5 Simple Ways to Expand Your Therapy Practice This Fall
It feels like summer only just begun, but with a blink of an eye, it somehow is almost over, which means it’s time to start gearing up for this fall. But the next couple of months will continue to look significantly different for all of us. With the number of COVID-19 cases back on the rise and regulations differing across the nation, this pandemic has made preparing for the upcoming fall and school year more difficult than ever before.
One undeniable constant is that the need for mental wellness during this time is essential. This year has been anything but ordinary; it has caused an understandable surge of stress for everyone. As people continue to struggle adjusting to the “new normal,” they are also continuing to search for new resources and people to help them through this time. So, it’s never been more vital than it is right now to ensure your practice is prepared for the upcoming busy fall season.
Here are our top 5 tips to help ensure your practice is set up for success this fall!
1. Know Your Ideal Client
The first step is always going to be identifying your ideal client. We know that we talk about this a lot, but we firmly believe that this should undoubtedly be the first task for anyone looking to market their business (of any type).
Understanding who your ideal client is, their interests, and their specific struggles, and then using this information when developing your marketing initiatives, will make them much more successful. Identifying your ideal client allows you to target a more direct audience through your marketing efforts, allowing you to connect with them on a deeper level, which can dramatically improve your conversion rate.
Niching down and catering to a specific client base can also help you gain many more referrals, both from past and current clients and other professional associates, especially those who aren’t able to accommodate the specific type of client you’re known for working best with. Choosing a specialty gives you the unique opportunity to build up a reputation as an expert in that field, and people love to refer to an expert they know, like, and trust.
So, before you start building out your private practice marketing strategy this fall, make sure you have narrowed down exactly who you’re trying to attract and the most effective ways to catch their attention.
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2. Build Your Brand
Your brand is the perfect combination of how you show up in the world, who you want to serve (your ideal client), your particular expertise, and how the rest of the world sees all of these things communicated through your business.
The truth is, most therapists find themselves competing for clients in their local market, which means you need to do everything you can to make sure you stand out from the rest.
When developing a brand, many therapists forget to consider themselves as part of their business, which, in return, can result in a bland, generic, and cookie-cutter private practice website. Your brand provides the boundaries for your services and gives you a visual identity. A successful brand incorporates who you are with what your ideal client is searching for, automatically making you stand out from the rest.
Building a strong brand allows you to stand out to new possible clients, giving you the best chance to grow your practice within your geographical area and beyond.
3. Get A Custom Therapist Website
Researchers have found that you only have .05 seconds to get people’s attention when they land on your website before determining whether they will stay or leave. So, it’s true what they say – you really do only have one chance at a first impression.
This fall, with in-person interactions at an all-time low and technology currently being at the center of all businesses, you must make sure that you are putting your best foot forward online. A beautiful, well-optimized private practice website is the best way to do just that.
After building websites for over 5,000 private practices, we’ve learned how important it is that your website’s look and feel closely match your business and the providers within it. From the moment they enter your website, you want potential clients to know who you are, what you have to offer them, and if you will be a proper fit. A strong web page will help sell your services and get you more repeat business. That’s all in the power of a first impression!
Our new design intake process acts as your virtual design consultant, helping you optimize your site with the right information in a way that’s the perfect visual representation of your practice and the brand you’ve built. Creating a website like this ensures you’re attracting your best-fit clients and getting them to contact you, filling up your waitlist so that you can make even more money in the coming months!
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4. Get Listed In Online Directories
If you still don’t have a profile in any online therapist directories, the time to get one is now!
If money has been what’s holding you back, it’s essential to know the return on investment is remarkable. For around $30 a month, you can attract several new clients every month. But let’s say that you only attract one client a year from a directory in the worst case. If that client came in at least once a month, you’ve already made that money back (and probably more!) from just that one new client.
On top of having a high ROI, Google also loves directory listings and almost always ranks them above private practice websites in their search results. That’s not to say your little practice website can’t come up on the first page of results. But, more often than not, online searchers are going to find themselves scrolling through a directory of options before they even see your site. So, it’s certainly not a bad idea to make sure you’re also listed where most people are looking.
Having online directory listings can also help your own website’s Google ranking. One of the leading factors used to determine your search engine ranking is the number of trusted websites linking back to yours. By linking to your private practice website from online directory listings that already have a very well-established relationship with Google, you’re showing with every link that your website is just as trustworthy. It’s an easy boost to your SEO and a simple way to increase your online visibility drastically.
Your directory listings are also another great way to define your brand further. Each of your online profiles further distinguishes who you are and who you do your best work with. When potential clients continue to see you and your practice showing up in all of their similar searches, they’re much more likely to realize that you probably are the best choice for what they’re going through.
5. Keep In Touch Using Your Blog & Social Media
Social media has been one of the most robust ways to stay in touch with your current clients and attract new clients during this pandemic. With people using technology and social media now more than ever, creating and sharing useful content online is a great way to keep in touch with current clients and attract new ones.
Both social media and your private practice blog can be crucial instruments to continue building your brand and establish yourself as a trusted expert and thought leader in your field. To do this, though, you need to post the content your followers are looking for online.
By sharing content that aligns with your ideal clients’ interest, they’ll likely keep coming back to your pages in the future for more helpful information. Building trust like this helps keep you front of mind when it comes time for them to find a new therapist.
Given the complexity of COVID-19 and the surplus of information we’ve all been receiving, your followers may find it helpful for you to create posts using your professional knowledge and experience on coping with stress, panic, or worry when it comes to the coronavirus.
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Whether you create new content or repurpose content from someone else, the most important thing is you’re sharing useful content that’s relevant to what we’re all facing today. If you’re having trouble creating your own or finding content to share, check out our Social Genie campaign titled Tips During COVID-19 packed with tons of pre-written, relevant content you can start posting today.
Final Thoughts
This fall will be unlike any fall we have seen before, while trends and guidelines might be challenging to predict, you must be taking the necessary steps to optimize what you can control, which is your online presence.
I hope you can put these methods and tactics to use to help sell your services and expand your practice this fall.
As always, if you have any questions or need help optimizing your private practice website or marketing strategy, just let us know! We’re always here to help :).
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