The Garden Media team attended IGC East earlier this month, and with half of the team being Millennials, we looked at the show with a different perspective. We definitely ran into certain booths that caught our attention.

Many companies are shifting their focus onto the new garden consumer: Millennials, and with good reason. Millennials make up nearly 25 percent of the US population and are the most influential consumers.

One trait of Millennials is that we love to be engaged - not of the marrying kind, not yet - but of the stimulant kind. Give us something to do or something to watch. And be approachable... without being creepy. Be nice, be calm and be welcoming.  

Continue reading to see what booths stood out in the Millennial mind and why.

Last week, Garden Media saw Martha Stewart speak at IGC East. During her talk, she stressed the importance of individuality and pushed for garden centers to appeal to the industry’s new consumers: millenials.

We touched on some things you didn't know about Martha in Part I of this series. 

Continue reading for Pat II and to learn more about Martha Stewart’s talk at IGC East. 

Garden Media Group had the opportunity to see Martha Stewart as the keynote speaker on the first day of IGC East.

In her talk, Martha opened up to the audience about her home in Maine, her grandchildren, her new Chow Chow puppy and all the new things Martha Stewart Living is up to.

In the first post of a two-part series, we introduce Martha’s secrets to success.

For all companies, building and developing a captivating brand persona is key for marketing strategies. Yet, many overlook another big component of success: personal marketing.

Like a corporate brand, creating a personal brand requires a tactical approach. It can be challenging, but those who figure out the skill sets needed to promote themselves, see their careers climb to new heights.

Continue reading for more tips on how to market yourself and nab that dream job.

Those who list “multitasking” as a skill on their resumes should consider revising. According to Devora Zack, CEO of Only Connect Consulting, multitasking cuts productivity by 40 percent.

When we work on two projects at once, our brains are actually switching back and forth between each activity non-stop. Our bodies think multitasking is a good thing because each time we start a new task, our brains gets excited.

Science proves; however, that multitasking decreases productivity and exhausts the brain.

Continue reading for more information about how to focus at work.

You've done the easy part: brainstormed a topic, wrote the blog and gathered images. Last, but certainly not least, headlines are the hardest yet most important element of a blog post.

We advise writing a headline after the body is written because the headline should summarize the entire article.

While there is no specific formula for the perfect blog title, research has shown that there are a few techniques that prove successful.

Continue reading to find out the hidden formula for creating a booming blog headline.

Shark Week is back and better than ever. 

And with this summer being one of the most recorded shark sighting seasons on record, this week long event could make a big splash.

It's summer of the shark and the public is eager to know what drives these aquatic beasts.

Broadcasted in over 72 countries with more than 4 million viewers, Discovery channel’s Shark Week is the most watched series on television.

Besides learning the knowledge of a subject that is not taught in school, what is the draw for these viewers? Why are so many people obsessed with Shark Week? In honor of this annual event ending this past Sunday, let’s look at some lessons PR pros can learn from the masters of the ocean.

Keep reading to find out how PR pros and garden marketers can take a bite out of Shark Week.

What began as a virtual scrapbook experience has evolved into a one stop shop for all tech-savvy shoppers.

Pinterest is sweeping out the middle man and letting users browse and purchase items straight from its mobile site with the new “Buyable Pins” option, rolling out to users as we speak.

With this upgrade, Pinterest has the ability to launch into the number one spot for e-commerce. As of now, they are right behind Facebook in terms of online sales generated from social media.

According to Shopify, Pinterest brings in an average sale of $50, which is higher than any other social media platform.

93 percent of users plan out their purchases by using Pinterest, and orders on Pinterest from mobile devices have increased by 140 percent in the past two years.

Continue reading to find out how Pinterest’s Buy It Now button can help Garden businesses boom.

Gardening takes work. But once you've started, and have success, the reward far outweighs the hours of hard work you've put in planting, weeding and watering. Then, you're hooked.

PR is like that, too. Hard work for a big reward.

Here are a few things we’ve learned from our time in the garden that have translated into our PR activities. 

Continue reading to find out why PR is like gardening.

Maintaining the title “Queen of Local News” is no small feat, but Betsy Price makes it look easy.

As the features editor for The Wilmington News Journal, Betsy writes, edits and manages a handful of the paper’s sections. Her passion is to provide her readers with interesting and important local content.  

She cut her teeth in Alabama, spending her undergraduate years at Auburn University, and then moved onto the Birmingham News as both staff writer and eventually editor. She moved to Delaware in 2005.

Betsy visited Garden Media for the firm’s monthly Lunch with a Pro series to discuss the industry landscape.

Read on to continue learning about Betsy and her visit with Garden Media.