As a therapist, you’ve learned how to help people deal with the darkest thoughts they have in their mind. You’ve survived years of studying, counselling seminars, and gruelling licensing exams to set up the practice you have today. However, you may not have learned about marketing yet, let alone digital marketing. It may not be essential in taking care of patients, but marketing is necessary to reach those patients and help them.
Over 96% of the United Kingdom’s population use the internet. And more than half of the people in the UK actively use social media. If your practice isn’t online, you may be missing out on engaging the people who need your expertise. Here are effective ways to improve your practice’s digital marketing.
Increase Your Search Visibility
Google is the most visited site among UK internet users. Plus, searches related to mental issues continue to rise. In fact, the term “depression” gets searched every two seconds. And while there are reliable resources online, some users may use them as a way to self-diagnose instead of seeing a professional. Ensure your expert advice is the first thing they click on Google through search engine optimisation (SEO).
SEO is all about modifying your website’s elements and content so that it’s easier for both people and search engines to understand. This process also involves inserting keywords relevant to your practice and industry into your website’s content and copy to increase your site’s ranking on search results. It also requires creating articles with word counts of around 500 to 2,000 to keep your audience engaged with your site.
A surefire way to reach the top of your audience’s search results is to work with a digital marketing agency that specialises in SEO. They’ll do all the keyword research and content creation for you, so you can focus on accommodating and treating your new and current patients.
Be Active on Social Media
Social media sites like Facebook and Twitter are great platforms to reach your patients. There, you can share links and snippets of your website’s educational blog posts to gain more traffic to your site. Share basic self-therapy techniques to help your audience deal with their condition while also encouraging them to seek professional help if their symptoms get worse.
These types of advice and informational posts are what get shares and engagement that lead customers to your practice. As such, you need to publish them regularly. Get help from a social media agency if you’re having trouble pushing out consistent content.
Harness the Power of Email
Over 60% of adults subscribe to some kind of newsletter, according to PowerInbox. This is because they inherently trust this medium. Engage your current patients through regular email newsletters. These can feature your new blog posts, promos, industry news, and even advice. Get current and new patients to join your newsletter by adding a subscription form on your site. You could even provide incentives like discounts upon joining. Make sure to send out emails on a fixed schedule (around once a week is fine) to keep your audience engaged and ware of your practice.
Running a private therapy practice can be tough if you’re not getting enough patients. Get clients to your door by applying proper SEO strategies, being active on social media, and providing interesting and regular newsletters. With a stronger online presence, your schedule will be filled in no time.