The rules of PR measurement are changing - drastically.

In 2010, public relations professionals from around the world came together to set new standards for measuring PR effectiveness called the Barcelona Principles.

Among other things, these new standards heavily emphasize the process of measurement from beginning to end. Specifically, they outline 3 distinct groups of measurable metrics that require different types of evaluation.

These newly defined focus points - the 3 O's - can help your garden business optimize your measuring practices.

Keep reading to learn how the 3 O's of the Barcelona Principles can help you evaluate where your garden business stands.

This week, Garden Media joins BlogHer’s 10th anniversary #Selfiebration in San Jose, Ca. That's right, a selfiebration.

The selfie trend has continued to rise over the past year and both big and small brands are adding it to their marketing arsenals.

BlogHer makes the trend its own by utilizing selfies to acknowledge the growth of the internet and bloggers over the past 10 years and to generate internet excitement.

Check out these tips to learn how selfies can help bring exposure to your garden brand.

To thrive in the present and grow in the future, garden brands need to market, target and build relationships. This is important to do with all customers, but particularly crucial in appealing to Millennials. 

Millennials have a desire to create their own path, influencing how and why they opt for one garden brand over a competitor. Often called the "DIY generation", this growing consumer base's preferences will become increasingly important to your garden business. 

Millennials are already extremely powerful - and their buying influence in the garden industry is only budding.

Continue reading to learn 5 tips and tricks to sell and market gardening to Millennials.

When considering public relations as a marketing tool, many garden businesses struggle with answers to two basic questions:

1. Is public relations worth the investment?

2. How will I know?

The nature of public relations makes these questions difficult to answer. Calculating ROI in a monetary sense is a fluid science, and nailing down perfectly precise numbers is akin to capturing lightning in a bottle.

However, there are some strategies and metrics your garden business can use to measure the potential of a new publicity campaign.

Check out these tips and tricks for projecting the success of your garden business' public relations campaign after taking the jump!

Although the 4th of July is over, Labor Day is right around the corner - creating the perfect time to highlight your brand's American connections.

A report on brand loyalty from research firm Brand Keys Inc. found the top three U.S. brands considered to be the most patriotic are Jeep, Levi Strauss and Coca-Cola.

What do these three brands have in common? Consumers purchase their products because they have deep emotional ties to the perceived "Americaness".

Learn how to extend your garden brand's reach by communicating your business's American Values to consumers this Labor Day.

The relationship between your garden brand and Millennials is only just beginning.

Millennials, those 18-34, are just learning how to participate in the garden, but establishing yourself as the brand expert now can have benefits for years to come.

Gardening, however, in this generation's eyes looks differently than it has in the past. 

Continue reading to learn about exactly what Millennials want in the garden.

Contrary to popular belief, the most important commodity to a garden business isn't money.

The mysterious asset we're talking about has nothing to do with the monetary economy.

What is it?

Your brand's reputation.

You need to understand where your gardening business stands in the marketplace in order to continually improve your position.

To do this, you'll first need to measure your reputation.

Keep reading to learn 3 ways you can measure public opinion about your garden business.

There is no slowing down email, despite predictions that this medium will go the way of the fax machine and MySpace.

More users sign up for accounts every day - and even better, they’re signing up to receive newsletters and promotions from the garden brands they love.

Mobile usage continues to grow, and a whopping 72 percent of US online adults send or receive personal emails via smartphone at least weekly, according to research by Forrester.

Gardening brands need to embrace the mobile platform NOW to reach the largest possible audience.

Read below to learn how to optimize emails for mobile devices - and the major payoff it can bring to your garden business.

Millennials are unique in the way they communicate, making it necessary for garden brands to reach out in ways that continually appeal to this digital generation. 

On average, Millennials are connected with media 18 hours a day with large portions of those hours being spent browsing the internet and social networking.

Millennials are three times more likely to follow brands that appeal to them than a family member on social networking sites.

Luckily for your garden brand, the odds are in your favor.

Continue reading to learn the ins and outs of how your garden business can best connect with Millennials. 

When your garden business chooses public relations, you expect your strategy to pay off.

And, you're right to expect a return on your investment (ROI) - hiring a PR firm is a cost-effective, efficient way to meet your business goals. 

One thing PR isn't, though, is immediate.

It takes time for a PR campaign to build momentum. Plus, the nature of PR is such that as your brand reputation grows media endorsements over time, even more outlets will want to work with you as you to become a household garden brand. 

So, the million dollar question: how can you tell if your public relations strategy is working?

Read on to learn 3 tips for measuring your garden brand's current public relations success.