How to Use Facebook to Grow Your Private Therapy Practice

- Posted: August 26, 2016
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- TheraNest Team
Grow Your Private Therapy Practice with Facebook
There’s little doubt that having a presence on Facebook will grant you more exposure and help you build a greater sense of community with your followers. However, it can be tricky to navigate Facebook as a private therapy practice. Not only do you have to be extra mindful of privacy concerns, you also need to be strategic on how you use Facebook to grow your business. Ultimately, your goal is to build a reputation as a trustworthy therapist who brings value and clarity to your clients and the community at large. The good news is that Facebook can help you in those pursuits. You don’t need to have an online therapy practice to leverage the benefits of Facebook. Even if you work completely offline, curating and maintaining an online presence will help you garner more awareness for your practice. That’s because your current and prospective clients probably use the Internet in general and Facebook specifically. Let’s talk about how to use Facebook to effectively generate more leads.Create a Business Page on Facebook
There’s you: the friend, the sibling, the former classmate, and the colleague. Then, there’s you: the professional therapist who’s here to serve the community. Your friends care about what you did in Cancun, your clients only care about what you can do for them. That’s one of the reasons why you need a business page. You need to clearly separate the personal from the professional. Go here to create your business page on Facebook.Optimize Your Profile

Customize Your Cover Photo with Canva
Your cover photo is the first impression Facebook users who visit your page will make of your practice. Don’t just add a pretty image that doesn’t give any insight to who you are as a therapist. You should optimize your cover photo so that it effectively advertises you. Sound complicated? Don’t worry, it’s actually pretty simple. Here are two examples that I recommend for private therapy practices on Facebook: Share an image of your office with your prospective clients. By showing what your office actually looks like, it builds trust with your prospective client while at the same time, it minimizes any lingering apprehension about going to a therapist’s office. Here’s an example from Nadine Macaluso:

Create Engaging Posts
The last thing you’ll want to do on Facebook is post boring content that doesn’t appeal to your audience of prospective (and current) clients. Instead, think of your Facebook page as a resource hub. Populate it with content that educates and uplifts your audience. Here’s an example of the types of information you’ll want to include:- Curated content from other sources
- Funny memes (it’s okay to laugh, we’re all human)
- Inspirational quotes
- News about your industry
- Answers to frequently asked questions
- Upcoming events
- Promotions and coupons
- Videos
Brand Your Images
In the above example, I love how Alan Robarge uses branded images to drive prospective clients back to his services. You should do something similar to this, too. Come up with a strong signature branding for your practice and use this design on your Facebook page (and beyond). Be sure to add your website address to these images. That way, it’s a lot easier for prospective clients to find you when seeing this image in a referral.Don’t Miss Out on Reviews
The social proof component of Facebook is awesome. When clients feel comfortable leaving a review on your page (especially a positive one), it’s not only an honor, it’s also an effective marketing tool. Reviews will help a prospective client decide whether or not to try out your practice.Join a Group
Use Facebook to network with other therapists. This is one of my favorite (albeit subtle) ways to grow your private practice through Facebook. Connect with other therapists in your town, in your area of practice, or who share other similarities. Why? Three main reasons: You can learn from each other. You can share ideas, ask questions, give answers, and improve your craft. You can commiserate. As a therapist, you may spend a lot of time alone without anyone who can empathize with your unique struggles. Not so in a Facebook group filled with other therapists who know your pain. You can network. This is especially in local groups. You can create a network that makes it easy to refer clients who aren’t the right fit for your practice to others, and they can do the same with you. Here’s a few Facebook groups to get you started:- Therapists in Private Practice
- Selling the Couch
- Ethical Practice for Psychotherapists
- Beginning Counselor
- And, in the UK, Counsellors and Psychotherapists UK.