Marijuana Business Magazine - February 2018

Pivot to Video At VMR, Riedel has seen good results by creating professional videos on You- Tube and then sharing them on Face- book,Twitter, Instagram and Snapchat. Based on his understanding, YouTube doesn’t crack down on content. “Videos are highly powerful. You- Tube is linked to Google,” Riedel said. “So a lot of those reviews get highly ranked (in Google’s search results.)” Both Reed and Cupps DiBlasi agreed that videos are a good strategy. Reed suggested creating instruc- tional videos about your brand and staff. For example, introduce your first point of contact to potential custom- ers by taking a video of the reception area and the receptionist. But don’t show any actual products.The idea is to show customers “who you are without wandering into the potential violation space,” Reed said. Facebook Live interviews can work, too. Reed likes to include professionals such as an accountant or bookkeeper and have them talk about what it’s like to be in the industry. “We’re not talking about consump- tion,” she said. “We’re not talking about sales. We’re not talking about anything that’s directly violating the policies on Facebook.” Cupps DiBlasi said videos help you to beat the newsfeed algorithm on Facebook and Instagram. In short, the more videos you offer, the more organic eyeballs you’re going to get. “They’re going to get you better vis- ibility because people like to watch videos versus images and reading,” she added. What If Your Ad Doesn’t Fly? If an ad doesn’t go through, Reed recommended filing an appeal with the platform to state your case. Facebook’s ad manager, for example, has an appeal option. Follow that process to state your claim that your ad didn’t violate the rules noted above – and keep your fingers crossed. TRY CANNABIS-CENTRIC SITES A dvertising on Facebook, Instagram and other social media platforms can greatly benefit your cannabis brand. But the rules for what’s allowed are often arbitrary and limit what you can do. Natalie Cupps DiBlasi – co-founder and executive director of Laced Agency, a Redondo Beach, California, advertising firm – said marijuana- focused social media sites can help you avoid some of the pitfalls a company can fall into when using mainstream services. If you want the cannabis version of Facebook, she recommends check- ing out Social High or WeedLife. MassRoots and Duby are the marijuana industry equivalents of Instagram. KushCommon, GrassCity and 420 Singles are among the other social media sites focused on the marijuana crowd. Cupps DiBlasi recommends using these sites to post marijuana- specific photos, such as cannabis plants or products. “Those are where all the rules go out the door,” she added. You can use these sites to reach out to key influencers and leverage them for your retail business. Kyra Reed, founder of Los Angeles-based social media strategy service Markyr Digital, agreed about the use of marijuana-centric sites. “These websites are set up for the industry,” she said. “Take advan- tage of them. Rather than getting all defeated because Instagramwon’t approve it, go somewhere that will and build your audience there.” – Bart Schaneman Then analyze your strategy to see what you did wrong. “Otherwise you’re going to waste a lot of money trying to get this done,” she said. “If your stuff ’s been shut down, pick it up again. Do it more aligned (with the policies of the social media company.)” Another way to avoid getting your ads pulled is to ensure you educate the people you hire to work on social media. “It’s critical the person you have managing your social media is very well trained, and absolutely check on them and make sure they’re following the rules and understand the gravity of what they’re doing,” Reed added. Before your ad or entire page is pulled, make sure you have a backup of your creative work. “Because you are going to get pulled at some point,” Cupps DiBlasi said. “It’s also a good idea to set up multi- ple brand pages. In the event one gets pulled, you can keep going.” She also recommended capturing your followers’ data – including email addresses and other contact info – so you can reach out to them directly if your page is pulled. It’s easy to invite your followers back if you have that data stored. “You want to get those customer leads out of social media as fast as possible and put them in an opt-in cus- tomer marketing database,” she added. Finally, recognize that social media platforms can change their rules at any time. “I recommend people leverage social media as much as they can these days,” Riedel said. “While they can. We don’t know if restrictions are coming down the pipeline.” ◆ 66 • Marijuana Business Magazine • February 2018