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Marketing Your Practice
on the Internet
by Ellenmorris Tiegerman, Ph.D. and Jeffrey Kassinove, Ph.D., Co-Founders of Theramatch
In today’s business marketplace, increasing your referral base requires a shift in thinking. The internet has become a major pool for potential referrals. Consumers want easily accessible information about their professionals and the internet is a great way to share your professional resume with the world. As a professional, you have a great deal to offer the clients and the general public about the field of mental health. We have both successfully used the internet to effectively increase our referral base to grow a non-insurance based practice. Whether you have your own website or use a platform directory service like Theramatch, here are a few tips that you should consider as you market yourself on the internet.
1. Choose an Expertise. In the field of mental health we are trained not to present ourselves as an expert or specialist. Yet, you likely completed a Master’s thesis and/or a dissertation on a specific area. That does separate your level of expertise in that area from others in your profession. You need to think of yourself as an expert, and communicate that to prospective clients so they can see the benefits of choosing you as their therapist. It is not as difficult to choose a specialty area as many clinicians might think. We suggest that you identify three areas of your clinical practice that represent your specialties. Those three areas you need to describe and focus on when you market on the internet. Think in terms of building a platform for yourself to help people understand who you are and what you do. Most clinical practitioners need to get past the uncomfortable feeling of marketing their skills. Yet, as clinicians, we teach people to advocate for themselves. Well, take your own message to heart, and inform people about your skills. When we built our practice, we realized that people search for professionals with specific expertise. If a parent needs counseling for their child who exhibits anxiety, they will enter key words such as “anxiety therapist “or “anxiety counselor.” We focused on a few areas and began to write about those topics on the internet.
2. Problem and Benefits Statements. Many clinicians make the mistake of making websites and other forms of marketing testaments to themselves. This is a turn off to prospective clients who are struggling with particular types of problems and looking for someone who can understand and help them overcome these problems and alleviate their pain. This is one reason why choosing a specialty area is so important. By doing so, you are communicating to prospective clients that you are particularly suited, given your training and experiences, to help them with their particular problems. Begin with these types of statements and you will let readers know that helping them is your primary interest. For instance, if you specialize in relationships, you might ask, “Are you having relationship problems?” A related benefit statement might be, “Learn how to turn conflicts into lasting love.” If you specialize in anxiety disorders, you might ask, “Is anxiety controlling your life?” A related benefit statement might be, “Learn how to overcome anxiety and enjoy life again.”
3. Introducing the Reader to You. Once you have highlighted the person or persons seeking a provider, you can tell them about yourself so that they can become certain that you are well qualified, personable and committed to making a real difference in your community and beyond. Let them know why you are the appropriate professional to give care to them or a loved one. Describe the research the backs or supports the type of therapeutic interventions that you use to treat problems.
4. Detail, Detail, Detail. You need to provide consumers with as much information about the problems you treat, the clients you serve, your interests, presentations, publications and more. Upload a good clear photo of yourself. A head shot is best. And, make sure that you smile. Potential clients want to see someone who is confident and happy not someone who presents with a sad face and gives poor eye contact with the camera. Write valid content about the three or so psychological problems that you feel competent to treat. Describe the problem, who is most likely to exhibit this psychological issue, and how is it treated. Consumers are really interested in mental health. Interestingly, a very high percentage of hits within Theramatch comes from the “Learn about Mental Health” section. People want to know that as an expert you really know your business. And, this is one way for you to present yourself as a highly qualified practitioner. The key to increasing interest about you and your practice is to provide lots of content about it.
5. Networking. To help you build your referral base, send out emails on a regular basis to your clients and colleagues about your practice and perhaps an article that you wrote about. Create a network virus by asking your clients and your colleagues to pass the information on to other people within their address books. You never can tell, someone may be looking for an expert like you. Asking your clients and colleagues to be part of your list does not cost anything but it is very effective in letting the general public know where to find you. Remember these are individuals who have received therapy or are interested in it. When they get information about you and your expertise, they are likely to refer someone to you with that particular mental health concern. Just be sure that your email meets HIPAA compliance standards.
6. Newsletter. Create a newsletter that you send to your email list. Write brief content about current clinical problems. For example, it you live in New Orleans, people will be very interested in information about how to cope with natural disasters. Writing about your clinical practice serves to reinforce your expertise in the minds of others. If you don’t have time to set a newsletter up, Theramatch offers an established newsletter that will allow you to get started using this type of marketing tool.
7. Create a Video. Have you heard of YouTube.com? Millions of people now look for information through YouTube.com and through other video stream sources on the internet. You can create a video about your practice on YouTube.com that allows you to market yourself to a broader audience. Create a video series about your specialization. At the end of the brief video provide your office information. It’s another great way to scream on a mountain top about your practice and expertise. Theramatch has integrated YouTube in their system to provide clinicians with an easy way of getting involved in this type of cutting edge marketing.
8. Search Engine Optimization (SEO). This is a strategy to help a site become highly ranked on major search engines (e.g., Google and Yahoo). For example, if you are an expert on anger management in Seattle WA, there are SEO techniques to increase the chance that your site would come up within the top 10 sites on the search engines. We do SEO for all of our full profile pages, including articles written by members to make it easier to potential clients to find you. SEO is a complex technique and one that you will likely need help completing.
9. The Future. At Theramatch we believe that the mental health field is going to change significantly within the next five years. The technology for telehealth is around the corner. We are moving into virtual therapy and Theramatch will be on the forefront. By having an active presence on the internet you are setting the stage for the future of your practice.
These strategies will help you attract potential clients to your practice. Writing meaningful articles, creating videos, and developing attractive pages about your practice are different formats to allow consumers hear and see your message. The challenge will be to carve out weekly time to develop these formats so you can build a solid internet referral base.
Theramatch.com is an interactive directory of licensed mental health professionals that combines these marketing tools in one location. Theramatch offers a unique platform that allows professionals to highlight their practice and expertise to consumers in their area and nationally. The mission of Theramatch is to help connect professionals to consumers. Today, Theramatch has more than 2,000 professionals who are receiving referrals in their area.
We wish you the best in promoting your practice online. You can visit our site at:
www.theramatch.com
“Helping Professionals Connect with Consumers”
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