Breaking Down Cannabis Policies on Social Media Platforms

Morgan Moresco on May 25, 2023

Posting about cannabis-related or CBD products on social media can be tricky. Regulation of the words used on creative and in captions/hashtags can cause your post to be flagged and your account to potentially be suspended.

Cannabis-Related No’s and Go’s

A good rule of thumb across all platforms is that you shouldn’t share images of the marijuana plant or people smoking. And stay away from the obvious words relating to cannabis: marijuana, weed, cannabis, kush, high, joint, THC, pot, and so on.

A common replacement across all platforms is “canna,” however, this can still be flagged. Everything is about carefully wording your captions and being strategic with ad campaigns, if possible. Here are some general guidelines for the major platforms to keep in mind.

Read Also: Optimize Community Management for Your Brand

Facebook:

  • Posts: Marijuana, cannabis, CBD, etc., are safe to use in organic content if it is educational and informative. Facebook bots can be fickle about this, but any issues can usually be resolved quickly.
  • Ads: Only topical CBD products can be advertised on Facebook, and you should still avoid using any cannabis-related language.

Instagram:

  • Posts: Instagram is a key marketplace for all businesses, but your cannabis/CBD company will not be able to utilize Instagram Shops. Many cannabis/CBD companies also opt for minimal to no hashtags in posts to protect their accounts.
  • Ads: Since Facebook and Instagram are both under Meta, their policies are pretty similar. However, in ads, you can use “hemp product” but not “CBD product.”

TikTok:

  • Posts: TikTok users have some fun workarounds when it comes to hashtags and caption wording. Alternative terms and spellings of cannabis-related words include “ouid,” “w33d,” “st0ner,” and “b0ng.”
  • Ads: TikTok is very aware of its young demographic, so they make cannabis/CBD advertising impossible. 

Twitter:

  • Posts: Twitter is another place where sharing cannabis-related educational content is permitted. Many companies opt to share articles or their own blog posts.
  • Ads: Twitter only allows topical CBD products to be advertised. And you should only target locations/states in the U.S. where CBD is legal.

LinkedIn:

  • Posts: LinkedIn is very open to the sharing of information. If you promote primarily educational and informational content, then you’ll be fine. And, obviously, there are no restrictions to what you can show as your company name.
  • Ads: You still can’t directly advertise your products, but ads can show educational information that will still lead new people to your page/website. LinkedIn has never shut down an account and all ad reviews go to real people, who may be more forgiving than bots.

Pinterest:

  • Posts: When it comes to organic content, Pinterest is forgiving about using words/hashtags like cannabis, CBD, and hemp. People post informational graphics and recipes that usually don’t see any issues.
  • Ads: Pinterest is one of the only platforms that actually lays out its CBD-related advertising guidelines: “We will allow ads for topical hemp seed oil products in the United States that contain negligible amounts of THC and no CBD and make no therapeutic or medicinal claims.”

Google:

  • Ads: Since January of 2022, Google has started enforcing stricter rules and policies for advertising, which has significantly and negatively impacted cannabis/CBD ads through the platform. It is considered best to avoid it entirely and advertise elsewhere.

Read Also: Tips on Improving SEO for Your Brand

The Take-Away

Clearly, it’s not easy to advertise, let alone post, cannabis and CBD content on any platform. We hope, as various forms of marijuana become legal across the country, that social media regulations will change along with the laws. But until then, the keyword is caution. 

The information listed about these social media platforms’ policies do not guarantee that your accounts won’t be shadowbanned or flagged at some point. In many cases, bots are the first ones to check accounts, and they can be unforgiving. But, we hope, this can help to avoid that as much as possible.


Contact 270M to learn more about how we can help promote your CBD business the right way.

How to Utilize Google Analytics for Your Business

Morgan Moresco on August 24, 2022

By: Danielle Gazda

Google Analytics is a free website traffic tracking tool. It takes user information gathered from each page of your website and compiles it into reports that help you analyze it. You can discover demographic details, bounce rates for each page, and much more. Most importantly, this information allows you to make better-informed decisions about products and user experience.

You can also connect your Google Ads and Google Analytics accounts to combine user engagement ad campaign data with website data.

Get Started with Google Analytics

Here’s what you need to know:

Tracking Code

After you’ve created your account, Google Analytics will provide you with a piece of G4 tracking code that you’ll need to embed on each page type of your website. This is what enables Google Analytics to gather user data from your website.

The Hierarchy

Here are some primary terms to know after you’ve set up your Google Analytics account.

  • Account- Having an account is mandatory. You’ll provide some general information that relays what type of company you have.
  • Property- For each account, you can determine “Property,” which can either be a website or an app. If your company utilizes multiple websites or a website and an app, they will have to be set as separate properties. They will each receive their own unique G4 codes. You can combine data later in Reports.
  • View- Under each property, you’ll need to set up your “Views.” These determine what data Google Analytics looks at and pulls to process into reports. Limiting a View too much will result in missing information. Always keep a view of “Raw Data,” which contains no limiting factors, and another view that excludes internal company traffic and bots. 

Once this hierarchy has been established and code embedded, you can run Real-Time reports to see the metrics coming in. However, you won’t be able to generate accurate reports until after a few days later — it takes some time to gather enough data to make meaningful reports.

Also Read: What is Social Commerce? What are Shoppable Posts on Social Media? How Can my Brand Implement These Strategies?  

Dimensions and Metrics

Now we get into how to read the data you’re seeing in reports. Most of it is broken down into Dimensions and Metrics. These are the different user variables Google Analytics learns about and reports on.

  • Dimensions- Dimensions are categories of demographic information. This can include the browser and device being used, landing and exit pages, as well as specific user information, like location and customer type.
  • Metrics- Metrics are the quantifiable data that is collected. This includes information about sessions, session duration, page views, conversions, bounce rates, and numbers of new and returning users.

You also can make custom dimensions and metrics if there is specific data you want to see that are not standard options Google Analytics offers.

Reports

There are five different categories of reports: Real-Time, Audience, Acquisition, Behavior, and Conversions. Each report has an overview and then provides various breakdowns of the information.

  • Real-Time Reports provide you with insight into what’s happening on your website at that exact moment. This report won’t be used often. It’s good for checking performance when you implement new filters to ensure everything is running properly.
  • Audience Reports allow you to go deeper into the difference between new and returning users. It digs into demographic, geographic, and behavioral information. These can help inform your ad campaigns as you learn what your audiences are interested in.
  • Acquisition Reports break down traffic by the source. A source is what brought your user to your website. It includes organic, direct, referral, email, social, paid search, display, affiliate, and (Other).
  • Behavior Reports provide you with information about how users interact with your website. Some basics are Landing Pages, Exiting Pages, Page Speeds, Search Terms, as well as sessions and events.
  • Conversions Reports share user behavior as it relates to e-commerce business goals. First, you’ll have to establish goals in Google Analytics. These goals can include newsletter subscriptions, adding products to cart, completing an order, or making an account. If your website is for e-commerce, this will be important to set up.

Previous Post: Five Ways TikTok Can Help Grow Your Business

Conclusion

Google Analytics is a great tool for any business with a website, whether it’s a company site, e-commerce site, blog, or any combination of these. If you have goals for how users will interact with your website, Google Analytics provides detailed reports about users and their behavior to help you optimize your website and ad campaigns.

Would you prefer to have a team manage Google Analytics setup and reports for you? 270M can handle all of your digital marketing needs. Contact us on our website, or email us at info@thisis270m.com.