12 Instagram Marketing Tips For Dispensaries

Instagram marketing for dispensaries has become an effective social media marketing tool for brands to connect, grow, and inform their customers. The visual platform holds tremendous marketing potential allowing brands to reach, interact and influence.
When it comes to cannabis businesses, unfortunately, the platform is not very welcoming. The social media site does not allow the promotion of cannabis products and their sales.
As a result, several businesses in the hemp industry see their accounts are deactivated or shut down for violating the platform’s guidelines. Despite this, the platform continues to be a favorite of the cannabis industry to grow, reach and engage their followers.
Having limited advertising and customer outreach opportunities several cannabis businesses are following a fine line between their marketing objectives and the policies of the Facebook subsidiary.
By treading skillfully between restrictions and opportunities while adopting an original and innovative approach, cannabis businesses can realize their marketing goals.
One might wonder why despite Instagram restrictions on cannabis product promotion across their platform, it is a favorite for cannabis businesses.
Why do cannabis brands prefer marketing on Instagram?
Interestingly, despite being unwelcoming for cannabis businesses, the platform has become a cornerstone of their digital marketing strategies. The following factors explain the underlying reasons for the growing enthusiasm of cannabis businesses towards the social media platform.
Visually appealing platform
With a visual format, Instagram offers excellent opportunities for brands to tell their stories to consumers. The visuals make it easier for consumers to see, comment, and connect with a product.
In other words, Instagram helps digital marketers to reach consumers most effectively. It is not a surprise, Facebook-owned company has been a favorite of cannabis businesses to connect, grow, and influence their customers.
User demographics
The statistics on Instagram users show the platform is massively popular in the USA. According to a report, 37% of USA adults use this social media site; the ratio is even higher among the 18–29 year age group who every two out of three individuals use Instagram.
It is not just the younger generation who love to use the platform; the statistics reveal that 40% of millennials and Gen X regularly use Instagram.
User behavior
With 1.16 billion users, the site creates massive engagement such that users daily spend about 8 minutes on the app and 500 million use stories every day.
According to Instagram, 60% of people use the app to find new products, while 80% follow a business on the website. This enormous user behavior offers brands the colossal potential to achieve their marketing goals. Like other businesses, cannabis brands are keen to capitalize on the massive popularity and exceptional consumer engagement potential of Instagram.

How cannabis businesses can effectively market on Instagram
Instagram marketing can become a powerful component of your marketing strategy if executed prudently. The following tips could help you get the most from the visual platform for your cannabis business.
1. Raise voice of the community
As the cannabis community actively uses Instagram, it is your responsibility as a digital marketer to identify and exploit opportunities and ways to reach out to your target audience.
Instagram does not permit the marketing of cannabis products, so it is a challenge for the hemp industry to find ways that could help them connect with their customers. One way to achieve this objective is by making posts that highlight the issues that can attract the attention of cannabis users and activists and prompt them to connect with your brand.
Posts on the legal situation, scientific research on cannabis, and celebrity statements about legalization possess the potential to get noticed and followed by the cannabis community on Instagram. Incorporate these ideas creatively into your content strategy, and you will not be disappointed with the results.
2. Reflect the value your brand can deliver
What values does your brand uphold for the customers? Use this medium to inform and convince your audience about the quality and consistent effects your products offer.
Determining what your brand promise to customers and how you deliver to fulfill that promise in every customer interaction can help you identify the value your brand is offering.
The images of product stock, delivery handling process, employees, manufacturing, dispensary activities, and advocacy can reflect how your brand delivers value to the customers.
Do not try to sell your product, instead focus on community building and participating in cannabis culture. Highlight how your brand can help people meet their needs for natural, alternative, and holistic treatment methods to give users a reason to engage with your content.
3. Highlight the lifestyle of your audience
Images and videos that can promote the customer experience and lifestyle your brand reflects can draw the attention of your target audience.
By dedicating your Instagram marketing initiative to promoting people, experiences, and lifestyles, you can make your content interesting for users. For example, people on holidays can meet their wellness and health needs by consuming cannabis edibles; posts on this topic can attract the interest of holidaymakers. Being creative and an out-of-the-box thinker to develop content that appeals to your potential audience could play a pivotal role in your digital marketing plan.
4. Post regularly
Maintain visibility on this platform by regularly sharing images and videos. Regular quality posts can help users to think your business is legitimate and trustworthy.
Several people suggest that one post per day is the suitable number of posts that can help you achieve the required results.
Try to create engagement on your page by drawing people into discussions by igniting engaging debates. Actively respond to the comments users make on your images and videos.
5. Use hashtags
Hashtags enhance the reach of your posts on Instagram by making them searchable items. Never forget to use a set of popular and less popular hashtags to help your images and videos appear in the Instagram search results.
A combination of long and short-tail hashtags could promote the likelihood of people discovering your stuff. General hashtags such as #cannabis and #hemp, with more targeted hashtags such as #cbdedibles, #cbdformigraine can help you get some targeted traffic and leads.
6. Publish targeted content
Moving the needle with Instagram marketing requires engaging people at different levels of the sales funnel. The perfect content can get your business noticed, known, and trusted.
Trust is a prerequisite for businesses wishing to make online sales. Engaging content could prove your best bet in creating trust, and ultimately product sales. However, it is a challenge to use the potential of a social media platform that prohibits the sales of cannabis and any direct mention of cannabis products by creating appealing content.
Educate the audience to address their information needs as they move along the marketing funnel. Target people at the top of the funnel with posts that promote brand awareness and discovery using appropriate hashtags.
Encourage people in the middle of the funnel to find more about your company, products, and services by publishing quotes from customers’ reviews and product information. Help people at the bottom of the funnel in making purchase decisions by offering them appropriate information.
7. Influencer marketing
Instagram influencers can drive traffic to your page, therefore making them a part of your Instagram marketing strategy makes perfect sense. The only challenge you need to live up to is to find influencers who are the right match for your brand and then reaching out to them.
One way to search out brand-related influencers is to use hashtags that best fit your business and products. Choose individuals who not only boast a large following but also have highly engaged followers. Reach out to them and develop useful collaborations with them. Most often, influencers become ready to extend help in exchange for free-of-cost products and samples.
8. Wisely use Instagram free tools
In addition to regular posts, Instagram offers other tools to get your content across the platform.
9. Create Instagram stories
The content published using Instagram stories disappears after 24 hours. Due to their relatively instantaneous nature, the stories draw the interest of users and create high engagement. This feature can prove extremely handy in keeping your audience engaged with your content.
Therefore, publishing highly relevant content promptly is a key to get the maximum out of this feature.
10. Instagram guides
Instagram guides allow users to publish more detailed content. The shrewd marketers use this feature to create how-to tutorials, offer recommendations, and answer questions.
You can also use this tool to share DIY recipes with your customers. Use this opportunity to create some highly engaging content that your followers find of high value.
11. Instagram reels
Instagram reels allow you to record video clips, edit them with music into videos, and publish them to your story, feed, or reel tab.
By enabling the remix feature, users can create related or reactionary videos, which appear next to original videos. Uploading videos that can encourage users to interact with your content could go a long way in helping you meet your digital marketing goals.
12. Carousel posts
This feature help users to upload multiple photos and videos in a single post. Again, cannabis brands can use this feature to share related content and create exceptional customer engagement.
A report by Social Insider notes the user engagement increases manifolds when they interact with carousel posts.
According to the details, the engagement rate reaches 2.07% when all ten carousel slides are used. When a combination of images and videos is used in the carousel, the engagement rate jumps to 2.33%.
Bonus Tip: Instagram TV
Instagram TV is also known as IGTV, allows users to upload longer-form videos. Using this feature, you can upload up to 60-minutes videos from the web and 15-minutes videos from your mobile.
A great feature to publish in-depth tutorial videos, behind-the-scenes company activities, an event, or educational videos. With out-of-box, original, and creative thinking, you can develop content with the potential to get exceptional user engagement.
For example, customer interviews and testimonials can lend your business much-needed legitimacy, exposure, trust, and sales.

Examples of emails dispensaries can send
Unsure of what types of emails you can send to your subscribers? Read on to get informed so you don’t get overwhelmed when launching your email marketing campaigns next time!
a) Welcome emails
Welcome emails are sent to welcome a customer aboard and set the stage for future communication. Introduce your brand and products in this email and show the recipient why they should be part of your cannabis dispensary.
b) Direct emails
Direct emails are all the emails sent to your entire subscriber list. The primary purpose of these emails is to say “hello” and offer product updates, price cuts, bundles, or a new product announcement.
Although these emails are general, you can still subdivide them based on recipients’ age, location, or behaviors to increase engagement.
c) Dispensary newsletter
These are the newsletters sent to your mailing list through email. Newsletters look to serve three leading roles, including creating and increasing brand awareness, giving updates, and encouraging individuals to make purchases.
d) Transactional emails
Often regarded as the most relevant emails to your subscribers, transactional emails are the emails you send to your subscribers based on their activities on your website. The action could be a purchase they made or an item they added to their shopping cart.
Conclusion
Instagram is one of the most popular social media channels out there and is still gaining in popularity. Creating a social media marketing campaign that engages your community and highlights your cannabis business is a must if you want your dispensary to stand out from the competition.
If you want to start using the power of Instagram to create brand awareness and drive traffic to your stores, contact us today and let’s talk about setting up an Instagram marketing campaign that works.
Write a Comment