What You Need to Know About Marketing CBD on Social Media
Recently there has been a massive push from the cannabis industry to reach federal legalization. While there has been a lot of momentum achieved, there is still a lot more that needs to be done. In particular, CBD has been received positively with the federal government. The Farm Bill in December 2018 removed the substance from the FDA schedule of illegal substances, but it still remains on the DEA schedule.
A large number of companies are beginning to launch new CBD products in an attempt to capitalize on this legalization push. However, many of them are hitting obstacles with their marketing efforts as they realize most social media ad platforms prohibit ads for CBD, cannabis, or any other illegal substances. Even if the substance is legal in a specific state or region, these platforms are rejecting any and all ads.
Additionally, many of these platforms are becoming strict about the kind of content accounts can share with respect to CBD as well. Most notably, accounts need to stay away from making any medical claims about CBD. This is due to the FDA still holding out on verifying that CBD offers medical benefits. If you aim to push social media content, just make sure to focus on the surface level product and business, without directly claiming what the product will do.
Social media ads are a powerful tool for startups. Without them, CBD startups need to find a new way to stand out from their competition online. Luckily, there are still ways to effectively market your CBD brand on social media.
1. Physically reach out to your local community
A typical consumer will turn to Google to solve their needs, so it makes sense for someone looking for CBD oil to first Google “CBD oil near me.” Social media will not help you capture this demographic consumer. In order to boost sales from the people around you, try to invest in some physical marketing campaigns.
This might include distributing a series of handouts at local organic coffee shops or creating a large sign to advertise your brand. Whatever route you take, never underestimate the power of real-life marketing to interact with consumers around you.
Social media is turning out to be a tricky medium for CBD brands to market through, but with the right techniques, you can find a way to make the platforms work for you. Avoid making medical claims and focus on content creation. Lastly, try to come up with physical marketing approaches to supplement these strategies.
2. Influencer Marketing
While you cannot run an ad directly through a social media platform, you can still sponsor content with an influencer to reach their targeted following. This marketing route can be tricky since it requires you to vet an influencer and ensure their following is worth your money. Many influencers are known for purchasing followers or likes, which do not help your brand, so do your due diligence before signing any deals.
Furthermore, it is typically a best practice to work out a partnership with influencers, where you have a long-term brand relationship with the influencer. This relationship can include a performance-based pay segment, where you utilize an influencer discount code that allows them to track how many sales they are referring to you.
3. Organic Content Creation
Consider including a card with the orders you send out that asks customers to make a post about the product on social media. This card ought to include some hashtags for the customer to use and potentially offer them a free gift to make the post. This is a great way to start getting more content on social media and utilize network effects for growing your user base.
People are more likely to purchase a product if it is recommended to them by a friend, so this tactic can be highly effective for convincing new potential customers to convert into followers of your brand. Additionally, the cost of including the card in shipments is rather minimal so this campaign will likely be extremely affordable in comparison to other marketing techniques.
4. Develop a Video Series
Video content is consumed more frequently than written content. Since social media algorithms are tailored to sort through content for what has the highest engagement rate, creating a video series to share on social media is more likely to get a large reach. Additionally, utilizing this visual medium is a great way to showcase more angles of your product.
If you are creating a line of CBD edibles, potentially consider having a series about cooking with CBD products or having different people taste test CBD. This will allow your viewers to get a better idea of how the product tastes and sell them more deeply on the product, besides simply talking about the benefits of using CBD.
We hope you enjoyed this promoted piece as much as we did!
