Communicating Cannabis Safety and Science From The Inside Out

When you live in a community that went from zero cannabis provisioning centers to a half dozen in less than two years’ time, you know that people are testing the weed waters.

The City of Muskegon adopted a land use ordinance that allows not only cannabis provisioning centers, but grow operations, processing, testing and transporting. Under the adult-use rules microbusinesses, special events and consumption lounges are also allowed. 

It’s one of the most inclusive cannabis ordinances on this side of Michigan.

There’s a term used in public health that you might not be familiar with—harm reduction. 

a handful of cannabis buds to illustrate cannabis provisioning centers

Harm reduction is a set of strategies and ideas that are aimed and reducing the negative consequences that might come from drug use. It’s not about trying to get people to stop using drugs (or alcohol for that matter) but helping people understand their limits, the consequences of using substances. It’s what public health departments have done for years—discouraged under-age drinking, teen smoking, all age drinking and driving and promoting safe sex to prevent HIV. 

Public health has been at the forefront of dozens of harm reduction efforts over the years. Cannabis is no different.

Canna Communication approached Public Health-Muskegon County (PH-MC) about harm reduction efforts and asked if they needed any communication help from a communication professional and cannabis insider.

So much of what people see generated from public health entities are negative when it comes to cannabis. We know that at some point negative advertising doesn’t work, it turns people off and doesn’t deliver the intended message. The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) created a series of anti-cannabis videos in early 2020 which stirred up cannabis activists from across the state—the outcry about the portrayal of a cannabis consumer was so filled with stereotypes and cliches that MDHHS pulled the video series despite having spent $330,000 on the campaign.  We’ve spotted random billboards throughout Michigan created by local health departments that are making an effort to disparage cannabis, consumers, and the industry—and they’re doing it with medical cannabis funds.

Every year, local county entities are able to apply for funds from the State of Michigan for marijuana prevention education. The funds are derived from fees collected by the State from medical marijuana cards. Each county in Michigan can apply for funds and the dollar amount is based on how many people in that county hold medical marijuana cards—so the more cards, the more money that’s available. 

Prior to the passage of Prop 1 which legalized cannabis, many county sheriff’s departments applied for funds and used it for marijuana law enforcement. With legalization, law enforcement has backed off from applying and some county health departments have taken advantage of the pool of funds.

Canna Communication began working with PH-MC in the winter of 2020 with a research project to find out how parents who consume cannabis talk with their kids about use of the drug. That primary research with about 100 people from across Michigan helped us understand that science, honesty and facts were the most effective way to get a message across. Sure, we had an agenda—discourage kids from using cannabis and for parents to take care to keep cannabis from young people. 

The grant that PH-MC received was used in a four-part effort focused on encouraging youth to avoid cannabis via their parents’ input, discouraging pregnant women from using cannabis, safe consumption of edibles and information about driving and cannabis. We created a simple website with information that was fact-based and not meant to deceive or mislead people about cannabis. The website is a starting point for ongoing campaigns in those four areas—we can add information as it becomes available to use it as a home base for our efforts. We used social media and digital geofencing to spread the word. 

Working With Muskegon’s Cannabis Provisioning Centers

Once a cannabis business enters a community, it’s important for people there to understand the facts about the product, the risks involved and how to be a responsible consumer. Most provisioning centers (aka marijuana dispensaries) educate their budtenders and customers about the products they’re buying and start slow and go low is a common phrase that’s used to advise newcomers about cannabis edibles.   

PHMC also partnered up with four Muskegon-area provisioning centers—Park Place Provisionary, Cloud Cannabis, Bella Sol Wellness and Redbud Roots and provided pre-printed customer bags and social media materials regarding the safe consumption of edibles. It’s one way to meet cannabis users where they’re at.

Michigan voters made legal cannabis the law of the land, but the tone by which we educate people about cannabis is up to interpretation. Providing the facts with balanced information and avoiding judgment is the surest communication strategy.

For more information about this campaign give Canna Communication a call.

Feature photo by Botanical Rising on Unsplash

post it notes on paper to represent communication planning for a marijuana microbusiness

Strategic Communication for a Marijuana Microbusiness


The need for communication (aka marketing or public relations) might seem like something to do when you get close to opening your marijuana microbusiness. But waiting to plan and prepare will leave you scrambling and behind the competition. You need to work on creating a communication plan and tactics as you go through the licensing process, and as your business gets started. It’ll give you focus on the kind of business that you want to be and what you provide to customers. Remember, the concept of a marijuana microbusiness is “craft cannabis,” and how you express that idea with name, images and words is the essence of your business.


cannabis flower

Defining Your Brand Comes First

A brand is everything around and inside your marijuana microbusiness. It includes creating a name for your company. Try to find something original, appropriate and memorable. And make sure that it doesn’t belong to another company. Even if you find a URL for your website that fits your company, that doesn’t mean someone doesn’t already have that same name, and if it is trademarked, you run the risk of being sued for using it. Do careful and comprehensive research when selecting a company name. After you’ve settled on a name, you can start thinking about a logo and a website. We encourage you to seek professional design and development assistance for these items. They’re essential to your brand and are meant to last. The logo is how people will first come to know you, and your website is the center of your communication ecosystem.

Creating a Communication Plan

Taking time to develop a communication plan can be challenging for marijuana microbusiness owners. It’s easy and fun to think about tactics: going to a cannabis cup event or an expo, growing your Instagram page, hosting special events, buying the perfect billboard, creating swag and writing smart text messages. BUT, without a strategic plan, your tactics are unfocused and random.

someone writing with a pen and paper to illustrate marijuana microbusiness communication plan

If your goal is getting people into your shop and talking about your products, then everything needs to lead to that goal. A brand strategy plan starts with a goal or goals. Other steps include defining your audience, writing your key messages around your business, developing objectives, writing a strategy statement and then finally considering your tactics. 

Once you have that work done, you’ll work to create a timeline and a budget. It’s a challenging process, but worth the time and it will help you focus on your communication when you’re open for business and things are hectic.

Use PESO to Define Your Tactics

We utilize the PESO model for organizing tactics in communication. Once your plan is in place, consider this structure to organize your tactics. 

P stands for PAID: this is any advertising or sponsorships you might do.

E stands for EARNED: this is your effort in media relations, getting your story in the news.

S stands for SOCIAL or SHARED: this is your efforts in social media.

O stands for OWNED: the assets that belong to you like a website and its content.

Once your tactics are complete, you’ll start to develop a timeline and budget. This is where the reality of the expenses involved comes into play. We promise that you’ll be scaling things down a bit and making adjustments as you go. BUT, with a communication plan, you can also develop a realistic budget for your marijuana microbusiness.

If you’re looking for guidance with the communication strategy for your marijuana microbusiness, give us a buzz. We’re experienced in helping brands launch in the Michigan marketplace and we’d love to help you compete and succeed.

Canna Communication is pleased to be partnering with Marijuana Microbusinesses in helping entrepreneurs get started in Michigan.

Post It photo by Felipe Furtado on Unsplash
Cannabis flower photo by Get Budding on Unsplash

wzzm tv reporter at park place provisionary

Using PR for Promoting a Cannabis Brand

In the mix of communication tactics, business owners have multiple options from traditional advertising to social media and everything in between, but for quick results and a big bang, nothing beats using PR for promoting cannabis brand. Media relations is part of the PR package and it is great for reaching new audiences beyond your social media circle.

It might feel like traditional media is out of reach, but if you have a good story and are willing to pitch and follow up, the benefits are immense.

Here’s the story about how PR helped the start-up of Park Place Provisionary by Agri-Med and garner significant news coverage.

Park Place Provisionary is a locally-owned medical marijuana provisioning center in Muskegon, Michigan. It is also the first state-licensed center in the county and one of just a few on the in West Michigan. Those two things are notable and newsworthy and here’s why.

Increasingly, medical marijuana businesses in Michigan are owned by people who live outside the community. That’s because Michigan municipalities, for the most part, have opted-out of the zoning that allows them. So, with fewer places to locate, marijuana entrepreneurs are spreading out across the state and coming into communities where they have no connection.

We’ve seen it in Grand Rapids, Michigan’s second largest city where it is estimated that of the 80+ applicants for medical marijuana permits less than five are city residents. We’re not going to debate local ownership in this post. That being said, we think local ownership is the best option for a community.

The strategy we used to write the press release and make the pitch focused on local ownership and being the first to open in the market. We were able to use that hook to attract the attention of not only the Muskegon media but television stations in Grand Rapids, too.

ribbon cutting ceremony at park place provisionary

Here’s some of the text from the press release and I’ve highlighted parts that made this newsworthy.

Highlights of the Press Release

The provisioning center located at 1922 Park Street in Muskegon is owned by Muskegon resident and long-time business owner Greg Maki. Maki bought and renovated an old trucking and freight terminal for the provisioning center.

The building has undergone extensive renovation, connecting with city water and sewer, landscaping, lighting, and comprehensive security and surveillance, making the building secure, compliant and accessible. Located in Muskegon’s marijuana overlay district, Maki’s business is the first to be completed and opened in Muskegon.

“It’s great to be able to open my business in the place where I live. Being part of the community helped with everything from securing the property to working on-site every day to finding local contractors,” said Maki. Part of his motivation for getting into medical marijuana was to create a business where his sons and other close family members would want to work. His nephew Aaron Smith is the financial manager and his partner Tracy Powers is vice president. Other company leaders include non-family members. Charles Bronkema is the operations manager, and Cindy Devenport is Park Place’s compliance manager. In all 13 new jobs were created at the facility.

Agri-Med was the 9th applicant for a medical marijuana license when the state began licensing in December 2017; it was the 5th prequalified license that the state issued.

Hooks and Visuals for Cannabis PR

Park Place Provisionary was lucky to have so many good hooks: local, family and first. The media used those and also focused on the building renovation and how marijuana was improving a languishing industrial park in Muskegon.

We also created a small event, a ribbon cutting and grand opening for the store. It’s traditional for new businesses to cut a ribbon, and doing this at Park Place Provisionary helps normalize cannabis to people in the community. A ribbon cutting also allows the business owner to invite family, friends, elected officials and community leaders to gather and be part of the celebration.

photo of Greg Maki at the grand opening of his provisionary center. Cannabis PR helped make the event a success by using PR for promoting a cannabis brand

In public relations terms—the event and announcement was a home run. We garnered coverage from three television stations, several local newspapers and a public radio station, a business paper and an online hyperlocal news site. It’s a great example of how using PR for promoting a cannabis brand can bring new customers.

The initial impact was good for Park Place—they went from seeing about 20 customers in the first few days of the soft opening to a peak of more than 100 after the ribbon-cutting.  Keeping the momentum is the next step—communicating with patients via text and email, using social media and cannabis digital outlets to grow the business. And always looking for the next story to share with the media.

Results

Here are some of the links to the media stories that Canna Communication secured for Park Place Provisionary showing how using PR for promoting a cannabis brand can work and the messages that come across.

From Mlive, Muskegon’s newspaper and online news source. Another story was on West Michigan’s ABC affiliate, WZZM 13. The store also was featured on the local Fox affiliate, Fox17. Park Place Provisionary was also on the air at West Michigan’s public radio station WGVU.

Muskegon Times Muskegon’s online hyperlocal news site wrote this story.

WOODTV8 West Michigan’s NBC affiliate did an advance before the grand opening.

Let’s Talk About Your Cannabis PR

If you are opening a new facility or have another story to share related to your cannabis business or want to explore how using PR for promotion your cannabis brand can help you grow give us a call.

Public relations is our specialty. Contact Roberta F. King, APR to get the conversation started.  

a person thinking about social media

Marijuana Memes + Messages in Social Media

I was talking with a colleague the other day about marijuana memes. You know the ones—funny photo of a person, celebrity, animal or cartoon with droopy eyes, big grin, smoking a big joint or bong and ending with the punchline HAF.

I think these are funny, I really do. Researching this article, I fell into the rabbit hole of marijuana memes and spent way too much time looking at them and thinking about how true they are to my experience. On a personal level, they’re funny, but for professionals and businesses, they’re better left behind.

Here’s why.

Stereotyping.

We’ve written before about stereotyping in cannabis we see it in music, movies and TV shows. These images of forgetful, goofy characters don’t help legitimate cannabis consumers and businesses. People who need medical marijuana to survive a day of chronic pain, to relieve the symptoms of chemotherapy, to sleep or keep seizures at bay deserve better than a stereotype. As we work toward public acceptance of cannabis use and continue to persuade municipalities that cannabis businesses are legitimate and healthy for a community, we need to leave the stoner stuff behind.

marijuana meme featuring sponge bob squarepants
And improper punctuation.

Copyright use.

Business owners need to be aware of copyright and fair use laws. We understand that by using a marijuana meme, you’re not taking anyone’s intellectual property, but you are using something that was created and belongs to someone else. You are also using it in a manner that wasn’t as intended by the creator. Sure, there are plenty of images in the public domain, but be assured, a stoned Mickey Mouse isn’t what the Walt Disney Corporation intended for its brand.

Advertising to Children.

It’s pretty clear that advertising marijuana to kids is wrong, and in many states, it is illegal. Putting a cartoon character on your marijuana social media crosses that line.

Target audiences.

Every business has a target audience that it’s trying to reach and knowledge of that audience is essential to your success. You can’t be everything to everyone. If you’re using stoner marijuana memes on your social media, you’re targeting young men ages 18-24 right? But what if you’re looking to attract women ages 35-50? Or older adults? Probably not the best thing to be sharing.

In Michigan, it’s still medical marijuana, and we have to ask: do HAF and SpongeBob meet the information needs of patients? Does it help build credibility, or does it distract from what you’re trying to do? Does it build interest or loyalty in your business, does it fit with the image and you’re trying to create for your company? If it doesn’t help, then it needs to go away.

Quality information.

We believe that cannabis brands, above all, need to be purveyors of quality products and information. Education of the public, cannabis consumers, and those interested in trying marijuana products for the first time is something we need to focus our efforts on doing well. We’re still overcoming a reefer madness mindset as well as new criticism of our industry from the outside.

A Few Content Ideas.

If you’re looking for social media content here are some things we suggest—because we know there are days when you can’t find anything to post.

Use google alerts to receive information that is curated for you. Using keywords like medical marijuana, cannabis, Michigan medical marijuana dispensary, hemp and CBD will bring dozens of articles to your inbox. Find something that works with your brand and your audience and share it. If nothing is interesting in that collection, jump over to the sites of Marijuana Moment, Norml, Leafly, High Times or one of the cannabis trade organization publications.

quote from Willie Nelson instead of a marijuana meme. It says, I think people need to be educated to the fact that marijuana is not a drug. Marijuana is a flower. God put it here.

Share a quote about marijuana history or legalization. There are plenty on this site. We post a quote on a client’s Facebook page on Sunday mornings, and they usually receive multiple shares and likes. Share a non-cannabis inspirational quote—something that reflects your brand values.

Ask a question to your audience—what’s their favorite strain, the best way to consume, advice for a new cannabis consumer or other tips. Share your own experiences or show your expertise. This type of message will help develop your voice and brand personality and gain insight into what works for you.

Photos and videos can’t be beaten—show your operations and processes, your products and people. It allows audiences to get to know you better and to see what you have to offer and who makes things happen in your business.

Social media is an integral part of any marijuana business communication plan—but it needs always to be audience-centric and true to your brand so leave the marijuana memes behind. If you need help with your brand development or social media strategy—give us a shout.

Feature image by Mike Renpening from Pixabay

a cannabis leaf used to illustrate cannabis news

Our Best Ideas for Pitching Your Cannabis Business Story to the Media

Placing stories about your cannabis business in the news is a powerful means of amplification that can’t be underestimated. It’s something businesses need to do regularly to get the word out and further normalize cannabis for the public.

We know that mainstream media is shrinking, and local newsrooms and outlets are harder to find. Yet, the impact of a well-placed cannabis business news story will have a positive effect on your business that is hard to duplicate. Depending on where you are, your local media will always have more readers, viewers and listeners than you will ever have on your social media site or in your enews subscriptions. And with the big cannabis hitters like Leafly, Cannabis Now, High Times, Culture or Ganjapreneur reaching new audiences there can be a game changer.

How do you get Your Cannabis Business Into the news?

It takes a combination of strategy, planning, being able to react quickly to trends and news and a bit of persuasion. Here’s how we work to make cannabis business news happen.

Build a Solid Relationship.

Having a good relationship with a reporter involves providing accurate, timely and newsworthy information; being available for interviews and being a good source. Sometimes being a good source is helping a reporter with a story that doesn’t involve you or your business, but is within the cannabis industry. Use a silver bullet, not a shotgun when making your pitch. While we like to be seen across the media, in multiple outlets, we write every pitch email personally and customize it to the reporter.

The Fast Pitch.

young woman with a softball to illustrate a pitch to the media of a cannabis business story

Journalists are busy people, and in a big newsroom, we’ve heard that a reporter can get about 200 emails a day. Make your pitch short, helpful and to the point. Don’t spend time on minor details in the pitch. You can stick that in the news release that’s either attached or detailed below the actual pitch. If you’ve succeeded in your pitch, they’ll read further.  If you can keep a pitch to about 150 words, you’re doing great!

Think of Your News With a Headline in Mind.

When you’re thinking about the pitch you’re making, write the headline you envision and use it for the subject of your email.  Anything that’s genuinely new and first makes good potential news stories. But it also must have an impact on the business you’re doing and the audience that the media outlet serves. Building a $2 million cannabis grow facility? That’s news. Are you hiring people in your community? That’s news. Are you bringing a new cannabis product to market? That’s news. Make sure when you use first and new that you have the data and research to back it up.

someone reading a newspaper with a headline about a cannabis business in it

Know Your News.

Some stories are breaking news, some are features, and others are evergreen in nature—that is—time doesn’t matter so much. Craft your pitch for what the news actually is and the media outlet you want to be in; it’s okay to ask a reporter about his or her deadlines. Keep in mind that print magazines often work 2-3 months in advance, weekly publications are working on stories the week or two before, and even daily print publications need some lead time. Breaking stories happen throughout the 24-hour news cycle and those are the opportunities for which you drop what you’re doing and jump in. Make sure for radio you have someone who is a willing and enthusiastic speaker, and for TV you’ll need something visual. For print and online, assets like photography help make a story happen.

Timing Matters.

a clock that illustrates timing when it comes to media for your cannabis business

Tuesdays and Wednesday are best days for pitches, and it appears that between 10 AM and noon are also good. But, if you have real news and are connected to the reporter, don’t wait to make the pitch. You can also use slow media times to your advantage. The week between Christmas and New Year is notoriously quiet in the news business as are other long holiday breaks. Remember if you make a pitch on a Friday, you might end up with a weekend news story, which isn’t all bad. If your pitch isn’t working, it could be your news is an internal update, which might best be shared on social media.

Make the quick decision to jump in and help when there’s a crisis. Established brands are always the first to help when disaster strikes—and your cannabis business can do this, too. If a tornado hits your community, or a flood or a family suffers from a fire—lend a hand and let the media know. Whether it is providing cases of bottled water, helping lead a drive for food or funds or giving people in your business time off to help out, that’s the kind of story the media likes during dark times.

Make Sure You’re Qualified to be on the Bandwagon.

Local news organizations often find some of their news leads from breaking national stories that are happening or even from news in a nearby media market. If it makes sense for you to jump in give your opinion on something or offer advice, then make the pitch. Newsjacking or inserting your company or brand into a breaking story is part of what PR professionals do. Keep up on cannabis news so that you can be part of the story.  Make sure you are educated on the subject and not straying too far from your area of expertise or brand.

In the cannabis community, there’s plenty of competition, but collaboration can move all of us forward as we evolve and grow as an industry. If you need a hand with your cannabis business news generation, Canna Communication can help, just give us a call or send a quick note.

photograph of a camera and writing pad, cannabis communication tools

Boost Your Cannabis Communication Outreach with 9 Free Tools

It’s a harsh world for cannabis businesses. We deal with acceptance issues and stigma, unlike any other industry. It’s hard to finding banking that works, Facebook hates us, Google ignores us and Eventbrite shuts us down. We loathe those arbitrary and capricious community rules that interfere with us doing our work.

a crying baby to illustrate frustration with companies that exclude cannabis
Wah-wah.

There’s no sense in crying about what we can’t change, so let’s look at some things we can use to improve our business communication where cannabis isn’t an issue. But we have some great free and inexpensive tools for cannabis communication that work around the speed bumps.

Let’s start with Unsplash, a site where you can find free, high-quality photographs for your website or social media posts. The photos are searchable from tags that the photographer has added and in categories, at the top of the page. Make sure to experiment with searches–we’ve found that cannabis, hemp and marijuana, marijuana flower produce different results. You can use the photos for free and without credit, but it’s great to give credit to the photographer in your blog or on your website.

Another good source for free photos and illustrations is Pixabay. Like Unsplash there are lots of great images, but it adds illustration and graphic art to the mix, which we love to use sometimes. You have the option to buy the artists a cup of coffee (donate to them) which is a great way to keep free art coming.

a hear made from cannabis leaves to show the use of illustration in cannabis communication
Found this sweetie on Pixabay

If you’re a big player and have access to a pay to play media database, you’re lucky. But, if you’re a small business and doing your own PR, how do you build a media database? Getting the emails for local reporters is pretty easy if you read their stories, most of them are available in the byline or on the news source’s webpage. Some are harder to come by, like those in the national cannabis publications. For this, you need Hunter.io Register, and you can find up to 100 emails a month for people and companies you want to connect with. You’ll need the name of the person you wish to contact as in “Clark Kent” and the media outlet as in “Daily Planet” and most times you’ll get a correct email.

Writing headlines that attract the attention of readers is an art, what you think might work well to get someone’s attention might not do the job. How do you know? Well, we use this tool to test our cannabis communication headlines and we’ve done numerous revisions of what we thought were good headers to up our score in Co-Schedule’s Headline Analyzer.

We spend a good deal of our time writing for clients and for our own blog, and we are big fans of Grammarly. It’s a great tool to help you become a better writer. It points out as you write the typos, incorrect word usage and where commas do and don’t belong. You can install an extension on your Mac or PC and it will correct your emails and social media posts, too. It offers a more robust writing analysis than does the standard grammar and spelling that are resident on your computer. Honestly, if you’re uncertain about the correctness of your writing, use it.

Need to make a graphic for a webpage, social media post, an email blast or a printed product but don’t quite need to hire a graphic designer? We use Canva for simple things. It’s a free tool that has hundreds of templates and already sized up uses. Need a profile picture or page cover for Facebook, an Instagram graphic or a slider image for your website? Canva has all the sizes, backgrounds and tools to make something perfect for your cannabis communication. If you don’t have an eye for design, look at their templates and adapt one of them that to what you’re doing.

Ever wonder how your competitor is doing with their digital reach? With SEMRush, you can plug in a domain, and it will show you all of the data about that company’s digital presence. You can look at backlinks, referring domains, search terms and the position of their competitors all done in great charts and bars. It’s free for up to ten searches per month, and you can look at your own site, too and see how you’re doing.

Check out Spark (from Adobe) for making simple videos from photographs. You can add text, add music, determine the length of the slide and brand the slide with your company colors and logo. It isn’t as intuitive as Canva for simple design, but for on-the-fly photos into videos, it’s so easy. Here’s one we did about our company.

screen shot of a Spark video

For email marketing, we use Mail Chimp. There have been some issues in the past with the company shutting down cannabis accounts and that spooks us a bit. We like the flexibility of the platform, the ease of use and the tracking tools. It’s free until your list is over 2000 subscribers and if you do use a paid plan, you get a few more features. To be safe, download your database regularly because if you’re shut down, you might lose it. Email marketing for your cannabis business is effective and easy to work into your annual schedule or plan.

So we’ve shared a few of our secrets about how we get cannabis business communication done. But, these are tools, not a comprehensive strategy and that’s where Canna Communication comes in. We look at the big picture, know the cannabis industry, and we’re experienced at launching a new business or moving an existing one forward.

Need some help getting started? Too busy to develop a communication strategy? Canna Communication is here for you. Just give us a shout and we’ll lend you a hand.

Tools photo by Dariusz Sankowski on Unsplash

a glass you might use for a cannabis special event, it has a leaf made out of confetti in it

Ten Ways to Spark Your Cannabis Special Event

A cannabis special event is one of the best ways for a business to connect directly with customers. An event gives a business the opportunity to showcase a place, a new product or an idea. A special event can be used to celebrate an anniversary, a grand opening, an expansion, a national holiday like Independence or Veterans Day or the high holiday of 4/20. You don’t need an official reason for hosting an event, it’s all about getting to know your customers.

Organizing a cannabis special event can be time-consuming, there are real benefits.

  •      It builds customer loyalty.
  •      It builds brand awareness.
  •      It attracts new customers.
  •      It provides space to inform people on a subject or a product      
  •      It provides insight into your customers.
  •      It’s fun.

Putting together a cannabis special event for your business takes time and planning, but it’s worth it.

Outside of the ordinary planning points of a special event, we suggest paying attention to a few things that can truly make a difference to your attendees and the success of your special event.

  1. Choose your date and time carefully. Look at not only what’s happening in your community, but around the world. You don’t want to plan an event and have it fall on Rosh Hashanah, Good Friday, Super Bowl Sunday, the Michigan/Michigan State game day or Martin Luther King Day.
  2. Assign two point people to help “manage” the event. One is the host the other is the troubleshooter. Don’t have the host solving on the ground problems and don’t have the troubleshooter serve as the host. Your guests need attention as much as the problems do.
  3. Be fun, but be legal. Make sure that everything you do when it comespeople having fun at a cannabis special event to marijuana is compliant with local and state laws. You don’t want to do anything that would jeopardize your license, whether that is onsite consumption, giving away product or serving alcohol in your space.
  4. Give people something to do other than stand around. Whether it’s a game like corn hole (assuming you’re outdoors), building something like a jenga tower, a trivia game or even crayons to color on a table cover or provide a photo wall where they can take a selfie.
  5. Collect data on your guests while being a friendly host. When your guests check in, ask for their email and phone and for them to opt-in to your mailing or texting list. Ask them about their favorite way to consume cannabis and about the one thing they want you to carry that you don’t already have.
  6. Establish a hashtag for your event and post it where people can see it. Do your research to make sure it is unique and short. People will use it if they’re on social media and it will help you see what your visitors are saying.
  7. Door prizes, not raffles. Keep in mind that in most states a raffle requires a license, so don’t call your giveaway a raffle. People are pretty much happy to get anything free. Branded swag from your company, like a tee-shirt or a pint glass, is always a good option and big stickers, rolling papers and lighters are always welcome.
  8. Food is an essential part of any event—it should be simple, abundant food for a cannabis special eventand easy to eat. Keep in mind the time of your event, 5-7 PM is the dinner hour and people might expect heavier foods, 7-9 PM might lend itself to desserts and mid-afternoon is great for veggies, cheeses and crackers.  Keep in mind food preferences like vegetarians and allergies like gluten and provide options. Label your food and make sure your troubleshooter knows what’s in the food you’re serving. If you’re serving infused food make sure it’s clearly labeled with potency and that you’re not outside the law.
  9. Music is essential to setting the mood for your event and developing a playlist isn’t an easy task. Keep in mind your audience and the purpose and time of your event and use music that works to meet those goals. If you know someone who really knows music, ask that person to make suggestions for your mix. Using a paid subscription to a music service can provide a party mix without ads.
  10. Thank your attendees. With collected emails or phone numbers, you can send a quick note after the event and let them know how much you appreciated their attendance. It’s also a great time to offer a discount on something you’ve got in stock.

Need a hand with planning your next cannabis special event? Give us a shout and we’ll give you the help you need to make it perfect.

mac on a table, to illustrate SEO search for a cannabis business website

How to Grow Your Cannabis Business One Email at a Time

There are so many good reasons to add email marketing to your cannabis business communication mix. Let’s take a closer look.

In 2016, there were 2.6 billion people using email and its expected that by 2020 email users will top 3 billion. Almost half of the people in the world use email to communicate—and you can be sure a few of them are cannabis business owners or consumers. So, by the numbers alone, email makes sense.

Business runs on email. If you’re a cannabis business wanting to communicate with other companies, email is one of the most certain avenues of communication.

People like getting emails from companies they do business with. About 85 percent of people surveyed said they like getting emails once a month and about 60 percent like weekly emails. And if you’re thinking of sending daily, twice or thrice a week emails, think again—those have approval ratings of about 11 percent. So if someone opts into getting emails from you, you can be sure that sending them once a week isn’t too much.

Another advantage to email marketing is that people are more likely to sign up for and open your email than they are to “like” or comment on a post on Facebook. Email has greater privacy and what goes on in that form of communication is between you and the company.  Check out these some interesting statistics on the value of social media properties like Facebook, Twitter and email. Essentially, if you have 2000 followers on either platform and 2000 email contacts, you’ll get better results from a quality email—expect that just over 400 people will open your email. With Facebook, you’ll have about 120 views and with Twitter 40 people will see your message.

We’re not saying the social platforms aren’t great—they’re good for brand building and news sharing, but you know that Facebook isn’t cannabis-friendly and more than one marijuana business has been shut down or had its reach limited by restrictions. It’s important to select a vendor with policies that allow you to promote whatever cannabis business you have—keeping in mind that selling product is likely to grab the attention of monitors. There are a handful of companies that specialize in cannabis enews distribution, too. With them, you don’t have to be concerned about content issues.

No One Likes Spam

photo of a red door with no junk mail written on it to illustrate using email for your cannabis business, but not spammingUndoubtedly, you’re wondering about how to get 2000 email addresses, and you are also aware that spamming people is wrong. Is it illegal? It depends on what you are saying, how you came by the email address and your intention. Writing a subject line that is intended to deceive people is spam. Sending an email to someone you met at a networking event isn’t spamming. Using a bot to gather up email addresses and sending something to thousands of people you have no relationship with is spamming. People in your database will have the ability to opt out of your emails, so sending to them is fine. Most providers (like MailChimp) have all the anti-spam requirements built into the software. The FTC has a guide on the subject.

Gathering and growing an email list takes time. Start with your customers and people you network with, create a signup pop up on your website. Ask people on your social pages and give them a link. Offer something for signups like a discount or a perk or just some outstanding content—a guide or other downloadable item that will be of interest. Make sure the sign up is in your email signature and on your site in a popup or other spot.

So, statistically, you know that you know emails aren’t a problem for people and you’ve built a list. Now you’ve got to figure out your content and delivery mechanism. There are a few different kinds of emails that can be sent for your cannabis business. They include:

  • Promotional—where you’re promoting services or products
  • Specials—when you have something new for your customers
  • Welcome—a greeting and hello to people who sign up for your email
  • Educational—telling people something you think they’d like to know
  • Newsletter—what’s going on in your company
  • Advice—helping people understand how to use something you sell or giving them other advice on an issue

Make sure to keep your articles and promotions short and link to your website after the first few sentences. Include images and GIFs that help emphasize your points. Find a style and stick to it—avoid using lots of fonts and colors—you don’t want to distract from your main message.

While We’re on the Subject

photo of a smiley face emoji for this article about using email for your cannabis businessOne of the most important aspects of cannabis business email marketing is the subject line. What are you going to say to get people to open your message and act? Make it short around 65 characters, use emojis carefully and make it intriguing. If you wonder if it will work, do an AB test with your list. Send half of the messages with one subject line (a) the rest with another (b) and see which gets a better open rate.

If you have more questions about email marketing, give us a shout, and we’ll be happy to plan a strategy with you. And if you want to learn more about how communication can grow your cannabis business, take a moment to sign up for Canna Communication’s monthly enews.

scrabble tiles that say take more photos: for your cannabis business website

Making Content for Your Cannabis Business Website

You’ve heard this before: Content Rules.

New and searchable content is what makes the Internet hum. Fresh content helps improve traffic on your cannabis business website, drives sales and makes your business relevant to search engines.

Content is made up of text, images, video and audio that live on your website.a laptop used to create content for a cannabis business website

When properly optimized for search engines content is more easily findable by people looking for something specific. We won’t get into search engine optimization in this blog, but this video by Neil Patel is pretty useful for getting some basics about why you need to pay attention to this and what to do.

When you plan content creation for your cannabis business website, it needs to accomplish a few of these things. The more of these ideas you can include, the richer your content will be.

  • Educational—tell people something they might not know
  • Compelling—write or show the topic in a way that keeps people’s attention
  • Useful—give practical advice or a “how to” to the reader or viewer
  • Focused—stick to what you know and what your business is about
  • Quality—if you’re writing, make sure your grammar is correct and if you’re making a video, the audio and picture need to be good, too.
  • Relevant—produce content about something that’s happening now
  • Entertaining—use humor and visuals that make your content fun (when appropriate)
  • New—put a new spin on what you’re writing about and try to make it fresh for your web visitors.
  • If possible, make it personal and always be aware of your brand voice.

Creating content takes time and effort. Whether you’re making a video, writing a blog or creating a podcast, you need to do a few things before you jump in.

  • Think about and plan out what you want people to learn or know—what’s the core message? Are there other details and secondary messages that support what you’re saying?
  • Make sure you have enough knowledge and expertise to say or write at least 400 words or create a 90-second video. There will be some topics that come naturally to you and others you’ll struggle to complete.
  • Think visually. How can you show and tell your story? Are there images or video you want to include?
  • Don’t plagiarize! Make sure what you write or say is original to you. Yes, you can read another author’s articles for ideas, validation or outbound links, but don’t steal someone else’s words or images.
  • Create content in small chunks that people can easily skim. Like we did here.
  • Think about the questions people ask about your business or products and use those to generate your content. For instance, we had someone on Linked In ask us about how to get a medical marijuana card in Michigan. While it wasn’t communication-related, we could see there was a need to share this information.

Every cannabis business website has some easy wins for content that are necessary. Team or leadership biographies and a robust about us section are essential. People like to see and know about who is behind the product or service they are using. It’s also a great place to share your brand personality and voice. Keep in mind the “why” of your business and use that for content, too. The reason you started growing, processing, testing, transporting or provisioning cannabis is something people like to know. If it’s personal, let that shine.photo of people who might be featured on a cannabis business website

It’s important to create content that moves your cannabis business forward and looks to bring people to you for your expertise in cannabis.

When appropriate use a call to action like this: for help creating content give us a nudge. We’d be happy to work with you.

Cannabis Business and Communication: Focus on What You Know

I’m a pretty good backyard gardener. I grow heirloom tomatoes from seeds, we built a little greenhouse to better acclimate the seedlings to Michigan’s weather and to have fruit in early July instead of August. I use good organic soil and nutrients and I’ve heard that growing cannabis is like growing tomatoes.

But, I don’t grow cannabis and here’s why.

It’s a complex plant that needs a lot of ongoing attention to produce a high-quality flower. It needs light and then at the right time it needs darkness. It a green cannabis plant, cannabis communication is essential to business successneeds circulated air, specific food at certain times. You don’t want it to cross-pollinate with other plants and it’s vulnerable to a variety of issues that can ruin it. Killing a plant that is as valuable as cannabis is a mistake no grower wants to make. Growers also don’t want to create a sub-par flower. That’s a lot of pressure!

Good growers follow a plan and have developed a process that ensures success. It’s the same for cannabis business communication.

And that’s why when it comes to communication—your website and its content, social media, media-related publicity and stories, your brand, special events and your marketing you need an expert.

Not your nephew. Not your kid. Not you. Unless you (or they) are an experienced cannabis communication professional.

Here’s why it’s important to work with someone in communication who has a level of expertise that meets your needs. Communication isn’t just one thing. It’s an integrated system of strategic activities that need attention, innovative ideas and message continuity.

Think about the brands/companies you respect and how they are steady in their personality. Sure, some changes happen in a brand, but overall the best companies display the same attributes and keep the same character. For instance, Target is fresh, fun and playful. It is inclusive and emotional in its voice. Nike is bold and strong. It believes that all people are athletes and when it takes a stand it means something.

While these companies are probably not your cannabis company right now, it could be you in the future. That’s why developing your brand personality is vital. It’s part of why consistent and strategic communication is essential in the early stages of your business development matters. You don’t want to have to undo something that doesn’t fit the business you’ve carefully developed.

As you are aware, mistakes and missteps go viral and can destroy a company’s reputation, so it’s crucial that you consider your communication efforts carefully. Communication must be regarded as thoughtfully as your plant selection, growing methods, the creation of your edibles and the people that you hire. Don’t take the risk of allowing communication to be in the backseat of the overall strategy of your cannabis business.

One of our clients is a law firm that cares about its brand and is active in its communication pursuits. The attorneys don’t spend time on social media posting or concerning themselves with media exposure, that’s left to the professionals (us). They provide expert legal advice for marijuana businesses. We offer the firm advice and counsel on their messages and media relations and manage the day to day communication. They utilize Canna Communication’s input and ideas in the same way their legal clients turn to them for help.

The question need to consider is: do you have the time, interest and expertise to manage the daily communication needs of your business? Or would you rather be in with the plants, your employees and your customers?  

Let us help manage the details of your brand communication while you grow your business.