Social media is a gold mine when it comes to marketing your small business.
The exposure, and ability to create a voice for your company is a luxury generations before us never had.
If you’re a mental health professional that has recently chosen to open your own practice, strategizing your social media plan may not have been at the top of your list.
However, it’s incredibly rewarding and worth the time and effort.
So, how are a few ways you can start marketing your mental health practice on Facebook?
Unlike Instagram or Pinterest, Facebook has many features that can optimize your brand’s visibility and efficiently market your mental health therapy practice in order to grow your client base, and boost your income. With billions of users every day, there’s more than enough room for your new practice to bloom.
Create A Facebook Business Page
Let’s start back at the very basics: creating a Facebook business page.
It’s important to keep your personal and business accounts separate, and Facebook makes it incredibly easy to do so.
Starting from your Facebook homepage, find the ‘create’ button near the top. Once clicked, you’ll have the option to ‘create page’. From there, you can create your title, choose a category, and enter your business information.
Once you have the bone structure of your page down, it’s time to add the meat:
Cover Photo: The cover photo is the wide, rectangular box behind your profile picture. Your cover photo is often the first thing users see when they visit your page, so make sure it catches their eye. Your cover photo should express your brand identity, while remaining fun, simple, and exciting.
Profile Picture: If you’re the only therapist working at your private practice, it’s okay to use your own professional headshot for your profile picture. However, if you have hired other therapists to work alongside you, this may be confusing for potential customers. Consider using your private practice’s logo, instead. This allows users to immediately identify your brand.
“About” Section: You want to nail this section, as often many people read through this before deciding to follow a page. Keep it short, as users may find long text overwhelming. Use keywords that are industry-specific, and can help potential customers understand what it is you specialize in. As always, include a link to your website at the end.
Start Posting Content
Unless you want to pay for ads, posting content to organically generate likes and followers is the main way in which Facebook will begin promoting your page.
While it’s tempting to believe building a Facebook business page means immediate exposure, this is often not the case, and it requires time, perseverance, and consistency.
While your Facebook business page is meant to promote your private practice, you can’t immediately begin with strictly advertising your business. In order to gain followers, you need to start with informative content.
Be careful to save the clinical jargon for your fellow therapist friends, as this can turn off potential followers.
Post relevant, informational articles on topics your followers find interesting.
The whole point of posting informational content is to create engagement on your page. The more comments, likes, and shares your post gets, the more Facebook will promote you.
Once your content has begun growing, then you can begin advertising your business.
Hire a Social Media Manager
If the world of social media seems too complex, and you simply don’t have the time to untangle it, hiring a social media manager is a convenient and effective strategy.
Social media managers are professionals in posting engaging content, replying to comments, and growing your page organically.
One of the most time consuming arenas of any social media page, is the consistency required to upkeep your page. If you’re busy running a business, and taking on clients, this can fall to the wayside, making it much harder to grow your internet presence.
There are two ways you can begin working with a social media manager on Facebook:
Social Media Tools: There are many websites out there created specifically for social media management. Sites like Buffer, HootSuite, and SproutSocial give admins and social media managers a platform to create content, reply to direct messages, host contests, and giveaways, and analyze your page's data, all while keeping your personal password and login, private.
Admin Role: Facebook is currently the only social media platform that enables a user to add team members to their business page, without the risk of giving out their login information. Admins that are added to a Facebook business account are able to post, comment, delete, edit, or change anything about the page as they see fit.
Facebook Advertisement
There is no shame in giving your business page a boost through the use of paid advertisements. Just make sure you’re utilizing this feature correctly in order to get your money’s worth.
Here are a few tips when considering running a Facebook ad for your private practice:
Consider The Outcome: What is it exactly that you wish to gain from this ad? Is it more page followers? New clients? Tailor your ad to meet what it is you wish to achieve.
Understand Your Target Audience: Do you practice marriage therapy? What about family therapy? Or are you a more general therapist with a specialty for adolescents. Whatever your target audience is for your brand, customize your advertisement to attract this demographic.
Create Your Content: When choosing what type of content you want your ad to run, remember to keep it simple, and to the point. Don’t overflow your ad with text, but keep it lighthearted and informational. It’s a fine line but can make all the difference.
Track Progress: Some ads will work, and some won’t. There is no magic formula, you just have to keep up with the progress of your advertisement and analyze what type of content works for your practice. By keeping track you can gain insight into your customer’s likes and dislikes, and tailor future ads to meet those demands.
In Conclusion
Growing and maintaining your Facebook business page is not a sprint. It’s a marathon that requires long-term strategic action.
It can feel defeating when success isn’t immediate, but there’s nothing wrong with getting help from a Facebook advertisement, or a social media manager.
By creating a business page, optimizing the layout, and keeping your content informative, and relevant to your target audience, the benefits will follow.
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