Get Graphic! Using Visual Content to Build Your Online Practice Presence

Photos, graphics, and memes can help build engagement and grow your online private practice presence.

Visual content is becoming increasingly important to a business’s online presence, and your therapy practice would do well to get on board.  Nothing can replace quality written content, but too many words on a page can be overwhelming and/or dull. In fact, visual media networks, such as YouTube and Instagram have more referral traffic than Twitter, LinkedIn, and Google+ combined.  It makes sense, as studies show that 90% of the information transmitted to our brain is visual and that we  process images 60,000 times faster than text.  Additionally, information presented visually is much more likely to be retained, so your followers will remember things better than just plain text.  So don’t be afraid to put some quality and purposeful images out there to help boost your online engagement.  Here are some examples of ways to get graphic and connect with your readers visuals.

Photos

Photos are a great way to add to your blog or social media content.  They can both attract readers who are more visual learners and also enhance the message you are trying to get across.  You can carefully select online images to match your content, but don’t be afraid to also use your own pictures to show your human side. A word of caution:  ignoring copyright laws can really get you in trouble by slapping you with a lawsuit.  Certain companies, such as Getty, are pretty strict about their rules and aren’t afraid to go after you for breaking them.  Avoiding this type of problem is just one more push for using original photos.

Graphics

Graphics are a way to portray or emphasize a quote or idea in a way that’s succinct and easy to read (think Pinterest quotes).  They can incorporate both text and images.  Tap into your inner artist by using different colors and fonts; get creative!  It’s a good idea to make sure your graphics are square-shaped to best accommodate social media networks, such as Instagram. A great online tool for creating graphics is Canva.com.  As is usually the case with online tools, Canva offers different levels of membership that correspond to varying levels of usability (ie:  the more you pay, the more stuff you can do).  But even just choosing the basic free option allows you to create beautiful and interesting graphics. I often design visuals from my iPhone for Instagram and other social media sites on either Rhonna Designs or InstaQuote.

Memes A meme is a kind of graphic that incorporates humor by taking a commonly known image (often from a popular movie), and then putting a twist on it.  Using memes may or may suit your social media presence; it all depends on your personal style.  Memes can provide comic relief and entertainment that may liven things up.

Remember, incorporating visual content doesn’t mean you are detracting from the professionalism of your business.  It means you are engaging a new generation of readers and potential clients by showing your human side and making your stuff easier to read. Graphics and images can be a great part of your online content.

How do YOU utilize visual content to spread the word about your practice?

Source:  http://thenextweb.com/dd/2014/05/21/importance-visual-content-deliver-effectively

Images courtesy of CanstockPhoto.com (csp19322927 and csp14656419)

Evolution Of A Private Practice

This year marks my 10th year in private practice and I've spent a lot of time reflecting on and blogging about what's contributed to the growth and longevity of my practice. As I started creating a timeline chronicling the evolution of my practice, it became clear that the growth of my private practice coincides with my online presence building efforts. I don't think it's an accident that when I began actively seeking media interviews, blogging, and building my social networks that my practice experienced tremendous growth.

• 2002 Started solo private practice Wasatch Family Therapy, LLC
• 2002 Applied to participate on health insurance panels
• 2002 Started speaking regularly in the community and throughout the state of UT
• 2004 Created one page website with photo, practice summary, and contact information
• 2004 Identified that my ideal clients were likely internet users
• 2006 Resigned from all health insurance panels
• 2006 Hired another therapist
• 2008 Hosted a local TV show for several months
• 2008 Joined Facebook initially as a way to connect with TV viewers
• 2008 Practice grew to 4 therapists
• 2008 Started publishing regular e-newsletter
• 2009 Joined Twitter
• 2009 Became a regular local TV Contributor on KSL TV's Studio 5 , a top women's lifestyle program
• 2009 Started blogging weekly on practice website and JulieHanks.com
• 2010 Started actively seeking local & national media interviews on mental health and relationship topics
• 2010 Practice grew to 8 therapists
• 2010 Started YouTube Channel
• 2011 Started blogging for Psych Central's Private Practice Toolbox
• 2011 Began writing for Psych Central's "Ask The Therapist"
• 2011 Started consulting with other private practice therapists on building a practice
• 2011 First National TV appearance on Discovery Health's Secretly Pregnant
• 2011 Interviewed on National Fox News Channel
• 2011 Named #1 online Influencer making a difference for depression by Dr. Oz’s Sharecare site
• 2011 Nominated for NASW Media Award for website
• 2011 Joined Pinterest and Instagram
• 2012 Guest blogger for Dr. Oz's Sharecare and PsychCentral World Of Psychology
• 2012 15 therapists in 2 clinic locations
• 2012 Over 25,000 social media followers
• 2013 Opening 3rd office location

I challenge you to outline the evolution of your practice. What patterns do you notice about your practice growth? What wisdom can you share with colleagues about what has worked for you?

(c) Can Stock Photo

Therapist Media Cheat Sheet: Look Good And Sound Smart On TV

TV interviews are a great way to educate about relationship and mental health topics and to raise visibility for your private practice. Over the past few years, I've actively sought out interview opportunities and have found that over time, they have bolstered my credibility, fostered trust in my knowledge and clinical skills, and raised visibility of my private practice. Thanks to social media, TV interviews can reach beyond the viewership of the live broadcast to a larger audience. One example is this short, live interview for a local Utah TV lifestyle program.  "How To Handle A Narcissistic Mother" has had over 9000 views on YouTube (and yes, I'm still working on not saying ,"um").

I reached out to other therapists to find out what they'd learned from their TV interview experience, what advice they'd give to therapists preparing for their first TV interview, and how these interviews have impacted their practice.

Here are 10 Tips to help you look and sound like an expert when TV interviews come your way.

1 - Do your homework

Find out who is interviewing you, how long the interview will be, and who watches the show so you can tailor your interview to fit the format and show yourself in your best light. Therapist Sharon Rivkin, MA, MFT and author of Breaking the Argument Cycle: How to Stop Fighting Without Therapy suggests researching the show's demographics, audience, and format so you can tailor the interview to the show's viewers. Before his local television news interview, Psychotherapist John Sovec, M.A., LMFT went online and found clips of the newscaster who'd be interviewing him to get familiar with his interview style.

2 - Develop talking points

From my own TV experience, mapping out 5-6 talking points is crucial to building my confidence, producers' confidence and interviewers appreciate the direction. Sovec adds, "The TV world moves fast and I always find that talking points help me to stay centered." Texas Psychologist Susan Fletcher, Ph.D., author of Working in the Smart Zone: Smart Strategies to be a Top Performer at Work and at Home found that "some TV anchors will stick to the talking points while others will veer off. Be prepared to go a little off topic and be flexible. You can always work your way back to the topic."

3 - Add visuals and examples

Fletcher suggests incorporating visual elements into your TV segments and shares this example: "One of the most visual segments I did was What to do on your Spring Break Staycation and I had visuals for everything you could do with your children. I've also used personal photos to show my points." According to Rivkin, giving specific examples to support your talking points makes interviews more compelling. She's learned through experience to "...be succinct, clear and direct. Give an example of a client you've worked with. Stories are more compelling and paint a clearer picture than descriptions."

4 - Prepare and practice

When preparing for a TV interview Terrence Alspaugh, LPCP, Psychotherapist of Family Solutions of Maryland wrote down and memorized talking points on index cards. "I practiced elaborating on each point with illustrations and examples. I wanted to be sure that I could say more about the points if time allowed." TV veteran Will Courtenay, PhD, LCSW, The Men's Doc always "over-prepares: for interviews and says he's always glad he did.

5 - Remember that you're the expert

If you're feeling a bit anxious about an upcoming TV interview David Simonsen M.S. LMFT of Creative Solutions Counseling suggests, "Remember that you are the expert and they are coming to you. Find comfort in the fact that you know your field and you have knowledge they don't."

6 - Speak in sound bites

A sound bite is a short phrase or a few phrases of information.  Speaking in sound bites requires therapists to use skills that aren't often practiced. Good therapists often speak slowly, reflect back, pause often, and go deeper. However, good TV interview skills require the opposite: speak quickly, don't reflect back, keep the interview moving, and stay on target. For taped TV interviews, remember to pause at the end of each thought or phrase to allow for clean editing.

7 - Wear comfortable and flattering clothing

From my own TV experience, I find it's important to wear something comfortable that reflects my professional personality and my practice. If something you're wearing feels awkward or out of place it will detract your focus from the interview. Here are a few "what to wear" tips:

• Bright solid colors generally look better than prints or white.
• Wear colors that have elicited the most compliments in the past.
• Accessorize close to your face, drawing the eye upward.
• Wear more makeup than usual, even for men. "Wearing some foundation is especially important for men, who often have oily skin -- which will look shiny on screen -- and are more likely to sweat," Courtenay suggests.

8 - Look at the interviewer

Unless instructed otherwise, look at the interviewer. If the show is filming with several cameras, it can be confusing to track which camera to look at. For the record, the camera with the red light is the one currently filming. On her first TV interview Fletcher wasn't sure if she should look at a camera or at the interviewer after the interview was over. She says, "I was advised to continue looking at the TV host."

9 - Be yourself

Rivkin suggests, "Don't be afraid to be yourself and let your personality show. If appropriate, use humor. It can make the interview more interesting." Courtenay gives the following advice for therapists preparing for TV interviews, "Think of your interviewers as friends and remember they really are interested in talking with you. Try to achieve some intimacy, as if you're talking one-on-one to a friend. Don't worry about making mistakes, everyone does; if you misstate something, just simply repeat it."

10 - Don't Expect Immediate Results

Media Psychiatrist Carole Lieberman M.D. and author of Bad Girls: Why Men Love Them & How Good Girls Can Learn Their Secrets says:

Therapists often think that this will grow their practice, but unless you offer some very specific niche therapy that the public may not be familiar with, and patients with this need happen to see your appearance, it is not the most efficient way to get patients. I do not do it to grow my practice. In fact, TV appearances interfere with practice because you often have to reschedule patients at the last minute to do a TV show.

Of her TV interview experience Melody Brooke, MA, LPC, LMFT, author of Oh Wow This Changes Everything says that they haven't made a difference in her practice. "Its given me a lot of street credibility, but other than that, my practice has not grown at all." Courtenay adds,  "Unfortunately, the impact of my TV appearances are hard to judge. However, many of my clients have told me that they've seen interviews with me before we met." Sovec says that he usually gets some calls after TV interviews but sees them as another step toward building public awareness about his work and to build his credibility as an expert.

In an upcoming post I'll share tips to maximize your TV exposure. Until then, watch and learn from these seasoned therapists' TV interviews.

Watch Dr. Will Courtenay

Watch Dr. Susan Fletcher

Dr. Carole Lieberman

Facebook Pages for Therapists: How to Set Up a Practice Page

In a previous post I talked about why social media matters to therapists. The number of people using social media on a daily basis, and Facebook in particular, are astounding! Facebook is a great way to raise visibility for your therapy practice and keep your personal profile and clinic page separate. Before you set up your page it's important to know the difference between a profile and a page.

Facebook Profile vs. Page

• You must have a personal profile to set up a professional page.
• Facebook profiles have friends (limit of 5000). Facebook pages have an unlimited amount of "likes".
• Facebook pages are visible to everyone. Facebook profiles can be set so that only people that you accept as "friends" will have access to your personal information. Be sure to set the highest security levels on your profile.
• When you post on your therapy practice page wall it will post as your professional practice name or the name of your clinic, not your personal profile name.  Visitors to your practice page will not be able to click through to your profile.  Here's a screen shot of my clinic Facebook page. When I post anything on the page wall it shows as "Wasatch Family Therapy" with our logo not as "Julie Hanks."

How to Set up a Facebook Page for your Therapy Practice

Here's a quick YouTube tutorial video I put together that walks you through the basics of setting up a Facebook Page.

In future posts I'll dive into more details of how to customize your practice page, use the applications, tag, post video, connect with other referral sources, and more. Do you have concerns about setting up a Facebook page for your therapy practice? I'd love to discuss them so please feel free to post comments below.

Why Social Media Matters to Therapists

You're in the mental health field because you want to make a difference and make a living, right? Technology and new media now allow therapists to educate and interact with worldwide audience and to talk directly to ideal clients...for free. Take a look at these recent statistics from the top social media sites:

1. There are 750 million active users (Facebook.com)
2. 200 million Tweets go out daily on Twitter (Twitter.com)
3. Over 400 billion YouTube videos videos are viewed each day (YouTube.com)

Of the 750 million Facebook users, half log into the site daily. This is great news for therapists in private practice because you now have access to thousands of your ideal clients. Can they find you? Do you have a Facebook "Page" for your therapy practice? (I'll be posting soon about the difference between a Facebook profile and a page). It's a great way to share resources, articles, and provide information about your practice and the issues that matter to you and your clients.

How about Twitter or YouTube? Can your ideal clients find you there? Are you tweeting about your specialty areas or your services? Do you have a video introducing yourself and your practice on YouTube? Think about it. Your potential clients are on the internet looking for mental health information and services. If you're feeling overwhelmed by these suggestions, never fear! I'll be walking you through effective and efficient ways to use social media sites to build your practice as the weeks go on. Keep in mind that social media sites are additional forums for building referral sources and networking, a place to talk with people.

So, why are so many therapists reluctant to embrace social media? Fears regarding breaches of confidentiality and the potential dual relationships are common concerns, however, there are ways to set up social media accounts so you're not mixing personal and professional information and relationships. In upcoming posts I'll suggest ways to utilize social media in an ethical way that helps you do a better job at educating on topics you're passionate about and using it in a way that builds your private practice.

Do you have questions, concerns, or fears about using social media to build your therapy practice? I'd love to discuss them so please post comments below.

photo credit: :: nany mata.