Cannabis marketing is a tricky affair for businesses because, as of the time of this article’s publishing, marijuana remains illegal by federal law. However, each state has its own laws on advertising weed, and these rules extend to CBD products, too. Unfortunately, traditional mediums like print ads, television, and radio have many restrictions for marketing CBD brands, making it much easier and more practical to do so online instead. Here’s how you can get the word out about your CBD brand, using the world wide web.

5 Ways To Market CBD Brands Online

1. Join CBD and cannabis websites.

If you’re still looking for your audience, CBD blogs and websites are great places to start searching. Most of their followers already use CBD products, so many of them will likely be interested in what you’re selling too. Popular cannabis sites that cater to both marijuana and CBD users can work just as well. They have directories where you can have your business’s contact details, products, and promos listed.

Search the web for forums that you can participate in for more exposure. There, you can share your knowledge on CBD, and engage other users who you can convert into customers. They can also be a place to get feedback on your products and services to help you improve. You may not have the time to do it yourself, but a cannabis marketing team can handle things on that end.

2. Utilize social media.

Aside from CBD-related websites, social media is another excellent platform for reaching more people. They allow you to post about your products and share what your brand is all about. You’re also able to study your audience through insight tools and learn how to better engage with them.

For most industries, social media ads are one of the most effective ways to reach your customers. They allow you to zero in on the demographics you want. Unfortunately, using ads, especially on sites like Facebook is still a delicate matter for CBD brands, since they’re likely to take your ads down as soon as the words like CBD or marijuana are mentioned. Cannabis is still being grouped with dangerous drugs like meth and cocaine, which are not allowed on social media advertising.

So instead of relying on ads, you can use more organic means, like:

  • Attracting social media influencers: They’re usually experts with large followings in their niche. They’ll know the best way to convince their followers to support your brand than if you did it yourself.
  • Joining cannabis and CBD groups: Their members already use CBD, so you’ll have an easier time promoting your brand and products. It’s also another platform to discuss CBD-related topics with others in the market.

If you’re a B2B CBD business, you’ll also want to start a profile on LinkedIn, which is considered one of the friendliest social media platforms for marijuana marketing. Although your ads still can’t directly sell cannabis and CBD, you’re allowed to promote your brand to other businesses and professionals.

3. Work on email marketing.

Newsletter, Keyboard, Send, Message, Automatic

Email marketing is one of the oldest tricks in the book, but cannabis marketing staff can still use it effectively. New stats revealed that 59% of B2B marketers consider email marketing to be their top channel for bringing in revenue. A lead generation expert can use emails to personally connect with professionals who might be interested in partnering with you.

But that doesn’t mean B2C CBD brands can’t benefit from emails too. Many users subscribe to email newsletters for exclusive deals. You can even personalize them to make your customers feel extra special. For example, you can offer generous discounts to buyers on their birthday or give 50% off for an entire month only to regular customers. Taking the time to acknowledge and appreciate your customers on a more individual level gives them a reason to stay loyal to your brand.

4. Focus on SEO.

Like social media, paid advertising on search engines like Google isn’t feasible for your brand. They still consider all cannabis-related products, including CBD, to be dangerous substances and will remove ads that mention them. Your best option is to concentrate your cannabis marketing efforts on SEO instead. SEO or search engine optimization is the term for any methods used to bring your web pages closer to the top search results and bring more traffic to your website.

SEO takes effect more slowly than ads because there are a lot of considerations to be made so that the search engine’s algorithm ranks your pages highly. These include:

  • Using appropriate keywords for your brand
  • Creating unique and timely content containing relevant keywords
  • Fixing your site’s URLs and metadata to be more search-friendly
  • Improving your website’s design so visitors can navigate better

Despite the effort involved, SEO is more sustainable than paid advertising. This is because paid ads stop working once you stop paying or cancel the ad. On the other hand, SEO’s effects remain long after you’re finished posting content or changing your metadata. This can help you save money if your CBD business doesn’t have a big marketing budget yet.

5. Create content that educates.

CBD is still relatively unknown to the mainstream public compared to marijuana. Apart from merely marketing your products, it’s also important to educate your target audience on what CBD is as well. You can help them distinguish between cannabis and cannabidiol and elaborate on CBD’s benefits. Once they’re enlightened on how CBD can help in their daily lives, they’ll be more willing to hear what your brand’s products have to offer.

You can be as creative as you want with your content. Blogs and guest posting on other websites are always helpful for SEO since they contain your keywords and help you reach more people organically. You can also branch out to infographics and videos for people who learn better through visuals. This strategy also helps freshen things up and engage your followers. However, do be careful if your content promotes CBD products. Make sure that you’re not accidentally breaking any of your state’s marijuana advertising rules.

 

Indeed, online marketing offers more freedom and opportunities for all kinds of marijuana and CBD businesses. Medicated Marketing can help your CBD brand can reach greater heights through organic, sustainable digital marketing services such as SEO, web development, and lead generation. Get started with your cannabis marketing journey today and contact us to schedule a consultation.