Any cannabis industry connoisseur knows that you’ll eventually learn how to get your dispensary’s Instagram back after being disabled. Social media has become a big player in the way that businesses can market and reach a wider audience. But the rules are a little different for the cannabis industry. That is why it’s essential to play by the rules and take the necessary steps to avoid getting your dispensary’s account shut down. Unfortunately, a lot of us get to learn this the hard way once it’s already too late.
So your dispensary has been banned from Instagram, now what?
In this blog post, we’ll discuss exactly how to get your dispensary’s Instagram back after being disabled.
Cannabis and Instagram
It’s no secret that Instagram is strict when it comes to cannabis. The platform has a long history of disabling accounts that feature cannabis content, even if the account isn’t explicitly selling the drug. Recently, though, Instagram seems to be cracking down even harder on cannabis-related content. The reason given is always the same: “Your account has been disabled for violating our Community Guidelines“. But what are these guidelines, and why are they being applied so selectively?
It’s time for a closer look at Instagram’s cannabis policy.
Community guidelines
Instagram’s Community Guidelines state that accounts can be disabled for a number of reasons, including promoting illegal activity, displaying graphic violence, or spamming other users. Cannabis clearly falls into the category of illegal activity (in select states that is). But it’s worth noting that Instagram doesn’t specifically mention the drug in its guidelines. This leaves a lot of room for interpretation. However, it seems that Instagram is increasingly interpreting cannabis as an unacceptable topic for its platform.
Shadow-banning
One step Instagram usually takes before determining if an account needs to be disabled is called shadow-banning. A shadow ban is when Instagram limits the reach of a user’s posts without them knowing it. It’s a way for Instagram to subtly punish users who are breaking the rules or spamming the app with posts that don’t add value. If you’ve been shadow-banned, your posts will only be visible to your followers, and they won’t appear in hashtag searches or Explore. In other words, it’s like you never posted at all.
While shadow-banning doesn’t outright delete your account, it effectively makes it invisible, which can be just as frustrating for users who have worked hard to grow their following. Read our blog post for “Dispensaries Posting on Instagram: How to Avoid Getting Shadow-banned“.
Now for the good stuff.
Determine if your dispensary’s Instagram account has been disabled
Let’s face it, getting banned from anything is never fun. Whether it’s being banned from a website or getting kicked out of a store, it always feels like you did something wrong. And when it comes to social media, being banned can feel like the end of the world.
If your dispensary’s account has been temporarily banned, you will get logged out of your account from any currently logged-in devices. When trying to log back into your account, you’ll see that the account has been permanently banned. Of course, if it has only been temporarily banned, it will say so.
When this happens, the screen should look something like this:
How to appeal the ban
If you’ve been unfortunate enough to get your dispensary banned from Instagram, don’t worry. There are a couple of tried and true methods you can do to appeal the decision. You’ll probably need to grovel and grovel until your fingers fall off, but it’s always worth a shot. If worst comes to worst, you can always try creating a new account and start from scratch.
But who wants to do that?
Learn more pop-up form
When you first get the disabled message, hit the learn more pop-up. Go through the steps Instagram prompts you to fill out. It takes approximately 24-48 hours on average for Instagram to get back to support requests. But you will be given the opportunity to communicate with a representative about the issue.
Deactivation appeal
Another step you can take is to submit this “My Instagram Account Was Deactivated” appeal to Instagram directly. You’ll need to be patient and wait for a response, but you CAN submit the form multiple times. We recommend waiting at least 24 hours between each submission, but you’ll need to be persistent. Consistently keep submitting the appeal if you want to get your desired result.
Copyright appeal
Your Instagram could have removed your content due to your cannabis branding copyrights. If you’re like most people, you probably didn’t even know that cannabis branding copyrights even existed. But they do, and they’re a big deal for anyone who wants to sell cannabis products legally.
Cannabis branding copyrights are held by the companies that create the logos and other branding elements for cannabis companies. If you use any of these elements without permission, you could be infringing on someone’s copyright. And if Instagram finds out, they could remove your content from their platform.
So if you’re selling cannabis products, make sure you have the appropriate permissions in place before you start using any logos or other branding elements. Otherwise, you could end up losing your account altogether. Fill out this “Instagram Copyright Appeal” for support from Instagram on your specific matter.
Note, Instagram is a social media platform that strictly prohibits the sale of any cannabis-related products altogether. If your account is flagged by Instagram for suspicion of the sale of marijuana products, that could play a key role in the reason as to why Instagram disabled your account.
All in all
It can be hard to pinpoint exactly why your dispensary’s Instagram might have been disabled. But doesn’t have to be the most difficult task to get your account back. As long as you are consistent with your efforts, you submit the correct forms, you aren’t a repeat “disabled Instagram” offender, and you don’t repeat the same Community Guideline violations, you’ll be up and running again before you know it.
Have any questions? Need advice?
You can get in touch with us here at WeedBoost if you have questions about how to get your dispensary’s Instagram back after being disabled, how to build a new website, SEO (search engine optimization), social media management, or anything else to do with this whole “cannabis thing”. We’re always here.
