CBD Products & Online Marketing

Welcome to the last post of my awareness campaign!

In my previous posts I focused on presenting information about CBD, such as the differences between CBD and THC, CBD products, benefits and side effects of CBD, and CBD for pets.

In this last post I wanted to inform you about the difficulty of advertising CBD products online and present you some alternatives.

If you own a CBD company or you are working for one of them, you might know that paid advertising of CBD products on Facebook and Google is prohibited. Instagram is owned by Facebook, so you don’t have better chances, as the same policies apply there as well.

Facebook ad policies prohibit the sale of “illegal, prescription, or recreational drugs” and have sorted CBD in this category, although it is not classified as a drug.
Google ad policies list CBD in the “Unapproved pharmaceuticals and supplements” category and prohibit entirely their advertisment.

A violation to these policies can lead to a page or account ban, which is something that no one wants and especially companies.

Is there anything you can do about it?

Here are some tricks to advertise CBD products on Facebook:

1. Create a new Facebook account and don’t mention CBD or cannabidiol anywhere on the page.
2. Do not include the term CBD in the domain name of the landing page.
3. You can buy a new domain specifically for the landing page to sell your CBD product.
4. Remove any CBD-related keywords from your website.
5. Find a creative way to explain your CBD product to your consumers, by replacing “CBD” with “Natural Plant-Based Remedies”, “Naturally derived ingredients”, “plant sourced ingredients”, etc.
6. Create a Facebook ad that doesn’t mention or show anything related to CBD.
7. Focus on the benefits of your product, without mentioning CBD in the ads at all, and don’t make serious medical claims.
8. Target audiences with an interest in “hemp oil.”

Facebook has relaxed their CBD advertising policies and you can advertise topical hemp, linked to landing pages featuring topical CBD and hemp products.

Here are some tricks to advertise CBD products on Google:

1. Create a new Google Ads account to use specifically for advertising your CBD product. If you run into problems, then it won’t affect your other Google Ads campaigns.
2. Use the “paid search ads“ feature to set up your campaign.
3. Select keywords relevant to your product, such as “CBD”, “CBD oils,” hemp,” etc.
4. When writing your ad, make sure you not directly saying it’s CBD. Try to make a more vague description of your product.
5. Develop a landing page that your ad will take consumers to. Just like in the ad, don’t openly promote your CBD products on this page.

If you don’t want to risk it with the tricks mentioned above, here are some alternatives to advertise CBD products online:

Google Shopping Ads

You need to use Google Ads platform to set up and manage your CBD advertising for Google Shopping ads. If you set up your campaign correctly your CBD products will be displayed when a customer uses Google to search for CBD products.
They can appear in the main search engine results page or under the shopping tab.

Focus on SEO (Search Engine Optimization)

SEO is a great way to increase targeted organic traffic to your website. By practicing it properly, it will enable web visitors to find your site based on what they are searching online.
A successful SEO strategy, can consistently bring in organic traffic to your CBD website for years, providing a steady flow of sales and increased brand awareness.

Email Marketing

Although email marketing might seem outdated, it is one of the most effective channels you can use.
Make sure to send out newsletters to build interest in your products regularly. Keep emails short and add a bit of a story to keep things interesting. Sending coupons and deals to your existing newsletter subscribers is a fantastic way to get the word out about products and improve customer relationship and retention.

Influencer marketing

This marketing strategy is now an established form of online marketing. You can use people who have the power to influence your target audience, through their posts, or stories.
Influencers can sell your products directly and increase the visibility of your brand, but they are not allowed to make any health claims.

Affiliate marketing

Affiliate marketing is a performance-based approach. Similar to influencer marketing, it allows you to use other people for promoting your products. Affiliates use their own efforts to market your brand or product on their site.
Businesses and brands reward affiliates for each sale they make or customers they bring in.

Sources:

facebook.com/policies/ads
support.google.com/adspolicy
dispensarymktg.com/blog
liftintent.com/blog
cbdmarketingsolutions.com
writingstudio.com/blog
coladigital.ca

I would love to read your comments! Let me know if you liked my awareness campaign.

Thank you for following my posts! Until next time!

Previous Posts:

CBD: An unfortunate misunderstanding?
Therapeutic Cannabis: What is the difference between CBD and THC?
CBD Products: Do you know anything about them? (Video)
The CBD Oil Experience (Interview)
CBD Benefits -Let’s exlore them! (Short Video)
Can CBD cause any side effects? (Short video)
Can we give CBD oil to our pets?