dollars in cash and stock and used "the power of Facebook" to help the member base grow by an additional 23% in 2013. Today, the two networks are linked, allowing users on Instagram to post photos or videos directly to both accounts simultaneously.

Today, Instagram has surpassed Twitter in user activity, with over 500 million registered profiles. It has evolved into a well-rounded platform, featuring video posts, 24-hour stories, and live streaming.

To learn more about Instagram and its growth, check out the following new research report from WebsiteBuilder.org.

Continue reading to learn more about the success of Instagram.

It might feel like 2017 just started, but here at Garden Media Group, we are working hard on our 2018 Garden Trends Report. Since we’re looking into the future, we have decided to give you an exclusive sneak peek at some of the biggest trends we’re predicting for next year.

Continue reading for a sneak peek at our 2018 trends.

The season’s change provides a fresh start. After being stuck inside all winter, spring is a great time to open up your windows, let in some fresh air, and turn over a new leaf. The spring cleaning tradition stems from these feelings of newfound energy and clarity.

Spring cleaning is a common routine in many homes, both indoors and out. While organizing your house and prepping your yard for spring are both great habits to develop, spring cleaning should be done at work, too.

Continue reading to learn how your business could benefit from a little spring cleaning.

With more than 6 billion people in the world, it’s pretty incredible to think that there are only 16 distinct major personality types. 

According to 16Personalities, an incredibly accurate (in our opinion) and free personality test website, there are a lot of factors that make up someone’s personality. 

So what do personalities have to do with PR? A lot!Understanding your clients, coworkers and even audiences’ personalities can have a huge impact on how we interact with others, achieve success and build meaningful connections.

After all, we’re all about making connections in this business, aren’t we?

Continue reading to learn more.

The holiday season may be behind us, but there is one more day of recognition just around the corner, National “Fall off the Wagon Day.”

The New Year is a time when motivation is at an all-time high, with promises of a lifestyle change. A year full of exercise and clean eating.

This “new year, new me” mantra might be enough to carry you through January, but once February 4^th comes around, according to FourSquare, there are officially more “Check Ins” via social media at fast food restaurants than the gym.

Here is how some of consumers’ favorite green brands are taking strides to keep people involved and motivated well past February 4^th.

Continue reading to learn more.

Garden Media had a blast at the Garden Writer’s Annual Conference & Expo in Atlanta this week. In addition to mingling with old friends, touring beautiful gardens and hosting an unforgettable party for our clients, the GMG team got to honor Katie Dubow as Emergent Communicator of the Year.

Continue reading for highlights from #GWA2016

NaTECHUre is a top trend in the gardening industry for 2016.

It’s no secret that virtual reality engages kids with gardening and nature in fun, new ways. When technology and nature combine, kids get off the couch and head outside to the garden.    

Garden brands looking to be successful need to pay attention to the virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) craze.

There are a lot of things PR pros can do to incorporate VR and AR in their strategies and bring their clients into the future.  

Read on to learn how to incorporate virtual reality in your PR strategy.