The complexities of cannabis marketing can often seem overwhelming. You’re not alone if you’ve felt trapped in a never-ending cycle of trial and error. The rapid evolution of the industry demands innovative strategies and one such underutilized tool is native advertising – ads that seamlessly blend with the site they appear on, creating an unobtrusive and natural experience for users.
Implementing this, as part of a broader multi-channel marketing strategy, could be a game-changer for cannabis businesses striving to expand their reach and impact.
What Is Native Advertising?
Native advertising is an innovative marketing approach where advertisements are skillfully integrated into a platform in a way that they do not disrupt, but rather, harmonize with the user’s experience.
These ads are designed to appear as a natural extension of the digital environment they’re placed in, whether it’s a social media feed, a news website, or an online magazine.
A notable aspect of native advertising is its subtlety. Instead of jarring traditional pop-ups or banners, these ads gently weave themselves into the existing content, matching the form and function of the platform they inhabit.
The aim is to engage the audience without the overt intrusion typically associated with advertisements. This level of seamless integration offers a far more user-friendly approach and can lead to higher engagement rates, as the ads do not feel ‘pushy’ but are instead part of the content the audience chooses to engage with.
The Advantage of Native Advertising
- Enhanced User Experience: As these ads are smoothly woven into the platform’s content, they create a less interruptive and more engaging user experience.
- Higher Engagement: Due to their unobtrusive nature, native ads are likely to gain more viewer attention and engagement, often leading to higher click-through rates.
- Trust Building: With their subtle, content-compatible appearance, native ads can help build trust and credibility with your audience.
- Ad Blocker Friendly: Since native ads blend with the website’s content, they are much less likely to be blocked by ad blockers, ensuring they reach the intended audience.
- Greater Flexibility: Some platforms for native advertising often have fewer restrictions, providing a valuable outlet for industries facing stringent regulations, such as the cannabis industry.
- Targeted Reach: Native ads can be strategically placed on platforms frequented by your target audience, ensuring more relevant exposure for your brand.
- Improved Brand Recall: As the audience interacts with native ads in a less forced manner, they are likely to have a better recall of the advertised brand or product.
Cannabis-Specific Native Advertising Platforms
As the cannabis industry continues to grow, several dedicated native advertising platforms have emerged to cater specifically to this burgeoning market. Companies such as Mantis, Leafly, Adistry, and the 420 Network are leading the way in this sector.
Mantis stands out in the digital advertising space, offering a comprehensive, self-developed advertising ecosystem that prioritizes customer value and transparency over shareholder interests. With a straightforward pricing model and an easy-to-use platform for launching targeted campaigns, Mantis is a reliable choice for advertisers seeking efficiency and fair costs.
Leafly, on the other hand, is an acclaimed cannabis information resource that offers native advertising opportunities to cannabis retailers, brands, and clinics, thereby enabling them to reach a large, highly engaged audience.
Similarly, Adistry offers comprehensive advertising solutions for the cannabis industry. Its approach focuses on integrating advertising seamlessly with content, ensuring high viewer engagement.
The 420 Network offers an innovative advertising opportunity for businesses aiming to reach an unconventional, confident customer base with discretionary income. This platform, closely aligned with the unique culture of the cannabis community, effectively reaches this specific audience.
These platforms work with a dual-purpose strategy: they not only help cannabis businesses reach their target audience but also ensure that pro-cannabis websites gain relevant ads, thereby maximizing exposure for advertisers and providing an engaging experience for users.
How Outsourcing Digital Marketing Can Boost Business Growth
Outsourcing digital marketing can be a strategic move for growth-oriented cannabis businesses. By turning to external experts like DriveTraffic, you can leverage specialized knowledge and experience to scale your marketing efforts effectively.
This allows internal resources to focus on core operations while the marketing experts handle multi-channel strategies, Google Ads management, data analysis, and SEO optimization.
And with constantly changing industry regulations, having a specialized team managing your marketing ensures you stay compliant while maximizing your reach. So check us out today!
- About the Author
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Darlene is a search marketer, analyst, speaker, trainer, and owner of DriveTraffic Digital Marketing. She has been working in the digital marketing industry since the mid 90s and has narrowed her specialty to SEO, Google Ads and Google Analytics. She is especially interested in Google’s new Search Generative Experience and how businesses will need to adapt to remain visible. Want to see how DriveTraffic can help? Let’s chat!
