After the legalization of commercial hemp and the passage of the 2018 Farm Bill, CBD product sales in the United States have proliferated. Many direct-to-consumer (DTC) firms have recently entered the burgeoning industry with CBD and hemp oil products.
Although it is legal to offer these items, CBD vendors and eCommerce marketing specialists face restrictions when marketing them.
For instance, the largest paid advertising platforms, such as Google Ads and Facebook & Instagram Ads, prohibit CBD firms and enterprises from paying to promote their goods, making it nearly impossible for them to sell their products and enter the market.
Cannabis and CBD marketers face a unique set of marketing challenges—perhaps more so than in any other industry.
There are myriad state and local regulations to keep up with, many of which ban certain forms of advertising outright. There’s the digital roadblock of Facebook and Google, which have policies rejecting cannabis, CBD, and ancillary business ads (though these policies are enforced with MADDENING IRREGULARITY).
You also CAN’T WRITE OFF MARKETING EXPENSES, as every other business owner can—because there’s still the fact that cannabis is technically a Schedule I drug, even as legal cannabis is the FASTEST-GROWING INDUSTRY in the U.S.
Fortunately, you can implement effective digital marketing strategies to market your CBD gummies and other products and grow your business. We have identified five marketing strategies CBD firms can use to create brand awareness and a loyal customer base.
This post will discuss five digital marketing strategies that CBD firms can use to increase their visibility, traction, and revenue.
What is CBD?
CBD, or cannabidiol, is a common substance produced from the flowering tops, leaves, and resin of two cannabis plant strains: industrial hemp and marijuana.
Having said that, CBD belongs to a class of substances called cannabinoids, which are abundant in the cannabis plant. The cannabis plant has more than 100 compounds, with THC and CBD being the most productive.
CBD products such as CBD gummies in UK do not generate euphoria, hallucinations, or psychoactivity when taken, in contrast to THC, which, when swallowed or smoked, is recognized for producing the “high” traditionally associated with marijuana.
5 Effective Digital Marketing Strategies for CBD Startups
Create an appealing and engaging website
The online appearance of your CBD brand begins with an exciting website. Your content, images, and offers should communicate directly to your intended audience. Keep in mind that CBD is relatively new to the market and that there can be minor issues regarding consumption, benefits, and negative effects.
- Have a “FAQ” page that addresses frequently asked questions regarding CBD. Provide extra materials, such as blog postings discussing the benefits and uses of CBD.
- Have “Contact Us” information available so consumers can contact and ask questions.
- On your homepage, you should provide appealing product reviews.
When creating communications, consider the pain areas of consumers. Consider their viewpoint and compose content that is likely to engage them. Your marketing strategy can work miracles if you customize your clients’ on-site experience.
Pay social media influencers to promote your CBD goods.
Building a smart digital marketing plan is tricky enough in any industry—throw in all the above, and the task gets tougher. Remember this: At its core, a digital marketing strategy is simply a plan of action designed to help you achieve your business goals.
Our step-by-step guide to digital marketing for cannabis and CBD breaks down the process of creating a digital marketing plan in nine straightforward steps.
Communicate with social media influencers and request their promotion fees. Most influencers will gladly endorse your product if it corresponds with their image and the interests of their audience.
Many micro-influencers can even be prepared to share a snapshot of your CBD product for free. You must only allow them to keep the CBD goods you send them.
Advantages of influencer marketing:
- Rapidly generates trust
- Enhances brand recognition
- Enriches your content strategy
- Drives word-of-mouth marketing
- Low-cost for micro-influencers (around 1,000 to 1M followers)
Email marketing
Email marketing can seem like an old-fashioned marketing strategy, but it is essential for increasing sales and profitability in this sector. Several firms compete in this industry, and most consumers are not loyal to a particular brand.
They will shop until they discover a brand that resonates with them. Email marketing is the ideal strategy to maintain your brand at the forefront of your consumers’ minds and keep them returning to your business.
If you’re not making data-based decisions in real-time, you won’t be able to keep up with your competitors who are. Every marketing expense you undertake needs to prove, through data, that it can pay for itself.
We recommend keeping all your digital campaign data in one place, like a customized dashboard, and checking it daily to see how your campaigns are performing against your marketing goals.
Then—unless the measurements are exactly what you were going for—update your marketing plan. Though you may be thoroughly excited about the plan as you initially crafted it, don’t skip this step: It’s important to stay agile as you gain new data insights and experience changes in the budget.
Advantages of email marketing
- Improve customer retention and sales
- Increase the customer lifetime value
- Promote discounts and offers
- Recoup lost money with abandoned cart email campaigns
Affiliate marketing and partnerships
Brand collaborations and affiliate marketing are incredibly cost-effective strategies to improve brand awareness and revenue for your CBD brand.
These strategies effectively generate a positive ROI because they are often performance-based, and you only pay for outcomes (purchases). These strategies are sales-oriented, but one of the greatest benefits is that your partners’ and affiliates’ views, impressions, and website visits are free.
Advantages of affiliate marketing and partnerships
- Low risk
- Rapid scaling of traffic and revenues
- Enhancement of reputation
- Expansion of audience
- Cost-effective – no upfront costs
Treat your CBD products as a lifestyle
Instead of marketing individual items, you should highlight the lifestyle you are promoting. Is it a painkiller? Health benefits? Luxury? Create content and language that appeals to targeted consumers for your distinct CBD brand, whatever the situation.
Another lifestyle marketing method for CBD brands? Promote the strong convictions that your brand may have on specific subjects, such as the environment, social injustice, and healthcare.
Share your stances if they are a part of your brand’s story. Create content that demonstrates your values to like-minded individuals who support those causes and will support your business.
Final Thoughts
Now that you have multiple marketing strategies, you can advance your CBD business. For the foreseeable future, the CBD business will expand quickly, and notably, the CBD market is anticipated to reach $23 billion by 2025. The industry will continue to rise, and the competition will undoubtedly intensify.
How does one construct and promote a CBD brand that can endure the heat? In the end, CBD brand marketing follows the same general guidelines as any other brand.
However, an industry aspect is also present in the case of CBD. It will take a few years before the sector develops because it is in a perpetual state of change.
The optimal strategy will consider both the brand and the industry to guarantee that the brand establishes a footing today and consolidates its position as the market changes.
When it comes to engaging with the target audience and propelling the brand to the top of the heap, taking the proper measures will go a long way.
