Blog : Cannabis Products

Full-Circle Marketing

Full-Circle Marketing

We hear it all the time: I don’t have budget to do what I should do for marketing.  Or: How can I be guaranteed that marketing will work for me?  Or: My budtenders handle my marketing.  At Cannabis Marketing, Inc., we get it!  As business owners, every single dollar that you put into the business needs to be accounted for.  This can mean cutting corners when it comes to marketing, or tasking employees to handle your marketing in order to save money.  In this blog, we will discuss candidly why hiring a team of cannabis marketing experts makes sense over fragmenting your marketing strategy among separate people or multiple agencies.

When you first started your business, like most entrepreneurs, you probably did not have a lot of capital for marketing.  So maybe you assigned email campaigns to one person on your team, and then assigned social media to a savvy family member, and then assigned graphic design and printing to someone on your management team.  Then, as you started gaining traction and your business started to grow, you probably got bombarded by outside sales people trying to sell you print ads, or coupon book sections, or digital service packages.  Without having the connections or experience in marketing (because after all, you are a business owner, not a marketer), maybe you elected some additional marketing campaigns that did not pan out.  Maybe you spent money on a new concept that promised return and found that nothing happened.  Maybe the marketing company wasn’t transparent about what your campaign did, so you actually have no idea where your dollars were applied, or what those dollars accomplished. 

WE GET IT! When you start a business, it can be incredibly difficult to understand what makes the most sense when it comes to spending money on marketing. This is where Cannabis Marketing, Inc. can help.

Cannabis Marketing, Inc. is not like other cannabis marketing agencies that you’ve encountered.  We pride ourselves on becoming a part of your team, not simply a vendor or a yes-man.  Our team is carefully compiled of experts in each leg of your marketing campaign.  This means, that our social media team lives and breathes social media every day; attending seminars, webinars, and ingesting articles so that our knowledge is on trend and we can change your strategy as quickly as the social media landscape changes.  Our SEO team has decades of experience, and we make sure to use only the best proven strategies for Search Engine Optimization so that your website goes farther.  Our compliance team is constantly researching and learning about the newest changes in legislation and cannabis compliance so that our clients are first in the know when changes could impact your marketing strategy.  Cannabis Marketing, Inc. also has strong connections nationwide for every type of marketing avenue.  This means, we know the companies who are reaching out to you.  We know what to ask for and how to research new strategies to make sure that anything that comes across your desk is vetted before implementation.  Our team works closely together to ensure that we are doing what’s best for you and your cannabis business, every single day.

The other thing that sets Cannabis Marketing, Inc. apart from other agencies is that we eliminate fragmented marketing.  Fragmented marketing is when you have one person in charge of one thing, one department in charge of another thing, and more often than not, those people do not communicate effectively.  This means, that instead of your social media, email, radio, SEO, website design, and print advertising all working together to promote your message, your brand, and your specials; each advertising piece is instead working alone.  We all know that there is strength in numbers, and Full-Circle Marketing works when your entire team and strategy is on the same page.  Cannabis Marketing, Inc.’s team helps to make sure that all of your marketing pieces are branded, beautiful, and cohesive.  We analyze and plan every piece of your chosen marketing strategy so that radio is supporting social media, social media is supporting email, email is supporting specials, and your print ads are driving traffic to your website.  Every piece of your strategy works together to promote your brand or storefront, resulting in increased sales over time.  Eliminating fragmented marketing is the number one way to make sure that your marketing dollars are being used as effectively as possible.  After all, you are running a business to make money!

If a straightforward approach to marketing is something you can appreciate, let’s see if we are a good fit!  Utilizing Full-Circle Marketing with Cannabis Marketing, Inc. will get you the results that you are looking for.  Our expertise in the cannabis industry is unmatched, and our team is passionate about the cannabis industry.  Check out our case studies on the home page of our website, and give us a call to see how we can help you grow!

Why Social Media is Important for Your Cannabis Brand

Why Social Media is Important for Your Cannabis Brand

You hear it all the time: you need to be on social media in order to reach your customers and fans.  But the fact is that social media can be incredibly time-consuming and confusing with the constant algorithm changes.  At the same time, your cannabis business could either be blacklisted, banned from advertising, or shadow banned from the social media profiles you use the most.  So, how can your cannabis business thrive on social media if you can’t seem to use it the way you need?  This is a frustration we hear from clients all over the nation.  At Cannabis Marketing, Inc., we employ the best strategies for each client, which means that we may recommend Social Media on top of multiple other marketing strategies.  Of course, the marketing strategies that we are able to employ for our clients depends on their budget and what fits their target demo.  Every client is uniquely different in what they need and what they are trying to achieve.

Social Proof

No matter how small your reach is, no matter if you are beginning a business or have been in business for years, Social Media is a must.  The reason for this is because of social proof.  Have you ever looked at reviews before purchasing a product?  Have you ever asked your friends what their opinions are before dining at a new restaurant?  Have you ever left a positive review for a product that you loved, or maybe a negative review for an experience that was distasteful?  The reason that we as human beings look to one another before we make purchases is called Social Proof.  Social Proof is our nature to do things that our peers also do.  It sounds a lot like copycatting, but it is so much more.  By first understanding Social Proof, Social Media becomes a no-brainer for your cannabis business.

The Rules

There are rules when it comes to social media, and we encourage our clients to be as compliant as they can.  The fact of the matter is that simply being on social media as a cannabis company may be against the “rules”, so every single time you post, it’s even more imperative to make sure that it is of high value and that there is a specific strategy behind each post.  The thing that we often see is that cannabis businesses will post, simply to post.  In the social media space today, it does not make sense to post simply to have a presence, especially when your cannabis business may only be seen by a fraction of your followers.  Due to various algorithms, it makes it even more important to post high-value, branded content, every single time.  It is actually better to post once a week with something that is gangbusters, than to post every single day with boring or tired graphics and information.

Human-To-Human Interaction

The beautiful thing about implementing social media along with your other marketing campaigns is that your social media will help to establish you as a legitimate business owned by a real human.  Think of it as that warm and fuzzy feeling where you can reach those clients who are searching for you and let them know more about you.  Social media is your chance to expand upon what they heard on the radio, or what they sought on a flyer, or what they heard from a friend.  By overlapping your social media with your other marketing strategies, you have the opportunity to create brand presence and human-to-human interaction that your new and existing customers crave.

Enhanced Customer Service

The other beautiful thing about social media for your cannabis business is that it is an excellent customer service platform.  When you have a team of people monitoring your social media platforms to answer questions, tag fans, and thank people for sharing content, it gives you the opportunity to set yourself apart.  Social media is supposed to be exactly that: social!  So by having a strong social media presence, and using these platforms to add a level of communication for your customers, social media makes complete sense.

Outsourcing Social Media

The other thing we see a lot of in the social media space is that owners will assign social media duties to their budtenders or internal management.  We get it!  Having someone in-house to take pictures, attend events, and post on the spot is certainly valuable.  However, you hired your management to do a job, and do it well.  So let them be managers for your business.  Your budtenders are highly-personable and everyone has a great experience?  That is exactly what you want.  Allowing your staff to do exactly what they were hired to do, without adding the extra burden of social media marketing, is smart.  Outsourcing your social media allows each person on your internal team to focus on their strengths instead of trying to learn something that they may not even be passionate about.  At Cannabis Marketing, Inc, we take pride in becoming part of your team.  We visit your store on a regular basis, getting to know your staff and becoming one of the family.  We attend all of your events and will even help organize pop-ups to maintain great relationships with your vendors.  We are passionate about marketing, and that includes your social media.  We consistently learn the newest tactics and attend trainings to make sure we are in the know for you.  Did you know that the algorithm for Facebook recently changed?  Our team took a week-long training on how to utilize the best social media strategies, and we now implement those strategies so that we can get you the best results.

In conclusion, when it comes to Social Media for cannabis businesses, having business profiles on major platforms is a must.  Investing in your marketing with a team of experts is always the best strategy; hoping that people will come in the door is not.  We would love to help you grow your business, why not call us for your free consultation today?

3 Things You Need to Know Before Marketing Your Cannabis Products

3 Things You Need to Know Before Marketing Your Cannabis Products

Placing your brand in front of your current and potential customers is a smart move for any business; IF you’re ready.  In the cannabis world, it is especially important to stay top of mind in our community.  The competitive nature of the business can hold many cannabis companies back from reaching their full potential.  That is where cannabis marketing comes into play.  If you own a dispensary or cannabis brand, you will, at some point, want to deploy an advertising strategy. Are you considering starting or expanding your cannabis marketing efforts? If so, consider these three things before you begin: Planning, Branding, and Partnering with the right agency.

Is Your Cannabis Business Ready for Big Growth?

The cannabis industry is continually growing.  The fact that the entire cannabis market is working well in states where it is legalized means there is tons of opportunity for brands and storefronts alike.  When your business implements a strategic marketing strategy, there is no doubt your company will grow rapidly.  That’s why we always suggest having a solid plan in place to prepare for your growth. 

Some of the marketing outlets we have found to be highly successful when marketing your cannabis business are social media, radio, email, and blogs.  When you implement a full-circle strategy for your cannabis brand with a team of experts, your business has the opportunity to double within 6 months!  If you own a dispensary or brand, ask yourself: Can your current structure support twice the business it supports now?  Is your location and staff large enough for the influx of customers?  These are just two things to think about before seeking out a successful Cannabis Marketing Agency like CMI.

Is Your Cannabis Brand Ready to be Consistent?

Branding

As the cannabis industry continues to shift from a strictly medical focus to one that includes all adults over the age of 21, the requirements for truly effective marketing strategies are in a constant state of change.  Educating cannabis medical patients is very different than creating an appealing advertisement for the recreational cannabis user.  If your cannabis brand can identify specific consumer segments and tailor your branding and marketing strategies to reflect the priorities and preferences of those groups, you’ll be in the best position to compete as the market grows and matures. 

Once your cannabis brand has established your niche within your market, a branding strategy can be created.  Utilizing a cannabis marketing agency like CMI is a smart idea to keep your brand unique.  We know that when you have a branding strategy that consistently forms emotional relationships with customers, that bond converts to both income and long-term company value, which will make your marketing dollars go further as you begin or expand your advertising campaign. 

Vetting Out the Right Cannabis Marketing Agency

The emergence of so many cannabis brands and dispensaries has increased the need for effective and compliant marketing strategies.  The only way to stand out in the crowd is to incorporate innovative and unique ideas to keep your brand relevant in your space.  Utilizing an experienced and successful cannabis marketing agency is key.  We would like to share some important qualifications to look for when vetting out a marketing agency for your cannabis brand.

Does the agency have a team?

Successful cannabis marketing agencies like CMI are staffed with marketing experts that hold various skills.  Each member of our team is specialized in a specific channel or aspect of marketing.  We know there is always added value when you work with a team as opposed to a singular person.  Did you know that according to the 2017 Creative Industry Report, 68% of in-house marketing teams partner with external agencies?  Partnering with an agency will allow your employees to stick to their core strengths instead of having to learn new techniques that are uncomfortable or outside their wheelhouse.

Hiring a team of qualified, experienced marketers is a strong business decision.  If you hired one person to handle your marketing, you will have to pay that person a solid wage to get the quality of work that is expected for return on your investment.  A quality marketing agency will have an entire team of specialists for the price you pay each month.  Not to mention, these specialists are qualified and already have the experience to ensure ultimate results.  Agencies like Cannabis Marketing, Inc. have already worked with businesses like yours. This means they will more easily understand your needs and know how to fulfill them.  Their processes are proven and high-quality work is the result. 

Good Agencies are Driven by Results.

High-quality cannabis agencies will always share data and analytics gathered throughout your marketing campaigns with you.  The data collected will be continuously assessed and monitored to ensure the best results possible, and transparency will be key to your success.  These insights help to draw the right conclusions to drive the right outcomes.  At Cannabis Marketing, Inc. we are proud to produce exceptional results, and won’t hesitate to share your results with you on a monthly basis.  Here are some of our case studies which show our growth patterns for previous clients.

Does Your Cannabis Agency Do It All?

As the cannabis industry competition continues to grow, utilizing multiple outlets for your advertising is imperative to your success.  Find an agency that considers itself “full service”.  This indicates that there isn’t anything they can’t do!  Cannabis regulations are becoming less strict all of the time, allowing you to reach more people than ever before.  An agency that can create a full-circle campaign for your business is the best option out there.  You want your message to be consistent and presented to your customers through several different channels, from radio advertisements to social media contests, and the agency you choose to work with should be able to handle it all.  Click here to see a list of the services offered at Cannabis Marketing, Inc.

If your cannabis brand or dispensary is ready for some serious growth, it’s time to implement a cannabis marketing strategy that works!  The experts here at CMI are ready to grow with you.  For a free consultation, please contact us at 719-219-3575, or fill out this form.  

How to Market Your Cannabis Company in a Competitive Market

How to Market Your Cannabis Company in a Competitive Market

The Cannabis Industry requires marketing that is simply not the same as it is with other industries.  You may be feeling confused as to how to navigate Federal Laws and online policies to make your brand stand out in this growing industry, especially as Facebook and Instagram continue to deny advertising and unpublish cannabis pages.

At Cannabis Marketing, Inc., we employ effective strategies to set up your marketing for success, whether you specialize in topicals, edibles, concentrates, CBD, or have a storefront.  Our goal is to help you reach the largest audience while utilizing the best techniques.  Read on for several ways you can begin to effectively reach your ideal target audience in the cut-throat cannabis industry.

A Great Website

First things first, you need a great professional website to house all of the information and cannabis products your customers are seeking.  Spend time to really think about the overall vision and mission of your company and allow your website to tell your brand’s story.

Even creating lists of what your brand is and is not can be helpful to make your company stand out.  Refer to that list often and incorporate other members of your staff within your marketing campaigns to discuss and support the mission of your brand.

After creating a vision and goal for your company’s brand, it is time to create a fully-functioning, mobile-responsive, visually appealing website.  You only have moments to make an impression on online users and your website needs to tell a story quickly and effectively.

Make sure to stick to only a few fonts and colors to make the brand and site cohesive.  You want your audience to trust you, and if your branding is strong, the more you will stand out in the cannabis industry.

Choosing a domain will make a big difference in your marketing, as it is something you will want your audience to remember easily.  Your domain will typically contain your brand name, as that is what people will first type into Google when searching for you.  You can search for available domains here.

It is also important to remember to add an age-gate to your website.  This is to ensure children are not browsing on your website, similar to what liquor brands have on their sites.

As the cannabis industry grows in popularity, maintaining accountability when promoting or advertising cannabis is imperative.  Do your research on the laws your state has for advertising cannabis and employ a team of experts when in doubt.  This protects you and your customers.

Canna-Tip: If you run into duplicate company names, try adding the word ‘dispensary’ or ‘collective’ after your brand name.  If you’re still having trouble, let our branding experts at CMI help you come up with a memorable and effective name and tagline for your cannabis business.

Effective Email Marketing

After you have established a great website to house the information and products for your cannabis business, consider email marketing.  Email marketing may not come to mind right away when thinking about how to market cannabis, but don’t scoff at it too harshly, as email is still a competent digital marketing tactic.  When executed strategically to a targeted audience, email marketing can be a highly lucrative and effective way to market cannabis products.

Third, only to Facebook and Instagram, the email inbox is still one of the most popular places people visit daily on their phones and computers.

With clickable links and branded graphics, users can easily visit your cannabis website to read new information on products, specials, announcements, events, and your latest blogs.  Email marketing is a fantastic way to lead consumers right to your website, then to your products, and finally, to sales.

Canna-tip: 94% of people get online to check email, and office workers check their email around 30 times each hour.  Did you know that it’s the #1 activity on the internet?  Use email marketing to stay in touch with your customers and reach your targeted audience on any device.

Incorporate a Blog

A question we hear often is “Does blogging work?”  Blogging is a huge part of brand recognition, creating space for yourself as the leader in your field, and establishing frequent and consistent views to your website.  Whether you commit to writing one blog a month or hire on some help to publish one blog a week, the trick here is to be selective and consistent with your blog and its topics.

What exactly is a ‘blog’?  Well, let’s put it this way, it is a medium that has evolved into what is estimated to now be a $300 billion industry with over 75% of B2C marketers using blogs as a marketing strategy (according to Social Media Today).  Blogs are articles that are written specifically for your brand and about a keyword-rich topic that helps your customers to find you when they are searching for that topic.

Blogs and content marketing are effective because your primary audience is actively seeking information about the health benefits of cannabis and CBD, as well as where and how to buy your cannabis or CBD product.  Well-written, informative blogs allow your brand to provide relevant and useful content to current and prospective customers, which helps to further set you apart from the competition!

Like we’ve mentioned, Cannabis is a growing and competitive industry, and while more states are legalizing medical and recreational sales, consumers are seeking reliable information.  Blogs can help to educate your customers by including topics like the laws of your state, product information, industry trends, and different ways for cannabis and CBD to be consumed.  Making CBD and cannabis easier for your prospects and customers to understand will help establish your brand as an expert, which ultimately will help build social proof and lead to more sales and recognition.

While blog subjects can and should range in topics, they all share some of the same characteristics:

  • Updated regularly with new content, found in a visible area on your website
  • Blogs allow your audience to comment and ask questions while interacting with you and your company
  • They present information in an informal but engaging way
  • Blogs help to make dull topics more interesting
  • Social media links tend to be integrated into blogs, allowing the audience to also find your presence on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Pinterest, or Twitter.

“Full-Circle Marketing”

The next thing to consider is your “full-circle” advertising strategy.  Your brand, tagline, and website need to be in front of the eyes and ears of your potential audience, reminding them of your presence over and over again.  Did you know that radio remains one of the most effective ways to get in front of your targeted demo?

Only recently we’ve been able to create and air cannabis and CBD ads on the radio, and as legislation evolves, radio will become an even larger avenue to brand your product to current and potential customers.  Contrary to what you may think, your radio campaign will target your ideal demographic, which varies per station.  Each radio commercial gives you the opportunity to advertise specials, events, and new product announcements, and is served to your demographic in many different places: work, in the car, or at home.  Radio is a companion to consumers wherever they go!

Studies indicate that a consumer needs to hear a message seven or more times before they turn into a customer.  Radio is an effective avenue that provides the frequency you need as well as the reach you may not see using social media or print.  Radio allows you to tailor your message and frequency to consumers to lead them to your store or website, and our clients have always seen an increase in sales and traffic when implementing this strategy.

Grow with us!

We hope this blog (yup, this is a blog!) has inspired you to start marketing your cannabis or CBD product and provided some insights to help you stand out in this very competitive industry.  Here at CMI, we want your cannabis business to grow as high as your passion, and if you need help getting started or getting unstuck, we are here to help.  We invite you to contact us for your free custom strategy proposal and let us be your cannabis marketing gurus.  Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and subscribe to our newsletter for tips and insight into all things cannabis marketing!

Social Media Case Study

Social Media Case Study

Your cannabis, hemp, or CBD business is doing well, but you know that there is more of the market that you haven’t yet tapped.  You have worked hard to get your business off the ground, and you know that spending money to move to the next level is necessary, but it’s also scary.  Marketing companies are everywhere, and when you’re trying to get the word out about your cannabis business, it may seem like they are a dime a dozen.  You probably get contacted weekly (or even daily) from marketing companies that you’ve never heard of, promising this result or that, but how do you know that what they claim is truth?

Analytics don’t lie, and Cannabis Marketing, Inc. is serious about providing results.  That’s why we benchmark where our clients start out when they come aboard, and provide monthly and year-over-year analytics to show where their marketing dollars are having the most impact.  Instead of sending reports over that you have to decipher on your own, we sit down with you and your management team to review every piece of your analytic summary.  From SEO to social media to print, we work with you to employ strategies that ensure accurate tracking so we can prove results.  Our strategy includes all the modes that are compliant for advertising cannabis, hemp, and CBD, which may also include radio (and soon television) for your business.  A cohesive marketing strategy that includes all modes of advertising helps us to stretch your valuable marketing dollars further, while promoting your brand in a way that increases growth and return on investment (ROI).

Our case study for social media shows how we were able to expansively grow a cannabis brand over the course of one year.  This brand already had a social media presence, but by thinking outside the box, using tried-and-true social media techniques, creating stunning content, and interacting with their followers, we were able to increase their social media followers and engagement extensively.

Facebook followers increased 102%.

Their YouTube channel followers increased 2111% (not a typo).

Instagram experienced a 68% increase, even after removing many of their original followers who were underage.

MassRoots, a cannabis-friendly platform, saw a 35% increase in followers.

Social media helps to create and improve brand awareness, and the team at CMI focuses on increasing followers and engagement to reach the most organic audience possible.  Social media tells a story to create loyal followers and brand advocates, increases customer service access and satisfaction, and over time, will lead to increased sales.  As a bottom-of-the-funnel sales technique, social media success does not happen overnight.  Amazing content, daily touches, human-to-human interaction, and staying on top of the constantly-shifting algorithms are things that the team at Cannabis Marketing, Inc. take care of for you over the long term so you can continue to run your business.  Social media is a living, breathing marketing animal that must be nourished with consistency, passion, and knowledge of what is “allowed” per each platform’s terms.  The cannabis, hemp, and CBD industry is changing daily, and our team works tirelessly with the best modalities of marketing to create success for your brand.  If you’re frustrated by social media, and ready to take the next step in marketing your cannabis, hemp, or CBD brand, give us a call for a free consultation!