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Part 1: Instagram Takeover

1. What Would I Post?

 

ON THE PROFILE

Memes are life. No one loves memes more than Jess Gillis

 

But Instagram is primarily a visual platform, and when I visit Herb's profile, I'm not getting that visual punch. It's mostly memes. Fine on the homepage, boring on the profile.

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I'm also not seeing any magnificent weed art on any of the channels. Why? Weed-themed art is beautiful, colourful, inspiring, and sometimes even spiritual. 

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Asking your fans to submit their original weed-themed art (to be featured on Herb monthly - at least initially) would be an easy way to create engagement and generate content. I've used my own original art here.

Before:

Zzzzzzz.

After:

!!!!!!!!!!!!

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10AM: Post a 9-image grid for #wakeandbake, introducing the artist and #HerbArt, and letting followers know to watch for behind-the-scenes stories at lunch time.

3-9PM: Post 3 colourful, art-themed memes and gifs in sets of 3 to maintain grid and keep most of grid visible on homepage. (see below)

End of day: Post entire image in post, tag artist, and encourage submissions.

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Sample Content

The Age Old Question

#medievalart #herbart #art #illustration #weedart #weedstagram #crafting #crochet #weedlife #stayhigh #legalize #marijuana #weedsociety #kush #thc #wakenbake #420life #420 #reform #change  #bong #legalizeit #cannabis #wakeandbake #maryjane #medicine #marijuanamovement #herb 

When you're in your crafting zone and lose track of time.

#herbart #art #illustration #weedart #weedstagram #crafting #crochet #weedlife #stayhigh #legalize #marijuana #weedsociety #kush #thc #wakenbake #420life #420 #reform #change  #bong #legalizeit #cannabis #wakeandbake #maryjane #medicine #marijuanamovement #herb 

STORIES

Let's tell some stories, specifically about the art, or artist, featured. This could be behind-the-scenes video of their process, instructionals, back-story, or video of them creating (and partaking!)

2. What Would I Improve?
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More Visual Content. This could be in the form of "inspo quotes" related to weed / spirituality / open mindedness / wellness / etc. I'd create unique quotes with professional quality images and layouts (like these), branded with HERB's logo. More visual content could also include beautiful images of weed itself, weed art, or even just some attractive stoners. 

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Actual Takeovers. With Themes. Is a Trailer Park Boys Edition IG Takeover asking too much? Let's tap those influencers.

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Food. Instagram ushered in the age of The Perpetually Photographed Plate and birthed our collective food porn addiction. IG's foodie content is wildly popular. I'd try posting some of HERB's shorter instructional food videos on Instagram.

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More CTAs. Leverage your large following with more "tag a friend who'd smash this pizza" and "like if you can relate" type posts.

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More "Medicine" Focused Content. You've got the stoner corner covered. Increasingly, weed is being talked about in a healing context, and has a wider appeal. This type of framing could fit perfectly with #healthyeating, #vegan, #natural type content. I'd keep this minimal, as you cover it quite extensively on facebook and twitter. 

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Part 2: captivating copy

Hint: It’s About To Get Confusing

How Will Regulation Affect The Cost of Weed in Ontario?

Thou Shalt Not Use Cigarettes as “Filler”

The 100 Definitive Rules For Pot Smokers

Know Your Source (and Follow The Money)

The Definitive Guide to Where Your Bud is Coming From

(and the hidden costs you may not be aware of)

Pairs Nicely With Indica. Who are

YOUR favourite artists?

15 Super Trippy Artists You Probably Don't Know About

Stoner’s Paradise

Destination Dabbers, Travel Tokers, and Bargain Bongs: Weed Themed Travel Tours for Every Budget

 

Or

 

Half-Baked for Half Price: Weed Themed Travel Tours Almost Anyone Can Afford

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Part 3: free parking

There actually wasn't a part 3 in the document I received.
So here is some more original cannabis-themed art:
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Part 4: questions

1. What do you want out of life?

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Aside from such luxury staples as reliable houseboys, elaborate cheese plates on Sunday afternoons, fast wifi, naps in blanket forts, a new iPhone, a private swimming pool, fresh fruits and veggies daily, good coffee, and roads with bike lanes and minimal potholes? Good health, satisfying work with financial stability, a sense of purpose, continuous learning and self-improvement, road trips (maybe in my own car one day), the desire and ability to help others with my labour, art, writing, and cooking, and to be surrounded by amazing, kind, funny, radical, and weird people. Bonus: getting my book published and seeing my art on billboards.

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2. Review HERB’s social channels, what would you do to improve them?

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All channels**

- Use proper dimensions for post images

- Reformat memes to be more visually appealing

- Tighten up brand elements on content

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Instagram**

See Above

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Facebook**

- Decrease posts to 3-5 per day.

- Focus on driving traffic to the website. 

- Less recycled content. Herb constantly has new content.

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Twitter**

- More retweets. Making original content is time consuming. It's OK to piggy-back sometimes.

- Move some of the dropped content from Facebook there. 

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Youtube**

- More experiential "Cops Smoke Bud for the First Time", "Grandmas Smoke Weed and Talk Sex", and "Old School Toker Tries Dabbing" type videos. Similar to what The Cut is doing. Basically more real people, smoking on camera, with various topics and/or activities. 

- Fewer "acted" videos, unless the authenticity factor can be raised, like here

- The cooking videos don't seem to do as well, and I would reduce them, opting for shorter videos on Instagram with a youtube link in the bio.

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3. Tell us about an initiative you undertook because you saw that it could benefit the whole company or your customers, but wasn’t within any group’s individual responsibility so nothing was being done.

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While volunteering at Metro Hall, I noticed that a huge number of clients were coming into the Employment Centre, asking the same questions and needing the same kind of help from the staff. It was within my skill set to help them, but due to union regulations and the description of my role, I wasn't allowed to. Since they all needed the same resources, I took it upon myself to create a handout for them, which management vetted and approved for distribution to those who need it. It was a way for them to access basic help with tasks like making resumes, accessing government programs, finding classes, and more. It freed up a lot of time for the staff, and has been super useful to me even after my role ended at Metro Hall. Check it out here

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I also wrote this DYI manual for cash-strapped non-profits and grassroots groups wanting to elevate their online presence. 

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4. Give an example of a radical approach to a problem you proposed. What was the problem and why did you feel it required a completely different way of thinking about it? Was your approach successful?

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True Story. While on a trail cycling with some friends, quite far from our vehicle, phones, or streets, one person's pedal broke. None of us had tools, and walking back was impossible. Using a tampon, a very solid stick, and some dental floss, I was able to wedge these items into the pedal crank, secure them with floss, and he was able to - with some special effort - make it back about half way, which brought him within walking distance of a street. From there the rest of us were able to go ahead, get the car, and come back for him. It wasn't pretty, or perfect, but it was the best I could muster with what we had at the time. (I never leave home without my toolkit now).

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* Based on what I could glean as a visitor, 11am-2pm seems to be popular with your Instagram fans.

**With any content and scheduling decisions, I'd want to look at your data and have a better understanding of HERB's long- and short-term goals and overall social strategy.

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Part 5: Schedule

Organize a social media calendar for each social channel.

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I've created sample Google sheets for each channel. They are obviously only samples, and incomplete - HERB's calendar would be much larger and fuller, and would be created much farther in advance than just one week.

 

I would also use these in combination with Trello, to track projects, and Hootsuite to schedule (and track key data points).

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Any Questions?

I've got answers!

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If you have any questions for me, or further requests, please get in touch. Cannabis culture is something I'm excited to get reacquainted with. A new, green age is about to dawn, and the possibilities for a brand like HERB are endless. 

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I look forward to discussing next steps with you. 

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