Why all therapists and private practices need to start implementing a content marketing strategy

Becoming a therapist and starting a private practice can be super rewarding and I understand the journey can be extremely difficult, especially when it comes to acquiring and retaining good clients. 

We interviewed over 50 mental health therapists on what their biggest struggle is when it comes to starting a private practice and most of them mentioned finding new clients. 

The truth is that finding new clients is never easy and we understand that. Most individual private practices dump a lot of money into running ads in hopes to get some clicks through Google, but what if there’s a way that will allow patients to find you regularly without you having to run ads?

That’s where the power of content marketing kicks in.

A patient will come to a therapist to find a solution to their issues. They rely on therapists to provide the appropriate tools they require to get the better of conflict, grief and any other problem that is interfering with their everyday life. 

For the traditional marketing space, patients will come to appreciate the therapist’s expertise after they’ve met them a couple of times. By using content marketing, you can have the opposite effect. 

Potential patients will know more about you, and begin to see you as trustworthy, before you even start a single session together. 

Plenty of potential patients select a therapist based on a variety of factors, including areas of expertise and past success stories. 

Many therapists rely on standard messaging and advertising to gain new clients. But content marketing will all you to further distinguish your practice from competitors and locate the clientele that responds well to your program and approaches. 

Why Should Therapists Use Content Marketing?

Advertising has evolved in the past decade from when a professional service provider could simply post an ad in a newspaper and gain new clients. There’s tons of competition that everyone seeking for business has to proactively reach clients and demonstrate their value. 

This why content marketing has become highly important in today’s marketplace, even for those in a wellness profession. By building and distributing genuine help, value and unique content, you can stand out. You’re also able to show the value you can have on someone’s life before a patent even enters your office. 

If you want to discover more patients for your business, you need content marketing to ensure a successful business now and in the long-term. It’s crucial for any business that wants to reach any of the following objectives. 

Increase business visibility

Customers no longer respond with the usual ads, they respond to information they consider useful or entertaining. As time passes, they drift to the business that repeatedly offered valuable content. 

When you develop a blog, distribute any articles you find helpful, or even create content for other websites, you stand out from other therapists and can develop a loyal following over time. 

This vastly increases your visibility, particularly among those in your local area.  

Produce more targeted leads

Clarity is crucial, but so is that quality that helps you generate leads. While there is nothing wrong with taking pleasure in the responses you receive for your content, it should also introduce you to the people who actually need your services. 

The people you want to attract online include potential clients, but it can also be important influencers who promote your insights to a broader audience. It may also include medical professionals who refer patients to your practice, or media professionals who are searching for quotes for their articles. Quality content can gain the attention of all these individuals. 

Establishing trust and authority 

Individuals searching for help from a therapist want to know they’re going to a renowned professional with an excellent track record. Content marketing is one of the most successful methods to both achieve this and make your current achievements widely known. 

If you manage to produce content on a constant basis, other therapists will also begin to pay attention and rely on your insights. This develops into an image of a thought leader and authority in your industry and continued demand for both insight and services. 

By setting yourself as an authority figure online, you may find that more therapists are willing to refer patients outside their area to your office. 

Now that you’ve become aware of why content marketing can be beneficial for a therapist, let’s move on to the important step you’ll need to go through to get started on a content marketing strategy of your own. 

Content Marketing Strategy

Content marketing is an effective method to develop your practice and build a steady stream of patients and referrals. Content marketing requires careful planning before you can produce content and tons of management afterward. 

Here’s what your strategy requires before you set it into motion. 

Setting up goals

You have some ideas for a blog post or case study. What are you hoping it can accomplish or your practice? Ask yourself this question while creating content, and try to set some separate goals for each piece of content you plan to make. 

The answer behind this question will most likely change over time. For instance, your objective in the first six months may be to gain awareness for your practice. During the next year, it may be to increase patient retention. Having a goal in mind makes deciding on a topic more easier. It allows you to choose the proper format for the distribution of your content, whether it’s a blog post or a whitepaper. 

Define your target audience

Therapists have a number of potential target audiences, but these audiences don’t respond similarly to the same content. For example, if you wish to develop your credibility, prospective clients may respond to therapies they can apply while at home, whereas fellow therapists will lean more towards research papers. 

When building content, don’t simply ask why, ask who it’s for. This will ensure you have a better understanding of the language, tone, and details you should input when you are writing a blog post or article.

Proper channels

Now that you’ve become aware of who should be consuming your content, you need to be aware of where to find them. If you want to reach parents of young children, would posting an article on social media be effective, or should you try a guest blog on a parenting website? Do your associates spend more time on LinkedIn or the American Psychological Association site?

Choose the more popular website for your target audience, and then build content for those websites. As you nurture your reputation online, you’ll notice that it’s much easier to be accepted to post to these sites, and you may even receive invitations as well. 

If you’re having difficulty gaining acceptance to write for other websites, try concentrating on developing your own blog or database of articles first. You’ll need to pitch some quality sample content if you want to gain any acknowledgment, and there’s no better way to pull this off than to build it on your platform first. 

Tracking and monitoring your results

Your idea to reach a certain group of individuals with certain websites may be a good idea, but there’s no way to know how successful they’ll be. The only way you’ll know how well your strategy is performing with a comprehensive analytics strategy. 

Search for reliable tracking and monitoring programs to track clicks, action taken, and appropriate leads and revenues generated. Use this information to improve your next campaign, and then measure again. Google Analytics is one of the tools you can use to track your results for any online campaign, plus it’s free. 

Conclusion

Content marketing for therapists may be a new concept, but it’s rapidly becoming a vital aspect of online marketing and lead generation. 

It takes quite a while to develop a content marketing strategy and even more time to follow through with it. 

Although, the aftermath is a prosperous practice and a first-class reputation, especially when your strategy is steered by experts in the field. If you are looking for ways to improve the reach of your therapy practice, consider giving content marketing a try. You may be surprised by the results in the long run. 

If you’re running a private practice and looking for a done-for-you content marketing solution for your practice, reach out to us! We’re here to help 🙂