As more and more states legalize cannabis for both medicinal and recreational use, there is a growing need for businesses in the cannabis industry to find new and innovative ways to market their products. While traditional methods such as billboards, print ads, and radio spots still have a place in the cannabis marketing mix, SEO should be at the top of your list if you want to achieve the most significant reach.
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Do you want to learn how to market your cannabis business?
ePropel digital marketing agency has the perfect solution for you! Our team of experts can help you create a custom SEO marketing plan that will get your website seen by more people and help you grow your business.
We know that cannabis businesses need to be creative when it comes to marketing, and our team is experienced in helping businesses just like yours succeed. With our help, you can reach new heights and attract your target customers. Contact us today to get started!
In this blog post, we’ll outline some of the basics of SEO cannabis marketing and how you can start using it to boost your business.
How to Do an SEO Cannabis Marketing Strategy
Cannabis businesses that want to rank on top search engines need an effective search engine optimization strategy! The basics include utilizing keywords, backlinks, and content marketing techniques such as blogging and social media promotion. These are all things that are commonly seen within web design packages, but they are crucial when it comes down to getting to the top of mind for prospective customers.
Boost your rankings with effective SEO Strategies.
To be effective, your cannabis SEO strategy needs to be tailored specifically for the cannabis industry. This means that you need to focus on keywords that are related to the cannabis industry, such as “cannabis,” “marijuana,” “hemp,” etc. You also need to focus on building backlinks from other cannabis-related websites. And finally, you need to create relevant and exciting content for those searching for information about the cannabis industry.
Here are the steps on how to construct an effective cannabis SEO marketing plan:
1. Understand your customer persona: Knowing who your target audience is will help you focus on the right cannabis keywords and content.
2. Research your competition: Find out what other cannabis companies are doing to rank high on search engines. This will give you some ideas about what’s working and not.
3. Identify your keywords: Keywords are the foundation of any SEO strategy. You must identify relevant keywords for your business and start incorporating them into your website and content.
4. Build backlinks: For your website to rank high, you must have other websites linking to yours. This is called link building or backlinking. You can do this by guest blogging on other cannabis-related websites or by participating in forums and discussions.
5. Create quality content: Content is still king in SEO. You need to create compelling and informative content that will interest your target audience. This can be in blog posts, articles, infographics, or even videos.
Following these steps, you can create an effective cannabis SEO marketing plan to help your website rank higher on search engines and attract more visitors. Remember to focus on your keywords, backlinks, and content to make the most impact.
Steps in Making a Marketing Plan for Your Cannabis Dispensary
Now that you have a retail location and your team in place, it’s time to start marketing your dispensary. Marketing is key to the success of any business, and dispensaries are no different. Here are some steps to create an effective marketing plan for your dispensary:
1. Know Your Target Market
The first step to marketing your dispensary is understanding your target market. What type of customers are you trying to attract? What are their needs and wants? What motivates them? Answering these questions will help you create targeted marketing campaigns that resonate with your audience.
Your objective is to develop cannabis marketing strategies that are focused on a specific segment of the population. As a result of this marketing strategy, the products will remain relevant, and sales will likely rise.
Baby boomers, frequent shoppers, affluent families, and acceptors make up the largest segment of the cannabis market. Your customers come from various demographics, and each group has a unique set of needs and desires.
Affluent families, for example, turn to local news sites for information on coping with stress. Those in their sixties and seventies, on the other hand, are more likely to turn to print or the internet for cannabis-related news and information.
Before deciding how to promote and market your business, you must know what your target audience is looking for and how to appeal to them.
Pro-tip: Once you have identified your audience, make it a point to educate them instead of readily offering your product up-front. CBD consumers are more likely to purchase your products when they are well-informed about them.
2. Develop Your Brand
Your dispensary’s brand is more than just a logo or slogan. It’s the overall identity of your business and what sets you apart from the competition. When developing your brand, consider what values and attributes you want to communicate to your target market.
Developing a unique brand story is essential if you want to stand out from the rest of the cannabis industry. What’s your company’s origin story, and how did you get started? What sets you apart from the rest of the pack?
It’s easier to stand out from the crowd when you have a compelling story about your cannabis business and why your product or service is better than the rest.
Sell or give away logo-emblazoned merchandise on your website or as a thank-you gift to your most loyal customers. The options are endless. Many items are available, including key chains, mugs, T-shirts, hats, pens, and more. Merchandising is a great way to thank your customers and clients while promoting your company.
3. Create Compelling Marketing Materials
Once you clearly understand your target market and brand, you can start creating marketing materials that will resonate with your audience. This could include anything from websites and social media accounts to print ads and flyers. Make sure your marketing materials are professional and convey the message you want to communicate.
4. Get the Word Out
Now it’s time to get the word out about your dispensary. There are various ways to do this, including online marketing, word-of-mouth marketing, and traditional advertising. The key is being creative and getting your name in front of as many people as possible.
Media coverage is a low-cost way to increase brand visibility, credibility, and reputation. We’ve discussed how social media restricts cannabis advertising. Social media and Google homepage ads aren’t available.
Answer exists! Contact platforms that advertise medical or recreational marijuana. Several networks accept cannabis ads and can help you market your business. (Ex: Matis Ads, Leafly, Traffic Roots, WeedMaps). You can also cross-promote by finding a cannabis business partner. While getting promoted and attracting new customers, you can build business relationships and potential partners.
5. Measure Your Results
Last but not least, don’t forget to measure the results of your marketing campaigns. This will help you determine what’s working and what isn’t so you can adjust your strategy as needed. Keep track of website traffic, social media engagement, and sales to get a clear picture of your dispensary’s marketing performance.
By following these steps, you can develop an effective marketing plan for your dispensary that will help you attract new customers and grow your business.
Other Best Practices to use in CBD Marketing Plans
Social Media Marketing
Use social media marketing to promote your cannabis product on marijuana-related websites. You will not only be assured of advertising on these sites, but you will also have identified your target audience.
Building Cannabis brands in various social media platforms.
You can use social media platforms to build your brand as a cannabis seller and directly market your cannabis. Use Instagram to share product photography, for example. This will not only entice potential buyers to become clients, but it will also help boost your online credibility and brand, which is essential nowadays.
Email Marketing
Email marketing keeps customers returning to your store for more of your product. When someone buys your product online, ask them for their email address so that you can send them your newsletter. Keep them interested in your company by regularly sending out new and exciting content, deals, and advertisements for all of your products.
Pay-Per-Click Advertising
To market marijuana online, use a pay-per-click advertising strategy. Though there are certain limitations, an experienced marketing agency like SEO Design Chicago can help you choose the right keywords for your ads. We can also advise you on where to place your ads to ensure that you are targeting the right people and not breaking the law.
Influencer Marketing
You’ve probably heard of influencers (who hasn’t?). However, did you know that influencers are now being used to promote cannabis? Sending products to an influencer (in a state where cannabis is fully legal, of course) and paying them to promote your cannabis can be an excellent way to build your brand and increase your sales.
Content Marketing
Content marketing is an approach that focuses on delivering quality content through relevant keyword searches to improve your ranking in search engines and generate new leads. You can enrich your content with blog posts, case studies, ebooks, podcasts, white papers, webinars, videos, and more.
Consider your strategy as a funnel to find an effective content marketing strategy for your business. You need to start from the bottom and work your way up.
At the bottom of the funnel, you include essential information on your web pages like requests for a free consultation, live demos, published pricing information, and customer testimonials.
In the middle of the funnel, you need to offer content that prospects considering their options would find helpful, like white papers, demo videos, and product catalogs.
And at the top of the funnel, you can focus on getting leads to visit your site through blogs, videos, and product demonstrations.
To optimize your SEO, make sure to follow these steps:
1. Create and update Google My Business accounts
2. Solicit quality reviews and backlinks
3. Use relevant keywords in your metadata description, copy, and URL
4. Use long-tail keywords
Long-tail keywords are a great way to improve your conversion rates and organic traffic. Combined with high-quality content, they can help you get higher rankings and improve your visibility and sales.
Remember that data does exist for cannabis-related topics, even though Google Keyword Planner says no data is available. This is because cannabis is considered a “prohibited content”. So if you are having trouble finding keywords related to cannabis, don’t give up – the data is there, you just need to look for it.
By following these tips, you can create a content marketing strategy to help you get the visibility and sales you want.
Brand Merchandising
Clothing and fashion are two popular methods of promoting your brand. Many people wear cannabis-related clothing to show their support for eradicating the social stigma that still exists.
Creating Brand merchandise program to promote sales.
The visual elements you use for branded materials, from color schemes to typography, will make or break your branding strategy. Through graphics, color, type, and shapes, they must express the essence of your brand and communicate the essence of your product.
Push Notifications
Retaining customers after a sale is crucial. Frequent push notifications or email can be used to thank customers. Many people ignore, delete, or ignore email communication. Push notifications are read more than emails.
Frequent communication helps retain customers. Special offers are effective. Push notifications can offer discounts and promo codes, inform customers about future products or services, and present current offers.
Pro tip: Use the first name of the users. This will foster a sense of connection between the two of you. Customers will return if they believe their opinions and contributions are valued.
Loyalty Programs
Customers can be rewarded through loyalty programs.
Introducing loyalty programs to your cannabis business is another way to retain customers and show them how important they are. Rewarding customers each time they visit or based on the amount of money they spend is a great incentive to return to your dispensary rather than another, right?
Loyalty programs will not only help you retain customers, but they will also aid in the promotion of new deals, products, special offers, and the overall accessibility of your business. Referral programs can also be beneficial. If someone speaks well of your company and brings in a new customer, reward both of them, and you’ve hit two birds with one stone. You gained a new customer and kept the other, motivated to continue bringing you new customers to receive the bonus.
Dispensaries’ Local SEO
Local SEO is one of the most effective ways for a dispensary to market itself online. Local SEO is a search engine optimization strategy that allows your company to appear more prominently in local search results on search engines such as Google. This is especially beneficial for physical businesses, such as dispensaries, since it’s an excellent way to attract customers looking for the nearest option.
Local SEO is one of the best ways for a dispensary to market itself.
- Registering your dispensary on Google My Business is one way to use local SEO. This will increase foot traffic to your dispensary by making it visible on Google Maps. When someone searches for “where to buy marijuana near me,” your dispensary will appear in the results.
- You should also list your dispensary on cannabis-related websites such as WeedMaps and Leafly. These are two of the most popular cannabis-related websites. You can also post your menu options and sell online using these sites. You can ensure that your dispensary stands out from the competition by utilizing local SEO techniques.
If you own or operate a dispensary, local SEO should be your top priority. By optimizing your website and online presence for local search, you can reach more potential customers searching for dispensaries in your area.
There are a few things you can do to optimize your dispensary for local SEO.
- First, ensure your website is listed on popular directories and review sites.
- Secondly, create local landing pages with optimized content for local keywords.
- Finally, make sure your Google My Business listing is up-to-date and complete.
Following these tips can improve your dispensary’s visibility in local search results, reach more potential customers, and grow your business.
Get in touch with a marketing expert from ePropel now! We will help you in your journey with the CBD business!
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To create an effective cannabis SEO strategy, it’s important to tailor your approach specifically to the cannabis industry. This means focusing on keywords that are related to cannabis, building backlinks from other cannabis-related websites, and creating relevant and exciting content. ePropel can help you with all of this and more. Contact us today to learn more about our services and how we can help you grow your business in the booming cannabis industry.