Go Organic: Content Marketing for the Cannabis Sector

If you’re in the cannabis sector, you know all about planting small seeds and nurturing them so that they grow. But how are you supposed to do the same with your online marketing when a) Facebook and Google don’t allow you to advertise on their platforms, and b) Facebook and Instagram are killing organic reach? Yes, the ‘Golden Age’ of virality and engagement is coming to a close but there are still ways to make an impact without ad dollars.

Create a strategy

A lot of people fall into the trap of creating content because they committed to one Instagram post a day or because it’s been a while since the last blog. We should all carefully consider how our blogs, videos or images will reach, help, engage, and delight the people who see them. Make the time and resources you put into creating content work harder for you and get the right message to the right people by following a content strategy. This guide from the Content Marketing Institute is useful and covers the why, who, what and how of creating content. Check out Airtable and Monday for editable templates.

Revise your cornerstone content 

Cornerstone content is the nucleus of your website. It’s the most useful thing to your users and the piece that always sits top of your Google Analytics. It’s usually long-form content; it could be your ‘ultimate guide to dabbing,’ or your ‘CBD 101’. Make sure to keep this content fresh so that it continues to be ranked highly on search engines and continues to be a point of entry for new users.

Don’t be afraid to get nerdy

In this space, consumers and retailers are becoming smarter and more disconcerting when it comes to the products they choose. If your cultivation techniques are super environmentally friendly, or if your CBD products are free of solvents and metals, take time to explain why on your site and social media. If you can teach your followers something, you’re more likely to gain their support.

Make use of experts, advocates, and influencers

Add authority and trustworthiness to your brand by inviting in content from experts, advocates, or influencers. The person could be a vendor of yours at the top of their game, someone with clout in the industry who loves your product, or an educator or activist. Aside from getting a brand new perspective on topics that are interesting to your audience, the person will also likely share the post with their audience too.

There’s still some hesitancy around traditional influencers and cannabis. Some don’t trust that the platform won’t remove their accounts for running paid promotions about cannabis, and others aren’t sure that their fans are ready. But it’s certainly possible to find and build the right relationships. It could be worth exploring micro-influencers – people who are in your space as either activists, connectors or trendsetters. Instead of having 250,000 followers, they might have anywhere from 1,000 – 100,000. It’s more labor-intensive to find them (try searching hashtags, the explore page, and your own likes), but people who are already deeply embedded in the space will likely know a little more about what they can and can’t say and tend to be more in-tune with their audience.

Get to know the latest SEO techniques 

Make sure you have the basics down:

• Update your content regularly with different types of posts (video tutorials, guest blogs, photo stories)
• Check for crawl errors or broken links
• Make sure to keep your keywords in mind
• Check that your pages’ loading times are under three seconds.

Check out our blog on simple SEO fixes for more of the basics, mobile optimization, and copywriting techniques.

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If you’re looking for ways to help your cannabis brand break through the noise, get in touch. We’re ready to answer any questions you might have.