At the start of the World Series, PR Week asked the question: What World Series team has the better story to tell?

New York Mets fans cheered for the underdog team to win their first World Series title since 1986.

Kansas City Royals fans were excited about the chance of redemption after their loss in 2014. 

Most people have blind loyalty to a team, largely due to city pride. But it doesn’t hurt when the team has a great story to tell.

The start of each season brings about a hopeful new chapter, with the players as the characters and the anticipation of ending the story with the ultimate victory, a World Series title.

However, sports teams aren’t the only ones with a story. Brands can – and should – tell stories, too.

Read more to learn about how your brand can tell a story.

Topics: branding, PR Strategy, Digital Branding, image building, Garden Media Group, Garden Media

Everyone knows Instagram is one of the most important, useful and successful social media platforms of our time. With over 300 million active monthly users, more than 90 percent of which are under the age of 35, Instagram is especially useful in reaching millennials. And they aren’t just using it for selfies.

Through the use of hashtags on both Twitter and Instagram, social media activism is becoming a rising trend. Millennials love to be aligned with a cause and they are using hashtags to raise awareness about those causes. Businesses and celebrities are taking note and following their examples.

Continue reading for more information about why businesses should support a cause and show they care.

Topics: Public relations, branding, Digital Branding, Instagram, social media, Garden Media, Social

Instagram, an app that allows users to edit and share photos, wants to become the go-to source for information and trends.

Instagram recently updated several search features, allowing the app to become increasingly more user friendly.

The search icon now offers an expansive menu of dynamic content and trending tags. One of Instagram’s newest functions allows users to explore live updates happening around the world.

Instagram CEO, Kevin Systrom, told Wired magazine “It’s a real-time visual pulse for what is happening in the world.”

Read on for more information on how garden brands can utilize the new Instagram updates.

Topics: Digital Branding, garden business, Instagram, social media, hashtag

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.

Topics: Pinterest, Digital Branding, internet marketing, garden business, social media

In today’s fast-paced, connected world, people are 30 times more likely to read infographics than text-based articles.

As the world becomes more visual, it is no surprise that infographics have become a standard for communicating information with consumers and the press – and there is no end in the rise on the industry horizon. 

Brands can use infographics to dispense information, news and tips to readers in a visually stimulating and cost effective way.

Continue reading to learn how garden brands can use infographics to captivate and engage audiences.

Topics: garden marketing, branding, Public Relations Trends, Digital Branding, Garden Media Group, content marketing

Topics: branding, Digital Branding, garden business, case study, Campaign

Social media has the ability to bring people all over the world together to talk about specific events. Sunday’s #Oscars proved once again that outlets like Twitter, Instagram and Facebook have a huge impact on the way consumers receive news.

What better time than awards season for garden brands to plant the seeds for a future of retweets, likes, favorites and re-pins?

Continue reading for more information on how brands can promote themselves and build a personality through social media.

Topics: branding, marketing communications, Digital Branding, Garden Media Group, social media

Digitally-driven Millennials may be more of a target audience for your garden business than you guessed - especially since they care about the environment. In fact, 29% want to make the world a better place. 

Millennials want to recycle, repurpose and up-cycle anything and everything. And let’s not forget, they are a huge up-and-coming demographic for retail; we're talking $200 billion in annual buying power.

Your garden brand needs to take advantage of this generation's interest in sustainability and show them how gardening can help them be better stewards of the earth.

Read on to find out what garden trends matter to Millennials in the garden and outdoor living world.

Topics: Digital Branding, gardening, garden business, Garden Media Group, content marketing, Garden Trends

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.

Topics: creating content, Digital Branding, Trending Thursday, content marketing

There’s been a lot of buzz about brands redefining terms, especially among brands marketed toward women.

There’s the Dove Campaign for Real Beauty, Under Armour’s “What’s Beautiful” competition to redefine the female athlete, Betty Crocker’s redefinition of “homemaker” and most recently, Always’ #LikeAGirl campaign.  

What's the secret to these marketing campaigns' success?

First, instead of avoiding challenges, these marketing campaigns confront them head on.

Then, the challenges are transformed into something new, interesting and undoubtedly buzz-worthy.

Read on for tips about how the gardening industry can redefine the classic image of the gardener. 

Topics: garden marketing, PR Strategy, Digital Branding, Trending Thursday, marketing