The issues with marketing cannabis products are myriad.
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (PRWEB) September 21, 2019
The CEO of Little Rock, AR-based Tree of Life Seeds, Jason Martin, has been frustrated for years with the challenges of marketing CBD. CBD, which is short for cannabidiol, is a chemical compound that comes from the cannabis plant.
Jason knew that there had to be an organic and innovative way to educate the public in a highly-unregulated market.
“At Tree of Life, we are committed to making a difference in this emerging industry,” he says. “And we can accomplish that by educating potential customers about misconceptions using honest and accurate information.”
The issues with marketing cannabis products are myriad. Below, are the top ten challenges to marketing CBD products:
1. Ads Banned on Social Media and Google
The promotion of CBD using ads is often banned from social media. Google doesn’t even allow marketers to use its Keyword Planner to search for potential terms to target. Instead, the user gets back an empty list.
Google AdWords has a prohibited content list that includes healthcare and medicines. Of course, cannabis makes the list. Because of this, brands that sell CBD products are unable to use pay-per-click ads for advertising.
This is tough because 74% of people trust social media for guiding purchasing decisions.
2. Confusing Laws
Hemp-derived CBD products are legal in all 50 states, while marijuana-derived CBD is illegal in some forms in some states. Being that CBD is not legalized in all states, it’s imperative that business owners know the legal status of the products they intend to sell.
3. FDA Regulations
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is trying to wrap its head around how to regulate CBD regarding health claims and safety, and held its first hearing on this topic last summer. At the moment, the FDA bans the following medical claims for CBD products: diagnosis, cure, mitigation, treatment, or prevention of any disease.
4. Varying State Laws
Restrictions differ from state to state, which makes nationally marketing or advertising CBD almost impossible. It also makes it difficult to work with agencies, investors, and consultants.
5. Consumer Confusion
The average consumer is confused about the differences among CBD, cannabis, and marijuana. They think that CBD is illegal, when in fact, it’s not.
6. Saturated Market
So many companies are earning a lot of money fast by jumping into the marketplace that it’s saturated. It’s getting overcrowded because it’s so easy to get into.
7. Lack of Regulation
The industry’s lack of regulation has caused serious concerns regarding accurate product labels, additives, lack of purity, and testing.
8. Consumers’ Misconceptions on Use
Although many products are CBD oils, salves, tonics, or edibles; some people still think that you smoke something.
9. Difficulty to Differentiate between Products and Companies
CBD branding is a challenge because it can be difficult to differentiate your products from those from other companies. It’s important to find ways to stand out from the competition to the right audience.
10. Stigma of CBD
Even though it’s a safe product, society continues to place a harsh stigma on CBD products since CBD is related to marijuana, which is not legal in many states. People assume that it is a way to get high and not a legitimate solution for physical and mental medical conditions.
To help clear up these misconceptions and inaccuracies, Jason put his head together with his new Communications Coordinator, Lillee Hill, and recently launched the #CBDisLife movement.
“Tree of Life Seeds is pleased to launch our influencer marketing platform, CBDisLife,” he says. “With so many traditional marketing paths closed to CBD companies, CBDisLife provides a win-win opportunity for us and the CBD-consuming audience to share our message and get rewarded by doing so.”
The company is using a very innovative strategy.
“What we’re doing is reaching out to social media gurus with large audiences who use CBD oil. They share how the products have benefitted them, which clears up common misconceptions about CBD products and educates the general public,” Jason says.
Once other people catch onto the CBDisLife influencer movement they can join and share their stories, no matter their audience size. In addition, they can compete in fun and simple challenges.
Jason closes by saying, “Even though we want to help educate consumers about cannabis products, we want to create an online community that is fun and interactive.”
