5 Cannabis Marketing Ideas That Work

Cannabis Marketing: Local SEO

Local search engine optimization (SEO) is arguably the most important digital marketing tool available to cannabis dispensaries, especially single-location shops.

By optimizing your website for local search results, you are ensuring that potential customers in your area can find you quickly and effortlessly. Research shows that online shopping has become the preferred way to purchase products (and even services!) for many people. As such, having an easily accessible online presence will improve your dispensary’s visibility and its ability to compete with other local dispensaries.

Getting your website to rank higher in search results is the first step you should take towards optimizing your cannabis marketing strategy. Make sure you're posting regularly about things that are going on in your community and that your dispensary listings are all up to date (including your Google My Business listing). Make sure to run a local SEO audit, too!

Text Message Marketing

Text message marketing is not only effective, but also very cost-efficient.

Text message marketing targets customers that are further down the purchase funnel, and more likely to purchase or commit than the average consumer. The practice involves regularly sending promotional texts to customers that have agreed to receive them. Text message marketing is an excellent way to quickly promote events, offers, sales, or promotional material.

However, text message marketing is considered to be more aggressive than email marketing, and should not be abused. Be careful not to annoy your customers or you may find yourself being blocked from their phone, or even worse, their wallet.

Email Marketing

Email marketing is a strategy that involves sending promotional emails to leads and potential customers. By making the most of newsletters and promotional emails, you can ensure that customers stay plugged-in and engaged with your dispensary and it’s promotions.

Most importantly, research suggests that email marketing actually converts quite well. The numbers show that customers who received email offers spent nearly 138% more than those who didn't. Moreover, the average order captured through email was roughly 3 times more valuable than the average order made through social media.

Instagram

More people are using social media than ever before. A recent study estimated that approximately 79% of Americans have a social media account of some sort. With these kinds of numbers, dispensaries that neglect to engage in social media marketing are missing out on a golden opportunity.

Instagram has proven to be an especially useful tool for social media marketing.

A recent survey conducted by the company found that over 50% of Instagram users have followed a business on the platform, and over 60% said that they had discovered a brand or product through the platform.

Social media connects people with the things, places, and people that they like, and your dispensary should be no exception. Best of all, it is FREE!

Events

Give potential customers a reason to shop at your dispensary! Event marketing, otherwise known as experiential marketing, is designed to get people through the door and experiencing your products or services.

Creating and promoting events is a great way to build local awareness. An event can be as simple as an in-person engagement opportunity or as complex as a business-sponsored community event. Whatever you choose, make sure to prioritize the customer experience with an eye towards generating repeat customers. By using Google-My-Business (GMB) posts, events can even be posted to Google where they may be visible alongside search results!