CBD gummies like the ones made by Verma Farms are some of the most popular products on the market today. If you have decided to cash in on the current boom, you have excellent timing. Estimates vary, but CBD sales are expected to reach between $18 and $24 billion by 2024. While this is good news for the market as a whole, brands are entering by the dozens every day, and there are now thousands of companies selling CBD gummies online.
If you want to drive sales and make the most of this amazing financial opportunity, you’ve got to be savvy at your online marketing strategy. You want to have a brand that is differentiated from the rest, and a strong social media plan. Because of murky FDA policies, paid advertising for CBD products is currently banned on Google and Instagram, and is very limited on Facebook. These policies change regularly, and may soon become more relaxed, but for now, you need to be creative. Content and search engine optimization strategies are going to be the best you can do to get your CBD brand in front of your customers, pushing sales and maximizing revenue.
Content
Your content is one of the most effective ways of getting customers to find you, and of selling your products. Blogs, social media both fit into the category of content. Before we look at individual strategy differences, let’s examine overall content.
You need to know your audience inside and out, so that you can tailor all of your content to them. If you do not have a target market, you need to define one now. General Google searches for “CBD gummies” are going to pull up hundreds of other, more established CBD brands, and you do not have the clout to compete with them just yet. Define your target market—or target audience—and you will have far fewer companies to compete with.
Once you have your target market figured out, all of your social media and blog content should be with them in mind. Address their concerns about CBD, find ways their problems can be solved with your CBD gummies, and educate them about the facts. Just make sure that any medical claims are carefully worded and include a link to a legitimate scientific study that backs up your claim.
Make sure your tone and voice speak to your audience. If your target is “busy entrepreneurs,” you do not necessarily want the tone of your articles to be laissez faire and humorous. You want your customers to identify with your content so you can build a relationship of trust. Make sure they know that you understand them and their needs.
Social Media
Social media is an excellent way to reach your audience, but you need to be careful not to get your account shut down for breaking the rules. Facebook and Instagram may be your most used avenue to reach your customers, but they have some pretty strict policies when it comes to paid advertising and content. Know the rules and toe the line.
Even following strict rules, you can still make an impact on your audience and push sales to your site. Create engaging posts, geared toward your target, that encourage users to like and comment. Let customers know you care and hear them by posting surveys, contests, and giveaways. Create a branded hashtag and ask them to use it when they post anything about your product. Better yet, ask them to tag you in their posts, and share some of their posts about your CBD gummies.
Your posts should be a balance of fun, educational, and promotional. If you only post pictures of your products, users will not engage. You want to use your social media pages to build relationships with your audience so that they learn to recognize your brand and become loyal customers. You also need to keep your posts professional-looking, so that people know that you are a legitimate brand. Additionally, always respond when they comment on your page or posts. Just be careful how you answer questions so that it cannot be construed as medical advice.
Facebook has relaxed its policy toward paid advertising for CBD products. In the past, all advertising even mentioning CBD was banned. However, you can now pay for advertising for topical CBD products, and any CBD products not ingested. When you create these ads, you can link to a landing page where customers can shop for your CBD gummies.
Facebook is an excellent way to reach your customers even without paid ads. Add a “shop now” button to your profile so that when anyone visits your page, they can go right to your site. Engaging posts will boost your rank in their metric and get your product in front of more people.
Facebook users appreciate informational material. Take advantage of this by linking to articles on your blog. Mix things up by sharing independently written articles, too. This will contribute to your own credibility. Facebook is a great place to educate your audience about the benefits of CBD, as long as you are careful about your wording.
Instagram does not allow any sort of paid advertising for CBD products, but its users are the most engaged out of any other social media platform. It is well worth the investment of time, to build a high-quality Instagram account. Instagram has all sorts of features you can use to showcase your products and get your audience engaged.
Your posts on Instagram should match your brand’s aesthetic. Take advantage of tools like stories and highlights to get important promotions and sales noticed. Use hashtags and branded hashtags so your company shows up more often on Instagram’s explore page. Use live videos to answer questions about your company or CBD in general. Having an active, engaged account on Instagram will help you build some of the strongest customer relationships and brand recognition possible.
Affiliate Marketing
You may want to hire an agency to help you with this part of your marketing strategy, but you can partner with other websites to link back to your site. This will drive customers to your page, where they can shop for your products. A marketing agency can help you get set up with affiliates who will post your content, and they can even write content for you, too.
This will help optimize your SEO strategy, driving traffic to your site, and boosting your website in the search results. Keep at it, and you may end up competing with the big brands for top ranking under the “CBD gummies” search before you know it.