Marijuana Business Magazine January 2019

Marijuana Business Magazine | January 2019 90 USE ‘MICRO-INFLUENCERS’ TO BOOST YOUR BRAND’S SOCIAL MEDIA REACH. You don’t need to spend big bucks and hire a celebrity to get your marijuana business noticed on Instagram, Face- book or other social media platforms. Instead, you can spend a few hundred dollars and engage a micro-influencer. These people reach a smaller social media audience—typically more than 1,000 followers but fewer than 100,000. In addition to costing much less, micro-influencers can deliver higher campaign-engagement rates than a big-name celebrity—60% higher, according to the latest marketing studies. “Micro-influencers are the answer to your advertising challenges,” said Natalie Cupps DiBlasi, a social media guru and co-founder of Laced Agency, a California advertising and digital marketing firm. “The key to identifying the right micro-influencers is looking for those higher engagement rates and a consistency in driving conversations among their audiences.” According to one analysis, Instagram users with 1,000- 10,000 followers elicited likes from 4% of their fans, accord- ing to DiBlasi. By contrast, users with 1 million-10 million followers earned likes only 1.7% of the time relative to their overall followership. DiBlasi noted that micro-influencers generate higher degrees of credibility and confidence among their followers because they are more engaged with their audiences on a consistent basis. How to find a micro-influencer? On Instagram, Facebook or Twitter, type in your company preceded by a hashtag. Then check out the people who have used that hashtag to find possible candidates. You can also use software to iden- tify micro-influencers. DiBlasi’s advice: Seek out more than one micro-in- fluencer. “Have a long list ready, because these people are really busy and may not always answer you on your timeline,” she noted. – Roger Fillion DATACANEXPOSE PROBLEMS YOUR BUSINESS IS OVERLOOKING. Don’t rely on your instincts to steer a cannabis retailing operation to profitability. Instead, rely on some sales numbers you’re already collecting to reveal paths to increased retail performance, said Bryan Hill, director of Botanica Premi- um Cannabis in Tucson, Arizona. Say your marijuana dispensary sells a lot more infused cookies and brownies than infused beverages. A savvy retailer would increase shelf space for cookies and reduce beverage inventory, right? Wrong. First, Hill explained, a retailer should look at how much he or she is spending on those baked goods versus how much it costs to acquire and display beverages. That analysis—called gross margin return on investment, or GMROI—might show that the beverages are more profitable than cannabis cookies and that the retailer should instead add shelf space for beverages and reduce inventory of baked goods. It’s a simple calculation that can be done on a handheld calculator, and the results can make a big difference in a store’s profitabili- ty, Hill said. Data can be a retailer’s best friend, exposing potential problems and revealing profit possibilities, he added. Hill encouraged retailers to take a simple online class in Excel spreadsheet calculations and copy some easy-to-replicate sales calculations common in other industries. “No matter what you do in cannabis, data will help you,” Hill said. “Cannabis isn’t super special. It’s exciting, but it’s still a business.” – Kristen Nichols from Bryan Hill Courtesy Photo CAC Analysis This is the cost you pay for each new customer Outdoor Advertising 2,250 $ Online / Digital 495 $ Social Media 1,100 $ Menu Listings 1,500 $ New Customer Discount 5,137 $ Total Marketing Spend 10,482 $ Total New Customers 514 Customer Acquisition Cost 20.40 $ Cost of Aquisiton Data Dos and Don’ts Do This Streamlinedata collection UseExcel! Be regularand repeatable Createdefined timeperiod Don't Do This Don'tmakeadministratively burdensome Otherprograms, penand paper,etc. Analyzeonce Ignore start/stop times Calculating customer acquisition cost is easier than you think. Courtesy Photo Micro-influencers can deliver higher engagement than celebrities. Courtesy Photo Social Media Retail