Cannabis entrepreneurs in 2018 will continue riding the wave of professionalism and growth propelling the cannabis industry. Despite mixed federal signals, resounding public support and a knack for innovative marketing have catapulted the American cannabis industry into a market giant set to make $24 billion by 2025. Learn more about what role mobile marketing is playing in getting your cannabis brand out there.
Crafting a Mobile Marketing Strategy to Boost Brand Awareness
Whether you’ve realized it or not, the age of mobile marketing for cannabis is already in full swing. With more than half of all search queries coming from mobile devices, online marketing is one of the most important marketing strategies for businesses across all industries, not just the marijuana space.
Due to the unique and at times treacherous landscape of cannabis legalization in America, mobile marketing is the surest way get your cannabis brand in front of audiences. In an increasingly mobile atmosphere, cannabis businesses face the daunting task of navigating complex local regulations, responding to the nuances of cannabis culture and answering the needs of medical patients—all through a correctly leveraged digital marketing strategy.
Before you leverage mobile marketing trends, you have to understand them
The Internet is riddled with articles and reports that talk about the role technology plays in transforming not just how people consume, but how they function. But while online marketing is known of by many, it is understood by few, and actionably leveraged by even fewer.
Add to that the cultural and regulatory complexities of the cannabis industry, and it’s clear why so many cannabis businesses have opted to work with marijuana marketing agencies experienced at navigating the demands of an increasingly mobile audience while meeting the requirements of regulators.
Keeping pace with the revolution in mobile marketing for cannabis
In the mobile age, cannabis businesses are faced with the challenge of crafting and executing an authentic brand story while retaining the usability that mobile users require. In the mobile era, high-impact content marketing is dependent upon newsworthiness, accessibility, and how quickly it can get shared on social media platforms.
Just this year, the number of smartphone owners and consumers shot up to 2.3 billion. Collectively, most consumers report spending 69% of their digital media time on their mobile devices.
Mobile marketing statistics every ‘cannapreneur’ should know
- 80% of mobile device time is spent in applications
- 90% of mobile users report using an app once and deleting it due to function limitations
- Game apps eat up the most significant percent of app use time
- People on tablets browse 70% more web pages than they do on smartphones
- Retail conversion rates for tablets are three times (2.2%) that of smartphones (7%)
- Traditional PC conversion rates are still the highest at 3.3%
Make the Most of Mobile Marketing for Cannabis in 2018
The availability of so many different devices also means that people in emerging markets are accessing the internet for the first time through their mobile device, as opposed to the desktops and laptops used by previous generations of consumers. To that end, there are several mobile marketing trends cannabis businesses should look to leverage into the new year.
Support your brand story with mobile-optimized video content
According to Zenith media analytics, consumers around the world will watch 25% more video on their smartphones and tablets in 2018. According to the firm’s findings, mobile viewership growth alone was enough to lift overall average for online video consumption 20% this year.
With the average consumer slated to watch almost an hour of online video content in 2018, any cannabis marketing strategy should include creating engaging video content that effectively conveys your brand story and captures your audience’s attention.
Make sure your mobile site is search engine optimized
While you should already have your mobile site up and running, getting optimized for mobile means you’ve taken your user experience to the next level. A mature mobile SEO strategy will focus on improving core ranking through indexing and leveraging mobile keywords.
Cornerstones of a successful mobile marketing strategy:
- Relevance, usefulness and domain authority
- Download speed
- Implementation of an optimized mobile index
- Monitoring bugs or mobile-friendly errors
- Invest in a mobile keyword research strategy and implement content creation accordingly.
#MaJorIgnite Tip: Google announced that it would rank search results based on mobile-friendliness in 2018. That means mobile should be a priority going into the new year if it isn’t already.
Stay relevant by optimizing for mobile searches
While you should have already invested in a mobile optimization strategy for desktop searches, your digital and mobile marketing agency should revisit your keyword strategy to ensure it’s mobile-friendly, too. Due to the sheer volume of searches for local businesses happening on mobile devices, it’s essential that your website content includes keywords that pull in local customers.
Long-tail phrase keywords should also be chosen with voice searches in mind. The plethora of devices that rely on voice searches, like Amazon Echo or Siri, means that consumers are looking for businesses differently. For example, a Siri request might look like “What’s the best dispensary in Las Vegas?” while a tablet user might type in “marijuana dispensaries in Las Vegas.” Understanding the nuances of these consumer needs and leveraging your mobile marketing strategy accordingly will enhance how you reach your mobile audience.
Mastering the minefield of mobile applications
With mobile users spending the bulk of their days—and nights—in applications, the rush to craft the perfect app isn’t going to die down soon. However, the new ‘app-heavy’ environment means that customers are more demanding of the applications they. In fact, around 90% of mobile users report downloading an app, using it once, and deleting it.
If you are considering throwing your development hat into the ring, be sure that functionality, user experience, and return on investment are all considered in great detail.
We’ve Mastered Mobile Marketing, So You Don’t Have To
As a marijuana business owner, you already know you need better ways of getting your products or services to your audience, particularly medical marijuana patients. Whether it’s a dispensary marketing strategy, mmj advertising, or the branding of your cannabis products, our team understands that mobile marketing for cannabis matters more than ever.