The cannabis industry is asking: WTF is going on with LinkedIN?

LinkedIN's content policies are getting cannabis marketers thrown into LinkedIn jail.

Jan 12, 2024

Aloha and welcome to all of the new subscribers to CannabisCMO who have signed up since last week!

I appreciate you being willing to save some space in your overloaded inboxes for this weekly communication.

Our goal with CannabisCMO is to create a “water cooler” for cannabis industry marketers to discuss issues relevant to our daily work.

Each week, I’ll curate the top cannabis marketing headlines and give some of my thoughts as well as highlight important updates in the mainstream marketing world.

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But first….

WTF is going on with LinkedIn?

I’ve been seeing a lot more posts from cannabis industry folks who are getting their content flagged or getting their accounts temporarily shut down due to apparent content restriction guidelines.

I recently came across this post from Alice Moon talking about how she had a post removed for promoting a legal THC drink.

Her post was immediately filled with comments from others who have been experiencing a similar crackdown recently.

Just last year, we covered this SF Gate article that talked about how LinkedIn had become a relative safe haven for cannabis industry brands and marketers — but it appears that LinkedIn may be firming up their guidelines.

To their credit, LinkedIn responded to Alice’s inquiries and appears to have given a reason for pulling her post — the image of a state legal THC brand.

Have you been experiencing similar issues on LinkedIN?

Is it time for a universal cannabis emoji?

Along the same lines of social media platform censorship and our community’s need to connect and communicate, I saw this post from Lauren Mundell of Hi-Curious talking about the need for a universal weed emoji:

I’m definitely a fan of this concept, but also appreciate all of the creativity that people put into getting around content moderation bots.

What would your choice for a universal cannabis emoji be?

50% of Consumers Will Significantly Limit Their Interactions with Social Media by 2025 - Gartner

Gartner, Inc.'s recent report predicts a significant shift in social media usage, with 50% of consumers expected to limit or abandon these platforms by 2025 due to declining quality. This forecast, stemming from a survey where 53% of participants noted a deterioration in social media, cites misinformation and toxic interactions as key issues. The study, led by Emily Weiss of Gartner, suggests that these changes will compel Chief Marketing Officers to rethink digital marketing strategies. The report also touches on upcoming trends, including the integration of GenAI in creative roles and a move towards AI-free branding by some companies. Further insights are available in Gartner's comprehensive report and webinar on how AI will reshape marketing.

My thoughts:

Every marketer should be paying attention to this report from Gartner, who is a globally recognized research and advisory firm.
Couple this report with the recent headline of Snapchat’s Evan Spiegel saying that “social media is dead” and the current uphill battle for any brand to get traction on legacy platforms like Instagram and Facebook and the future starts to look a bit uncertain.
Cannabis marketers are used to building brands without the free and open use of social media — but so many of us have been waiting for the day that we can openly advertise on these platforms. Now I have to wonder — what will come first? The fall of federal cannabis prohibition or the fall of social media?
There are some other really great stats in here about consumers tolerance for AI driven content and the potential power of brands to be anti-AI.

Instagram Tests Option To Create Stories for Friends - Social Media Today

Instagram is experimenting with a new collaborative feature, allowing users to create and share Stories directly with friends. The "Friend's Story" option lets users send a Story to a friend, who can then review and potentially add it to their own Stories feed, crediting the original creator. Instagram has confirmed the ongoing tests with select users, although a full launch date is not specified yet. This development is part of Instagram's broader strategy to maintain its social essence while expanding into entertainment, as emphasized by Instagram chief Adam Mosseri.

My thoughts:

My hunch is that the idea of this feature comes out of the data Instagram is seeing around people resharing short form posts to their stories.
In an interview last year, the Head of Instagram Adam Mosseri said:
“They think of Instagram as a feed of square photos. Sometimes in chronological order, and if you look at how people share — all of the growth has been in stories and DM’s over the last five years or so. To the degree that there is growth in feed, it’s in videos not in photos…if you look at how teens spend their time on Instagram, they spend more time in DM’s than stories and more time in stories than they do in the feed. Yet people think of Instagram as a feed and it’s the third most important surface at best.”
-Adam Mosseri, Head of Instagram
This experiment may or may not end up resulting in a product that users actually like but I think it’s really important to underline how Instagram is thinking about the hierearchy of the platform and where they are trying to innovate — and it’s on stories.
Overall, I think cannabis brands/businesses undervalue IG stories. I tell my clients all the time that this is the best way to put out behind the scenes, raw content that stays at the top of their audiences feed and helps to juice each post to the feed.