The cannabis business environment has undergone immense change over the years due to regulatory and legalization efforts. However, today’s digital age presents cannabis business owners with several tactics they can use to advertise their products and services.
Here are some things you should know about the cannabis industry and effective digital marketing strategies to reach your target audience successfully:
The marketing of cannabis and CBD products can be difficult due to legal restrictions, including the following:
Challenges of Marketing Marijuana
Cannabis marketing isn’t as easy as it looks. One has to wade through a ton of regulations and overcome many challenges to do a successful marketing campaign for this specific product. Let me tell you the ways.
Lack of Cooperation from Ecommerce Companies
One issue cannabis entrepreneurs face is that despite many states legalizing marijuana, major e-commerce brands continue to refrain from cooperating with marijuana companies. Determining the actual amount of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) in cannabidiol is complex and presents a marketing challenge to canna-businesses.
Unlicensed Dealers
Some customers purchase cannabis on the streets because it is cheaper than buying it from a store. However, this reliance on an illegal source of income leads to problems: it becomes difficult for companies to advertise, which leads to cash flow constraints on the part of those companies.
Issues Verifying Customers’ Identities
To verify the age of their customers, cannabis companies must rely on the date of birth, address, and other personal information. However, customers may alter essential documents during the purchase process, exposing merchants to criminal liability.
Strict Regulations
The cannabis industry must follow strict regulations regarding advertising. These legal requirements can cause delays, resulting in lost revenue for e-commerce merchants.
Supply Issues and Lack of Clear Distribution Channels
Due to increasing demand and distribution constraints, cannabis businesses have difficulty keeping up with inventory and sales. Part of the problem is that marijuana remains illegal in many parts of the country, so few legal delivery channels exist.
ABCs of Successful Cannabis Marketing
For cannabis businesses, creating brand awareness can be challenging, given the various legal, ethical, and practical challenges companies face. Here are some strategies you can use.
Social Media Presence
Companies sometimes use social media for marketing their products, but different platforms tend to have separate policies. For example, Twitter and LinkedIn allow the promotion of particular brands and companies, but Instagram does not. A company may also use Facebook messenger for excellent customer service.
Search Engine Optimization
Optimizing your web content is one of the most effective tactics to increase your search engine rankings. However, some well-known brands rank highly for relevant and high-value keywords. To increase your visibility through content marketing, you may wish to optimize local searches. This will involve including local keywords in your content, updating your Google My Business account, soliciting quality reviews, and building your link profile.
Email marketing
Marketing through email can be applied to your business in a variety of ways, including offering incentives to join your email list after making a purchase in your store or providing a call-to-action on your website.
SMS Messaging
Text messaging has become a popular way to communicate through mobile devices. Research shows that users have high open rates and that the SMS channel offers an effective way to market products to customers and reach a wide audience. However, be careful not to violate laws regarding unsolicited electronic messages or spam; this could result in legal penalties for you and your company.
Paid Search
Paid search can help target the right customers and drive qualified traffic to your website. However, Google has a policy that does not allow paid advertising for cannabis-related products. It would be advisable to focus your search-related efforts on SEO and GMB optimization until this policy changes. Who knows? Maybe in the next few years, the people from Google will be more open to cannabis-related advertising.
Cannabis-Related Websites and Blogs
Blogs and social media websites focused on marijuana can be a useful way to market your cannabis business. However, to effectively use these platforms, you need to identify which blogs and related sites are most relevant. Once you have determined these sites, you can reach out to them using guest posting, display ads, or other marketing strategies.
Maximize Affiliate Marketing
Affiliate marketing can help broaden your reach and make a satisfactory return on investment. Since influencers have many followers and a high degree of trustworthiness, this strategy allows you to reach new customers without investing large sums of money in paid advertisements. Additionally, you will find that influencers can help your brand or company generate organic traffic instead of relying on paid ads.
Out-of-Home Advertising
The increasing acceptance of cannabis has led to the appearance of out-of-home advertising for cannabis. While state regulations and restrictions have not yet caught up with the pace of the industry, this form of marketing is becoming an effective way to reach a broad audience and create a buzz around your brand.
We can help you develop a cannabis branding strategy!
Choosing an effective marketing strategy, leveraging the right channels, and implementing a good marketing campaign can help your cannabis business grow. That’s where we come in!
Marketing research shows that your consumers are more likely to buy the product after reading an educational article. Our marketing agency will help you create a professional campaign that has an excellent chance of increasing your website’s organic traffic.
We can help you develop and execute a comprehensive marketing strategy that builds brand awareness, attracts new customers, and drives sales. Our team of cannabis marketing specialists will advise you on the most effective social media platforms and ad formats to use in your marketing campaign while staying within the guidelines of Facebook and Instagram.
As digital marketing experts, we know how to execute a flawless marketing campaign that increases your website traffic while keeping you on budget.
