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Welcome to High On Marketing - A weekly newsletter where I show you how to strengthen your email marketing strategy for your cannabis brand. Learn how to nurture your audience, increase retention rates, and sell more weed.

⚡Quick Tip⚡

Today’s Email:

• Why Some Cannabis Brands Get Banned on Social Media and Others Don’t

• How You Can Stop Living in Fear of SM Bans

• Final Thoughts

Let’s Roll 🛼

Hey,

Have you ever noticed that some cannabis brands get away with posting cannabis related content on IG and Facebook without getting banned while others seem to get flagged for much more minor offenses?

I had a conversation with a social media manager of a local dispensary recently whose brand’s IG account got banned for tagging a grower in a post about a recent popup event featuring that grower.

Meanwhile, other brands (especially bigger name brands) post photos of flower, grow operations, vapes, etc. without any repercussions.

Here’s 5 reasons why some canna brands get away with it, as well as my 5-step framework for creating an email strategy so solid you won’t have to rely on social media anymore:

1. Algorithm Visibility: Algorithms don’t always catch every single violation immediately, resulting in inconsistent enforcement. Basically, it can be random. Some brands seem to just slip under the radar sometimes.

2. Reporting: Some people have too much time on their hands. Unfortunately, there’s not much you can do if people are reporting your accounts, but it can definitely lead to account bans.

3. Content Nuance: How you phrase your content and the specific visuals you use can affect visibility to moderators. 

Most important things to remember when posting:

• No medical claims

• No direct selling

• Don’t use words like “weed” or “cannabis”

4. Follower Count: Larger brands with significant follower counts sometimes require a more thorough review process before any action is taken.

5. Geographic Location: Regulations can vary significantly based on where you’re operating. If you’re in a rec state, you’re sometimes given more leeway than non rec.

Essentially, it seems random because it is.

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Now, how you can avoid it (and not even worry about bans anymore):

It starts with how you use your social media…

To me, it makes more sense for a cannabis brand to use their social media presence to funnel followers to their email signup, where you own that audience, and don’t have to worry about losing your entire customer base because of an IG violation.

So, think of your brand’s social media pages as the top/middle of your funnel, with your email signup as your BOFU.

Step 1: Optimize Social Media Profiles:

Clear CTA’s on Profiles: Make ‘em clear, make ‘em direct. Include email signup links in your bio, stories, pinned posts, etc. and funnel followers to the link. You do this with your…

Value Proposition: Your followers will signup for your emails if there’s something in it for them. Whether it’s an immediate discount, exclusive access to new products, whatever they get in exchange for their email address, communicate that with them right away.

Your CTA should communicate your value proposition using benefit-focused phrasing.

Example: “Unlock Your Free Gift Today Only (link in bio)”

I wrote that in one second, and it shows. But, notice how it leads with a bit of mystery, and communicates that value proposition (free gift) immediately. Adding a bit of urgency, with clear direction on what to do to claim their gift.

Remember, the answers to ALLLLLLL their problems and questions are in the Link in Bio.

Step 2: Create Content that Directs to Your Email Signup:

• Lead Magnets

• Interactive/Engagement Posts

• Teasers

By incorporating these 3 types of social media posts, you will keep your followers engaged while directing them to the desired location.

Lead magnets and teasers create FOMO while polls, quizzes, and games keep your audience entertained and thinking about your brand.

• Create preference quizzes that send their results via email.

• Share an easy cannabis-infused recipe online and offer them a full canna-infused ebook if they signup to your newsletter.

The cool thing about creating a bunch of different lead magnets is you can analyze which one convinced them to signup for your emails, which can help with customer segmentation.

If they signed up for the free canna-infused cookbook, they might be interested in different canna-infused cooking products (butters, sugar, honey, etc.).

Step 3: Seamless Transition to Email:

It should go without saying, but your signup process needs to be as simple and straightforward as possible. Minimize the steps needed to subscribe.

Ask for their email, and maybe their first name. I like asking for their first name because it’s usually a pretty ‘harmless’ question that most people don’t mind answering.

Pro tip: Ask them questions one at a time. People respond more positively to being asked one question, followed by another, rather than listing 2 questions on the same page.

Once they’re signed up, they should immediately start receiving your welcome series that reinforces the value of their subscription, and shows them what to expect from your brand.

Step 4: Email Content Strategy:

Once they’re signed up, you want to make sure to keep ‘em. It’s all a matter of providing value to your audience that is genuine and relevant to their interests and preferences.

Segmentation and Personalization: Use data gathered from the signup process to segment based off engagement, demographics, location, preferences (if known). Your welcome series can also be used to gather additional data on new subs.

Create content that is relevant to their interests and what they interact with. Then, when they ultimately make a purchase, segment them based on purchase history.

Educational Content: Teach your customers how to enjoy a better cannabis experience. Give them usage guides (post-purchase flows), cross-sells/upsells, as well as informing about health benefits and changes in cannabis laws. Just be sure the content is relevant to each segment.

Engagement-Driven Campaigns: Encourage interaction with feedback surveys, preference quizzes, and loyalty rewards to keep customers active.

Step 5: Monitor and Optimize:

Analyze the performance of social media campaigns, email campaigns, lead magnets, quizzes, survey’s, etc. to get a better understanding on how to communicate with your audience on different platforms, and what content drives the most action.

When You’re Ready, Here’s How I Can Help You…

Click HERE to download the High On Marketing Evergreen Templates - 50 pre-written emails tailored for cannabis brands to educate, engage, and encourage action from your audience

Stay on top-of-mind while building a well-informed, loyal customer base.

Get your templates today and have the next 6 months of canna content covered!

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Final Thoughts…

Every brand’s marketing strategy is different because every brand’s goals, business models, and customer base is different. It’s important to find your own unique voice and strategy.

Having a fully-optimized (mostly automated) email strategy, and using social media primarily as a way to funnel followers to your email list is a smart way to build your owned audience in an anti-weed world.

Stop losing sleep worrying about if your IG account will be there tomorrow.

Get your owned audience more engaged, and stop relying on social so much.

P.S. ⬇️⬇️