Cannabis marketing consultant Elizabeth Udell recently released her 2024 Cannabis Instagram Marketing Guide. Here, she shares some top tips for weed and weed-adjacent companies looking to level up their social media, and when to get advice from an expert.
1. Post the unexpected or intriguing. You’ll need more than a photo of a beautiful woman with an edible in her hand to engender meaningful engagement with potential customers said Udell. Use humor, memes, education, or start with a hook and tell a story when you post on social media, she advises. You may want to jump on a trend like street interviews, but make it about your dispensary or product. Or perhaps ask an intriguing question like, “what is this device?” posted with a photo of an odd-looking bong or piece of cannabis production equipment.
DO use memes and humor to engage with your audienceE. Udell
2. Don’t promise your product will have a specific effect on the consumer. Federal law prohibits cannabis companies from promising their product has any specific effect like improving sleep or relieving anxiety. You can however say the product may help or can help have a specific effect. Avoid using the word “will” cautions Udell who has seen companies taken to court, “you do not want the government involved in your business.”
DO say “targeting” or “might” or “can” when describing a product’s effect. DON’T say “will”E. Udell
3. Know The Rules. Mainstream social media does not allow you to promote the sale of an illegal product, so keep any sales language like “in stores now”, “available now” and “in stock,” out of your cannabis posts and even your photo captions. Content with those phrases or cannabis-related hashtags will likely be flagged and can possibly take down your entire account. Each platform has its own rules, and so does each state, so it’s worth putting in the extra investment to hire an expert on cannabis social media marketing. You don’t want to spend a lot of time and money on content, only for it to get the account banned when you post it, said Udell.
4. Use Reels to push the limits. Content creators can push the limits a bit more with Reels, which are not currently policed as thoroughly as photo postings said Udell. You can talk about a product’s effects, its ingredients or show product packaging she said.
5. Be careful on TikTok. TikTok does not allow imagery of cannabis plants and there is a chance you won’t even know if your account gets flagged Udell said. You may get shadow banned and it may be impossible to get reinstated. To post about weed on TikTok, Udell suggests using a voice interview, like a podcast, perhaps with a scientist talking about THC, and do not use any cannabis or cannabis use imagery to accompany it.DON’T show cannabis in your content – it is more likely to get taken downE Udell
https://www.forbes.com/sites/julieweed/2024/02/16/high-impact-igniting-your-cannabis-brands-social-media/
