Content marketing is a great way to bring ideal clients into your practice. However, if you’re not familiar with the process of creating content it can seem overwhelming and you may not be sure where to start.
What Is Content Marketing?
This is a term usually applied to blog posts, podcasts, or pretty much anything that provides free content as a way of introducing your work to potential clients. There is a great PoP podcast with Lacy Boggs in which she describes content marketing as “any kind of marketing that involves a conversation with your audience that eventually leads to a sale.”
As counselors, we love to help people. Think of creating useful content as a way of helping people and at the same time letting them know a bit more about what it would be like to work with you.
How To Get Started?
When thinking about a topic to create content about, start with a customer pain point. As therapists, we hear pain points all the time, we just usually call them symptoms or presenting problems. We can be inspired by the symptoms and presenting problems that we hear and create content that speaks to those pain points in a way that is easy for non-therapists to digest. Below are three easy ways to discover those pain points so that you can create content that will speak to your ideal counseling clients.
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Make note of themes that keep coming up
Whether it’s the zeitgeist or a series of world events, as therapists we often hear certain themes that emerge across our caseload. For example, there may be certain times of the year when we hear a number of clients complain about the use of social media and how it’s causing problems in relationships. Bingo! Great idea for a blog post if your ideal clients are grappling with this particular issue. Keep a note pad by your chair or a running list on your phone and make notes of themes or problems that are coming up with numerous clients. Of course, for confidentiality reasons remember never to share specific case information. If you have questions about this, please seek consultation.
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Keep a list of presenting problems that clients call in about
While we hear our current clients talk about pain points, the same can be true for new client calls. Often we’ll hear very specific complaints, like I’m having trouble sleeping, is it depression or relationship problems? If you start hearing certain recurring presenting problems, those are excellent places to start with content creation.
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Share your resources
As therapists, we have lists of books, podcasts, classes and community organizations that can help our potential clients. We can turn these resource lists into useful content that will help serve our clients. For example, if you work with couples, it could be helpful to create a list of the Top 10 Places for Cheap Date Nights in your city. The possibilities are endless!
For more about content creation and blogging, I recommend checking out Joe’s post here.
Tom Bruett is a licensed psychotherapist in San Francisco, CA. Tom works with couples and individuals that are looking for more connected and meaningful relationships. You can find out more about his practice here.
