One of the most important tenets of media relations, and the one that gets talked about the least, are media tours.

20 years ago, media tours and press conferences were still hot stuff, but now, technology and video chats have made in-person media tours less popular.

But, when done right, media tours can wow the media, especially since they aren't as popular a tactic as they once were.

There's a media tour made for every budget, so no matter how much money you have to spend, you can still invest in a media tour this year.

Below are the different types of media tours that can work for your garden business.

Marketers are creeping and crawling into the night with Halloween just a few short days away.

From the big holidays to the small ones, marketers love putting a twist on their product and content to make it more relevant for the time of year.

And Halloween is one of the most fun times of the year to do just that. The spooky styles, the dark colors, and of course, the costumes!

This Halloween season take your marketing to the next level to connect, engage, and form meaningful relationships with your customers.

Below are 4 marketing ideas tailor-made for your garden business that will boost engagement and get your audience's attention--plus, you don't even have to say BOO, unless you want to!

Automated, generalized messages don't have the impact they used to.

People change channels when commercials appear, no one answers a call from a telemarketer, and automated emails don't get opened.

The old way of marketing is out, and personalized, compelling content in context is in, in a big way. 

Over the next year, this marketing trend is going to continue to grow.

Here are the top 4 content marketing trends that will emerge and thrive in 2014.

Like a first impression, introducing your garden brand to the media is an opportunity you only get once.

And, as you may have guessed, your introduction can either define your brand or cause infamy.

In the gardening world, there's one surefire way to make a stellar impression with the media's key influencers.

With this one move, you'll be well on your way to having impeccable media relations.

Discover Garden Media's proven method for the best way to introduce your garden brand below.

Inspiration for garden trends pours in from every inch of the globe.

Across the world, different countries are blending their regional culture and personal style with local gardening habits to put a spin on gardening.

Just as Paris and Milan "Fashion Week" defines trends globally, there are three international garden shows that shape garden, home, and lifestyle trends.

It is at these shows that the trends Garden Media predicts for 2014 begin to form. From here, landscape designers, artists, and breeders all find inspiration and make it their own.

Read on to discover the 3 international shows that influence Garden Trends the most each year.

Now that you have created your media list, it will serve as the foundation for all of your media relations. You're ready for the next step: connecting with the key media influencers.

Key influencers are the best place to begin making connections.

Why?

Because they're leaders in their industry. The topics that they write and talk about will soon be covered by media outlets across the country. Think of it like a ripple effect. If you can hook the big influencers, the rest of the media coverage will soon take off.

Below are tips on determining who exactly key media influencers are--and how to make them remember your garden brand!

Last month, Pinterest followed in the footsteps of other social media giants by announcing that advertisements would soon sneak their way into your Pinterest streams.

Pinterest, though, touted something different: "tasteful" ads.

And as promised, the advertisments/promoted pins have arrived--kind of.

Last week, the sponsored advertisements went live for a handful of Pinterest users.

Read on to discover what Pinterest ads will look like, how they'll keep growing, and how your garden business can capitalize on these pseudo ads.

This Trending Thursday, we're looking at 2014 to see what social media trends are coming over the horizon.

Some networks are here to stay and will continue to grow while others are already stale.

With Garden Media's 2014 Guide to Social Media Trends, you can begin to see where to budget your time in the upcoming fiscal year.

Without further ado, here are the top 5 social media trends of 2014.

Hot of the presses, Garden Media's October e-Book is here!

This month our GROW! e-Book of the month clubwill be talking media relations every Wednesday, right here on our blog. The blog posts complement the info in our Media Relations e-Book and break each aspect of media relations into bite-sized pieces!

But, first thing's first, be sure to download our e-Book, "How to Win the Media's Heart."

In it, you'll find all of Garden Media's secrets to making (and maintaining!) friendships with the media.

To start the conversation, below is Garden Media's guide to media relations--beginning with the basics, like what is media relations, and where do you start?

1906-?

Press releases aren't dead. We're saying it!

But, just because they're still alive, doesn't mean they're fine as is. The strategy, format, and goals of press releases are still relevant. Yet, the tactics with which we write and market our press releases need some work.

Below are 4 tips and tricks to bring your press release into the 21st century.