Engage Your Customers with Content Marketing

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Marketing cannabis is so much different than any other product or service, most of the traditional methods of advertising are closed to you.  You can’t really do commercials or billboard advertising, online advertising is very restricted as well but the one avenue that is open to you is content marketing.  You can engage your customers with content marketing that represents your brand.  You can set yourself apart from the competition and become the authority on all things regarding the cannabis industry.

Here are some guidelines that you should keep in mind while creating content for your website:

  • Write some “how to rank a dispensary near me” guides on the cannabis industry and educate your potential customers about your dispensary and why they should shop there.
  • Why is your brand so much better than the competition and how can they benefit from your dispensary.
  • Give the personal touch, people love it. Include in your content some testimonials from customers.  You can even include them from staff and family about how this is a great place to work and shop.
  • Include links to all your social profiles so that your visitors can follow you, post lots of pics and video on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.
  • Update your blog regularly with fresh content and you can include news from the industry as a whole.

Work with your digital marketing company that created your website so that you or they can develop an ongoing strategy for content marketing.  You can develop a newsletter and mailing list.  Map out content creation and how it can work to enhance your brand.  Here are some other ways that you can come up with fresh and engaging content.

Blogging to Engage Your Customers

A blog is an incredible tool to keep your dispensary in the minds of current and potential customers.  However you need the right content, you need to answer questions your customers may have, educate them and keep them on your website.  Here are some tips on doing just that.

  • Use SEO techniques such as keyword research and properly written content to not only keep your customers engaged but to rank higher in the search engines as well. Better rankings make it easier to find you.
  • Make your content relevant, if you’re in the cannabis industry no one wants to read a blog post about the pot holes plaguing your drive to work.
  • Use calls to action that will prompt your readers to go where you want them to. Whether you want them to call your dispensary, sign up for your newsletter or buy some of your cannabis related products online.

Cannabis Marketing and the Law

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The state of Nevada has put together a set of laws that restrict how you can market your cannabis dispensary.  State laws can change quickly and often so it is important to keep up to date on cannabis marketing and the law.  If you think that you can just ignore these laws or maybe pay a small fine for violating them, you couldn’t be more wrong.  It is important that you adhere to all Cannabis Marketing laws that are governed by the Nevada State Liquor and Cannabis Board or you can end up facing heavy fines and even closure of your dispensary.

Here are some things you need to adhere to:

  • Store hours need to adhere to local regulations and can only operate during specific hours, these hours must also be clearly posted. For  example in Las Vegas dispensaries can operate between 6am – 10pm, whereas in Reno dispensaries can stay open until midnight.
  • Most can be dually licensed they can sell both recreational and medical marijuana
  • There are a limited number of recreational dispensary licenses, there are only 80 licenses in Clark County, 20 in Washoe County, 4 to Carson County and each of the other counties are only allowed 2. This means that competition will be fierce.  It also means don’t even think about expanding your business without a license.

There are also general advertising laws that you are going to have to adhere to as well:

  • Don’t encourage over consumption or driving under the influence of cannabis.
  • No misleading advertising.
  • You cannot portray cannabis as a cure for a medical condition, you are not a doctor so don’t pretend to be one on the internet.
  • Be mindful of the age of consumption, no one under the age of 21 so you can use toys or cartoons to do your marketing.

Your advertising locations will be restricted too and this is something else that you need to adhere to:

  • You will not be able to post signs or advertise anywhere within a 1,000 feet of children, that will include day care centers, schools, or recreation centers.
  • You are not going to advertise on the side of a bus or any other public service vehicle.
  • You cannot advertise on public property

In the advertising materials you need to also include warnings, health risks that are associated with cannabis consumption, that it is intoxicating and once again you need to be mindful of the age of your targeted audience.

The complicated legislation surrounding cannabis marketing is why you need to have a team on your side that understand where and how you can advertise your dispensary.