GROW! Marketing and Public Relations Tips

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. 

Purple Reign is the next deep dive of Nature’s Rx for Mental Wellness, the theme for the 2018 Garden Trends Report.

If you missed the other deep dives, here are Breathing Rooms, Social Network, Climate Controlled, Make a Splash and Imperfect Gardening.

Look around you, purple is the color of 2018. In fashion, in the home and… in the garden.

Ultra Violet was named Pantone’s color of 2018 as well because it communicates originality, ingenuity and visionary thinking that points us toward the future.

But what does that mean for your garden or your health? 

Imperfect Gardening is the next deep dive of Nature’s Rx for Mental Wellness, the theme for the 2018 Garden Trends Report.

If you missed the other deep dives, here are Breathing Rooms, Social Network, Climate Controlled and Make a Splash. 

Nowadays people are overstimulated and overworked. There seems to always be something going on, but sometimes it is best to take a step back and enjoy the imperfections. Especially in the garden.

More people need to practice the ancient Japanese Wabi-Sabi. Wabi-Sabi appreciates imperfections in life and the ability to age gracefully.

When applied to the garden, the practice is relaxing and enjoyable.

Make a Splash is the next segment of Nature’s Rx for Mental Wellness, the theme for the 2018 Garden Trends Report, we are diving deeper into.

If you missed the other deep dives, here are Breathing Rooms, Social Network and Climate Controlled. 

There’s tremendous support for water as a decorative feature and environmental tactic. Preparing the garden to embrace storms and excess rainfall will not only help save water but also help to control storm water runoff.

The growing trend of filtering water with plants helps with healthy water management, while still keeping beauty in the garden.

So, where do we begin?

As we continue to dive into Nature’s Rx for Mental Wellness, the theme for the 2018 Garden Trends Report, we start to look more to how we can create spaces that help ease our minds.

Imagine walking through a forest and you’ll see that almost every bit of soil is covered with interlocking plants. Trees are covered with moss; the ground is covered with leaves, debris, grasses and moss.

Everything is working in perfect harmony.

Why do we think our garden should be any different?

Read more to learn about one of our 2018 Garden Trends: Social Network

The most important step in creating content is figuring out what your audience wants to read. 

Audiences come to trusted brands for their information. In fact, 65% of daily internet users read blogs. It could be YOUR blog if you make it easy for them to find it.

And yes, while blogs can assist you with the effective promotion of a service or product, they do more to build your businesses credibility, trust and authority. 

However, if you're still about the ROI:

• 63% of people turn to blogs to influences their purchase decisions.
• 60% of U.S. online consumers say they've made a purchase as a direct result of reading a blogger's recommendation.

Continue reading how to build content your readers want.

Nature’s Rx for Mental Wellness, the theme for the 2018 Garden Trends Report, is all about taking a break from being connected 24/7 and getting back in the real world.

The World Health Organization predicts anxiety will be the #1 health issue, outranking obesity by 2020.

That’s right around the corner. If we don’t try to stop that now, we are going to be in major trouble.

Thankfully, there is more talk of wellness in the world more than ever.

Celebrities and Royals are talking about their mental wellness goals, which is helping demystify mental health.

The bottom line is: Happy mind = Happy body.

I recently attended my seventeenth GWA (The Association for Garden Communicators) Conference in beautiful Buffalo, NY.

It’s hard for me to believe I’ve been in garden PR for almost 20 years (gasp)! I guess I love what I do, right? It’s always a joy attending this yearly conference, which allows me to reconnect with many of my garden friends that I only get to see once a year. And, of course, making new friends, too!

After working and attending a variety of industry events throughout my career, I want to share a few tips for connecting with the media that will help you be more successful when pitching. After all, this is a great opportunity for face time and relationship building!

Let’s dig in with these quick tips for making media relations magic at your next trade show.

When I first started working in public relations, I had no idea that relationships were going to be such an important part of my career. After the first year of handling PR for a high-tech company, I quickly learned that earning media coverage requires strong working relationships with journalists.

Even after more than twenty years, I still keep in touch with many of the journalists I met early on in my career.

Now with even more platforms to cultivate media relationships, making these connections has become easier than ever.

Continue reading to learn how you can build strong relationships with journalists.

Memorial Day Weekend is right around the corner and at Garden Media we’re finalizing our travel plans, getting excited to visit family or friends, or simply looking forward to a long, relaxing weekend.

Unfortunately, this isn’t the case for everyone.

Project Time Off, a movement powered by the US Travel Association, encourages people to take a vacation. Research shows that year after year, fewer Americans are using all of their allotted vacation hours. While many think skipping out on vacation and working extra hours is beneficial for their careers, it may actually have the opposite effect.

Read more to learn how going on vacation can improve your business.