Common Mistakes Therapists Make With Their Social Media Accounts

I do a lot of work with social media. Most of you reading this probably discovered me and work with me primarily through Facebook. When it works, social media is a great way to make connections with like-minded people, lead discussion, and even grow a business.

You also *need* a social media account, no matter how you feel about them. They are an important part of your digital footprint, and even those that are planning to find most of their clients offline need to make sure that they have information online to help build trust with possible leads.

But, like most things, there is more to having a social media account than simply creating one:

  • How much should I post?
  • What should I post?
  • What engagement can I expect?

I plan to go into greater detail in the future about posting on social media as part of a marketing strategy, but today, I want to focus on common mistakes. Many of us – myself included! – have made mistakes with how we manage our social media accounts. Perhaps I can help you avoid these mistakes and get a better idea of how much time and attention you should spend on your social media pages.

Note: For the purposes of understanding what to do, all my examples refer to Facebook. Other social media accounts may be managed differently, though many of the mistakes are the same.

Mistake 1: Not Posting

Imagine this: You are in need of a therapist. You hear about a therapist named Jane Smith. You search for her name and find her official Facebook account. She has not posted on that account since June of 2020. Here’s what you’re thinking:

  • Is she still in business?
  • Is she unable to afford having someone operate her account?
  • Is she even alive?

Here is what you are not thinking: “This makes me want to call her more.”

You do not have to post that often, which we’ll get to in a moment. But you absolutely have to make sure that you’re posting *something* so that you look like you’re a successful therapist with an online presence. Assume once a month, minimum, though once every two weeks minimum is better just to make sure that you look like you’re still in business.

Mistake 2: Posting Too Often

I am *active* on social media with therapists, counselors, and social workers like you. Part of that is because we’re creating a community of people that are all here to learn from each other.

Your therapy page, on the other hand, has no reason to be that active unless you are trying to be a social media influencer, and most people do not want to hear from their therapist 3 times a day. It’s not worth your time and attention, and can actually turn off someone people that follow you as they may feel like you post too often. I think a good maximum for a therapist is about twice a week. That keeps your page very active while also not inundating potential clients with posts.

NOTE: Some therapists try to build a brand based on their personality, or are trying to grow a community around a specific specialty. In those cases, posting more often may make sense, but those are very specific situations.

Mistake 3: Spending Too Much Time on the Posts

Similarly – and this is more of an opinion, but relevant to the early stages of running a business – don’t worry about spending too much time on each post. At this stage in your career, what matters is putting out some interesting information and links and keeping your social media account busy.

Don’t let it be something that stresses you out. You have more important things to do than take hours heavily crafting the perfect post every day. It also doesn’t make sense to spend significant sums of money on graphic designers or social media marketers at this stage.

Later, as you grow, or if you simply have a lot of free time, there may be a point where creating these elaborate social media posts can be beneficial. If you’re looking at becoming a social media influencer or manage a large community, then highly crafted posts will matter as well. But, in these early stages of launching a therapy practice, spending too much time on each post or paying high fees to have someone create content for you is often not the best use of your time.

Mistake 4: Not Knowing Your “Why”

Still, even though you don’t have to spend hours on your posts, you do have to “know your why.”

You want to be able to answer the question of “why you?” with everything that you post. Remember, the average person does not know why you would be a better therapist than someone else. They do not know why they should choose you over the other therapist they found on Facebook or Google.

Everything you do should be completed with this in mind – giving people a reason to choose you instead of electing to go with a different therapist.

Mistake 5: Sending Visitors to Other Websites

Lastly, the point of posting on social media at all is to grow your practice. Posting links to PsychologyToday articles or other therapy websites is great, but should not be the entirety of your posting habits. Send people to your website. Talk about yourself. Post your own opinions and direct people to contact you. Potential clients are not going to call if you’re sending them to other people’s websites and information.

Growing a Practice Through Social Media

There may come a point in your practice where social media plays an important, key role. That typically is not during these early stages.

That said, there are absolutely ways to use social media to grow your practice, and tips for doing so that are important for ensuring that your activity helps your business grow. If you’re looking for more help marketing, growing, or even *starting* your practice, please reach out to me today.

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