8 Best Marijuana Marketing Strategies to Know in 2025

Introduction 

The Marijuana Industry is growing significantly and so does the competition.

The Annual legal recreational and medicinal cannabis sales are growing at a staggering 21% and experts project the market to reach $43 billion by 2025.

See, the stakes are as high as ever marijuana businesses are trying every bit to enhance their visibility, gain customers’ trust, and ultimately improve their bottom line.

However, almost all countries and states have legalized the medicinal and recreational use of marijuana. However, the laws vary as per the city and country.

Regardless of the legalization – the companies are struggling a lot with marijuana marketing strategies as there are a lot of restrictions when it comes to what they can do and why they cannot.

There are restrictions, but there are a lot of things that marijuana businesses can do. All they have to do is just understand the regulations in their region and curate creative marijuana marketing strategy while maintaining compliance.

Well, to make it easy for you – we have compiled the list of 8 best marijuana marketing strategies that promote your marijuana business, and boost your revenue, without breaking the bank and even rules. 

Disclaimer: Before using any of these strategies, make sure you review your state’s cannabis promotion regulations.

Also Read: Marketing Ideas for CBD Business

Understanding Marijuana Marketing Laws! 

Before you can even consider marijuana marketing in any form, you must first understand the regulations in the jurisdiction where your business will operate. There is a lot of red tape in every state’s marijuana sector when it comes to marketing and signage, and it’s up to you to come up with creative solutions.

Marijuana is banned on the federal level, although it can be decriminalized, legalized for therapeutic purposes, and/or legalized for recreational use on state levels. It’s up to the states, and each time cannabis is legalized, communities and states essentially start over, and advertising regulations may alter over time.

In Colorado, for instance, cannabis billboards are now permitted even though they were previously prohibited, provided they are not located next to places of worship, schools, parks, or drug rehab centers. However, they are completely forbidden in Denver. Most towns and states have restrictions governing the wording and imagery that can be used on both indoor and outdoor signage.

Also Read: How to Get a CBD License

Here are some tips for marketing marijuana: 

• Keep it local. Marijuana marketers should exclusively target people in their jurisdiction (assuming marijuana is legal there). It is strictly forbidden to market to states where marijuana is illegal. Also, ad content must adhere to the specific state marijuana advertising laws.
• Avoid Marketing to Minors: Ads must not appeal to individuals under 21, including the use of cartoons, mascots, or other youth-oriented imagery.
• No Misleading Claims: Businesses cannot make false claims about health benefits or guarantees. Any statements must be backed by evidence.
• Follow Platform Restrictions: Major platforms like Google, Facebook, and Instagram have strict policies prohibiting or limiting cannabis advertising, so businesses must use alternative methods like SEO, email, or affiliate marketing.
• Include Legal Disclaimers: Marketing materials often require disclaimers about product legality, age restrictions, and health risks.
• Transparency: Product packaging and advertising must clearly state THC levels, potential side effects, and proper usage instructions.

Keep up with cannabis legislature news so you can be informed about any changes to the law. Making sure you follow state and local regulations can keep you out of trouble, and avoid legal issues, and heavy fines, while also ensuring that your marketing efforts remain compliant and effective.

Also Read: How to Market CBD Business on Facebook

8+ Best Marijuana Marketing Strategies to Maintain Compliance & Ensure Success!

Now, while we have covered the basics of marijuana marketing and what legal best practices to keep in mind, let’s get started to learn about the best marijuana marketing strategies. These proven strategies will help you get the desired results while maintaining compliance with federal and state rules to ensure the best results. 

1. Check out Marijuana-Friendly Marketing Platforms 

The legalization of marijuana has led to an increase in marijuana-friendly advertising platforms. With these specialized advertising platforms, you may increase both your business and your traffic. These cannabis marketing platforms show adverts for recreational or medical marijuana on more than 420 websites.

Let’s look at a few ad networks that accept and publish cannabis-related adverts.

• MANTIS Ads: MANTIS Ads is a top cannabis and legal marijuana advertising network that makes it simple to reach the right people with your message. Effective geo-targeted campaigns can also help you improve your local presence.
• ALT ADN: It is a digital cannabis advertising network and marketplace that sells all legal cannabis and marijuana goods. All you have to do is pick your target demographic and budget, then submit your advertising.
• Traffic Roots: Traffic Roots is a rapidly expanding legal cannabis advertising network that collaborates with publishers to assist you in getting your ad published on a variety of relevant websites.
• RevOffers: RevOffers connect you with publishers, influencers, and affiliates who share your values and may help increase the value of your brand and drive traffic. It is one of the top medical, recreational, and legal online marijuana marketplaces.

Also Read: How to Market CBD Business On Social Media

2. Affiliate Marketing Always Works! (Especially in Marijuana Marketing)

Affiliate marketing has become a highly effective and popular strategy for marijuana businesses because it offers a performance-based approach to driving traffic, increasing brand visibility, and generating sales. 

Affiliate marketing enables marijuana businesses to collaborate with trusted websites, influencers, or niche blogs in the cannabis or health industries. These affiliates create relatable and engaging content, such as blogs, reviews, or social media posts, that include referral links directing traffic to your website. It has the ability to adapt to the industry’s unique challenges on platforms like Google and Facebook. 

Unlike traditional advertising methods that require significant upfront investment, affiliate marketing only requires you to pay commissions when referrals result in tangible outcomes, such as sales or sign-ups.

Also Read: How much Money is Needed to Start a CBD Business

By leveraging the audience of these affiliates, cannabis brands can:

• Boost Brand Awareness: Affiliates help introduce your products to their established audiences, enhancing brand credibility.
• Drive Sales: Referral links generate measurable leads and conversions, translating directly into revenue.
• Build Trust: Affiliates often have loyal followings, which makes their endorsements more trustworthy and impactful for potential customers.
• Enhance SEO: Backlinks from affiliate sites improve your website’s domain authority and search engine rankings over time.

3. Billboard Marketing to Showcase Your Brand (Loud & Clear) 

Billboards are a fantastic way to draw attention to your company and spread awareness of it. In many legal states, billboards constitute the cornerstone of cannabis marketing campaigns. They offer an easy solution to get your store in front of local customers. In many legal states, billboards are the primary source of foot traffic to retail cannabis stores.

Take a drive through one of the states where retail cannabis is legal and billboard advertising is permitted, and you’ll likely notice a variety of cannabis billboards on a single journey down the highway.

But, before getting started it is know about the rules & regulations about billboard marketing for marijuana businesses. Because, billboard advertising is not permitted in all legal cannabis states, and those that are have strict limitations. 

Maryland, for example, does not permit billboard advertising. In California, a cannabis billboard must be at least 1,000 feet away from a K–12 school or daycare facility.

So, to ensure compliance & not get in any trouble, you must comprehend the laws in your state.

Also Read: Guide to Start a CBD Business

4. Events are Marijuana Businesses’s Best Friends 

Trade exhibits, cannabis conventions, and other industry events are excellent opportunities for marijuana businesses to get their products in front of their target market. Store owners and other businesses often attend these gatherings, which could offer chances to cross-promote your goods or attract new customers.

• Booths: Among the most popular methods used by businesses to market and promote their goods at cannabis conventions are booths. Setting up a booth may be a terrific way to engage with your target market, draw in new clients, and allow them to touch and feel what you’re selling. Of course, the cost of sponsoring a booth varies according to the event. 
• Speaking sessions. If you have enough influence over your sector, negotiating speaking engagements at cannabis industry events can be an excellent way to get your brand in front of your target audience and position yourself as a subject matter expert. Speaking at an event is frequently more effective at generating revenue than merely setting up a booth.  
• Ad placement at popular events: Large conventions offer hundreds of possible ad placement opportunities. Most event websites have an advertising page that lists some of the available positions and allows you to inquire about prices. Another innovative way to get more visibility is to get your logo on conference banners, public transit, hotel room key cards, and signage.

These can be an effective strategy to bring your brand in front of the people who are most interested in it.

If you want to see a list of upcoming cannabis conventions and events, visit the Cannabis Business Times’ Events Page, which keeps track of upcoming cannabis events all over the world.

5. Partner with the Right People 

Leads always place more trust in humans than in digital advertisements. A thought leader with an excellent reputation and a committed following will typically generate more leads than a paid campaign — influencer marketing has long demonstrated this. Thus, why not try it?

Yes, finding the perfect person to work with your online cannabis marketing strategy isn’t a walk in the park. However, the outcome will be well worth the effort.

Spend some time investigating well-known marijuana business influencers. Consider well-known bloggers, journalists, and other industry trendsetting personalities. Collaborate with them to get things started.

While collaborating with someone highly influential in the sector, you can give them cannabis-related information, mention yourself, discuss your blog, or wear your merchandise (such as a T-shirt with your logo, motto, or brand identity).

Also Read: How to Choose the Best CBD Payment Processing Company

6. Localized Marketing with Geo-Targeting

In the marijuana business, it is difficult to get the trust of customers as they are skeptical about the brand, its products, and its content.

But, they are more likely to trust the local brands when it comes to getting the marijuana businesses. So, businesses need to focus on local marketing in order to get the maximum conversions and establish credibility in the market.

Let’s understand how it works to get the best results. 

• Use geo-targeted ads on cannabis-friendly websites to promote deals, events, or new product launches in a specific city or state. 
• Local SEO ensures your business appears in searches like “cannabis dispensary near me” or “CBD products in [city name].” 
• Create and optimize your Google My Business (GMB) profile. Include your address, operating hours, photos, and reviews. This helps customers locate your business on Google Maps and in local search results. 
• Participating in or hosting local events builds trust and strengthens your community presence. 
• Engaging with the local community through giveaways, and loyalty also creates meaningful connections that drive repeat business.
• Focus on hyper-local advertising platforms like Weedmaps and Leafly, where consumers actively search for cannabis businesses in their area.

Also Read: How to Start a CBD Dispensary in California

7. Leverage the Facebook Group Marketing Feature 

When it comes to marijuana marketing, social media remains one of the most critical platforms to include in your company’s marijuana marketing strategy.

While it is still feasible to advertise cannabis on social media platforms such as Facebook, YouTube, and Google Search, you should only look for completely organic (i.e. unpaid) way for marijuana marketing on Facebook.

Assuming you already have a Facebook business page, you are aware that your organic reach is approximately 1% to 2% of your total followers. For that reason, we recommend including a personalized private Facebook group into your marijuana marketing strategy.

Facebook groups with high-quality, highly relevant cannabis content will generate a lot of interaction for businesses while also increasing conversions. And Facebook is looking for precisely that! Giving Facebook what it wants will result in a significant increase in the reach of your content.

Some helpful recommendations for the types of content that might perform well in a Facebook Group dedicated to recreational marijuana goods include:

• Post helpful content that educates users on your marijuana and marijuana products
• Provide expert opinions on marijuana, its uses, its benefits, and your brand. 
• Share discounts and deals on your CBD products. 

8. Get Listed on the Popular Marijuana Listing & Directories 

Using local and other internet directories has two advantages for your marijuana marketing approach. Given the abundance of cannabis internet directories accessible today, your cannabis brand should ensure that the company is properly listed as well as optimized on as many cannabis-specific websites as possible. This is one of the most likely places a prospective cannabis buyer will discover you. 

You can list your marijuana business in local and online directories like these:

• Google My Business
• Leafly
• Bing Places
• MedicalJane
• Yelp For Business Owners
• The Dispensary Map
• TripAdvisor
• Manta
• Weedmaps

Some benefits of leveraging popular online listings & directories: 

• Listing in relevant web directories will help you boost your online discoverability and visibility.
• Another advantage of employing local directories in your marijuana marketing plan is enhancing your brand’s reputation and potentially improving trust. Users rely on web directories to find high-quality, trustworthy businesses.
• Numerous internet directories also feature a section dedicated to client reviews, which can help increase the reputation of your cannabis business and convince consumers to pick it over rivals. 
• The second advantage of employing local and online directories for marijuana marketing is that it can help you boost your cannabis SEO strategy and search engine rankings. 
• Online directories can help you get backlinks to your site while providing Google with a new URL for your marijuana business with each listing.

Bonus Point: Leverage Marijuana-Friendly POS System 

In this ever-changing realm, having a marijuana-friendly POS system is quite important. It helps you streamline and track every transaction for your business. 

Unlike standard POS systems, these are specifically designed to meet the unique needs of the cannabis industry, including inventory management, age verification, compliance tracking, and seamless customer experiences. But beyond operational efficiency, a cannabis-friendly POS system can be a powerful marketing tool that drives growth.   

By leveraging the data collected through a marijuana-friendly POS, businesses can gain insights into customer behavior, product preferences, and purchasing patterns. This data allows you to create targeted marketing campaigns tailored to your audience. 

A cannabis business notices through its marijuana-friendly POS system that THC-infused gummies, is particularly popular among its customers. Using this data, the business develops a targeted marketing campaign to capitalize on this trend. The business sends personalized SMS and email offers to customers who have previously purchased edibles, promoting a “Buy One, Get One Half Off” weekend deal.  

All in all – by leveraging the POS collected data, the marijuana businesses not only boost product sales but also enhance customer engagement and ensure marketing efforts are focused on the right audience, maximizing return on investment.

To Conclude 

Here’s the compilation of the 8 best marijuana marketing strategies you should know about in 2025. It covers everything right from local marketing efforts and third-party listing to starting a Facebook group, affiliate marketing, billboard marketing, and much more.

And, we hope this guide will help you choose the right marketing mix for your marijuana business while also helping you level up your brand presence, credibility in the market, higher conversions, and improved bottom line. 

To make it even better for your business – getting your hands on a marijuana-friendly POS system is also quite important. It helps you streamline transactions for your business while also ensuring targeted and personalized marketing. 

If you are looking for an all-in-one solution – you can check out the POS system from CBD Merchant Solutions. Our pos system has all the needed features that will help you take your marijuana business to the next level with streamlined transactions and targeted marketing. 

If you are looking to find out more about how it helps you and why it is the best fit for your business, you can book a free demo right away & decide for yourself.