7 Ways You Can Use Video Marketing to Boost Your Cannabis Business
Video content is king. It owns the majority of web traffic, according to Wordstream, as 69 percent of global consumer internet traffic in 2017 was dedicated to video and 80 percent was predicted for 2019.1 As of May 2019, YouTube garnered two billion logged-in, monthly viewers.2 Long story short: Online consumers love video content and watch it consistently, while also using it to inform their buying decisions. Therefore, video marketing is a must.
Video content clearly has a strong ROI potential for any industry—in fact, 52 percent of marketing professionals say video content has the best ROI3—but cannabis companies are still catching up as they get off the ground and accomplish their other priorities first, like dealing with legal issues in advertising. Video marketing offers cannabis companies the opportunity to become more personable with their customers, educate them on and make them feel more comfortable about the products, and amp up their reach when other advertising media are more difficult to implement due to red tape.
Here are some tips for setting up a video marketing strategy for your cannabis business to start building trust, comfort, and excitement:
1. Show Your Spaces and Your Faces
If you’re a dispensary for medical or recreational cannabis, giving potential customers a peek into your space may help them be more comfortable visiting in-person later. Provide a virtual tour with a Google My Business account and its 360-degree photo and video support. Publish a series of videos that introduce your team members to make customers acquainted with them and their skills. All of this helps to connect your business with potential customers in a more visual way.
2. Teach to Expand Your Reach
Educational video content is powerful in the cannabis industry, where many consumers lack knowledge of the various products in your catalog and are looking for more information to buy the right product for their needs. Content that educates and informs consumers about the cannabis industry, cannabis products, how the products are made, and other useful topics will strengthen your brand’s credibility and bring in both novice and experienced customers.
3. Give Access to Events
Does your company attend industry events and expos? Do you host public events? Anytime you’re involved in events like these, have your video team on-hand to get some footage and showcase your brand among other big names in the industry. If it’s a public event, videos could entice consumers to come out to the next iteration. These events also add to your credibility as an involved member of the cannabis and local communities.
4. Trustworthy Testimonials
As already mentioned, people trust other people over ads from the brands themselves. Getting testimonials from satisfied customers or other business leaders who work with you is a great tactic to build trust in your prospective customers and create a visual portfolio of your impact.
5. Produce Regularly and Consistently
Keep your audience coming back by producing video series and other regular content. Be sure to keep it consistent in its quality, branding, and release timing so that it’s recognizable as your content and visible to consumers at regular intervals.
6. Choose Your Channels
Where are you going to put your video content? YouTube, social media, and email newsletters are your best three options, in addition to your own website. Your YouTube channel should get all of your content, because the monetization options are there and the user base of the site is noteworthy. Shorter content and live videos can land on social channels like Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter. Video on social gets 12 times more shares than text and images combined.4 For your customers who subscribe to your email list, exclusive video content and other deeper cuts like your educational videos could be highly appealing.
7. Consider Captions
A 2019 report from Verizon and Publicis Media found that 92 percent of U.S. consumers view videos on mobile without sound and 80 percent are more likely to watch an entire video when captions are available.5 Captions are important for video content now because so many people watch video content without sound, often due to being in public places. Make your videos accessible with captions wherever your viewers are, especially because consumers of cannabis products tend to value their privacy.
These tips should help you get your video marketing strategy started. Producing great video content, like showroom tours, educational tutorials, testimonials, and more, is a strong method for increasing your SEO rankings, website traffic, and conversions. With email, social media, and sites like YouTube, you can reach millions of consumers easily and directly from your own accounts.
Need an effective digital marketing plan or a fresh, new website on which to display your video content? Herban Creative’s experienced team can help grow your cannabis business. Get in touch with us today to find out how we can help you.
