Cannabis Instagram Influencers Help Bring It into the Mainstream
Forbes reports on a study that shows how legalization is changing how cannabis Instagram influencers can talk about cannabis. The results, researchers found, are bringing cannabis more in the mainstream.
The article quotes a research study, “From Dealing to Influencing: Online Marketing of Cannabis on Instagram”. Researchers from the University of Copenhagen compared the Instagram accounts from 60 drug dealers in Sweden, where both medical and recreational is illegal, with that of 70 Canadian and American cannabis Instagram influencers. (Note: the abstract for the paper only says “US-based cannabis influencers”.)
Perhaps unsurprisingly, the study found that most of the 60 illegal Swedish accounts did not have personal photos or even any suggestion of human features.
“The Swedish drug dealers on Instagram are leaving themselves out of their profiles entirely and appear to focus only on their illegal business, as their professionalism seems tied to their subculture and presenting as trustworthy sellers of an illegal substance,” according to the study.
Meanwhile, of the North American cannabis Instagram influencers, fewer than 10 per cent of the accounts had neither a name or image that suggested the account owner was a woman. On these accounts, it is not about selling but about lifestyle, as it is for many Instagram influencers.
“In particular, researchers noted that female cannabis influencers represent themselves in a very traditionally feminine way, showing women’s bodies as feminine, fashionable, and sexual,” writes the article’s author. “But at the same time, they actively enjoy ‘getting stoned’ and recommend this to other women.”
Cannabis Instagram Influencers Normalizing Cannabis Use – LPC
In short, the Swedish accounts were more about illegal transactions. On the other hand, the cannabis Instagram influencers’ posts where cannabis is legal were more about incorporating cannabis into lifestyles.
“Social media like Instagram allows cannabis influencers to spread their messages about cannabis as an accepted consumption product to millions of people of diverse ages, genders, and nationalities,” Forbes reports the study as concluding. “While all the illegal dealer profiles observed on Instagram maintain a focus on men or gender neutrality in their presentation of products, the cannabis influencers present themselves as women and their cannabis products as ordinary or ideal women’s accessories.”
This all adds up to normalizing cannabis use both in the countries where it is legal and in countries where it is not (but where it may be being considered). But could cannabis Instagram influencers be a key to getting around strict cannabis marketing laws, too?
There have been some interesting approaches to cannabis marketing in Canada, such as Qbud’s information articles and even a government-sponsored marketing program for Indigenous industry players in BC.
Social media is definitely an option, too. Legal cannabis stores like The Hunny Pot also use Instagram – and they also tend to be lifestyle pictures without offering sales. (The images tend to feature women over men as well, interestingly enough.) Cannabis Instagram influencers could be one of the ways brands are allowed to differentiate themselves in the Canadian cannabis market.
Read the Full Article on Forbes
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