Social media…
It’s great for staying in touch with grandma and the rest of the family, but when it comes to business… Where do you start???
“There are so many apps…”
“Which ones should I use…”
“How do I get more people to follow my page…”
“Why aren’t more people seeing my posts…”
The list goes on. (Don’t worry! You’re not the only one who has contemplated deleting them all from your phone and going into hiding to become a recluse.) Each platform has its own way of uploading content, method of engagement, best practices. The process of deciding how to market yourself on these platforms is daunting.
We know it can be a headache, so we have put together a list of Quick Tips to help you get things moving in the right direction.
By no means is this list exhaustive(that would require an entire novel), but it is an excellent launching point for your new SMM (Social Media Marketing) strategy.
For those who already use Social Media but feel lost, use these tips to course-correct and get things moving in a healthy direction.
So, without further ado, here are Conceited Marketing’s Social Media Cannabis Quick Tips.
Quick Tip 1 – Have A Game Plan
This might seem obvious, but we have included it as our first tip because many businesses/brands take a very laissez-faire approach to social media. They assume they can just throw something up real quick and hope to get a response from the handful of followers they already have.
Social media is a serious marketing channel, treat it seriously and you will see growth.
When putting together your SMM strategy it is important to consider which apps will offer you the best platform to market your brand. Here is a quick look at each of the major social media platforms and our thoughts about them.
Facebook –
- Very robust platform with versatile content strategies (largest user-base of any social media channel).
- Video, pics, gifs, short posts, long posts.
- No matter your strategy, FB is a good place to start!
Instagram –
- Visually driven platform.
- Photos and videos are best.
- Don’t forget stories.
- This is a great channel to promote your brand and engage with your audience.
YouTube –
- Video-based content platform.
- Best for long-form video content.
- Hard platform to grow organically, but well worth the effort.
Twitter –
- Short-form content is best (280 character limit).
- Primarily written content, though photos and videos can be shared as well.
- The right strategy can be effective, but we recommend focusing on a platform with greater potential return.
TikTok –
- Short-form video content, either 15 or 60-second videos.
- Rapidly growing platform.
- Great opportunity to promote your brand and engage your audience with informative and fun videos.
No matter which platform(s) you choose, it is important that you create a thoughtful plan of action. Plan your posts for each month a month in advance. Intentionality is important.
Quick Tip 2 – Educate Your Audience
No matter which platforms you choose to build your marketing strategy around we find that educational content is the best way to engage your audience. Each platform has strict regulations around cannabis industry marketing preventing you from showing your product, or use of your product in most instances.
Instead, you should focus your efforts around content that informs your readers about the industry, the benefits, things happening with your brand. Don’t be afraid to mix in some humor either! Funny content is memorable content.
Just be aware of each platform’s restrictions around your industry. You can find a nice summary of each platform’s advertising policy here.
Quick Tip 3 – Use Stories
Both Facebook and Instagram have a stories feature!
So why aren’t you using it???
Stories are one of the most popular content forms on social media. According to Hootsuite, more than 500 million people interact with Instagram stories daily. That’s half a billion reasons to include stories in your SMM strategy.
To get the most out of stories, you need to think vertically about this. Your videos need to be in portrait mode NOT landscape. Don’t try to repurpose and cut old videos to fit this format, create new videos specifically for your stories.
Quick Tip 4 – Work with Influencers
Another way to gain reach on social media is to partner with influencers. Partnering with an influencer will increase your organic reach on the platform, which aside from shares and hashtags is the only way to organically reach new people.
Make sure that whomever you partner with fits with your brand values. They will be representing your brand to their audience, the last thing you want is to create credibility issues with your brand. Take your time to find the right person, don’t rush into anything.
Quick Tip 5 – Show Yourself
Since showing your products is out of the question in most instances, it is important to connect personally with your audience; photos of your team, photos of you, photos of you and the team together… I think you get the point. Your brand needs to be connected with your audience if you hope to have sustainable growth on social media.
People buy from people, so make sure that the faces of your business/brand are visible to your audience.
Final Quick Tip – Partner with an Experienced Marketing Agency
The previous tips are meant to start you off moving in the right direction, but if you want to take your social media marketing strategy to the next level, then you will need to partner with an experienced agency. You want to work with an agency that has experience navigating the legal tightrope walk of the industry. You will save yourself time and a major headache by picking the right partner. Having the right team can also save you from making costly mistakes in your marketing.
What’s Your Next Move?
Our hope is that you take this information and begin implementing a strategic social media marketing plan for your brand, and we would love to be a part of your journey. As a marketing company that specializes in the cannabis industry, we know what it takes to get results.
Schedule your introductory consultation here.