In “Experiencing a Client Shortage?” our most watched Therapist Tip video, we examined the increasingly complicated therapist marketing world. The solution to all the clutter was surprisingly simple. If you haven’t watched this 2 minute video yet you can watch it at Therapist Marketing Tip #7. So when any movie or video is popular what always happens next? That is right “Experiencing a Client Shortage? THE SEQUEL“.

In this 2 minutes video we again rise above the marketing noise surrounding SEO, Twitter, PPC, link building and so on to provide you a clear starting point for all marketing. Also like all good sequels there is a shocking plot twist.
Are you considering any new marketing efforts? Feeling pressure to jump into social media? Before you do anything we suggest you take a step back from the clutter of tools (LinkedIn, Twitter, Yellow Pages, Radio, Networking and so on) and ask yourself these 2 questions:

1) Who am I trying to reach?
-what are the common traits of the clients I can best serve given my passions, skills, fees and location?
2) What tool or tools can I use to most effectively reach them?
-are my potential clients accessible by using this tool?
-can I do it myself?
-if not is it cost effective to pay someone else to do it?

Now you can choose a tool (or tools) even though it may not be the hottest social media trend. The true test of all marketing efforts is the effectiveness not trendiness. After all:
If a tweet is tweeted and no one opens it, is that really marketing?

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Therapist Tip #3 pointed out you how you should consider adding a newsletter sign-up form to your website.  As this video reveals, you could gather numerous addresses but not immediately get new clients.

That is because efforts like building your email list should be considered a long-term marketing effort.  You need to continue to build your list and send out your newsletters regularly.  The newsletters should reinforce who you are and what you do.  Then, if someone off your list decides to look into therapy you should get a call.   Also sending a newsletter will help you stand out in the local market.  Here are two suggestions to further harness the power of a newsletter:

1)  Every so often, especially during slower times of the year, you include a time limited promotional deal in your newsletter for example a free 15 minute phone consultation.

2) Include a promotion for any seminars or special events you are holding.

Again all this is done with a view to gaining clients over the long term. However, as is pointed out in this video if you really want to draw in more clients in the short term you will have to get out and connect with referral sources. For some that is a challenging idea.  Find out a solution to the “fear of referral sources” in this video.

With a large percentage of people searching the internet for health information your website is now a key point of contact with potential clients. Make sure the message on your website is drawing them to you, not chasing them away.

Therapist Marketing Tip #2

Try viewing your front page from a potential client’s perspective, ideally have someone else look it over too. The key questions to ask are:

1) Is there an excess of information on the front page? Will a visitor feel overwhelmed and move on before they find what they are looking for?

2) Does your front page addressing the concerns of someone visiting your site looking for help? Generally people go to a counselling site because they are in pain and need help. Can they find the answers they seek within the first few seconds? If they do not they will quickly move on.

Take the information you have accumulated from the above questions and adjust your site’s content to simply and clearly address the main reasons why people visit your site. Changing a website is a big step so I recommend go slowly. Have your potential changes checked over before implementation to see if they will accomplish what you are setting out to do.

More information on this topic:

Website design and usability

We thought this was a funny cartoon.  Hope you enjoy it also.

Traditional advertising stalwarts, the yellow pages and print media continue to decline. Dr Lynella Grant, author of “Yellow Page Smarts”, makes the point that relying on just yellow pages is no longer safe as over half of all customers now go to the internet first to find information, even for local services.
So is it time to abandon your yellow pages advertising? Fundamental changes in client behavior suggests that, at a minimum, you should be reevaluating your print Yellow Pages advertising. You might want to consider using your advertising budget to create outstanding online content on your website or on a related blog. Some figures suggest that the use of on-line search can be as high as 80% of all information searches.

Did you know studies show over 70% of people checking out a health care practitioner online before booking an appointment?    The importance of the web to all businesses means there has been huge amounts of research in to how people interact with a website.  From these studies there are now established practices surrounding web usability.  I would like to look at just a few points that would apply to therapists.

When potential clients view you home page the pattern their eye movements follow looks somewhat like an F and has the following three components:
•    a horizontal movement, usually across the upper part of the content area. This initial element forms the F’s top bar.
•    Next, users move down the page a bit and then read across in a second horizontal movement that typically covers a shorter area than the previous movement. This additional element forms the F’s lower bar.
•    Finally, users scan the content’s left side in a vertical movement. Sometimes this is a fairly slow and systematic scan however other users move faster.  This last element forms the F’s stem.

The F pattern’s implications for your Web site are:
•    Your text will not be read thoroughly in a word by word manner. This is especially true when prospective clients are in research mode and going from site to site.
•    The most important information should be in the first paragraph. This means the information important to the client and what they are looking for.
•    Start any point or sentence on the left hand side with strong information carrying words that potential clients will notice.  This will stand out more effectively when client is scanning in the final stem of the F.

Here are a few other important consideration for your website:

•    Headlines draw eyes before pictures. This might be surprising for some people since the trend has been to add photos and graphics specifically to draw the eye. People tend to look at headlines, especially in the upper left of the page, before they looked at photos when they landed on a page.  So you need to utilize that space effectively to draw clients in.
•    People scan the first couple words of a headline. People scan the first few words before deciding whether to continue reading. This means you should front-load your headlines with the most interesting and provocative words. The challenge is to write in a way that takes into account this finding while maintaining your personal style.
•    Your headline must grab attention in less than 1 second. Online readers are grazers. They move fast and nibble. If you want to hook them into spending time reading about something, you have to catch their attention very, very fast.  This fact has been proven over and over so it is important to keep this in mind when formulating any headlines.

•    Multimedia works better than text for unfamiliar or conceptual information. Reading relies on people having some understanding of the subject. The more familiar they are with the subject, the faster and easier reading is. If you’re trying to describe a process, for example, a video or illustration conveys this information better than text.  A great example is to utilize a short video on what to expect when a client comes to their first appointment.

Obviously web page usability is a complicated subject and there are mountains of information available on this subject.  It is so overwhelming many small business owners choose to ignore it altogether. However, by looking at just a few important points, like highlighted above a therapist can make sure their site is optimized to draw in a stream of clients.

Carolyn Bergen, MHP Partner has an article describing the success they have experienced at Bergen & Associates using Feedback Enhanced Therapy (FET). “Research has shown that it (FET) increases the likelihood of divorce prevention when working with couples, can double the effect size of therapy for individuals…all with a brief inventory that takes less than a minute at the beginning and end of session. More and more research is emerging all the time that says FET is substantially significant.”  You can read the whole article here: http://www.bergenandassociates.ca/siteblog-post-action/id.265/title.feedback-enhanced-therapy-good-success

Recently MHP Institute has received several questions on how therapists can best utilize social media. So we have have increased our research into social media and how it can be used to boost your practice. Watch for an upcoming series on social media. I  just come across an interesting article “Twitter: 10 Psychological Insights”.  This article provides some insightful facts for any therapist looking to utilize Twitter to contact clients or potential clients.

Here are a few highlights:
-19% of US internet users now say they use Twitter or a similar service to share updates about themselves—double the figure from the previous year
- The average (median) age for a Twitter user is 31, older than the median MySpace user who is 26, but younger than Facebook which is now 33
- There’s something about Twitter that, on average, fits slightly more with men
- The average (median) lifetime number of tweets for a Twitter user is 1. This means most people who sign up are just following others.
The article provides lots of information to consider if you are looking at twitter. To read the full article http://www.spring.org.uk/2010/08/twitter-10-psychological-insights.php.  Also if you would like to join MHP Institute on Twitter, LinkedIn or YouTube click on the icons in the side column. Also, feel free to share any experiences you have had with Twitter or other social media in the comment section below.

Though the portal is designed for ease of use, some people have found logging in for the first time to be tricky. So we’ve created a short video tutorial, “Getting into Your Health Portal,” to make it easier for new clients to register and use the portal’s tools and resources. Topics covered include: creating your own account if you’ve been given a client registration passcode; logging in if you’ve been registered; what to do if you forget or misplace your passcode; and how to personalize your passcode. Click on this icon to view this tutorial video:

To watch the rest of the workshop, click on this passcode protected link: https://mentalhealthpros.com/workshop_lectures.php

If you are not yet an MHP member, call 1-877-763-4775 to find out how to access this information