Women Grow: Skills for the Modern Business Woman Recap

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We kicked off Women’s History Month at our Social Media Unicorn headquarters with our monthly Women Grow event. This month we focused on ‘Skills for the Modern Business Woman: Taxes, Staffing and Power Brows. The intimate affair led to great conversation between the guest and the speakers, while the power brows tutorial was a huge hit amongst everyone in the crowd!

What We Learned

Our first speaker was Natalie Rasmussen, tax senior manager at California Cannabis CPA. She provided us with a brief and informative discussion about the new tax code for cannabis companies and even reminded all of us about the upcoming filing deadline. Thanks for the reminder, Natalie! Next, we dived into the world of staffing with Valery Godina, owner of Full Moon Harvest. She gave us a breakdown on licensing, and knowing how to pick the right candidate. (Hint, it’s not always about looking good on paper.)

Finally, makeup artist Angel Bello treated us to a tutorial on how to create the perfect “power brows’ for your face. Altitude Products Director of Nevada, Melissa Romero volunteered to be the eyebrow model. Angel also answered numerous questions from the audience and taught us that our eyebrows were sisters, not twins. As the tutorial came to end, members of the audience were also able to get their eyebrows done by the magical makeup unicorn.

Similar to every Women Grow event, the evening included light mingling and snacks. In addition to networking opportunities and crudités, guests were treated to a complimentary gift from Bella’s ultra premium CBD infused bath line. We hope our visitors ended the night with their relaxing Bella bath bomb, bath salts and body cream.

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Vendor Appreciation Day at Jenny’s Dispensary

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On December 16th, our team was on site at Jenny’s North Las Vegas location to show our appreciation for their dispensary team and their patients. We came armed with swag, information, and one goal: to educate consumers about Caviar Gold and their fantastic line of products that launched in November in Nevada.

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Social Media Burn Out – When Working in Social Media Makes You Hate Social Media

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We’re living in the age of information, where connecting with people from all different walks of life is only a few keystrokes away. And what a wonderful world it is! However, working in social media can make maintaining your personal social media feel like, well, work. Here are some tips to keep your creative juices flowing! 
 

Take time to unplug 

Social Media is a 24 / 7, 365 job. Trends happen and disappear in the blink of an eye, and consumers expect near -instantaneous responses to their questions or comments. At this point, I feel naked if I’m not attached to my phone or computer. The constant screen time can block creativity and make everything feel fabricated, which makes creating content and captions feel like pulling teeth.  It’s so important to take some time for yourself – to put down the electronics and simply observe the world around you, and not through a camera lens or Snapchat filter. Pressing the “reset” button on your brain is as simple as taking a 5 minute walk or meditation break, and it works wonders for clearing out the white noise of endless social media profiles. 

 

Use what you know!

When you work in social media, you learn all the tips and tricks of the game: the best times to post, when to use or not use hashtags, how to up your engagement, etc. There’s no shame in putting these best practices to use in your own social media profiles. Taking the guesswork out of the details frees up your mind to focus on what matters: utilizing your creativity to put out authentic content. 

 

Utilize a scheduling platform

Life gets busy, and when you manage social media accounts for others, managing your own can be tedious and time consuming. Utilizing a scheduling platform, such as Sprout Social Media Manager, is such an easy way to make sure you’re getting out the content you want people to see, without having to take time out of your busy day to post something spontaneously. Whenever you have some free time and are feeling creative, schedule out the next few days’ worth of content and then forget about it! It’s liberating to not have to think about it, and all it takes is a little forward thinking and pre-planning! 
 
 
Social media is an ever-present part of our lives, and connecting with people from all across the globe is made easy by this information age. Taking advantage of the things you’ve learned and the technology you’ve been introduced to through social media marketing is a great way to save time and energy on your own social media. Don’t forget to take a few minutes each day for yourself, away from the tech, and you’ll find the joy in staying connected! 
 
Photo Credit: Courtesy of HTSABO

Get Connected: Be Vulnerable

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The Internet is connecting people everywhere every day. Why do we want to connect? To feel community, to not feel alone in our thoughts. One of my favorite aspects of cannabis is its ability to connect people. Combining cannabis and the Internet has been refreshing and exciting! Learning about branding has shown me how much fakeness is out there. These are some reasons to be authentic and vulnerable on social media.
 

Genuine Connections

Honesty is the best policy, you’ve heard it before! People do not want to interact with fake accounts. They want to talk to the source! Create a brand voice that people can connect with. Get comfortable with your products and brands and be honest about them. If you are speaking from a comfortable place then you create a comfortable environment, people will want to join in on the conversation!  
 

Inspire Others 

Showing your true self will inspire others to be themselves as well. You never know who you will connect with when you’re genuine online. When you put words together they have the energy to move people. You cannot bounce off of each other’s energy if only one of you has the energy. Present your magic every day and you will attract the right people. 
 

Be Real

Be honest even on social media! This may be curated content, but we, the people, are the ones generating it! Use your passion, curiosity, and experience to produce amazing posts. Sharing your knowledge is caring for the betterment of others. 
 
There is strength in your vulnerability. How amazing is it to have an online community for everything nowadays? Everyone can express their true colors and support one another. Let’s get real and get connecting today! 
 
 
 

Vegas Cannabis Summit Breaksdown the Ins and Outs of Advertising

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The newly launched adult use market in Nevada has opened its doors for a variety of opportunities in the cannabis industry without ever touching the plant. 

Social Media Unicorn’s CEO Krista Whitley is among the panelists slated to support the leading cannabis professionals operating in the emerging Nevada, California and national marketplace.

The Vegas Cannabis Summit presents leaders of this new frontier and welcomes this exciting entrepreneurial community for a 2-day, 2-night event, featuring panels and educational seminars from industry experts, a vendor trade show, VIP events and concerts.

This two day conference will cover topics ranging from regulation and compliance, to advertising and media and the continued transition of the legal cannabis market, its entrepreneurs, investors and creatives, to be taken safely and seriously into mainstream culture.

We welcome artists, executives, lifestyle brands, technology professionals, investors, college students (21+) entrepreneurs and visionaries to present, educate and share.

We provide the opportunity for individuals from diverse backgrounds to engage in an environment that’s conducive to sharing information & creative collaborations.

The conference organizers and creators have an established track record as a curator of talent and experience with another successful conference, Vegas Music Summit.

Panels include:

  • Cannabis Budtenders, Chefs, Extractors & Growers: The New Celebrity Chef?
  • Building Cannabis Brands, Traditional & Social Media Marketing & Entertainment 
  • Media, Journalism & Content
  • Professional Sports & Cannabis
  • How To Get A Job In The Cannabis Industry
This year’s event will be held at :
 
Backstage Bar & Billiards
601 E Fremont St
Las Vegas, NV 89101

Phone number(702) 382-2227

Here’s Why Cannabis Collabs Are the Next Big Thing

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When it comes to growing your brand, strategic partnerships can be a highly effective way to build your businesses.

This is particularly true in the new legal cannabis space. As more and more new states legalize marijuana for both medical and adult use, this offers a unique opportunity for existing cannabis brands to grow nationally through partnerships with cannabis retail stores and dispensaries. 

One of the greatest opportunities for cannabis retailers is to create strategic partnerships with the brands they carry. The key behind the strategic partnerships are offering a win/win for all parties involved.

“Much like how Paul Mitchell has partnered with the salons that carry their caviar-goldhair products, I am seeing successful cannabis lifestyle brands like Caviar Gold starting to partner with cannabis dispensaries to help them drive sales before the cannabis consumer even walks through the door,” social media expert Krista Whitley explained. 

When brands function as an extension of the cannabis dispensary team they can achieve an incredibly unique consumer experience that screams premium. 

Whitley, who launched The Weekend Box, curates the best of the best in Nevada’s cannabis products. 

“When dispensary owners can connect to the community through a shared love of cannabis they tap into a virtually endless stream of talented employees and consumers,” Whitley added.  

3 Social Media Pro Tips To Gain Brand Exposure

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Social media has drastically shifted the way we communicate on an interpersonal level. From keeping in touch with the day to day lives of family and friends to dramatically shifting the way consumers choose products and services, some would argue social media has overtaken our daily lives. 

To mark this major shift in marketing, advertising and sales, we celebrated Social Media Day 2017 at the Red Flint Las Vegas Experience Center to gain insight and pro-tips from industry veterans. 

Offer a Win-Win

When there are a million and one apps, websites, and online boutiques its difficult to figure out exactly how to make your social media account stand out against the competition. Going into your social media strategy looking to not only sell your product, but also create a winning environment for your audience is paramount, Krista Whitley, CEO of Social Media Unicorn, a marketing and sales agency for luxury cannabis businesses explained.

Authentic Connections Matter Most

Creating a robust online community is a terrific way to connect one-on-one while building relationships with a larger audience and industry influencers.

Cat Goldberg, founder of Brainbuzz, shares “Social media allows you to be in front of your target customer’s eyes while also engaging them in conversation,” Goldberg says. “This authentic connection will make them more curious about you.”

Find Out What People Want and See That They Get It

“Just because you can post anything, doesn’t mean you should everything,” explained Richard Krawczyk at the June 30 panel.

In fact, Krawczyk believes positivity is the secret sauce to success when it comes to growing your brand online. 

“When you wake up in the morning your first  thought should be how many people can I help today,” he added. 

For more tips check out this recap in Inc. written by CTO of ROCeteer and Social Media Day Las Vegas panelist Heather Wilde. 

Becoming a Unicorn

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The first month of a new career always brings fear and excitement.

I’m glad to say that here at Social Media Unicorn it has been a lot more excitement than fear. Everyone is great! Not only is my entire team fun to work with, they all have an in-depth knowledge of the cannabis culture and the wants and needs of the community we serve. With that being said, I am starting a weekly blog to inform and educate about the new innovative products, services, and happenings within our community. Stay tuned each week to see what this Unicorn is getting into 😉

Just recently, we had the pleasure of hosting a patient appreciation day for Tahoe Hydro Company with the lovely people over at Medizin. They operate one of the premier dispensaries that cater to Las Vegas and the surrounding areas. Medizin, unlike many other dispensaries, is also involved in cultivation. They have some award winning flowers like Chloe, one of the most medically beneficial strains that is offered in Las Vegas. We had a great time representing Tahoe Hydro Company while we were there. THC is a boutique cultivator out of Carson City, NV, that is sure to fit the needs and wants of any consumer out there. They have award winning strains: Blackjack (S), Gelato 45 (H), Tahoe Hydro OG (I), all winning their respective categories at the 2016 Jack Herer Cup. THC also just entered the preroll game with the introduction of their STIX line, currently offering Tahoe Hydro OG. Needless to say, they know what they are doing over there at Tahoe Hydro Company. We passed out tons of Tahoe swag and educated patients on our products and specials. It was great meeting and creating future Tahoe fans! I loved hearing all the positive feedback regarding our products. Huge thank you to Tanya and the whole crew at Medizin for making my first patient appreciation day a success!  

All in all, these first few weeks have been an adventure and a blessing. I’m so lucky to be surrounded by people who are so passionate about cannabis. I can’t wait to see what the future holds for me as a Unicorn. Be sure to tune in next week for my next post and mark your calendars for our upcoming events!

Las Vegas Social Media Day – Fri. 6/30

Follow Tahoe Hydro Company on IG @tahoehydroponics

Get updates from Medizin at http://medizinlv.com 

The Most Useful Social Media Automation Functions

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Did you know that you can put your brand’s social media activity on auto-pilot? It takes some strategy, just like anything else. But there are tools out there that can definitely make you feel like a one-person social media department. 

These tools have many different functions, and not all of them are going to be useful or economical for your brand. In fact, everyday social media users have grown savvy to some of the automated tools out there and can spot automated activity a mile away. 

You don’t have to go “full robot” – here are the most useful automation functions you can start using right away to politely grow your social media accounts.

Scheduling

For those of us (most of us) who are simply not around to post on their channels all day, managing social media can seem like a daunting task. Signing on and posting takes precious minutes that we could be spending on another task. 

Scheduling tools can be found through software services like Hootsuite or Buffer, or, you can schedule future posts to a brand’s Facebook Page for free, right inside the Facebook platform. That way, you can schedule posts out for the week (or the month) in one sitting. 

Engaging

There are apps and tools out there to make it seem like you are liking, commenting and engaging with others’ posts on Twitter and Instagram. Typically it requires you to target the type of user, or a hashtag in order for the “robot” to find people to interact with. 

Unfortunately, there aren’t yet automation tools for engaging with Facebook posts. You will have to engage authentically there by liking and commenting on existing posts. 

Following

On Instagram and Twitter, the amount of followers you get is proportional to the amount of time you spend following other similar accounts. Easy to do for those of us who live on our phones – but for a busy entrepreneur? Not so much. 

Auto-follow, and more importantly, auto-unfollow tools are some of the most valuable in the social media world. Nobody in their right mind could sit and follow 400 new users per day with their thumbs, but with automation, it’s more than possible. 

We’re getting started on InstaZood after another of our favorite tools got shut down. Give it a try and see how powerful your account can really be!  

Need a team to help you delve into the world of social media marketing? Our experts are here to help, and located all around the west coast. Reach out to Social Media Unicorn to get started.

How to Elevate the Cannabis Buying Experience

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When we talk about an “elevated experience” in the cannabis industry, we’re not just talking about getting high. It’s a phrase that embodies the community’s mission to eliminate negative stereotypes through responsible consumption and education.

Think of it as brand strategy with the consumer in mind; you always want patients to feel comfortable, confident and informed when they’re considering buying your product to take home. Start giving back today with these tips.

Provide Facts

A full ingredient list and laboratory test are just the bare minimum of what should be included on your product’s packaging and your website, too. This would be a good start, but the truth is that patients typically want to know a lot more than simply what’s inside.

They want to know, as much as possible, what the onset time will be and how they will feel after using the product. Should it be used morning, night or all day long? How long should they wait before re-dosing? Think of an answer to every possible question a new cannabis consumer might have, and make it an integral part of your branding. 

Care About Details

High-end aesthetics and practicality are extremely important. This is true with both product and packaging design! Cannabis consumers really do care about the little things. They want to feel confident when they leave a dispensary that the product in their bag will work as advertised and provide a pleasant experience. If the consumer can’t gain that confidence simply by picking up the package, then it’s time to go back to the drawing board. 

Some specific small details that matter to connoisseurs and newer consumers alike:

  • Beautiful packaging which provides a clear product description, and a sense of the intended mood or effect. 
  • Clearly marked dosage meters or perforations on edible and drinkable products. 
  • Air-tight sealed packaging for cannabis flower, with appropriate humidity control. 
  • Proper labeling and lids on topical containers so they can be handled.
  • Current lab test labels on the outside of every package.

Promote Responsibility

Always do your best to inform the consumer – directly on the package – of everything they’ll need to know. After all, you or your sales reps will not be in the store with them when they are checking out your product. Don’t rely on dispensary staff to educate patients about safe and effective ways to use your particular product. The burden is on manufacturers to make that information part of their packaging, labeling and overall branding process. 

Elevate your brand to the next level with consulting, integrated campaigns and real, proven results with Social Media Unicorn, based in the thriving legal cannabis market of Las Vegas.