Social Media:
Time Sucking Vampire or Business Building Asset?
You can be forgiven for thinking that Facebook is a Time Sucking Vampire, a place that people go to watch cat videos or, in my case, Orangutan clips, but there is a whole lot more to Facebook, and the Internet, that meets the eye...pun intended 🙂
When you understand what's possible, Facebook is transformed from an Internet Rabbit Hole into a Therapist's BFF because it can help you reach and support clients in ways that just weren't possible before.
Because although being dedicated and loving what you do is vital to your success, that in itself is no guarantee that you will be able to build a sustainable practice.
Your success depends upon you attracting enough paying clients to work with on a consistent basis.
And in order for you to attract clients who are faced with problems that you have the skills and experience to solve, you need to be able to let them know who you are and how you can help.
This is where LinkedIn, Facebook and your website in particular can become your greatest allies.
We Can't Be Everywhere All Day, Every Day But The Internet Can.
LinkedIn provides a place where you can wear your professional hat and Facebook provides an opportunity for you to show more of your personality and highlight your values in a more informal way.
Such is the power of these platforms, we can now ask them to help connect us with the kind of people we would like to work with as clients or as professional collegues.
If you wanted to work with women between 25 and 35 who live in a particular area and who are interested in losing weight, Facebook would find 100's of 1000's within minutes. It Is Mind Blowing!!
And because Facebook has become Best Friends with Experian, they know about us than we do ourselves. As I said.... This Is Mind Blowing!!
Let's not forget your virtual office: Your Website.
Unlike Social Media platforms, you have complete control over how you present yourself on your website and it's never been easier for non techie's to work on their own site.
As with everything, there are pro's and con's involved in adopting a DIY approach. You can find out more about that here but all you need to know for now, is that Google rewards you with better rankings when you publish helpful, relevant articles.
Attract & Support More Clients Using These Simple Yet Under-used Strategies:
Without Compromising Your Values
Without Learning To Speak HTML
Without Working 24/7
Why Publishing Articles Is
More Effective Than Paying For Advertising?
The vast majority of therapists think Marketing, Selling and Advertising are swear words that have no place in a heart centered, service based therapy practice and they avoid promoting themselves. Publishing informative articles feels congruent which happens to be a much more effective way of truly connecting with potential clients.
Do Any Of These Ring True For You?
“Advertising is neither good nor bad
lest what you do makes it so”
with apologies to Shakespeare
‘Word of mouth’ and referrals have always been The Best Form Of Advertising and that's not going to change.
What has changed however is that 'word of mouth' can show up as a 'Like,' a 'share' or a comment and be found within a Status Update.
And instead of being shared from person to person, it can be instantly visible to 1000's and be accompanied by your smiling face which helps make what's been said more memorable.
Personal referrals will always carry a lot of weight but when you’re a therapist or coach who helps people work through some very personal issues, what are the chances that your clients will want to tell friends, family and colleagues and mention you?
The Internet is a new tool in our tool box.
We Just Need To Use It Wisely and Ethically
But we're getting ahead of ourselves...let's look at how you can make it as easy as possible for prospective clients to find you.
And let's make sure that when they do find you , you create that same great first impression you would make if you met them in person.
First put them at ease and reassure them that they are in the right place and in safe hands. Then encourage them to take that all important, often very difficult First Step.
One way to do that is for you to find ways to answer these questions from your Social Media pages and website. Visitors will ask themselves;
* Does this look like someone I can trust?
* Do they understand what I'm going through?
* Do they know what they're doing?
* Can they really help me?
Choose images, video's and articles that reflect who you are and what you stand for that are directly related to your area of expertise.
You can ask to be connected with like minded people by promoting your posts and redirecting people to your website. It's very cost effective, easy to monitor and highly targeted so you only appear in front of the group of people you are most qualified to help.
Promoting Your Services This Way Is The Opposite Of Expensive, Shotgun Style Leaflet Drops & Newspaper 'Ad's.'
- In order for this to work well you must identify your specialist area, have a clear idea of who you are best suited to help and have a simple system to follow.
- This system should be linked to your website, which needs to be set up to function as your Virtual Office with enquires being handled on autopilot by Aweber or Mailchimp, low cost services known as autoresponders.
- It's a lot easier than you might think and I've put together a short report to help you make sense of it all.
Attract & Support More Clients Using These Simple Yet Under-used Strategies:
Without Compromising Your Values
Without Learning To Speak HTML
Without Working 24/7
make it easy for your potential clients to get to know you!
Having the contact details of every visitor who has shown an interest in your product or service opens the door for you to follow up with something else of interest and value.
Something related to the service you provide which is helpful and relevant for your prospective client which will give them a feel for the way you work and not a sales pitch.
Your e mails will be welcomed and you will have made a great first impression.
This Alone has the potential to double the amount of clients who contact you
This can be done by adding a box which will collect their name and email; a 'set and forget' feature which you can link to personalised messages that make sure your visitors are made welcome and kept up to date.
I realise that this may all feel counter intuitive.
It can be very tempting to keep doing things they way you've always done them but that would be a mistake.
Right now, there are people desperately searching for the very service you offer;
Will they find you?
Want to learn more about How You Can build a profitable private practice?
I'm offering a full mentorship program that takes you from step one to the final launch of your Private Practice.
If you want to generate a consistent income and create a sustainable Practice that is a pleasure to run..
Attract & Support More Clients Using These Simple Yet Under-used Strategies:
Without Compromising Your Values
Without Learning To Speak HTML
Without Working 24/7