Are You Playing with Fire Marketing Your Cannabis Brand on Social Media?
Marketing and advertising for the cannabis industry is very tricky these days. The one place an opportunity does exist is on social media, but it’s a double-edged sword.
While it can be a great platform to build brand awareness, if you migrate into gray areas or try to sell rather than just build brand awareness you could lose your social media accounts very quickly.
The last thing you want to do is start from square one again, so you need to understand that marketing using social media can be a good option (it’s one of the only ones available) but if it’s not done correctly you will sink fast and struggle to regain any momentum that was gained. Let’s break this down.
Traditional marketing and advertising is a no-go.
Social media is the main focal point because traditional advertising just won’t work, simply because most channels will not take on cannabis ads according to experts at Royal CBD. Specifically:
- The FCC will not allow cannabis ads on television or radio.
- Print media is hesitant to run cannabis ads in fear of pushing away long-term advertisers (especially with so much uncertainty in the cannabis industry now).
Now, there are some cannabis industry routes to take. You can easily take out a full-page ad in a cannabis magazine, but then you are competing with a bunch of other similar companies and the people reading those publications are probably well aware of the options.
You will never reach a new audience that way, which is why a lot of the focus is on using social media.
Cannabis social media marketing pitfalls.
If you are not careful, using social media as your marketing platform can be like playing with fire. With so many cannabis companies turning to social media it’s created a very competitive niche.
The money needed to be competitive is up there, and if you are careless you can get your social media profiles disabled and even banned. Imagine sinking all of that time and money into rowing a Facebook page, Instagram profile and Twitter account only to have them disappear one day, with no chance of getting them back.
What to do in order to safeguard your accounts:
- Make sure your content never includes ‘how to’ explanations. You never want to discuss the growing process or even how to use the product(s).
- Avoid posting images of the cannabis plant or any paraphernalia (this is where creativity comes into play).
- Never post any content involving people using cannabis in any way, shape or form.
- Don’t post prices as it can be viewed as attempt to sell (always think branding and never direct selling).
Final Thoughts
You have to follow this advice, regardless of what segment of the cannabis industry you are in. There is a fine line to walk, and it doesn’t matter if you are a dispensary operating in a state where cannabis is 100% legal, or if you are a grower – you have to be compliant at all times and understand the United States is still very much divided and the law is still not clearly understood.
A good example of great marketing and general expertise in the cannabis industry is Secret Nature. They have a way of helping their clients learn how to choose the best CBD products, and change their lives for the better. That is how you earn a repeat client, and continue to have business and income for years to come.
