In Cannabis Dispensary’s March/April feature, “Social Media Do’s and Don’ts,” Canna Media Works and Cannabiz Connection founder Jamie Cooper writes: “Often cannabis companies assume that Facebook advertising is not an option, but they’re wrong. Cannabis companies can, indeed, advertise on Facebook. It specifically states in Facebook’s policies that you are not allowed to promote a product or service that is illegal. If your intention is to promote the product or sale of a cannabis product (even CBD), chances are your ad won’t get approved. However, this doesn’t mean you can’t promote your business. … Use Facebook as a branding tool or an educational tool.”
Here, Cooper expands on her advice, and offers tips for how to use Facebook as a branding and educational tool.
Using Facebook as a Branding Tool
1. Recurring Content
Create recurring, consistent content that does not focus on product sales. For example, create a “Fact Friday” and deliver facts about how marijuana positively impacted one of your customer’s lives. Give your audience something to look forward to on certain days of the week.
2. Stay Consistent
Be consistent with your look. Create templates if needed. Canva.com is a great resource for helping you keep your branding and look consistent.
3. Engage with Customers
Utilize the platform’s tools to tell your brand story. The Facebook LIVE feature is a great way to engage with your audience. Be authentic and let them get to know the real you. You can discuss things such as how you developed your logo, recount what lead you to enter the industry or talk about industry happenings.
Using Facebook as an Educational Tool
1. Q&A Opportunities
Offer a Q&A opportunity for your audience. This will allow you to develop a relationship with them and build trust. It has been my experience that If you can provide your audience with the information they are seeking, the likelihood that they buy from you increases significantly. These can be performed using Facebook LIVE.
2. Promote Webinars
Offer webinars where staff experts address specific topics that are of interest to your audience. You can use Facebook ads and geo-targeting to drive people to the educational webinars. After all, Facebook allows advocacy campaigns, right?
3. Build Community Support
You can use Facebook to build community support. For instance, I am kicking off a series of virtual townhall meetings to educate the voters of West Michigan. In Michigan, municipalities have final say when it comes to allowing licensed medical marijuana dispensaries. In December, the state started accepting applications for licensing, but few municipalities that have opted in. My goal is to use the virtual townhall meetings (essentially webinars) to create more awareness with the voters and teach them how to effectively connect with local leaders. I will use Facebook advertising to direct people to my virtual townhalls because it’s considered an advocacy campaign.
Jamie Cooper founded Canna Media Works and CannabizConnection, and launched the West Michigan Women Grow chapter. She was selected by the Grand Rapids Business Journal as among the “Top 50 Most Influential Women in West Michigan.”
Top photo courtesy of Adobe Stock
