encouraged McDowell to pivot from his initial blog concept to an ecommerce business. McDowell also participated in a CBD-related business accelerator after meeting one of its co-founders, Mike Sibert, on the Clubhouse app. “It’s really important to find your tribe and find out who you click with, but don’t just stick with them,” McDowell said. “It’s also important to step outside your comfort zone and just look at other industries. You never know who might pop in a room.”
TIKTOK TikTok offers a greater opportunity for engagement to translate into sales because of the viral nature of the app, Shute said. The company revealed in August 2020 that the app had more than 100 million weekly active users in the United States. PufCreativ recently encouraged the team behind smoking-equipment retailer Bowlz to post on TikTok. “They had a video go viral just out of nowhere and sold out their inventory,” Shute said. “Now they are blowing up: selling out of every single inventory round that they get and forming huge partnerships. It’s really cool to see.” An April 23 video highlighting how a Bowlz-branded glass rod could be used for lighting pipes and other smoking devices had garnered about 2 million plays by early June. Other videos posted by @BowlzOfficial have been played tens of thousands of times and highlight the company’s smoking paraphernalia while popular songs play in the background. The company’s posts cover related topics such as, “Something we wish we knew when we first started poking smot.” (The wordplay reflects Bowlz’ attempt to stay on the right side of the app’s regulations governing cannabis, alcohol and other substances.)
THE RULES Cannabis companies have to be creative when promoting marijuana consumption or related products and services.
Yesenia Garcia
TikTok’s community guidelines “do not allow the depiction, promotion or trade of ” cannabis. The app, which initially launched in China, warns users that it will remove any content that violates the rules and suspend or ban accounts involved in severe and repeated violations. “Do not post, upload, stream or share … content that offers the purchase, sale, trade or solicitation of drugs or other controlled substances, alcohol or tobacco products (including vaping products),” the guidelines state. Searches for posts with the hashtags #cannabis, #marijuana or #weed typically yield zero results on the app. Videos tagged with hemp- and CBD-related hashtags, meanwhile, do not face the same restrictions. Because of the restrictions, marijuanarelated posts frequently include coded hashtags such as #oregano or #leaf to avoid being flagged while still reaching interested users.
INFLUENCERS Influencers can also be helpful in protecting a brand’s account from being banned on TikTok, said Tessa Adams, chief marketing officer at California-based cannabis retailer Moxie. Moxie has worked with influencers to promote its delivery service, HighNow, Adams said. “It’s authentic content that speaks to our type of consumer without screaming, ‘Hey, we’re cannabis, and we’re selling this.’” The company finds users it wants to partner with amid scans of cannabisrelated hashtags, she said.
“We’ll definitely take sort of a deep dive into each user’s comments and content to really understand what they’re trying to do and what they’re about to make sure that it aligns with our brand and who we are as a company.” After Moxie identifies an influencer to work with, someone from the company will send the user a direct message through the TikTok app or via Instagram. If the influencer agrees they would be a good fit for the company, Moxie sometimes provides samples to the user. Most influencer partnerships are driven by free products and discount codes. The company occasionally offers compensation when it wants to use the content created by the influencer for its own purposes, Adams said. “We work with each respective influencer on a custom package to make sure they are able to test the products they are most interested in, so the content remains genuine and authentic,” she said. “Moxie has products in every category, so finding the right fit for each influencer is easy and helps generate the best possible working relationship.”
SELLER BEWARE According to a Pew Research Center report published in April, 21% of those surveyed use TikTok. Among TikTok users, 48% are 18-29 years old, the report said. Moxie sees TikTok as an avenue to reach potential consumers in Gen Z, which it considers “the up-and-coming consumers for cannabis,” Adams said. But the brand is careful about marketing to those 21 and older who are legally allowed to recreationally consume cannabis in California. And it looks to tap into trends popular only among those in their 20s or millennials, she said. “We definitely never want to advertise to the younger crowd, and we make sure that we’re specific and stating exactly who it is that we’re talking to when we’re speaking,” Adams said.
September 2021 | mjbizdaily.com 65