When you picture a cannabis influencer, you might think of bong rips on Instagram accounts and TikTok, and you aren’t (entirely) wrong.
However, there’s a wide array of cannabis influencers across every social media platform that are doing more than showing off their smoke.
Cannabis is a community and culture, but it’s also an industry supporting nearly half a million jobs in the US alone. There are social media influencers advocating for cannabis legalization, social change, improved business practices, cannabis education, and much more.
This post breaks down the modern cannabis influencer, their impact on brands and cannabis businesses, and the top influencers to start following today.
What is a cannabis influencer?
Cannabis influencers are people who use their platform to talk about cannabis wellness, the industry’s happenings, cannabis culture and what consumers can expect from CBD and cannabis products.
Cannabis influencers distribute content in various ways, including social media channels like LinkedIn and X (formerly Twitter). Many even have their own newsletters or podcasts, some with millions of impressions.
In general, these content creators are defined as individuals with large followings in a specific niche or industry who have the ability to influence purchasing decisions. While this is accurate, it doesn’t fully envelop what an influencer truly does.
Sometimes, influencers don’t necessarily influence purchasing decisions but rather use their expertise in that niche to equip the audience with knowledge to make their own purchasing decisions. This is just as valuable of an angle for brands to take, especially cannabis brands where education is a necessity.
Despite some negative connotations associated with people making a living online through brand partnerships and ad views, you can’t deny how quickly the influencer industry is growing and how profitable it is for businesses.
Can cannabis influencers help my business?
The cannabis industry is full of smaller sectors that can benefit from what cannabis influencers are offering. Cannabis retailers, consumer brands, event companies, B2B tech companies, and even celebrity brands are using influencers as part of their marketing mix.
Cannabis influencer marketing also fills a deep need. If you’re anywhere close to the cannabis industry, you know there are unique challenges cannabis operators face. The inability to deploy traditional marketing tactics is one of them.
With influencers, you don’t need to worry about paid ads or tweaking your copywriting to avoid flags on your account. Cannabis influencers usually have an audience made up mostly of other cannabis lovers, so they can turn to their organic network to boost your brand.
The key is finding the right cannabis influencer who serves your target market, which goes deeper than just “people in cannabis.” Are you a California brand? Target a California influencer. Are you a B2B operation? Make sure your influencer’s audience is on LinkedIn.
One big key to working with cannabis influencers is ensuring the relationship is authentic. Brand-influencer mismatches can lead to lost revenue or even both the brand and the influencer losing their audience’s trust forever.