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.

Everyone in the garden industry wants to know: “How do we reach Millennials?”

Already, Millennials are a bigger generation than the Baby Boomers and have a collective buying power of $200 billion annually.

In Garden Media’s new eBook How to Market Gardening to Millennials, we’re sharing tips and tricks on how to reach this powerful demographic.

Starting now and continuing each Wednesday in July, our GROW! blog will be detailing who the Millennials are, what matters to them, and how to build a long-term brand relationship with this generation.

Let’s start with what you need to know about Millennials – and why this generation is integral to the future of your garden business’ prosperity.

Trust is an essential element of any successful, long-term gardening business.

Before building brand ambassadors, you first need to earn trust. Once earned, trust can easily be lost if business leaders fail to communicate honestly and transparently with their consumers and shareholders.

Everything you do or don’t do affects the perception of your brand, and in the long run your trustworthiness is your most valuable asset.

Below learn four tips to boost your brand reputation and build fast, long-term trust in your company 

Paperless billing practices, community recycling programs, and post-consumer paper products have saved countless trees.

That's something to get excited about!

We're not out of the proverbial woods yet, though. Over 4 million urban trees are lost each year, according to a study published in Urban Forestry & Urban Greening.

Revitalizing the tree canopy is important since trees provide a TON of benefits. Green consumers are in-tune to this, which makes planting trees a hot 2014 gardening trend.

Your gardening business can (and should) be the perfect place for garden customers to get started.

Keep reading to learn 3 ways you can capitalize on this scorching hot garden trend in 2014!

In the gardening world, it will soon be out with the old and in with the new.

The way we learn, talk and execute gardening is all going to change in the next few years. Wondering what's driving this shift in how we learn about gardening?

Some 24% of the current population are millenials. Yes, we're talking about the tech-savvy, impatient, coddled, creative 18-36 year olds.

Below is a snap-shot of who the millenials are, why they're driving the finger-tip gardening trend, and a few tips on how your garden business can make this trend work for you.

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.

Social media has become a huge part of how companies interact and engage with their customers.

Even in the gardening industry, countless businesses have found social media works when they are looking for new customers, nurturing current customers, and when they need to drive traffic and sales on their garden website.

Twitter and Instagram are both popular social platforms. Both are great ways to promote a company, product or brand, when used correctly of course.

Below are 4 best practice tips to ensure your garden business's accounts are valuable to both your shoppers and your bottom line!

Being in public relations is stressful--in fact, it's the 6th most stressful job in America according to CareerCast.

Meaning, public relations is a field not everyone is cut out for. PR executives need to have an eye for creativity, the spirit of perseverance, and the power of persuasion.

Whether you are a budding public relations executive, a garden business owner interested in marketing, or a business looking to hire a public relations firm, the list below will help you understand the intricacies of public relations better--and improve your take on gardening PR and marketing.

Want to find out what Garden Media's 7 secrets to public relations success are in the garden industry? Keep on reading!

With PR firms, bigger isn't always better.

In fact, a big PR firm may be more of a negative than a positive, but we'll talk about that in a bit!

When hiring a public relations firm, whether you're a big or small garden business, PR is a big investment and there are many factors to consider.

To discover the nitty-gritty details on hiring a public relations firm, read the step by step process here.

Then, learn 4 reasons why a small PR firm can rock your socks off--and may even be better than that big ol' firm and an even bigger investment.

Gardeners are always looking for new ways to use what they grow, so drinking foods from the garden is becoming a big trend for 2014.

Though, Garden Media predicts that drinking your garden is a trend that has lasting power.

More and more people are tackling DIY projects. In fact, each year, nearly 1 million Americans brew beer and make wine at home. Just as popular, people are using the fruits and vegetables from their garden to make creative cocktails and smoothies.

Read on to learn a few marketing tips to take advantage of the "Drink Your Garden" trend and boost sales for your garden business while you're at it, too!