Author: Julian

Is Tapping into the CBD Market for You?

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The marijuana market is getting more and more attention. Broad recreational use laws have been passed in seven states and the District of Columbia, making it legal to own and sell in these areas. Additionally, 29 states, including those with recreational use, have approved broad-use medical marijuana. This more accepting culture and the shift in regulations has also brought CBD oil into the forefront. As a non-psychoactive substance, CBD oil is often advertised as legal to sell in all 50 states. It’s also experiencing rapid growth in the marketplace, making it an area that is ripe for investment as long as you understand the challenges ahead of time.

The Health Benefits of CBD

Cannabidiol, also known as CBD, has been the subject of several recent peer-reviewed studies. Combined with tons of anecdotal evidence, the overwhelming impression is that CBD can offer significant health benefits. The fact that marijuana has been approved for medical use in more than half the country helps lend credence to the belief that CBD also has medical uses. Given that CBD is derived from the industrial hemp plant and does not have any psychoactive components, CBD oil can be used for patients that are otherwise not good candidates for marijuana.

The Dark Side of CBD Sales

With this sudden expansion in the CBD market and availability of high-quality hemp plants to extract the oil, the market has exploded. Like any sudden growth industry, new entries will face their share of challenges. The biggest challenge you will face is your supply line. Becoming a CBD retailer is fairly straightforward, but obtaining quality product can be a challenge. CBD oil is only legal in all states when it comes from industrial hemp plants, but these plants contain less CBD than marijuana plants. Industrial hemp plants naturally contain no more than 0.3 percent THC, the psychoactive component of marijuana. Marijuana plants often contain more than 10 percent. The distinction between industrial hemp and marijuana plants is what allows retailers to sell hemp oil products. A significant market segment wants to be sure that their CBD oil is completely THC-free, so knowing where the oil comes from and where it is legal to sell is important.

Growth Projections

Even with the sometimes hazy legality and difficulty obtaining pure products with a clear production line, CBD represents a large market with explosive growth potential. Some projections expect the market to grow by 700 percent in less than three years. With that kind of potential return, CBD might be exactly the invest you’ve been looking for.
Already in the market?  Let the gurus help grow your business and brand awareness.  Contact one of our experts today!

5 Things To Consider When Entering A Multi-Channel Marketing Campaign

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Whether it is on billboards, the television or online, modern consumers are constantly bombarded by hundreds of marketing messages every day. Because of this many people are beginning to develop a virtual callus of sorts against advertising, which is why brands must find new and innovative ways to capture the attention of today’s consumers. For many brands, this means investing in multichannel marketing efforts.

What is multi-channel marketing?  Multichannel marketing (MCM)  refers to marketing efforts that utilize a combination of channels including email marketing, social media marketing, banner ads and much more!  

Why is MCM useful?  MCM allows marketers to:

  • Align marketing goals with the sales process more easily.
  • Creates brand awareness and helps develop brand loyalty through constant communication efforts.
  • Generate and create a nurturing environment for more qualified leads while driving down the cost per lead. Leading to more engagement and conversion.
  • And more!

Interested in what investing MCM can do for your business? Before you make that next step there are a few things to keep in mind. Here are a few tips for the experts.

1. Start Simple

By now I am sure you are excited and want to hit the ground running, but it is vital to start simple. The last thing you want to do is onboard a ton of efforts half-assed. So do not take on more than you can chew. Avoid complex campaigns, especially if your company has no history of creating and launching multi-channel campaigns.  

2. Define Your Targeted Audience

Ensuring that your marketing message reaches the right people is perhaps one of the most important aspects of any campaign.  You must target all your efforts toward people who are a perfect fit for your offer. Never waste time or money attracting the wrong prospects. Your target audience must consist of people who are a perfect fit for your offer.  Think about what are the key characteristics, needs, and behaviors of your ideal customer and what platform is most likely to reach them.

3. Take Your Time Assessing Each Platform

Before you invest all your money into one or two channels, please take the time to create a cohesive strategy. You need to determine your campaigns objective and who your audience is, how they will interact with all the available touch points.  Will their interaction support or undermine your campaign’s objective? Once you determine what your objectives are the appropriate channels will become obvious.

4. Be Relevant & Make Connections

No matter what message you are sharing or what channel you are using it is vital to create content that is relevant to your target demographic.  It is vital to share content that engages, entertains and educates your target demographic. Without care content curation you will have a difficult time connecting with consumers. Technology has made connecting with others easier, but it has also decreased the attention span of many consumers. So take special care to create a community.

5. Always A/B Test

The only way you can properly determine the effectiveness of your campaign is to constantly test it.  Use data collection to your advantage and determine what works and why.

Feeling overwhelmed?  Let the experts at Marijuana Marketing Gurus help you develop and promote your brand.  Our experts are here to help. Give us a call today!

Ideas for Your Editorial Calendar

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Everyone knows content is king, but many marketers struggle to keep it organized. After all, you need content for everything from your blog to social media accounts. If you constantly have new content ideas popping up, it’s time to stop scribbling them on scraps of paper and start using an editorial calendar instead. This handy marketing tool is a great place to keep a list of any content you want to publish so you know exactly when you plan to post it. This way, you see any gaps in your upcoming content schedule, at which point you can plan to create or curate more content. As you set up your editorial calendar, here’s the type of content it should include.

Emails

Email marketing requires you to strategize so you’re not randomly sending emails, and an editorial calendar can help. For example, if you need to send emails one week before launching a new product or service, you can add that content to your schedule so it goes out on time.

Business Blog Posts

Having a blog for your business helps you get found by both search engines and consumers. That’s because blog posts provide the perfect opportunity to update your site frequently, which search engine crawlers reward. Plus, high-quality blog posts can get the attention of consumers looking to be entertained or learn something new, which increases the odds they’ll be back. But to get these results, you need to post consistently, and an editorial calendar will make it easy for you to ensure that you have content ready on a regular basis.

Social Media Content

Once you update your blog, it’s time to promote your latest post through social media. If you want a simple way to post a link to your updated blog, strategically schedule social media posts using your editorial calendar. So, if you write a blog post on Monday morning, your calendar will note that you need to add a post on social media to promote it the same day. This functionality is important when you have several social media accounts to keep track of.

Additional Types of Content

Email, blogs, and social media may be the main types of content most businesses use, but your editorial calendar doesn’t have to stop there. You can also use it to keep track of any other content you produce, including white papers, case studies, e-books, and webinars.

Basically, your editorial calendar should include anything you need to post regularly for your business. If you have any questions about managing your calendar or content marketing in general, contact a local marketing agency to make sure you’re on the right track.

The Basics Of Branding

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Over the last few years, the concept of branding has become more of a catch-all phrase than a specific marketing process. Along the way, it seems to have lost some of the potency, importance, and meaning that makes it such a powerful concept. While branding is important for every business, branding is absolutely essential for the cannabis industry, given the rapidly changing social and legal environments surrounding it. Branding is what helps you find your company’s voice and develop an identity that builds trust with your customer base.

In other words, branding is the process of creating a name for yourself. It distinguishes your company from the countless others that are also looking for market share in the dynamic and competitive cannabis industry. As seen from numerous successful brands in a variety of different markets, the basics of developing a brand apply to companies of all shapes and sizes. Due to the extremely competitive nature of the cannabis market where countless smaller companies are vying for the same customers, branding is especially important.

Aside from the basics like visual design, logos and color palette choices in your marketing materials, your brand is what defines your company’s personality. Finding a cohesive voice that builds upon things like visual design and catchphrases to develop your story is a crucial component to developing your brand. If you rely on website content as the face of your business, be certain to tell your company’s story in a relatable, memorable way. Include company goals, mission and what separates you from the faceless masses of competing businesses.

Furthermore, all content should be appealing and engaging relative to your target audience. In the cannabis industry, emphasizing stability and trustworthiness in your content is pivotal in such a new, ever-changing environment. You want to find a balance between personality and stability, appeal and reliability in every piece of content you produce and upload to your site.

Lastly, distributing your message is another critical component to developing your brand. Given the many distribution channels available in today’s digital marketplace, marrying voice and content to the proper outlets is just as important as the content itself. After all, producing the best visual designs and engaging content does you no good if the audience never sees it. Between social media outlets, email campaigns, onsite marketing and SEO optimization, your content should be agile, appealing and appropriate for the channels you use to distribute it.

Differentiating yourself in such a new and competitive industry can be challenging but is in no way impossible. By being deliberate, precise and careful with the design, maintenance and distribution of your message, your company’s brand can become your calling card to success in the crowded cannabis marketplace.

Ready to take your brand to the next level. Let the experts at Marijuana Marketing Gurus help.  Call today and speak to one of our industry experts.

 

4 Key Strategies To Bring Your Business To The Next Level

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Over the past few years, the cannabis industry has grown exponentially. At the end of 2016, California – along with Maine, Nevada, and Massachusetts- joined the ranks of other progressive sites and legalized the recreational use of cannabis. This move by California is projected to increase the value of the cannabis market to $20 billion in the next 4 years.  In the next decade, it is estimated that the cannabis industry will be worth an astounding $50 billion, that is more than 8 times its current size!

The cannabis industry has come a long way from the days of homemade baked goods and nameless products on the shelf. As the experts in cannabis marketing and advertising, Marijuana Marketing Gurus can help you seize every opportunity this growing industry has to offer. In today’s market, it is becoming increasingly important to create a brand that engages with its community and maintains a strong presence in the marketplace. Below we have identified 4 key strategies you must invest in order to smoke the competition.

1. Invest in Innovative, Engaging & Educational Content Creation For Your Brand

From dispensaries to gourmet cannabis baked goods, the cannabis marketplace offers a vast array of choices for consumers. Because consumers have so much choice when it comes to cannabis products it becomes imperative for businesses to embrace the 4 elements of content marketing: email, social media, blogging, and video. These 4 elements help you create a community around your brand by engaging with your current and potential customers all at once. Not only do these elements add value to your brand, but they can provide you with valuable insight into who your audience is and what they want.

2. Invest in Photography

We have all heard the phrase a picture is worth a thousand words. Whether they are surfing the web or shopping the aisles of the local market, people see thousands of images a day. Which is why it is vital that the images you use in your branding catch the eye of every potential customer from the get-go.

Stock Photos Vs. Professional Photography

While there is a breadth of stock photo libraries out there, the images are often generic and do not reflect who you are as a business or the products you sell. By hiring a professional photographer to shoot photos of your team, your operation and your products you can show your customers exactly who you are.

3. Create Packaging That Is Both Aesthetically Pleasing & Meets Regulations.

For today’s savvy consumer the design of the packaging has as much to do with their purchasing decision as the quality of the actual product. In fact, 70% of all purchasing decisions happen at checkout. So it becomes essential for cannabis business to create packaging that appeals to consumers and easily distinguishes their brand from the competition. In addition, cannabis packing does come with all kinds of regulations you must adhere to, so it is vital to work with a designer who is well versed in the rules of cannabis packaging.

4. Always Keep Track of Your Analytics & Metrics

The number one mistake that any novice marketer will make is to set and forget their strategy. Without regularly checking in on your progress, there is no way to see if your strategy is working. It is vital to utilize tools like Google Analytics, Webmaster Tools, Facebook and Twitter publishing tools to track growth and analyze your audience’s response. It’s not enough simply to set and forget a marketing strategy without regularly checking in on your progress. Data is gold to marketers and can help you make informed decisions when developing your marketing strategy.

One of the biggest mistakes cannabis businesses make is not bringing on professionals to implement the strategies discussed above. At Marijuana Marketing Gurus, our experts will help you build your brand. Let our experts take your business to the next level. Call us today to speak to one of our consultants.

 

 

3 Digital Marketing Trends Making a Difference in 2017

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Do you want to make a difference in 2017 with your digital marketing strategies? If so, you must be able to anticipate changes and jump on the latest trends. We have made that a little easier for you by scouring the internet for the biggest trends in digital marketing for 2017.

#1 There Will Be a Transformation in Email Marketing

Email marketing is constantly evolving as technology changes. This year, we will see quite a few changes in email marketing. Here are a few of the biggest ones:

No More Newsletters

For several years, email newsletters have been losing momentum. Many people simply opt out of them or delete them without opening. Email content will be geared more towards the individual and will be more entertaining and visual.

Optimized for Mobile

With the significant shift towards mobile content, it is important to optimize your emails for mobile.

Fewer Emails

Most people’s inboxes are overflowing with emails. Many get deleted without ever being read. For 2017, the focus will be on making a difference with fewer, yet more quality emails. Emails should be engaging and relevant to your customers.

#2 Search Engine Optimization Will Evolve

There have been numerous changes in search engine optimization or SEO over the past year. Expect it to continue to grow in 2017. There will be significant shifts in the way that people search for information and SEO must evolve to account for those changes.

Voice Search Will Dominate

Voice search has become more popular than ever. Thanks to new technology, it has become much more user-friendly. Voice search is quickly becoming one of the fastest-growing search options available. We can understand the appeal. Who doesn’t want a hands-free and easy way to find information? Marketers must optimize content for voice search.

SEO Will Move Beyond Keywords

Today’s consumers know what they are searching for when they turn to the internet for information. Search engines are beginning to focus more on user intent rather than on keywords. Consumers can enter entire phrases in search engines and get better results than just entering keywords. Therefore, businesses will need to optimize their content for user intent rather than for keywords. You will need to find out what brings users to your page and optimize based on their intent.

#3 There Will Be Big Changes in Social Media Marketing 

It is clear that social media is here to stay. Therefore, marketers must keep up with shifts in these platforms and adjust marketing strategies accordingly. For 2017, the following trends in social media marketing will be huge:

  • Live video
  • Customer service chat bots
  • Shoppable video ads

Since new technology, trends and tools emerge all the time; you must keep up with the latest advancements and trends in the industry if you want to capture your customers’ attention. Knowing the above three trends in digital marketing will help your company stay relevant in 2017.

 

Move The Needle: 4 Best Practices For Digital Advertising

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Business owners and marketers in today’s fast-paced digital world face a huge challenge—grabbing customers attention with their digital advertising. Americans see thousands of advertisements a day, and they have gotten used to ignoring digital advertising. So, how can you engage potential customers and get them to pay attention to your advertising?  Here are four simple digital marketing best practices that will help ensure that potential clients see and pay attention to your digital ads.

Focus on Emotion

One way to capture your client’s attention is by creating a strong emotional bond through your digital advertising. Emotion makes people act, whether that emotion is sadness, happiness or anger. In fact, many research studies have indicated that emotion moves people to buy things. Not only that, but strong feelings cause social influencers to talk about your product or brand, and social influencers do help sell products. Studies show that people are more likely to buy a product or brand that has been recommended by their favorite YouTuber. So, every time you release a new advertisement, ask yourself “how did this make me feel?” If you can’t answer that question or answer with a “nothing”, then something is wrong. Go back, and think about how you can move your audience by eliciting a strong emotional response through your ads.

Don’t Pay So Much Attention to Clicks 

People are exposed to lots of digital information each day. Many people click on advertisements without ever buying anything. Rather than focusing on reaching as many individuals as possible, try to pay more attention to how you can reach the right person at the right time. Google Adwords or similar services are great forms of digital advertising because they allow customers to see your digital advertisements at the same time that they are searching for products or services that you sell. Targeted digital ads allow you to reach customers who are looking to buy what you offer at the time that they want to buy it.

Make Sure Your Digital Ads Are Mobile-Friendly 

Don’t make the mistake of ignoring how important mobile-friendly advertising has become. Mobile content is clearly the future. According to Google, as of 2015, more internet searches take place on mobile devices than on computers in the United States. You are missing out on a tremendous opportunity to engage customers if you are not catering your advertisements, content, and website towards mobile users. All of your advertising should be mobile-friendly for various devices.

Collaborate Across Teams

A good digital advertising campaign requires several different teams within your company to work together. For instance, your content team should work closely with your marketing team to develop your digital advertising strategies simultaneously.

 

3 Advertising Pitfalls In the Cannabis Industry

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shutterstock_472103500With the legalization of cannabis in another four states on November 8th, the cannabis industry has truly gone mainstream. Cannabis sales in the state of Colorado topped $1 billion in 2016.

The year ahead is going to be a huge one for the cannabis industry and success will largely be dictated by how well cannabis businesses advertise their products to the public.

Advertising should be a part of every cannabis business’ marketing strategy because it’s a great way to increase brand awareness and build trust with local customers.

State Advertising Regulations

That said, keep in mind that cannabis is still illegal federally and individual states that have decriminalized cannabis for recreational or medicinal use have their own rules when it comes to cannabis advertising.

Recreational cannabis states like Colorado have strict rules for advertising on the internet, for instance. The rules say that the “retail marijuana establishment” has to show that no more than “30% of the audience” for your website or blog is under the age of 21.

The aim of that regulation is clearly to limit advertising to underage audiences. Other legal cannabis states like Washington are more explicit about prohibiting advertising to minors.

In the state of Washington, cannabis retailers aren’t allowed to create advertisements that would be “appealing to children or other persons under twenty-one years of age.”

As you can see, that’s very general yet essential to keep in mind as you go about creating an advertising campaign that distinguishes you from your competitors.

Social Media Blunders

Social media outreach can increase your brand awareness and drive sales, and many cannabis retailers have even taken on social media managers to get the message out about their products. Unfortunately, social media giants like Facebook have erred on the side of caution when it comes to marijuana advertising.

Cannabis businesses have to be especially careful with posting on social media since sites like Facebook and Instagram have strict guidelines for cannabis advertising.

Facebook has essentially banned cannabis advertising on its social media platform. You’re not allowed to mention or allude to cannabis use nor can you directly advertise your cannabis product on Facebook or Instagram.

MassRoots is a great workaround solution if you have a readymade social media advertising campaign. MassRoots markets itself as the social media platform for marijuana and it requires users to affirm that they’re 21 years of age before entering the site.

Federal Marijuana Ban

Retail marijuana businesses operating in states that have legalized marijuana are in somewhat of a financial and legal limbo. Marijuana is still banned federally and considered a Schedule I substance under the Controlled Substances Act.

President Obama and his Justice Department created the Cole Memorandum to protect marijuana retailers advertising their products in states that legalized marijuana for recreational or medicinal use.

Questions linger about how President Trump and Attorney General Jeff Sessions plan on dealing with the Cole Memorandum and marijuana advertising. Because marijuana is still illegal federally, marijuana advertisements are technically still illegal under federal law.

Our Guru Tips On Dominating Your Local SEO

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Until cannabis has been legalized nationwide, business owners in the marijuana industry must be mindful of where they place their focus. Until you can legally ship your products from Colorado to Texas, your marketing philosophy should never stray too far from your home base.

But even in hyper-local markets, your customer’s journey still begins online. Recent studies suggest that 80% of customers look online before they decide to decide to buy from a business, and 77% of those customers use Google to begin their search. Most businesses know about using SEO (search engine optimization but far too few practice local SEO.

Local SEO is extremely important, especially for small to mid-sized business that don’t yet compete in the national market. Due to the legal constraints placed on the cannabis industry, your goal is to reach potential customers within your area of service. Local SEO is the best way to do this. Get on the path to search engine dominance by following these proven local SEO strategies.

How To Dominate Local SEO In Your Area

Step 1: Optimize Your Website

Optimizing your website properly will ensure that it will appear high up on Google’s SERP (search engine results page) for searches done within your area of service. The following are a few tips for optimizing your site properly:

Include both the name of your business and its location in your domain name. For example, if your company name is The Cannabis Store and you operate out of Boulder, Colorado then consider thecannabisstoreboulder.com as your domain name.

Use keywords that are relevant to both your business and to the community it serves. For instance, instead of using “cannabis products” as a keyword, use “cannabis products in Boulder.” This helps to narrow your audience down to those that are performing searches in the Boulder area, which in turn draws higher-quality leads to your site. Keywords should be used in your titles, content, anchor text, ALT image text and meta descriptions.

Add your NAP (name, address and phone number) to each page of your website, including your homepage and contact page.

2. Create Locally Focused Content

Create a blog and write content that is based on local news or topics relevant to your specific community. Publishing local content is a good way to boost local SEO. For example, publish a blog post on Fourth of July events being held in or around the neighborhood your store is located in. Then, when someone searches for Fourth of July events in that area, your site is more likely to come up.

3. Submit Your Contact Information to Local Directories

Submit your contact information, including name, address, and phone number to various online directories, including Yelp and Yellowbook to Facebook and Google. Make absolutely sure that the information you submit is correct. If the information differs from listing to listing, it can actually hurt your ranking. When submitting your info to local directories, make sure that you list your business in the appropriate category and that you use relevant keywords to optimize your description. Consider making your listings more informative by adding links to your site, photos, videos and more when possible.

4. Encourage Online Reviews

Ask your customers and followers to review your business online. The more positive reviews you have on sites like Yelp, Facebook and Google, the stronger your local SEO will be. Be sure to respond to various reviews as well. Address the problems raised in negative reviews and thank customers for positive reviews.

Need Help Getting Started? Ask the Gurus!

Completing a successful local SEO strategy is a complicated, time-consuming process. Don’t go it alone. At Marijuana Marketing Gurus, we provide a steady hand to guide you through your digital marketing journey. Combining our deep knowledge of your industry with cutting-edge marketing tactics, we lead growing cannabusinesses towards their full market potential. Ready to elevate your business to new heights? Consult the Gurus and begin the journey.

Marketing Specialists your Cannabis Business Can’t Survive Without

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We live in a time of constant change, and few things represent that better than the marijuana consumer revolution. In a business world that shunned this incredible market, marijuana business owners have had to blaze their own trail. Where traditional media dropped the ball, digital marketing is taking over in a big way. Like marijuana, digital marketing has come a long way over the past few years, changing and evolving to best meet the needs of businesses and consumers alike.

Digital marketing strategy is essential to the success of any modern business aiming to reach new heights. Achieving your marketing goals requires quality talent, a strong vision, and the resources to make them work. This can quickly become a daunting task for business owners who don’t know where to begin, and don’t have the time to nurture real results. By choosing the right specialists to light the way and manage your digital marketing campaigns, you can maximize ROI while freeing up your time to focus on the thing you do best: running your business.

Here are the three digital marketing experts you should rely on for the journey ahead.

1. SOCIAL MEDIA SPECIALIST

While social media platforms are an effective way to engage with your customers, getting your message across properly is no easy task. It is easy for your message to get lost in the clutter. A social media specialist will work to optimize your efforts to best reach your target audience.

Finding the right social media strategy requires a ton of trial and error. Teaming up with with a social media specialist saves you time and money while increasing your ROI.

2. BRANDING SPECIALIST

Since legalization, Marijuana’s image has come a long way from tye-dye and black lights. Today’s consumers crave more refined packaging, and a trustworthy image behind their products of choice. For any competitive marijuana company, branding is everything. Your brand is what separates your company from its competitors, and draws customers to your products above others.

A branding specialist will help you build a brand that stands out and resonates with your target audience. These are the visionaries who help you decide on a tone, an image and an approach that both unites your strategy and keeps customers coming back.

3. EMAIL MARKETING SPECIALIST

Don’t let people cloud your judgment, email marketing still works. When integrated into a well-executed digital strategy, email can be the driving factor in driving conversions and establishing a rapport with current and potential customers.

An email marketing expert crafts campaigns that send the right message to the right people at the right time, increasing the effectiveness of your overall marketing efforts.

Let Us Light Your Way

Discovering your path in the marijuana industry doesn’t have to feel like such a mystery. With the right partners there to guide you, your brand can truly thrive in this competitive industry.

As Marijuana Marketing Gurus, we offer a potent blend of quality branding, digital media expertise, SEO and other marketing services to help your business reach it’s full potential. If you’re ready to experience the difference, or if there’s a problem we can help you solve, let us know.

But whatever you do, don’t start your journey without consulting the gurus.