Cannabis Advertisers Discuss Social Media Strategies

This week's episode of Blunt Business featured a roundtable discussion on advertising and social media with Ashley Fields, the Senior Vice President of Marketing Communications at Cann, and Aaron Rivadeneyra, the Director of e-commerce at Kiva. The two discussed recent updates to Twitter's advertising policies, which allow cannabis businesses to advertise in states where it is legal, with some exceptions. These exceptions include that the ads cannot promote or offer the sale of cannabis, with the exception of topical or non-ingestible hemp-derived CBD products that contain equal to or less than 0.3% THC. Twitter recently announced that it will allow cannabis advertising in 2023, with a few restrictions. These restrictions include only targeting geographical areas in the US where cannabis products and services are licensed, not targeting users under 21, and complying with all applicable laws and regulations surrounding cannabis marketing. Ashley and Aaron weighed in on the announcement, noting that it is an important social and cultural step for cannabis advertising, but it is still uncertain how it will affect business strategies. They agreed that it is an important moment to pause and reevaluate paid strategies and how they are promoting brand awareness.