It is no secret that CBD (cannabidiol) is one of the fastest growing regions in the Cannabis industry. Not to be confused with THC, the active ingredient in the hemp plant, CBD is used as a legal medical marijuana to treat the symptoms of anxiety, insomnia, and chronic pain. Recent FDA approvals on CBD in states across the US has led to more pharmaceutical companies storming the market with clinical trials, medical research, and other trials to help determine and solidify the positive effects CBD can have on the health of others. To put into perspective, according to Statista, the total U.S. consumer sales of CBD between 2014 and 2016 increased from $108 million to $262 million, and is projected to reach a whopping $1.8 Billion by 2020!

With new competition popping up everyday, trying to hold onto a piece of the market is harder than ever. How does your CBD brand stand out against its competitors? In this blog we will break down how to market your CBD business by utilizing CBD digital marketing strategies to help drive organic traffic to your website and ultimately sell your product.

Identity Target Audience

As in any CBD marketing strategy it is crucial to determine your target market before diving too deep into a long-term plan. Establishing who your most profitable customers are early will help when creating strategic content catered toward your niche market. A few target markets for CBD digital marketing would be:

• People who want to relieve stress
• People who like to use CBD balms/lotions
• People who want relief from anxiety, headaches, insomnia, etc.
• People who want to use CBD products for their pets

SEO-Friendly Website

Think of your website as your “digital headquarters”. Investing in a well designed and optimized website with the latest in on-Page SEO techniques will optimize your brand and lead it rank higher on platforms like Google and Bing. This will drive traffic to your CBD website. Establishing a clear messaging and showcasing a consistent brand identity throughout an entire CBD digital marketing campaign will also help help your brand stand out against competitors. Your target audience will be searching for any information they can find on CBD, if you want your website to pop up when they do it is important that your sites content and coding have been optimized with comprehensive keyword and SEO strategies. Another crucial thing to do is regularly running SEO analytics that will measure your traffic and elevate the overall health of your CBD e-commerce website. This can improve search rankings and also increase organic traffic. A strong website will establish trust with your consumers and other potential retail partners.

Social Media Marketing

Establishing a mood for your brand should be a priority as well. Your overall look and feel, tone of voice, and shareable content is valuable on all social media channels. Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Youtube and even LinkedIn are critical to the success of your CBD business. Your brand's profile should give a description of your business, link customers to your website, showcase your brand's image, and utilize relative hashtags for every post you make. The key is to create and share new, creative, and engaging content. Using tools like Instagrams shoppable pin feature allows your audience to shop right from the app. Reposting user-generated content such as giveaways will encourage users to share your brand with their respective audience as well.

Influencers/Brand Partnerships

Unfortunately you cannot officially advertise CBD directly through Facebook’s ad platform. However you can still post about it in order to attract potential customers. This is where influencer marketing comes into play. There are no better platforms than YouTube and Instagram for brands to collaborate with influencers on. The first step is to find influencers who align well with your CBD brand. Offer different options for various levels of influencers and brand ambassadors. Instagram influencers with followers in the thousands range may agree to posting in exchange for products and promotions while more popular influencers most likely will require a monetary fee. Aside from Instagram users, there are also many CBD and health/wellness bloggers who may be interested in promoting your CBD products. Ways to do this would be to have them write blogs for your site, or have them publish a sponsored post on theirs to increase brand awareness for CBD digital marketing.

Email Marketing

Aside from Instagram, the next easiest way to reach potential customers is their inbox. Most people check their email daily, and almost everyone has access to it from their phone. Anyone who visits your site should get a discount code by entering their email address. Once you have their email in your database marketing is as easy as scheduling a newsletter. Implementing an educational CBD newsletter once a week to your customers is one of the best ways to directly reach your target market. Focus on relevant blog topics, product reviews, and new product announcements to drive CBD curious consumers to your website.

CBD Digital Marketing

As the hemp market continues to grow over the next two to three years be sure to stay in the know regarding the rules and regulations of the game. Although many social media advertising strategies are off limits to cannabis companies at the moment there are still a wide variety of organic strategies to get you ahead of the competition with CBD digital marketing. Outline your brand message, invest in a healthy website, utilize email and influencer marketing. Succeeding in any industry can be a challenge - do your research and find your place in the market, get to know your audience and develop a digital strategy that helps your CBD brand stand out in the sea of green.