The behavioral health industry and job outlook looks good–strikingly good. It’s predicted that the employment of mental health and substance abuse counselors will grow 25% within the next decade, and that the industry will reach $240 billion by 2026. What these numbers indicate is 1) the stigma around mental health is beginning to dissipate and 2) unfortunately, there is an increased need for receiving some form of therapy. That’s where you come in.
People need to be able to easily find therapeutic care at the touch of their fingerprints. With a few search engine searches, your potential lead will likely find an exhaustive list of behavioral care providers in their area and on virtual platforms. They’ll then likely browse a few websites, read reviews, and peruse social media channels until they find something that’s interesting. The latter is especially important because it gives users the opportunity to scope out a brand’s persona to see if it’s a good fit before committing. So how can potential clients find you? By honing in on your niche using social media.
Using Social Media
Over 244 million people use social media in the United States. Of those people, different demographics are inclined to use different platforms. For this reason, when implementing your social media strategy, you’ll need to do a series of tests to identify what type of social media content racks up the most engagement and conversions (admissions).
Here are some ways to use the leading platforms.
Facebook, which currently boasts about 2.5 billion active monthly users (majority people aged 18-34), is the most utilized social networking platform. It’s also the most used social media app, making it a marketers favorite as it has a promising ROI.
Tips For Facebook:
- Post at least three times a week to stay fresh on people’s minds and feeds
- Regularly link your blog on posts to spread information, get people onto your website, and build brand awareness
- Boost posts to increase viewership
- Use photo ads, video ads, stories ads, carousel ads, slideshow ads, or Messenger ads to reach people who need your services
- Adjust target audience for ads to connect with people that will be a good fit
- Feature client testimonials (blog posts, photo, or video)
- Share videos of your staff providing coping tips, encouraging words, or weekly lessons on mental health to humanize the brand
- Respond to comments and messages
The visual discovery search engine, Pinterest, has seen an increase in usership and is proving to be a beneficial tool for social media strategy. Popular amongst women aged 25-34 earning over $75,000 a year, and specifically, mothers, the social media platform sees an average of 2 billion searches per month. Although the platform is predominantly used to view content, it’s also considered a shopping tool.
Tips For Pinterest
- Curate boards with branded aesthetic images (inspirational quotes, graphs, how-to’s) to grow brand awareness
- Create lists posts (sober birthday ideas, books on sobriety, mocktail recipes) on your blog then link it to your Pinterest with a catchy image to get people to the blog
- Share recipes that support a sober diet or detox to a recipe board
- Produce short tips or how-to video ads that serve as valuable branded content
- Increase posting and ads weeks before holidays
Loved by teens and adults under 30, Instagram is the second most used social platform, reaching 1 billion people per month. It’s estimated that 200 million users visit at least one business profile each day.
Tips for Instagram
- Create engaging posts like informative videos, informative slides on mental health and addiction, inspirational quotes, and mini biographies of clients or staff telling their story to be prioritized by the Instagram algorithm
- Frequently share stories such as tips, day in the life, client takeovers to keep followers in the loop and to engage with them
- Write relevant and interesting captions using keywords, as well as niche hashtags (don’t overdo the hashtags)
As more people seek help, the greater the necessity for behavioral health businesses to have a social media presence. To improve your online reputation strategy, contact Reputation Rehab at (855) 519-0120.