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Here’s How Social Media Has Changed Everything

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From digital advertising to crowdfunding and social justice, ever since the inception of MySpace, Facebook, and Twitter social media has changed the way the world communicates. A newly released infographic “The Conservation Prism 5.0”  might be the key to grasping today’s complicated and ever crowded social media landscape. 

Originally launched in 2008 by Brian Solis, an author and digital analyst at Altimeter Group,  the aptly-named “Conversation Prism” — designed with creative agency JESS3 —  continues to be a popular frame of reference among the digital marketing community. 

The Conversation Prism is best described as a visual map of the social media landscape. While it hasn’t been updated since 2013, The Conversation Prism is an ongoing study in digital ethnography that tracks dominant and promising social networks and organizes them by how they’re used in everyday life. 

In the latest rendition, Solis removed 84 companies, added 141, and created four new categories: messaging, crowdfunding, travel and hospitality, and connecting IRL.

One thing that has remained the same is the center of the Conversation Prism….You! 

 

“It’s meant to remind the viewer that social media is about the people in the center of their online experiences. Social media is much more than a series of broadcast networks. You shape the experiences of others as they shape your online experiences,” Solis said in an interview with Mashable.  

The next ring indicates how “you” can interact with a network,  how  you can impact the networks, while the outer ring shows all the categories of the networks, which “you” can interact with to create your own brand and community. 

Check it out below! 

 

conversation-prism

Entrepreneurs – Avoid These Pitfalls of DIY Marketing

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Doing the marketing for your brand in-house has a small benefit but can come with big problems. Why? Because if you and your team aren’t specialists in the digital world, and dedicated to a content strategy, your campaigns will eventually 

Below are the top three pitfalls that first-time marketers make when developing their “DIY marketing” strategy. Take them as a lesson or a warning – it’s your choice! 

No Content Strategy

Everyone loves pictures of cute dogs and cats, but that doesn’t mean those types of posts will do well on your brand’s social media accounts. Without a central theme and set of values that you know your audience will appreciate, how can be sure that your content is really sticking? Get content planned weeks or even months in advance – only then will you have your social marketing “handled.”

No Graphic Support

Photography and graphic design might seem easy at first, but start comparing your creations to a pro’s, and you’ll quickly realize that it’s hard work that you can’t handle by yourself. You might be able to swing a couple of good brand photos with your iPhone, but is that really how you want your company to be represented to the world’s savviest consumers? Professional help in this area is not hard to find, so support your local graphic designers and photographers by letting them make your product or service shine a little brighter. 

No Budget

One of the biggest reasons that new businesses fail in the cannabis industry is failure to invest in the right channels at the right time. Business owners who can’t afford a small Facebook Ads budget, or a booth at a local event, unfortunately cannot afford the cost of doing business in the modern era. Luckily there are clever solutions out there if you know who to talk to! 

Luckily, there’s hope for failed Do-It-Yourself marketers. It’s called hiring an agency. 

You probably wouldn’t let a football coach perform your open-heart surgery. Don’t leave your marketing in the hands of an amateur – even if it is yourself. Talk to our Unicorns today to see how we can level up your digital marketing strategy.

The 5-Point Social Media Strategy Anyone Can Master

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Doing social media strategy yourself is a learning process. There are new rules, trends and influencers to follow any given week. You’ve got to understand algorithms (as best you can, anyway) and principles of copywriting, photography and public relations. It can certainly be a lot to remember! 

Whether you manage your brand’s entire social presence, or just have a say in the process, you should know these five guiding principles of social media.

Be Authentic

The first rule of social media is to be authentic! Whether that means embracing your goofy side once in awhile, or telling the truth when your brand has a crisis, the idea is the same.

Engage Regularly

You might think that posting on Facebook about once a week, when you feel like it, is an adequate strategy. While this is the bare minimum to keep a page active on the platform, it won’t help your account gain any users. For the most part, you’ve still got to actively engage with other humans on Facebook in order to see success. That means:

  • posting daily or multiple times daily;
  • inviting your personal contacts to Like your page and asking others to do the same;
  • engaging and adding value in Groups; and, likely,
  • running Ads to generate traffic. 

Plan Ahead

So you wrote a month’s worth of blogs, tweets, and Instagram posts, but now your 30 days is up and you’re out of material. The content planning process is literally never ending for social media managers. Remember, you’re playing the long game, and regular (even daily) authentic engagement is a must to stay relevant in a sea of trendy new accounts. 

Use Spell Check

Typos? Grammar slips? Plain poor phrasing? None of these things make a pretty social media share. Yet, so many are too trigger happy and hit “post” before their content is on point. Run post copy, graphics and spelling past a colleague or friend that you trust. Sometimes all you really need is a second set of eyes on your work. 

Be Cohesive

Our last piece of advice is to stay consistently on-brand with all your social media postings. Use the same colors, symbolism, voice and phrasing in ever post. By doing this, you’ll avoid confusing your audience like many brands do trying to capitalize on the latest memes and trends. Instead your fans will recognize your posts seconds before they even see the brand name. 

Maybe you know all this already, but for some reason your social strategies just haven’t been sticking lately. Your content may just need a nudge in the right direction, or a second creative opinion. 

Brands and individuals making their mark in the cannabis industry, we’ve got your back. Call a Social Media Unicorn to help give your project some much-needed direction. 

The Best Types of Posts For Each Social Media Platform

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When it comes to social media, far too many brands make the mistake of posting the same exact content on every single platform. This is ill-advised because there are so many diverse groups on social media, and they all hang out in different social environments – and respond to different stimuli as well.

We put together a guide for DIY marketers to help you plan your approach to each top platform. 

Facebook

From humble beginnings, Facebook has become extremely diverse and dynamic. Not only is every demographic present on the platform, it’s also now been segmented into Groups. People and brands providing quality content to their audiences are holding on to their organic growth and influence on the platform, even as Facebook continues to try and monetize almost every interaction. 

One thing is for certain about the Facebook algorithm – it favors video posts. Heavily. A strong video content strategy will help you acquire more fans organically. Otherwise, set aside a small budget and learn to optimize Facebook Ads with amazing photography and graphics and some clever copy. 

Instagram

It’s changed a lot over the past year, but Instagram is still the place to be for the hippest and most social-savvy people in the world. It’s where trends are made, and visual content is king. You can repurpose some of your Facebook content here, but really make the captions pop. Professional photography is almost a must these days as outstanding “pinch-to-zoom” resolution photo posts are becoming the norm (especially delectable close-up photos of  cannabis products).

There are lots of “tricks” and theories out there for how to hack this platform, but really, Instagram runs on a few key principles. If you engage genuinely, post regularly, and utilize the proper hashtags. How you get there is up to you – as long as you make it absolutely beautiful.

Twitter

The original microblogging platform is far from dead – in fact, Twitter remains one of the most active platforms for breaking news and commentary on current events, as well as conversations amongst journalists and influencers.

That being said, all your content on Twitter should be newsworthy and put on display the unique voice and vision of your brand. Image and video posts, polls, memes and hashtags are essential parts of the Twitterverse you should know about. Research hashtags being used by your target niches, incorporate them into your tweets, and remember to always engage authentically.

Snapchat

On Snapchat, anything goes. The people following you are doing so for one reason: to catch a glimpse into what you’re doing all day. Again, authenticity is key. Using Snapchat gives you the opportunity to build your brand its very own personality from scratch – or, start building your personal brand as a living, breathing embodiment of the company.

So, in short, you should always share the awesome adventure that is your business with the world. Having partners in the industry who know the rules and trends on each platform will strengthen your influence even more. 

Hire us today and learn to finally rock social. 

4 Cannabis Brands Using Photography To Their Advantage

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We love to talk about sharp branding photography for cannabis because, in today’s social media universe, it can truly make or break your communication strategy.

Product or lifestyle photography for your brand should embody as much of your identity, personality and colors as possible, while inspiring creativity or new ideas in the person viewing the photo. Instead of just thinking, “that’s a pretty photo!” your goal should be to stimulate in the viewer a newfound desire to incorporate your brand into their existing lifestyle. People in the cannabis community hold their routines and rituals in high regard; show that your product understands that. 

These four companies have been #killingit with their social media photography lately, and savvy cannabis consumers are taking notice. Take a leaf or two out of their book! 

Dipstick Vapes

Coming up in the personal vaporizer market against major competition that’s been in play for years (think PAX vs. Firefly, Dabado vs. Dr. Dabber) isn’t easy for most brands to strategize.

Dab & Puff 💨💨 #HappyDipping #TossTheTorch #Dipper #Dipstickvapes

A post shared by Dipstick Vapes (@dipstickvapes) on

Dipstick Vapes handles the pressure with style, using gorgeous professional photography of their sleek metallic devices and full, luscious puffs of smoke to attract the eye. Their Instagram account is new, but already wooing high-end vape customers to their portable “nectar collector” for easy concentrate consumption on the go. 

Humble Flower Co. 

A topical company with roots in California’s famed Humboldt area, this brand brings the outside in to create a beautiful and appealing social media photography strategy.

Our products are non-psychoactive, meaning they won't get you high. However by applying Humble Flower Co. topicals to your skin, your bodies natural system of receptors will utilize the medicine where it is applied. Headache, cramps, arthritis, you name it, cannabis has powerful healing properties when applied to ailments.

A post shared by Humble Flower Co. (@humbleflowerco) on

All of Humble’s product photos are staged with colorful wildflowers, herbs and shrubbery in contrast with the clean and modern lines of their packaging. 

The Kush Queens

Already well-known for their Instagram imagery that is female-friendly and full of memery, The Kush Queens are putting their photo prowess to good use now that they’ve launches their very own products.

Come visit us in the @sol_distro Village @hightimesmagazine #Cannabiscup #thekushqueens #TheLitKit #soldistro

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Earlier this year they released The Lit Kit, a pretty box filled with a pre-rolled cone, small chocolate edible and medicated bath bomb for the perfect night in. The professional-looking package has inspired hundreds of fans to create their own Instagram photo content around The Lit Kit – a social media gift that keeps on giving for its creators. 

Remedy

Remedy, out of Las Vegas, continues to stun the market with packaging and brand marketing that is ahead of its time. Clearly they are gearing up to serve the exploding 21+ market come summertime.

We have set the gold standard for wellness with our Gold Capsules. For solvent-free pain relief and overall wellness nothing is better. #MMJ #MedicalMarijuana #Wellness #Health #Fitness #ChronicPain #CannabisCommunity #VegasWeed #WeedFam

A post shared by Remedy (@remedyyourself) on

From color-coordinated pill cases for their cannabis capsules, to their sleek black-and-white vape case, to their brand symbolism of hands in their lifestyle photography, and even the close-up shots of their golden oils and top-grade flowers, Remedy is one of the top brands to watch in Nevada. 

What are your favorite cannabis brands putting out first-class brand photography? Share a link with us in the comment section. 

The Top 3 Growing Demographics for Cannabis Users

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No matter where you stand in the business of cannabis, you’ve simply got to know who’s out there consuming it.

Dated stereotypes of the marijuana user no longer apply. At first glance, to the naïve marketer, it may seem like only young, hip city folk are using the latest and greatest cannabis products. We like to look a little deeper than that. 

Get to know the three fastest-growing groups of consumers in the cannabis world right now: 

Baby Boomers

There’s no question about it: the generation of people born post-WWII are a dominant buying force in the U.S. economy. That means that as legalization spreads from state to state, Baby Boomers remain the fastest growing group of patients and consumers, tossing aside the old stigma for a new lease on health and wellness. 

Rising health care costs and low satisfaction with prescription medication treatments are leading more and more aging people to give cannabis another try – often for the first time in decades. 

Millennials & “Gen Z”

Not only have Millennials had the privilege of growing up around changing attitudes about cannabis, they’ve also led the charge in making marijuana a mainstream wellness product. 

The subsequent generation of youth consumers, dubbed “Generation Z,” are now quickly approaching legal age to purchase their own vape pen or edible in one of several regulated adult-use states. Time will tell just how involved this generation will be in the modern cannabis culture, but you can bet their tastes will be refined by lifestyle influencers and top-quality products they’ve seen on Instagram. 

The Elderly

Don’t discount the impact that elderly people will have on legal cannabis markets in the next few years – especially as curious Baby Boomers begin to see their health care costs skyrocket even higher as they age.

Medical cannabis is providing comfort to more people than ever so that they can live out the rest of their years in health and happiness. Through various channels, the word is getting out that pot beats pills any day of the week.  

If you are an entrepreneur launching a product or service in the cannabis space, you need to figure out who your customers are.

We can help! Hire one of our Unicorns today to put your brand on the map.