So you’re on board the inbound and content marketing train, but you’re finding yourself struggling to try and figure out just how in the heck you’re supposed to create all of the cannabis content you’ll need to support your campaigns! Have no fear though, since you’re not alone. This issue is one of the biggest problems small to medium-sized cannabis businesses face when it comes to getting their inbound marketing campaign off the ground. You want all those meaningful blog posts and ebooks, but you still need to dedicate a lot of time to your daily operations and tend to only be able to put out a new piece of content once in a blue moon. Sound like you? Here are 7 ways for you to generate more quality cannabis content to support your inbound marketing campaign.
1. Get everyone on your team involved.
Just because you run a dispensary doesn’t mean you’re the only one there with valuable insight on the cannabis industry. Creating a culture of content doesn’t happen overnight, but the best way to get it moving is to get more of your company involved. Start by having a staff meeting where you explain the importance of content and how it fits into your inbound campaign and encourage everyone to generate their fair share of cannabis content. The meeting will also be a good place for your company to set reasonable expectations for your staff. Getting your staff involved will get your staff excited. Not only do they get to become published authors, but they also get to become cannabis industry thought leaders, and everyone will have more practice with writing. If you really want to incentivize your employees, you can also offer a bonus for any extra quality cannabis content produced.
Don’t limit the people you choose to involve to marketing and sales oriented people, either. The guys on your grow team, your managers, and even your trimmers have valuable insight and a seasoned point of view that will generate unique cannabis content that customers and other cannabis industry members can appreciate. That means a larger more captivated audience and ultimately more customers!
Be sure to keep your expectations in check, though. Not everyone on your team is going to be a terrific writer right off the bat. In fact, some may choose not to write at all, and that’s okay! Staff interviews also work well. Focus on your content instead of the written stuff, then reserve the editing and formatting to you or your marketing partner.
2. Create an editorial calendar with subjects that align with your branding.
The first step is to establish reasonable content goals. Key word: Reasonable! Your staff is just as busy as you are, so you have to make sure that your content goals are attainable and won’t bog them down too much. For example, if you have 6 employees, a reasonable goal would be 3 blogs per week. That way your staff members only have to hand in 1 blog every two weeks, but your blog is still getting updated often. With this goal in mind, create an editorial calendar that you can use to stay organized and nail down that cannabis content a quarter at a time. Team Maryjane can help you with your editorial calendar if you get stuck.
Keep in mind that with every piece of content you publish, you’re constantly building up your brand. Make sure that everything you create is branded with your company’s voice, purpose, selling strategies and promises. Visit and revisit your brand’s core attributes, like your mission, vision, and values regularly to make sure you’re conveying the same message at all times.
3. Don’t get stumped.
I know, I know – easier said than done. Finding a topic isn’t always the easiest thing to do, but you can’t waste time getting bogged down by writer’s block. A good trick is to just start writing. Eventually, you’ll find a direction. Before every post I write, I usually start by writing 100-400 words of garbage before I get into the groove, and I write at least 2 pieces of cannabis content every day! Eventually, a topic will come to you. Just make sure that you write to them like you’re talking to them in person. Be specific, offer real experiences and insight and don’t worry about selling.
The goal of your content is to attract and nurture prospects through the buyer’s journey by entertaining them, educating them, or inspiring them. You can also produce content that convinces them to buy from you or to convert on a link, but try to keep that to less than 20% of all the content you produce.
Make sure you have a catchy title and that you use a lot of cannabis-related keywords, as well as keywords relating to your geographical location. If you’re still stumped, we came up with a list of 25 dispensary blog post ideas that you can use to get started.
4. Create evergreen content that you can repurpose as needed.
Evergreen content is factual content that stands the test of time and can be repurposed in other ways. The content you create can be repackaged a hundred different ways. Every piece of cannabis content you publish creates a digital library on your website that you can use again and again. For example, you can use your blog content to make useful infographics, ebooks, powerpoints, videos, and more. People like to consume content in different ways. For some, an infographic or visual tool will work best. For others, plain old blog content is best. You can even gather up useful blogs on the same subject and make yourself an authority on the subject.
When you repurpose your content, make sure it’s digestible and accessible for your audience. Share your unique stuff on social media or in your email sends. You can also put exceptionally useful cannabis content right on your homepage. Just get creative!
5. Study your performance
A big part of content marketing is monitoring your key performance indicators (KPIs). You have to study what works and what doesn’t if you want to be successful. Make it a goal to check your analytics regularly. Look at how often people are landing on your blog, how much time they tend to spend there, which types of content they’re consuming the most, who’s filling out forms on your website, what they’re for and why. Look at how often your content is shared on social media or how often backlinks or inbound links to your website are being clicked. Analyze every bit of user data you can so you can determine what’s working and what is not.
6. Create multiple forms of different content and try new things regularly.
If nobody is downloading the ebooks you’re putting out, it wouldn’t make sense to keep wasting time and energy creating them. If lots of people are reading your blog, write more! Put out surveys to regularly hear from your readers and create the content that they will find useful or want to see.
Additionally, varied content is important to try, too! If you’ve never created a video, give it a shot. You can also run webinars or podcasts, grow guides, dispensary tours, grow tours, and so much more. Ultimately, just keep experimenting with your content until you find the perfect blend for your marijuana dispensary or cannabis brand. Showcase who you are and what you do in a fun and unique way.
7. Outside help is okay!
If your content blows up and becomes popular, odds are you may have to hire some additional outside help to keep up with content demands. Don’t freak out, that just means that your inbound marketing machine is going full speed ahead and that you’re doing an excellent job. Adding an outside editor, proofreader, or SEO consultant can help you improve the quality and quantity of your content. Don’t be afraid to outsource your video content or graphics to other professionals, either. Just because you can do it doesn’t mean that you’re automatically the best for the job.
Truly exceptional cannabis content, whenever you need it!
In a digital world with infinite space, you have to fight for the attention that your cannabis brand deserves. In the cannabis industry, you can’t do a lot of the things that other brands are allowed to do with their marketing. That’s why inbound and content marketing is so near and dear to our hearts at Team MaryJane.
The cannabis marketing professionals at Team MaryJane help our cannabis clients all over the country develop strong, effective content marketing strategies and optimize all aspects of their marketing, including fine-tuning content, providing input on social media campaigns, and even creating content. As one of the top dispensary marketing firms in Denver, we know we’ve got the tools to help you achieve all of your objectives. Get in touch with us today for a FREE no-risk consultation.