Wondering why your dispensary doesn’t have more followers on social media?

Is your user engagement non-existent?

Are you finding it impossible to drive traffic from your social media pages to your dispensary website?

If you’re experiencing any of the problems listed above, it might be time to revamp your overall social media strategy.

But how exactly do you do that?

First, consider these 7 unbreakable social media rules for dispensary marketing — rules that will provide a functional base for your dispensary’s social media strategy and allow you to start getting the results you want.

1. Be Genuine

Your audience is on social media because they want to connect with others.

But they don’t want to connect with some faceless corporation. They want to connect with people, and they want those connections to be genuine and personal.

So be yourself. More specifically, be your “brand” self. Your voice on social media should reflect the character of your brand personality so that people truly get the sense that there’s an actual human being on the other side of the screen who’s interacting with them.

2. Provide Valuable Content

What types of content are you publishing/sharing on social media?

Is it mostly promotional material? Are you mainly trying to sell products?

Or are you providing content that your readers will find useful, regardless of whether or not they end up buying anything from you?

If it’s the second answer, you’ve got the right idea. If it’s the first answer, we invite you to rethink your efforts. Here’s why:

People don’t follow you on social media simply because they want to be sold products.

They’re following you primarily in the hopes that you’ll provide them with something of immediate value, within the platform, without them having to spend money or jump through hoops.

Cool photos. “How-to” articles. Links to news stories. Your company’s perspective on an important cannabis-related issue.

All these things (and more) are potentially valuable to your customers. And the more content you’re willing to share with them, the more they’ll begin to trust you and see you as an authority in your field.

And the more interested they’ll be in the products you have to sell.

3. Listen to Your Audience

What does your audience want? What kind of content are they hungry for? How are they responding to the content you’ve already posted?

By reviewing your analytics data and monitoring your target audience’s behavior (such as through popular hashtags), you can keep a finger on the pulse of what interests them.

And that’ll put you in a much better position to provide them with the kind of content that excites and engages them.

4. Understand the Strengths of the Platform You’re Using

Posting the exact same content across all your social media channels may seem like you’re killing X birds with one stone, but there’s a better approach.

Each platform has its own strengths and weaknesses. Familiarize yourself with each platform so that you can leverage those strengths and optimize your content appropriately.

Here are four major social media platforms and their respective strengths:

Facebook: brand community building, videos (self-made and curated), live streaming

Twitter: News, blog posts, GIFs, customer engagement, customer service

Instagram: Publishing photos, showcasing new products

Snapchat: Short, creative videos and photos, geofiltered content

5. Take Advantage of Cannabis Social Media Networks

With so many social media companies putting restrictions on cannabis-related content, many cannabusiness are turning to networks that cater specifically to cannabis users.

For example, MassRoots, which is considered “the Instagram for cannabis,” is probably the biggest cannabis social media platform in the industry. It allows users to share photos and videos as well as locate nearby dispensaries. Plus, business can advertise on it!

6. Be Consistent

The best way to expand your reach via social media is to continually publish content.

The effects of posting are cumulative. Some of your posts might get tons of reach and engagement. Others might fall flat.

But as long as you’re posting content regularly, you’re staying visible, and that also signals to potential followers that your account is active and worth following.

7. Respond to User Comments

If your followers are commenting on your social media page, even if it’s a customer service-related complaint, that’s ultimately a good thing.

Why? Because it gives you the opportunity to showcase your dispensary’s professionalism and dedication to service.

Not only do you make your followers happy by interacting with them and answering their questions, you now have a record of that exchange that other users can benefit from.

It’s almost as if every user who comments on your page is actually helping you create new pieces of valuable content!

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If you’ve already implemented these 7 unbreakable social media rules and still need help (or you just need help with the rules themselves), we at Hazy Marketing offer social media strategy development services. Give us a call at (702)-600-9687 or email us at hello@hazymarketing.com for more info!