6 tips for marketing cannabis on TikTok and Instagram
Social media is the double-edged sword of cannabis marketing. Here are five ways to cut through the noise.
Social media isn’t the only option for cannabis marketing, but it is by far one of the most effective.
The Competition: The FCC bans radio and TV advertising for weed (for now), and these channels no longer reach a younger demographic anyway. Then you have Search Engine Optimization (SEO), a long-term challenge that changes with each update of Google’s algorithm. Email marketing is also a powerful tool, but it requires the outreach, careful curation, and dedication of dedicated writers that many businesses just aren’t willing to do.
All of these barriers make social media the best gateway for many cannabis brands to reach niche fans and mass audiences. Instagram and TikTok are the undisputed marketing channels for future generations: 60% and 70% of each platform’s audience is made up of 18-34 year olds, according to HootSuite.
Interestingly, audience demos on social media sometimes match the age distributions we see across the cannabis community. For example, millennials currently make up 60% of all cannabis users, and while Gen Z accounts for just 12%, they represent the fastest growing age group, with more members reaching legal purchasing age every day.
As social platforms continue to set the rules for modern marketing, it’s imperative for cannabis brands to navigate these spaces with grace. Here are six tips on how you, as a cannabis marketer or influencer, can shine on the world’s hottest social media platforms.
Understand the algorithm
The name of the game on Instagram and TikTok is Discovery. The ability to discover new people, products, music and information has made both platforms ubiquitous over the past decade. The people behind these apps develop algorithms that spit out new content tailored to viewers’ interests. That means your endless scrolling of cute cat videos is intentional. And that you can use the same algorithm to help people discover your cannabis (or catnip) content.
Over the past five years, Instagram’s algorithm has evolved into pay-to-play thanks to the platform’s robust advertising services. It is now difficult to get your Instagram content visible without sponsoring it. But if you’re willing to pay, it’s one of the most efficient ways to spend your advertising budget. Unfortunately, this is only an option if your brand or products can survive META’s strict ban on cannabis-related accounts and content. Another issue: Content formats like Instagram photos aren’t gaining traction like they used to, as Instagram Reels is being pushed to compete with TikTok’s short-form video style. Instagram’s shift to roles and paid ads has allowed TikTok’s algorithm to gain momentum. In the video editing app, users can achieve exponential growth in a few months or even weeks by strategically posting and tagging videos.
David Hawkesworth (@CampCanna on TikTok), a leading cannabis influencer who grew his TikTok following to 850,000 people after launching his page in January 2021. The feat is impressive considering TikTok’s strict censorship of cannabis. But shortly after we spoke to Hawkesworth, his account was zapped from the platform, forcing him to start from scratch again.
“Basically you play a game without knowing all the rules. Now, TikTok has a growing influx of older users, making it difficult for the platform to juggle content restrictions for niches like cannabis.”
David Hawkesworth (@CampCanna on TikTok)
Use Algo Speak
Algo-Speak is a new term for the specific language that creators use to avoid detection by the algorithm. Through trial and error, members of the cannabis community have learned the best practices for circumventing restrictions, including clever abbreviations and slang that can evade censorship.
Hawkesworth stressed the danger of posting to his @CampCanna account without intense self-censorship.
“Hashtags like ‘cannabis’, ‘weed’, ‘420’, ‘stonehead’ are the equivalent of putting a target on your back that classifies you as an illegal activity. TikTok is forcing developers to use slang and urban euphemisms to create their content, which is building a “you know, if you know” clique of fans.”
David Hawkesworth, @Campcanna on TikTok
And your comments aren’t safe either. You’re lighting up the algorithm when you comment something like “DM me” or “Msg me” because it’s programmed to identify spammers and lawyers. This practice is restrictive but protects the user experience and keeps things feeling organic. So don’t let the algorithm of both platforms think that you are one of the many fake accounts claiming to have cookies or runtz for the lowly.
Slowly you will notice certain hashtags or words slipping past the censorship. So while you can’t search for the word “weed” on TikTok, you can (for now) search Budtender videos. Over time, the algorithms will be updated with new censored terms. But the community will adapt, and so will you.
Get creative (without weed)
You shouldn’t even type the word “weed” on these platforms, so picturesque nug shots are also mostly off the table. Instagram has traditionally accepted more flower shots in content, but Sarah ElSayed, Content & Influencer Manager at Ardent Cannabis, has learned that people can fill in the blanks by symbolically replacing the word or flower itself.
ElSayed is best known for DIY recipes, but she’s also found success creating viral content for Ardent’s TikTok. ElSayed mixes their cannabis content in mainstream niches like astrology, food and music without explicitly referring to the plant. Her advice: “Replace all cannabis visuals with mullein or broccoli to avoid bans while still trying to educate.”
For NotPot, a US CBD brand, it made sense to partner with Venice-based branding agency GRTR to launch the @NotPotDealer TikTok account. The first @NotPotDealer video alone generated over 2.3 million views and 560,000 likes without a single image of a nugget, joint or bong.
“We’ve gifted a couple of mystery characters with $5,000 to blow up crazy stunts like painted skateboard decks and cars. The result was an amazing viral hit.” – Charlie DePew, Executive Producer at GRTR.
Prepare to get banned: Get a backup account
Preparing for the worst means always having a backup social account ready. Don’t take the risk of opening a social cannabis account without also securing a backup site to go to if your account is zapped.
Even if an account is not removed, it can still be flagged negatively by the algorithm, commonly known as shadow banning. This means your page won’t show up on discovery pages or search results unless a user knows exactly what page they’re looking for. For each new social media account, create a backup account that can grow passively in the background.
Have fun pushing freebies through your backup accounts, or even make it a Finsta (fake Instagram or Burner account) to share content that might not make it to the main page.
Earlier this year, @CampCanna dealt with a suspended account with 200,000 followers following a spate of mass flagging by bot accounts, but was fortunate to win an appeal within a week. “It turns out there is no protection against mass reporting. If the platform gets enough notifications or numerous reports, the algorithm will simply close your account now and ask questions later. But you can appeal,” he explained.
After our interview, @CampCanna was banned, forcing a move to @WorldWideStonersClub. Hawkesworth’s loyal following on the Discord platform helped bring the move to the attention of his most devoted fans. And even as he awaits a possible appeal, his influence on the platform is still plain to see. A simple search for the phrase “camp canna” on TikTok yields posts that have garnered over 33 million views.
Runtz co-founder and CEO of Joke’s Up, Yung LB, has had his Instagram account @YungLB_Litt, which has 220,000 followers, suspended multiple times for promoting the plant on Instagram. He quickly switches to backup accounts like @official_YungLB, which only has 14,000 viewers. But while he and other cannabis influencers had their main accounts restored following the appeals from Instagram and TikTok, the appeals process is arbitrary and may be inaccessible without the help of representatives from each company.
Invest in LinkedIn, Twitter, Pinterest
Don’t collect all your posts on one platform. LinkedIn, Twitter, and Pinterest are all relatively 420-friendly social media platforms worth investing in. Even if they don’t do crazy numbers like Instagram and TikTok.
For B2B relationships and networking, LinkedIn is a safe haven for the cannabis community. But it doesn’t offer marketers much opportunity to attract new consumers and community members. You will also find that many people are reluctant to engage with cannabis content on the professional platform. But that doesn’t mean they don’t see it.
Twitter and Pinterest each have their merits, but they don’t rely on discovery in the ways described above. The best way to explore these communities is to follow accounts that are somewhat similar to yours, and then put your own spin on strategies that you see work for others.
Before you branch out, realize that any marketing strategy needs to be tailored to the specific platform. This is not a one-post-fits-all scenario. So think about how differently TikTok and Twitter might react to the same content and adjust accordingly. Track what’s working and where, and keep tweaking it as you go.
Anyone who uses Instagram and Tiktok is a guest who is bound by the respective house rules. Make no mistake, these platforms really own your account and what follows you build on it.
The ultimate goal for content creators on these platforms is to obtain user credentials such as emails and phone numbers that can be used to reach fans outside of the app. These data points are the building block of newsletters, live event activations, and maintaining long-term communication with audiences in the event of a suspended social account.
Nowadays, marketing on Instagram and TikTok is not an easy task. But the cannabis community has always been resourceful enough to thrive and shine despite the looming shadow of Prohibition.
So get out your smartphone and see how you can crack the latest detection algorithm. And remember, if you can market cannabis, you can market anything.
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