I talk to a lot of individuals and companies about public relations and have heard every objection under the sun as to why they don't need to hire a PR firm.  I am always eager to learn from people what their marketing goals are and how their current activities are helping to reach those goals.  Most often, it's that people don't understand public relations, have had a bad experience or think it will be too expensive. 

In the end, most people quote these six reasons for not hiring a PR firm:

Topics: Public relations, marketing communications, lawn & garden public relations, horticultural marketing communications, advertising

For the 15th year running, Garden Media Group has been named one of the top 25 PR firms by the Philadelphia Business Journal.

The list is based on revenue billed in 2011- But look out, we're still growing! Stay tuned for yet another new client announcement this week.

For a boutique PR firm located in the "cool" city of Kennett Square, PA and specializing in gardening, this is quite an accomplishment.

Topics: Public relations, PR Strategy, lawn & garden public relations

Years ago a long-time client in a male dominated industry told me I was part of their "good ole' boy" network - and he wasn't talking about social either. It was "the club". Needles to say, I was flattered, but I was also shocked.

I mean, I don't play golf (yet), go fishing or attend sporting events with any of my clients.

The only answer I could come up with is . . . I develop long-term working relationships with my clients. We respect and like each other. We're team mates and, most importantly, we're friends.

Topics: lawn and garden public relations, lawn & garden public relations, Garden Media Group

Surprise! LinkedIn Company Pages are about to get a little design makeover, the social network announced on its blog today.

Topics: lawn & garden public relations, social media

Here at Garden Media we talk a lot about garden marketing and public relations.  We hope it helps clients, potential clients and anyone looking for a PR firm understand the science and technique behind what we do.

I recently came across this post from Henson Consulting about five qualities that make a potential firm a great fit for your lawn and garden business.

 

Topics: lawn and garden public relations, hiring a public relations person, lawn & garden public relations, horticultural marketing communications, Garden Media Group, garden industry public relations

Having a LinkedIn account, not only for yourself, but also for a business in the lawn and garden industry is key in today’s garden market!

Essentially the professional’s Facebook, LinkedIn is known for its ability to connect and showcase companies, associations, garden centers and individuals across the globe with 160 million members and counting.

In our free e-book "Networking 101: Garden Marketing Tips and Tricks for Using LinkedIn," companies in the lawn and garden industry can learn how to create personal and company profiles, tips for getting started, and the extra features LinkedIn offers to extend business brands and engage with key audiences.

Topics: lawn & garden public relations, social media

Topics: garden marketing, lawn & garden public relations

If you are looking to hire a PR firm, you should get proposals from a few contenders. But, how do you differentiate among public relations firms?

Topics: lawn and garden public relations, lawn & garden public relations, horticultural marketing communications, garden industry public relations

Listen to this anecdote by Sheldon Baker, Senior Partner
at Baker Dillon Group, and see if you can determine what this company could have done better:

Recently, I met with a retired business executive (we'll call him Tom), I hadn't seen for over 15 years. During our visit, Tom and I talked about the many public relations strategies that were developed for his company. He originally hired me to help orchestrate the public relations strategy of his firm that was merging with another company. One of initial projects included developing a new corporate brochure that required design, photography and copywriting.

Topics: lawn and garden public relations, hiring a public relations person, garden PR consultant, lawn & garden public relations, garden industry public relations

The Garden Media Group has been spotting garden and outdoor living trends since 2001. How do we predict these trends?
We begin by looking at consumer home and fashion trends on a global level to see how these fit into the garden industry. Plus we follow what’s happening in American fashion, real estate and food industries.

Topics: lawn & garden public relations, horticultural marketing communications, garden industry public relations, Garden Trends