Budtenders x Humor: The Key to Dispensary Social Media Marketing Success
A smarter, funnier path to dispensary social media success.
Social media is the one place we consistently tell our dispensary clients to throw their brand guidelines out the window.
That messaging strategy targeted towards brand CMOs? Not gonna work on Instagram. Your standard weekly promo flyers? First of all, that’ll get your account deleted, and second, nobody wants to see a feed full of ads. We get enough of that already. BORING!
How are brands standing out on social?
But without all the typical marketing strategies, how can a dispensary break through the noise on social? The key is entertainment and an unlikely “mascot.”
You’re probably aware of the brands mastering this marketing tactic (even if you don’t realize it), like Duolingo, Nutter Butter, and Brita, to name just a few. These feeds stick with us for a few reasons:
They feature recurring characters or mascots
They use catchy, original songs
The visuals are often bizarre and eye-catching
The brands use stories and world-building that keep you coming back for more
Duolingo has its owl, Duo, along with a cast of characters. Nutter Butter has Aidan, their freaky peanut guy, and Brita created a musical world of creatures who sing hilarious original songs about the brand.
What are the two most important factors for these successful brands? A mascot and humor. Combining a recognizable and lovable character with humor intrigues audiences and fuels engagement.
Okay, but I’m scared. Does humor really work?
Fear not! Data proves the value of marketing that makes people laugh:
- 66% of consumers prefer brands that use humor (Sprout Social, 2023)
- 90% of consumers are more likely to remember a funny ad. (Oracle)
- Comedic content can drive up to 3x more engagement on TikTok & Reels (Influencer Marketing Hub, 2023)
Why Mascots?
The sports world figured out the value of mascots decades ago. As the furry faces of beloved sports franchises, they hype up the audience, take photos with fans, and create memorable experiences.
Mascots offer dispensary audiences entertainment beyond the ‘simple’ products they sell. Brita sells basic water filters, but the infamous “Brita shark” skyrocketed their account to 179k followers in just 6 months.
(Let me be fully transparent. I can’t say what their precise follower count was before the shark, but I can confirm their account has blown up since. Their most significant competitor, PUR, sits at only 3,100 Instagram followers, with most posts barely hitting ten likes and one comment.)
For bold dispensary brands unafraid to stand out, mascots could be the key to winning over your fans’ hearts (and their business).
A mascot? For a dispensary? Isn’t that non-compliant (hint: it is if you’re thinking of mascots in the traditional sense)?
So, who should be the mascot of your cannabis dispensary? Who best represents your brand to customers every day? I’ll give you a hint: it’s the people running your business. Budtenders!
It’s really coming full circle, isn’t it?
Since you can’t promote deals or products, dispensaries aren’t left with much content to mine. Sure, you could post funny weed memes, but isn’t everyone else already doing that? This is the time to go boldly and showcase the heart of your dispensary.
Customers already know and love your budtenders. They are trustworthy, reliable, and always seem to understand precisely what the customer needs. If there’s one thing that I’ve learned from years of cannabis social media management, it’s that customers love seeing their favorite budtenders in the feed.
Okay, SJ, we get it. Use budtenders for social media. But how?
Great question. The trick I used for our dispensary clients was simple.
- Identify an in-store social media liaison. This person will rally budtenders, film content, and send it to the editor.
- Create a bucket of silly questions. Some of my favorites are: “Where’s the weirdest place you’ve consumed?” And “What was it like the first time you got high?”
Bonus: Click here to download our free list of budtender content interview questions. - Have your social media liaison share the raw content with your editor. I developed the questions, edited the videos, wrote captions, and posted them to the dispensary’s Instagram. For your dispensary, you may find that someone in-house has a knack for editing and wants to give it a shot! If not, there are agencies like ours to lend a hand.
- Edit the sh*t out of that video until it’s hilarious. The raw footage will be clunky, with “ums” and awkward pauses. This is where the magic of editing comes in. Zoom in on budtender’s faces when they’re doing something silly. Add bizarre sound effects. Photoshop the budtenders into the situations they’re talking about. Genuine humor comes from the edit. It’s a skill one can acquire with an (un)healthy addiction to Instagram reels/TikTok, a CapCut pro subscription, and a good sense of humor.
- Write a silly caption and send it! Don’t overthink it. Now is not the time to doubt if this will work. The way to find out if it works is to TEST! (My marketer is showing). The key to success is to experiment with a range of video topics and editing styles to see what your audience likes best. If a post flops, so be it. At least you’re trying something new.
- Maintain a connection with your active audience. Once the post is up, you may find that people are commenting! Yay! Engage with them. These folks are likely to come back for more, so bring them into the silliness. Send them weird, cryptic messages, or just keep them in on the joke by replying to their comment with something funny.
Download Budtender Interview Questions
Case Study: How we increased a dispensary’s Instagram engagement by 366% with budtenders and humor.
We worked with The Living Room, a Maryland-based dispensary with a limited budget, allowing only 2 hours a week to develop, edit, and post videos.
Despite the time restriction, our humorous, budtender-focused videos (concepted, scripted, edited, and published by me) saw a considerable increase in engagement, generating 366% more comments than previous posts.
They flooded the comments with things like:
- “I love y’all.”
- “LMAO 🤣🤣🤣🤣”
- “Nah, this is the funniest content I’ve seen in a minute 😂😂”
- “I’m screaming 🤣🤣🤣🤣”
The Living Room has loyal, tenured budtenders the community knows and loves, so it was easy for followers to get on board when they saw their favorites on screen.
The best part? All the social media liaison had to do was film with an iPhone and a $20 Bluetooth microphone in the store. No fancy lighting, no special sets. They kept it simple, sent us the content, and I got to work. It was a low-effort lift on their end for a high-reward outcome.
Watch the a few of the videos we created for The Living Room that follow the Budtender x Humor blueprint:
The Living Room continues to film wildly entertaining videos featuring their budtenders, and we love them for it.
Filming and Editing Tips and Tricks
If you’re not “extremely online” like I am, here’s a little guidance on filming and editing.
Do:
- Film in a relatively quiet spot. This will save your editor time. Pro tip: CapCut Pro has a noise reduction feature you should use (it’s imperfect, but it gets the job done).
- Experiment with filming styles. One video may feel like an episode of “The Office,” while another might feel like intentional brain-rot. Experiment with different angles. Have fun with it! It’s not supposed to be cinematic (unless that’s the vibe).
- Talk to your most popular, tenured budtenders. Your audience MUST feel connected to the budtenders in your videos for higher engagement rate and longer view retention.
- Incentivize following your Instagram page. Develop an enticing deal that encourages customers in-store to follow you on social. Build your audience with the real-life humans who already support you.
Don’t:
- Forget to check if the mic is working. You can find plenty of solid, affordable mini-mics on Amazon. Most come with a small receiver you plug into your phone; once it lights up green, it should be good to go. To double-check, I open my voice memos and talk directly into the mic. If the sound waves jump, it’s recording. If they don’t move, it’s not picking you up.
- Fear being “different.” Standing out is the point. Don’t back down! Lean in to the weird, whatever that means to you.
- Neglect your engaged audience. Keep your audience involved by replying to their comments or giving them shoutouts in future videos. These are the people most likely to stick around and share your stuff with their friends or in their stories. Keep them engaged.
- Use this as an opportunity to sell products. Remember, this isn’t a standard marketing move. You’re not selling or promoting anything with these videos. Don’t get yourself banned.
Not sure what’s acceptable to say on social media as a cannabis brand?
If you’re not working with a marketing agency that already knows the cannabis rules inside and out, ahem, us, you might need a quick refresher on what Instagram allows. What not to say, what not to post, all of it. We’ve got you.
Download our free guide to see an extended list of cannabis marketing Do’s and Don’ts.
Download Our Free Guide
The Moral of the Story
Believe it or not, social media can be an effective sales tool for dispensaries even without being promotional. Put your budtenders front and center and let their funniest stories shape the feed. It gives you a distinct voice and keeps people coming back.
Need help? Let’s talk.
Get in touch for a FREE social media consultation from Hybrid Marketing Co.
