Maximizing Your Success with Digital Marketing with Dan Serard (Cannabis Creative Group)

Welcome to a brand new episode of Kaya Cast Podcast, where we're all about empowering dispensaries to flourish. Today, we're giving budding businesses a deep insight into innovative marketing with Dan Serard from the Cannabis Creative Group. Dan shares how the power of well-segmented and purposeful email and SMS drip campaigns can dramatically boost dispensary success. With invaluable tips on crafting engaging content that captivates and drives conversion, this episode is a gold mine for dispensaries eager to grow.

Our conversation with Dan doesn't stop at content optimization. He stresses the importance of a scalable, performant, and thoughtfully designed website. From converting videos into static images to bringing forth your star products, he elaborates on effective website optimization strategies. In an era where digital footprints are just as crucial, if not more, than physical storefronts, Dan makes a compelling case for SEO investments that leave lasting impressions and boost discoverability. 

But fear not if those budgets seem beyond reach. For smaller brands and social fairness applicants, Dan proposes a frugal yet effective solution: optimizing your Google My Business profile. With advice on how to seize and use Google reviews to their fullest potential, even dispensaries on a shoestring budget can cash in on the enormous benefits of superior online reputation management. 

And one last tip that Dan leaves us with? Don't bank on the "build it, and they will come" strategy, but instead, invest time and effort in laying a strong brand foundation. Tune into this illuminating conversation to reap the rewards for not just the next six months, but far into your cannabis business's future.
 
Dan Serard heads business development and strategic partnerships for Cannabis Creative Group. He has been working in the cannabis industry for over four years and has been a part of marketing over 200+ brands. He is a member of many cannabis associations, and holds Co-Chair of Education and Content for the National Cannabis Industry Association‘s Marketing and Advertising Committee.
Dan is also a well respected writer and speaker for various cannabis industry events. With years of experience in the health and wellness industry, Dan’s background as a business development professional complements his interest in the innovating world of cannabis. Dan holds a Bachelor’s degree in Recreation Management and Policy with a focus in Business Administration from the University of New Hampshire. Today, when he’s not in the office, Dan can most likely be found outside – his passions include hiking, snowboarding, fishing, camping, traveling, and playing basketball, to name a few.

 
Find out more about Cannabis Creative Group at:

• https://cannabiscreative.com/
• linkedin.com/in/dserard
• linkedin.com/company/cannabis-creative-group/
• youtube.com/@cannabiscreative
• instagram.com/cannabiscreativegroup
• twitter.com/Cannabis_CG

What is Kaya Cast?

Dive into Kaya Cast each week for candid conversations with the visionaries shaping the cannabis landscape. We sit down with industry trailblazers to uncover their hard-earned insights and incredible experiences—arming retail entrepreneurs with the know-how and motivation to build a cannabis business they'll love.

Dan Serard: The biggest factor when I
talk to companies is don't look at it

as if you build it, they will come.

Really invest, take the
time, effort, and energy.

To establish yourself and lay your
brand foundation, because that's

gonna set you up for the future,
not for the next six months.

Tom Mulhern: Welcome back
to the Kaya Cast podcast.

I'm your host, Tom Mulhern, and today
on the show I have a conversation

from my time here at MJ Unpacked
New York City, heart of Manhattan.

And today I'm talking to Dan Serard,
who's the head of partnerships

and business development at
the Cannabis Creative Group.

As a marketing person myself, I was so, so
thrilled to talk with a fellow marketing

geek about website, SEO strategies for,
you know, social media, all of this stuff

that cannabis businesses need to be doing.

It was really, really great to talk to
Dan to hear his insights from working with

over 300 brands in the cannabis industry
and some of the biggest brands that are

out there, and the ways that they have
helped them stand out in the market and

really ways that they've worked to make
their clients better and more profitable.

So, I hope you enjoy this conversation
with Dan from the Cannabis Creative Group.

Dan Serard heads Business Development
and Strategic Partnerships

for Cannabis Creative Group.

He's been working in the cannabis
industry for over four years, has been a

part of marketing over 200 plus brands.

He's a member of many cannabis
associations and holds the co-chair

of education and content for the
National Cannabis Industry Association's

Marketing and Advertising Committee.

So Dan, welcome to the podcast.

Dan Serard: Thanks for having me, Tom.

I'm excited to be on.

Tom Mulhern: What really makes
what you guys are doing unique?

Because there are so many
different creative agencies just.

Just like there's so many ancillary
software technology solutions.

So what makes what you
guys are doing stand out?

Dan Serard: What makes us unique
is, you know, a couple things.

One, first and foremost we have a
very large team, so, you know, 50

plus individuals, we are all in-house,
so we don't outsource things.

Build websites overseas, you are working
with the team boots on the ground.

So we're one of the larger agencies.

We've been at it since 2017, so now that's
what six, seven years of experience.

And really, you know, what I think is
our unique proposition is our team really

knows the cannabis industry, right?

So when we work with a company, we've
worked with 300 businesses, so we know

the do's and don'ts, what you can do,
how to work around it, how to best

position your brand, brand messaging.

A lot of the stuff that we do is
custom, but when we say custom, it

opens the door for so many ideas.

So if we can guide a brand in a
creative direction where we know

we've seen success before, and spin
off that brand on their unique value

position, we have a competitive
advantage to say, we know what works.

We can help you.

Tom Mulhern: What are some of the services
that you provide for cannabis brands?

Like you said, you've worked with over
300 brands across the world, so what

are some of those services you provide?

Dan Serard: How I like to kind
of split up our services is.

Laying the foundation, right?

So that's branding, brand messaging,
packaging design, graphic design, and

then website design and development.

So that's really helping start brands.

And then lead generation
and customer retention.

So what that means is we work on
paid search, SEO , social media,

email marketing, photography and
videography, and then SMS messaging.

Tom Mulhern: What are some of
the like specific challenges

for cannabis businesses when
it comes to digital marketing?

And we're definitely gonna dial into some
of those, aspects that you talked about.

But from a high level, like what are
the challenges that we're facing?

Dan Serard: There's so many restrictions
in terms of what you can and can't say.

So, social media is key, right?

There are so many businesses, and
Instagram is a great platform.

Twitter's a great platform.

LinkedIn's a great platform, but what
you can say and can't say will have a

immense impact on your cannabis business.

So looking at Instagram specifically
there's hashtags you can't use that'll

get you shadow banned or flagged.

There's types of content posts
that you can and can't do.

So like product promotions and really
like selling language is the key

point here that you need to avoid.

and really, Instead of saying,
tell us all about your products

and the brands that you carry.

Tell us about your business, what you
do from a philanthropic standpoint.

You know, tell us about your founders.

Tell us what you're
doing in the community.

That's the type of content that you
wanna focus on, because it helps

buyers understand who you are and it
won't get you flagged and shut down.

Tom Mulhern: What are some
innovative marketing strategies

that you've seen really work?

Dan Serard: One of the main things here
for dispensaries is customer acquisition.

You need to own the radius around
you when someone types in cannabis

near me, or dispensary near me.

For the cannabis customer, there's
not a lot of loyalty right now in

terms of brands or dispensaries.

It's convenient.

So if you're sending one
message and that's kind of it.

You know, you're losing
so much opportunity.

A lot of people don't convert
on, one email or one SMS.

Defining, you know, those segmented
audiences, what they're interested in,

and creating, you know, drip campaigns,
nurture campaigns, that's a core

pillar of success for dispensaries.

If you're talking about here's what
we're doing with the community, here's

an event that we're going to, here's
a bio on one of our bud tenders,

like that's the content that really
captures people and people wanna read

with strong calls to action, right?

Everything has to lead back, you are
a retailer, you're selling products,

so figuring out that message and
that blend of how you can incorporate

sales and education is really key.

Tom Mulhern: What do cannabis
businesses need to know about

their website specifically around
like performance and optimization?

And then we can talk about SEO as well.

Dan Serard: When you build a website,
you wanna make sure that you're

in a platform that's scalable.

So, looking at, you know, specifically
for the cannabis industry, WordPress

or Webflow are great options.

If you're building a website and
you're like, I want this crazy video

and a carousel and all this stuff on
your website, you know, that's gonna

negatively impact your performance.

So how can we make that video a
good static image or, you know,

remove that carousel to show your
three products on the home screen.

So setting up your website for
performance with the design

aspect in mind is gonna be key.

Tom Mulhern: Now looking at SEO
how important is creating quality

content that can really boost your SEO

Dan Serard: For any cannabis business,
that's the number one investment.

I would say for digital marketing.

You need to be found
in the search engines.

You have one opportunity to make an
lasting impression on that person.

So if you think about your website
as your digital storefront, right?

Are, are you gonna pay, you know, $5,000
or $2,000 for your retail storefront?

I mean, it's not gonna look great.

You're not gonna retain clients.

So that investment into your website
and SEO to make sure that your

website looks great, it captures
that person in under three seconds.

And then you are being found in the
search engine is the number one digital

marketing campaign I would recommend.

And then the biggest
piece is content writing.

So it's long form pieces of
content that are not written by Ai.

You can use ChatGPT and I think
it's a great starting platform.

So you can use the prompts to start
your blog or create content ideas.

So one of the things that we useChatGPT
for is to create content topics, right?

So you're looking at, you know, I
am a dispensary in New York City.

What is the most search term around
dispensaries in cannabis near me?

You can create a list of, you
know, 10 or 20 content topics

and then start writing on that.

My prediction is that Google,
especially with them launching their

new a p i, is gonna ding people for
if they're just, copy and paste.

First of all, it's plagiarism.

Second of all, they will have
an impact on your website.

So, although it's a good shortcut make
sure to use it as a starting tool and

then have content writers build that.

The other thing about, you know, content
that works is you have to have a unique

voice of your brand ChatGPT they're
getting there, but it's not there.

So you need to have, you know, your
content writer, really know your

brand, capitalize on your messaging,
know what your content pillars are,

know how you're, you know, you're
promoting yourself to your customers.

And then write blogs around that.

Dispensaries need to look at
their audience and write content

specific to their audience.

Tom Mulhern: What about for
smaller brands or even some of

the social equity applicants here
in New York and other places?

If you don't have a huge marketing
budget, what's your advice for them?

Dan Serard: We actually created
a, it's called a dispensary launch

package, where we're looking at the
lowest cost with the highest impact.

And what that consists of
is three core elements.

It's branding, so your visual
identity, it's your website, and it

doesn't have to be a crazy website.

It's essentially, you need five
pages for a dispensary, right?

You need your homepage about us,
your menu, blog, contact page.

So it's not out of this world.

It's not crazy.

Keep that base foundation and
then you can scale it from there.

One of the, you know, I would say budget
friendly items to do is always, always,

always optimize your Google My business.

Establish that.

Take the time to fill it out fully.

Make sure your hours are up to date.

Make sure you're going and you're
looking for review captures.

Figure out how you can get as
many Google reviews as possible.

That's just your b🍃dtenders
asking for reviews.

That's client testimonials.

There's no cost to that, right?

It's, Hey, I'd love a review
if you had a good experience.

Those reviews are so crucial
in terms of SEO and how Google

sees your business as a leader.

And the other thing to add
to that is don't just leave

the reviews, respond to them.

So if you're responding to them, Google
sees you as an interactive business.

You're talking and engaging
with your customers, and that's

gonna help you tremendously.

Tom Mulhern: You mentioned you were
in the health and wellness industry,

so how has that kind of impacted what
you're doing and how do you see health

and wellness fitting in with cannabis?

Dan Serard: Just like cannabis businesses,
you need to define your buyer persona

and figure out who you want to be, right.

Based on who is purchasing your products
or who you want to purchase your products.

So, Nootropics are everywhere.

Daily multivitamins are everywhere.

Packaging design was key.

When we were working on this project,
what stood off the shelf now even

more in the cannabis industry it
needs to be what pops off the shelf.

So engaging, packaging, design,
nice colors establishing your brand.

You know, if I'm going into a dispensary
and you can't touch, feel, look at the

products, but you can see the packaging.

So, I think that packaging
design is key to really get that

buyer to purchase your product.

You know, when we look at brand
messaging and design, if you're appealing

to them and they're turning away,
you're probably not doing it right?

So we always talk about when looking
at your business and starting pick a

demographic that you really care about
that you can write messaging for that you

really, have a background in, and cannabis
for everyone is just not gonna win.

It doesn't allow you to narrow in that
audience and define your messaging where

you'll just get lost in the clutter.

So a lot of the time, you know,
if you, if you're not turning

away certain buyer personas, like
you're probably not doing it right.

Tom Mulhern: I mean, we could just sit
here and talk about marketing all this all

day, but I, I wanna ask one more question.

What is one tip that you would
have for a dispensary owner to

help them grow their business?

Dan Serard: The biggest factor when I
talk to companies is don't look at it

as if you build it, they will come.

Really invest, take the
time, effort, and energy.

To establish yourself and lay your
brand foundation, because that's

gonna set you up for the future,
not for the next six months.

Tom Mulhern: So Dan, how can people
connect with you and what you're

doing and bring you guys on if
they need some help with marketing

or their website or whatever.

What's the best way to kind of
connect with what you guys are doing?

Dan Serard: Definitely visit our
website cannabiscreativegroup.com.

We have so much educational content
there that's just free, right?

So we write so many blogs, we talk
about so many different things.

We want to give as much
advice to people as possible.

So definitely visit our website,
cannabiscreativegroup.com.

Reach out to me,
[e-mail]

or on LinkedIn.

I'm very active on LinkedIn.

Tom Mulhern: Dan, this has
been so good and I really

appreciate you taking this time.

Dan Serard: Yeah.

Thanks Tom.

I appreciate it.

Tom Mulhern: I want to thank
Dan for giving us a masterclass

in cannabis marketing.

You know, I think one of the biggest
things for me was his tip about really

having that long form content that
your clients can engage with learn and

that's what's gonna make you stand out.

They have a great blog section on their
website with great resources, so make sure

you go check out cannabis Creative Group
will have all of the links in the bio.

As well, check out the kayacast.fm
website where you can find past episodes

of our show including conversations
with other marketing professionals that

are working to help cannabis operators
be more efficient, be better at doing

what they love, rather than having to
focus on the marketing and figuring out

how to do TikTok, how do we do this?

There are people out there
that are there to help.

So check out the website,
check out the past episodes.

Make sure that you subscribe to
the podcast because you know we're

working hard to provide great
content for you to help you launch

scale and grow your business.

So thanks again for listening,
and we'll see you next week.