Episode 23: I invited my friend and colleague Andrew Aebersold to join me to discuss mental health marketing. He’s the Founder/CEO of Mediaura, a digital marketing company in Jeffersonville, IN. Today’s discussion will focus on issues related to effectively marketing a solo practitioner (e.g. therapist), a practice group or a larger company, such as a behavioral health facility. Both of us have experience in this healthcare segment. Marketing a mental health practice requires an understanding of the unique issues both practitioners and prospective patients/clients have regarding treatment. One of the realities we deal with is the fact that often, really good practitioners are not typically good marketers. It requires a different skill set. This can create some significant challenges for the practice, especially in the digital marketing space. There are universal issues most businesses face: Competition is strongConveying the specific area(s) of mental health you serveDifferentiating your practice’s services offerings from the competitionTargeting the ideal type(s) of clients for your practiceCultivating and deploying the proper messaging to overcome the above challenges Insurance coverage is often a factor. The person contacting your office may be clinically viable, but not financially viable due to insurance coverage issues. If your practice doesn’t accept insurance, it adds another variable. Mental health marketing is very complex. Andrew and his team at Mediaura have distinct experience marketing behavioral health practices, on a regional basis. Many of them are located outside of our local area. He comments about how even the best marketing tactics and strategies can fail, if the internal processes are not executed properly, when people begin contacting the practice. We’ll explore that later in this episode. Common Mistakes Practice Owners Make It’s not uncommon to see a mental health practitioner turn over the marketing responsibility to people who may have been involved with the practice in the past. There’s often a motivation to help that person by entrusting them with your marketing, because they may be acutely aware of the issues and can speak to them. That sounds well and good, but it doesn’t always result in the progress the business needs to maintain and to grow. If you’ve been burned by the above effort, you may be tempted to engage a large agency as a way of overcompensating for the first attempt. This can quickly lead to significant expenses for a new website and other moves that sound good on paper. These engagements may also require the practice owner to sign long-term contracts, regardless of performance. It’s important to understand that what works for a general business, may not work when it comes to marketing a mental health practice. Finally, the practice owner may decide to throw up the hands and task the office manager with handling the marketing for the practice. This decision might neglect to consider the amount of work responsibilities that person already has on his/her plate. It may not be a skill he/she has to generate the results you’re hoping to deliver. Remember, marketing is about much more than simply posting pictures and memes on Facebook or Instagram. Those images need to be “on brand.” They’re affecting and influencing the way people perceive your brand and how the react to your brand’s value proposition. If executed poorly, it can cripple your brand. However, it might be a good idea to make your internal person the liaison between the practice and the marketing team. It can make the communication much more efficient. The scheduling of onsite activities can be more easily coordinated. Using Different Messaging Effective mental health marketing means differentiating your messaging, based on the separate communication platforms you engage. For instance, what might work in Instagram, may be different from what you would post to LinkedIn. Understanding your intended target for that message is critical to your success. Many mental health practitioners understand the need to focus on multiple target groups, which may include: Prospective Patients/ClientsFamily Members, Friends and other InfluencersReferral Sources (e.g. colleagues and associations/organizations) One piece of content may not properly resonate with needs and concerns of each of these constituencies. Branding vs. Lead Generation This is another challenge mental health practitioners need to consider. Not every marketing agency or firm is the same. Some are stronger in certain areas. There are specific skills required to develop a solid brand concept for a healthcare client. This goes beyond the logo’s icon or color scheme. Brand voice and brand positioning are important elements of cultivating clientele from your desired target audience. However, just because you have great brand assets, doesn’t mean your ...
