Advertise on Weedmaps: Strategy Essentials

Looking to advertise on Weedmaps and make your cannabis business stand out? Here’s a quick guide to get you started:

Understanding Weedmaps: An online directory for cannabis products and dispensaries, essential for businesses aiming to increase visibility.
Setting Up Your Business Listing: Create an engaging profile with complete business information, high-quality photos, and updated menus.
Advertising Options: Choose between Featured Listings, Premier Listings, and Display Advertising to reach your target audience.
Pros and Cons: While advertising on Weedmaps can significantly increase visibility, it’s important to consider the costs and potential over-reliance on the platform.
Best Practices: Use diverse advertising methods, tailor your ads to your audience, maintain updated listings, and monitor ad performance for the best results.

Before diving in, identify your goals, know your audience, and be ready to adjust your strategy based on performance data. Whether it’s through featured listings or engaging content, making your mark on Weedmaps could be a game-changer for your cannabis business.

What is Weedmaps?

On Weedmaps, you can look up local places that sell cannabis, read about different cannabis strains, check out products, and even order online for pickup or delivery. It became popular quickly because it had all this info in one place.

Key features of Weedmaps include:

Listings of dispensaries and their menus
Reviews and ratings from users
Information on different cannabis strains
Deals and promotions nearby
Online ordering for pickup and delivery

Weedmaps Business Model

Weedmaps makes its money mostly by charging dispensaries and brands to be listed or advertised on the site. Prices for these listings start at about $300 a month and can go way up, depending on how visible they want to be.

Other ways Weedmaps makes money:

Ads like banners and text
Spots that get your listing seen more
Making money from their wholesale marketplace
Selling data

They’ve had some trouble in the past for showing listings of places that weren’t officially allowed to sell cannabis, which hurt their business a bit.

The Evolution of Weedmaps

As more places in the US allowed cannabis, Weedmaps grew a lot. At its biggest, it had over 10,000 places listed and 13 million people visiting each month.

But, when California said all places listed must have a license, Weedmaps lost about 2,700 listings really fast. This was a big change for them.

Now, Weedmaps is working on being the best site for cannabis info while following the rules. They’re also offering more services like delivery help and systems for running a dispensary, to make money in new ways.

Preparing to Advertise on Weedmaps

Knowing Your Audience

Before you start advertising on Weedmaps, it’s really important to know who you’re talking to. Most people using Weedmaps are younger folks who enjoy cannabis for fun. They like trying new things and are always on the lookout for deals.

Here’s how you can catch their attention:

Show off unique products that they can’t find anywhere else.
Use bright and engaging pictures and videos.
Offer discounts to make them interested in buying.
Share useful info about cannabis that they’ll appreciate.

Understanding who your customers are helps you talk to them in a way that they like. You can ask them questions or look at how they interact with your stuff online to get to know them better.

Setting Up Your Business Listing

To make a good impression on Weedmaps, do this:

Fill in your business info – Make sure your profile has all the important details like where you are, when you’re open, and what you offer.
Add pictures and menus – Good photos grab attention, and menus let people know what you have.
Link to your website and social media – This way, people can learn more about you elsewhere.
Think about paying for more visibility – You can pay for spots that make you more noticeable.
Share deals – Discounts on what you’re selling can get more people to visit.

Always check your listing to make sure everything is up-to-date and matches your other online spots.

Optimizing Your Listing for Maximum Visibility

To get the most out of your Weedmaps listing:

Keep an eye on reviews – Answer quickly to show you care about your customers.
Update photos and info – Change things up now and then with new pictures and details about your products.
Promote deals often – Regular discounts can attract more buyers.
Look at your data – Pay attention to numbers like how many people view your page and what they do there to see what works best.

Putting in more effort to make your Weedmaps page better can really help people find and choose your dispensary or brand.

Advertising Products Offered by Weedmaps

Weedmaps has several ways you can pay to get your cannabis business noticed more. Let’s break down what’s available so you can pick what works best for your budget and goals.

Featured Listings

Think of Featured Listings as a way to jump to the front of the line. When people search for places to buy cannabis, your shop shows up at the top.

Key Features

Your shop gets seen first in searches
Shows important details like when you’re open and where you are
Helps more people visit your website

Considerations

Costs more than a basic spot
Only a few of these top spots are up for grabs

Premier Listings

With Premier Listings, your shop’s page on Weedmaps can really shine. You can make it look special with your own style, add videos, and more.

Key Features

Make your page look unique
Add videos and lots of photos
Share your menu in detail
Tell everyone about sales and special events

Considerations

You’ll need to spend more each month
Takes extra work to keep your page looking great

Display Advertising

Display ads are things like banner ads or special pins on the map. They’re all about getting your name out to the millions who visit Weedmaps.

Key Features

Banners at the top of the page
Text ads where people are looking
Special pins on the map

Considerations

Can get pricey
Space for these ads is limited
Harder to focus on just the people you want to reach

Picking the right way to advertise on Weedmaps depends on what you’re aiming for and how much you’re willing to spend. Featured listings are a good middle ground for being seen without breaking the bank. Display ads are all about spreading the word but cost more. Premier listings let you control your brand’s look for a higher price. It’s smart to keep an eye on how well your ads are doing so you can make changes as needed.

Pros and Cons of Advertising on Weedmaps

Advertising on Weedmaps can help your cannabis shop get noticed by more people. It’s like putting up a big sign online where lots of folks who like cannabis can see it. But, it’s not all smooth sailing. Let’s talk about the good and the not-so-good parts of putting your shop on Weedmaps.

Comparison Table

Pros	Cons
More people see your shop	It can be expensive
You reach people who are looking for cannabis	You might rely too much on Weedmaps
Quick way to make sales	Weedmaps keeps the customer info

Pros

More People See Your Shop: When your shop is easy to find on Weedmaps, more people who want to buy cannabis can find you. This means more visitors and possibly more sales.
You Reach People Who Are Looking for Cannabis: Over 5 million people visit Weedmaps every month to find cannabis stuff. This is your chance to show them what you’ve got.
Quick Way to Make Sales: Ads on Weedmaps can quickly turn someone just looking around into a buyer, which means you can make back the money you spent on ads faster.

Cons

It Can Be Expensive: The top spots on Weedmaps that make your shop stand out can cost a lot of money every month. And if you only go for the cheaper options, not as many people might see your shop.
You Might Rely Too Much on Weedmaps: If most of your customers come from Weedmaps, any big changes they make could affect your sales.
Weedmaps Keeps the Customer Info: Weedmaps collects info about the people who use it, which means you don’t get to learn as much about your customers as you might like.

Thinking about these pros and cons is important to figure out if advertising on Weedmaps is a good move for your shop. Try out different ads to see what works, keep track of how well they do, and make sure they’re just one part of how you tell people about your shop.

Best Practices for Effective Weedmaps Advertising

When you’re advertising on Weedmaps, think of it as a way to talk directly to people who might want to buy your cannabis products. Here’s how to make sure your ads do a good job:

Use More Than One Way to Advertise

Don’t just stick to one type of ad. Mix it up with different kinds like Featured Listings and deals. Also, make sure your Weedmaps stuff matches what you’re doing on your website, emails, and social media. This helps more people see your message.

Find the Right People

Look at who already buys from you to figure out who else might be interested. Think about things like where they live and what they like. Then, use Weedmaps to show your ads to these kinds of people.

Make Your Listings Easy to Find

Fill out your listings with good photos and up-to-date info like what you sell and when you’re open. Use the right keywords so people can find you easily. Also, ask happy customers to leave reviews and always answer their feedback.

Keep an Eye on Your Ads

Watch how your ads are doing by looking at things like how many people see them and how many click on them. If something isn’t working, try changing it. You can also test different ads to see which one works best.

Make It Easy to Buy

When people click on your ad, send them to a page that makes it easy for them to buy or learn more. Keep your online menu and stock updated so everything matches.

By following these steps and always checking how your ads are doing, you can get more people interested in your cannabis products. Remember, the goal is to make it easy for people to find and buy what you’re offering.

Conclusion

Putting ads on Weedmaps can really help your cannabis business get noticed and bring in more people. But, it’s important to remember a few key things.

Have Clear Goals and Know Who You’re Talking To

Before you start putting up your ads or listings on Weedmaps, think about who you want to reach and what you want them to do. Make your ads and messages fit what your audience likes.

Make Your Listings Stand Out

Spend time making your listings complete, add cool photos or videos, share deals, and keep an eye on your numbers. Listings that look good and have all the info tend to do better.

Try Different Types of Ads

Try out different kinds of ads like Featured Listings, Premier Listings, banner ads, or deals to see which ones work best for what you want and how much you can spend.

Keep Track and Make Changes

Use the tools Weedmaps gives you to see how your ads are doing. If some ads aren’t doing well, figure out how to fix them or stop using them. Keep testing and changing things based on what the data tells you.

Work It into Your Bigger Plan

Make sure what you do on Weedmaps fits with your other marketing work like search, social media, email, and more. When everything works together, your brand and messages get stronger.

By keeping these things in mind and focusing on what your data tells you, cannabis businesses can really benefit from using Weedmaps as part of their bigger marketing plan.

How much does it cost to advertise on Weedmaps?

Listing your dispensary on Weedmaps is free for a basic entry. But, if you want more features like showing your products, having a page about your shop, and letting visitors leave reviews, there’s a monthly fee. This fee usually ranges from $300 to $500.

How do I add my brand to Weedmaps?

Go to your Admin dashboard and click on Menu, then +Menu Item.
Choose the Branded Product option.
In the Brand field, start typing the name of the brand you want to add.

What’s Weedmaps’ way of making money?

Weedmaps earns by offering marketing services to dispensaries. These services include basic shop listings, ads that show your shop to people nearby, banner ads, and special deals.

Which is better, Weedmaps or Leafly?

Weedmaps is great for finding dispensaries close to you, while Leafly offers a wider range of information on cannabis products and strains, in addition to dispensary info. The best choice depends on what you’re looking for. If reaching local customers is your goal, Weedmaps might be the way to go. But if you want detailed product information, Leafly could be more helpful.