The social media platforms have made cannabis companies social media misfits. As a cannabis company, if you have not been scared off or annoyed beyond recognition by this point, we applaud you. You realize everyone is pushing out the same content with a different brand name because that’s all anyone can really do. You also realize your presence there is expected and necessary. It’s all about how you look at it though, so make your brand stand out from the herd. Be creative and have fun with what you can do and dismiss what you cannot, but whatever you do, do not push the boundaries. These platforms can and will suspend or permanently remove your account if you do not adhere to their guidelines, so you must know what they are.
Ultimately, what really serves your cannabis company is driving traffic to your website. Your website is your online storefront where you can showcase your goodies and the deals you are offering. As your web traffic increases so does its quality rating with Google which is advantageous in searches. Your social media channels can certainly help get people to visit your site, so they serve a meaningful purpose. Here are some guidelines to adhere to, so you can make sure to stay in good standing.
Very strict regulations are an ongoing battle for cannabis businesses marketing on social media. Cannabis violates every platform’s terms of service and community guidelines just by being there and every cannabis brand wants to dominate. Unfortunately, today you can only expect to reach about 3 percent of your audience on most social media platforms. Even with amazing content, algorithms change often, and hashtags help, but not as much as most people think.
Simply put, follow the rules and you’ll be fine and remain in good standing.
You can post…
Educational, informative content.
Advocacy content including data, statistics, quotes, legislative updates, health reports, research results, and so on.
Images of products – just don’t post anything that implies the products are for sale, trade, or delivery.
Keep an eye on all social media updates to its guidelines so you’re always adhering to the current rules. This includes Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, Reddit and Tik Tok.
Closely monitor the activities on your page, particularly if you outsource content creation, sharing, and communications on your business page to a marketing agency, freelancer, or another third party. It’s equally important to monitor your employees’ activities on your page as well to ensure they comply with Facebook’s rules.
You cannot…
Say that a product is for sale, trade, or delivery.
Ask people to buy a product, i.e. put in bio “Nothing for sale and 21+ only”
List prices.
Encourage people to inquire or contact your business about a product.
Show images that depict the sale of cannabis products.
Post anything that gives instructions on how to grow, sell, or use cannabis.
Provide any contact information for people to buy cannabis products.
Make any medical claims.
Safe content looks like this:
Budtender bios and recommendations
Cultivation behind-the-scenes
Cannabis lifestyle imagery and content
Memes for cannabis enthusiasts, nothing cartoonish or child-related, i.e. Mickey Mouse
General cannabis education
Product education
Dosing tips and guidelines
Having an experienced marketing team creating your content makes a difference, but not everyone has access to that initially. If you are going at it alone to begin, start with some objectives you can measure like increase in number of followers per month and number of engagements per post. Focus on the power of your social content more than the frequency. Variety is the spice of life, so get creative and bring something new and fun to your audiences. A lot of different types of people use weed. You can still stay on brand and market to Deadheads and soccer moms alike. Sometimes they are the same people. Never judge a book, right?