4 Marketing Tips to Advertise CBD Online
You’d think by now we’d all be able to advertise CBD online with no restrictions thanks to the recent passing of the Farm Bill in the USA. This bill essentially makes hemp legal at the Federal level. Therefore, and CBD extracted from hemp is technically legal in America.
Even so, you still can’t advertise CBD, CBD oil, or other CBD products online. This means no CBD advertising allowed on Facebook, Instagram, Google, or other social media profiles, yet.
If you’re looking to advertise CBD on Facebook and Instagram you may be able to get your ads approved depending on your choice of creative and copy.
Until digital advertising restrictions allow for CBD advertising on Google and social media it’s probably best for your CBD company to look at alternative ways to market and promote CBD online.
The good news is that there are many ways to promote CBD online without advertising and we will discuss some of those options below.
Here are 4 tips to advertise CBD online including ideas to promote CBD without advertising.
1. Understand Current CBD Advertising Restrictions on Facebook
You may have taken a quick look at Facebook’s advertising guidelines and paid particular attention to the advertising restrictions if you’re a cannabis marketer or business owner, and I’d suggest taking another look to better understand them.
It’s only a matter of time until cannabis and CBD advertising restrictions are lifted and digital platforms start accepting paid advertising placements.
It’s important for CBD business owners to begin to understand digital advertising on Facebook, Google Ads, and other channels like Snapchat and Twitter in order to be prepared.
If you have an understanding of digital advertising you can take advantage of new opportunities as they come about. Finding trusted consultants and partners should be done sooner rather than later.
Our team has been able to advertise medical cannabis on Facebook, Google, and YouTube in 2017 and 2018. So it is possible, with some creativity and luck, to advertise CBD online.
Read our three case studies on advertising medical cannabis online.
2. Use Native Advertising to Advertise CBD Online
One sure fire way to advertise CBD online is to use native advertising. This type of advertising allows your brand to place sponsored CBD content on third-party websites, usually on a CPC or CPM basis.
Native advertising refers to ads that match the form and function of the site that they appear on. The result is natural looking ads that pair well with the existing content on the website.
Some native advertising platforms have some restrictions on the type of content on the promoted landing page. StackAdapt is an example where selling cannabis is still a no, in general. Having said that, they are a lot less restrictive than other advertising platforms.
There are also a few cool cannabis-specific platforms out there including Mantis, Leafly, Adistry, and 420 Network.
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These ad networks work to create a winning combination, pairing cannabis-related ads with pro-cannabis websites to generate the maximum relevant exposure for advertisers.
One of the benefits of using native advertising to advertise CBD online is that you’re able to engage with prospective customers using their own language and their own tools.
This gives your CBD business greater sharing opportunities and the better opportunity to develop a relationship with your target market.
When it comes to CBD marketing, creating a relationship that encourages trust and loyalty in your customers is an essential part of building a network of devoted and returning CBD buyers.
If CBD brands are able to associate the content of their native advertisement with their target’s tastes and the outlet in question, they improve their level of shareability – and there are few things more beneficial to a marketing campaign today than the possibility of going viral.
3. Podcast Sponsorships
Another advertising opportunity to help market your CBD products online are sponsorship opportunities that allow you to remain compliant.
CBD companies may not be able to sponsor music or wellness festivals but that are able to sponsor independent podcasts.
You may think that campaigns to sponsor podcasts to advertise CBD online may have little return if any. You may think no one listens to podcasts. Check these facts from 2018:
- 64 Percent of Americans Have Heard of Podcasts
- 44 Percent of Americans Have Ever Listened to a Podcast
- One-Third of Americans Ages 25 to 54 Listen to Podcasts Monthly
- Podcast Listening Among American Women Jumped 14 Percent in One Year
- In 2018, Six Million More Americans Listen to Podcasts Weekly versus 2017
The other awesome thing about sponsoring a podcast is that it comes with a guaranteed, existing audience. People tend to return each week to check their favorite podcast.
If you can find a relevant podcast that has an existing audience made up of your target market, I’d suggest contacting them to inquire about how you can sponsor them and sell more of your CBD.
4. OTT Advertising For CBD
OTT as a term and OTT Advertising are quite new and present very exciting opportunities to advertise CBD outside of traditional advertising channels like Google and Facebook.
OTT stands for over-the-top. This basically refers to any device or service that is used to stream digital content to a TV or similar device. The group of devices commonly classified as OTT include:
- Streaming boxes (Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, Android TV, Samsung Allshare Cast)
- HDMI sticks (Chromecast, Roku, Amazon Fire TV Stick)
- Smart TV (through in-TV apps like Netflix or HBO Go)
- Game consoles
- DVR set-top boxes
- Internet-enabled smart blu-ray/DVD players
Think of OTT advertising as similar to TV ads with no restrictions because these ads are delivered through streaming media on OTT platforms, not broadcast television or cable.
We’ve heard that this technology is expected to improve a great deal in coming months and will offer CBD marketers the best of both worlds – the benefits of programmatic, as well as the growing reach of streaming services.
OTT ad revenue is set to increase from 45% to 60% over the next decade. It would be a wise move for CBD advertisers to become early adopters of OTT advertising and reap its benefits in the near future.
We Can Help You Advertise CBD Online!
So as you can see, just because Google and Facebook won’t allow any CBD advertising on their platforms doesn’t mean you can’t promote your CBD company using advertising.
In addition to the 4 tips to advertise CDB online, we listed above, another proven digital marketing tactic is to use SEO to sell CBD oil.
Search engine optimization, or SEO, is a tactic we implement to get your website found on Page 1 for CBD related searches. Local SEO is a tactic we use to ensure your website shows up in the Local Pack Map for local searches for a dispensary to by CBD.
There are many digital marketing options we can offer you to sell CBD online with or without any advertising.
If you’re ready to start advertising your CBD store online, we can help you with experienced cannabis marketing and managed services.
Please start the conversation by using the form below. Let us know about your CBD business and current marketing challenges. Or contact us here.
We’re ready to help you grow!
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