Pets are driving astounding growth in the CBD market. Grandview Research predicts a 40.3% CAGR in this market segment from 2020 to 2027.
The data are sufficiently tantalizing that just about every CBD company has jumped in.
Thousands of them.
However, marketing efforts by the vast majority revolve simplistically around, “Oh, we’ve got pet stuff, too.”
In contrast, industry leaders for pet CBD marketing have figured out how to rise above the fray.
They’ve done so by zeroing in on one of the most powerful principles of persuasion in human history.
The good news is, invoking this principle is pretty straightforward.
It relies on taking just a few simple steps, as I explain below.
As a bonus, these steps also bypass restrictive advertising regulations currently plaguing the whole CBD industry.
DOGS SPEAKING ABOUT CBD
We dog lovers know our furry friends speak to us. Not in words, of course.
They instead send clear messages to us with tail-wagging, deep staring, smiling, bouncing around – you name it.
If Anthony Robbins is correct about defining communication (and I think he is), it’s the results you get.
Dogs get results. And they’re telling us a lot about CBD oil.
Carole Jarvis got the message from 3-year-old Coco, her Old English Mastiff.
In Carole’s words,
“[Coco] has hip dysplasia in both hips and severe arthritis in both her knees. She can no longer take anti-inflammatories and was on Tramadol 150 mg twice a day. I cannot afford all the operations she needs and as a last resort tried CBD oil. She has been on it for a month now and is a totally different dog. She’s no longer in pain and not spaced out all the time. I cannot praise CBD oil more highly…”
Lori Dzingala also got clear communication from her 12-year-old Leonberger.
According to Lori,
“[She] started having seizures. She had a massive seizure and we were losing her. A client of mine suggested CBD so we gave it a shot. Within 3 days she was walking, and even trotting. We were able to get the seizures under control.”
These are just two among thousands of examples of how dogs communicate their health results due to CBD.
They’ve let their humans know how they feel across a whole gamut of health challenges – cancer, anxiety, sleep disorders, epilepsy, joint problems, and many more.
WHAT ABOUT CATS?
Our feline friends are no different. (Aside from their famous aloofness and pickiness about food – my fellow cat people know what I’m talking about.)
Alicia Antonio “heard” her older tabby, Charli, loud and clear.
As Alicia explains,
“On a sunny Wednesday afternoon last month, [Charli] lost the ability to walk. By afternoon, she was completely paralyzed and I rushed her in to see the vet.
“Prognosis? Not good.
“Definitely neurological. Cause undetermined.
“Could [CBD] work for my cat? What did I have to lose?
“I agreed to give her the weekend to try and rest and recover, as long as she wasn’t in copious amount of pain, and look into CBD oil as a treatment alternative.
“I have to say – the results were ASTONISHING. Her right pupil had been dilated for days (a possible indicator of a brain tumor) and went back to normal the day after she started on the CBD oil. Within four days of starting on CBD oil twice a day, Charli started to eat and drink on her own again. Prior to that, she had been refusing all food and water and I had to keep her hydrated (and alive) by using a baby syringe to get water down her throat.
“Five days after starting on the CBD oil, she was able to use her front legs again and was able to slowly sit up and prop herself up against walls and furniture, even though her back legs still did not work. The following day, her back legs started to work again, but she was weak and wobbly and struggled to take more than a few steps. A full week after starting on CBD oil, our cat was up and walking again – albeit tentatively.
“Cannabis saved her life.”
WHO’S TRAINING WHOM?
Every single morning, our two little terrier mixes “allow” me to have one sip of coffee – just one – before demanding their morning walk.
What they want is abundantly clear to me. They’ve trained me well.
After their walk it’s time for their morning dental treat before I can finally get back to my cup of joe.
(Oh, and our young orange tabby “talks” me into giving him treats at the same time, too. Apparently I’m easily trained by canines and felines alike. Aren’t we all?)
In other words, I’m acutely attuned to what our furry family members want and need because they tell me so.
That’s why the experiences of Carole, Lori, and Alicia – and countless others like them – draw me to CBD for pet health.
THE UNDERLYING MARKETING POWER
Good storytelling gets and holds attention.
That’s just the beginning.
The real power behind pet CBD storytelling is shared hopes and experiences.
Marketers call it “social proof.”
It puts real power behind pet CBD marketing.
Simply put, social proof means people decide what to believe or how to act based on what others believe or say.
Social proof is a persuasion principle as old as the hills.
Its power hasn’t dropped off one bit over the centuries. It’s just as irresistible now as it was since before the time of the pharaohs.
Pet CBD marketing in particular lends itself to this principle. It’s like a social proof accelerator.
HARNESSING PET POWER
Three simple strategies of top CBD companies show how to harness the power of social proof for pet marketing.
1) First, they gather a steady stream of happy customers who own pets.
Then they give people a chance to brag about their pets on social media. They’re going to do it anyway. You might as well have them do it on your company’s social media pages.
Social media outlets are big drivers here.
Videos and images from pet owners are a key source of compelling content.
All you have to do is curate it.
Happy customers showing off their little buddies online is a fabulous attention-getter for any business.
2) Second, they climb the social proof ladder by partnering with influencers.
Influencers bring in loads of social credibility. It’s like a booster rocket for social proof.
We aren’t talking about ‘ordinary’ influencers. We’re talking about actual pet influencers.
Imagine being associated with Mannie the French Bulldog. At last count, he had 1.1 million followers on Instagram, 7,600 YouTube channel subscribers, and 1.7 million Facebook fans.
A word from Mannie bears tremendous ‘canine’ social proof from the top dog online.
Mannie covers a wide variety of products. His own website offers drinkware, apparel, art, and face masks. He’s also online promoting supplements, CBD products, and even a car wash.
He’s not alone. A quick search for other pet marketing influencers gives us a good list on Twitter. The biggies at the moment include @remixthedog, @tinkandmeek, @milliegthegolden, and @coconutricebear.
Keep in mind that, even though I’ve been talking about dogs so far, the same strategies work with cats.
To see what I mean, just check out Instagram for ThatLittlePuff, Nala Cat, Venus the Two Face Cat, and Smoothie the Cat for some big-time feline influencers.
3) Third, since company leaders are pet owners themselves, they actively participate in dialog with other pet owners.
One simple yet invaluable strategy for building credibility and trust online – pet lover to pet lover – is answering questions on forums and commenting on blog posts. All niches have forums and blog commenting.
If done well, the interaction generated there attracts responses from others. The more the better.
Voila! More social proof.
FIRST, “PRE-SUASION”
Influence researcher, Dr. Roberth Cialdini, describes in great detail how and why persuasion marketing works.
His book, “Pre-suasion: A Revolutionary Way to Influence and Persuade,” goes even deeper about why the best persuasion marketers are so successful.
In short, they arrange for a target audience to be receptive to a marketing message before it’s presented. Thus, “pre-suasion.”
Regarding pet CBD marketing, this means creating marketing materials for establishing KLT – i.e., knowing, liking, and trusting.
The function of such materials is pre-suading potential customers to dig into all the social proof about CBD for pets. In other words, it gets eyeballs on the marketing message.
Although social proof itself is primarily user-generated or influencer generated, developing KLT depends on well-crafted professional writing.
This is where all the other attention-getting strategies come into play – blog posts, email series, free reports, magalogs, brochures, press releases, website SEO, and more.
Writing to generate KLT puts people into the top of the sales funnel. It starts a natural flow toward social proof and, ultimately, more sales.
That’s where I can help. I’m an expert writer of ‘pre-suasive’ (and persuasive) marketing copy.
I’m an experienced freelance writer for the alternative health niche, a published research scientist, and a 30-year university professor. I leverage my expertise and skills for writing persuasive (‘pre-suasive’) copy for alternative health marketing. Would you like to capitalize on what I can do?
Let’s talk.
The simplest first step to get started is an email to me at drdennisclark@gmail.com.
So let’s get the ball rolling together, shall we?
All the best,
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