Why Professional Social Media is Crucial in the Cannabis Industry
We are in an industry built in ways no other has been. Thirty years ago, people were buying phonebook ads for their business. We used to use radio and TV ads. Banners at baseball games. Cannabis is different. We are built on, primarily, three things: Networking/trade shows, cannabis magazines and publications, and social media.
How many of you have seen or heard of a Facebook or Instagram account being taken down? Why and how does it happen? For starters, I’ve had people say “no” to hiring a pro, only to have their nephew, next door neighbor, or the stray cat down the street do it for them. And get shut down.
Hiring an amateur to do your social media is equivalent to having an apprentice run the show. If you’ve had to get investors, like many in the cannabis industry have, shouldn’t your brand look like it was worth it online? If you’ve taken in three million dollars to launch your company, it had better look like three million dollars online. If not, your investors will not only be let down, but they will lose their trust in you and your professionalism. They counted on you, and gave you lots and lots of money. Respect their investment.
“But, Amy, it’s just posting.” Go to the dictionary, and look up the word “social,” and tell me what it means. *short pause* Does it say “posting”? Does it say “Only talk about yourself”? Does it say “Blast people with your spam”? No. No. No. Social means companionship, relations, interacting. It’s Social Media, not me!me!me!me!dia.
Why do I harp on that? Because the interacting of brands on social media in the cannabis industry really is crucial to building a brand. It’s how and edibles line can interact with dispensaries online, and hopefully get picked up by them. It’s a patient consultant (budtender) branding themselves with their knowledge of products. It’s an LED lighting company building relationships with cultivations and growers online, and supplying them with new technology for growing. We cannot pay for ads on most platforms or networks, because of that pesky Schedule I crap we have to endure every day. Most mainstream networks don’t want us on there, so why not do what’s free (interaction)?
Your nephew’s dog probably doesn’t understand branding, either. In fact, a lot of cannapreneurs don’t. They think it’s just the logo, and that is all that is needed to get people to buy their products. Branding is how your company is perceived online. It’s the voice. It’s the feel. It’s the three million dollars your investors paid you to look like three million dollars online.
It’s not using someone else’s grainy memes on Instagram, which is actually against the Community Standards. Bet your nephew’s dog didn’t read those, and you got shut down, right?
You’ve put your blood, sweat, and tears into your cannabusiness. Isn’t it worth it to look professional online?
