Full Practice? The Time For Content Marketing is Now

You have your own private practice and business is doing well. You have a full client list and you’re not wanting to grow into a group practice so you might wonder, “Why should I spend any budget on marketing?” 

Let’s breakdown the reasons why now more than ever is the time to invest in content marketing. 

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Don’t have time to read the full article? Here’s the summary...

1. Content marketing is different from traditional advertising. The goal is to build a system and an audience that lasts and is always there for you. 
2. Content Marketing is a long-term strategy. It’s planning ahead at its finest, and it’s better to start now than when you need it the most.
3. If you have a full caseload, you need a waitlist strategy to avoid letting a good lead go to waste
4. Content Marketing is a vehicle to share your voice with in the world, improving the quality of time spent in your sessions and helping those at home. 

Content Marketing vs Traditional & Paid Advertising

There are two approaches you can take to marketing, one of them will likely be the smarter path for you.

• Traditional & paid advertising works by paying to force your brand onto viewers through ad spend or media buys. This means results are immediate, but it’s built on a house of cards. The moment you stop paying is the moment you stop getting results.
• Content Marketing on the other hand is meant for building a long-lasting brand impression and lead generation machine. The money you spend is an investment in the future. The goal of this strategy is to create useful content that lasts and build a trusting audience that will be around even once the spending stops. 

Content Marketing Takes Time

Just like the age-old metaphor of planting a tree, the best time to plant was 30 years ago, the second-best time is today. A strong content marketing plan takes a long-term strategic approach and the sooner you start the better. It takes time to create a library of content that gets found by new clients and increases your reputation among existing ones. 

After a year of investing in content marketing, you can look back at a catalog of blogs that are uniquely written to speak to your audience that is contributing to your SEO ranking, and growing your social media following or email list. You’ll find that your audience has grown and is more engaged because of great content, and when it’s hosted on a website that you’re proud of, this will only increase the reputation of your business. Each year following will only add to that lead generation system. 

Prepare for a Slow Season

You don’t want to start doing this the moment you need it, because likely it’s already too late. It is normal for businesses to go through ups and downs, and you might find yourself feeling grateful for your investment in an evergreen marketing strategy when you had the budget. If you ever decide to expand into a group practice or your client list isn’t as full, you’ll be happy to have that audience, SEO ranking, and lead generating content. 

Utilize the Attention You Have

As therapists, we understand the often difficult and tenuous decision it is for a client to come to therapy. Even if you have a full caseload, you don’t want interested clients to be turned away and disappear. Capturing and nurturing these leads is the best way to take advantage of your situation. Do you currently have a plan in place to keep them engaged for when a spot might open up? This is where a strong drip email marketing campaign and social media posting strategy keeps leads on the hook for when you’re ready to take on more.  

More than just Marketing

On top of all the reasons already mentioned, there are many other benefits for therapists in having quality content. 

• Your clients understand you - We’ve heard from our own clients that they can tell a difference between those that have found them via their blog and others who haven’t had the opportunity to familiarize themselves with your practice. These clients come in with a sense of your style and a deeper understanding of what they want to achieve in a session with you.
• Provide help for those who are unsure - Therapy can be a scary thing for a lot of people. And many take months or maybe even years before they make the step into a counseling office. For those people, this is your way to help them, by providing them with resources that get them more comfortable with the idea of coming and talking to you. 

How to Start a Content Marketing Plan

With content marketing, you need to have a clear strategy that is built specifically for you and your company. Don’t use a service that pumps out slightly altered blogs to you and your 5 competitors, but rather make your content 100% you. 

So strategize and plan out your next year of content and put a specific plan in place for the time you will need to allocate in your weekly routine to create that content. Or if you’re too busy as it is (you do have a full practice after all) you can contact us for help expert help in content marketing specifically made for practices like yours.