5 Facebook Algorithm Tricks to Increase Engagement for Your Cannabis Business

As a cannabis business, being on Facebook isn’t just about increasing engagement. Like any marketing strategy ever, it’s about growing your reach to stay top of mind with your customers, so they spend money with you. But you also need to paint within the lines to comply with social media policies that uniquely apply to cannabis.

For many, Facebook is the place to do this. It’s where your audience is. But the algorithm has made it increasingly hard to reach them and grow your audience.

We can probably agree that Facebook’s decision to favor family posts over business posts in the algorithm is good for our mental health. But this does make it harder for the average small business to build any kind of following.

That said, use these clever algorithm hacks to curry favor with the algorithm and gain traction.

1. Don’t Be Afraid to Boost Your Posts

But you’re saying, “I want to grow traffic organically. I don’t want to pay for it. Isn’t social media free?”

We get it. You can, and you will. And you may need to let go of the fact that social media is free advertising, even with something as inherently popular as cannabis. Social isn’t and never has been free, really.

Boosted posts will help you get there a lot faster and with less effort. You can post the best cannabis content online. But if no one sees it, then no one ever knows.

Don’t be afraid to boost posts to expand their reach.

Now, here’s why this is an algorithm hack. The algorithm notes how people respond to your boosted posts. If they engage with it, the algorithm sees your content as relevant to that type of person. Someone who uses cannabis medically or recreationally interacts with your post. Bingo!

Now, they’ll show more of your organic posts to them and other people with similar profiles.

So you pay $10 for that one post. But it’s paying you back organically. You’re increasing visibility, engagement, and followers organically by doing so.

But to do this, you must heed the next trick.

2. Boost to the Right People

Don’t boost everything. And don’t boost a post to everyone. This is especially true in the cannabis business where people have strong opinions and advertising to the wrong people could even be illegal if they’re across state lines.

If you’re trying to get the word out about a Colorado dispensary, you don’t need to boost it to people in Illinois. They have their own dispensaries. You need to geo-target people in the area.

You should also narrow your target so that the post is more relevant to the sub-section of cannabis partakers you’re attempting to reach.

Remember: if people engage with a boost, Facebook will show your organic posts to more like them. Help Facebook define your intended audience (cannabis connoisseurs)  to maximize the benefits of boosting.

3. Boost the Right Posts

Make sure you’re boosting the right posts. If you have a post that got some engagement when you shared it organically, you’ll definitely want to boost it.

People spend less than 2 seconds analyzing a post in their feed. If they see something that has some engagement, they’re more likely to want to check it out.

This is how things go viral. Engagement attracts more engagement.

But let’s say your cannabis business currently has no visibility, so you have no posts getting any engagement. We all have to start somewhere. Focus on creating the most engageable posts possible that align with your brand and audience.

4. Create Engageable Content

“Check out our awesome new strain. It’s lemon with hints of elderberry”. That’s not very engageable. It’s just promotional. And steer clear of any Facebook posts like this until you’ve built a solid, loyal, and engaged following. 

You’ll lose people.

Content must be engage-worthy to get the engagement that tells Facebook algorithm more people will want to see this.

What does engageable content look like in the cannabis market?

• It’s interesting to your audience. This may mean it only loosely connects to your brand and business. That’s okay.
• It’s quality.
• It’s well-researched. You put some time and effort into evaluating what people engage with on Facebook in your niche and build content around that analysis.
• It’s easy to engage with. Make engagement a no-brainer. If you’re a sleep supplement company, ask: “Are you a night owl or a lark?” with an image that grabs attention. It’s simple, but it can get people talking. Facebook algorithm likes it when you start conversations. There’s your in to talking about strains that boost energy vs. help you relax.

5. Create Native Content

Chances are, you’re building a following on Facebook to increase traffic to your website. So, of course, you include a link to content on your site with almost every post.

Stop it now if you want to hack the algorithm and get more Facebook visibility.

Think about it. Facebook wants people to stay on Facebook as long as possible. That’s how they make money.

They will favor posts that don’t encourage people to leave the platform. So, to increase Facebook engagement, you must post mostly native content that keeps people engaged on the platform with the occasional links to your website.

Apply these five tricks to gain favor with the algorithm overnight for your cannabis business. Grow your following and engagement to meet your broader marketing goals.