Reign Supreme In CBD Marketing
In the world of pharmaceuticals, there have been many changes over time to how America views which drugs are safe and how those substances ought to be promoted. For the longest time, cannabis has been restricted as a serious schedule one substance with intense regulations around its medical usage. But in recent years, the non-psychoactive component within hemp called CBD has taken the country by storm for its ability to relieve pain without getting the subject “high.”
A major win was scored in 2018 for the cannabis movement when a Farm Bill was passed by Congress allowing states to decide for themselves whether they would allow the sale of CBD within their jurisdiction. The bill redesignated CBD as a schedule 5 substance as long as the product contains less than .1% THC (the stuff that gives you the munchies). However, the bill does not protect companies or their products from the Food and Drug Administration, who have the authority to shut down your business for making inaccurate claims. But what exactly does that mean? It’s been a struggle so far in the CBD product world to market products without hassle, so let’s talk about why.
Social Restrictions
Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter are three of the most popular social applications/websites on the planet, and of course, marketers want to promote their businesses to their enormous audiences. But in light of the 2018 Farm Bill, each platform has updated its ad policy to specify that CBD cannot be promoted via paid advertisements. The workaround to this policy is that CBD products and brands can be promoted within the content of each post. Even still, the most important measure to take for protection is to eliminate all health claims of the product. That means all verbiage claiming your product can cure or solve any problems should be removed. For Facebook, promoting a clinical trial can be another solution for marketing, but to be sure you’re hitting all of the check marks for legality, hiring a digital marketing agency like Smashed for help may be the wisest option.
Creative Advertising
Since outright social promotion isn’t exactly an option to garner direct sales, it’s better to generate traffic for CBD products in more creative ways that won’t get your brand in trouble. For example, celebrity endorsements of great magnitude can eliminate the chances of penalization because certain platforms rely so heavily on the attention of high profile users. Having a celeb mention your product on their Instagram story, on their podcast, or in other long forms of content which cannot be scrutinized so easily is an incredible way to raise awareness of the brand.
When it comes to creative digital marketing strategies that can be handled in house, utilizing SEO tactics to reach curious consumers through informational blogs can be another awesome way to draw in a following. When it comes to CBD products, there’s so much cool stuff to talk about including its ingredients, the methods of extraction, and testimonials from the audiences that the product has helped. These same ideas for content-filled blogs can be transformed into shorter email marketing approaches to bypass the need for any social platform for consumer engagement. For sites such as Vimeo or Youtube, a digital marketing agency like Smashed Media can aid brands with directing high-quality videos showcasing the functions or application of each product. All it takes is one or two viral videos to massively boost the brand following on each website, while SEO implementation and other digital marketing strategies bring in traffic slowly but consistently over time.
Part of the responsibility of a hardworking digital marketing agency is to figure out which current laws are in effect and how they will support or interfere with your digital marketing strategies. At Smashed Media, we take each social platform’s ad policy very seriously because, after 1-2 strikes, your brand may not be able to post advertisements again. It’s imperative that all forms of content from SEO blogging to email marketing must be carried out with respect to the current legislative showdowns being handled by Congress. Promoting CBD-based products isn’t impossible, it just takes a bit of knowledge to understand how to navigate these murky waters since we’re so early in its stages of legalization.
