Marketing for behavioral health services can be difficult. Creating a cohesive plan that integrates SEO optimization, blogging, and social media content is time-consuming and hard to do effectively.
It becomes increasingly harder to accomplish good marketing when there are restrictions on behavioral health advertising. You have to follow many rules and regulations that don’t interfere with the guidelines online.
Marketing your behavioral health practice through organic content is essential as it creates more brand awareness and has fewer restrictions than advertising. But advertising has a high ROI, which means that it’s crucial for you to utilize advertising tools such as Google Ads to reach your target audience and convert clients.
So how can you have effective behavioral health marketing? Here’s a guide on creative ways to advertise your addiction recovery center online and why organic content will help upgrade your marketing and convert clients to your behavioral health services.
Are you interested in what we can do for your behavior health service? Learn about services that Beacon Media + Marketing can provide you.
Why Is Addiction Advertising Difficult?
Advertising is essential for reaching your target audience. However, the main advertising platforms have restrictions to cut down on scams and sometimes stop retargeting. Staying compliant with these advertising rules can be difficult.
Platforms like Facebook and Google were concerned with health services that don’t have physical locations as they wanted to stop people from getting scammed. So, you have to ensure that you provide a physical location of your services to show that you are a legitimate service provider.
Each platform has its own specific rules for behavioral health advertising. They’ll target keywords and take down ads that don’t align with their rules, which means you have to get creative in writing your copy. The following show some rules that are included on each platform regarding behavioral health advertising.
Google advertising has restrictive regulations for recovery-oriented services for drug and alcohol addiction. This is applied globally and across all accounts that advertise addiction services. Some examples of advertising restricted under the new policy include:
- Clinical treatment providers (inpatient, residential, and outpatient programs) for drug and alcohol addiction
- Recovery support services (including sober living environments and mutual help organizations) for drug and alcohol addiction
- Lead generators and referral agencies for drug and alcohol addiction services
- Crisis hotlines for drug and alcohol addiction
Advertising through Google will help you reach a broad audience, but you must ensure that you follow all policy rules and have been LegitScript certified.
Facebook advertising policies help protect people from untrustworthy businesses. Their Drug and Alcohol Addiction Treatment Advertising Policy aims to protect people from scams but can be less restrictive than Google advertising. Some addiction advertising examples that can be done on Facebook include:
- In-person clinical addiction treatment services or websites that provide information about treatment
- Online and in-person support groups
- Crisis hotlines for people in recovery and who are seeking addiction treatment information
To run ads through Meta platforms, you have to have a certification with LegitScript.
Do you need help with paid advertising? Beacon Media + Marketing has advertising services!
What Are Tips for Behavioral Health Advertising?
Although following the guidelines on each platform can be difficult and time-consuming, it’s worth it to invest in advertising. It can help bring brand awareness and allow more client conversions. And just like any other marketing method, online advertising can take some creative ingenuity.
The following are tips on creating behavioral health ads that will stay compliant with platform regulations and possibly increase your conversion numbers.
1. Get LegitScript Certified If Qualifiable
If you’re interested in running behavioral health advertisements on either Google or Facebook, getting LegitScript certified will be crucial. When you get certified, it verifies to Google and Facebook that you are a qualified behavioral health service and not a scam. If you get certified, it allows you to run ads that include keywords such as “drug and alcohol addiction treatment” that will bring your target audience to your website.
The price can seem like a lot with a $495 upfront charge and a $955 annual charge. However, this can be an investment that will show real ROI. Advertising your services can be the major factor in how many clients you convert.
If you choose to be LegitScript certified, you must meet their qualifications for behavioral health services. Even if you are working with a marketing agency, you’ll need to be the one to do the certification as they may need additional documentation that you can only provide.
If you choose not to get LegitScript verified or don’t qualify, you’ll need to come up with clever ways to stay compliant with Google and Facebook policies.
2. Apply on Facebook
Facebook advertising requires that you fill out an additional application before you can run advertisements. Once LegitScript has approved you, you’ll need to complete the application to Facebook so they can review the certification.
Some types of ads that are eligible under their new policy include:
- LegitScript-certified for in-person alcohol treatment centers
- LegitScript-certified for crisis hotlines
- LegitScript-certified for mutual support groups
- LegitScript-certified for addiction recovery smartphone apps
Your behavioral health service will need to fall under their guidelines and show that you are a qualified resource for people searching for addiction treatment. Completing the LegitScript certification and Facebook application will ensure that your business doesn’t get flagged for being a scam.
3. Learn Restrictions on Copy
Each platform has its restrictions on what keywords can go onto your advertisements. This means that you need to learn which words can’t be put into your behavioral health ads and develop creative copy that won’t get flagged because they’re compliant with the policies.
If you’re certified by LegitScript, you’re allowed to put keywords such as “drug and alcohol addiction treatment” into Google ads. However, if you’re not authorized, you will need to avoid using such keywords and come up with words that show you’re a treatment center but not specify what you do.
Facebook has prohibited personal attributes within ads, including:
- Race or ethnicity
- Religion
- Age
- Sexual orientation or practices
- Gender identity
- Disability
- Physical or mental health (including medical conditions)
- Vulnerable financial status
- Voting status
- Membership in a trade union
- Criminal record
- Name
In other words, you can’t use words that assume the status of your audience. You can’t say, “Are you struggling with drug or alcohol addiction?” So, learning which words you can’t have in your ads and coming up with creative copy will be crucial for staying compliant and still reaching a broad audience.
4. Direct Ads to Relevant Information
Your ads should be directing your audience to working landing pages that allow them to get the information they’re looking for and schedule an appointment with you. It’s crucial to attach the links to the keywords in your ad so people can find your website.
An ad is a tool that draws people into your behavioral health service, and your website needs to be the one that converts them. The connection of your ad to appropriate landing pages is the crucial bridge toward converting potential customers.
Your ad is the front of the wealth of information on your website. If you connect the wrong link to the keyword, it can confuse people because it’s not directing them to the information they want to learn more about. Another crucial point is ensuring that your landing pages have quick load times, are functional, well-designed, and allow clients to contact you.
Are you interested in getting help with Facebook Ads? Learn how Beacon Media + Marketing can help you!
Why Should You Still Do Organic Content
One of the best marketing tools that you can use for your behavioral health service is doing organic content. Since behavioral health advertising is restrictive, reaching your target audience will be best done through organic content.
Organic content is your social media engagement and blogging. Social media is a great marketing tool for behavioral health services trying to connect with their target audience. Social media isn’t restricted in the same way ads are so that you can have a wide range of content.
Some ways to use social media are talking about services you provide, educational videos regarding your behavioral health specialists, and adding personal touches about you or your staff. Providing content like that allows people to learn more about your behavioral health service while getting to know you. It creates that first bond of trust with your potential client and allows more brand awareness.
Blogging can be one of the best tools for reaching your target audience. It allows you to write detailed blogs that include information on what people search for. So when people ask a question online or search a phrase regarding your behavioral health specialty, your blogs will show up as a result that will answer their question.
Writing blogs will allow people to have a wealth of knowledge and get to know your behavioral health practice, clinic, or facility. It will also help establish credibility and show that you’re educated in the treatment they’re looking for. Organic content will be the key to reaching an audience searching for behavioral health services.
Are you interested in getting organic content services? Learn more about Beacon Media + Marketing social media and blogging services!
Team Up With Beacon Media + Marketing for Creative Behavioral Health Ads
Beacon Media + Marketing is a marketing agency that will help elevate your behavioral health service. Marketing can be highly time-consuming and challenging if you’re not sure what you’re doing. We’re here to create a marketing strategy to convert potential clients and bring you more brand awareness.
We want to know the why being what you’re doing. At Beacon Media + Marketing, our expert team can help you find what makes your brand unique and use that to reach clients that identify with your brand.
You should consider outsourcing your marketing because it will allow you to have more time to treat your patients, and you’ll have the resources of expert marketers. We know what ads will be compliant and help convert clients.
Beacon Media + Marketing can offer marketing for behavioral health services that will upgrade your business. We offer services such as website design and development, social media content, blogging, paid advertising, and more. Your business will be taken to the next level when you choose us for your marketing services.
Are you ready to see how Beacon Media + Marketing can help your behavioral health service? Schedule your free consultation today!
