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In the growing age of cannabusiness, digital marketing is king.


As cannabis becomes more widely legalized throughout the United States, as well as the world, more people are taking their businesses to the highest heights through the clever use of marijuana SEO practices and other smart digital marketing schemes. The industry itself is currently in the multi-billions and that number is only expected to grow. With a projected whopping $23 billion dollars spent by consumers in 2022.

As demand for products grow, and retailers drive to meet those demands, the best way to get your budding cannabusiness to stand above the pack is to create an undeniable online presence. The cannabis industry, particularly in the US, is driven partly by marijuana tourism, and it’s important for companies to get themselves on the map. Growing your storefront locally is fairly simple, thanks to the availability of consumer use devices (like bongs, pipes, or vaporizers) and growing materials (like marijuana seeds and grow kits) being readily available for online purchase.

But how do you expand past just local interest? By using digital marketing strategies and SEO techniques to improve not only your domestic footprint, but also your global one.

1. Encourage engagement

Perhaps the best way to get your website noticed, is to ensure that it’s well functioning and stylish. Multiple studies have shown that consumers are greatly influenced by branding, and creating a fresh, easily navigable website that looks as good as it functions is paramount to promoting your cannabusiness.

Websites that draw users in with more than just a marketplace are becoming the norm for any online business, and that’s because retailers know that the best way to keep customers coming back digitally, is giving them something to look forward to.

2. Consider digital currency

While cannabis retailers in the US still struggle with the federal restrictions placed on the drug, the prowess of the internet and compensation technology are giving retailers a better option for their funds. Because of federal law, cannabis businesses are unable to store their funds in banks, as any traditional shop owner would. But digital currencies, like BitCoin, Litecoin, and Ethereum are giving owner/operators the ability to engage in financial transactions that are no longer solely cash based.

Digital e-wallets allow customers and retailers alike to store and trade currency outside of the federally regulated financial arena. Giving purveyors more options for storing their cash.

3. Snag influencers

Maybe it’s because the cannabis industry is largely a young man’s game, and maybe it’s because of the multiple marketing restrictions on cannabis companies, but whatever the reason: Cannabusiness was quick to discover just how important an influencers endorsement is for growing their business. Much like the plot line of the 1998 movie Half Baked foretold, using celebrities to peddle your product is an excellent way to improve your customer base.

While you may not be able to snag a rapper with the status of the film’s Sir Smoke-A-Lot, business owners can get influencers from popular social media sites like Instagram and Twitter.

4. Cannabis SEO

SEO, or search engine optimization is a great way for companies to circumnavigate restrictive advertising laws, by improving their websites ranking on popular search engines. Through the use of various techniques, SEO strategies strive to get businesses to come up on the first page of results following an internet keyword search. There are even SEO companies that cater to cannabusiness directly.

Whether you’re selling marijuana seeds, edibles, or marijuana itself, using SEO techniques can get you and your business to the very top of the online marketplace.

5. Get an app

“There’s an app for that” has been a part of just about everyone’s vocabulary for years now, and it’s never been more true. Whether your business is affiliated with existing apps, like the cannabis centric social media High There or MassRoots, or you’ve taken the leap and designed your own, there’s no better way to get your business directly into your customers hands. Apps streamline the purchasing process and can reach potential customers that would otherwise look elsewhere.

Personal apps can also serve as a way to encourage purchasing by extending promotions via push notification, or even tally frequent buyer incentives.

6. Start a conversation

Creating a deeply embedded social media presence is important for any business, not just the marijuana related ones. Having easily accessible accounts of a multitude of platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter is an important first step. Creating original content will help amass followers, but creating a discussion will keep them there. Facebook groups and even Troll battles are creative and tongue in cheek ways that many businesses are using to promote their brands organically.

The more your business is referenced by other pages and people, the more likely it is that you will extend your customer base far past the ones that you can cater to directly.

7. Begin blogging

Blogging provides pretty much the same strategy as what’s discussed above, but in a format that’s easy to enhance. Having constant creative content output is a great way to get, and keep, customers involved with what you’re doing. Newsletters and regularly syndicated business specific articles are a great way to keep your audience interested in what you’re saying. They’re also a great way to affiliate with other businesses that will be mutually beneficial for both of the invested platforms.

Content creation is relatively easy to come by and is worth its weight in gold when it comes to establishing an online pretense with authority.