As CBD startups become more and more popular, it’s important to understand which advertising platforms are available to help you reach your target audience. This blog post will outline the different advertising platforms that allow CBD businesses to market their products. By understanding which platforms are available, you can create a marketing strategy that aligns with your business goals.
Platforms that allow CBD advertising
Snap
While Snap has its guidelines for advertising, the platform is ever-changing as it relates to what they allow. For example: CBD advertisers cannot show ingestible products (gummies), testimonials or reviews from consumers, or feature reputable media outlets.
$1,000 Snap Ad Credit
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PRO TIP: Get $1,000 in Snap Ad credit when you sign up for a brand new ad account and you first spend $1,000 dollars in ads. You do need to spend $1,000 in advertising of your own money before you get the ad credit.
TikTok
Depending on what you sell and were you are based, you can sell CBD on TikTok:
Hemp products are currently not supported via self-serve. However, if you’re advertising topical CBD oil and hemp extractions, that may be allowed, subject to additional restrictions. Ads promoting these two items should follow local laws of their target countries.
Influencers and smaller blogs
This is a hard one and there isnt’t a central spot to find a list of blogs to advertise on. Think about where your customers are and how they spend their time online. That is where you want to buy ads.
You can use SparkToro to find out which influencers talk about your industry and see if those people have blogs to advertise on, or would be open to sponsorships. It requires leg work up front but it pays off when you have a targeted list you can advertise from. You can also use Intellifluence and other similar influencer marketing platforms to help discover influencers and manage your campaigns.
Native Advertising platforms
CBD advertising can be easily done using native advertising platforms like Taboola, Outbrain, Content.ad, and Revcontent, allowing you to promote products that wouldn’t otherwise be seen on conventional online platforms. You can also look at Field Test, Kush Click, and Healthy Ads for some CBD specific native ads.
Display/Banner Ads and DSPs
Sites like Iron Pulley, Ripe Media and others are accepting banner ads for CBD brands. You can also check out Traffic Root, and Mantis Ad for DSP solutions.
LinkedIn is one of the only major social platforms that allows CBD advertising. Their policy on this matter does state they won’t promote illegal substances or unsubstantiated health claims. So make sure to abide by their policies, and you’ll be able to advertise on their platform.
Platforms that severely limit CBD advertising
Facebook/Meta
In 2021, Facebook eased its rules further to allow “hemp-based topical products,” and in 2023 Facebook/Meta eased its restrictions again to allow CBD products on their platforms, as long as they stay away from THC, and follow their two step certification process. But many sellers of these and other hemp products report that the algorithm still rejects their ads.
Platforms that don’t allow CBD advertising
Amazon
Amazon’s official policy is very clear: “Listings for products containing cannabidiol (CBD) are prohibited.” Amazon also bans CBD sellers it finds using the workaround of removing references to CBD on their store listing. Many of these companies simply rebrand themselves and pop right back up on the site (called “brand burning”).
Google Ads
Since ingestible CBD is one an unapproved pharmaceutical and supplement on Google, you can’t use paid advertising. They have, however, started letting well known brands on their platform to experiment with the shopping experience. Advertising CBD or hemp on Google using SEO is allowed, however doing so successfully requires a lot of work building trust in your brand.
MailChimp (and other email marketing providers)
Constant Contact is one of the largest email platforms around, one that businesses have been using for a while now. But according to their policies, you can promote a brick and mortar location, but no eCommerce or images of your cannabis or CBD products.
Mailchimp’s Acceptable Use Policy states that any content created to send, display, advertise, or sell “illegal goods or services” is prohibited. CBD startup owners should be wary of Mailchimp’s ambiguity surrounding “illegal goods or services.” There have been cases where cannabis-related content falls into that category.