Experimental Social Media Strategies for the Cannabis Industry

Amy Donohue is the Co-founder of Hybrid Social, Arizona’s first all-cannabis marketing and social media agency. She is also the Co-founder of Cannafriends, a cannabis networking group in Arizona. As one of the first members of Women Grow, she consulted on the Prop 205 campaign. A former high school Spanish teacher, Amy transitioned into stand-up comedy and radio, where she built a strong following through social media.

In 2011, she donated a kidney to an X follower’s mom by leveraging the platform to build connections. Amy has spoken about social media compliance in the cannabis industry at events like MJBizCon, Emerge, and Imperious Expo. She also volunteers with Freedom Grow Forever, where she supports non-violent cannabis prisoners.

In this episode…

Social media has become inundated with ads and sales tactics, making community building and audience engagement seem far-fetched. This is especially challenging in the cannabis industry, where content on Meta is heavily regulated. How can cannabis businesses connect with their audiences on social media?

Cannabis social media consultant Amy Donohue warns against building your brand solely on platforms like Instagram and Facebook. These platforms are heavily regulated, and using certain hashtags or posting cannabis-related content can get your brand shadow-banned or even shut down. Instead, diversify your social media presence by investing in platforms like Reddit, where users can speak more freely about cannabis topics. Users on this platform are often knowledgeable about cannabis, sharing thoughts and in-depth discussions on forums so you can identify an ideal audience to connect with and target.

In this episode of Marketing That POPs, Michele Ringelberg and Olivia Johnson host Amy Donohue, the Co-founder of Hybrid Social and Cannafriends, to discuss effective social media marketing in the cannabis industry. Amy shares the importance of developing out-of-the-box social media strategies, why marketers in the cannabis industry should establish a professional social media presence, and how to capitalize on cannabis social media trends.