20 Must-Know Cannabis Public Relations Tactics

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Written by: NisonCo Staff

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1. Digital and Traditional Cannabis Public Relations

What is the difference between digital and traditional media?

The internet has revolutionized the methods of media creation and delivery. Traditional media is mass communications created before the advent of the internet: print media, television and films. The internet allowed the development of digital media outlets: social media, digital audio/video and web blogs.

NisonCo is a leading public relations, marketing and SEO agency helping cannabis businesses leverage traditional and digital media to reach new cannabis customers.

 

A venn diagram displays the differences and overlaps between traditional and digital PR. Traditional PR tactics include print, radio, television and event strategizing. Digital PR tactics include digital publication coverage, social media participation and establishing an online video presence. Both traditional and digital public relations tactics seek to increase brand recognition, sales and influence.

Traditional PR tactics include print, radio, television and event strategizing. Digital PR tactics include digital publication coverage, social media participation and establishing an online video presence. Both traditional and digital public relations tactics seek to increase brand recognition, sales and influence.

 

2. Marijuana Businesses Need Earned Media

Does your cannabis business need an inexpensive way to secure media coverage? Consider generating earned media to earn free coverage. Earned media is content mentioning your company that you did not create or fund. Cannabis businesses should encourage earned media providers to tell their stories.

 

3. Owned Media Tells The Story of Your Cannabis Business

Are you having difficulty convincing reporters to write a story about your cannabis business? Your company should consider producing owned media. Owned media is content created by your company and published on your channels. Owned media allows your cannabis business to control your story’s narrative.

 

4. Paid Media Provides Maximum Reach for Your Marijuana Business

Does your organization have a public relations budget that allows you to hire copywriters? Dedicate a portion of your budget to paid media. Paid media provides an excellent opportunity to create sponsored content on external channels.

 

The differences between Paid, Earned and Owned Media Coverage types are listed.

 

5. Pitching the Story of Your Cannabis Business

Does your cannabis business have an important story to tell potential customers? To achieve that goal, your company must deliver a pitch to reporters and convince them to write your company’s story. A pitch is a personalized message sent to reporters, convincing them that your story matters to their audience. How do you throw the perfect pitch?

Reporters get flooded with pitches, which means your pitch must stand out from the crowd. A pitch should be concise (less than 300 words). The email containing your pitch needs an eye-catching subject line that grabs a reporter’s attention. The goal is to convince a reporter why your content deserves their attention quickly.

 

6. Press Releases in the Cannabis Industry

Do you need widespread distribution of an important story? A press release allows the wide release of your pitch to media outlets. Press releases provide reporters with a brief and compelling overview containing pertinent information about your story.

Your press release should include an intriguing headline that will quickly grab their attention. Press releases should also include contact information in case reporters send clarifying questions. Quotes from individuals profiled in press releases are helpful.

 

7. Developing a Media Kit for Your Cannabis Business

Are you providing reporters with the information needed to write an informed story about your cannabis business? Compile a cannabis press kit for reporters needing more information about your business. Media kits include downloadable photographs, videos and infographics that allow reporters to write an informed story.

 

8. Placing An Embargo On Your Cannabis Pitch

Are you attempting to pitch news that needs delivery at a specific time? Request an embargo while pitching stories. An embargo is a request not to publish a story before a particular date and time. Embargo requests should only go to trusted media contacts. Otherwise, you risk an eager reporter running your story too soon.

 

9. Ample Lead Time for Big Cannabiz News

Are you providing the opportunity to pitch your unique story? Before pitching a story to the media, determine if you give reporters sufficient lead time. Lead time is the timeline given to reporters to write your story. The media will not cover your story if you do not provide sufficient lead time.

 

10. Editorial Calendar for Your Cannabis Business

Do you need a plan for creating content for your organization? Develop an editorial calendar to organize a workflow for content creation and distribution. Editorial calendars allow you to maximize your content’s reach across all channels.

 

11. Search Engine Optimization (SEO) for Marijuana Businesses

Does your cannabis company know how to increase web traffic coming from search engines? SEO is the process of creating content to maximize rankings in search engines. SEO places keywords in web content that increase the likelihood of someone searching and selecting a link to your website. Cannabis businesses must utilize SEO to reach customers.

 

12. Use Backlinks to Maximize SEO on Your Website

Is your cannabis company utilizing backlinks to drive traffic to its website? Backlinks are direct links to your company’s website viewed on third-party websites. Backlinks provide legitimacy to your web content. Search engines will rank your website higher if they find your link on other websites. Backlinks are an excellent SEO tool.

 

13. Cannabis Businesses Need Social Media Management

Does your marijuana business use social media to reach new and existing customers? Social media management is developing and delivering content across all social media channels. Social media managers also analyze the performance of content distributed on social media channels. Social media management maximizes the reach of your cannabis business on social media.

 

14. Crisis Communications in the Marijuana Industry

Has your cannabis business experienced an unexpected event that could harm your brand’s reputation? If that happened, you know your business needed a crisis communications professional that could weather your bad news storm. The development of crisis communications provides messaging that crafts a positive narrative of your organization’s challenging experience. Crisis communications push your company beyond worrisome news.

 

15. Cannabis Content Goes Viral

Do you want your cannabis content to reach the widest audience online? You will need to create content that has the potential to go “viral.” Virality happens when web users frequently view and share content in digital spaces. Content is labeled viral when it receives tens of thousands of impressions in a short time.

 

16. Sponsored Content for Your Cannabis Business

Do you need to leverage paid media to reach your audience? Consider sponsored content when publishing owned media. Sponsored content advertises your cannabis business in a format that resembles the media outlet’s editorial content. Sponsored content is an excellent way to demonstrate thought leadership.

 

17. Bring Your Thought Leadership to the Cannabis Industry

Are you bringing thought leadership to the cannabis industry? Providing thought leadership is an excellent way to demonstrate credibility. Your company should give interviews with cannabis media and appear on stage at cannabis conferences. Thought leadership enhances your brand’s profile.

 

18. Cannabis Trade Publications Provide Targeted Reach

Do you have a target audience in mind for your cannabis content? Publishing your story in a trade publication allows your company to reach niche audiences. Trade publications publish content targeted at members of a specific audience. Publishing stories in cannabis trade publications lets your company gain a targeted audience inexpensively.

 

19. White Papers Market Cannabis Businesses

Are you writing white papers to demonstrate thought leadership? White papers address cannabis industry issues and offer solutions. They also promote the legitimacy of a company’s products and services. Cannabis businesses should leverage white papers to convert sales leads into customers.

 

20. Bring a Personal Brand to Your Cannabis Business

Do you have a story about your personal brand? Every cannabis professional brings their own unique experiences to the workplace. Strong personal brands provide brand legitimacy to a cannabis company and increase employee compensation. Encourage your employees to define, establish and communicate their personal brands.

 

NisonCo Helps Your Cannabis Company Achieve Public Relations Goals

Do you need NisonCo to help tell the story of your cannabis business? NisonCo is an advocacy-oriented and socially-conscious PR company serving startups in emerging industries since 2013. Contact us here to receive a free consultation. We look forward to working with you.

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