How Your Therapy Skills Can Help Build Your Online Presence (Part 1)

This is the first post of a 2 part series of how to best utilize social media to engage your readers.  

Developing and maintaining a strong online presence to engage readers employs the same skills you use as a therapist: the ability to foster trust, build rapport, and serve your community.  

The internet allows you to expand your therapy outreach in a way that exceeds the bounds of what you could do from a traditional office setting.  Here are some specific points to consider when building an online presence.

Your Therapy Skills in Practice

Some clinical counselors new to social media aren’t always confident about how to approach the task of building an online presence and effectively building a social media following, but you already have many of the skills you need.  Your training has taught you to help others feel comfortable, address their specific concerns, and provide professional insight to respond to their needs.  Building your online presence is simply translating those therapy skills to a larger venue.

Don’t be scared or overwhelmed by the technology side of things; by starting small, asking questions, and perhaps even learning a bit through trial-and-error, you will gain the experience you need to create a thriving online presence.

Content Creation vs. Content Curation

We’ve talked about the importance of creating quality content to frequently post to your blog and social media platforms.  But just as important is curating material that already exists; that is researching, finding, and presenting content that is relevant to your current focus or professional study.  Your goal is to connecting with both the general public and other professionals in the field in an effort to serve, educate, and inspire.

Some may wonder how much original content they should produce, and how much existing material they should repurpose.  I generally try to obey the 40/ 60 rule; about 40% of the media I share through my social platforms is my own, where 60% is material I’ve found that I feel could best serve my community of clients.

“Why am I not getting new clients?”

I have talked to therapists who wonder why they haven’t seen a significant growth in their practice after they began to devote time to their online presence.  But social media is a long-term strategy, and the results are usually not immediate.  You need to build a collection of quality articles, podcasts, media contributions, etc. that prove you serve as a reliable resource in the field.  It won’t happen overnight, but if you consistently create and curate quality material, you will be able to better serve your community, establish yourself as a trusted professional, educate the public about relevant topics pertaining to mental health, and also grow your business in order to meet your own needs.  So keep plugging away; you’ll get there!

Stay tuned for an upcoming post about the logistics of using different platforms (Twitter, Facebook, etc.) to further engage your readers.  

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4 Ways to Build a Thriving Practice in an Uncertain Economy

Since the economic downturn of 2008, my practice has experienced significant growth. I attribute that growth to these four strategies.

Our economy took a turn for the worse in 2008, stock market crashed, and many companies were forced to downsize.  It was a hard time for many Americans, financially and emotionally. And yet, during this same time frame, my practice Wasatch Family Therapy experienced exponential growth. We steadily acquired new clients. opened two additional locations and grew from half a dozen therapists to over 20 therapists.

So how did I do it?  I put time and energy into creating and maintaining a strong online presence.

1) I used a website as a way to introduce myself and to serve my community

As an early technology adopter, I had a website (or webpage) in the early 2000's. As social networking expanded in the mid-2000's I saw the incredible possibilities for reaching out directly to potential clients. My website not only acts as an introduction to my clinic and my therapists, but also allows us to serve and educate through videos and articles about important issues related to mental and emotional health and well-being.

2) I used social media to have meaningful conversations with people

Social media has played an invaluable role in acquiring and retaining clients. I estimate that we gain about 80% of new customers through Google and the internet.  The importance of having an online presence cannot be overstated.  It changed my business forever, and Wasatch Family Therapy continues to thrive to this day. Here's a rough time frame of my social networking journey:

• 2002 Started solo private practice Wasatch Family Therapy
• 2004 Webpage
• 2008 Joined Facebook
• 2009 Joined Twitter
• 2009 Started blogging on practice website
• 2009 Employed 4-5 therapists
• 2009 Joined LinkedIn
• 2010 Started YouTube Channel
• 2011-12 Joined Instagram, Pinterest
• 2013 Joined Google+
• 2014 Currently employ 20+ therapists with 3 locations

3) I created consistent and meaningful content on reputable websites

I  caught the vision of providing quality content to educate and serve the public.  My professional Facebook presence, blog, and other media projects were ways for us to get my name out there, establish trust and reliability, and connect with readers and potential clients. I started blogging for PsychCentral's Ask the Therapist in 2009, Private Practice Toolbox blog in 2011, Sharecare and Daily Strength in 2012, and became the Answers relationship expert blogger in 2013.

4) I sought out media interviews and learned to leverage them

Once I started creating content on larger websites, I started seeking local and national media interviews. As a result of my blogging and media interviews established news and lifestyle websites began quoting me and linking to my website.  This led to even more traffic (readers coming to our site), which in turn meant building trust with more people. It’s been very encouraging to see the fruits of my labor pay off in the growth of my clinic, and the ability to employ amazing therapists.

Never before have therapists been able to serve potential clients before ever meeting them and to educate our community without leaving the house. Through developing your strong online presence through an effective website, an engaged social media following, creating helpful content, and seeking media interviews, you can maintain viability and keep your practice strong, even when the economic climate is less than favorable.

What strategies have you used to survive and thrive in an uncertain economy? Please share your thoughts below!

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4 Ways to Repurpose Existing Content for Blog Posts

You already have content for hundreds of blog posts. You just don't recognize it yet. Therapists who are new to blogging sometimes have a difficult time finding material to write about.  So where to begin?  Actually, it’s much easier than you might expect.

An excellent strategy to finding material to write about is to simply repurpose and repackage existing content. That means that you remake something that’s already been created, either by you or someone else.  This of course does NOT mean that you simply regurgitate what has already been written, but instead you thoughtfully craft existing material to serve a new purpose and audience.  There’s no need to reinvent the wheel, here!

So let’s about specific ways to repurpose existing content for your blog posts.

1) Transform Your Existing Content

One of the most effective ways (and easiest, too!) to find something to blog about is to use content that you yourself have already created.  For me, I look to podcasts or webinars I’ve done, articles I’ve published, or other media projects I’ve been involved with as inspiration for my blog.  Sometimes I take just a sentence or two from one of these things and elaborate on it for a blog post.  To give an example, I often say that “Conversational is the new professional” to describe how therapists can use social media to interact with clients.  This phrase alone could spark a great blog post about new methods of communication between professionals and customers.  So look back on content you’ve created to find something great to write about.  Easy as pie!

2) What Other Experts Say

If you haven’t yet landed those media interviews, published articles, or speaking engagements, don’t worry!  You still have a lot of topics to write about.  As a professional of any kind knows, it’s critical to continue to read and study about one’s field to stay current and relevant concerning best practices.  Consider that new and interesting research findings can become fodder for a blog post. Summarize the findings, add your perspective on the topic, link to the research article, and voila!

Additionally, consider embedding a YouTube video from another professional that is relevant to your idea client's needs. Write a couple of paragraphs about why this video speaks to you or how it applies to your ideal client. Remember to link to the original video and the expert's website.

3) Notice Trends in Your Practice

Also, don’t overlook the specific issues you see as a therapist.  Reflect on trends you observe in your practice and use those for content for your blog.  For example, maybe you’ve noticed that many of your recent clients struggle with communicating with their spouses about finances.  Draw upon your professional expertise (and possibly do a bit of research as well) to provide advice related to those situations.  And there you have another great blog post.

4) Community Talks & Presentations

I recently spoke to a group of mental health professionals on building an online presence. I asked them how many of them had Powerpoint presentations they have used for community events or school projects. All of the participants raised their hands. Take your community presentation content and divide it up into smaller sections for blog posts or blog post series. For example, say you have a presentation on warning signs that goes through the diagnostic criteria for common mental health disorders: mood disorders, anxiety disorders, and personality disorders. You could take each of the larger categories and use those for a blog post series such as the following:

Mood Disorders 101: Warning signs to watch for (1 of 5)

Mood Disorders: What's the difference between mild and major depression? (2 of 5)

Mood Disorders: When a loved one threatens suicidal (3 of 5)...You get the idea.

Another way to use community presentations as blog content is to audio or video record your presentations. You can easily edit your audio or video and post sections of it as mp3 or video on your professional blog.

Once you get going on your professional blog, you’ll likely find that you have an abundance of material to write about. Take something already created, put an original twist on it, and then make it your own.  So get to thinking about something you’ve written, read, or seen in your practice, and then write a rocking post about it!

I'd love to hear your ideas for repurposing existing content. Please share your ideas and creative ideas in the comments below.