How Social Media Benefits Your Cannabis Business
From grow operations and lab testing facilities to delivery services and marijuana dispensaries, new businesses and brands are seeking to leverage the benefits of digital marketing.
One of the biggest hurdles facing the blooming cannabis industry is, of course, the federal scheduling of marijuana. Because of the nature of their product, marijuana businesses are under intense scrutiny when it comes to how they market themselves. And, although the future of cannabis is still being shaped on a national level, smart cannabis companies can immediately employ a variety of digital marketing strategies to build their brand and their reach.
How does this help my business?
The dynamism of digital marketing makes it ideal for cannabusinesses both large and small in more ways than one. Not only are more people online than ever, but digital marketing allows cannabrands to measure the success of their strategies through performance metrics like impressions, clicks, conversion rates, and even brand loyalty.
The ability to actively measure the successes of your marketing plan for medical marijuana and adult use cannabis enables a company to leverage key metrics into a responsive and dynamic marketing strategy. Some examples of digital marketing include websites, blogs, and search engine optimization of both, in addition to online advertising, email marketing, and social media outreach.
Key Components of a Digital Marketing Plan
Content Creation is king.
While an optimized web design is crucial to your online success, high-quality and informative content is one of the most important characteristics of any online promotional strategy. Digital content marketing is an effective tool cannabis companies can use to build a stronger brand while increasing traffic and engagement.
High quality content with the intent to build credibility is extremely important, especially in a very young market. Building an online presence based on credibility and confidence is a crucial aspect of being a respected brand.
Hire Cannabranders to help you navigate pay-per-click and social media
When it comes to balancing the demands of business with some of the realities of the cannabis industry, federal restrictions on marijuana mean that traditional advertising outlets aren’t an option.
Currently, cannabusinesses and bands have experienced restrictions imposed by Google and social media platforms like Facebook and Instagram. Many platforms will deny ads that contain words like marijuana, cannabis, pot, weed, hash, and ganja, so getting the right keywords for cannabis campaigns can be difficult without professionals.
Leverage social media for organic growth instead of promotions
If you spend time on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, or even Pinterest, you know there is no shortage of marijuana inspired content. There’s content for every nuance of evolving cannabis culture; the key is knowing how to leverage your content to extend your brand’s organic reach.
As a company in the business of cannabis, the challenge for marijuana companies is not in posting content, but in promoting it. As of the summer of 2017, practically all major social media channels have denied marijuana-related ads. Some will even take down entire pages even though no illegal activity has taken place. Despite the hurdles in navigating these platforms, social media platforms are still a way to reach your audience organically; you just have to stay savvy about your content.
Connect with your audience through their inbox
Although it may be tempting to ride the wave of social media, email marketing remains one of the most robust marketing solutions for brands looking to connect with their audiences. According to research published by the Direct Marketing Association, email marketing’s return on investment is a sky-high 4,300%.
Not only is email marketing less restrictive, but marijuana companies can also use it to deliver value to their audience via their inbox. Whether it’s a product promotion or an industry update, email marketing is a fantastic digital marketing tool cannabis brands can use without breaking the law.
Start Seeing the Benefits of Digital Marketing Today
While the end of marijuana prohibition will inevitably see a transformation of how cannabranders can reach their audiences, when it comes to dispensary marketing or developing a marketing plan for medical marijuana brands, dynamism is key to any strategy.
In an industry where the best strategy today may not be the best strategy for tomorrow, make sure that you’re working with a content marketing consultant that can help your marijuana business take on the challenges of tomorrow.