How to Leverage Social Media Influencers for Your Cannabis Business

Cannabis users and businesses are on the rise, so one would expect the markets to become quickly saturated with ads, promos and deals, right? Wrong. Government regulations have a stronghold on what is and is not acceptable for cannabis businesses to reach out to their potential clientele. It can be difficult to navigate the advertising market without the fear of being shut down. As an alternative to traditional advertising, business owners are flocking to cannabis social media influencers to promote their products and services.

Social Media Influencers for Your Cannabis Business

Social media is by and large the fastest and easiest way to grow your fan base, which is why cannabis business owners are learning how to profit on the different platforms. The solution? Social media influencers.

A social media influencer, put quite simply, is a person that has an active following on any social media platform. They exert their “influence” through posts and images. Most social media influencers contain a goldmine of followers that will jump on whatever bandwagon the influencer suggests and there are influencers in literally any niche you can think of, including cannabis.

Social Media Influencers

The most notable of cannabis social media influencers is Dabbing Granny. With well over a million followers on Instagram, she is one of the most influential of the influencers. Not only does she cover topics relating to marijuana on her gram, she hilariously dabs in the strangest places. Adorable as she is, her following is one many cannabis business owners capitalize on. Why? Because the products she does choose to promote always sell.

Micro-Influencers

While it’s tempting to only look at influencers with large followings, many cannabis business owners are achieving great success by choosing micro-influencers, those with small to medium followings. If the influencer’s account is active and their content is relevant to yours, even a small increase in business can be valuable. The best part – those smaller influencers cost less to work with.

How to Connect with Social Media Influencers

If you’re looking to link up with a cannabis social media influencer, find one that provides their followers with information related to the product or service you provide. Social media influencers who become the ‘go-tos’ in their field are the ones providing tried and true information to the masses – they don’t focus on hard selling. While the number of followers matters, look for an influencer who is constantly receiving a good amount of engagement on their posts. Look at the amount of likes and, most importantly, the quality of the comments. Is their following asking questions? Are they engaging with more than just a one- to two-word response?

Choose the Right Content

Even though social media, and Instagram most notably, is imperative for cannabis business owners to grow their businesses, it is also one of the most unnerving. You’ll want to choose your posts wisely, make sure to follow all of the rules and regulations of the platforms you are using, and verify that the influencers you work with do the same.

When you do choose to work with an influencer, make sure you put the time into giving them the information they need. You might choose to provide all of the content, including images, or your influencer may have the ability to make it “theirs”. Keep in mind that there are a lot of new cannabis businesses in the industry, so you’ll want to guarantee that your content (and product) stands out among the crowd.

How to Leverage a Successful Social Media Influencer

Let’s recap. In order to successfully leverage social media influencers for your cannabis business:

• You need to ensure they are on a relatively stable social media platform – Instagram preferably. Stay away from platforms with rules against cannabis discussions.
• You need to also ensure that the content provided by the cannabis social media influencer is that of quality and also entertainment. Quality content can provide all cannabis users with essential knowledge and point to your business as a leader in the industry.
• With so many users on Instagram, knowing your target demographic could mean the difference between a profitable or unprofitable business. Take the time to understand who your audience is before contacting potential cannabis social media influencers.

If you’re interested in learning more about the power of leveraging a cannabis social media influencer for your business, join us for CannaCon event in your area. Tickets are currently available for CannaCon Northwest in Tacoma, Jan. 10-11, 2020.