PPB August 2020

successful ad campaign on these niche websites to gain new customers. This is one of the best marijuana advertising ideas, especially for new businesses. 4 Email And SMS Marketing Email marketing has swiftly become one of the most impactful digital marketing strategies—especially when it comes to encouraging repeat purchases. A survey by Marketing Sherpa found that a whopping 91 percent of American consumers are happy to receive promotional emails from companies they do business with. You can easily help your client set this up using email marketing software, although it’s important to only send out emails to customers who opt- in. Businesses often include a subscription box on their website, and also offer a way to opt-in to promotional emails every time a customer makes a purchase. How often you should send these emails depends. According to research, 86 percent of customers would like to receive promotional emails once a month, although 15 percent said they prefer to receive them every day. Once or twice a week usually works well, although you should focus on engaging emails that offer something exciting such as special offers and product discounts. If done right, you can help your client lead their loyal customers straight to another purchase. Similarly, consider recommending SMS marketing to your clients as well. Just like email marketing, this method involves sending out promotional messages to customers’ phones after they’ve opted in. Some customers even like to receive push notifications. You can do this using smartphone marketing software. Like marketing any other kinds of businesses, make sure the messages are interesting—customers who receive too many uninteresting emails or SMS messages are much more likely to opt-out. 5 Take To Social Media Another one of the most helpful digital tools for marketing marijuana is social media. There are now many social media platforms, each with something slightly different to offer. If you use these platforms well, you can bring your client to the attention of many new customers. For example, your client might want to start a company page on Facebook. This is a great place to advertise sales promotions and deal with customer queries swiftly. Twitter is similar, only focused more on shorter, punchier posts. Instagram and Snapchat are also great places to market a business using visual content. Your client might want to develop some high-quality product photos or even consider other types of content like infographics and videos. LinkedIn is great for companies that also run other types of businesses, as it provides more of a mainstream appeal. YouTube is another good platform for sharing video content. Recommend to clients that they post enticing content on social media regularly and utilize hashtags focused on marijuana and cannabis products. 6 Use Custom-Branded Products It always helps to build some buzz around a business by boosting brand recognition. One of the best ways to do this is, of course, with custom branded products. The more people see your client’s name and logo on products their friends are using, the more familiar they are with your client’s brand. Depending on what your client sells, there are many user accessories (custom lighters, custom grinders and custom rolling papers) that can be used as add-ons with a purchase, as a gift for reaching a certain dollar level with a purchase and as promotional gifts at events aimed at the target demographic. Ryan Tickle is vice president of sales at supplier Cannabis Promotions in St. Petersburg, Florida. A Growing Market Find out what type of cannabis use is legal in each U.S. state and more about this growing marketplace in Market To Market on p. 36 46 | AUGUST 2020 | GROW