Will your #cannabisbusiness survive impending economic changes (recession)?

Companies that invest in marketing (properly) will be able to survive the economic changes we will inevitably experience, but those that don’t, may not be able to make it through a downturn.

If you think that #cannabis is recession-proof…you’re right and wrong.

The data is proving that it is, but that doesn’t make every cannabis company exempt from going down in flames should a recession hit us.

Cannabis, however, is not bad, or lack of leadership proof, and that can pose a problem no matter what the economy looks like.

Companies that invest in their long term #marketingstrategy and effective #leadership (not just hiring freelancers or vendors to implement what they think they should be doing) those are the companies that will survive.

Which type of company do you want to be? 

The company that burns through freelancers or employees because there’s no real #strategy or leadership in place, or a company that values their employees, values strong leadership, and is defining their brand position in the market to be able to successfully weather any storm?

With many challenges facing the cannabis industry, having strong leadership to help define #branding is critical before any storms hit. 

Think of it as preparing for a hurricane, and not waiting until the last minute to get supplies.

Things to think about:

Are you memorable?

Are all of your marketing or advertising efforts standing out from the sea of green? 

Yes, cannabis has a lot of land mines to navigate, but that also doesn’t mean that you can’t push the envelope of what can be done to get attention and become memorable, making the most of your marketing budget.

Don’t be lame. Even as a highly regulated industry, we have to think outside of the box with fun and creative advertising. 

Is your imagery visually appealing?

Do you know how to stop the scroll, and demand attention from your ideal client? 

If not, you’re wasting money on your marketing efforts.

There are certainly limitations in the #cannabisindustry, but there are easy ways to overcome these obstacles, again, thinking out of the box and getting your head out of the sand to address the blindspots you aren’t even aware of, helping your team learn the true cost of lead generation.

Is your team writing good copy?

Do you know how to use words to get your ideal customer to take an action in the name of lead generation (whether you do this in-house or you rely on lead generation outsourcing?)

That’s what good copy can do, but if your team is just slapping something together for the sake of #content, then you’re missing valuable opportunities on a daily basis, and leaving money on the table….your competitor’s table, and they’re about to roll it up and smoke it. 💨

The choice is yours, but don’t get caught unprepared if (or when) the storm hits, and don’t say you weren’t warned. ⚠

#marketing #advertising #team #creativeadvertising #cannabiscommunity #cannabismarketing #brandpositioning #brandpower

The cannabis industry is one of the hottest industries right now. With more and more states legalizing marijuana, both for medical and recreational use, there’s a lot of opportunity for growth in this industry. However, because the industry is still so new, it can be difficult to know how to market your cannabis brand or dispensary. That’s why we’ve put together a list of five critical marketing strategies that every cannabis startup should be using.

Develop a strong brand identity.

Your brand is what sets you apart from your competition. It’s what gives your customers a reason to choose you over everyone else. So, it’s important to spend some time developing a strong brand identity for your cannabis business. This includes things like creating a logo, choosing a color palette, and coming up with a tagline or slogan, and more!

Get involved in your local community.

One of the best ways to market your cannabis business is to get involved in your local community. This could mean sponsoring local events, donating to local charities, or even just hosting regular meetups at your dispensary or grow house. When you show that you’re invested in your community, people will be more likely to support your business.

Make sure your website is up to par

These days, most people will find out about your business online—which means that having a well-designed website is critical for success. Your website should be easy to navigate, informative, and mobile-friendly. If you’re not sure where to start, reach out!

Utilize social media

Social media is one of the most powerful marketing tools at your disposal—so make sure you’re utilizing it! Create accounts on all of the major platforms (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc.) and post regularly. Use social media to share news about your business, and connect with potential customers from your local community. Just make sure you’re staying up-to-date on all of the latest social media trends so that you can take full advantage of this powerful marketing tool and stay within community guidelines. (Don’t risk account deactivations and suspensions, be sure to have a strategy to overcome this hurdle)

Implement an SEO strategy

If you want people to be able to find your website online, then you need to make sure you’re implementing an SEO (search engine optimization) strategy . This means including relevant keywords on your website , writing helpful blog posts , and making sure your site is easy to navigate. You can also use Google AdWords or other paid advertising platforms to help get your site ranking in Google searches.

Don’t forget: SEO isn’t something you can do once and forget about—you need to continuously work on it if you want long-term success and stay ahead of your competitors.

Marketing a cannabis business can be difficult—but it’s not impossible. By following these five critical marketing strategies , you’ll be well on your way to success . If you need any help along the way , we’re always here to lend a hand to help you get on the right path with your cannabis marketing strategy!

Local Search Engine Optimization

Have you ever asked yourself, “what is search engine optimization?” What’s the difference between regular SEO and local SEO? Do you know the difference and are you paying the right agency to do it? Do you know how to reach your local market if your business depends on geographical business? If you’re not optimizing locally and already running Search Engine Optimization (SEO), then you’re hurting yourself drastically. 

Help Customers Find You When They Need Your Services 

People automatically hop on Google if they don’t have a personal referral for a service or product they’re needing.  Even if they do, they’re researching the company to make sure the referral they’ve been given is competent and a good fit for them.  96% of people use online reviews from multiple sources to decide what business they want to choose as their provider.  The magical thing that happens when you pair reviews with search engine optimization and do it with an agency that has your best interest in mind, your business will start growing because you’re being seen more often by your target market.  Your reputation and your strategy revolving around this fact about human behavior will help you reach your ideal client because they’ll be contacting YOU instead of having to chase them. Imagine all the time you’ll get back in your life! What’s the price to pay if you ignore it?

Optimizing Your Website for Sales and Ranking

Do you know how to optimize your website to rank highly by Google and other search engines?  Are you telling a story for your potential customers as well as the robots scraping your website deciding where you should be ranked? If you’re not optimizing your current content, and adding more content consistently, you know, keeping things FRESH, you’ll become irrelevant. 

When you’re irrelevant with a bad reputation, Google pushes you down in search engine ranking results and drives down revenue.  Do you know what Search Engine Optimization is and why you need it for your business? If you don’t have both a long term and short term marketing plan for your business, then you may be shooting yourself in the proverbial foot.  Don’t wait until you’re stressing about where your next client is coming from.

Your business depends on people being able to find you when they need your services.  With a sea of options, what will make you stand out from the crowd?  Do you have the data you need to create a marketing plan to generate a consistent flow of paying customers?  If what you’re doing now isn’t working, you may need to turn your marketing strategy around. 

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What’s Review Spam and How Does it Affect Your Business?

Google Review Spam

 Have you ever seen local guide icons next to people’s names when they’re referenced on google?  Well, there’s a reason why, and that’s because Google has decided to give rewards to people for leaving reviews.  This helps encourage people to leave reviews for businesses.

Cool, right? People get fast and easy rewards for making fast and easy reviews on their platform. Some of those local guides will go through a list of businesses and rate them.  From 5 stars and below.  It’s great when you get a random 5-star review, but there comes a problem though…..what happens when your business is hit with a bad review from a review spammer that has never visited your business or has never contracted your services?  

The outcome is lowered ratings, and a bad reputation online.  Oh no!! How do we fix it?  There are multiple ways to address it, but if you don’t manage your business online reputation at all, those spam reviews can damage your reputation online and potentially offline when people you’re networking with see bad reviews about you. 

So what do you do?

A. You can leave it alone since you don’t want to rock the google boat (spoiler–not the correct answer)

B. You can address it and report the review

C. If images are allowed, report those as well. 

D. Create a system for addressing review spam and requesting new reviews from actual customers.

The correct answer: D

If you don’t know where to start, iFreshly Digital can help you push the bad reviews down, and get new raving reviews from your customers.  We can help you address the review spam as well so that Google is more likely to take it down.  What are you waiting for?