FULL-SERVICE SOCIAL MEDIA MANAGEMENT
Cornbread Hemp
Kentucky's Fastest-Growing Company • Current Role
Cornbread Hemp is a Louisville-based, USDA organic CBD and THC brand serving 250K+ customers across all 50 states. As their Social Media Manager, I own every aspect of social media across seven platforms while navigating one of the most heavily regulated industries in marketing.
+790%
META VIEWS
4M+
TIKTOK VIEWS
+991%
META INTERACTIONS
100+
REELS PRODUCED
7
PLATFORMS
4
PRODUCT LAUNCHES
The challenge
Social media management for a hemp and THC brand isn't like managing social for a clothing company or a restaurant. Every single piece of content has to be filtered through a maze of compliance restrictions that most marketers never have to think about. You can't explicitly say "THC" or "hemp" on certain channels. You can't show products in some contexts. AI detectors and platform algorithms flag and suppress content constantly. I spend a significant amount of time blurring content, covering up packaging details, and finding creative workarounds just to get posts published without getting shadowbanned or taken down.
On top of platform restrictions, the hemp industry itself is in constant political flux. The Mitch McConnell hemp ban threatened the entire industry, and when news like that breaks, customers look to the brands they trust for information, context, and reassurance. That means I'm not just making content. I'm creating rapid-response communications on behalf of an industry leader during some of the most uncertain times the space has ever seen.
What I actually do
My title is Social Media Manager, but the scope goes way beyond scheduling posts:
7 Manage all social media across seven platforms: Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, YouTube, LinkedIn, X, and Bluesky
7 Script, film, edit, and produce all short-form video content (100+ Reels/TikToks)
7 Write all copy, captions, and social-facing communications
7 Handle all community management: every DM, every comment, every interaction
7 Navigate hemp industry compliance and ever-changing advertising restrictions across platforms
7 Plan and execute local event activations
7 Coordinate influencer partnerships and UGC video shoots
7 Help create paid ad content
7 Run surprise and delight campaigns for community building
7 Support product launches with full social rollouts, teaser campaigns, and post-launch content
Navigating the hemp policy world
This is the part of my job that most social media managers will never experience. The hemp and cannabis industry operates under state-by-state regulations that change constantly, and the federal landscape shifts with every news cycle. When the Mitch McConnell hemp ban was announced, I had our response content scripted, filmed, edited, and published faster than any other brand in the space. That moment went viral and helped establish Cornbread Hemp as a trusted voice and industry leader during a genuinely scary time for the entire hemp community.
Beyond crisis response, I navigate day-to-day compliance challenges that require genuine creativity. When you can't show your product, say the name of your key ingredient, or run traditional paid ads on most platforms, you have to find other ways to tell your story, build trust, and drive sales. That constraint has honestly made me a sharper, more creative marketer.
The results
Comparing the six months after I took over (July–December 2025) to the six months before (January–June 2025):
Instagram: Views increased 790%. Interactions jumped 991%. Link clicks grew 77%. The account gained 4,400+ new followers.
Facebook: Views increased 394%. Interactions jumped 423%. Link clicks grew 227%. The account gained 8,600+ new followers (a 435% increase).
LinkedIn: Views grew 21%. Reactions increased 6%. Reposts jumped 47%.
On TikTok and YouTube, I made a strategic decision to cut posting frequency by 50% or more. The result? Views and engagement stayed consistent, meaning the per-post performance actually improved. That's not posting less. That's posting smarter.
One TikTok hit over 1,000,000 views. One Instagram Reel hit over 700,000 views. The hemp ban response content went viral before any other brand in the space.