7 Marketing Strategies from the Vape Industry Your Business Needs

Vaping companies need to be creative when it comes to how they market their products because vapes and e-cigs are considered tobacco products, meaning they are prohibited from using paid advertising. Without a way to buy and display ads, some businesses are at a disadvantage from the start. However, with digital marketing strategies, there are plenty of ways for vape companies to follow these advertising regulations while still building their brand and attracting customers.

No matter what type of business you own, these are some of our favorite tips on how to successfully market a new product.

Focus on Increasing Organic Traffic Through SEO

Although the vape industry is restricted from using PPC (pay-per-click) digital advertising, anyone can implement SEO (search engine optimization) strategies to rank higher organically on a list of search engine results, garnering more traffic to their site.

SEO is fairly easy to understand—companies try to target keywords and phrases that their target market might be searching, then create web content that includes an anchor text phrase, along with internal and external hyperlinks. You’ll find plenty of online tools to help you brainstorm and select the right keywords for your business.

Post Content to Your Site Regularly

To really ensure that your site is ranking high on search engines’ result lists, you should be adding fresh content on a regular basis. This is known as content marketing, and it uses the same guidelines as SEO strategies. Most websites implement their content marketing by creating a site blog where you can post informative articles that your target market might be interested in and attract them to your site.

Within the posts, you’ll want to link to other credible sites and other pages on your own site, guiding your potential customers to your products. For vaping companies, there’s nearly an endless list of topics your customers might be interested in, such as “Learn About Vape Anatomy” or “The Basics of Vaping.” Brainstorm a list of questions your audience might have and get creative with the topics.

Find a Way to Make Your Product Stand Out

Guiding potential customers to your site is an important step to getting discovered, but, once people have found your company, you need a way to convince them that your product is better than your competitors’ items. As more people turn to vapes, the industry has become extremely competitive, so it’s important to create a new product that stands out.

Products that solve a problem always attract more customers. For example, many vapers find themselves misplacing their devices because they’re typically small and easy to leave lying around, so you can help people overcome this issue by offering a way to wear a vape as a necklace. Now, their device is both a vape and a fashion item (and not getting lost in the couch). Designing intriguing new skins for vapes is another great method for inventing a unique product.

Build a Base of Loyal Customers

While it’s essential to continually attract new customers to your site to grow your business, without a loyal customer base, your business will suffer. Most business owners have heard the statistic that it’s five times more expensive to attract new customers than it is to retain previous ones—and it’s true. You’ll end up spending more money devising campaigns and trying out new marketing outlets that bring in new shoppers than you will strengthening your current ones.

There are dozens of ways to build brand loyalty, but many companies implement some type of loyalty program that rewards repeat customers. You can offer exclusive discounts to those who have already purchased from you, provide previous customers with early access to sales, or offer some type of perk (a free gift, a discount, free shipping) to those who have spent a certain amount of money with your company.

Establish a Strong Social Media Presence

Social media is the king of digital marketing these days. Although, as we’ve mentioned previously, the vaping industry is restricted from using paid advertising features offered on these sites (like sponsored ads), they are not restricted from creating an account and building their brand through these channels.

Instagram is one of the best platforms to construct and promote a brand voice and identity because it’s very visually orientated. Post photos of how you can wear a vape as a necklace, create how-to videos explaining how to use your product and interact with others in the vaping community to gain exposure. Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Reddit are other great outlets for social media marketing. Although most businesses would not normally benefit from being on Reddit, the vaping community could find it helpful, as many vapers will post reviews and stats for different brands and products on this site.

Test Out Influencer Marketing

Influencer marketing is a type of marketing through social media where brands partner with top influencers (or accounts within an industry that have a high number of followers) to expose their brand to a new audience. Because the vaping industry is not allowed to pay for advertising, you cannot and should not offer influencers money in exchange for exposure, but you can work out some other arrangement—for example, adding a guest post from the influencer to your own blog or social media site. Influencers can review and promote your product to their followers, who may, in turn, become some of your new customers.

Develop Email Marketing Campaigns

Email marketing is known as one of the best types of digital marketing because so many people engage with email on a daily basis. According to HubSpot, 99 percent of online shoppers check their email at least once a day. With the right email marketing campaign, you can get your product in front of dozens of new people every day. Allow visitors to sign up for your newsletter through your website or social media accounts and send product release information, recommended products and exclusive discounts to see the results.

Although the vape industry faces some difficulty in how it’s allowed to promote and market products, tons of companies have figured out how to abide by these regulations while still growing their businesses. SEO and content marketing efforts are vital to attracting online shoppers while creating unique products that make your company different will help convince customers to buy. Test out some of these tips for yourself, then sit back and watch your company grow.