Hey folks, this is Diana, your host before you listen to this episode, I have an announcement. I was recently given the awesome opportunity to be the guest editor of Canada curious magazines fall issue. That's right. I guest edited the fall issue of the gorgeous Canna curious magazine. In case you don't know about this magazine, Canna curious normalizes cannabis lifestyle for women through fact base information, relatable personal stories and verified products. Their goal is to enlighten women about the variety of ways cannabis can enhance all areas of their lives, from sex to beauty, nutrition, health and wellness and much more. This is an awesome issue. And if you've ever listened to this podcast, you may recognize some people that are in this special anniversary edition. So please, please support this awesome group of women by subscribing and also ordering your print copy which will be available mid September, but you can pre order it two weeks early. So go to canon curious mag.com that's Canna curious mag comm to subscribe to their newsletter, follow them on social media, and buy the latest copy and past issues. Check out their past issues because they're wonderful. And please just continue to support independent media, and especially media run by women and non binary folks. Welcome to Your Highness Podcast, a show where we get comfortable with the uncomfortable uncover areas of cannabis where accessibility and inclusiveness are lacking and elevate conversations about ways to affect real change in this space with a specific focus on folks who identify as women.
You're listening to Your Highness Podcast. I'm your host Diana crash and today I am joined by Amy Donahue, the CEO and founder of hybrid social. How are you doing today Amy?
I am great. We woke up with rain and Phoenix. Again, that's great. supposed to rain here today but that's not really a big deal. So the top story of the news when it rains here,
that's awesome. So we're going to begin this episode as we do every episode with a favorite pot fav not pot where each of us discret discusses our current cannabis and non cannabis related item movement movie book or whatever you want just what you're feeling at the moment. And with that being said, I'm going to start with my fav pot. So I was sent a couple of things to try from a new brand called toasty and that's toasty with two y's at the end. And I am really loving the tincture that they sent me the CBD tincture. It's orange flavored. It's a full spectrum CBD tincture 1800 milligrams CBD. And I'm just gonna read a little bit about the founder Jamie Lee. She's an herbalist and she's been a cannabis advocate since she was 17. And she has a really cool histories as to why she became you know, big why she created this line. So look into that. It's called toasty with two eyes and the website is getting toasty calm. So what's your favorite pot? Amy?
So my favorite pot right now is I'm in Arizona so we have an edibles line called tipsy turtle. And they are high end edibles like actual you know, caramel and chocolate turtles and sand dollars. They are delicious. The packaging is great, and they're different than anything else on the market here. Nice. That sounds delicious. It's so good.
So my fav not pot is also cannabis related. I'm breaking my own rules today. But it's a magazine so I feel like it kind of doesn't count. Anyway. The latest issue of Vanguard magazine is available or more specifically, Vanguard media online. magazine. And in this issue, I have two features. One of them is a profile of Maggie Wilson who was recently on this podcast and has been on in the past. And the other one is about how CBD can impact fertility and I was really excited to get a chance to write that one. So I think you should check it out if you can order your digital copy or your print copy on Vanguard media. online.com. So what's your fav nopat? Amy?
Well, that's Tiffany. walkins First, I want to go back. Tiffany, she's amazing. My favorite knot pot is actually a documentary I saw about Anthony Bourdain a couple weeks ago ago called Road Runner. And a lot of people were upset with this, but they used AI to have him as a voiceover in the film. And I just thought that was really cool. Because I missed the guy when he died. I was devastated. Like, that was my dude. So if it's going to be on HBO Max, pretty soon it's called Roadrunner, and it's the documentary about Anthony Bourdain. Hey, interesting to check that out.
So today, we're going to talk about Twitter and Social Media. And you have written about a tweet that led to organ donation. And we'll talk about that a little bit more later. But before we talk about that, why don't you tell listeners why the cannabis industry should pay attention to Twitter?
Honestly, I feel like the cannabis industry is stuck in Zuck. And that means that every time I get an inquiry, the first thing they talk about is either their Facebook or their Instagram, the two networks that are continuously damaging small business in this industry. So we need to pivot our energy and spend time on networks that are going to support us. And Twitter is one of those networks, it's less restrictive. They don't allow ads yet for plant touching. But I've seen several ads for ancillary products. But it's also where hashtags originated. So if you see a hashtag somewhere, that's because of Twitter, your target audience is there, your consumers for your dispensary are on Twitter, the news hits there first as well. And if you have a website, you have to have Twitter because Twitter is part of your SEO plan. If you have a website and you don't have Twitter, you should explain to your investors that you don't know what that means. And Google reads tweets, so they're going to show up in search results. So use Twitter, use it consistently for my clients, I shoot for 100 tweets a month.
That is really important to understand, like when you Google someone, your tweets come up. I don't know how, how much you can impress on people. But that is so important. Because if you only are managing your personal Twitter and you don't have a professional one, just think about that for a little bit. There can be some really unwelcome outcomes. And so just I think it's really important to build up both sides of your Twitter, I Twitter is I've always been a fan. It's always been my favorite of all the platforms. So I am 100% onboard what you're saying. So what are some of the biggest mistakes you see the cannabis industry making when it comes to social media?
The first one would be they hire people who don't read the rules. They hire people based on their own personal Twitter Instagram profile, which is nothing to do with doing it for a business. And those people don't read the rules. I would expect if you have investors, your investors would expect you to hire somebody who actually knows what they're doing. And knowing what you're doing includes reading the rules. hiring people, simply based on the fact that they're millennials, you have no idea how many times I followed up with potential clients that said, Oh, we hired my millennial nephew. The millennial nephew doesn't even know what a content calendar is, or social media strategy and you need a separate one for each network. So you need to hire somebody who knows and uses every network. I can't tell you how many people I talked to who do cannabis marketing and social media who say, Oh, I just don't get Twitter. If you don't get Twitter, you should not be charging people for social media. If you're only doing Facebook and Instagram. You're basically a Zuckerberg affiliate and not a social media manager. So hire people. Based on their experience, and stop using networks that are anti cannabis like Facebook and Instagram, and I'm saying that they are anti cannabis period, think outside the box, if you're a product and company is so great and so different, why are using the same two networks that everyone else's? Right?
I'm gonna have to say, you know, as a millennial myself, I mean, even if I'm the oldest millennial possible at the very top of the tear, I do understand content calendars, and I had the experience, I think what you're saying is, don't just go off of the fact that you're like a baby Generation Z, you understand tik tok, and, and Snapchat, right, which are very important tools. And that is important to have understanding of those things I don't, because I'm an old millennial, I'm a zeneo, or whatever they call it, I'm like, in between. But anyway, I get what you're saying it's like more about, it's definitely more about the experience and understanding because otherwise, you're just posting to post. And I've done that before, it doesn't yield results. It just, it just puts posts out there. And Google will punish you, in some regard. If you don't have like, original content out there. And especially if you only keep to those to Facebook, and Instagram. But I feel like I wanted to say something else. But now I can't remember.
I'll tell you I got a message on leaf wire, which is the LinkedIn for cannabis the other day, and this guy was Yeah, I want to get into the industry and do social media. I love watching Tick Tock and I said, Well, have you ever done a social media strategy? Because seeing a video doesn't mean you know, the analytics that go behind it and the research before a post you need the right time, you every network has to have a different post to you can't post the same thing across everything with some fancy tool. And unfortunately, being a fan of Tick Tock doesn't mean you actually know how to do it for a business.
Absolutely, I mean, I'm, I'm only like, I'm not even I don't have tik tok on my phone. I deleted it. But I see the Instagram ones though. But I, I have no understanding of how to do it, I would never even attempt to do it for a client because there's just no way. It's like you really have to stick to your strengths in digital marketing or digital marketing. Because otherwise, you're just you're doing a disservice to yourself and to the company or your client that you're representing. And it's just better to be honest and say, Look, I don't understand LinkedIn. So don't expect me to turn out your profile and make you and or LinkedIn star, you know, you really have to be honest and transparent about where your experience lies when it comes to digital marketing, especially right now. And especially in cannabis, because like you said, Facebook is anti cannabis, even for the nonprofits and the people who aren't, like you said, touching plants at all. And so I mean, I've seen it myself with the podcast and other clients work. Even when I try to share articles, if there's pictures of the plant in the article, it usually will get banned or someone will complain about it or something like that. I I'm not allowed to do any sponsored posts, things like that. So I know I remember what I was going to say I am seeing more and more. outside of the box thinking with social media, like Reddit now apparently is a big deal with the cannabis marketing and, and LinkedIn. I know LinkedIn anyway. I'm getting there. I am trying. I mean, I've always had one. So anyway, so switching gears a bit. Tell us about your kidney book.
Oh my God, thank you so much for letting me talk about it. So my cannabis. My foray into the industry started basically with my kidney donation. I've been a consumer forever of cannabis since the 80s. And 1010 and a half years ago, I was on Twitter one night and I saw two people I was following talking to each other and one I had met a few months previously and I knew her mother was sick with kidney failure. And the tweet was Hey, mom's finally agreed to go on the transplant list. And I said, Okay, I'll do it. What do I have to do? I'll donate my kidney. And four months later I was down a kidney. Wow. So much Media stole my kidney is the title. It's, it's on Amazon Kindle. It's going through the paperback approval process, which I spent all day on yesterday, like it's a full time job to be a writer now. But honestly, if it weren't for cannabis or for my kidney donation, I'm not sure I would be in the industry. I'm a recovered alcoholic. And when I donated my kidney, I had to find a way to help myself with my chronic pain. With one kidney. her kidney failure was from Motrin. For a migraine in the hospital, she was given 800 milligrams and motion, which everybody takes a lot. It killed her kidneys. And so I'm an advocate for plant medicine because of that.
Absolutely. I can't tell you how much Motrin and a set of monofin I've been subjected to over the years. I've had to take I mean, I can't even imagine what my kidneys look like. I worry about that all the time. Because that that is just people just don't understand. It's like Tylenol, Benadryl, even these these pills that you think are like harmless, they're so damaging to your body, long term and short term. And I used to be like, okay, whatever, it's just Tylenol, you know, and I mean, I really did think that way. And once I really started doing more research, willfully ignorant, you know, as they say, once I became educated about how damaging those pills are to your body, I mean, I really only take it in an emergent situation, you know. But I've really, I really stopped taking a sediment fiend period I've taken I took Motrin after I took I had the vaccine. The first one, because yeah. But anyway, that is a crazy story. And I can't wait to read more about it. I already began a little bit here with the sample. So where can people find it on Amazon? Right now,
it's on Amazon Kindle. And it's free if you have Kindle Unlimited, otherwise, it's $2.99. And it will be on Amazon today or tomorrow. You can just search social media stole my kidney, and bookmark it for the approval. I'm really hoping it's going to take less than 72 hours and get out there today. Because when I posted the Kindle on Sunday, everybody wanted a hardcopy. So it's just a really great story. And in a time like this, when everybody just hates everybody else for being different. It's a perfect story for the times we're living in right now. That's awesome.
I can't wait to read it. So I can't wait to read it. Sorry. I didn't mean to say like that.
I can't wait. I can't.
So in what way can the cannabis industry better support you?
Honestly, the cannabis industry needs to learn to hire professionals, and support the women of this industry industry, especially those of us who've been here for a long time I've been doing my first social media client in cannabis was in 2012. And nine years in, it's still a struggle for the women to get paid what the guys get paid, but also to get hired for our knowledge and experience over a guy just for being a guy. So I think the industry really needs to step it up and say, Hey, we need to support the women in this industry. We're here there are 1000s of us. And we're the ones that are building it on the back end since the beginning. So start supporting women in cannabis.
I agree. Have you seen any kind of difference though, since 2012. Any improvement with women in this industry?
Nope. We have a lot of groups and stuff. So we support each other but the industry as a whole. Now, it's still hard for women to get funded. Which is atrocious because the women that come to me for startup advice usually have more of their shit together than the guys they have a business plan. They have a marketing plan. They have a brand book, like the women in business. We present ourselves with our shit together.
I would say so I mean, I don't like the broad strokes, anything but I would totally agree that women
have to try so much harder to prove ourselves though, that we're doing what everyone is supposed to be doing, which is come with a business plan and a marketing plan. But for some reason, it just doesn't matter.
That's a fun.
Yes, and I feel like the business ownership and executive position. are decreasing, is that increasing? At least since I've been covering it? It seems to be going in the wrong direction. So So do you have any other things that you'd like to promote or a specific call to action separate from what you just said, which was great?
Well, I would say that on my website, which is get hybrid social comm, I have a blog that has a lot of social media tips for the industry, it's got Instagram, how to get it back, how not to break the rules, why you should be using Twitter. So and there's also an email list to sign up for I do an email blast, I strive for two per month to educate people on cannabis social media.
That's awesome. I love your blog, I think is highly informative. And you. And I know that you have a lot of startup options for people who are just beginning like, you have some things for people who are, you know, jumpstart situations and things like that, who are just beginning, which is very accessible, because I think some people are daunted by the, or the concept of developing a content calendar like you referenced earlier, or social media calendar can be daunting. You know, when you're just starting out, and you have no idea where to start. So I'm glad that you have those options available, and that he provides so much content for free. That is useful in that regard. Yeah, it's free. Reading the blog is free people. Alright, so just one more time before we go, where can people find you?
People can find me on Twitter at the fabulous one all spelled out one word th e fa b u l o us O ne. I'm on Twitter. I'm on LinkedIn. I'm on leaf wire. I'm on the other networks, but not as big and you can find me on Reddit. I'm fabbrini. I'm a heavy Reddit user.
Really? What is leaf wire? I mean, I I've kind of like, looked at it a little bit, but I haven't figured it out. Is that something that you think is worth people spending their time on?
I love leaf wire. It's leaf wire.com. But another network for cannabis industry is cannabis siak. And that's just kind of busy, act calm. Those are two great places to network with others in the industries in Canada busy UK has cool stuff like incubators, and they really help people who are in the startup side of the industry, which I love. Leaf wire is more on the LinkedIn side of
it. So it's like an alternative social media platform. Yep. All right. Well, that all sounds really cool. Thank you so much for joining me today and for just sharing some of your wisdom and I appreciate what you're doing. And I hope that you come back anytime.
I love doing this with you. I love every time we talk we have a blast in your laughter is infectious. And everybody should just listen to this podcast over and over again and then just take clips of your laugh and listen to that during the day when they're having a hard time because it's the best.
Oh, that's so sweet. I've been told that my laughter sounds like Betty rebel sometimes. I try to change it
was because of that line.
You're funny. So thank you for thank you again for joining us. Until next time, stay high and beautiful. Bye. Thanks, Your Highness. Thanks for listening. You can find us on Instagram at Your Highness Podcast, or on Twitter at Highness Podcast, be sure to rate us on iTunes and subscribe.