Social media advertising may be next to impossible for cannabis companies today, but there are still many social media marketing opportunities for cannabis brands to exploit. A recent report from Hootsuite, Social Media Trends 2023, provides details about the future of social media marketing that will help cannabis companies define effective strategies and investments over the next 12 months.

For cannabis companies, the 2023 social media marketing trends identified by Hootsuite can be rolled up into 5 Ps: promotion, platform, performance, publishing, and priorities. Let’s take a closer look at each one to identify how cannabis companies can leverage them in 2023 to improve the results of their social media marketing investments.

1. Promotion

Promotion refers to influencer marketing and the increased opportunities for smaller brands to benefit from influencer marketing through social media platforms in 2023. For years, influencer marketing has been dominated by big brands with deep pockets, but smaller businesses are starting to realize that partnering with niche content creators can drive measurable results.

The secret to successful influencer marketing is partnering with online creators who have the eyes and ears of your specific target audience. According to Hootsuite’s research, nearly three out of four small businesses (72%) with one to 99 employees do not work with online influencers. Here’s the breakdown of companies that work with influencers by number of employees:

• 1-99 Employees: 28% work with influencers
• 100-999 Employees: 35% work with influencers
• 1,000+ Employees: 42% work with influencers

The takeaway is clear – there is an open opportunity for cannabis brands of all sizes to increase highly targeted influencer marketing investments for promotion via social media in 2023.

2. Platform

Platform refers to which social media platform or platforms you should focus your social media marketing time and investments in during 2023. Naturally, it makes sense to target your investments on the platforms where your audience actually spends time. However, there is more to consider than just their presence on certain social media platforms. You also need to think about why they spend time using social media platforms.

Hootsuite’s research maps the top reason the majority of people use specific social media platforms as follows:

• Look for Funny or Entertaining Content: TikTok
• Follow or Research Brands and Products: Instagram
• Keep up to Date with News and Current Events: Facebook
• Message Friends and Family: Facebook
• Post or Share Photos or Videos: Instagram

The data shows Instagram is the social media platform used most often to follow or research brands and products, followed by Facebook and Pinterest in that order. That means business-to-consumer cannabis companies (and to a lesser extend business-to-business companies) should be focusing primarily on Instagram and Facebook to connect and engage with consumer audiences. Depending on the type of product your company sells, Pinterest may also be an important platform to include in your social media marketing plan in 2023.

3. Performance

Performance refers to tracking the results of your social media marketing investments. In 2023, marketers will need to prove that social media marketing investments are meeting specific business objectives. Therefore, you’ll need to set targets that align with business objectives and track results against those targets.

For example, you can set targets and track results against those targets for:

• Net follower gains/losses
• Impressions (views)
• Engagement (likes, clicks, comments, and shares)
• Website visits
• Landing page visits
• And more

If you haven’t done so already, then 2023 is the year that you should connect your website data with your social media marketing data to better track conversions and return on investment (ROI). Many social media marketing and management tools, like Hootsuite, Sprout Social, Agorapulse, Buffer, and others, can be integrated with Google Analytics to track outcomes beyond a click. They also provide ROI reports, so you can track the results of overall and specific investments and strategies.

4. Publishing

Publishing refers to the assets you produce, post, and share on social media platforms. In #2 above, you learned about how important it is to choose the right platforms to invest your time and money. However, knowing which platform to use is just half of the success equation. You also need to publish the right kind of content to each platform.

With that said, think about why people use each social media platform, and create content assets that deliver matching experiences. For example, don’t just use the same image on every platform. Instead, create a custom image that matches the expected user experience and intent on each platform.

Hootsuite’s research revealed that more than half of companies (53%) use the same post on each social media platform with as few changes as possible. Yes, this publishing method saves time, but it won’t deliver the best results. Nearly one out of three companies (30%) start with one post and make significant changes to it for each platform, and nearly two out of five companies (18%) create different posts from scratch for each platform.

A single post copied to different platforms with no changes or minimal changes is unlikely to help you reach your targets. Instead, focus on the right social media platforms to connect with your target audience(s), and publish the best post for each platform. This will require extra work, but the effort and time will be worth it.

5. Priorities

Priorities refers to consumers’ priorities – understanding what they truly want and what’s most important to them. As Hootsuite’s research discovered, a key social media trend for 2023 is rooted in consumers’ shifting priorities related to finding products and services. For years, Google has been the place for product, brand, and company research, but that’s changing.

Today, more people are using social media platforms for product, brand, and company searches. This is particularly true for younger generations who are far more likely to learn about products, brands, and companies on TikTok and Instagram than anywhere else. Even if they do use Google to start a search, they’ll go to TikTok and Instagram to dig deeper, watch review videos, and get details. Google’s own data and research prove it!

Here are some key statistics compiled by Hootsuite’s researchers that paint an interesting picture about online search, product discovery, and consumer priorities:

• 40% of 18-24 year olds use social media as their primary search engine (via Google internal study)
• More internet users between the ages of 16-64 visit social media sites than search engines on a monthly basis (92% vs. 84%)
• Nearly 33% of the time people spend online is spent on social media.
• 50% of internet users between the ages of 16-24 use social media for brand research compared to 46% who use search engines.

Priorities are changing and younger internet users are leading the way. HootSuite’s resport says, “Generation Z uses social media more than search engines to evaluate products, compare prices between competing brands, and make decisions about where to spend their money.” Your cannabis brand needs to be there with the right content assets to match each platform and consumers’ reasons for using each platform.”

Key Takeaways about Social Media Marketing Trends in 2023

Social media marketing is essential for cannabis companies, but what worked in the past may not work in the future. Consider the social media marketing trends that will dominate 2023 as you develop your marketing strategies and define your marketing budget. The cannabis companies that understand social media trends and adjust their strategies and spending accordingly are the ones that will win in 2023 and beyond.