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.

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!

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.

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.

Garden business owners know that a solid business plan is essential for success.

Business plans are how you communicate your vision when breaking into the field, and it's also the blueprint for maintaining success after you've gotten there.

But how can you measure success, and how do you know when you've reached it?

Any good garden business wants to answer these questions, but most of them ask a bit too late.

The best measurement strategies begin before your garden business even gets off the ground.

Keep reading to learn how to plan for your garden business' success with measurement metrics in mind.

Day in and day out, the Garden Media team helps grow green gardening companies by getting the word out about their businesses. Our public relations campaigns built rock-star gardening brands, like the Knock Out Rose and Costa Farms O2 for You. So, it's second nature for the Garden Media team to see the connections between gardening and business.

Today we're diving deeper into this parallel to learn how gardening, effective marketing, and legendary garden business leadership overlap.

Read on to learn 5 leadership and marketing lessons found in the garden. Dirt may not only be the new Prozac - it might be the secret to success for your next business plan, too.

It has been said time and time again: Your garden business needs a blog.

It's not just about driving traffic to your website, but a green, glorious company blog sets you apart as an authority in your field.

Plus, blogging is a great way to offer expert advice and gently remind your customers that you are the “go to place” for information and ideas, and heck, even products!

However, maintaining a garden blog is an investment of time, energy, and creativity. Fresh ideas and interesting topics that free flow in the first few weeks may be more difficult to come by on a regular basis.

Read on to discover 3 simple tips to keep your garden blog fresh and top of mind for your customer, too!

As you already know, we at Garden Media Group love spotting the latest trends. What you may not know is why looking at these trends is important for every garden business. 

Every year Garden Media releases the Garden Trends Report to inform you about what trends to look for coming over the horizon. However, if garden businesses don’t understand how to use these trends to advance their company and grow sales, all our hard work is going to waste! 

Read on to find out why you should care about trends and how they can help your business!

Want to drive sales, attract new customers, and grow your garden business?

Then, join us at 2 p.m. today EST for our "Talking Trends" Google+ Hangout. You'll learn secret tips, tricks, and tactics from industry leaders and garden businesses, who have done it themselves. That's right! Our winners from our contest will be a few of our featured guests!

Click here to watch the Google+ Hangout here.

Get the skinny on what exactly you'll learn about using garden trends to boost sales and who will be joining Garden Media's Suzi McCoy below.