While Facebook still reigns queen for gardeners, Instagram is quickly overtaking the demographic. But many users - and brands - have found it difficult to build an audience on the platform.

Why is that? Well, for one, people are more selective with whom they follow on Instagram. It seems to be more personal of a platform. And two, the algorithm keeps your followers from seeing your posts. Yet, Facebook tell us 66% of the audience says Instagram is a place that enables interaction with brands. 

So how do you do it? Well, Instagram's parent company, Facebook, has just published a new report on Instagram titled: How to Connect with New Audiences on Instagram. Pretty smart, eh? So, we read it. 

Read more to learn how to win over Instagram audiences and build an engaged following.

In a recent interview for Oregon Association of Nurseries magazine I was asked about influence. Who has it, why is it important and how do you get it. The interview got me thinking about the future of social media influencers.

And then I read a New York Times story about the rise of the nano-influencer and Ellen Wells' Buzz in which she pointed out a great article about the future of social media marketing.

"Influencers will need to prove more value as brands question inflated vanity metrics driven by bots and sophisticated click networks." - Susan Beebe thought leader with a background in technology, project management, and corporate communications.

It seems I'm not the only one questioning the model.

Here at Garden Media we love working with influencers. Our clients have partnered on a tremendous amount of video and blog content, co-hosted and sponsored events and worked with influencers to simply grow brand awareness.

While not abandoning our favorite influencers, we also have to look to the future. Where are we going and what are the best ways to acquire new customers?

Read on for alternatives to influencer marketing that will help grow your brand in 2019.

We recently watched a webinar entitled Top PR Trends to Watch in 2019 and were not surprised to learn high buck influencers may be slipping off their pedestals a bit. But micro influencers will have more, well, influence. New tools to prove the ROI on marketing. Hallelujah. And finally, more individualized pitching in place of “Spray and Pray”. Something we’ve already identified at Garden Media.

Yet throughout the webinar, they kept referring to an Edelman Report about Belief Driven Buyers. This report outlines the fundamentals of how brands need to shift their mindset in order to fully capture the right audience to purchase their products or services.

Read on to learn more about the Edelman Report and webinar.

Pinterest is its own world. Clocking in at 250 million unique visitors a month from around the world, and more than 175 billion pins spanning home décor, DIY craft, fashion, garden, health and food, Pinterest has a pulse on which trends are sparking people's interest.

And we know you love trends so we've mined the trends from Pinterest’s 2019 report to give you the ones that pertain to gardening.

You’ll never guess which top-saved trends rose to the top.

Unlike other social media platforms, pinners don’t use the platform to connect with others. Rather, they are trying to improve their lives. A Nielsen report found that “Pinners” do actually try some of the items they pin—98 %, in fact.

Welcome to your sneak peek into Pinterest trends for 2019!

As the end of the year approaches, many brands have already begun preparing their social media strategies for the new year. 

Social media continues to evolve and if your brand doesn't follow the trends and changes, your efforts may fall flat. 

Thankfully, there are a few social media trends coming to light that brands should consider as they prepare for the new year. 

Read on to learn about 7 social media trends that can help boost engagement. 

While they didn't take our color advice from our 2019 Garden Trend Report this year, the Pantone Color Institute has announced that 2019 will be all about Living Coral.

The color represents “playful expression,” and our “innate need for optimism.” (After this year, we can use all the innate optimism we can get.)

Living Coral is technically a “coral hue with a golden undertone”—a few shades louder than pink, but softer than red.

Read more to learn about how to apply Living Coral to your garden this year.

“Brand prosperity is a lot like the root system of a tree; if you think about the root system of a tree, it is hidden beneath the earth, but it is fundamental to whether or not that tree flourishes and whether or not it bears fruit … if any of the roots are weak or not functioning well, the ability of the tree to flourish is compromised.”

—Michael Movitz, The Movitz Group

The success of a brand, according to Michael Movitz, relies on an interconnected set of factors he calls the 7 P's: Purpose, product, people, pathway, pricing, and promotion of the brand.

Read more to learn how to manage these factors and achieve brand success.

More and more, clients are asking us to increase our PR efforts digitally. The goal is to increase online visibility and enhance the brand, a tactic we've been doing since the beginning. 

The right digital placements will increase domain authority, build the brand and increase SEO. 

Since we are constantly asked how to measure PR, we decided to share how we've honed our measurement of these online sources, too. 

Fortunately, digital PR measures more precisely. When it comes to comparing digital PR and offline, there are 6 areas where digital takes the lead: domain authority, page views, traffic, back link sources, brand awareness and social engagement. 

Read on for 6 ways to measure digital PR efforts.

“Generation Z only knows a world that is hyper-connected, where by the tap of a smartphone, a pair of shoes can be delivered to their doorstep via Uber or a drone in less than an hour. To Generation Z, a phone will be broken if they cannot see the other person on the other end. It’s a brave new world that Generation Z is growing up in.” Ryan Jenkins

According to Laura Stack at TLNT, the first batch of kids born in Y2K is starting college in large numbers and their slightly older siblings are nearing graduation or have graduated.

The first few members of Generation Z , born from about 1996 to 2016, have entered the workforce.

By all indications, they’ll prove themselves just as practical and capable as Millennials.

Read more to learn what Gen Z wants from employers and what we can expect from them.

Kroger announced its top food trend predictions for 2019, curated by its team of Our Brands new product developers, chefs and innovators, focusing on flexible eating styles.

From regional tastes to plant-based alternatives, the year ahead will focus on flexible eating styles, predicts Kroger, one of the country’s largest grocery companies. The Cincinnati, Ohio-based company’s team of product developers, chefs and others created this list of top five trends: