Subscribe
Share
Share
Embed
Fostering community unity through education, advocacy for patients and plants, and efforts to eliminate stigma.
00:00:08:25 - 00:00:22:10
Unknown
Good evening everyone. I'm Molly the Corcoran, and you've reached conversations with Kush tonight. I have a couple of incredible women sitting down with me, Bree Magee and Sara Pinsky from Higher States Marketing.
00:00:22:10 - 00:00:45:07
Unknown
Welcome, ladies. It's a pleasure to have you here. Finally. We've been talking about this for how long? It's been a minute. Thanks for having us. Of course. Yeah, yeah. Happy to be here. Yeah. We met. Gosh, where do we meet? I can't, I remember we met at Ben. Okay. At some sort of blunt strategies. Okay. Event. Okay.
00:00:45:07 - 00:01:14:27
Unknown
Awesome. And then I have no idea. Women's collective have it had to be any of the women events. I feel like we've just always been men. Yeah, an orbit of each other, you know it, I love it. We like stars colliding with. I'll think of it when I'm driving home. Yeah, well, my best impression of you guys is actually from luckily, two years ago when we did the collective together, the Women's Cannabis Collective together, and we all did panels.
00:01:14:27 - 00:01:38:03
Unknown
And that was a really great day. And I just really enjoy being in the space with you. Same. Yeah. Yeah. I feel like you guys are always really supportive of women. You always want to elevate women, especially in this industry where it's really male dominated. So yeah, thank you for your work. Thank you. Yeah. And likewise. Yeah. You guys have been around both since about 2022.
00:01:38:03 - 00:02:04:05
Unknown
So just like give me a little background, Sarah. Maybe you can start with your origin story. How did you guys meet and decide that you needed to link up? Yeah. So Brie and I met at a group business coaching class and this was beginning of 2020, right before the pandemic hit. So we definitely had some trauma bonding right at the beginning of our relationship because we were meeting in person.
00:02:04:05 - 00:02:24:06
Unknown
And then within like a month of that, we had to go virtual and just figure everything out. Yeah. So we were really connected that way of like, okay, we're in business. We were already taking this business class trying to elevate our businesses. So then trying to do that through a pandemic, like we were each other's accountability ability bodies in our bodies.
00:02:24:10 - 00:02:51:06
Unknown
Yeah. So cute. And it was interesting because meeting in a professional setting, we just kept everything super professional. We didn't talk a lot about our personal lives. It was a lot around ideating of, how do we take our businesses to the next level? Sure. And knowing that we both offered an online marketing service, we almost immediately were like, hey, this makes sense that photography and SEO, those are both necessary for a website.
00:02:51:06 - 00:03:12:07
Unknown
So let's figure out a way to bring these together. And we initially were thinking like the wellness space, health and wellness, trying to have an offer that was really specific to that industry. Yeah. And then how did you figure out you both like cannabis and wanted to be a part of that? You go ahead. So I very, very specifically remember this.
00:03:12:07 - 00:03:31:14
Unknown
We had one of the first times of getting together after like lockdown stuff. We went and got a drink and, you know, asked me, well, what do you like, what do you, what do you do for fun? And I'm like, I, I, I like to hang out at home and hang out with you, I don't know.
00:03:31:14 - 00:04:02:23
Unknown
And so the next time we got together, I was like, so I, I feel really bad. I wasn't honest with you. I'm like, I smoke a lot of weed. Oh, nice. I'm like, I've been to. And from like that moment it was like, okay, so so so and so from there I feel like the it was a very natural progression from this idea of partnering in a wellness space to, you know, just a greener wellness space like it all came together very quickly.
00:04:02:25 - 00:04:21:09
Unknown
It was like, oh yeah, no brainer. Let's do this. What were you guys doing before. Like so you each had your own private businesses. So you're essentially doing kind of what you're doing as a team. Right. But separately. Okay. Yeah. Gotcha. Because I know you know people are displaced and Covid and whatnot. You know.
00:04:21:09 - 00:04:40:16
Unknown
So I wondered if that kind of played a factor. But yeah I was I was doing a lot more kind of behind the scenes photography showing how brands do what they do. So a maker in their home creating this piece that they sell on Etsy or on their stores. And, I didn't want to go into anyone's homes and no one wanted me in there.
00:04:40:16 - 00:05:05:14
Unknown
So. Yeah. Yeah, it was kind of some weird transitions of figuring out how how it all fits together. So, okay, what's your typical client and what do you do as a marketing firm? We love to work with women owned cannabis brands or cannabis brands that are helping to include women more in their story and in their product.
00:05:05:16 - 00:05:29:21
Unknown
So we ideally like to work with some type of brand in that sphere that is geared towards being more inclusive to women in cannabis or really has a product that is helping not just from the recreational standpoint, but from the medicinal use of cannabis and helping bring more women on board and feel more included. Make it easily accessible for them as well.
00:05:29:21 - 00:05:53:18
Unknown
And it doesn't even have to be that your product is for women or that you're a well-known brand. It's, you know, men in this industry have a have a platform and an opportunity to support and lift up other women. So working with those type of men are always, you know, I've worked with a few that have been great and have had, really, influential women in their lives surrounding cannabis.
00:05:53:21 - 00:06:21:21
Unknown
And it's, you know, it's one of those values that we just tend to we just tend to vibe with people that are on that same page of understanding the importance of having having women take up space and that that's incredibly valuable, but also that this whole it's it's a completely untapped like market. You know, products aren't haven't been historically made for women or by women.
00:06:21:24 - 00:06:45:27
Unknown
You know, in just in the cannabis industry in whole, we're dressed like vastly overlooked. Right. And finding these brands to support because they're making, you know, intimate products for women using cannabis or products where they want to help women live a better life using cannabis like all about it. It also helps that we're like that audience as well.
00:06:45:27 - 00:07:17:26
Unknown
Yeah. You know, so we intimately understand those needs and concerns and can help address that in the marketing. And and just another nod to the female plant. Right. Like we it's just like a it's a lineage. It's it's something that connects us. All right. And to honor that. And so yeah. Awesome. Oh boy. So what are some of the challenges of having a cannabis focused marketing firm and like how do you overcome those things?
00:07:17:29 - 00:07:35:21
Unknown
I mean, I see a lot of people that we that come to us are telling us about how, you know, they're being censored and how social media is really tough. And you know, they spend all this time on Instagram and then they get banned or any number of things, and, we really, really lean in, excuse me.
00:07:35:24 - 00:08:04:13
Unknown
We really lean into the owned platform. So focusing on how you can cater the experience for your audience. So that means your website, that means email marketing. That means if you create an app like a smartphone app, and really thinking about what this path of, client like consumer experience you want and making sure that you're thinking about how the client is feeling along this path.
00:08:04:15 - 00:08:33:11
Unknown
So that's really how what we bring it back to is how do you want the audience to feel when they're beginning their journey with your website, for example? Sure. Because that's a big part of marketing. Right? Exactly. The feels that people get, that's how you get people in. So it's emotions that make purchases, like when you get that gut reaction to something along with it being beautiful, it telling a story, it helping you to see yourself in the images.
00:08:33:13 - 00:09:00:15
Unknown
Imagine yourself using this product and seeing how other people have used it. And you know, the realness to it. Like, I have a I have a real strong, I really don't like using typical models in, in photography. I like to use real people. Whether that's, you know, we had a client who brought her mother in to model her hands out because her mom used the product every day.
00:09:00:15 - 00:09:24:16
Unknown
She has, rheumatoid arthritis and her hands, you can tell, you know, and being able to photograph a 70 year old woman that's going to be on a website for a cannabis product, like, that's so cool to me. What a beautiful personal touch. And being able to, like, think about how many, how many like doors that could have opened for other women in that same.
00:09:24:18 - 00:09:57:08
Unknown
It's you know, in that same in those same shoes of being an older person who's maybe never tried cannabis or maybe never thought to even try it as a topical and like, oh, look at that. This helps. This makes me feel better. Like starting in those little areas of helping to open the door for women who where it's it's okay to dive into a wine culture or drinking, but using a plant to have those same effects and actual benefits.
00:09:57:09 - 00:10:21:25
Unknown
Right. And a plant that's kind of had a bad rap, right? So like overcoming that stigma and, you know, letting older populations or whoever it is that you're, you're portraying that, you know, this is okay and it's safe. And look at there's someone else that's using it with good effect. So yeah I love it. Yeah. How do you overcome some of like the professional stigmas.
00:10:21:27 - 00:10:40:11
Unknown
Yeah I think both from a personal and professional standpoint it was a lot for both of us to come out and be like hey we have a cannabis marketing business. It involved a lot of coming out, so to speak, of the cannabis closet and really just claiming that space of like, this is who I am and this is what I'm doing.
00:10:40:14 - 00:11:00:02
Unknown
And I think being in it together with Bri has been very helpful for me to not just feel so on my own island with it. Yeah, and really be a lot firmer and like, yes, this is what I'm doing. Sure. And then meeting women like you, getting involved in the local cannabis community where there are so many amazing women that are so supportive of each other.
00:11:00:03 - 00:11:27:07
Unknown
Right. That has really helped me not feel so much stigma around it, or like I'm doing something wrong or bad or weird. So really getting involved in the community has been super helpful for me. Agreed? Agreed. I think for me, it was also some of those early conversations that we had to have when we were deciding, okay, we're going to we're going to do this, we're going to really make this impact and really focus on cannabis of like, we're gonna have to have that conversation with our parents.
00:11:27:07 - 00:11:57:09
Unknown
Yeah. How did it go? So my my dad was a police officer for 30 years. And, you know, it was drilled into me, you know, no drugs, no drinking until you're 21. No drugs. Now, did you sign a Derek contract? He was my dare officer. Okay, nice. So there was this added level of contradiction inside me of, like, feeling like I was going to be a disappointment and let them down, but also, like, can we swear?
00:11:57:09 - 00:12:19:05
Unknown
Is that allowed? Yeah. Okay. Like I'm a fucking adult. Like, I can make I can make my own decisions. I know how this plant has benefited me, and I stand behind it. So if I if I fully believe that and I'm going to, I'm going to put my, my skills and my techniques and like, really dive into this.
00:12:19:07 - 00:12:38:20
Unknown
Why? Like, what is that that that contradiction. Like what's what's what's the actual underlying problem. Like it's an internal thing to have to deal with. And I think, I think we both got to a point of like effort. You know, it is what it is like we're we're adults. Yeah. It's yeah, we can make our own decisions.
00:12:38:20 - 00:12:56:10
Unknown
And I know you said you've told me before too, that you kind of had a hard time telling your parents and you're just like, I have to go for it. Yeah. Yeah. I think the legalization piece helped me a lot because that was a big like stigma that I had in my head from childhood and my parents beliefs around it all.
00:12:56:16 - 00:13:25:08
Unknown
Well, if it's not legal and it's not something you should be doing, you know, was the messaging that I got growing up. And so when the hemp derived, products became available in Minnesota, that was kind of the first thing for me of like, okay, it's legal now. So now I feel a little bit more, okay, coming out that this is something I'm doing where when it was fully illegal in Minnesota for a while, that felt a little harder for me to feel comfortable in that.
00:13:25:15 - 00:13:50:16
Unknown
So I think the legalization of the hemp derived products and then the full legalization like that really gave me more confidence in just saying, like, yep, I'm doing this. It's above the table now. It's legal. And that really helps give me that push to feel more comfortable with my family personally. Do you only work with cannabis brands? I feel like from looking at like your website, it looks like you're doing kind of pivoting off into other things.
00:13:50:19 - 00:14:13:13
Unknown
It's been a lot of cannabis brands. But, you know, kind of a vast range, whether it's, cultivators or product based brands or service providers or kind of running the gamut of if you have if you are in like the orbit of cannabis, whether you're plant touching or not, like, sure, we can work with you. Sure, we'll help you.
00:14:13:15 - 00:14:38:22
Unknown
But as far as like cannabis wise, it's mostly it's mostly like, if there's a medicinal benefit from, you know, there's a wellness, aspect to it. So mushrooms or I mean, I think that's pretty much the big one. We've talked about mushrooms. Sure. So other plant medicine. So what is it that you actually do? So talk a little bit about SEO optimization and what that is.
00:14:38:24 - 00:15:04:01
Unknown
Yeah. So SEO is search engine optimization. And when it comes to websites, especially cannabis marketing, it's really important to be able to connect with your ideal audience and have people be able to find you. And as we touched on a little bit before, it's very tricky with social media and the different restrictions there to actually reach the people that are trying to find you.
00:15:04:04 - 00:15:33:06
Unknown
So what I do on a website is help people create content that gets them found on search engines like Google, Bing, etc. and a lot of that is all about local marketing. So, you know, especially with like a dispensary, if someone's trying to come in and wants the product today, they're looking for cannabis near me, trying to help with that local optimization piece so that people can get connected with people in their neighborhood.
00:15:33:07 - 00:15:59:11
Unknown
Okay. Does it come down to basically like the hashtags that people use or like the specific language that they use, like saying gardening versus cannabis? Yeah, that's that's one thing like on Instagram where you have to say some of these words like gardening, because if you say cannabis, you're going to get restricted, but on your website you have full control over what you're saying.
00:15:59:17 - 00:16:21:02
Unknown
So then you can use the actual language because you're not going to really connect with somebody. If you're saying gardening and they're searching cannabis or gummies, etc.. So yeah, it really does come down to like the keywords, essentially the content that you're writing on your website that helps get you found when people are searching then in that terminology.
00:16:21:04 - 00:16:48:08
Unknown
Gotcha. Do you do the complete build then? Do you like develop the website and do the language and do the images between the two of us, we really have. We've learned the hard way from taking off more that like, yes, we can do these things. However, we really have been staying in like our zone of genius. Sure. So I really focus on the visual that, Sarah really focuses on, like the SEO strategy.
00:16:48:12 - 00:17:12:04
Unknown
And then part of higher state marketing, like our technical LLC is higher State Marketing Collective, which like the longest LLC of all. But, the collective piece is where we can pull in other people, women, other women in marketing who are experts in those other fields. So whether it's a designer, an email marketer, a website builder. Exactly.
00:17:12:04 - 00:17:34:18
Unknown
Yeah. So all of those other people, fractional, marketing, you know, all these other people who are going to help bring your brand up to that next level and also helping the client to understand, okay, if you're going to partner some of these services, photography and SEO just makes sense to partner. But also if you're going to do email marketing, you might want to also consider partnering, copyrighting.
00:17:34:25 - 00:17:52:07
Unknown
You know, some of these things that yes, you will get some return, but if you're really going to get maximum return, doing both of them, like Sarah was talking about driving people to your website. However, if you don't have a high quality looking website, you don't have images that reflect a high quality product or service. People aren't going to trust you.
00:17:52:09 - 00:18:24:04
Unknown
And especially within cannabis, if you don't build trust on your website, you're going to have a really hard time selling. Yeah, you're already kind of like, you know, working behind that stigma, and then you really kind of have to bring it to the forefront. Yeah. So we really we really, really focus on education, education and that kind of being the forefront of like, okay, let's start with like how are we educating as we are helping people feel a certain way, you know, wanting them to feel comfortable, making sure they feel that they can trust the brand, that they're getting all of this information before they make a purchase.
00:18:24:07 - 00:18:46:12
Unknown
So essentially making it as easy as possible for them to add a product to the cart because they know what the ingredients are, they know what it's going to feel like. They know how to use it. They know how not to use it. You know, literally all of the information. Because especially if you're bringing in people who have never tried it before, you know, you don't want your product to be the one that they have a really bad experience with.
00:18:46:12 - 00:19:06:14
Unknown
And now they tell their friends, I don't want to don't try that product right about. And especially if you don't know a lot about cannabis products or you don't consume very often, like that'll just set you up to not want to try it again. Yeah, that's that's really unfortunate because yeah, that's a powerful plant. Yeah. Well I'd love that education piece of course.
00:19:06:14 - 00:19:26:07
Unknown
Because again, that's you know how we get people to come in having a pleasant experience that first time around or having a pleasant experience after having a bad one is really essential. And I think education is really the crux of that. So people don't know what they don't know. Yeah. And you have to be the expert and they're coming to your website.
00:19:26:10 - 00:19:44:25
Unknown
Yeah. They're looking to try something or learn something, but you have to guide that experience. So when we're talking about like, you know, owning that platform, like Sarah said, you don't you don't have to use like hidden language. You can really control the narrative and make sure that you're getting exactly the point across that you're meaning to.
00:19:44:27 - 00:20:09:11
Unknown
Okay, great. I, I guess I wasn't fully understanding what it was because to me, it boiled down to like hashtags and, you know, using the broccoli emoji. Yeah, yeah, yeah. And that's a whole I mean, that's another thing we really yes, we can connect with people who do social media in the cannabis space, but that's one thing that we will likely it'll be a very low thing on the totem pole for what we suggest.
00:20:09:13 - 00:20:37:28
Unknown
From a visual standpoint, like I think web first think about like what the, the main purpose is and then you can recycle them and put them on social after. But think about where you're getting the return. And then yeah, you do have to be on social. It's just kind of how the world is these days, but not investing in social when it can be taken away immediately because one wrong hashtag or, you know, the bots happen to see the tiny little cannabis leaf in the corner, or exact.
00:20:38:01 - 00:21:02:11
Unknown
So it's just, yeah, playing the game a little bit. Why was that going to go away? Like we were just talking about? Yeah, I want my I don't know, I have a thought that maybe when it becomes federally legal, from like an Ads perspective would be my thought, but who knows? Stranger things have happened. I've always said whenever they can figure out how to, like, monetize the shit out of it as well, that's exactly.
00:21:02:13 - 00:21:27:16
Unknown
It is really frustrating to scroll through Instagram and see alcohol ads, and that's totally legal and fine. But even just organic social media marketing in the cannabis industry is a huge No-No. It's very frustrating for sure, for brands, and that's why we love educating people on this approach of being able to market in a way where you can say what you mean and get the point across in a more meaningful way.
00:21:27:18 - 00:22:00:08
Unknown
I love that you're both supporting people in their business and also building this really beautiful community of people that you bring in and work with collectively. So, bravo. Yeah, it's yeah. You know, especially just women in business in general, you know, doing doing business with people who one share your values. But also if I can, if I can connect another woman to a different service provider who is also a woman, like, sorry guys, I'm going to suggest the woman first, right?
00:22:00:08 - 00:22:27:09
Unknown
Like, we got to do our part. Yes for sure. Yes we do. Great point. How does the work that you do help brands connect and educate women in what is mostly. Oh, we talked about this. Okay. Let's skip that. Sorry I want to edit that out. With the restrictions around cannabis marketing, like, what are some of the other strategies that you use to implement for brands to be successful, especially on the social media front?
00:22:27:11 - 00:22:49:18
Unknown
I feel like there's so many rules, like in each platform has a different rule, like my assistant is always talking about, oh, you can do this on TikTok, but you can't do it on Instagram. You know so well. Yeah, truth be told, I don't even dabble with social media much. And knowing that from a cannabis standpoint that it, it can kind of drain your resources, time and money.
00:22:49:21 - 00:23:12:26
Unknown
So like, I mean, I think I would kind of I jumped ahead without realizing it, using imagery and planning out imagery for your email campaigns or for your website or for your web store, and then using those creatively in your social media approach, recycling your content. The other thing that I think is also beneficial is when you have, really clean product photography.
00:23:13:01 - 00:23:30:29
Unknown
Yeah. You know, we've all gone on a website, what, cannabis or not. And the product photography, you can tell it was taken on an iPhone, maybe in a dark closet, like you're like, oh, I don't know exactly what this looks like. Maybe I'll get it. Maybe it's high quality, I can't tell. We'll take a roll of the dice.
00:23:31:01 - 00:23:59:12
Unknown
So really making sure that that that the product imagery really, really stands out, even just from, like, a very like your product on a white sweep, very clean. And you can also share those images with any third party retailers that you have, so that when consumers who don't even realize that they're looking for your product, they see your stuff on a third party retailer and like, oh, well, that looks way nicer than all these other ones here.
00:23:59:12 - 00:24:26:07
Unknown
Right? But on top of that, you can also like what's called clip those images, which, you know, if you if you're in Canva, if you're, you know, kind of in that world of creating graphics and stuff, being able to have a really high quality, clean image of your packaging to be able to create graphics with or, have fun with different, like how you're formatting text around it on an email or something.
00:24:26:10 - 00:24:50:21
Unknown
Some of those little subtle things that kind of can help you stand out as like a higher end, higher quality, as opposed to using the same pixilated like low quality. And when I say low quality in my mind, it means the image isn't properly exposed. So it's it's too dark. You're not really able to read it really well, maybe there's a big reflection across the label so you can't read part of it.
00:24:50:23 - 00:25:18:29
Unknown
Where the product, like for example, a lot of gummies come kind of in that same sort of packaging and the the sides can get. I mean, I have a, I have I have wrestled with so many packages, but so that it's the nice smooth front as much as you possibly can. Seeing the back of the back of the package, and having it be as true to the right color, you know, as like true to authentic as possible.
00:25:18:29 - 00:25:41:03
Unknown
Yeah. But also showing like scale of your product. So if you're having if you have, if you're selling gummies on your website, showing what it, what it, like as someone holding it, I want to see the scale to a human. I want to see how many servings are in your bag, like being able to just let people know, oh, you have ten servings there this size, or you can have them.
00:25:41:03 - 00:26:04:04
Unknown
And then you have, you know, like, yeah, I'm being more forthright with information than you think. You need to be sure because even if you think you're being clear and people get it, like people are not people are not on that same level of immersion in cannabis as somebody who's selling it. It's brand new. So, you know, and I see what you mean then by telling the story through pictures, you know, just so.
00:26:04:05 - 00:26:22:28
Unknown
Yeah. Yeah. How do you. Yeah. And I guess that was pretty much just product like e-commerce for your product pages. But thinking about how do you use the product, in what environment do you use the product, who are the type of people that will be using the product? What is their ages? Are they typically female? Are they non-binary?
00:26:22:28 - 00:26:32:16
Unknown
Are they men or is it everybody? And making sure that that is part of the whole story. And.
00:26:32:19 - 00:26:50:07
Unknown
Yeah. Just yeah, I think I, I've seen I would just want to compliment you because I've seen, you know, your website and, and some of the images and like there's one time when you showed like this picture of this tart and again, you know, because you're doing work with other brands. Yeah. Cannabis related. I was like, damn, that looks really good money.
00:26:50:07 - 00:27:12:16
Unknown
Easy. Yeah, I do a fair amount of work without that's non non cannabis. But cannabis stuff is fun because in my head it's like to some degree we're, it's we're still talking weed here. Like let's make it fun. It doesn't have to be so serious. Like let's let's have a little playfulness to it, you know. So and, and when we use cannabis I feel like we can tap into that.
00:27:12:16 - 00:27:39:09
Unknown
And so, you know, it's all comes through. So. Yeah. What is the thing cannabis brands are not utilizing in marketing that they really should be? I would say from an SEO perspective, it really is about blogging and content marketing. There are a lot of people that just throw their product up on a website. They've got the product pages and they're like, cool, good to go, don't need to do anything more.
00:27:39:11 - 00:28:06:18
Unknown
But again, to the point of the educating people and helping them understand more about the product, having blogs that can explain like what is THC versus CBD? Or you know, what ratio of THC versus CBD should I be consuming? And when people have, let's just say, for example, they have a product that is five milligrams THC and five milligrams CBD, and people aren't familiar with that ratio.
00:28:06:18 - 00:28:40:29
Unknown
And what is good for me? Where should I start having more information about some of that really nitty gritty stuff can be so helpful to get connected with people that are trying to understand it. Yeah, especially if they're trying to target people that are newer to it or just, yeah, wanting to help people get on to a new product or a new way of understanding their relationship with cannabis, it's super helpful to have a blog section that can go into more of those educational pieces beyond just what are the ingredients in this product?
00:28:40:29 - 00:29:03:00
Unknown
Sure. Well, and it cements you as the expert in like, that's going to say that you become the trusted source then, right? You can demonstrate that you know what's what. These products are like your body, how they're interact, what's safe, what isn't. You know, how you need to be mindful about consumption and, well, and even more so than the expert status.
00:29:03:00 - 00:29:30:15
Unknown
Do you want to share about just how like, the blogs are? Kind of like the long game that you're playing on a marketing perspective, can you say a little bit more, sorry, I'm going to where are you? I'm going to ask you this. But like, so how we talk to clients about blogging? Sure. We've when we work with clients is kind of a phased approach of like, what is the most important thing that we need to update or refresh to make sure that you are getting the strongest return on your investment right away.
00:29:30:18 - 00:29:57:18
Unknown
And blogging tends to be kind of a phase two or phase three, where we're thinking about what who's the audience that you have and what questions do they have. And then on top of that, what are the keywords that these this audience is going to be looking for and then beyond? Actually, I'm probably just answering it now. Because then those keywords you please jump in because this is where it gets a little SEO focus and she is the wizard.
00:29:57:24 - 00:30:20:23
Unknown
I play with the pictures. Where it it's kind of like you, you like collect the coins and Google will then continue to see, oh, people come to this site and they, they're liking what they're receiving from this search. So we're going to continue to push people there, which then pushes your website closer up on that search results page.
00:30:20:23 - 00:30:40:14
Unknown
Okay. So I get it right. Yes. Okay. Yeah. So essentially when you just have the product pages on your website going back to that, you only have so much content that you can work with that Google is using to interpret like, oh, this is what this website is about. So these are the types of searches that I should be matching people with for this website.
00:30:40:16 - 00:31:02:07
Unknown
When you have a blog that can get more into some of these detailed questions that people have around different topics that yes, are still related to your products, but they get into more of those deeper questions that can be super helpful, because a lot of people are going to a search engine with a question in mind that they're looking to have answered.
00:31:02:10 - 00:31:27:25
Unknown
So the more you can have, like this broader range of content on your website, that just helps give you more ammo, essentially to be shown in different search results. Okay, if you're a small business and you just don't have like a really big budget to do marketing, like what's one small thing that you can do to really optimize how you're seeing and how you come forward in this space?
00:31:27:27 - 00:31:55:00
Unknown
From a photo perspective, yeah. YouTube University is huge. Honestly the the easiest thing if you're going to take your own product photos, wipe the lens on your phone like clean off the lens. Basic stuff. Right. Clean off the lens. Go buy a window like a nice diffused window. You don't need direct light. Again, googling how can I take really nice product pictures for my website?
00:31:55:02 - 00:32:19:03
Unknown
Easy. Yeah. And then I think GPT now two. Right. Exactly. And then thinking about, well, what does my audience, if I who is my audience and like what questions might they have and maybe even doing some like crowd research, talking to people, you know, if if I was going to be marketing to, someone in their 50s or 60s who never tried something, go and talk to those people.
00:32:19:04 - 00:32:39:01
Unknown
You know, we all have people like that in our families or in our circles, like ask questions, and use that information to then figure out what other photos you need. So they, like I said, seeing scale, seeing how big something is, what texture or or, you know, giving them more, giving them more photos than you think.
00:32:39:01 - 00:32:58:17
Unknown
Because we've all we've all been on one of those, websites where you're like, okay, so but what is the back of the shirt? Look like? Right. What is I don't yeah, I need more information. How does it look on someone that looks like me or. Exactly. Yeah, exactly. Yeah. So yeah, simple things like that. You can take good photos with your phone for sure.
00:32:58:19 - 00:33:25:11
Unknown
I think from an SEO perspective, a lot of businesses think like, oh, it's so technical and it's just beyond me. Like, I don't even know where to start. And I think before you even think about those technical pieces, just writing out more content that's more descriptive, that's more educational, that's a really great place to start. Like if you're on your product page and you only have a sentence about what that product is like, go into some more detail.
00:33:25:14 - 00:33:48:23
Unknown
The more words you can use, the more you can describe what that experience is like and what that product has in it. All of those words help search engines understand more about that page and that product. Yeah, it's more it's like giving someone pros versus, you know, I don't know, text like a text message. Exactly. Yeah. That's a good way to put it okay.
00:33:48:23 - 00:34:23:09
Unknown
So just like expounding it out to me okay. Yeah. And I think I mean that's true with anything online but especially with cannabis like there's so many stigmas, there's people have so many questions even trying to explain like how if you're taking a gummy that has multiple cannabinoids, you know, and if you have ten milligrams of CBD along with five milligrams of THC, how that how that adjust versus a gummy with only THC, you know, there's a lot of intricacies that a lot of people, at least I can only speak for myself.
00:34:23:09 - 00:34:43:27
Unknown
But it can get easy to forget that other people don't have this kind of baseline knowledge because they haven't been immersed in it. They don't think about it all the time. They aren't consuming it consistently. Regularly. Yeah. But yeah, let's shift a little bit and talk about your personal relationships with cannabis. Do you want to go, Sara. Sure.
00:34:43:27 - 00:35:08:06
Unknown
Just kind of starting how I got into it. Yeah, yeah, I let's see here I was about 20 when I tried it for the first time, and I just had so many anxious experiences. I did not like it at all for years. It took me quite a few tries and a lot of hesitation to actually enjoy cannabis. I'm so glad you kept after it.
00:35:08:09 - 00:35:39:00
Unknown
Thank you. She persists. I, I had an experience with Vertigo where like I had to stop working. I really couldn't do anything because it really pulled me down. And just like the traditional medications weren't really helping me and my partner at the time had suggested like, hey, you know, weed could be good for this. Yeah. And I think that really was the thing that kind of pulled me back into it and really gave it a true chance.
00:35:39:01 - 00:35:59:29
Unknown
Yeah. At that point, and I how did you dial into it? How did you what did you do? So like, were you consuming like smoking at first and like, that wasn't working and then you like, tried an edible or how did that go? It really was mostly smoking and just trying to figure out how to smoke it in a way that worked for me.
00:35:59:29 - 00:36:25:18
Unknown
And the thing that really got me on board with it was vaping. So using like a Pax vaporizer that wasn't so harsh on my lungs that allowed me to take a smaller amount at a time that something I have recognized for myself in all the plant medicine ways and even, you know, caffeine and things like that. For me, the smaller the better tends to go well when I can have those more like micro doses of something.
00:36:25:18 - 00:36:46:25
Unknown
And so that really helped me have a more solid experience with it and not feel so out of control, because I think that was the issue initially is that I just was having too much, not recognizing that that was part of the issue. Like I thought that was just the experiences that you're supposed to smoke a lot and that's how you consume it.
00:36:46:27 - 00:37:14:03
Unknown
But then having more of that, like Micro Dose to experience, helped me feel comfortable with it. And then I was able to grow that relationship and trust it versus having these big scary experiences that would just scare me away from it. I had a really similar experience, actually. Like I had consumed cannabis, you know, infrequently throughout my formative years, I guess, like from 16 to, I don't know, 35 or so.
00:37:14:05 - 00:37:31:06
Unknown
And whenever I smoked, I would just get so paranoid. And I used to smoke with people that were regular consumers. And so they smoked smoke, smoke. Right. And so, you know, I would try to keep up and then I would be like all paranoid. I'd be like, oh God, I'm never doing this again. They can tell I'm I'm really, really.
00:37:31:06 - 00:37:55:03
Unknown
Yeah. Oh my God, you know. So and then when I tried edibles for the first time and it was like a small amount of cannabis, I was like, Holy shit, this is the thing right here, you know? And then from there, like you said, I built on that relationship. So then I introduced smoking. You know, once I understood, then I introduced smoking back and then started to enjoy that process and like, work through all of that.
00:37:55:03 - 00:38:25:03
Unknown
So it's just it's funny how we get to the places where we get to. And thank goodness we do this just how you got here. Yeah, it is fun how the journey continues to unfold too, because as I've learned more about cannabis and it's like, oh, I can add CBD into the experience too. So now I usually smoke CBD and THC together to have that more balanced experience, because even as a regular user, I'm still a very sensitive person that can have those like too much experiences where it feels uncomfortable.
00:38:25:05 - 00:38:49:15
Unknown
Yeah. So it's wonderful to have some of these other ways of learning about it and being able to incorporate other tools like CBD that can just help even out that experience and make it more of a medicinal, enjoyable experience for layering the different methods to. I feel like, you know, there's always topicals, you know, like if you're smoking to cure your hip pain, why don't you try a topical maybe and see how that goes?
00:38:49:15 - 00:39:08:00
Unknown
Maybe you won't have to smoke as much. I mean, nothing wrong with smoking. I will never say that. But, you know, just like different ways, you know, to having the drinks. I think that's a really easy entry point for people that are new to cannabis, you know? And it doesn't feel like you're doing something wrong or right or like that stigma.
00:39:08:00 - 00:39:26:01
Unknown
It's you're just replacing a can that would potentially have alcohol in it with something that doesn't. Yeah. It's just it's easier to be out and, and about and. Yeah. And it's still that social thing, you know, where it's like, okay, we don't have to it doesn't have to smell like smoke, you know, because a lot of places you can't smoke now either too.
00:39:26:01 - 00:39:43:11
Unknown
So, you know, you're still able to enjoy it. And you don't want everyone knowing your business that like, oh yeah, I just I just hit it before I got out of my car because I cannot handle all the people here right now. Right. And oh, now everybody knows all of the things about me and. Yeah, yeah, yeah. How'd you get into it?
00:39:43:14 - 00:40:16:22
Unknown
So similar to Sarah, I was older, I was 24 when I tried it for the first time. My husband, then boyfriend. It was the one who, I guess the bad influence getting, was immersed in the, I guess kind of just like the lifestyle of cannabis for a long time. And, being older, but also, like, this mindset of, you know, my dad and growing up in that space, I never was interested, honestly.
00:40:16:24 - 00:40:37:23
Unknown
Nor was I given an opportunity because, like, you know, people don't invite the cops daughter to a party. Yeah. So, we tried it, or he rolled, like, rolled. I think it was rolled up a joint and smoked it, and, like, my eyes are sticky, like, what's the point of this? And he's like, no, your hand.
00:40:37:23 - 00:41:12:14
Unknown
I want Cheetos. And, it took me like, I think we tried it a couple times and it just didn't really get much. And then, and then we went on a big road trip through a few different legal states and getting some edibles. I was like, oh, well, this is kind of fun. Yeah. And, I think what really got me into more of the smoking was, getting a few vape carts and the portability, the ease, the like you could have, like literally one, one hit off of an oil cart and you're like, cool.
00:41:12:14 - 00:41:29:10
Unknown
I'm good. Yeah. And then from there, I feel like it's just a natural progression of, oh, well, I'd actually rather try just the plant. And again, the packs, the packs vape. Yeah. This makes it so easy. I have never had good luck with my packs. I hate to say that out loud. I'm sorry, packs, but tell me what?
00:41:29:10 - 00:42:04:28
Unknown
Why send me a product that works, please. What? What has been your issues? I don't know if I like pack it to you Scott or thank so many try come. Well, honestly though, like I have noticed as my husband also grows and so I. I have been very privileged to have some really like high quality home grow. And notice that if there's if your weed is a little not, not quite dry enough or where it would be great for a joint, but like if it also it's back up like if you're smoking a joint and you end up with it kind of getting a little clog, that is a good sign that
00:42:04:28 - 00:42:31:21
Unknown
it will probably clog up your packs and, and you gotta to clean the packs. Yeah. And like, I don't clean line as much as I should, but that does make a difference. But, yeah, if you're smoking real good stuff, it'll probably gum it up a little bit. Thanks again for that stuff. Yeah, yeah. Have you guys made a lot of converts then in your life outside of cannabis, have you brought people to cannabis?
00:42:31:24 - 00:42:58:06
Unknown
I haven't brought people to the same level of consuming consistently. But people who now reach for a salve instead of a Tylenol or a painkiller or something, and it can be a more targeted approach. Like I had a person in my life who would have never considered it and was dealing with a lot of like sciatica pain, hip pain, some arthritis pain.
00:42:58:06 - 00:43:19:19
Unknown
And do you have any do you have any more of that? Yeah, I do, I would love to bring you some. Yeah. Right. Or like with drinks of I'm going to I'm just going to have one. Do you want to try a little bit. I'll just pour, you know. Yeah. And I, I think one of my favorite things is when you can see just like the switch and you're like, you're feeling it, but you don't totally realize it.
00:43:19:20 - 00:43:38:28
Unknown
Right. And helping people to understand, like, it's not like you're getting drunk. It's a different it's different and it's it's intentionally different. You're not out of control. You're not going to say something that you're going to regret and feel dumb later or pick a fight with somebody. Like, worst case scenario, you're going to end up eating more snacks than you are planning on.
00:43:38:29 - 00:43:56:15
Unknown
Yeah, right. Which that's typically my issue. Yeah. But, so yeah, some of some of those things of being able to help people just see that it's not, it's not such a bad thing. And that it can, it can actually make a difference as opposed to just using it recreationally, which is freaking great too. Yeah, exactly.
00:43:56:19 - 00:44:17:17
Unknown
Exactly. How about you, Sarah? Yeah, I don't know that I've specifically converted anyone, but I think I have become that friend in my friend group where people can come to and share their stories or get advice and ask like, oh, what do you think about this product versus this product? I'm curious about trying it. So I love being able to be like that guy.
00:44:17:17 - 00:44:37:12
Unknown
That resource for people, especially some friends of mine that have recently had children and are dealing with some of that stigma around being a weed mom versus a wine mom, right? Like they have come to me and just shared like, wow, I have realized how much this is helping me and how much alcohol doesn't help me as a parent, right?
00:44:37:14 - 00:45:00:21
Unknown
So not necessarily converting new people, but helping people feel more comfortable or just being a space that they can come ask questions. Yeah. Share stories. Love it I love it. Awesome. God, yeah, I definitely agree with that. Yeah, it feels good to be able to share what you've learned, especially if you didn't really have a lot of people to connect with about it.
00:45:00:24 - 00:45:18:08
Unknown
Especially women like I do. I have a friend who I turned her on to a Pax vape and she's like, this was life changing. A year. Well, she was never, she was more of, like, a onesie or smoking a joint or something. And she's like, why we don't do that? And so I'm like, well, the pax oh my God, this is life changing.
00:45:18:08 - 00:45:38:20
Unknown
I going to winter just got so much better, right? Yeah. And it's healthy. I mean, not you know, like I said, I would never shun anyone for smoking because there's so many, you know, great things about smoking and time and place, like there's certain like one of one of my husband and I, one of our favorite things is going to our favorite little park right by our house.
00:45:38:20 - 00:46:01:26
Unknown
And like pandemic, this is all we did. Went for a walk with the dog and smoked a joint. And like it was the best thing ever. Yeah. You know, so, I know you guys are both pet owners. Do you, help your pet with cannabis products? Your pets? I've put, like, CBD products on, on food and specifically for anxiety.
00:46:02:01 - 00:46:24:01
Unknown
Like, I think my dog and I have a similar level of anxiety. That's why I know she is my true doctor. My birth her, she is mine. And it. I don't know if if it helps necessarily, but I do notice like she mellows. Oh she's also like 80 pounds. So you're like, okay hang on girl. We're doing more than one dropper full.
00:46:24:02 - 00:46:53:07
Unknown
Right. But yeah, I would, I would I think I will always reach for a cannabis product before a pharmaceutical or something with chemicals that I can't pronounce that are whipped up in a lab and like, recreated into something. Yeah. That isn't real. Right. You know, I have, given my dog cannabis products to and for anxiety. You know, he was like a kennel dog.
00:46:53:07 - 00:47:09:17
Unknown
And so I like wine sometimes. And he gets really whipped up. I think we talked about this earlier. And, and then for a while there, I was like, well, maybe I should give him like a Benadryl. And I was like, no, why? Why am I to give this bright pink tablet when this stuff has been working just fine?
00:47:09:17 - 00:47:28:09
Unknown
What kind of products do you use? I usually use like a tincture. Sometimes I'll just give them, like a gummy even. I'll. I'll break a gummy down and put it like in a pill pocket. So. And it only needs a little bit. Yeah. He's 60 pounds. I give him like a fourth I think of what I mean maybe.
00:47:28:09 - 00:47:54:05
Unknown
Yeah. So. And I know you're not supposed to give him THC. I'm sorry. People that love their pets, they're like, yeah, you know, dying right now, no judgment. But you you you also, you know your pet best. Yeah. You know the product. You're not going to give them a product that you've never tried before. I feel like if I gave them even a high dose of CBD tincture or something like that, there's going to be minuscule amounts of cannabis in there or of THC in there.
00:47:54:05 - 00:48:13:06
Unknown
Right? So depending on whether or not it's like an isolate or full force. Right. Exactly. So I don't know, it's it's plant. It all shakes out. So yeah. You know, because either you're doing that or you're doing one of the things that the vet prescribes that knocks them out and you're like, you're not even my dog right now.
00:48:13:06 - 00:48:34:13
Unknown
Yeah, right. And there's zonked. Yeah. And that's got to be scary too. Yeah. Like, does your puppy do you give your puppy cannabis products? I have tried a little bit of CBD with her. So with my first dog, I use CBD products around like 4th of July firework time. That seemed to be really the only thing that could get her chilled out enough.
00:48:34:15 - 00:48:53:24
Unknown
Now that I have a puppy and had some CBD products left over, I have tried them with her, but honestly it does not even seem to make a difference with her. The puppy energy. So yeah, I, I don't really feel, you know, I feel that that's helpful for her right now. And she's not really an anxious dog. She more just has a lot of energy.
00:48:53:24 - 00:49:26:11
Unknown
Yeah. Yeah. So yeah I haven't you guys can go on adventures. I mean cool. Awesome. Any final thoughts? You guys want to wrap up about higher states marketing and like where you're going? What's next for you guys? What are you working on? Good question. I feel like with the way the industry is in Minnesota right now where there are a lot of unknowns, a lot of businesses that are waiting to hear if they are getting a license and, you know, things like that.
00:49:26:13 - 00:49:48:13
Unknown
It's just a very up in the air time in general for the industry. So I feel like we've been taking a little bit of a backseat in a sense of, okay, let's wait and see how this all shakes out and then decide, like, what do we want to really go hard on after that? Because it's been hard to make decisions when people aren't ready to invest in their marketing.
00:49:48:14 - 00:50:10:15
Unknown
Yeah. So we're trying to stay afloat as much as we can with all of the changes that are going on in the industry and best support the businesses that are ready and willing to do marketing right now. And then I think, yeah, it will depend a little bit on what happens next in the industry and then what makes sense for us to come in and step up and help people.
00:50:10:16 - 00:50:37:07
Unknown
But I think really what we're doing now is not going to change that much, because it really is about the whole organic online marketing and using those platforms that you aren't going to get censored on. Yeah, a couple of observations about that is, you know, with disposals that are going to be coming online too. Now I feel like there's going to be a huge market for you guys to insert yourself, especially if they're like white labeling and, you know, they really want to build those in-house sites.
00:50:37:07 - 00:51:19:20
Unknown
And yeah, yeah, I think the other thing, not touching. Exactly. Thank you. That's what I'm specifically like. Sorry. I keep to oh you're. No, no, no, we were just in the same row. Yes. We are orbiting. Orbiting? Yes. Yeah. So service providers who are not necessarily plant touching whether they are supporting plant touching businesses like what we do or, somebody like a therapist or, you know, I'm somebody who I go to therapy regularly and I really enjoy the cannabis enhanced session just helps me to just be more of myself and not think so much about and just, like, let it out.
00:51:19:23 - 00:51:45:11
Unknown
You know, some remove some of those. If they're not inhibitions, what's the opposite of in him? I don't know, it just brings the veil down. Does your your therapist support that? I mentioned it to her. And what what does that mean, really? And I was like, yeah, I just get here early and I sit in my truck and I, like, have a pen and like, you know, by the time an hour goes by, I'm fine.
00:51:45:11 - 00:52:18:27
Unknown
So, I don't know if she giggled a little bit. She didn't say anything about it, so at least I didn't feel judged, but also like it works for me and I'm paying to be here. So, but like, we've worked with, different service providers to show what that experience looks like, especially if it's somebody who is helping facilitate, consumption to be able to help people feel comfortable and see you as the expert and understand what the space looks like, understand what to bring, what to wear, what what is this whole thing entail?
00:52:18:29 - 00:52:42:19
Unknown
I think that that's the type of, like, kind of the behind the scenes photography that I was doing before the pandemic. That really helps highlight and offer all of the questions to the are all the answers to the questions that can really, contribute to anticipatory anxiety, which can keep people from wanting to work with you or spending the money or anything like that.
00:52:42:19 - 00:53:06:27
Unknown
So yeah. So yeah. Any reflections for you, Sarah? Like, where are you guys going? Where are you headed? What are you excited for? Yeah, I think the education piece is going to continue to be more and more important, especially because it's still a newer, newer, newly legal thing here in Minnesota. So there are a lot of people that kind of similar to my parents where it's like, oh, it's legal now.
00:53:06:27 - 00:53:28:28
Unknown
Maybe I'll give it a try. I think that education piece is really going to continue to be a big aspect of marketing, okay. And something that we can help brands, you know, like who? Like Bree said, they might be so ingrained in this day to day that they're not taking this step back and thinking about what are the questions that a complete newbie has to this.
00:53:29:00 - 00:54:03:27
Unknown
Sure. So I think just being a newer market in Minnesota, having that educational content is going to be big. I think that there also should be a lot of marketing towards people that are already consumers and and how they can use cannabis in, in, intentional ways that they really hadn't thought about before, too. I'm excited to get the dispensaries going where we have higher, higher milligram products because especially with the hemp derived, a lot of the products and a lot of the brands we've worked with are gearing towards people first time consumers dipping their toes in.
00:54:04:02 - 00:54:28:06
Unknown
So a lot of the storytelling and education surrounds that. So I would love to be able to work with, you know, brands that have a higher have a higher content to be able to, like you said, talk to people who are but who are everyday consumers who have a higher tolerance, who have been in this space for a while, who have different questions, and there's going to be some education that needs to be done around, hemp derived products versus now THC.
00:54:28:09 - 00:54:51:29
Unknown
Yes, products coming online because there's a difference. Well, especially from like, a gummy perspective for sure, versus. Yeah, and drinks. I wonder how drinks are going to go to. I wonder if drinks will stay kind of like a hemp derived side. I feel like that's where it's leaning. But I would love to see both. Like, yeah, I love being able to go to a restaurant or a bar and have an option.
00:54:52:01 - 00:55:08:15
Unknown
I don't. I don't drink alcohol. So I love not just having to have a water and still be able to be participate in the social. Yeah, whatever. But I also would love to be able to go to a dispensary and get something that I could then mix into something at home or just, you know, have a real good time.
00:55:08:15 - 00:55:31:12
Unknown
So. Right. Yeah. Exciting times coming. You know, as the new products open up and you guys will really be able to see how people express that and how they want to show up creatively and, and be able to help them come to for help them get that to come to fruition. So awesome. Yeah. Yeah. Awesome. Okay. Well, ladies, thank you so much for coming on today.
00:55:31:12 - 00:55:50:28
Unknown
It's been a pleasure. Thank you for having us. Thank you so much. So that's it for us guys this is Molly the and Signing off Conversations with Kush podcast. Make sure you like, share comment and subscribe on the YouTube channel. And I can be found on all audio platforms. Have a great night. Peace.
00:55:50:28 - 00:56:00:04
Unknown
You.