Real time marketing is springing up all over the world.

Two weeks ago, it was the heat wave that dominated social media. This week, the royal baby was all anyone was talking about.

Brands across the globe tried to capitalize on the birth of Will and Kate's baby by posting on social media. Some worked, and others were a tragic flop.

Below, we've taken the best and worst real-time marketing stunts. We'll detail what real time marketing is while also focusing on the do's and don'ts of real time marketing using images and posts from brands on the #royalbaby.

While Pinterest, Twitter, Facebook, and the like all fall under the umbrella of social media, using each platform requires an individualized set of tricks and tips.

A new study recently found the most effective tips and guidelines for posting on different social media outlets.

Implementing these tips will allow your garden business to see a higher number of likes, retweets, views, and most importantly, engagement.

For these secrets to have a larger impact, your social media manager has to closely analyze your analytics. Facebook's new insights will help break down who your audience is and what type of posts have been most effective.

Below, we're dishing on universal tips for creating alluring, yet highly effective posts on all the social media platforms.

92% of garden consumers trust friends, family and word- of-mouth above all forms of advertising.

That's right. Public relations trumps advertising yet again!

One of the best ways to reach and influence consumers of ALL ages is social media. Look at the stats to your right if you're not convinced.

Plus, a new study proved what we in the marketing industry have known for a long time: positive interactions on social media (especially two-way conversations) ignite the buzz for your garden business.

Specifically, 90% of customers would recommend a brand after interacting with them on social media.

As far as social media ROI goes, four out of five consumers are more inclined to buy a brand more after being exposed to their social media.

To have the most impact when connecting with consumers and influencers alike, your garden business has to know who they are first!

Below we have a profile on the three most prevalent social media personalities--and the best ways to make a meaningful connection.

At Garden Media Group, we spend a lot of time thinking about trends--especially for the garden.

Lately, the office has been a buzz with social media trends. Facebook Fatigue and the release of Instagram video are drastically changing the landscape of social media.

Social media trends allow you to connect with your green, gardening customers. Plus, it shows your audience that your brand is forward-thinking.

Keep up with the social media trends, and discover five topical changes in social media that will affect your garden business this year.

Instagram recently rolled out a video feature.  Now Vine isn't the only platform you can take quick snappy videos.

As social media and amateur video making continue to evolve, your garden business needs to be aware of the changes and know how to embrace them!

There's a head-on battle brewing between the new Instagram Video and the already beloved Vine.

Let's take a look at both platforms, and see who wins when it comes to garden marketing in this heated feud for social video!

All the elements for your public relations campaign are now in line: goals, objectives, key media, and target audience.

Your campaign has rolled out across a multitude of media outlets--and audiences are craving more.

Now that you have an action and media plan in line as well as a few media hits, you need to focus on maintaining momentum.

Your garden company cannot blast the same message in the same way year after year. To keep it interesting, add a new twist to your campaign each year.

Let's look at our PR Campaign Case Study on Costa Farms' O2 for You to illustrate the art of shifting the tactics each year while furthering your campaign's goals.

Through our GROW! e-Book club, we've been getting oodles of questions about how to measure social media--and for good reason.

In the scheme of public relations and the garden industry, social media is still a new medium. New or now, your garden business needs to be participating on the most relevant platforms for your target audience.

But, how can you tell if the time and energy your garden company invests is worth the return on your investment?

We're going to share an easy way to implement step-by-step processes to measure the success of your garden business's social media campaigns.

Vine has been dominating headlines lately because (drum roll please) Vine is officially available for Android phones!

In case you missed it the first time around, Vine is the easiest way to make videos. Anybody with a smart phone can make a six second video and upload it to Twitter.

But, there's a catch. Now that Vine has been around for four months, we've seen a lot of the same videos.

While Vine may be called the Instagram of Video, like the picture above illustrates, you have got to be doing more with your video than the standard.

Freshen up your garden business's Vine tactic by trying 8 types of Vine that innovate--and consumers LOVE to retweet.

Your business can’t juggle every social media outlet. If you try, you’ll end up pulling all of your hair out—and see very little pay off.

To truly master the art and daily practice of social media, your garden business has to be mindful about tracking your success. Using social media tools and tracking devices, you can easily learn what social media platforms are the most successful while also discovering what posts are most popular.

Below, we’ve outlined three powerful tools to track and analyze your social media success that are simple, secure, and versatile.

In the realm of social media, we're still learning how to best measure our business sucess. The medium is still new, so the best way to see how we're doing hasn't been fully established yet. But, we are learning!

Each social media platform is different, so you need to measure its success in a different way.

As far as Twitter goes, one of the best indicators of success is how many times your tweets are retweeted.

Retweets matter because they show how often your followers are engaging with your material. If a follower retweets you, it means they love your material enough to share it as their own!

We've got three types of tweets that are you want to avoid because they're almost never retweeted, and a new, hot way to measure your business's best formula for retweets.