Facebook. Instagram. YouTube. LinkedIn. Pinterest. Social media has transformed the way businesses and customers interact since its inception. Then, with trends like Snapchat and TikTok, emerging social platforms and features continue to change that landscape through which individuals express themselves and identify with communities.
According to eMarketer, the average US adult spent 3 hours and 43 minutes a day on a mobile device in 2019. Targeting and connecting with customers where they are already spending time makes social media a powerful tool in the marketing mix. This is particularly true when it comes to the CBD or cannabis industry since paid advertising cannot be run about these products.
Social media is sustained by the generation of consistent and quality content. Therefore, there are some best practices that should be implemented to use this marketing channel and grow your CBD brand.
Use keywords and hashtags.
Social media platforms can operate like their own microcosms within online communities. Identifying keywords, like you would when implementing SEO strategies for your website or blog posts, and using them in your social posts helps users find exactly what they are looking for.
This could be through the plain text caption, but it could also be via hashtags or even alt text on images. However, it is important to be careful and do your research – especially with hashtags!
Instagram is notorious for banning “sensitive” hashtags, including those with the world ‘cannabis’ in them. Be sure to look up the hashtags you want to use and make sure they won’t get you flagged or hide your post from the algorithm.
Despite the challenges, when done carefully, these techniques of optimization can help attract potential customers that are already looking for you, or for related content, without them even knowing it.
Post regularly.
Audiences of all ages and niches are active on social media, posting content to others within the community as it relates to them. Any user on these platforms, therefore, needs to identify the best time to post and how often to do so to avoid getting lost in the wrong crowd.
For instance, a restaurant is likely going to post on Instagram between one to three times a day, everyday, around times when their audience begins to get hungry and think about their next meal. Likewise, a CBD brand needs to analyze when their particular consumer base is on a given social platform and how often it makes sense to push out content.
Diversify your content.
As with anything, your CBD brand will not see the desired return on investment without spending a substantial amount of time and resources to create social content. Tempting as it may be, depending on sharing only one form of content to educate and promote your audience is not the best use of social media.
Instead, use other formats, such as videos, podcasts, ephemeral content (like ‘stories’), gifs/boomerangs, etc. Communicating your message through diverse forms of media will make a greater impact on your audience, providing your business with the engagement and buzz you want for a CBD brand.
Make use of influencers.
With all the restrictions on cannabis marketing, most methods of advertising cannot be used for CBD brands. With traditional marketing efforts out of the picture, your CBD brand has to be incredibly creative to really leverage the use of social media advertising.
One of the loopholes to all these restrictions is the use of influencers. An influencer is any person or platform that has influence over an audience. These influencers tend to be content creators in some way, and many become brand ambassadors. In doing so, they are not directly working for or representing the brand or company, but instead acting as an individual recommending a product or brand. Influencer marketing lets cannabis and CBD brands promote their products without getting tangled up in the mess of marketing legalities.
Keeping up with legislation surrounding social media platforms is hard with the cannabis and CBD industry, especially if you want to multiply your growth (and your sales!) with paid advertising. However, implementing best practices to avoid account restrictions and draw your target audience to your profiles will benefit your brand and allow you to thrive on social media.
