Greens Canna Care

Are you looking to market your cannabis or CBD business – well here is some advice on doing so.

1. Content & Website

Here are ways you can use content to help with your cannabis marketing:

• Create Visual Content

Visuals are considered as the leading way to market a product or business. Remember, eyes are the window to the soul; pictures are worth a thousand words, and videos are worth a million. As such, taking advantage of videos video contents and video websites will help market your business. with this in mind, you should create short and yet interesting video contents and posting them on YouTube or Vimeo

To optimize your videos, you should consider using catchy titles, quality images, links to your website, and your city in the video’s description. Including contact information and address will also help. It is important to use about 250 words to describe the video, and do not forget to include your keyword.

• Guest Content Writers

Marketing is all about attracting attention from everywhere. As such, a great way to get more attention to your website is through guest content writers. What does this mean? Well, it simply means giving other content writes an opportunity to write a content for your website. There are times when you will not know what to write about. However, with the help of guest content writer, you may get a smashing content. Also, guest bloggers carry their influence and popularity.

• Target Your Contents To Local Customers

The truth is that cannabis as a business has a bit of limitation and this is you cannot sell to the whole world. This is generally due to local laws and the product itself. This means that you can sell locally (in your location). As such, when you create contents for your websites, they should target local customers. This simply means that all contents must be written by people directly around you. Generally, the contents you create should reach people within 5 miles around your store.

Even if you have other sister businesses, you should create contents in such a way that will fit and make sense for each location. Remember, relevant content is what Google and other search engines want and therefore you should come up with relevant contents. If you need help, Team MaryJane will help you.

Team MaryJane is a Denver based marketing agency specialized in SEO and creating content. We would love to be part of your team.

2. General Business Marketing

Here are ways you can use business marketing for cannabis marketing:

• Storefront Improvements

One way to attract potential customers is through your storefront. What does this mean? Well, a majority of potential customers evaluate a business depending on how their storefront looks like. Furthermore, creating a storefront Ad that is beautiful will make your business stand out from the rest. Therefore, if you have not taken advantage of storefront business decorations, you should consider doing just that. In other words, you should include your brand in everything and into all aspects of your marketing, which also includes your own presentation.

• Joining Local Groups

A good business marketer will take advantage of all avenues presented to them. you should take advantage of online platforms such as Meetup.com to find group meetups around your area. The good news is that you can find many cannabis related groups and topics. The groups are generally a great way to increase popularity around your area. Local groups may also help create a network with other cannabis brands. You will also get to learn more about customers and their preferences.

• Cannabis Conferences

Cannabis conferences are a great way to make personal and professional relationships. By going to cannabis tradeshows, expos, and industry conferences will help you get new ideas and ways to improve your business and marketing techniques. Furthermore, it is a great way to market your business through making connections with sellers. It is also a great way to cross-promote your brand.

• Cross-Promoting

Another great way to promote or market your brand is through cross-promoting with other local businesses. The cannabis industry offers a lot of mutual relationships, which is something you can take advantage of. What does this mean? For example, let us assume that a shop across the street wants more business, you can simply send your products there, and vise vasa. Remember, it is not a must to be on the same industry. They can be selling something like glass. In a nutshell, there are many opportunities to start some kind of a partnership or understanding.

3. Local SEO

Here are ways you can use Local SEO  for cannabis marketing:

• Take Advantage Of Local Listings

There are many listings such as the YellowPages and Yelp, one can use to market their business. They do not only help potential customers find a business easily, buy provide links and contact data to the website and store. Furthermore, there are many cannabis-related directories such as Leafbuyer, Leafly, and Weedmaps.

Remember, directories are there to help customers get in touch with a service provider with ease and vise vasa. However, it is important to note that there are some directories that are not popular and may affect your SEO and marketing method.

• Reviews

Another way to increase traffic to your store is through reviews. This is a marketing technique that has been around for several years now and generally, works like word of mouth. This is why it is also known as digital word of mouth marketing. You get reviews after dealing with a customer. If a customer is satisfied, request for a review. If they are not, improve your service.

• Use Everything Google Has

This means using Google AdWords, Google My Business, Google+, and even Google Analytics. All of them will help you with your SEO. Cannabis marketing is based on keyword and content marketing because advertising is a little tricky. With this in mind, it is important to note that Google products will help you boost your rank on the search engine result page (SERP). You should constantly use them to update all your keywords.

4. Social Media

Here are ways you can use social media for cannabis marketing:

• Love The Hashtag

Social media plays a very big role when it comes to marketing a business and Hashtag is the way user’s categories contents. In other words, a potential customer can locate your business by simply searching for hashtags. As such, you should always provide relevant contents and make them interesting for the content to generate leads. This will help you create your own community or followers. Anytime you use a hashtag, be specific and you should never use more hashtags than words.

• Share Local News

It is very difficult to create a strong bond with your followers, and very easy to break the bond. What does this mean? It simply means that it is very easy for followers to get bored with your contents. As such, you should find interesting ways to keep them entertained as well as informed. One way to achieve this is through local news regarding the cannabis industry. Including interesting research about the product will help.

Including other information such as your business, and generally, everything about the industry will help you keep your followers on the same page. Remember, many social media are a worldwide platform.

• Social Media Dedicated To Cannabis

There are many social media platforms dedicated to marijuana. The biggest and most popular platform is Massroots, which is considered as the Instagram of weed. Another platform is Duby, which is much similar to tinder. The only difference is that Duby it is for weed pictures and not finding dates. It is important to note that these social media platforms do not have many monthly users like Twitter or Facebook, but its users are ready for cannabis-related content. This simply means that you will not get a lot of engagements but you will get the best engagement.

• Joining Local Facebook Groups

Research has proven that Facebook is the leading social media in the world, with the biggest number of users. This is because Facebook is flexible and accommodates different types of groups and people’s interests. As such, there are hundreds, if not thousands of groups in every location. By taking advantage of these groups, which are cannabis related, you can increase your business’s popularity.

For example, in Denver, there are groups for gardeners, funny videos, much more. This simply means that you will get a cannabis-related group, which you can take advantage of. However, it is paramount to note that you should never get into a group with the intention of selling. Go in as yourself to build relationships, know what customers need, and market the business in a casual way. The way you share your information will determine the way you build your relationships.

• Social Media Monitoring

Research shows that there are two industries that have a huge buzz, which are the entertainment and the cannabis industries. America has made strides for creating good medical marijuana programs as well as legalizing the herb for those that need it. as such, it is important to know and keep an eye on what people are talking about. It does not matter if a person had a bad experience or there is a new cardholder, information is king. Through positive and negative information, find a way to connect. Without information, you cannot market your business well.

• Commenting On Relevant Websites And Blogs

Commenting on relevant blogs and websites is a great way to market your business. participating in active discussions will give you the tools to not only promote your business but understand what potential customers are looking for. As such, you should stay connected to channels, forums, websites, and blogs with relevant information about the industry. Remember, if your comment adds value to the general topic, you can add a link to your website, which is a great way to increase traffic to the website.

Furthermore, it is an opportunity for people to read the content you have regarding the topic. To be successful in marketing, you have to first need to be approachable.

Cannabis marketing experts have published informative and detailed information about the subject if you are looking to learn about the best practices of social media.

5. Organic SEO

Here are ways you can use SEO for cannabis marketing:

• Backlinks

SEO is paramount to marketing, especially on search engines. Therefore, to be successful with SEO, you will need to generate quality backlinks. According to Google, backlinks do have a high-ranking potential, especially if it goes hand in hand with a good content. Therefore, the more links you have with better and relevant information will help boost your overall SEO rank.

• The Homepage

The most authoritative and powerful page on a website is the homepage. It carries authority for search engines and does play a big role in the success of SEO. A good homepage should not be more than 600 words and include your keywords. A homepage is not only important to the search engine buy also potential customers or visitors.

A visitor should not take more than 3 seconds to know the services or products you are offering. Furthermore, it should include the business name, physical address, phone number, and any other important information.

• Use MetaTags

A metatag is a short text that describes a content on a specific page. Metatags do not appear on the page itself but do appear in a page’s code. They increase the rate of clicks through rates, which helps a page’s rank on the search engine. It generally helps a search engine to identify the content you and whether it is helpful to the user.

We run a UK cannabis marketing agency and have helped numerous people position their brands in the USA – here’s what we learned in the process

The federal and state laws, as well as the restrictions placed by social media platforms guidelines, can make marketing your cannabis brand a challenge. While you are fighting with this, your cannabis brand will also need to constantly prove your legitimacy to the critics of the industry. Fortunately, the cannabis industry is no stranger to a challenge and is used to having to be innovative in its approach so it can market brands to potential customers. If you are having problems marketing your cannabis brand, there are 5 ways that you can try to overcome the challenges that you are facing.

Utilise Smart Cannabis Marketing Create Compelling And Accurate Content Which Educates And Engages

The primary problem with the growing industry is the fact that there is a lot of opposition content which is generally not true. In response to this content, cannabis brands will need to focus not only on marketing their products, but also in teaching the public about cannabis. The content you have and the marketing you do will need to engage with people instead of providing passive information.

There are some creative ways of crafting a blog post which is about something that you are passionate about within your community. You could also host a Facebook video of different areas within your provisioning center or share some photos of your friendly budtenders along with a quick bio. You could also post your own responses to some emerging news and research in the industry.

These things will show that you are ready to work with, engage and be part of your potential customers’ lifestyle. It is also an attitude that will help customers pay attention to your brand. Your marketing is the tool that you use to gain attention even when the person is not sold on what you are doing. By projecting an educational and engaging image, any naysayers will be able to see that your business is legitimate and there is nothing nefarious going on with what you are offering to people.

Cannabis Marketers should Responsibly Use Social Media

Every cannabis business is sharing the pain of attempting to market their products on social media while staying on the right side of the regulations for these sites. Even if you have the best intentions, it is often hard to stay within the guidelines and not get your account shut down. This is where your creativity comes in handy.

You need to tread lightly and be careful with your language so you are not tripping the algorithms that these platforms use. An example of this will be the change that Instagram implemented in the way that cannabis brands are able to use their platform. This change stops brand from including location deals. Constantly being shut down is a bad reflection of your brand and it is up to you to ensure that you are adhering to the rules of the platforms that you are going to be using.

Look At Some Non-Traditional And Non-Mainstream Advertising Methods

With all the restrictions placed on cannabis brands by advertising platforms such as what content is allowed to be displayed, many brands are looking at other non-traditional methods to engage with their customers. It is important to note that these non-traditional methods will need more footwork than simply buying ad space. However, the payoff will be worthwhile.

You should look at creating, advertising and hosting educational events and speaker panels about topics which are important to the cannabis community. You should go and meet with medical doctors to talk about your brand instead of slipping them some information in a brochure. Find opportunities to be featured on cannabis podcasts or traditional radio shows where you can discuss your products and services. You should also look at taking part in trade shows as well as health and wellness fairs as this will place you in front of potential clients.

Become Your Community’s Expert On Cannabis

When you are an authority on cannabis in your community, you will not only help your brand grow, you will also give important stakeholders and the media a go-to on all things cannabis which will provide brand recognition as a thought leader. To leverage this method, you will need to make contacts with the media and some of the local legislators so that you can be their go-to authority and professional expert on all things cannabis and the impact it has on the community. When your dispensary’s name and your name are constantly seen as an expert, more traffic will be driven to your store and your products. This is due to the fact that people will trust your knowledge and opinion on products more than your competitors.

Bad Things Happen And It Is All About How You Deal With This

There is going to be a time when something terrible happens in your marketing strategy and this is something that no business is immune to. How your brand reacts to this situation is what counts and what will get you more customers or lose them. This is another time when creativity will come into play with your marketing.

If you have made a mistake in your marketing, whether it is the content or hitting the wrong nerve with your approach, you need to own up to your faults and be genuine about this. It is very easy to blame someone else or pretend that the problem is not happening, but these routes will generally turn people away from your brand. If you make a mistake, you need to look for the source of this and learn from it.

If there are people who are directly impacted by the mistake, you will need to alert them and provide them with information about the corrective measures you are taking to ensure this will not happen again. This might sound simple, but there are many brands that do not own up to their mistakes while fixing and learning from them. This is actually a tried and tested method of ensuring brand loyalty because it shows that your brand has integrity.

It May Not Be Perfect, But You Work With What You Have

Marketing your cannabis products is full of red tape and hurdles, which means that the best you can do is be creative and forge ahead. You need to model the way for responsible marketing and content which shines cannabis in the best possible light. You need to be a genuine and honest brand that is working in an imperfect industry and try to really educate people. This will solidify the relationship that you have with customers and will drive more of them to your brand. You will also find that they speak better of you to other people and this is important because word of mouth marketing is still gold. Friends love to take their friends to great shops and you want your shop to be one of their stops.