My cannabis brand was closed from Instagram so we recovered
By Andrew Ward
Cannabis companies have never had a stable relationship with social media. The tense status has made cannabis a little gruff when it comes to social marketing, coded language, and geotagging.
Too often, however, brands are still faced with shadow bans, bans and account deletions. Pot-focused social media platforms and advertising options are online, but haven’t gained as much importance as high-performance platforms have been.
Photo from Digitalpfade via Pixabay
There has been a recent wave of bans, deletions, and warnings on Instagram, with brands, marketers, and journalists reporting similar issues. The reason for the actions varies depending on the source.
While the problem persisted, cannabis social media experts provided tips on how to avoid the problem and how to recover an account.
End of June, Cannaklusiv found her account blocked by Instagram, a Common stock of Facebook, Inc. (NASDAQ: FB) Companies.
National Projects and Social Media Director Kassia Graham said this was the first time the company had a problem since it was founded in 2017.
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Graham believes the ban could be the result of a popular post. She said the content, a 4/20 themed guide on how to find brands using the company’s inclusive base tool, did not include sales links. She added that the ban may also have been because the company was tagging accounts that had previously collided with Instagram.
“I just don’t get it,” said Graham of the reasoning.
After several days of appeals and campaigns, Cannaclusive had his account restored. Since then, the company has released a guide for other brands that can be found in the same place. Tips include:
- Secure followers with a third-party tool
- Download and backup data
- Have a file with all company documents including business license, bills, utility bills, and other documents
- Submit an account violation report daily
- Start a “Bring Us Back” campaign similar to #FreeThePlant
Cannaclusive has continued to use Instagram since the ban. They are also exploring additional ways to leverage their reach through existing newsletter and website efforts. Others have followed similar steps to get their accounts back.
Photo by ROBIN WORRALL via Unsplash
Alice moon is a cannabis marketing professional. In 2016 Instagram closed her account with over 14,000 followers. Your checking account was blocked again this summer. This time, a colleague advised her to wait 48 hours and then file an appeal. Instagram restored her account two hours after submitting the request.
There is no clear solution that goes beyond the greatest possible compliance.
Moon believes her most recent run-in was caused by gossip, particularly “cannabis social media” in her headline. Since then, she has taken out the title and refrained from posting cannabis content.
She and others agreed that cannabis companies stay compliant on social media by calling themselves a lifestyle brand. Burns said accounts that want to use social media as a conversion tool should consider building emotional connections with followers instead.
Brett Fink, Managing Partner at GRTR has worked with various cannabis brands in this area. Before entering the market, he worked on special projects for Snap Inc (NYSE: SNAP).
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He advised brands to look at social media differently. “If you look at other brands that haven’t been pulled down, it’s basically just a landing page for them,” he noted.
He also addressed the importance of stories and roles. “The ephemerality is key because the stories are the things that aren’t labeled as often because they’re basically a private page.”
Photo by Minty via rawpixel.com
Moon suggests that cannabis companies keep links out of their biographies, remove all location information, and never use prominent cannabis hashtags.
“That’s what your algorithm picks up on,” she warned.
Instead of sales and marketing materials, Grasslands CMO Burns suggested focusing on behind the scenes and company values. He recommends focusing on Linktree, blogs, web content, and experience activations as more tangible ways to attract and transform businesses.
“Social media is a very valuable tool, but it’s not the be-all and end-all,” he said, adding that he found a solution by verifying Facebook companies. After verification, his company linked his Instagram to the account. The company has also set up a Facebook advertising account but never advertised, a practice that often results in cannabis bans being closed.
This article originally appeared on Benzinga and was republished with permission.
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