The New Year is a great opportunity to reevaluate what is working and not working for your brand, as well as implement new strategies to take your success further. What worked at the beginning of last year may no longer serve you, and it’s crucial to pivot your strategies to continuously reach new audiences. Here at Proven Media, we know a thing or two about expanding your reach and communicating effectively, so we’ll show you the basics of a tool we like to use to help our brands succeed. To kick off 2024, here’s how to use the PESO model for cannabis marketing to expand your brands’ reach.  

What is the PESO model?

Designed to help better reach audiences through multiple channels, the PESO model is an acronym for “Paid, Earned, Shared, and Owned” media. 

Your brand can utilize the PESO model to make sure you’re reaching audiences in a variety of ways. By following the model, you’ll avoid narrowing your reach by focusing too much on one channel and neglecting other opportunities. 

Let’s break it down further:

Paid Media 

This refers to media placements that your brand pays for, including sponsored content, advertisements on social media, display ads, or paid search results. 

Earned Media

When a publication writes a feature story about your brand or publishes a news article about your latest developments, it’s considered earned media. This can also refer to blogs that link to your website, or contributed articles you write to be published (for free) in other publications. 

Shared Media 

Shared media refers to media placements like retweets, reposts, and story shares on social media, as well as reviews, user-generated content, and forum mentions. 

Owned Media 

This means any content you fully own, including press releases, content and blog posts on your website, podcasts you’ve produced, and newsletters sent out to your audience. 

The importance of a solid cannabis marketing mix 

If you’re wondering how to improve your cannabis marketing strategies, the PESO model is a great place to start. This simple and effective acronym makes it easy to stay on top of your efforts and implement a successful marketing mix. 

A marketing mix is a combination of elements that influence customers to purchase certain products. Companies can have a lot of control over these factors, but many tend to skip over important components for their success. That’s why the PESO model is such a powerful marketing tool, as it ensures brands are consistent with their messaging across all channels. 

This is especially important when it comes to cannabis marketing, considering the restrictions and censorship that the industry faces. By focusing on a mix of paid, earned, shared, and owned media, your brand won’t have to worry about running into common cannabis marketing problems, like failing to reach your target audience. 

How to Create a Cannabis Marketing Plan with the PESO Model 

Creating a cannabis marketing plan with the PESO model will require some strategy. Start by figuring out what methods you want to aim for in each category. 

For paid media, think about your target audience and where they are likely to be best targeted. If you have a young, social savvy crowd, consider boosted social media content, influencer partnerships, and paid advertising on various social platforms. If your target audience is more health-conscious, consider paying for sponsored content in relevant journals or blogs. 

You have less control over earned media, as it’s not up to you if a post or article will get written about your brand. To effectively gather earned media attention, create relevant and quality narratives that will resonate with others who may decide to pick up your story.  Be sure to nurture relationships with relevant journalists and thought leaders, as well. 

Shared media offers much more control than earned. To garner shared media attention, create quality content across your website and social media channels. Visually appealing, relevant content will resonate with your audience and improve the likelihood of your content getting shared. Encourage your audience to leave reviews, comments, and otherwise engage with your content as much as possible. Most of all, be authentic. Nobody will want to share media that appears forced or ingenuine. 

Owned media gives you the option for complete autonomy over your messaging. Be sure to keep it consistent with the messaging that goes along with the other parts of the PESO model. Create a solid content calendar and be sure to utilize a mix of media, such as blogs, articles, podcasts, and videos. 

Final tips for cannabis marketing with the PESO model

Track your success and don’t be afraid to change things up after you’ve collected enough data to know if one method works better than others. If nobody is clicking on your video content or engaging with your Instagram posts, it’s time to change up methods and see if other media in each pillar of the PESO model will create better results. 

Most importantly, be consistent with your image and messaging. Successful cannabis marketing with the PESO model means your target audience will be surrounded with authentic messaging about your company, improving brand awareness and eventually leading to conversions. If your communications are inconsistent, the message will get lost. 

By consistently following the PESO model, you can create a solid cannabis marketing mix that delivers real, meaningful results.