Why do we need mental health marketing? Let’s start with mental health services. Mental health services are designed to help people, often through the toughest times in their lives, so they can be happy and healthy and achieve their goals. It’s pretty straightforward – if you’re reading this blog, you’re likely to be a therapist, so we won’t tell you what your job entails.
Marketing comes into the picture when you want to connect with new clients. Maybe you’ve just graduated with your degree. Maybe you’ve just joined a new practice. Maybe you’ve gone out on your own and started a business. Whichever category fits your circumstances, you need to get the word out so that local people know they can turn to you when they need help.
In this blog, we’ll cover the basics of digital mental health marketing.
Want to jump in the fast lane? Call our team for a free consultation.
Digital Media is Critical to Mental Health Marketing Success
This might seem really obvious, but we really can’t emphasize just how important digital media is to success in the mental health marketing space. If you haven’t started yet, get excited about growth! If you’ve already got a strategy in place, stick with it. It’s well worth the effort over the long-term.
The reason is simple: you’re meeting people where they spend the majority of their time. The average American now spends more time looking at screens than they do sleeping – according to data from Nielsen, screen time has now reached approximately 10 hours and 39 minutes per day.
If you’re thinking seriously about mental health marketing, we’ll assume you already have a decent website in place. This means something SEO-friendly, with great information, a professional and modern appearance, fast loading speeds, and a good user experience. (If not, there’s no need to stress! We would be delighted to help – you can read about our web development service here.)
Your website will form the foundation for your entire social media campaign. This includes:
- Your branding, including colors, fonts, and styling
- Your key messaging, which will flow from your homepage
- Your target audience, which will flow from your services page
- Your calls-to-action, which will direct people toward your contact page
Want to learn more about social media marketing? Check out our service.
Google is a Springboard for Mental Health Marketing
Let’s start with Google. Once your website is set up, you’ll need to create a Google My Business profile. You know the business panel that pops up on the right-hand side of your Google Search Results? That’s Google My Business. Or when you search for a service in your area and a map pops up with pins showing all the locations? Yup, that’s Google My Business again.
It’s not just desirable for local businesses to have a profile. It’s essential. Without a presence on Google My Business, you’re missing the low-hanging fruit. People searching for mental health services WANT to find a provider who can help them. It makes sense that they find you.
Google My Business allows you to list important details such as your location, opening hours, and contact information. You can also answer frequently asked questions, collect and respond to reviews, and post content showcasing your products, services, and wins.
While we’re talking all things Google, let’s turn our attention to Google Ads. You know how, when you search for something via Google, the first three or four results often have the word Ad in bold? That means someone has put some money behind the search term you used to ensure their business ranks. There are two types you should know about: search ads and display ads.
Search ads are connected to keywords – for example, “mental health marketing in Anchorage.” If you’ve created ads targeting this phrase, it will ensure that you pop straight to the list when people type this combination of words into Google’s search bar. Again, it makes sense to go after the easy wins. These people are actively searching for you, so you need to make yourself easy to find.
Short on time? You can outsource your Google marketing.
Mental Health Marketing on Facebook
Facebook is the most widely used social media platform in the world, which makes it perfect for mental health marketing. You can deliver your key messaging straight into the pockets of the people who need yours services in two ways: organic content and paid ads.
Organic content describes all the things you normally publish: inspirational posts, new research, new practice members, informative videos, interesting images, and events such as webinars. There’s no secret to success here (sorry). The key is to be consistent as possible, which means posting regularly and making sure you stick to a theme. Remember how we said your website would form the foundation for your entire campaign? Keep referring back to it to ensure you stay on track.
Consistency is important because it allows members of the public to feel like they are getting to know you. The very last thing any marketer wants to do – especially in the mental health marketing space – is take a client by surprise. Many clients are vulnerable – we don’t have to tell you that people often wait until they’re nearing a crisis point to reach out. We want them to feel safe and secure. We also want to position you as being an expert and your practice as being trustworthy.
And what about paid ads? This refers to the “dark side” of Facebook – the Business Manager. You can log in here to create targeted advertisements educating people about your services. You can be quite specific, using filters such as location, gender, age, and interests to ensure you reach your target audience. Once this is set up, you can also “boost” posts. Say, for example, that you post a video talking about depression, and you notice that it’s getting really great engagement. Boosting this post – putting a little bit of money to boost distribution – means more people will see it.
Feeling overwhelmed? We have a dedicated Facebook team.
YouTube Can Boost Your Mental Health Marketing
The final platform we’re going to discuss today is YouTube. Before we dive into that, however, we’re going to recap three important points we’ve covered to ensure they’re front-of-mind:
- Americans spend most of their waking hours on screens
- If people are looking for you, you need to be easy to find
- Trust is the cornerstone of successful mental health marketing
Add 1 + 2 + 3 and what do you get? Okay, we’re marketers here and not mathematicians, but to us that screams VIDEO. (Apologies if you were going to say SIX.) Video capitalizes on each of these points. Talk to people and meet them where they’re spending their time. Make yourself visible, because this ensures people know they can turn to you for support in times of crisis. And finally, build trust by letting people get to know you. Yes, video can be a little intimidating if you’re new to the medium, but it’s a great way to virtually build a rapport with a wide group of people.
Video has exploded in the last decade. An estimated five billion videos are watched on YouTube every day and the platform is especially popular with people aged 30 and below. This makes it an excellent long-term growth strategy. Starting now will put you ahead of the curve.
Start Your Mental Health Marketing Campaign
Mental health marketing isn’t just about building a business, but helping as many people as possible. That’s why it’s so important to have the right tools in place. Each platform we’ve discussed will help you connect with new people in your area – and more than that, make yourself available to people who are actively searching for someone with your professional expertise and experience.
Ready to get started? Schedule a free consultation today.
