Unique Branding Tips for Your CBD Business
The CBD industry is both popular and rapidly changing; combined with still-prevalent misconceptions, these factors can create unique marketing challenges for cannabis businesses. With legalization of CBD still evolving across the country and heavy restrictions on advertising, strong CBD product branding can be the best way to attract consumers. In an industry that is quickly becoming saturated, here are some CBD branding tips to help your business stand out from the rest.
Find your niche
An essential part of branding is understanding your audience and your niche. In the CBD industry, the largest market is actually millennial women, with many women-led CBD businesses taking center stage.[1] However, branded CBD products can also be marketed specifically to men, older generations, and even pets. Furthermore, with its myriad of uses, your business can focus on using CBD for pain relief, beauty products, treating anxiety, or more. Honing in on what your business offers and its target audience is essential to finding your niche in the CBD industry, the first step to making sure your branding stands out.
Emphasize Education
As the CBD craze is growing, more and more people are learning about its benefits, but many still have questions. Being a consistently reliable and educative source will give your business a sense of authority and trustworthiness to consumers. Especially given the changing legal status of CBD across the country, many people may have concerns or misconceptions about CBD and its effects. Explaining that CBD is non-psychotropic and highlighting some of the science around how it works will give your business a transparency that consumers feel they can trust. Furthermore, an emphasis on education in your branding also attracts new potential customers who are simply researching more about what CBD is.
Quality Control
In the US, there are over 1000 different CBD brands; in a 2017 study, researchers found that over 70% of the CBD products they analyzed were mislabeled.[2] In a market that is quickly becoming saturated with cheap, low quality products, having a consistent, quality product that is accurately labeled will make you stand out as a mainstay in the industry, rather than a passing fad. Simple quality and transparency can do wonders for your brand and generate the kind of word-of-mouth that CBD products thrive on.
Content Creation
Because advertising on different platforms can be tricky, with many platforms outright banning CBD advertising, organic website growth through SEO is a surefire way to attract attention to your brand.[3] Consistent content creation will help drive organic traffic to your website and can also be shared on social media, as it isn’t direct advertising. This will help raise engagement with your followers while also directing them to your website. Creating engaging content on a blog or social media platform is a great way to magnify your brand and your values to your audience.
Ad placement
Influencers and podcast plugs can help broadcast your product to the right audience. Even though traditional advertising on social media platforms may be off the table, finding alternative ways to spread awareness is a must. Finding the right podcast or influencer for your business can help promote the lifestyle that your brand promises. This kind of advertising reinforces the values and aesthetics of your brand and broadcasts it directly to an audience with demonstrated interest, potentially creating a high conversion rate. Not just the substance but also the style and placement of your advertising can be used to speak to your business’s unique brand.
Keep it green
With increasing awareness of the disaster of climate change, many consumers are looking to support eco-friendly businesses that work to reduce their harmful impact on the earth. Using green packaging, such as recycled or biodegradable materials, is a great way to show brand commitment to value-driven leadership. It’s an opportunity to show that your brand is more than just talk—it takes action to follow its values and to be a responsible and sustainable business. Using eco-friendly packaging and business practices is also a great way to advertise your product and brand and to reach out to those environmentally conscious consumers.
Is your branding working for you? If it’s time for a redesign, new strategy, or anything else, let the team at Herban Creative take care of all your CBD marketing needs.
[1] “A Budding Industry: CBD Statistics & Trends.” USACBD Expo, 20 Nov. 2019, https://usacbdexpo.com/blogs/cbd-blogs-news/2019/11/a-budding-industry-cbd-statistics-amp-trends-infographic
[2] Mole, Beth. “Study: Nearly 70% of online CBD marijuana extracts are mislabeled.” Ars Technica, 07 Nov. 2017,
[3] Rose, Bethan. “CBD Advertising Restrictions in 2019.” BigCommerce.com, https://www.bigcommerce.com/blog/cbd-marketing/#cbd-advertising-restrictions-in-2019
