Blogging is a must for all businesses anymore. Social media platforms only allow you to say so much, which is exactly why we link every single one of our social media accounts back to our blog. We have two blogs in fact since our business is two-fold: gardening and public relations/marketing.

Our blogs are a chance for us to really hash out important issues in our industry. We're able to show that we are an expert at what we do; plus we can connect back to our main website. Blogs can also link back to your e-commerce website.

For us, the most important aspect of blogging is connecting. We've connected with new clients, fellow industry leaders, and even print media moguls.

Moral of the story: you and your garden business should be blogging! But, if you need a bit more convincing, read our ode to blogging here.

The morning after: your hopes crushed or validated, your stomach full, your jersey messy as anything, your hands still have a bit of dirt on them, and your head's buzzing with PR lessons learned.

It’s none other than the Monday after the Super Bowl and Super Sow Sunday.

Being lovers of yummy food and beautiful flowers, we had to take part in both. Yup, I sowed my seeds this year with the brawling noises of the Super Bowl in the background. Which seeds, exactly? Sustainable Seeds, of course!

With our seeds planted, let’s reflect on the Super Bowl and the hysteria that surrounds it every year.

The Super Bowl is PR GOLD. It’s the most watched sporting event of the year, it has its own culture, and each year, the paper is chock full of Super Bowl articles for weeks.

Recapping the best Super Bowl PR lessons of 2013 below. 

Email marketing, like most all things, can do some amazing good... or irreparable damage. Email marketing lets you build relationships with leads and current customers. Customers have even said that they like email marketing more than a regular email. Not only are they a customer favorite, but they also are more effective.

The emails sent by email marketing are usually beautiful. They're gorgeous to look at, so you'd think they'd be more likely to be read. Well, yes and no.

Email marketing is good, but only to a certain extent..

So, how much email  marketing is too much, and how can your business avoid getting on customers' black lists?

98% of journalists think it's important for a company or public relations firm to have an online newsroom. Plus, 97% of journalists use an online newsroom at least once a week. Bottom line: if your company or firm wants press coverage, an online newsroom can be the difference in news coverage.

Lucky for you, setting up an online newsroom is easy, and we have the fastest, most efficient way to update your newsroom and keep it hip. To keep it as simple as possible, we're going to set up our how-to season in a classic journalist style: the 5 W's.

 Instagram has been dominating headlines over the past few weeks. Right before Christmas, Instagram announced a change to its privacy policy. In essence, the new policy would let advertisers pay Instagram to use your personal photos without telling you. As you are well-aware of by now, there was an uproar. Users shed the site and expressed their rage all over the media--social media included, of course.

However, Instagram is saying that this policy is NOT true. Instagram is in full-fledged crisis management mode and had their CEO email all of their users clarifying their new policies. In their rebuttal, Instagram said their privacy policy will remain the same as always and vowed that users would still own their photos--as they always have.

However, users across the globe are opting to keep their photos private to avoid them being used in advertisements. At this moment, the privacy policy puts business accounts in a tricky position.. What have you been talking about doing with your garden industry account?

Now that we know we're in the clear with the Instagram policy mix-up (for the most part), we can exhale deeply and hug our smart phones. Instagram is here to stay! Instagram is a fun, simple way to beautify your business and Facebook page.

Been on Linkedin lately? If you haven’t, you are missing out! Linkedin just unveiled a more modern, visually driven layout after a major mile mark. 200 million working professionals are now mingling on Linkedin. Their membership has grown over 20% since November!

Keep up with the times; resumes and networking are no longer reserved for job interviews and conferences.

Networking is happening around the clock thanks to Linkedin, but to truly stand out, you need to understand how the new profile with affect you.

We’ve scoured the site and have highlighted the biggest changes below. Of course, we aren’t going to just leave you hanging. Below we’ve included a few tips to make sure you’re at the front of the pack of Linkedin!

Infographics have been on the to-do list at businesses across the country for the past few months. The medium began to gain traction in late 2009, but have since then exploded.

Infographics have the potential to go viral, specifically because of their share-ability. They're super easy to share on all social media outlets, and best of all, if you share it, your post will get six times more interaction on Twitter.

Trends come and go, and three years have passed since the creation of the inforgraphics, so are they in or out? Tell us what you think by commenting or tweeting at The Garden Media Team.

Until then, here’s the good and the bad sides of infographics. Decide for yourself if they should still be apart of your public realtions media plan.

Today marks the one week anniversary of MANTS, the Mid-Atlantic Nursery Trade Show. Sniff, sniff. MANTS never lasts long enough for us. Of course, it’s a ton of work for exhibitors and public relations teams alike, but MANTS is one of the most humbling, exciting trade shows we go to all year.  One exhibitor from Oregon said, "if you don't show up at MANTS you might as well not be in business”, another said MANTS is the Big Leagues compared to all other shows around the country!” No wonder it’s nicknamed The Masterpiece of Trade Shows™. We couldn’t agree more!

Since MANTS is one of our favorite trade shows of the year, we want to pass along a token of our experience—just in case you and your garden business weren’t able to make it this year. First and foremost, we’re going to recap the stars at MANTS. But, if you’re looking for something a bit different, head on over to our GMG Twitter Feed to re-read our LIVE tweets during the show. It’s never too early to relive the moment, right? We’re already flipping through our photos at Garden Media today!

A New Year means out with the old and in with the new, so where exactly does that put Facebook? Facebook has over 1 billion users, so it’s definitely here to stay. Yet, the social media mogul certainly is changing.

It goes without being said that at Garden Media Group, we LOVE plants. We think, write, promote, market, and revel in all kinds of plants and horticulture accessories day in and day out.

But, today, January 10^th, we want to stand on rooftop gardens and shout our love for one special kind of plant today: the houseplant! In fact, January 10^th is and always will be houseplant appreciation day.

After all, we’ve got a heck of a lot to be thankful for; houseplants are more than just a pretty face—though they truly are beautiful, aren’t they? Go ahead, revel in the day!

Buy a new houseplant, share your love by gifting a plant, sing to your plant today, whisper a thank you in its leaves, whatever works for you, works for us too! As long as you celebrate and appreciate the houseplant, we (and your houseplants) will be more than happy!