by Alexa Divett, Alexa Divett, LLC

Hopefully by now you know the importance of building your brand’s presence on social media. However, there may be days when you ask yourself, “WTF am I doing?” 

Oftentimes social can seem overwhelming and confusing. For example, you may log onto Pinterest to try to figure it out and three hours later all you’ve found is an amazing recipe for brownies (marijuana optional).

Most cannabis business owners have got the “weed porn” portion of social down – meaning they know how to post pictures of weed on Instagram and Facebook but don’t worry about much else. 

Well, I’m here to tell you that there is a lot more to social than weed porn. 

And… weed porn is one of the big red flags for Facebook and Instagram and is a great way to get your account shut down.

If you are ignoring a larger content marketing strategy and only posting content that is full of hype and sales, you are not only likely to get your account shut down, but you are also very likely to turn off your prospective customers.

Thanks in part to an over-saturation of weed porn and of course constantly changing algorithms (Facebook, Instagram… who’s next?), there is a need for a robust strategy that can evolve.  

Like most marketing strategies, this can seem like a ton of work and may not have your full attention.

So on that note, here are four easy ways to maximize your social presence and make social media marketing work for you (beyond weed porn and pot brownies).

Choose your platform(s).

You don’t need to be an expert at every channel. Pick the two or three channels where you know your audience hangs out and master them.

Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter are the big three that you should know how to use strategically. There are other cannabis social channels such as MassRoots but they don’t have the impact and reach that the big three have, at least not yet. 

Make sure your imagery matches your brand’s promise and is consistent.

From your logo to your profile name and picture, everything across your social channels should be instantly recognizable and represent your brand’s promise. Make sure you are following your branding guidelines and using the correct fonts and colors to design your pages and establish your brand.

Create engagement with valuable and shareable content.

It’s easy to fall into the trap of posting things that you and your employees like without really knowing if your audience feels the same way. Make sure you are creating content that your audience is excited about and eager to share. One of the easiest ways to determine what content your audience likes is by tracking the likes, comments, and shares on your posts and by watching what other successful brands within your niche are doing. 

Engage with your followers by taking part in the discussion.

One of the quickest ways to create your tribe is to socialize your content. The easiest way to do this is to reach out to industry influencers and mention their names in your posts. Once you do that you can start to create a relationship with the key players in the industry and inspire them to connect with you and share your content.

Again, the content needs to be fresh, relevant and exciting.  

Weed porn alone won’t cut it. 

As a successful entrepreneur, longtime marijuana advocate and medical grower, Alexa Divett understands the unique needs of the cannabis industry. Alexa is the founder of Alexa Divett LLC, a business coaching and consulting company helping cannabis business owners achieve success through the implementation of sound business practices and time-tested marketing techniques.  

Alexa’s achievements include co-founding Maya Media Collective, a Portland, Oregon-based creative firm that specializes in the cannabis industry, and writing the “Marijuana Millions” Ebook series, which The Weedblog called the best marijuana-branding book to date. Additionally, Alexa speaks about marketing and branding cannabis businesses at local and national events. Alexa’s products and presentations on starting and running successful cannabis businesses have made her an in-demand and innovative expert in the cannabis business world.