If you’re thinking of starting up a CBD business, you are certainly not alone. CBD, as a subset of the entire cannabis market, is expected to hit $23 billion in revenue a year by 2025, according to Marina Turea at Digital Authority.
It’s a wildly popular product and the market for this legal and under-regulated product is wide open. A crowded market, while enticing, might seem a bit risky to jump into. You’ll face fierce competition and have a tough time carving out a name for yourself. That’s where social media comes into play. If you’re smart, you can brand yourself into a profitable CBD niche using viral social media tactics.
The Difficulties In Marketing CBD Products
1. The Market Seems Over-Saturated
The nation seems to have cannabis on the brain right now as sweeping reform and relaxations within the law are changing the way we view hemp and marijuana products. It’s gone from taboo to mainstream and while many states are still waiting for legalization, CBD without THC is a mostly legal alternative that anyone can get right now. Legalization and a lack of regulation, however, have made it incredibly easy to enter the market. That makes for a very crowded pool for you to make a splash in.
The main way to combat this problem and become a success story is to stand out with branding. Branding is the total of your companies design, message, and marketing that tells the public who you are and what you do. If you can’t stand out and become memorable, then you have little hope of survival.
2. Trying To Be A Cure-All
There is a propensity to tout CBD oil as a cure-all because both science and first-hand reviews are telling us that CBD oil has the potential to treat symptoms from chronic aches and pains to major depression and anxiety disorders, and many other health conditions in-between. If your company is trying to be everything to everybody then you’ll have trouble finding the right audience.
A great example of niching-down in the CBD market is the company FourFiveCBD, founded by former UK rugby players Dominic Day and George Kurtis. Daily CBD Mag reports that the company made millions in its first year (2021) and has experienced rapid growth since then. Their secret is that they made the commitment to offering products that reduce aches and pains that come with sports-related injuries. It’s not only a great niche but it’s one they know well and have many personal stories to pull from for marketing.
Once you have narrowed down a niche and thoroughly mapped out your target demographic, it’s time to get your message out into the world. Today’s consumers get the majority of their product information these days from the internet which they can access on their phones, mostly through social media. The following tips will help you brand your CBD company using the top social media platforms available today.
How To Use Social Media To Effectively Market CBD Products
1. Build Brand Awareness Cheaply Using Social Platforms
The great thing about social media marketing for small or new businesses is that it’s very cheap compared to traditional marketing platforms like print ads or television. A recent Forbes article cites that it’s time we start treating social media like the marketing powerhouse that it is. “The world has gone digital, and so many consumers look to social media for guidance and approval.
They’re buying more online, sharing more online and spending more time online.” And this major marketing channel costs just pennies on the dollar to set up and run. If you can make your own content then you can literally start a business social media profile for free. In time you’ll start spending money on content creation, operations, and ads, but it’s far less fo an investment that producing a TV commercial or sending out tens of thousands of direct mailers.
2. Target Your True Audience With Precision
A newspaper or TV ad casts a wide net, it can be seen by anyone in the viewing or delivery area. With social media, you can pinpoint your exact target market. If you want your Facebook ad to only show up to avid runners who’ve recently suffered an injury, that’s no problem. If you want to only run an Instagram ad to women in their 30’s who have insomnia, that’s just a few clicks away. The tighter your audience, the more effective your marketing message can become.
3. Create Viral Content
The possibility of creating content that goes viral (gets shared thousands or millions of times within a short period) is one of the most appealing reasons to use social media. Well crafted, entertaining, or educational content can travel the globe in a matter of minutes online.
One of the biggest video trends right now is to create short, emotional, videos that feel more like a story than an ad. The New York Times talks about this phenomenon in a recent article. Your CBD content can be centered around your customers and the specific health conditions they’ve treated with your product. You can educate consumers and brand yourself at the same time.
4. Engagement Is Very Important On Social Media
When getting started on social media, don’t let vanity metrics blind you to what’s really most important among key metrics that produce ROI. Having a large following might make you feel accomplished, but your engagement rate is far more important. You create engagement by posting content that people want to interact with. If they like it, share it, or comment on it, that’s engagement. When you comment back and start a conversation, that’s even better engagement.
Engagement is important because all social media platforms operate with an algorithm working behind the scenes that dictate how often your content gets seen by your followers or the general public. Accounts with higher engagement are seen as more authoritative. Learn how to create better engagement to give your content a better chance of being seen.