Medical Marijuana Marketing 101

Like many other aspects of the medical marijuana industry in California, it’s important to research and understand the local laws regarding advertising of medical marijuana dispensaries before proceeding with your medical marijuana marketing campaign for your collective. Below are a few of the many effective medical marijuana marketing techniques your dispensary, delivery service, or grow operation can use to reach out to potential patients.

Word of Mouth

By far the most effective approach to bringing in new, high-quality patients is word of mouth. How does one generate word of mouth marketing? Especially medical marijuana marketing pertaining to word of mouth virality considering the need to stay under the rader as much as possible.The best way to do this is to offer current patients great products at affordable prices so that they will be more inclined to tell others about their experience with your collective.

Social Media - Medical Marijuana Marketing

Many dispensaries in recent years have found great success in reach out to potential patients through various social media outlets. Such outlets tend to be better for developing a sense of community among patients and potential patients as collectives are better able to be more transparent and open.

College of Cannabis Twitter Account

Popular social media outlets are:

Facebook - It probably goes without saying, but Facebook is a must for any medical marijuana marketing or medical marijuana advertising campaign.
Twitter - This service allows you to post quick, 140-character messages to your audience. It's great for posting content about your services or promoting discounts, etc.
Pinterest - One of the most undervalued social media resources available, Pinterest is second to none in terms of quick, viral content. Furthermore, Pinterest offers Do-Follow links which help you rank organically in Google search result. Definitely a must for any medical marijuana marketing strategy!
Tumblr - Like Pinterest, Tumblr is a great resource for any medical marijuana marketing campaign as reblogs and reposts, which often go viral very quickly, can lead to links back to your site. These links in turn look great in the eyes of Google and help your dispensary or delivery service rank fast for organic search results.
Instagram - While Instagram doesn't allow do-follow links to your content, it is a useful way to stay engaged with your audience. For an example, feel free to check out the hashtag #weedstagram which is very popular these days.

College of Cannabis Tumblr Account

Search Engine Optimization (SEO), Google Adwords, and WEb Advertising

One approach that is often overlooked by many dispensaries is search engine optimization (SEO) and Google Adwords campaigns.

SEO, as defined by Wikipedia, is “the process of affecting the visibility of a website or a web page in a search engine's "natural" or un-paid ("organic") search results.” (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Search_engine_optimization)

In short, you can drive traffic to your website simply by providing Google with content that is relevant to your potential users. Blog posts, continuous updates, and even social media are good ways to do this.

Similarly, Google Adwords is a way for you to increase traffic to you website by purchasing ad space below relevant searches. Though much more costly, this tactic could be a very effective approach if used correctly.

Lastly, another form of highly effective web advertising is done through services such as Weedtracker and Leafly that curate medical marijuana dispensaries for patients. All of these things combined, if use properly, are invaluable resources for any medical marijuana marketing or medical marijuana advertising campaign.

References from Local Doctors - Medical Marijuana Advertising

Another effective way to advertise your collective to potential patients, is to meet them at the very beginning of the process: the doctor’s office! To do this, simply print out some advertisements such as business cards or fliers and drop them off at local doctor’s offices.

Print Advertising for Your Medical Marijuana Marketing Campaign

Print advertising refers to any type of ad that is printed on some sort of medium. These can be anything from business cards to flyers to ads in magazines. Again, make sure that your ads are professionals and stress the medicinal qualities of your collective … and of course, make sure they are compliant with the law.