How to Market Your Therapist Practice During the Holiday Season
The holiday season is upon us. While this time of year can be filled with joy and excitement, love and contentment, the holidays also bring the stressors and strains of busyness, financial expectations, family, travel, and even conflict. Issues that you, as a therapist, are perfectly positioned to help people manage well.
By tailoring your therapist marketing for the holidays, you can reflect on the unique challenges the season brings and offer a timely solution. In doing so, you can support those who need your care and, in turn, grow your practice.
But before we talk about marketing for therapists — specifically what exact steps you might take — let’s look at four challenges potential clients may face during this time of year. Problems that you can address in your holiday marketing campaigns and timely website content — including blog posts and videos — to attract new clients.
1. Financial strains
There are many costs associated with the festive season. Gifts, decorations, items for hosting, “mandatory” luxuries like Christmas puddings and alcoholic beverages, and event or performance tickets. Travel and vacations may further bump up expenses.
These and other financial obligations and desires can greatly increase the levels of stress people face this time of year.
2. Family dynamics
For many, the holidays are a time to spend with family. Being in each other’s company for extended periods can be tiring, overwhelming, confronting, or even raise deep-seated family issues. Conflict can result.
For others, distress results from an inability to be with those they love. Yet others lack friendships and family connections and so the holidays trigger sadness and loneliness.
3. Travel concerns
Travel can be stressful. In a range of ways. From the significant money and time investment, the unavoidable proximity to strangers (especially as the world continues to reel from the COVID-19 pandemic), unpredictable inclement weather, and the all-too-inevitable traffic and flight delays.
4. Disorders and dependency
Eating disorders and substance dependency can be difficult to cope with during the holidays. For many, the intensity and temptation present at this time of year must be carefully addressed to remain on track and well.
Your Impact
In addition to the above stressors, there is a range of other issues that might accompany the holidays that you are the perfect therapist to help potential clients manage. So how can you make the greatest impact?
How can you craft the right marketing messages to magnetize your ideal clients?
- Pique their interest.
- Offer value.
- Build rapport.
- Become perceived as the trusted go-to expert in your field.
- Then (over) deliver.
Let’s look at four powerful ways you can embrace the marketing for holidays mantra, share your therapeutic message, and make a profound difference.
Interested in getting MORE clients through your website?
Learn how through our FREE 5-Day Mini Course!
Offer free holiday “pocket therapy”
Building a relationship online can be difficult. Yet, that’s (most often) what builds the trust needed for someone to act; to choose you as their therapist. Understandably, seeking care from a therapist is different from buying just anything online. As such, you require a significantly higher level of credibility.
So, how do you build rapport?
Provide people with a valuable free gift that answers a question and enables success. It’s like giving away a free sample. But instead of giving people a physical tempter, you provide them with a digital product.
Choose a subject that falls within your area of expertise and serves your ideal client. Make sure it’s a real problem that people truly need a solution for. One that will motivate them to take action. Such as:
- Produce a “Holiday Survival Guide” in the form of a PDF.
- Create a series of one-minute motivational videos that teach the viewer how to calm themselves in stressful situations.
- Produce an infographic with dime-sized advice on how to manage plane travel, designed for people with a fear of flying.
- Create an email sequence that details how to positively interact with difficult family members. Deliver via daily, automated emails over the course of one week. (Learn how to nail email marketing.)
Focus on a holiday-specific concern and deliver real value and relief!
Free gifts can be a powerful way to attract new clients. They allow people to “get to know you” as well as to find a solution to a problem. These freebies can quickly and radically build your reputation as an expert in your field.
Tip: The point of this content is to help the content consumer and build authentic rapport genuinely. While you should share your expertise and credentials and gently offer your services, don’t be overly pushy.
Advertise a unique service or expertise
What separates you from other therapists?
- Do you specialize in a specific condition or challenge? If not, you should find your niche!
- Do you have a bestselling book that is relevant to your ideal client? Promote it!
- Do you offer Telehealth? Professionally shout it from the digital rooftops!
In fact, offering telehealth services can stand you in great stead during the holidays and beyond. For various reasons.
How?
Telehealth eases geographical limitations.
Need help marketing telehealth for your practice?
Sign up for our free email course to learn the top 5 ways to effectively market your telehealth services online.
When you market your expertise well and attract your ideal clients, location becomes less of a factor. The people who begin care with you in practice can continue their care should they travel for the holidays.
In addition, people may travel to your local area at this time of year. Because of the stresses and strains of the festive season, they may reach out for in-practice therapy with you. If you offer telehealth therapy, they can continue care with you after they’ve returned home.
To figure out your unique services and expertise, write a list. Remember, the aim is to brand yourself in a manner that makes you stand out from the crowd. This means you must connect with your content consumer. Your advertising approach — the item or items you choose from your list — must be understandable and meaningful to a potential client.
Let’s look at two examples…
- If you use a certain technique that most clients won’t have heard of, either create a simple explanation that tells them why your technique matters for them, or choose something else
- If your expertise lies in grief or loneliness, you could create group sessions tailored for people who struggle with grief or loneliness during the holiday season. This group might receive expert advice from you and connect with and support each other at this difficult time.
Once you’ve worked out your unique offering or offerings, advertise. Don’t hide your therapeutic light under a shy bushel.
Rev up your social media activity
One of the cheapest, easiest ways to implement holiday marketing is to post on your practice’s social media accounts. Paid advertising is also worth considering (there are experts who can help if you’re unsure what to do). This will help you to make the most of people’s increased browsing time during their holidays.
How?
- If you post irregularly, increase the frequency with which you post from the beginning of December.
- Pose questions. Then answer responses. For example, you could ask your audience to share what creates the most stress for them during the holidays. This doesn’t oblige you to provide tailored therapy (we recommend you don’t), but you can interact, provide general information, and paste links to relevant blog posts on your website.
- Post holiday-specific content wrapped around motivating or even commiserating images and memes. Considerate thoughts on holiday struggles (like those we discussed at the beginning of the article), funny ideas or jokes, and inspirational quotes are often received well.
Social media helps potential clients to feel connected to you. They’re able to “get up close and personal” with you in a safe way. When done right, your viewers will see that you’re human, you understand and care, and that you are the right person to support their health.
Need Some Help with Your Social Media Strategy?
Our free e-book will walk you through how to create a social media strategy for your private practice in 4 easy steps!
Deliver social media campaigns that center on therapy tips. This is particularly valuable during the festive time of year…
To do this, make a list of holiday season challenges. (If you’re stuck for inspiration, ask your current clients and social media followers what they struggle with most). Then, get to work. For each issue, list five to 10 helpful, therapeutic tips. Decide how you can best deliver this as content. For example, via social media “lives,” shared pre-recorded videos, images, and text, or infographics.
At the end of each segment, tease people about the content they will discover in the next part. The idea of a campaign is to build curiosity and attraction so your followers are keen to view the next release. And the next. And the next!
If you get stuck for ideas, read our article, Facebook Ideas for Therapists: 11 Ways for Therapists to Create Facebook Posts.
Cultivate referral programs
People hold greater trust for those referred to them by a trusted source. This is the way we, humans, are built. Ethically incorporate this tendency into your practice-building strategy.
During the holiday season, people still consult with experts. Reach out to fellow professionals in your local area. Build rapport now — for the holiday season — and for the forthcoming year.
For example…
- Doctors, chiropractors, osteopaths, physiotherapists, and massage therapists deal with people on an intimate level. They’ll often be privy to confidential struggles. But they aren’t able to support the mental and emotional health of their clients in the way you can.
- If you specialize in the pediatric field, speak to local school principals, teachers, and teachers’ aides. Children might need support through the holidays. Consider how you can be of service to the children they care about and offer your expertise in some way.
- If you help people cultivate a winning mindset, connect with neighborhood sporting teams and businesses. Ask how you can contribute to their community.
Let your mind wander with the possibilities. Then act.
Referral programs involve mutual reciprocity. In the health space, build relationships with those you trust and to whom you will happily refer your clients. For other fields, ask yourself, “How can I contribute and give back?”
Check out our article, 4 Steps You Must Take to Develop a Lasting Referral Relationship, for our best tips on how you can easily and ethically develop lasting referral relationships.
The holiday season takeaway
Many therapists will enter the wind-down phase of their year. The “let’s sail through the season” inactive stage. But people, including potential new clients, still need care… Especially when faced with the significant stressors and strains that regularly accompany the season.
If you wish to attract and support new clients and boost your practice growth and profits, implement our simple holiday marketing ideas and get to work. This period could be the perfect catalyst for an incredible month and an even better next year!
Want the beautiful therapist website you deserve? Then you’re in the perfect place.
Brighter Vision is the ultimate marketing package for therapists, centered around the best therapist website you’ve ever had. Fill out the form below to learn more about our team of professionals who can’t wait to help your practice grow like never before 🙂