10 Cannabis Marketing Trends to Look for in 2022
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(Ad) Set your goals high as 2022 is expected to be a glorious year for the cannabis industry. BDSA reports that cannabis sales will jump 22%. That will take the total sales up to $28 billion.
The biggest challenge for most players in this industry will be maximizing their profits and market share in an exponentially growing consumer base with a host of new players also coming in.
But there’s one great way to ensure your business is ahead of the curve. That is by staying on top of these cannabis marketing trends for 2022.
How Has the Cannabis Industry Changed in The Last Year?
2021 was another excellent year for the cannabis industry. The dramatic growth was fueled by expanding legalization and capital flooding in from investors and venture capital firms.
As far as legalization goes, new grounds were broken in Montana, New Jersey, South Dakota, and other states where marijuana was legalized for recreational use.
In early 2022, New Mexico, New York, Virginia, and Connecticut legalized marijuana for recreational use.
Investors are more confident putting their money in the marijuana business based on projected profitability as far as investments go. In 2020, marijuana sales were at $13.4 billion. By 2025, this figure is projected to hit $33.6 billion.
What Cannabis Marketing Trends Should I Consider for 2022?
Legalization and changing attitude towards cannabis is expanding the market and bringing forth new marketing challenges. Young, middle-aged, and veteran adults are quickly converting into customers.
How marijuana was marketed and advertised just a year ago is dramatically different from how it is currently being marketed in 2022.
Niche Product Targeting
With more states and countries jumping on board, marijuana has a broad appeal. However, the most successful businesses will have a niche focus.
Consumers, especially millennials, actively seek brands that align with their values. That means you need to be specific with your formula and marketing efforts to see tremendous success.
Let your brand touch on societal concerns such as LGBTQ rights, sustainability, social justice, diversity and inclusion, and other personally meaningful causes to the consumer.
When the brand’s and consumer’s values align, you reap great brand loyalty and revenue.
Bhumi is an excellent example of a brand not being afraid to carve out its niche and align with its consumer base’s values.
The company sells high-quality CBD and hemp products designed to address women’s health concerns, raise the standards for consumer advocacy, support women leaders in the industry, and offer budtender training.
Incredible Product Innovation
Marijuana-based beverages have taken the market by storm. 2022 seems to be a lot kinder to the edibles segment.
As more consumers get into the world of marijuana, an emerging marijuana marketing trend is innovating on new products and marketing them to the new and existing market.
That means brands are moving away from the tried and tested potent and sugary options sold today.
For instance, 2022 will see brands focus on low-dose edibles meant to meet consumer demands for healthier edible options that will make them feel relaxed but still functional. Brands like Kiva are already experimenting with live resin edibles to replace THC distillate.
Product innovation means getting more attention from the consumer and proving that you’re investing in creating better products and recreational experiences for them. The result is a more effective marketing effort and more sales for your business.
Heightened Focus On Content Creation
The 12th Annual B2B Content Marketing: Insights for 2022 report reinforces that content marketing will still be a powerful marketing force in 2022. That means if you are a cannabis or cannabis-related business, content marketing should be at the forefront of your cannabis marketing strategy.
The big question becomes what to create and how to create it?
According to the report put together by the Content Marketing Institute, the most successful B2B content marketers use ebooks, case studies, long articles, whitepapers, research reports, and blog posts than the least successful ones.
Virtual events, online courses, and webinars are also very effective.
Half of the organizations in the survey outsourced some or all of their content creation, as companies of all sizes were most likely to outsource.
That puts the writing on the wall. If you want your marijuana business to succeed in 2022, invest in content creation and outsource it to an experienced team.
Content Distribution
Content creation is not enough for effective content marketing. It would help if you had efficient and effective content distribution mechanisms. And that is where the 12th Annual B2B Content Marketing: Insights for 2022 report comes in handy.
Marketers will use various methods to distribute content, including earned, owned, and paid media, to get the content to the intended audience.
90% of these organizations report distributing their content on their websites. 76% distribute the content on the company’s blog, 69% use email newsletters, and 68% use other non-newsletter email marketing campaigns.
There’s also a flurry of non-paid (earned or organic) media used to distribute content. The top three are speaking or presenting at events, which accounts for 52%, media or public relations, which accounts for 52%, and guest posts or publications in relevant, authority sites or publications, which accounts for 43%.
Also, 8 out of 10 marketers use paid media to distribute their content. 77% of these businesses use social media, with LinkedIn producing the best results, followed by Facebook.
Increased Investment In Content Marketing Avenues For 2022
According to the report presented by the Content Marketing Institute, 67% of businesses intend to increase their content marketing budgets in 2022. But the focus is on ten core areas:
- Video – 69% of companies intend to invest more in videos to market their content.
- Events (digital, in-person, or hybrid) – 61% of companies plan to budget for more digital, in-person, or hybrid events to market their content and get in touch with potential customers.
- Owned media assets – 57% of companies surveyed push more resources towards owned media assets.
- Paid media – 55%
- Social media management and community building – 39%
- Earned media – 38%
- Content Distribution – 33%
- Getting to know the audience better – 32%
- Content marketing technologies – 31%
- User Experience (UX) Design – 29%
Other noteworthy content marketing areas for 2022 include:
- Changes to SEO or search algorithms
- Data management and analytics
- Changes to social media algorithms
- Content marketing as a revenue center
Cannabis Will Continue To Leverage Messaging Around Wellness
The wellness industry is a trillion-dollar industry. Thus, it is no surprise that cannabis brands will continue to leverage wellness and personal optimization messages to target a bigger audience and improve sales.
In fact, in a California SurveyMonkey poll, 82% of users found cannabis effective for pain management and another 59% used cannabis for improving mental health.
Most consumers are pretty versed in the ethos and language of the supplements industry. Innovative cannabis brands should use this to their advantage.
You can use ethos and language to introduce your products and discuss their benefits. Detailing benefits can go as far as educating consumers on tinctures, salves, concentrates, and other cannabis supplements. Incorporating them into their workout, self-improvement, and wellness regimes can positively affect their overall well-being.
Mainstream Cannabis Use And Acceptance
Every media outlet has something to say about cannabis and in the most favorable coverage. The Wall Street Journal to Vogue no longer covers marijuana as an “edgy” or “up and coming” product.
Instead, millennials, moms and dads, businesses, and people from different walks of life embrace marijuana as an excellent plant medicine for health, wellness, and self-care.
That translates to a growing consumer base and an increase in the number of niches emerging, which enhances cannabis’ popularity in the media.
Data-Driven Marketing
Guessing who your consumer is and their preferences are a thing of the past. There’s a lot of market and demographic data available to optimize a brand’s marketing strategy. The trick is diving into data and analytics to refine and extract useful, actionable information.
For instance, different buyer personas, such as Microdosing Mamas and Boomerangs, have other habits and preferences. Businesses have to understand their current and prospective customers to deliver products and marketing initiatives that grow the company.
Thus, you have to move on from just knowing your customer to knowing their data as well.
Storytelling
With a lot of cannabis marketing in social media, transitioning into a savvy storyteller will help your business market more effectively on this and other digital platforms.
Consumers are no longer interested in hearing how excellent your product or service is. Instead, they’re more interested in the brand story and the product’s real-life advantages.
Video content is an excellent conduit for compelling storytelling. Most consumers are looking for authenticity and transparency. So, don’t be afraid to showcase your results, tell your audience what you do, and explain who you are.
Storytelling does not always sell directly. However, it leaves the consumer with a nagging feeling to try out your product. And if the story was compelling enough, they might convert as soon as they’re consuming the video content or reading your story from your chosen marketing media.
Mobile-First Marketing
It’s not a surprise that in 2022, you should have more mobile-friendly content. Users are no longer sitting in front of desktop computers to access social media and other content. Smartphones and tablets are the new normal globally.
Focus on optimizing your website and making it responsive. That way, it will automatically adjust to smaller screens and still deliver a fantastic user experience.
A deeply invested company will also create a separate app that the consumers can download to their smartphones and tablets. Make sure the apps are available in the mobile app stores your target users frequent.
Dive Into The World Of Artificial Intelligence
Data-driven marketing is a powerful tool to promote your cannabis brand in 2022. However, if you combine it with artificial intelligence (AI), then you’re setting yourself up to be the cream of the industry.
AI tools are more accessible in 2022, with Google and other companies at the front line offering machine learning technologies to small businesses to improve their marketing.
AI reports on basic information such as website traffic. But suppose you tinker under the hood a little bit. In that case, AI can smartly suggest the keywords your business should be using for SEO optimization and even predict what consumers are likely to buy based on previous purchases and browsing history.
When to Know if You Should Hire Cannabis Marketing Help
Keeping up with trends is a tough job. Most of us can’t keep up with our music and fashion interests. That is why you need an external party to monitor and stay ahead of the curve for you.
Cannabis Marketing Agency
Brands in the cannabis industry should go directly to a cannabis marketing agency to seek help with their marketing.
But why not go for any other marketing agency?
Because of the restrictions and regulations surrounding the advertising and marketing of cannabis, a cannabis marketing agency stays on top of cannabis marketing trends and regulations governing compliant advertising in the industry.
Thus, you get to keep your customers, and your business stays compliant.
Moreover, a cannabis marketing agency brings in the expertise needed to make your marketing efforts rewarding without the need of spending thousands of dollars more on an in-house team. You thus don’t have to fiddle around with ineffective cannabis marketing ideas while paying a premium for it.
A good cannabis marketing agency will help you focus on effective cannabis digital marketing strategies to improve online sales, such as cannabis email marketing. Most agencies will also offer essential cannabis branding tips to make your business stand out from the rest.
Cannabis Marketing Trends for 2022: Key Takeaways
2022 promises to be an exciting year for the cannabis industry. However, the expected growth will attract more players to the industry over this year and the next. Make sure you do the following to reap the most out of this exponentially growing industry.
- Keep a keen eye on the marketing trends for the cannabis industry all year long.
- Source the help of a professional cannabis marketing agency to develop more effective marketing strategies and stay on top of the curve in this year and the next ones.
- Lastly, make sure you are staying compliant with the regulations around advertising and marketing your cannabis products and services.
Want to learn more about marketing in the Bay Area?
Contact our Cannabis Marketing team to see how we might be able to work together.
*This article is provided by an advertiser. Statements made are not meant to offer medical advice nor to diagnose any condition. Any studies cited here may be preliminary, and may or may not be peer reviewed, and may or may not have sufficient participants to be statistically relevant. Anecdotal accounts should not be taken as scientific results. Products discussed in this article are not designed to diagnose, treat, prevent, or cure any disease. The FDA does not evaluate dietary supplements. Consult your doctor about possible interactions, allergies, and if you are considering using a natural and/or dietary supplements for any condition. Individual results will vary.