Cannabis Marketing 101: How To Reach Your Target Audience and Boost Your Brand
As the cannabis industry continues to grow globally, cannabis companies must differentiate themselves in a highly competitive market. However, advertising cannabis in the US faces significant challenges due to its federal illegal status. Many conventional advertising channels are off-limits for cannabis-related products, and strict regulations regarding the promotion of even CBD and dispensaries on search engines and social media platforms further compound the issue.
Cannabis Marketing 101: Alternative Marketing Channels
Being adaptable and nimble is important when marketing your cannabis brand. Here are some options we’ve seen work, if done correctly.
Paid Search
Generally, you’re unable to use paid search as a tool to acquire more customers since Google’s ad policy doesn’t allow ads for “substances that alter the mental state of consumers”. This said, there are ways to work around it so paid search is a potential option, and even more viable if you are a B2B brand, depending on the products you sell of course.
Social Media
Social media platforms are another marketing tool that a lot of companies leverage to build their brand and connect with customers. Unfortunately for cannabis companies, using paid social advertisements is not an option due to ads guidelines, though depending on your product or brand there are work arounds for this as well. But for dispensaries, ads are not typically an option.
Many cannabis brands have built followings in to the millions, only to have their social accounts shut down by social platforms with little or no warning, nor an appeal process. Its actually common for cannabis brands to have multiple accounts incase one gets shut down.
Social media can be good, but isn’t typically a great way to “stand out” in a crowed market.
Programmatic Advertising
This next marketing tool is slowly but surely gaining traction. Programmatic advertising allows you to pick out potential customers based on the content they’re consuming. This type of advertising is one step ahead of paid search as it connects people who are searching for the product to your brand through its four major components:
- Demand-side platform (DSP)
- Supply-side platform (SSP)
- Data management platform (DMP)
- Ad exchange
Each part allows effective trade between the company that sells the product and the customer who wants to buy the product. Even though this type of marketing was initially a method for buying inventory that nobody wanted, it has evolved to sell many premium products, one of which is cannabis.
You can also reach out to platforms that allow cannabis ads and secure your spot by negotiating a rate either on cost-per-thousand views (CPM) or a cost-per-click (CPC) basis. Platforms you can contact for these services include High Times, Leafly, Weedmaps, Marijuana Business Daily, Kush Klicks, and others.
Many times though, the cost is higher for these platforms, so its not always a viable option for smaller retailers or operators with lesser marketing budgets.
Content and SEO
One of the best cannabis marketing strategies that you can use for your cannabis business is an effective content strategy paird with an SEO strategy. Whether you want to sell products locally or globally, building your website is the way to do it.
Here’s why content and SEO should be your top priority: your website is the only marketing asset you truly own. Social media platforms as mentioned can shut you down without warning, and paid advertising options remain limited for cannabis businesses. But your website? That’s your digital real estate, and it’s where you can build lasting value.
Content isn’t just “nice to have” – it’s your sales team working 24/7. When someone searches “best dispensary near me,” “what’s the difference between indica and sativa,” or “how much CBD should I take,” your website should be there with the answers. Every piece of content you create should either drive qualified traffic, support your sales process, or establish your authority as the go-to cannabis expert in your market.
The most effective approach combines two types of content: evergreen content that builds long-term value and timely content that captures immediate attention. Evergreen content – like a well optimized e-commerce menu along with strain guides, consumption methods, dosage education, and compliance information – continues working for your business years after publication. This is the backbone of a sustainable content strategy that supports consistent organic traffic growth.
Here’s the SEO game-changer most cannabis businesses miss: Your Google Business Profile. While you can’t [mostly] run Google Ads, you can absolutely dominate local search results through your Google Business Profile. This is your secret weapon for local visibility – and it’s completely free. Most cannabis businesses set it up and forget it, but those who actively optimize their profile with regular updates, customer photos, Q&As, and fresh posts consistently outrank their competition in local searches.
Optimize your site for search engines so you can rank higher when users search for local businesses and brands or specific keywords. Do your keyword research, create a plan, optimize existing pages with top value terms first, then move on to creating new pages.
Email Marketing
While cannabis marketing is behind on some fronts, email marketing isn’t one of them as it’s still one of the most effective marketing tools for cannabis companies. This is because there are no restrictions and you can communicate your message to all of your subscribers and customers.
You can collect email addresses by asking customers to sign up to your email list during an online or in-store purchase and even offer a discount for those who do. This tool is a great way to target prospective customers and build leads. What’s even better is that you can provide deals and discounts to your most loyal customers to ensure that they keep coming back for more.
This way of advertising is great for dispensaries and cannabis companies that are slowly building their client base, but also for multi-state operators.
SMS Marketing
Never underestimate the power of SMS marketing, especially when it comes to the cannabis industry where your marketing options are limited. Even though this isn’t the most preferred method of marketing for a lot of companies due to regulatory and privacy concerns, sending MMS or SMS may be the key to incentivizing customers.
By using SMS marketing, you can communicate the launch of new products, inform customers about new deals and discounts, provide targeted offers, and keep them in the loop about any news related to your brand. You can motivate customers to sign-up for your SMS marketing list by giving them discounts and deals when shopping online or in-store. This type of marketing is especially beneficial for dispensaries that have new products coming in all the time.
Out-Of-Home Advertising
If you want to expand your reach away from the digital marketing sphere, you can also try out-of-home advertising which includes billboards, cab ads, bench ads, and other types of out-of-home ads.
While the regulation on out-of-home advertising for cannabis still varies from state to state, some states do allow it, such as California. As a result, cannabis companies are starting to place a lot of creative billboards and ads in strategic places to make the most out of this marketing method.
It’s important to note that different states have different regulations concerning this type of advertising, so make sure to check the regulation in your state before you start planning your campaign, though some general advice would be to:
- Avoid making claims
- Avoid depicting cannabis consumption
- Never put the ads close to a school
- Add a disclaimer
While it isn’t as easy to keep track of the effects and return on investment (ROI) of this type of marketing, there are some ways you can measure this:
- Use direct response as a way to measure sign-ups based on entry points as well as site traffic. To do this, you need to make a specific URL for the billboard or bench ads so you can locate your potential customers even more precisely.
- Use a survey on your site where you can ask the visitors where they heard about your brand or product.
Out-of-home advertising is especially effective for dispensaries and companies that want to advertise their products and expand their business locally.
Brand Ambassadors, Sponsorships, and Word-of-Mouth Marketing
Finally, we come to the use of brand ambassadors and word-of-mouth marketing. For this reason, it’s important to cultivate a good relationship with the most influential customers, as they can become your future brand ambassadors. Influencer marketing is becoming the new normal as its effectiveness is undeniable, so investing your efforts here has a high chance to result in expanding your customer base.
Creating excitement around your brand generates buzz and cultivates a word-of-mouth marketing strategy, encouraging customers to not only talk about your products but to also refer them to friends and family. Once the hype is established, it’s the perfect time to think about incorporating a loyalty program. Make sure to start a loyalty program to reward faithful customers and entice first-timers to return.
The Best Approach for Cannabis Marketing
Navigating the complex world of cannabis marketing can be a daunting task, but with the right approach and the right team behind you, you can achieve success. While the regulations surrounding cannabis marketing are still evolving, it’s important to rely on the marketing channels we’ve discussed in this article.
And as a leading SEO digital marketing agency, Evergreen Digital can help you create a customized and effective organic marketing strategy that works for your cannabis business. With our expertise in SEO, and paid search [we just say “search”], we can help you increase your online visibility and drive more traffic to your website. We’re happy to make referrals for any marketing channels we don’t offer services for as well.
Contact us today to learn more about how we can help you grow your cannabis business.
