Whewf! Here we are amidst the true holiday shopping chaos. Black Friday and Cyber Monday have come and gone, but the holiday shopping season is just gaining momentum.

For the next month, we will all be bombarded with Christmas advertisements everywhere we go. Print, television, and digital ads galore!

But, get this: social media is the biggest influencer for customers’ holiday purchases.

Don’t spend oodles and oodles on advertisements! PR has the true impact you’re looking for.

So go ahead, put away that advertising check and invest your time and money in a public relations plan focused on social media.

We often talk about how fantastic Twitter and Facebook are for connecting with customers, but LinkedIn is best for connecting with fellow professionals.

LinkedIn is the platform for expanding professional contacts; here, you and fellow members of your garden business can make meaningful connections with fellow garden innovators.

Below are 6 quick and easy steps to maximize your garden industry connections on LinkedIn.

Businesses and corporations used to be able to fudge the truth. Check out this Coca-Cola advertisement from the 1950’s! It never fails to make me laugh; their copy is just so silly and untrue.

We’ve come a long way since then! Now, businesses are held accountable for their actions—especially in the garden industry. Customers want businesses that act ethically in their business practices. But, lately, customers want even more: they want corporations to embrace their role in social reasonability.

85% of consumers have a more positive image of a product when the company supports a cause they care about. Plus, more than 278 million consumers across the US want to know what your garden business is doing to benefit a cause. Read more about how cause marketing affects the bottom line here.

Below are a few of Garden Media Group’s favorite green cause marketing campaigns.

Well, it's official!  Garden Media finally has made our mark on Kennett Square, literally! What do you think of our new sign?  Visit our new website too and tell us what you think!

Podcasting is often forgotten when forming a public relations media plan for your garden business. Yet, more people each and every year listen to podcasts. Last year, 29% of Americans, or one in three, listen to podcasts.

With your garden industry blog or website, it isn’t about reaching more people, but targeting the right people. Those 29% of podcast listeners are affluent, active on social media, and are advertisement avoiders.

Integrating a podcast onto your garden industry blog or website allows you to reach a key demographic of listeners, who you may typically miss out on. 

Belo are a few reasons why you should be podcasting as well as a simple guide to create a podcast.

By the end of 2011, there were over 181 million blogs all around the world! Blogging does not get talked about nearly as much as social media, but boy, it should!

Blogging leads to new business, expands brand awareness, increases organic serach traffic, provides a foundation for all social media, and allows you to become a credible, reliable, and creative business in the eye of your consumers.

But, how can you compete with 181 million blogs? To put it simply, your garden business cannot get blogged down.

Blogging with a purpose is key, but promoting your blog is the other half the battle. It isn’t about blogging more, but instead, blogging better.

Below our ways to successfully blog with a purpose and get your blog seen.

Recently, our fearless leader was interviewed by CEOIntroNet at ABC6 studios in Philadelphia.  Last week we shared the video, here is the Q&A. 

Last week, Suzi and I went to 6ABC for a roundtable discussion of top Philadelphia CEO's. The event was hosted by CEOIntroNet, a group of successful CEOs and serial entrepreneurs who realize the vital need for a group of decision makers to connect with each other and share business success stories and ideas.