Advertising CBD on Instagram & Facebook

Key Takeaways

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Paid Channel Focus Allocation — Instagram & Facebook: Both cbdMD and Medterra ran Instagram and Facebook ads for the first time in October 2020. cbdMD allocated a significant amount of dollars towards Instagram ads, with a spend of $234K in October alone. Competitors are beginning to slowly shift away from display ads towards paid social. 

Content & Messaging — Focus on Product Benefits Rather than CBD-related Keywords: cbdMD launched their first Instagram ad campaign in October centred around “National Pet CBD Month” & self-care. cbdMD created National Pet CBD Month in October of 2019 through their subsidiary brand Paw CBD. The goal of National Pet CBD Month was to “grow consumer awareness and overall reception to the use of CBD for their beloved animals at home.” The ads this past October did not mention CBD in the copy, but rather focused on helping dogs “find their inner zen” and included a discount code for 20% for the entire month. For paid social, make sure your copy focuses on the product benefits rather than mentioning CBD-related keywords to ensure your ad is approved by the Facebook platform.

cbdMD also launched a Facebook ad campaign in October focused around self-care, with ad copy highlighting that 2020 is the year “that we all needed a little extra self-care.” Only the photos differed across ads, with all copy focusing on a discount code for 25% off a first purchase. Consider ways that you can market products through “events” or relevant topics that appeal to your target demographic.‍

Facebook Ads Tactic — Link to A Non-PDP Page: Both cbdMD and Medterra linked their ads to landing pages that did not mention ingestible CBD products. Rather, landing pages either focused on tools (e.g., product quiz), blog posts, or products entirely derived from hemp. By linking to other tools such as a product quiz, cbdMD is able to get their ad approved while also introducing the consumer to their product. Medterra created an entirely new landing page (medterrabotanicals.com) that replaced all CBD keywords with hemp. It is best practice to ensure that both ads and landing pages do not include pictures or copy for ingestible CBD products.

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cbdMD ran Instagram & Facebook ads for the first time in October, with a significant budget of $234K on Instagram and $67K on Facebook.

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As a result of the increase in spend, cbdMD saw a +407% increase in the percent of traffic driven by Instagram and a +294% increase in the percent of traffic driven from Facebook in October compared to August.

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cbdMD’s top Facebook campaign in October was for National Pet Month for their Paw CBD product line.

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The ad copy did not mention CBD but rather focused on helping dogs “find their inner zen” and included a discount code for 20% for all of October.

The ad’s “learn more” CTA linked to a blog post about the benefits of CBD for pets with pictures and links of cbdMD’s products interspersed throughout.

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The products linked in the article take the reader to product pages dedicated to cbdMD’s pet brand Paw CBD which are hosted on the main cbdMD website.

In October, cbdMD also ran a self-care campaign on Facebook. Only the photos differed across ads, with all copy focusing on a discount code for 25% off a first purchase.

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Rather than directing users to a PDP, the landing page for the Facebook ads link to a quiz that helps consumers find the right CBD product.

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cbdMD increases their chance of the ad campaign being approved by linking to a quiz rather than a PDP. This is due to the fact that Facebook can reject campaigns that link to a CBD-focused PDP.

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Medterra also ran Facebook ads for the first time in October (and paused all Twitter ads) with a budget of $4K.

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Medterra’s Facebook ads focused on driving awareness around their products and production methods through the use of keywords such as “CO2 extraction” and “done-in-the-USA.” Medterra used the word “hemp” instead of CBD or cannabis to help with ad approval.  

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Medterra’s Facebook ads link to a “hempsgiving” sale landing page where all of the products focusing on “hemp” rather than CBD or cannabis. This is most likely due to that fact that Facebook allows ad that direct to landing pages featuring ingestible & topical hemp products, but not ingestible CBD products. 

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The landing page URL from the Facebook ads is to medterrabotanicals.com which is a separate URL from Medterra’s main website medterracbd.com. This suggests that Medterra has created a separate domain for their Facebook ads with products that only focus on hemp to increase their chances of their ads being approved.