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Forbes recently reported that legal cannabis is expected to reach $57 billion by 2027. There’s no hiding the fact that the cannabis industry is on fire! Though interest in these topics is skyrocketing, the industry is still new, which leads to a lot of unknowns if you yourself are a cannabis business owner.
If you own a business or work as a marketer for an industry such as cannabis that is not only newly emerging but also has strict regulatory considerations, you are likely painfully aware of the challenges, not to mention legal limitations, you can run into when trying to effectively market your business.
And when it comes to marketing limitations and regulations, we agree, it is unfair that cannabis companies, both recreational and medical (that operate legally within their home states), have such strict restrictions set in place that hinder them from reaching their audience. Because of this, cannabis companies of all kinds are currently fighting an uphill battle when it comes to reaching new customers. It’s made especially difficult because of the misinformation and negative perceptions that automatically accompany this industry. The challenge is to educate and inform as much as it is to promote and sell.
So, in short… your target audience is out there, you’ll just need a bit of ingenuity to find creative ways to get your brand in front of them to stay compliant with local laws. We’ll explore some creative ways that cannabis companies of all kinds can market their business and grab the attention of the right audience. While regulations for marketing cannabis vary from state to state, the methods we listed below are generally permitted no matter your location.
Creative Marketing Strategies
- Events & Sponsorships: Cannabis-focused events and trade shows present excellent opportunities for face-to-face marketing and sponsorships. And events don’t necessarily need to be cannabis-focused specifically in order for you to make an appearance at them or to sponsor. This being said, if local cannabis events are available and occurring in your state, those are likely to offer more reasonably-priced sponsorships than national shows, not to mention they are reaching local consumers with your product.
- Inbound & Content Marketing: By positioning your brand as an expert with things like, blogs, vlogs, and other kinds of premium content, you will be positioning your brand as an expert in the field will allow you to take advantage of this recent cannabis explosion. It’s a perfect fit for attracting interested people to your website, as well as educating consumers and clarifying misinformation. We’ll go into more different ways to harness the power of inbound marketing in the section below...
How Inbound Marketing Could Be Your Hero
Inbound and content marketing may be your ace in the hole. It is a fantastic outlet for sharing and promoting your products and services, in great detail, with potential customers without violating local advertising regulations. This form of marketing is perfect for the cannabis industry because medicinal marijuana is a newly emerging, evolving, and growing industry, so naturally people need a lot of questions answered before they decide to purchase. They are actively searching for this information online. A quick search of SEMRush reveals over 553,000 variations of “CBD” currently being searched for online. Total daily search volume is over 4.3 million searches... yet the overall average keyword difficulty is but 33%. What does that reveal? It reveals that for the cannabis industry, inbound marketing is an untapped playing field.
Your potential customers are looking for answers you can provide, and a well-strategized and intentional inbound marketing effort will yield results.
Here are some various types of inbound marketing methods to consider adopting as you build the marketing strategy for your cannabis business:
Blogs
Having a relevant and consistently updated blog on your cannabis business’s website that is based on targeted keywords will grow your business’ SEO and is generally a great way for your business to be seen. Blogs reach prospects with quality information that they are already searching for and will bring in leads before your salespeople even know they are looking.
Vlogs
Video blogs (vlogs) are hot…and are expected to stay that way. Vlogs are an awesome way to build a personal, face-to-face relationship with your customers and prospects, say things in your own words (literally!), and grow engagement. Some examples of vlogs include testimonials, instructional/how-to, frequently asked questions (FAQs), and recipe videos - and these are a great way to build trust with your audience. These kinds of videos do not have to be complicated to produce, and can be easily integrated on your website effectively within a blog post.
Email Marketing
Effective email marketing will help attract and convert leads throughout your inbound marketing strategy. By utilizing email marketing within your inbound strategy, you are directly reaching your current audience, offering quality information, updates, and offers. Email marketing can increase leads, grow sales, generate traffic, collect feedback, provide value… and help you reach the right people, in the right way, at the right time.
Premium Content
Premium content is longer-form content for a website visitor to download by submitting their contact information. Premium content can be anything from webinars, infographics, downloadable .pdf, quizzes & questionnaires, and more…but is most commonly in the form of an eBook. Premium content is typically gated content which is an extremely important tool in lead generation, as it converts visitors into leads. Premium content in the form of an eBook is a great way to take a deeper dive into more broad and complex topics when it comes to the world of cannabis, whereas quizzes and questionnaires are a fun, quick, and effective way to engage and interact with curious customers visiting your website.
Highly-Regulated Industries Call for Highly-Creative Solutions
We can certainly empathize with the cannabis-based businesses spanning all over the US that are struggling to find effective ways to market and grow their business. If you are on the cutting edge and are taking advantage of this successful and growing industry, there are, in fact, proven advertising methods that will help you do this, all the while staying compliant with local regulations.
Our team of advertising professionals at fuze32 provides all the benefits of a full-service marketing agency and has years of experience helping businesses grow through strategically crafted inbound marketing specifically. We would love to get a conversation started to see how the power of inbound marketing can establish your cannabis-based business’s brand and help your sales soar!
