Even though cannabis has been legalized in dozens of states, both for medicinal and recreational use, the industry has yet to earn a stamp of approval from most social media giants. 

And unfortunately, that’s unlikely to change as long as cannabis remains technically illegal at the federal level – which is largely why corporations like Instagram continue to steer clear. Certain kinds of cannabis-centric content are a big “no-no” on social media and will usually be blocked or deleted by the platform in question. More specifically, on Instagram, weed hashtags can be a virtual red flag that attracts the attention of the algorithm in all the wrong ways.

Can I use #cannabis hashtags on Instagram?

Even something as seemingly innocent as using cannabis hashtags can lead to your account being disabled by the Instagram powers that be. And regardless of how large or small your online presence may be, it’s a mistake to think that you might be able to slip by undetected. Instagram has engineered a multitude of measures to detect and eliminate cannabis-related content, making it easy to enact a shadowban or account shut-down within seconds.

What are the benefits of Instagram hashtags for businesses?

When you think about the benefits of using hashtags on social media, you can understand why some cannabusinesses that are willing to take the risk (something we definitely don’t recommend). 

It’s a fairly well-known fact that using hashtags for business can be a key element in a successful social media strategy. For example, the hashtag #cannabis on Instagram provides one-click access to all of the top and most recent posts tagged accordingly. 

Hashtags are an effective way for users to browse content related to their specific interests and connect with other users and brands within those spheres. Essentially, using the right hashtags for your business allows your content to become searchable and more easily found by the right people at the right time. In other words, it’s a savvy technique for growing your audience and solidifying brand awareness.

Staying Up-to-Date on Instagram’s Cannabis Policies

There’s no denying the value of a smart hashtag strategy, but cannabusinesses have to think outside the box. Policies are constantly evolving concerning weed hashtags and best practices in general. 

What are the recent changes to Instagram hashtags?

In the early days of Instagram, it wasn’t unusual to see posts tagged with every possible hashtag imaginable. At that point, the goal was simply to attract traffic – and the quality of that traffic really didn’t matter.

It didn’t take long for Instagram to start shutting down that type of hashtag behavior. Now, stuffing your captions with irrelevant hashtags will trigger the algorithm to dock points against your account. This makes it critical to research the right hashtags for your brand and apply a strategic approach in how you use them.

Here’s the catch: Instagram is constantly changing its concept of hashtag best practices. 

This makes it tricky to provide solid answers to common questions about Instagram hashtag strategy, such as:

• How many Instagram hashtags should I use?
• What are the best Instagram hashtags for my business?
• Where should I put Instagram hashtags?
• Should I put Instagram hashtags in the caption or comments?

For example, there was a period of time in which many brands opted to add hashtags in posts’ comments rather than the caption. The thinking was that this approach was best for accessibility (since it would eliminate the issue of screen readers being presented with a long string of words) as well as overall effect (posts were “cleaner”). But then, Instagram announced that posts couldn’t be found using the Search feature unless they had keywords and hashtags in the caption, not a comment.

Other recent changes to Instagram hashtag practices include measures intended to enhance safety and privacy. Starting in 2020, the app began working even harder to ban and hide hashtags that were being used to spread misinformation and/or inflammatory content. Using a banned hashtag will restrict the post (hiding it from both your followers and other users) and internally flag your Instagram account for inappropriate content.

Instagram’s initial intent may have been good, but hashtag censoring has created unexpected challenges for content creators and businesses. Social media strategy has become more complicated for users who operate in more regulated industries, such as legal cannabis.

What Hashtags Should Cannabis Accounts Be Using?

If you can’t use a lot of the standard marijuana hashtags on Instagram, what can you use? The good news is that cannabusinesses aren’t completely out of luck. 

Doing manual hashtag research (at least once a month) will allow you to keep an eye on the most popular and relevant hashtags within the cannabis community and industry while also making sure that the hashtags you’re using haven’t been banned.

How do you do hashtag research?

Researching hashtags on Instagram is similar to SEO keyword research. 

Hashtag research is useful for:

• Learning which hashtags are currently popular
• Figuring out which hashtags to use to gain traffic
• Brainstorming ideas for new content
• Observing other accounts’ hashtag strategies to see what works and what doesn’t

Let’s walk through an example scenario for hashtag research. Let’s say you have a CBD skincare brand, and one of your social media goals is to build brand awareness. Before you start implementing hashtags at random, a few simple steps can make a world of difference:

1. First, choose one hashtag to start with. For example, maybe you’re thinking about using the hashtag #cbd.
2. Search for posts tagged with #cbd to see how many there are (let’s say there are upwards of 13 million other posts). That’s a lot of competition for your post!
3. Then, think about how you could be more specific with your hashtag. If you used #cbdskincare instead of #cbd, your competitor pool gets a lot smaller (maybe around 375,000 other posts).
4. In just a few moments of hashtag research, you’ve determined that using the most popular hashtag isn’t necessarily worth it. Instead, you might opt for more specific hashtags.

There’s not really a “right” or “wrong” way to go about hashtag research because the purpose is ultimately to inform your strategy. Every cannabusiness has its own specific goals and needs, so your hashtag strategy will be shaped accordingly. 

Cannabis Hashtags to Avoid

The easiest way to know which cannabis hashtags are banned on Instagram – and thus, should be avoided – is to search that tag. If a tag doesn’t bring up any results, there’s a good chance it’s been banned. But even if a tag does appear, taking a closer look at the search results can help you see if Instagram is hiding it.

Generally, it’s a good rule of thumb to avoid any hashtag with the word “cannabis” in it unless it has been carefully niched down. 

Some other common weed hashtags to avoid include:

• Any combination of a state’s name and “cannabis” or “marijuana”, like #arizonamarijuana
• Popular phrases such as #cannabis420, #cannabisculture, #cannabisheals, or #cannabisinstagram
• Hashtags that directly reference types of cannabis products, such as #concentrates or #prerolls

Smoke the Competition with a Cannabis Social Media Strategy that Actually Works

Social media presents some tricky terrain for cannabusinesses to navigate, but platforms like Instagram and TikTok can still be hugely useful for achieving your marketing goals. 

Marijuana Marketing Xperts has the experience and skill to help you plan and implement a cannabis digital marketing strategy, steering clear of common pitfalls and other obstacles. Together, we can make sure you use social media to its fullest potential.

For more information about how to market a cannabis business on Instagram, connect with the Marijuana Marketing Xperts team today!

 

Image Sources: paitoon / Irina Adamovich / Sweet Pepper / Kicking Studio / RoseRodionova / Pranch / TierneyMJ / Shutterstock