How to Use Social Media in Your Private Practice

Social media, for health & wellness professionals is a great tool to nurture potential clients and network with colleagues.

“Don’t use social media to impress people; use it to impact people.” —Dave Willis

It’s likely you’re already networking online. You probably have a personal Facebook account, or maybe you share pictures of your children on Instagram, but how are you utilizing it for your business? Social media for health & wellness professionals is a great (and mostly free!) marketing tool to make a name for your business in local and online communities. Which network is best for your practice, and who are you trying to connect with?

Choose your ideal audience

Before you start posting, think about who you want to read your posts. The possibilities include individuals such as current or potential clients or even colleagues you know and those you’d like to know. Make a decision on who it is you’ll target before you begin. You want to create an authentic “voice” on your professional social media channels, and doing so involves sharing content that makes sense for one audience, not many interests.

This isn’t to say that you can’t use social media to connect with different groups. For example, LinkedIn may be an appropriate place to connect with your peers or other professionals in similar fields, and the other networks are where you communicate with your ideal potential or even current clients.

Which social networks are right for you?

The social network you join will depend on the audience you want to connect with, and your overall goals. Here are a few of the most popular.

Facebook

With 2.2 billion monthly active users on Facebook as of March 30, 2018, you’re bound to get your business in front of the right people. Facebook is great for networking to any audience, especially if you commit to sharing quality content on your professional page. Also, search for Facebook groups you can join if you’d like to connect with other professionals in your area to brainstorm business ideas or for support.

Twitter

With over 330 million users, Twitter is a fast moving social sharing tool. Because of the limit of characters you can post on Twitter, quotes work well in achieving likes and retweets which in turn brings more attention to your business. Similarly, if your website includes a blog, share all the posts on Twitter, and do so often.

LinkedIn

Currently, LinkedIn has more than 562 million registered users across 200 countries. If marketing is your biggest reason for joining these networks, LinkedIn may not be your best option. However, if you’re interested in networking, this is your hub to connect. Post regularly and make sure your profile is up to date. Reach out to colleagues whose work you’ve read, find practitioners in your area and invite them out to lunch, or reconnect with fellow students and teachers from your graduate program.

YouTube

Each day, over one billion people watch hundreds of millions of hours on YouTube and generate billions of views. Are you a strong speaker? Record short clips of yourself sharing positive affirmations or quick tips for managing situations such as bullying or workplace stressors. Then, share them on YouTube. Don’t forget to end every video with a plug for your private practice. Ask viewers to call you to schedule an appointment or direct them back to your website where you can nurture the lead further. The best thing about being active on YouTube is that you can share these clips with the rest of your social media networks.

A few more tips for using social networking

Think before you share

You might be a funny person, but that doesn’t mean you should use your professional networks to act like a comedian. Don’t share anything that would put off your clientele, and refrain from talking politics, religion, or any other hot subjects. Save those type of posts for your personal pages.

Confidentiality comes first

Social media for health & wellness professionals is a great marketing and professional connection tool, but privacy still needs to be your number one priority. If you don’t have one yet, create a social media policy for your private practice. Make sure your personal accounts and your professional accounts aren’t connected in any way. You don’t want your clients sending you friend requests, do you?

Similarly, it is never justified to talk about your clients online, even if you use vague language and don’t mention any names. Saying something such as, “So many clients are worried about these election results. Relax everybody. Things will be fine,” undermines your professionality and makes you appear cold and unsympathetic.

Be careful with “advice”

You know not to share advice online, but take a moment to reread your posts before sharing to make sure none of your commentaries can be construed as advice by someone else. It may even be worth it to add a disclaimer to your social media bios stating that nothing you are sharing should be considered as advice and always to follow up with a professional.

Stay current

Share current information in your field, but remember your target audience. You don’t want to post studies recently published in scientific journals if you’re marketing yourself to young professionals. However, if you’re using social media to connect with other peers, like on LinkedIn, they may find that information useful.

Types of current information your clientele may enjoy include articles describing recent studies on how meditation helps with focus or how a particular amount of sleep can help a person perform better at work. Popular information that’s related to  overall well-being like this performs well.

If you want to grow your business using social media, but don’t have the time to do it yourself, you’d hire a social media manager, right? Well, what about your practice? Your growing social networks are bound to attract new clients. Let SimplePractice help you manage your workload. Try us free for 30 days.