Leveraging the Power of Words: Does Your Dispensary Need a Content Marketing Strategy?

With leading-edge tools like geo-fencing, AI-enabled PPC campaigns, even sophisticated retargeting to reduce those buzz-killing abandoned carts, you might think that content marketing is a thing of the past. Why write all that content when all those experts tell us that people don’t read, anyway?

Here’s a fact: Content marketing—whether it’s the articles and social media posts you share, your personalized messages to members of your loyalty program, or other channels still—is the single most important form of outreach your dispensary will engage in. 

People enjoying dispensary content marketing strategy

Content isn’t just writing: It doesn’t matter if it’s video, podcasts, memes or case studies or ebooks or testimonials. They’re all content, and they’re all vitally important for sharing your brand’s story, driving traffic to your website, and helping establish your authority as an industry leader and a voice to be trusted. It’s no wonder the vast majority of marketers lean on content marketing for its proven effectiveness as the pillar of any marketing plan.

Not convinced? Let’s phrase it another way by asking a few simple questions: 

Are your dispensary website and foot traffic where you want them to be?

Are people liking (and more importantly, sharing) your content?

Are you engaged with a large and growing online audience?

If the answer to any of these questions is “No,” it may be time for your dispensary to embrace a content marketing strategy. Here’s how to do it. 

Does Your Dispensary Need a Content Marketing Strategy? Tips and Tricks

Here at MediaJel, we devote a lot of resources to leveraging flashy digital tools and methodologies. But despite the massive increase in analyzing and processing power enabled by tools like AI, the fact is that content is still king. With over a quarter of U.S. adults always online, engaging them with appealing, relevant, and useful content is no longer optional; it’s a must. Best of all, it’s not particularly mysterious. Let’s run down a few specific ways to supercharge your content marketing.

Understand your audience.

The most basic of content marketing is, sadly, the one most often ignored. Make no mistake: It is a must. And it’s not as hard as you might think. Start by reading our article on segmentation as a strategy to better comprehend and organize your audience. It’s helpful to keep a short and simple checklist in mind: For each segment of your audience and customer base, identify their:

  • Needs
  • Problems
  • Opportunities
  • Wants  

Then align these questions with each group. These could include pain management for seniors; low-calorie and all-natural edibles for Gen Z’ers; products designed to combat insomnia without side effects for middle-aged professionals. 

you do, don’t skip this all-important step! The more work you can do on the front end to precisely identify your audience, the better your content will speak to them directly and cement your brand as the solution to their problems.

Speak to that audience.

This is your chance to make that crucial connection. Once you’ve identified and categorized your audience by segments, it’s time to begin reaching out to them. Don’t do it on the spur of the moment; instead, put in the time to create an editorial content calendar. When you share content on a regular basis, your audience begins to anticipate the information download, provided it’s relevant and actionable (more on that in a moment). And if you—like some 60% of surveyed entrepreneurs—find it hard to produce content on a regular basis, just ask. We’re the most seasoned and skilled dispensary marketers in the business, and we can help you put together a winning content strategy just like we did for our many delighted clients.

Be relevant and provide useful content.

Content isn’t just “something to read.” Good content helps people solve problems, address their concerns, and entertain them—all at the same time. Does that mean you shouldn’t run “fun” or “fluffy” content as well? It doesn’t; rather, it means that even when you share lighthearted or silly content like memes or behind-the-scenes videos of dispensary life, there’s a purpose behind it. Let your audience interact with your brand and identify with your values and your goals, and you’ll be on the road to creating that essential bond that drives all great brands.

On a technical note: Because it’s such a young industry coming off decades of misinformation and scare tactics, the cannabis content realm is rife with questionable “facts” and dubious claims. Especially when you’re sharing information relating to your customers’ self-care and wellness, be sure to back up any claims or assertions with relevant and authoritative data. The more you can do to establish the validity of cannabis-based medicine—or even the safety of adult-use products—helps lift both your dispensary and the industry as a whole.

Make it findable.

Your content isn’t much good if it can’t be found and shared. Leverage all the channels at your disposal—including blogs, Instagram, Snapchat, Clubhouse, email newsletters, SMS marketing and others still—to share what you produce. Make use of older content by repackaging and repurposing it, and be sure to provide a good proportion of “evergreen” content that will remain useful and relevant over long periods of time.

That brings us to the topic of keywords. Incorporating relevant keywords into your website copy and blogs is crucial if you want to reach the vast pool of internet surfers who haven’t yet found your brand. There are various site audit tools such as SEMrush you can use to assess the most relevant keywords—Psst! Google will even let you do it for free if you use Google Analytics—or you can reach out for an assist from some dispensary content creation experts.

Make it good.

Do we really have to say this? We do. On a technical level, it’s important that you do everything you can to ensure your content is of the highest possible quality. That means:

  • Checking for typos and grammatical errors
  • Ensuring all links are correct and functional
  • Formatting your content for whichever medium it’s intended for, using the minimum of words to convey the information clearly and concisely

On that note, include links to verifiable sources such as the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) that lend credence and authority to your content. Fold in strong calls to action (CTAs) that enable customers (and drive conversions).

Does Your Dispensary Need a Content Marketing Strategy? Putting It Into Action

If we haven’t yet made it clear, let’s be direct. Cannabis Content marketing isn’t merely an add-on to your outreach: It should stand at the very center of all your efforts to project your brand out into the world. No matter what the medium—copy, video, memes, podcasts, or others still—your strong, clear, authoritative content will help you establish authority and presence, build your brand, and drive traffic to your site (and your door).

To that end, content marketing isn’t a short-term strategy. It’s something that requires a regular input of time and effort for results. But it works. And as we’ve explained previously, calculating the ROI of content marketing isn’t even particularly mysterious or difficult.

Want to learn more? Drop us a line; we’d love to talk.

Content Marketing, Digital Marketing, Geo-Advertising, SEO, Tips   |  May 4, 2021   |   By MediaJel