You have a year-round strategy in place to increase your presence on social networks such as Facebook, Linkedin, Twitter and Pinterest.

And while digital is great, Facebook's influence is shrinking when it comes to audience engagement. You need to be just as thoughtful and persistent when in-person networking, too.

From the Garden Writer's Symposium to Cultivate and IGC, there are lots of trade shows, conferences and networking events to choose from in the garden industry.

Picking the right trade show instantly helps you form the right relationships with other industry leaders, reporters and consumers.  

Below are Garden Media's 4 networking tips for garden industry trade shows, conferences and events.

The constant availability of the internet has made spreading news about your garden business easier than ever.

But, getting your consumers to read that news has proven to be far more difficult.

Every minute of every day gardening customers are logging on and searching for the latest gardening news, but is your green business on their watch list?

With all of the news, phone apps and social media sites, your company news can easily disappear into the market noise.

Find out what form of media your garden consumers are reading and tips to ensure your message doesn't just get published--it gets read.

The beauty of content marketing is that the journey does not end when the content has been created; in fact, it's only beginning.

Now that you are creating content and attracting readers to your garden business's blog and website, it's time to begin connecting with them.

Social media has changed the way garden brands interact with their customers. One-way dialogues are out, and two way conversations are in.

With this change, brands have the opportunity to ask for more from their customers.

In 2014, Garden Media's Garden Trends Report sees "demanding brands" as a big home, garden, and lifestyle trend for the new year.

Below are marketing tips to show how and why your garden business should be a demanding, eco-superior brand in 2014.

Big news! Garden Media Group has released the 13th annual Garden Trends Report!

Finding happiness and balance in the garden is the theme of the 2014 Garden Trends Report, which identifies several lifestyle shifts and 12 garden trends for 2014.

If you want to be on top of things and love hearing about the hottest consumer, garden, home, and lifestyle trends, you'll want to download our trends report. If you love talking about trends and want to use them to grow your brand and maximize your garden business, you'll want to join us for "Trending Thursday" every Thursday here on GROW!  

Looking ahead, Garden Media sees six balanced sets shaping greener lifestyle choices people are making for their homes, gardens and outdoor living.

Below is a snippet of Garden Media Group's 2014 Trends Report. Download the complete report for all the details and predictions for 2014!

If you're about to hire a PR firm, you want to do your research. Know when to hire a PR firm, questions to ask, and what public relations can really do for your business.

Before you sign the contract, clearly set your expectations. The last thing you want to do is sign a year-long contract only to discover you've made a terrible mistake.

To make your partnership with your (almost) new public relations firm, outline a clear plan of attack for these 4 criteria.

The branding article in print in Green Profit.

I recently wrote an article about image building and rebranding for Green Profit magazine and wanted to share: 

"You know what they say about first impressions lasting a lifetime? Baloney! From people to brands and politicians, this country is all about second chances. You just have to know how to reintroduce yourself properly and to the right people.

Happy New Year and cheers to 2013!  Let's make the year a BIG and successful one.  And let's start with the press release. 

We often hear, “Anyone can write a press release!”  And that may be true, writing a press release that is picked up by the lawn and garden media and shared by bloggers is another story. Here at Garden Media we try to make our news releases “news worthy” by following these 6 golden rules.