Do you own a cannabis company? A CBD startup? An ancillary business?
If so, you probably already know that the quality of the content you give your customers matters — a lot.
And you probably also already know that the cannabis industry is subject to pretty severe marketing limitations. Cannabis companies can’t run paid Facebook ads, sell their products on Amazon, or allow just anyone to access their websites (most states mandate an age verification opt-in of some sort). Marijuana marketing is complicated!
And despite all this . . . content marketing still matters. Here’s why.
- Content marketing/Cannabis Marketing 101
- How marketing works for cannabis companies
- How to brand your business (the right way)
- Is content really king? What about SEO content?
- The future of cannabis marketing
Content marketing/Cannabis Marketing 101
Let’s start with the basics. What is content marketing?
Content marketing is simply the act of sharing content that’s relevant, educating, and interesting with your target audience.
Content marketing usually takes one of four forms:
- Written words
- Spoken words
- Pictures
- Videos
Despite what you might be thinking, all four types of content are important. Video content may be enjoying its moment in the spotlight today, but written content is still critical to attract new customers to your business. And spoken content — like podcasts — make it easy for longtime customers to dive deep into what you’re all about. Above all else, the goal of your business’s content should be to be useful.
How marketing works for cannabis companies
A 2018 article in the Rolling Stone described CBD’s explosive popularity this way: “this industry has grown out of nowhere, based on word of mouth marketing.”
The medical marijuana industry has followed a nearly identical upward path. Since cannabis marketers can’t always take the easy route and get paid ads, they have to relate to customers a little more organically. Building email lists, winning over social media influencers, and gathering plenty of positive reviews on your products are all winning methods.
Legal cannabis companies also face an uphill battle when it comes to addressing cannabis-related stigmas. Even after legalization, some people still view cannabis as a dirty, sinful, racially-divisive plant. CBD products can also get an undeserved bad rap. As cannabis companies, it’s our collective job to shed some light on these types of misconceptions!
Critical to all these goals is a little something called the brand-building process. A company’s brand and brand voicing can either make or break its business…
How to brand your business (the right way)
That’s what social media expert and serial entrepreneur Gary Vee thinks, at least. “Brand is the only protector to lots of money and lots of scale,” he explained to Greenentrepreneur. “Build the brand. Bring value to people that are trying to put your product in their stores. Build awareness around its brand.”
Gary Vee goes on to stress the importance of creating content consistently. Keep your voice and content dialed in for long enough, and customers will eventually come to know and love your brand:
“You put out content every day [anyways]. If it starts with, ‘I’m curious about it, or ‘I’m going to go on a journey to figure out if’, or ‘There’s something in my gut that tells me’,” then you’re more likely to win people over,” he said.
And if you haven’t found your brand’s voice yet? We can help with that and help your brand stand out in the cannabis market. Hashtag #beyou.
Is content really king? What about SEO content?
“Content is King,” Bill Gates said in a 1996 essay.
He went on to explain what that meant in an almost prophetic fashion. “Content is where I expect much of the real money will be made on the internet. […] No company is too small to participate.”
This concept is even more true today. Many customers won’t even do business with a company they can’t relate to over the internet — a company with a visually-appealing, content-rich website.
Successful cannabis brands need to be feeding their customers new, novel, engaging content as often as possible. Even brick-and-mortar cannabis businesses like dispensaries need to provide customers online content. Even local businesses should optimize their SEO so new customers can find them via search engine, and the COVID crisis has taught us that every retailer should have some e-commerce options. Either make some noise…or be forgotten!
The future of cannabis marketing (social media, SEO, and more)
Does all this content creation sound like a kind of daunting process?
We’ll be honest: it sure can be. That’s exactly why our team at Leaf Contact is bringing the cannabis world an easier way of doing things. As a one-stop Digital Marketing Agency, we have extensive experience managing every facet of a cannabis brand’s content marketing/digital marketing, including:
- Social Media
- SEO
- PPC
- Digital Consulting
- Web Design
- Content Marketing
We can also handle your cannabis advertising, digital advertising, email marketing, influencer marketing, marketing campaigns, marketing strategy, social network presence, and more. Is your brand ready to stand out in the cannabis space and become a top presence on social media platforms?
If so, we’d love to help with that! Leave your marketing program to us and focus on running your business.
You can learn more about our services here. We’d be happy to talk with you and send over some marketing ideas.
