Dogscaping Creates Safe Paws

Pets run through the lawn, roll in it, dig in it and often eat it so it’s no wonder that pet owners are thinking more and more about how to make their gardens pet friendly and pet safe.

Dogscaping is creates a safe place for pets to roll, run and roam outside.

Check out our Youtube video about this top 2016 Garden Trend! And download our 2016 Garden Trends Report to see what's buzzing in the industry. 

For more information about our trends, subscribe to our YouTube channel and see what else we have to offer at gardenmediagroup.com. #LightsCameraGarden.

New e-Book Reveals How to Achieve Social Media Success

“Likes,” “Shares” and “ReTweets” are terms synonymous with a successful brand.

Social media, an extremely effective marketing medium, helps brands reach people on a large scale. In today’s world, public relations campaigns must utilize social media to increase brand awareness and grow consumer demand.

To teach garden brands how to properly convey marketing messages over social media, we released our latest free e-Book, “How The Espoma Company Bloomed: A Social Media Case Study.” The e-Book outlines the best practices for monitoring and posting to a variety of social sites.

Garden Trends Video Series Returns

It's s crucial to understand what's trending in order to be successful in the garden industry, so we're behind the camera once again and reviving our garden trends YouTube video series for 2016! 

“Syncing with Nature,” our 2016 Garden Trends Report, highlights eight new trends that demonstrate how people are using technology to connect with nature in different ways. Each video in our series will deep dive into one trend and teach viewers how it is impacting in the industry.

A new trends video will post the first week of every month on Garden Media’s YouTube channel and on social outlets with #LightsCameraGarden and #GardenTrends. 

Espoma Teams up with The Edible Schoolyard Project for National Garden Month

Happy National Gardening Month! Of the ways we're celebrating is by participating in The Espoma Company's new initiative to spread the word about the health benefits of fresh, organic fruits and vegetables. 

Espoma is helping to support school gardening efforts to get the word out. For every new like the company receives on Facebook page during the month of April, the company will donate to The Edible Schoolyard Project. The nonprofit’s mission is to create and sustain an organic garden and landscape that is wholly integrated into a school’s curriculum, culture and food program.

2016 Garden Bloggers Recap

The 6^th annual 2016 Garden and Design Bloggers Conference was held Atlanta last week. This two- day conference packed in amazing speakers, great sponsors (Including The Davey Tree Expert Company) and leaders in the garden and design world. Stacey and Katie attended, took copious amounts of notes and wanted to share their top 3 takeaways. 

Gardening Spotlighted at the Largest Event for Women in Social Media in the World

As interest in outdoor living and decorating continues to grow, especially in the blogosphere, Garden Media Group once again will introduce new content, plants and garden products to thousands of key bloggers at the 10th annual BlogHer Conference in San Jose, California.

Some 4,000 social media experts in food, parenting, health and wellness, entertainment, style, social change, politics, technology and business are expected to attend the conference.

This year, Garden Media , the top public relations firm in the outdoor living industry, returns with its popular pop-up “Garden Shop” to introduce the world of gardening to even more bloggers. Located at Booth #306, the “Garden Shop” is open from 9 AM to 6 PM July 25-26.

Perfecting the Social Media Balancing Act

Social media has been a big play for over five years. Whether you’re a public relations pro or a member of the garden industry, you know you have to be on social media.

It’s the absolute perfect blend of advertising and public relations. Plus, it’s FREE. Social media outlets of all kinds let you connect with your key demographic on a daily basis. Here, you get to interact with your clientele in a cool, friendly, funny manner.

Managing social media is without a doubt one of my favorite aspects of the job. But, realistically, it’s also one of the hardest. It seems like there’s always another social media site popping up, and to stay trendy, you and your garden business have just got to be on it.

How in the world can one business, especially a new, small, blooming business, manage all of these sites?

First, load up on social media tools. Next, take the advice of the pros at Garden Media Group to make sure the social media element in your public relations media plan is realistic and effective.

Balancing social media is an act you’ve got to learn to master quickly—before you burn out.

You Just Can’t Do It All.

This is one of the toughest lessons to learn, but the fact of the matter is that as a small business you can’t be on every social media outlet. If you’re dead set on having a presence on every social media platform, phone in a public relations team to help you manage.

Either way, attempt to cut the fat off of your public relations media plan. Not every social media site is going to be popular with your key audience, so try all of them for a bit. Then, look at the hard numbers, and decide which platforms are most popular with the people you want to connect with.

Invest your time in outlets where your impact will be fruitful.

Test the Soil

Whenever I try something new I have to acknowledge that no matter how much I research, there will be a learning curve.

Do the same on your desired social media outlets; research all the different ways you can utilize social media for your business. Look up different tactics and techniques, and try them all for a bit.

Then, see what your audience wants. They’ll let you know; trust me! An advantage of social media is that it’s social. Your key demographic for your business will vocally let you know how you’re doing via retweets, likes, pins, shares, etc.

Be the Brightest Flower

Surfing through Longfield Gardens website, I always am drawn to the flowers with the brightest hues or shapes I’ve never seen before. In a world of constant overload, we’re immediately drawn and enamored with the unique.

You really have to prove to your followers that you understand them! Show that you care about their interests—even if they’re outside of your business.

By this point, you should have enough data on your key demographic to go beyond the superficial. Tap into their interests, problems, loves, dislikes, and deliver to them what they’re craving!
Your content should be unique! Followers want to hear your voice, and know they can count on you for out of the box content. Don’t worry; you can still recycle content. Just recycle content wisely!

Before long, your business will be booming, and you should be feeling like you’re beginning to understand the intricacies of the social media balancing act. Reevaluate every month or so just make sure you’re on pace. And please, share your sanity tips with us!

Learn how to integrate Instagram into your garden business's media plan with our e-book below!

Special thanks to Panoramic Interactive for the image!

~Katie

Is Facebook Still Cool? The 101 for Industry Leaders

A New Year means out with the old and in with the new, so where exactly does that put Facebook? Facebook has over 1 billion users, so it’s definitely here to stay. Yet, the social media mogul certainly is changing.

Facebook is no longer for the hip and the young. It’s simply transforming how we connect and communicate with all ages. This year the average age of a Facebook user has officially bumped up to 30.

Facebook’s revolution means that it is even MORE powerful than ever. Facebook still has twice the user base of Twitter; plus, 60% of Facebook users check into the site daily.

Even in 2013, Facebook is still rocking it, which means you and your business need to rock it too! To help you get Facebook Fabulous, adapt some of the tips below ,and watch the users and interactions fly in.

Pop a Photo

In our text-heavy world, we just want a pretty picture. Isn’t that why Instagram is gaining more and more followers every day? Translate that visual beauty to your Facebook page. A post with a photo gets 39% more interaction. Try uploading an image that will make your fans smile or laugh, even if it has nothing to do with your business-- as long as it's consistent with your brand!

Make sure the photos are unique to your green, garden brand. Flaunt your individuality with an image that captures your company’s vibe. Maybe the prettiest bloom in the office?

Show Your Digital Teeth : D

Humans want to connect to each other with nonverbal cues, but in the digital world of Facebook, we need to make due. Enter the emoticon. Let the world know what you’re feeling not with a lengthy poem, but with a click of your keyboard. 57% higher likability happens when you include any emoticon. Wondering what’s the most popular? Just look up : D ! Second in line, : P

Short is Oh So Sweet

Facebook doesn’t have a character limit, but there have been times when I wish it did! Posts should be short and simple. Cut to it already! A long post every now and then is alright, but let’s be frank: if you have a lengthy soliloquy, take it the company blog. 80 characters or less is the optimal length.

Be Direct

If you want your fans to like/share/comment on a post, just say so! Fans want to help you out; they love your brand—that’s why they’re there! Lay all your cards on the table, and speak your mind. Plus, when you write the direction out, your results will improve significantly.

Craving even more Facebook tips? Satisfy your hunger with our page-turning e-book below.

3 Tips: How Social Media Can Help Grow Your Garden Business

At Garden Media Group, we tweet, post on Facebook, pin our interests, and of course, stay LinkedIn. After all, social media has become a major component of any effective PR campaign.
In 2011, 65% of adult internet users were using at least one social media site, and this percentage rose 4% from 2010. For more staggering social media statistics, check out this fantastic, eye-opening infographic from Media Bistro.

The pool of social media users continues to grow rapidly, so we’ve got to jump in!
Below are three simple, yet effective tips to make your social media snappy and memorable!

1. The Power of Suspense

We’ve all read a crime novel that instantly sucks us in with a cliff-hanger, and the same principle can be applied to PR pieces. Humans are by nature curious, so when writing, keep this in the forefront of your mind!
 Why keep reading an article if the headline says it all? Play up the mystery when titling a piece. Dangle the informational carrot, and entice your audience to keep reading.

2. Live in the Now

PR Newswire and BusinessWire both send out 1,000 press releases a day! With all of that competition, your press release has to stand out somehow. Keeping afoot of current events will allow you to cater to your audience.
Connecting the news and your press release will ensure it comes up in Google searches while also being of interest to readers.

3. Make Your Words Dance!

Painting a picture with words is a must when writing, but when writing on the web, harness the many interactive apps and videos. Words can only do so much, so instead, complement the writing with a fun, informative video to increase readers.
Readers online crave multimedia presentations of all kinds, though video footage proves to be a favorite. Online writers have the option to truly illustrate their points and products, so take advantage of the many resources and increase readers at the same time.

Using social media is easy, but using it to its full potential takes expertise. Download this ebook to learn more expert tips about the role of social media in public relations!

 

6 Tips to Add Social Media to Your PR

I read this article by Bill Miltenberg, in PR News about 6 Tips for Optimizing News Releases.

I thought I'd share them with you:

Here's what Bill had to say in his opening: "While the press release is not dead by any means, a plain-text version is quickly becoming an anachronism in the digital age.

"A well-written release packed with punchy quotes is still a fundamental way to tell your brand's story to the media, but it's when PR pros optimize their releases (and online media centers, too) for social media and search that they can really maximize their reach. Sally Falkow, social media strategist at Meritus Media and a speaker at the upcoming Social Media Summit/Taste of Tech event on June 21-22 in New York City, says it’s essential to integrate social media within press releases.

According to Bill, Sally says, “You want to make sure that you have sharing buttons on every piece of your content—videos, infographics, press releases, articles.”

It is all news content and should be treated as such. Below, Sally provides six tips for optimizing a news release for social media.

1.Include Photos: "Adding images and video increases views on your news content by as much as 77%, according to a PR Newswire study," says Falkow. However, this might not be the place to insert your brand's latest Instagram photos. Opt for more professional, high-resolution and standard format (typically JPEG) photos.

2.Provide Options: "Add more than one image, so that there is a choice for bloggers and journalists," says Falkow. This allows them to choose an image that fits their take on the story. Supply source codes and URLs for all images. Also consider including charts, slide decks, PDFs and infographics. If you're including an executive's take in the release—especially if they're quotes that Steve Jobs would be proud of—include their photo and add links to their bios and social profiles.

3.Keep Things Pinteresting: "Pin all images to a Pinterest board and link back to the press release in your newsroom," says Falkow. Pinterest is a great visual medium, an effective touch point for influencers, a valuable information aggregator and a perfect platform for sharing. (Not on Pinterest yet? Consider these 5 tips for kick-starting your efforts today.)

4.Add a short video: "85% of all media Web sites now use video, and many of them are looking for completed videos from an outside source," says Falkow. Supply the embed code for the video so that they can immediately embed it on their Web site or blog, and pin the video to the Pinterest board.

5.Highlight Keywords: "Tag all the content with the keywords that will make it easy to find in search or social sites to boost your SEO efforts," says Falkow. "Use words you think a journalist might use to search for when writing story on a topic."

6.Include Icons: Add icons that connect to all social content from the company and provide social sharing links so others can like your news on Facebook, tweet it right from your news release, post it to a host of other social sites or e-mail it to friendr.

Follow Bill Miltenberg: @bmiltenberg

Attend PR News’ two-day Social Media Summit/Taste of Tech event June 21-22 in New York City and learn more from digital leaders like Sally Falkow.

GMG Monday Espresso: Celebrate the 'Little Victories' in Social Media ROI

PR News interviewed Danielle Brigida, social media manager for the National Wildlife Federation, about measuring the ROI of social media.

Danielle says it can be a complicated process—but it doesn't have to be. She is not only a believer in the absolute importance of gaining expertise in PR measurement. She claims, instead, that the process itself is about having fun and being social.

Here is the interview:

PR News: What are the first few steps PR pros can take in tying social media metrics to outcomes?

Danielle Brigida: Pick both quantitative and qualitative key performance indicators to measure. Stick with a few of the most important metrics and pay attention to the outcomes both in real time and over time. Some people like the view from above and others want to get incredibly specific. I think creating a consistent report is helpful because you then stick to it.

PR News: What advice can you share with other nonprofits or small businesses about proving ROI to senior management?


Brigida: Increasing the communication is key. Document little victories and make sure the expectations of your leaders are realistic. My experience with social media leads me to believe that what you invest in social media is what you get out of it.


PR News: What should be taken under consideration when choosing social media measurement tools?


Brigida: The biggest question you should ask yourself is what capacity you have to manage the tools. Also, if you stick to the rule that you’re spending about 15-20% of your time measuring, you can identify what will make things easy for you. Budget is also incredibly important. There is a huge price range for social media measurement tools—balancing your budget with free tools and paid tools can be a good solution.

Brigida promises those who attend her talk at the PR Measurement Conference next Wednesday, April 18 in DC will learn to have fun measuring social media!

Suzi
Garden Media Group

Social Media: The New EgoSystem Lets Us All Be Popular

Trying to wrap our head around the social networking phenomena has been a challenge for most people. It's mind boggling how much people want to share about their personal lives.

But I've had several aha moments to shed some light on the subject from several sources. The first was from Kyle Lacey who said a dozen times in one day, "Social media, as is 90% narcissism."

WOW! That's it. It's all about me.

How many friends do I have?
How many "likes" do I have?
How many followers on Twitter or connections on LinkedIn?
How many people retweet my stuff?
And, OMG, what's my Klout score? (And, secretly, wanting to know, is it higher than my friends?)

It's enough to drive one to become obsessed! Or even possessed!

I must admit, when I first started "fishing for friends", I made it a game. I'd zero in on someone I liked and admired and then made it my goal to get more friends, followers or connections than they had. It became a social obsession and ate up a lot of time and energy.

But apparently, I'm not alone.

According to The New York Times Insights, 68% of the people who share do so to make themselves "look better"!

And then today I read two great blog posts by Brian Solis, a big name in new media who has extensively studied the effects of emerging media on business, marketing, publishing, and culture. I'm pretty sure he coined the term "egosystem" several years ago, and I've probably been in the dark about it.

But I see the light now. Social media has opened up the floodgates and given everyone, from 5 year olds to grandmothers to revolutionaries, the ability to show off on a big stage and get lots of feedback. Or none at all. But either way, you keep "showing off".

Today I want to share a post from Brian on how big Facebook's reach is - bigger than the population of Europe, with Russia included. And only second behind China in the number of Internet users. It's huge.

The relevance to business, Brian sums it up by saying, "In the face, pun intended, of an important migration from that of a destination web to that of a social egosystem, businesses must rethink their web strategy. No longer is having a centralized www presence enough to satisfy the needs of online consumers. I’ve long maintained that businesses must augment their traditional web site with that of a social home page as well as a mobile experience. Catering to attention where it is focused is the only way to earn relevance in a new era of social consumerism. In doing so, businesses must also adopt a new mindset that doesn’t simply market to consumers the same old way just in new networks, but instead fosters meaningful engagement and connections by providing value…as defined by the very consumers you’re trying to reach."

As Adam Kmiec, head of Walgreens social media said in a post in 2009, "The rise of social media has simply given everybody the ability to stroke their own ego in public. And let’s be honest, it’s no fun stroking your ego in the comforts of your own home and without an audience."

Brian goes on to say, "This is your time to not only earn Likes, but also make them count now and in the long term."

WOW! It really is all about being popular!

Suzi
Garden Media Group

How to Navigate the 7 C's of Social Media

If social media is making your head spin, you are not alone. Social media and other Internet tools are still in the wild west stage. There are no rules. There are little analytics. And the players can pop out of nowhere, even surprising themselves with their instant Internet fame.

I'm an English major, not a math wizard, but this makes sense to me. 1X1 equals what? One! That's old media. No dialogue. No conversation. No engagement. Now let's say you share some news with 100 of your closest friends . . . and they share your news with 100 of their closest friends. Now that 1X1 becomes 1X100X100 or 10,000! That's why you want to put social media in your marketing tool box. You can reach incredible numbers with the click of a mouse.

If that's not convincing you to ramp up your social marketing, check out these facts:

Fact: 50% of all US adults now use some form of social networking. 65% of adult Web users in the U.S use social tools. (Pew Research Center)

Fact: Boomers Internet usage of social networking on a typical day grew a whopping 60%. (Pew)

Fact: 3 Billion views a day on YouTube. 25 times more than the Super Bowl audience (20/20)

Fact: 48 hours of new video uploaded to YouTube every minute. More in a day than all the networks combined create in a year. (20/20)

Fact: QR Scanning has increased 1,200% from May to December of 2010.

Fact: The Marketing Trifecta has shifted from broadcast, print and direct mail to social, email and mobile.

Fact: 68% of people who share on the Internet, do so to make themselves look better. (New York Times Insights)

But social is not really "new" to public relation pros. After all, word of mouth is the essence of PR. Social media is really only a new tool in our PR tool box, based on the tried and true principals of any good PR program.

So how do you navigate the sea of content and tools to produce videos, blogs and business opportunities? Here's is what we know from the 7 C's of Social Media to Win Customers' Hearts:

1. Create a Grand Goal. If you don't know why you are doing social media and where you want it to take you, you are just wasting your time and resources. Get this one right from the beginning to save time and money.

2. Create a Clear Path. Once you decide where you want to go, make a plan. Decide who is going to drive social media and how long you plan on the trip to take and how much you plan to spend to get there.

3. Create a Valuable Why. Social Media is not Selling Media. This is a tool to make friends, build credibility and get people engaged in a conversation about you and your brands. The why needs to be what's in it for the end user, not what's in it for you.

4. Create an Engaging Personality. How do you make yourself popular? Ah, check out our secrets.

5. Create Magnetic Content. You don't have to create new content every time you post. Don't reinvent the wheel. Become a "curator of content" -- repost content from people you respect that your audience will want to know about.

6. Create Customer Hubs. The Internet is all about community. Create an online family that you support and they support you. Give your customers a place to "brag" about their success.

7. Create the Buzz. Make the news happen. Don't wait for it to happen. And then tell everyone about the news you just made happen. Just check out Costa Farms "Growing Style" digital magazine.

Not much has changed since junior high school. We all still want to be popular. The Internet is now making that possible for anyone . . . not just cheerleaders and football stars.

Suzi
Garden Media Group

Costa Farms Social Summit Blooms

Costa Farms Social Summit held in Miami earlier this month was a huge hit. Everyone was blown away by seeing hundreds of thousands of orchids, ferns, succulents, cacti and other tropical plants in one location.

Here are what a few of our friends had to say about their visit:

Justin Hancock, BHG.com editor, pictured here in orchid heaven, had this to say: "Last week I had the pleasure of traveling to Costa Farms, one of the coolest companies in the horticultural industry."

Justin says the the Costa Farms trial gardens, which are open to the public, are "definitely worth checking out if you’re in the area. "

Martha Stewart Living senior associate garden editor Stacey Hirvela (pictured here with me) wrote two blog posts. In her first post "Meet Maria Costa Smith, Stacey told us about Costa Farms' sustainable initiatives. "Maria told us about some of the things that they are doing to be a smarter, better source for plants. While they are working on addressing all of the sustainability issues I mentioned, it is the packaging that gardeners will notice most." Click here to read more and take Stacey's packaging survey.

In the second post, entitled "Sublime Reputation", Stacey talks more about the plants. "When I was down in Miami visiting Costa Farms, one of the most stunning sights was the sheer quantity and precision of their growing ranges. It's pretty unbelievable to be standing in a room with nearly three quarters of a million orchids, or 60 acres of nothing but Boston ferns." Stacey posted lots of great pictures to give you an idea of the scope of the Florida nursery.

Christopher Tidrick actually won a social media contest to attend, and we're glad he did. What a delight he is. He did a great post Plants with a Purpose, A Plantsman with Passion , calling the trip to the Costa Farms greenhouses "a visual experience so surreal, there aren't really words that can do it justice." But he found the words and really recapped everything -- from Costa Farms O2 for You educational program, to the Wall Street Journal's recent article to a wonderful profile of Mike Rimland.

Here we all are in our guayaberas, or Cuban wedding shirts for our closing dinner. What fun to be Cuban for a night!

Stacey, Garden Media Group

Did you miss Suzi on WebCast One LIVE?

Yesterday our very own Suzi McCoy was the guest on WebCast One Live!

Suzi was talking with Michael Libbie about garden trends on his show called Insight on Business with Michael Libbie. Insight is on Monday – Thursday and walks through the world of advertising, marketing and consumer trends. You’ll learn what works, what doesn’t and how traditional and social media can boost your marketing footprint.

Definitely worth watching...(FYI, video below starts @ :18) If the video does not load you can view it here...




-Karen


GMG

Costa Social Summit Debuts March 10

The Buzz has begun. Costa Farms is launching its first-ever Social Media Summit March 9th- 11th, and we have a great group of buzz makers attending, including:

• Justin Hancock, BH&G
• Steve Bender, Grumpy Gardener/Southern Living
• Stacey Hirvela, Martha Stewart Living
• Judy Lowe, Christian Science Monitor
• Aaron Able, Apartment Therapy/Re-nest
• Nikki Novo, Daily Candy
• Helen Yoest, Gardening with Confidence
• Brenda Haas, BG Garden
• Chris Tidrick, From the Soil

These socializers will meet with Costa plant experts, get a sneak peek at new plant introductions growing in the beautiful new Costa trial gardens, tour the world-class growing facilities, and learn about the benefits of indoor plants.

Plus soak up some much needed Florida sunshine, eat some great Cuban food and maybe even dance a salsa or two!

From acres and acres of orchids and indoor plants to color, color, color, Costa's facilities are more than just a nursery. Stay tuned to see why!

Stacey and I have our bags packed and are heading south!

Suzi, Garden Media Group