Instagram Marketing Tips to Make Your Therapy Practice Stand Out
Are you a mental health maven but a little Insta-phobic?
Instagram marketing may seem far afield from the world of therapy, but it offers real benefits. Embracing smart advertising can shine a light on your talents as a mental health therapist.
Did you know that Instagram has a potential advertising reach of 1.16 billion users? Or that 90% of Instagram users follow a brand.
And with one in five U.S. adults dealing with a mental health issue, those numbers represent a lot of potential clients who need your services.
In fact, several therapists have gained thousands of followers by using Instagram.
In this article, we’ll cover key Instagram marketing tips to grow your mental health practice.
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How Therapists Can Promote Themselves on Instagram
Many mental healthcare providers have already found a virtual home on Instagram. Here’s how to marry your practice with compelling ad strategies.
Choose a Business Account
First things first: select the correct type of Instagram account. There are three account types you can set up on the platform.
Personal accounts are the most common. This is the account type your friends and family use every day. However, personal accounts lack the key features a business needs online.
Next, there are creator accounts. Instagram influencers and content creators use this account type to grow their audiences. But they aren’t quite right for your needs.
Instead, choose a business account to best promote your private practice on Instagram.
With a business account, you’ll get access to two types of messaging inboxes and contact information for your mental health clinic. Instagram Shopping will also come in handy if you plan to sell merchandise.
Check out Instagram Insights and Instagram Ads for more info on business account features.
Define Your Audience
One of the first rules of advertising is to know your audience. After all, there’s no point in wasting time and resources reaching out to the wrong demographic.
To start, survey your current patient population. What are the predominant demographics your practice serves?
Next, what patient populations are you hoping to reach online?
Then check this 2021 Social Media Fact Sheet by Pew Research Center. It breaks down Instagram user data by age, income, gender, and more.
There’s a good chance your target patient audience is on the platform. Currently, 40% of U.S. adults are Instagram users, and 59% report checking their profiles every day.
If you specialize in treating older teens or younger adults, like The Millennial Therapist, Instagram is as good as it gets. Studies show that 71% percent of 18-to-29-year-olds use Instagram.
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Optimize Your Profile
Start with a strong profile bio. Instagram’s 150-character limit is a potential drawback. But effective marketing is all about packing a punch. So, take your time. The goal is to write a concise profile bio with a strong brand voice.
After that, choose a name (30 characters). Then add a username or handle (30 characters). Finally, complete the website, category, contact info, and call-to-action fields.
What matters is being clever and memorable.
Take a look at The Anxiety Healer and Therapy for Black Girls for some inspiration.
Get Involved
It’s time to do what you do best: engage with your patients.
Instagram engagement refers to a variety of things.
Make sure you like posts by other accounts. Reply to any comment on your page. And ask conversation-starting questions in your captions.
This type of community building makes a big difference online.
Engagement also involves interacting with other Instagram accounts. Browse accounts of contemporaries in your field. Follow a handful of them and like their content.
You can also pin comments from fans or share stories relevant to your audience. The idea is to be visible without overtly selling your services.
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Mind the Time
What you post and who you target are both important Instagram details. But equally important is when you post.
Sprout Social analyzed data from 20,000 customers. They used the data to determine ideal posting windows for each social media platform.
Their 2021 report found Tuesdays from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. as the best time to post on Instagram. Not posting on a Tuesday? Then any weekday at around 11 a.m. is best.
Using a posting automation tool like Social Genie allows you to post at the optimum time without taking time away from your patients.
Use Instagram Analytics
Want to know the ins and outs of your account activity? Check out Instagram Insights.
This analytics dashboard provides a variety of key metrics.
Recent Highlights tracks engagement trends and follower activity over the past seven days. Accounts Reached shows the number of unique visitors to your profile. And Account Activity monitors clicks to your website or contact info.
It’s important to understand how people interact with your business account. This data can help you make informed marketing decisions.
Final Thoughts
Instagram may seem daunting if you’re new to social media marketing. But it’s easy to learn the basics and install best practices.
Start by creating a profile, targeting the right audience, and posting quality content. Soon, you’ll gain access to a whole new market.
Got an Instagram handle in mind? What about a target audience? Have you tried other social media platforms before?
Let us know in the comments!
Get in touch with the Brighter Vision team today to learn more about using Instagram to reach new clients.
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