Marketing for Therapists: Tips for Therapists and Private Practices
As a therapist, you already have enough on your plate, so adding marketing and social media content to the mix can feel paralyzingly overwhelming. There are multiple social media platforms out there, multiple review web sites (where a disgruntled client can leave a negative review), there are so many ideas floating around. All the while, you're trying to grow your practice, not shrink it.
Practical Marketing Tips for Therapists
In this post, I share practical insights and marketing tips for therapists that you can apply right now.
Who do you listen to?
What does it take to make progress online, to find more clients or referrals?
How does social media account marketing benefit my practice?
Why is this even important and does it even apply to my therapy practice?
Is there someone who specializes in marketing strategies for therapists and private practices?
Do I need a web site?
Do I need to set up paid ads?
Learn how marketing can help your practice thrive, not just for now but for years to come!
Keep reading for some information based on my experience working with therapists to enhance their marketing since 2018. Scroll down further for my marketing tips and how to build your community. I'll also talk about some general issues and how to navigate them.
How should we approach the content?
There isn't a one-size-fits-all approach or marketing plan for private practices because each therapist's skills are unique. It takes time, it takes effort, a bit of thought, and an openness to sharing to develop an online strategy. After all, that's why people often tend to choose one therapist over another. It has to do with your rapport, your professionalism, your skillset, your location, whether you accept insurance or not, everything plays its part. Marketing Tip: You can make sure to share bits of that in your content so people can get to know who you are and what your therapy business offers.
Private Practice Marketing: what is it and why do you need it?
If you've been in business for a very long time, you might be able to rely solely on word-of-mouth networking, but as the times change everything shifts to the online space. Clients are getting younger, more people are seeking therapy. You might even specialize in child or teen therapy.
How do you reach more clients? How do you get people to call or book an appointment? How you choose to market your private practice depends on things such as your location or your specialties?
One of my clients is a mental health private practice with three locations in Southern California. They really wanted to enhance their online marketing strategies to find new patients, especially after Covid hit and they couldn't have in-person sessions. The therapy practice had a professional web site but needed to create some profiles on Twitter and Facebook and get some posts started. Together, we were able to create online profiles to begin marketing online. I optimized their profiles based on my 7+ years of digital marketing experience, making sure each section is filled out in its entirety and utilizing search engine optimization whenever possible.
My client and I have been working together for over two years and the results have been absolutely incredible. It has been a joy to guide them and watch them grow. We've seen referrals come in from Google, Google My Business, organic search traffic to their therapy website or blog post, and brand awareness via social media postings. 2020 was their most profitable year; not only that, but they were able to completely redo their web page and hired three new therapists.
SEO and Local Awareness
Over the past two years, the focus has been on building out their professional website SEO to get better search results locally. It's all about increasing awareness and growing trust with locals. What good is an expensive professional web page without any traffic, calls, new referral, or lead? Marketing Tip: Market yourself through newsletters, blog posts, digital marketing, and overall online strategies. There are many ways to grow your practice.
Marketing Tip: Market the practice online, talk about the specialties, your mental health services, or each therapist. Much like Google or a search engine, social media is searchable, which makes it a great way to reach and attract clients. Users are typing things in all the time. And yes, videos have SEO value too. If you have a video, post it to your website.
Interested in Blogging or Social Media Services for Mental Health Therapists?
If you are interested in Blogging or Social Media Services for Mental Health Therapists, the first step is to fill out this brief questionnaire to see if we're a good fit and if I can help you with what you need. I have 8 years of social media expertise working with local businesses. Once I receive that, we schedule a 15-minute call to speak "face to face" via Zoom or online meeting. Again, if you are interested in my content or marketing services, fill out this questionnaire and I'll email you back!
Not sure what to focus on or how to attract clients? I'm available for coaching and management, depending on your needs. Coaching allows you or your team to learn about social media marketing strategy for therapists, whereas management is where I provide done-for-you services to save you time. Contact me!
Growing Marketing Your Private Practice
You can read every article online, even buy courses, but none of those are customized to your business. Articles may give great advice but it's generic for the most part. One size does not fit all when it comes to marketing strategy for therapy services. Networking events may offer some referrals, but how can you market yourself online? How can you best attract people to book an appointment?
Content Marketing and Social Media Marketing
Content marketing is a huge part of marketing for therapists to reach people outside of your personal network. You have to connect with the audience and captivate their attention. It's community-building and elevating relationships on a virtual capacity. Marketing Tip: Providing valuable, relevant, frequent social media marketing posts is part of having an online presence. Whether it's a Facebook business page, LinkedIn, Twitter account, Instagram, or a different platform, you never know when a social media post will provide prospective clients or a referral. They might click on one thing then end up ready to schedule an appointment. Marketing Tip: Post frequently. It doesn't have to be every day but you don't want to only post 4 times a year. Try for once a week, then ramp it up to 2-3 times per week once you get a feel for it.
People might find you through one of those posts, you really never know. Content marketing for therapists basically means that you are marketing your services and what you do is a therapist through the content that you produce. Marketing Tip: The content itself, whether a Facebook post or a LinkedIn Story, is marketing material. We are creating marketing content geared to a specific audience.
Want to work with me? If you are interested in my content or marketing services, fill out this quick questionnaire and I'll email you back!
Related reading: Is Pinterest Social Media? + a List of Pinterest Categories
Create a Website
You need your social media marketing efforts to direct people somewhere. Sites are so important! You can even set up a simple web design to have your own web page presence. There are free and affordable options, especially if you're just starting out. In order to be found by potential clients, you have to make sure clients find you. Marketing Tip: If you have the budget, invest in a good website. Hire a designer on UpWork, Fiverr, or someone with examples to show.
Marketing Tip: Include your office address and phone number and any relevant links for your visitors. Optimize your website with useful resources and actionable tips. Communicate how they can get in touch.
You could post resources that your ideal client might appreciate. You can create video content if you don't want to write. Video performs very well both on websites and on your social media accounts!
Identify Your Ideal Client
You'll hear this a lot in the marketing world but we tend to do a lot of research before even posting. It's important to understand who is your client.
Where are they located?
How old are they?
What are their hobbies?
Are they married or single?
Private practice marketing and social media marketing for therapists are going to range if you are based in New York City versus if you're based in a small town in Ohio. Who are you trying to get into the office? Who do you want to find? As a therapist, you know better than anyone clients that you work with, the services that you provide, and the time required to provide a professional experience. When I craft content for my therapist clients, I create content that will resonate with their ideal client or potential client.
Related reading: How I Help People as a Blog Coach & Consultant
Highlight Your Specialties
Do you specialize in sex addiction therapy, family therapy, teens? The content we would create, including the wording and the image, would keep that type of person in mind. Whereas if you specialize in trauma therapy, we would craft the captions, hashtags, images to target the right potential client. It's like a fine art.
Search Engine Optimization
A big part of marketing for therapists is to make sure that people could find you on search engines, which is why search engine optimization services exist to help you get better results (calls, bookings, referrals, brand awareness). If you're an individual therapist, it's important for people to find you online, whether it's by your name directly or by some of your specialties. Search engine optimization is a long-term strategy to improve your social media presence. It's not a one-and-done thing. You can't just write a blog post or post content for your website and then call it a day.
Before I knew about SEO, I was writing blog posts on my blog nobody was seeing. Now with SEO, I get thousands of clicks per week. There is a legitimate strategy to SEO and there are tools to help, both free and paid tools.
If you have a private practice and there're multiple therapists working together, this can impact search results as well because there are more potential search terms that your ideal client is trying to Google.
Set Up Your Social Media Profiles
It's the 21st-century and people find information online. Sometimes it's Facebook, LinkedIn profile, Instagram, blog posts. The days of the Yellow Pages are over. Those days where have to flip through that big clunky book to find a business that you're searching for. Other marketing strategies and practices have changed, they change all the time. Certain marketing tactics used even one year ago are now obsolete algorithms change, people change, society changes. It's vital that people can find you online. It also helps for locals to find you, their local healthcare providers!
While it might not be feasible to consistently update all social media channels, having a complete profile still serves a purpose. You never know how someone will find you or discover your services. You can focus on one social media platform but it absolutely helps to have a profile set up on every platform.
Be Specific When it Comes to Paid Ads
You've exhausted your network, now what? How do you increase followers? Are followers important? Do you need to be doing paid ads? Paid ads can be beneficial, especially when done well. You can put $200 per month on paid advertising but if it's not set up properly or you're targeting the wrong client, they can be a waste of money. The good news: You don't have to spend hundreds but you do need to be very strategic to target the local demographic.
Google Ads, business Facebook Page, Instagram can be avenues to find possible patients and reach a bigger audience. You can target certain attributes such as sex, location, age, interests. It's important to understand who your ideal client so we target the right client. You know better than anyone who your client is and this is information you could bring to the table.
You can determine if you want to go for pay per click or pay per impression.
Social Media Services for Therapists
Want to learn more about Blogging or Social Media Services for Mental Health Therapists, other professionals, & private therapy practice? Please fill out this brief questionnaire to see if we're a good fit and if I can help you with what you need. It asks just a few questions to dive deeper into your goals and what you are searching for. Contact me if this was helpful and you know someone who might need marketing.
San Diego Influencer: What is Influencer Marketing? What Do Social Media Influencers Do?
I'm a blogger.
I'm an influencer.
I'm a social media manager.
I'm a blogging coach.
I'm a freelance writer.
I'm all of the above!
There are so many buzzwords these days - blogger, influencer, influencer marketing, engagement - but what does it all mean? Well, some have different meanings, some are similar, & some are industry words much like you'd view on a resume. I don't go around introducing myself as a San Diego influencer in all instances.
I've written over 500 blog posts & hundreds of posts on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, over the years. I've had a blog since 2011, long before I ever had an Instagram page. I majored in journalism & decided I didn't want to spend my life at a newspaper, the next best thing was a lifestyle blog. In 2011, it wasn't about followers, it was about finding a place on the internet where you felt at home. What a different time! In 2017, I quit my corporate job to find the next step for me: freelancing, remote work, writing, social media management.
Read my yearly freelancing anniversary updates from Years 1, 2, & 3!
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| Hanging out & hiking in Julian, California. |
When I do social media management for small local businesses & other clients, I'm a social media manager. What does a social media manager do in a day? Read here. When I'm completing contracted writing for magazines, I'm a freelance writer. If I'm invited to a restaurant opening in San Diego, it's probably because of my blog or social media accounts, so in that case, I'd call myself a San Diego influencer.
I remember attending a press trip for Visit El Paso in 2018 & talking to a man in his 50s. He was on the press trip too, but more on the event planning side, I was on the blogger side. He asked me about the term "influencer" & asked if that's what young people refer to themselves as these days. It was a good question.
Click here to contact me. I'd love to learn more about you & your top business needs.
Related reading: Life in Quarantine as a San Diego Blogger + Social Media Manager from April 2020
What Are Influencers vs. Bloggers?
Influencer marketing isn't just in San Diego or the United States, it's all across the world. There are influencers everywhere, from San Francisco & Los Angeles to New York & Paris & Warsaw, Poland. Overall, being a top blogger, influencer, etc. really depends on the person & what they want to be called. Generally, a blogger has a literal blog. Whether on WordPress, Wix, BlogSpot, SquareSpace, what have you, a blogger is a blogger because of a blog.
Someone who blogs is a blogger; someone who knits is a knitter; someone who plays basketball is a basketball player. It's more about the action, not about semantics.
Read this post for a whole exercise on how to find blogging inspiration & blog ideas.
An influencer might not have a blog but instead has a social media presence, such as Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest, the list goes on. PS, read this blog post for tips to increase your Facebook reach. So because an influencer could be on any/all social channels, the term influencer is a general description of what we do. Social media influencers have influence because of the followers & online presence they've created, similar to a blog, but in a different capacity.
For example, at one point in May 2020, I had up to 2.2 million monthly viewers on my Pinterest profile. Is Pinterest social media?
A blogger might also have an active social media presence, & an influencer could have a blog. Because there isn't a magical exact preciseness to it all, each person might refer to themselves as something different! You can view examples of what a person calls themselves on their blog or social media channels, sometimes in their email signature.
Have questions about influencer marketing in the city of San Diego? Click here to contact me.
What is Influencer Marketing?
Both the top influencers & bloggers create content, write (whether it's captions or blog posts), take photos, negotiate, & so much more. Whether you are a therapist, beauty brand, or a beach towel company, there are ways to improve engagement, get a follow or two, increase visits, increase page views to your contact page, & more.
Influencer marketing is basically like user-generated marketing for the brand; they essentially hire the influencer to do work, ie. content or photos & then share it with their family, friends, audience that they personally developed.
Sometimes I'm a lifestyle blogger, travel influencer, travel writer, social media consultant, the names change because I'm all of them. It depends on who I'm speaking to or what I'm doing! When I went on that press trip in Texas, it makes sense that I'm a California blogger/San Diego influencer since I'm coming in with a California perspective & California viewers make up one of my biggest percentage of followers.
Want to contact me? Click here.
What Do Social Media Influencers Do?
Lifestyle influencer marketing revolves around things people use, eat, or experience on a regular basis, such as tea or a toothbrush or a short trip with family. After the Texas press trip, I created content on my blog. I found a particular aspect about El Paso that I loved & felt my followers & Google searchers would be interested in or would search for later. I wrote a blog post about Franklin Mountains State Park & then shared that content on my social media (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, TripAdvisor).
Going on the press trip gave me content to write about; it gave me experiences, memories, & furthered my own blogging/influencing career by being part of a full-on fly me out, pay for my hotel room type of press trip! In return, the influencers/bloggers create content, take photos, or tag the brand, link to the website, generate interest, views, website clicks, or bookings, etc.
A lot of times a top influencer becomes an influencer by being themselves. For example, I wrote a post about rainbow eucalyptus trees in Balboa Park, San Diego (which you can read here) & it started getting organic search traffic from people Googling fun things in San Diego or where to see rainbow eucalyptus in San Diego.
As an influencer or blogger, you don't work for someone else, it's your platform to use as you wish. As an influencer, it becomes a business that the person chooses what's best. They can choose if they want to work with fashion & style, news, beauty, travel, food.
And remember: it's not always about the number of followers, how much reach do they get? How much engagement?
For example, I had a campaign with Del Taco to promote the Beyond Meat range of burritos & tacos. As someone who has been meat-free for 15 years, I was already buying this product. It made sense to me when the email popped in my inbox about doing a sponsored post on Instagram to talk about it. Make money talking about something I already used, ate, tried? Yes, please. Take a look at my Instagram post!
If you'd like to contact me, click here.
Examples of San Diego Influencer Marketing Events I've Attended
- I went to an event at Home & Away Encinitas for Thorn Beer. They invited foodie influencers to attend. These are regular people. Most of them have a day job, a life other than influencing. These are people who love food & probably post about it frequently, perhaps they use certain hashtags to find new followers. Take a look at my Instagram post about the event & experience here.
Related reading: Encinitas Coffee Shops: Searching for the Best Coffee in Town
- I was invited to the opening of the Scripps Ranch location of Juneshine. View my Instagram post from that event. This event was a bit younger, more modern, & fresh. Most influencers were young, under 40. It's all about the brand, Juneshine is a hard kombucha, which might have a fun, fresh young audience compared to a craft beer brand. The influencers you invite to your event should reflect your brand!
- I attended a mindfulness app launch party in San Diego a few years back at the start of influencer marketing. There was a range of professionals - not just bloggers. Each professional might have a different niche & audience, whether influencer or other local business representatives.
Is Influencer Marketing Free? What Does it Cost?
I've been invited to events across San Diego County. Sometimes a public relations company contacts me via email or sometimes you get a quick Instagram message about something from a brand itself. Each company or event is different. Sometimes there are no requirements for a particular event, they just invite you to feel free to post or not post. Sometimes they want you to post a couple Instagram Stories & other times it's more involved. This is where certain influencers have the leverage to have sponsored posts, posting fees, or other requirements, especially if a lifestyle influencer has a large following/reach. And yes, sometimes there is payment, depending on the campaign or type of sponsored collaboration.
Contact me or see about Coaching, Consulting, & Management for your small business.
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| On a press trip in Lompoc, California with Explore Lompoc. I wrote Fun Things to Do in the City of Lompoc, California on my blog. |
Finding an Influencer for Your Business
From La Jolla, Balboa Park, Del Mar, all the way up to Julian, there are events, restaurant openings, local businesses all around San Diego that could use lifestyle influencer marketing. It's all about finding the correct person for your brand. One influencer might offer daily posting on Instagram about local eateries to try in San Diego County while another might share home decor tips. Follow a few to get a feel for who's out there.
Related reading: How to Set Effective Personal & Business Goals So You Actually Get Things Done
You made it all the way to the bottom so what's the next step? Sometimes you have to take a leap & see what happens. If you need some help, I work with businesses on their engagement, blog writing, social media content, & more.
Whether you live in the city of San Diego or somewhere else, your business might benefit from influencer marketing. Have a question about social media influencers or small business influencer marketing? Contact me. Interested in social media management, help, or consulting? Fill out my Discovery Questionnaire & I'll get in touch with you within 48 hours.
Testimonials
“Very good job going above and beyond my request for stats. Appreciate you putting your critical thinking hat on when looking at the data and extrapolating actionable insights. This is excellent as we continue to test and tweak.” - R.W.
"Carmen helped me prioritize my goals for my brand as a whole. She provided me with skills to improve my decision-making in everything from blog topics, gauging my audience, and making my personality really shine through in my work." -K.S.
"I have so much more clarity about the direction we are headed in--and we are already seeing results! I implemented her SEO strategy a few weeks ago and in the past week we have started to see more referrals through Google. Most importantly, these are quality referrals that have booked with us right away and been eager to pay our full fee. Carmen keeps me accountable to my goals and also provides feedback on my marketing. I send her 90% of our content before it goes out, and she always thinks of ways to make it better." - C.A.
Want to hire me for social media management, consulting, or something else? Fill out my Discovery Questionnaire & I'll get in touch with you within 48 hours.
Is Pinterest Social Media? + a List of Pinterest Categories
What is Pinterest?
Pins & Boards
Want to work with me? If you are interested in my content or marketing services, fill out this quick questionnaire and I'll email you back!
Is Pinterest Social Media?
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| Here's what my Pinterest profile looks like. |
What are Pinterest Categories?
How to Search for Images
How to Find Friends on Pinterest & How to Follow People
Pinterest Manager
Want to work with me? If you are interested in my content or marketing services, fill out this quick questionnaire and I'll email you back!
Content and Blog Post Ideas
Sometimes you feel stuck or overwhelmed with how much you need to do. You ask yourself: "How can get there? How can I get unstuck when I feel stuck?"
Take 30 minutes to go through this exercise & by the end of it, you'll identify some creative blog topics you can start writing immediately. As a social media / blog coach, I go over this topic a lot with my clients. Let's get those blogging content inspiration juices flowing. Are you ready? My clients have successful blogs, brands, & social media channels.
Read my yearly freelancing anniversary updates from Years 1, 2, & 3!
Step 1. Ask yourself: What excites & inspires me?
1. Food
2. Travel
3. Nature
4. Craft beer
5. Netflix
6. Friends
7. Hot sauce
8. Blogging
9. Photography
10. Dogs
11. Poetry
12. Journaling
13. Writing
14. Reading magazines
15. Learning
16. Earl Grey tea
17. Thrift shopping
18. Kombucha
19. Farmers markets
20. Meditating
Step 2. Expand!
1. Food ---> Vegetarian food. Persian food. Trying food from different cultures. Dark chocolate. Pickle chips.
2. Travel ---> Seeing new places. Learning about other cultures. Trying new food! Challenging myself (like that time I spent the night on a couch at London Gatwick Airport).
3. Nature ---> Botanical gardens. Nature walks. State parks or nature reserves. Seeing animals like butterflies, birds, rabbits, deer. Finding peace outside.
4. Craft beer ---> San Diego craft beer breweries. Happy hour craft beer. Hazy IPAs. Tijuana tasting rooms
Step 3. Circle the words or phrases that you're especially interested in
Take a look at your list & circle words or phrases you're especially interested in. What calls to you? What are you truly inspired by? As a human being, what are your current interests? This exercise is an excellent way to get to know yourself (again) & find blogging inspiration content ideas.
Step 4. Ask yourself: How can I incorporate these topics on my blog? How can I incorporate these things into my daily life or even my work?
1. Persian food.
How can I incorporate this topic on my creative blog? --->
- Write about my childhood & growing up Persian
- Experiment with classic Persian Iranian recipes
- Storytell about the Persian parts of my life: evening Farsi classes, celebrating Nowruz
- Talk about the joys of rose water
How can I incorporate this topic into my daily life or even my work? --->
- Eat at local Persian restaurants in the San Diego area.
- Buy an Iranian cookbook to try new-to-me recipes.
- Practice Farsi on DuoLingo
- Check out a book on Persian poetry from the library
Complete this exercise in its entirety & you'll find blogging inspiration to give you creative blog topics & blog ideas for months to come. Never forget that success is a series of small wins, sometimes it's almost unnoticeable. Use your time wisely; read time management tips for bloggers for my best tips. As a blog coach, my clients with successful blogs ask for inspiration tips quite often.
How to Set Effective Personal & Business Goals So You Actually Get Things Done
Take it from me, someone who CONSTANTLY gets off track. These strategies increased my overall productivity compared to the month before.
1. WRITE IT DOWN
What good is a goal if you can't even remember it? Write your goals somewhere so you can see it. Type them in the notes section of your phone. Write it down on paper. Looking at your list serves as a constant reminder to strive for your goals.2. BE SPECIFIC
Simply saying "I want to blog more" doesn't amount to much. How often do you want to blog? For how long? On which days? Where? What were you doing before? Vagueness is not your friend. The small details make a difference. A better & more specific goal is: "I want to publish one blog per week for the next 4 weeks. I can commit to writing, editing, & photographing my post on Saturday mornings since that's my only free time."3. SHARE YOUR GOALS
What pushes you more (or is more embarrassing) than having a friend ask, "Did you ever finish that thing you were working on?" or "I thought you were going to give up watching so much Netflix." Sharing your goals might be the shove in the right direction. If you feel unmotivated, your friend asking "Whatever happened to...?" could be just what you need to keep going. So tell your friends & family! Share it on your blog or on social media. You could also hire me as your coach. :]4. DON'T GIVE UP
It isn't easy to create successful blogs these days. Whatever your goals are, don't give up if it doesn't happen or work out right away. Sometimes life gets in the way. Distractions happen, but don't let it completely derail you. Don't be discouraged if it doesn't instantly work out. Keep at it! I was blogging for 4 years before I earned even one cent!!5. DO IT
Don't just say you're going to do something, do it. Don't procrastinate. You want to workout more or write more? Well, get up off your butt & head to the gym or go on a walk or start typing on your laptop, even if you have nothing to say. Actions speak louder than words, so let your actions do the talking.1 Year Self-Employment Update: Life as a Blogger, Influencer, Entrepreneur
Read my updates from Year 2 & Year 3!
I launched the July Blogger & Influencer Challenge as a way to cover some of the information in my private coaching but make it affordable & accessible to more people. Every weekday in July each registrant receives coaching content straight to their inbox geared for badass bloggers & influencers looking to increase their social media reach, following, opportunities, & income.
Need some help making progress on your blog or social media platform? Want guidance on how to get more views, followers, opportunities? Struggling to understand the online world or how to find readers/clients? Fill out my FREE Discovery Questionnaire if you're interested to find out about more coaching & how I can help you.
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