Maybe you’ve heard the news, maybe you haven’t, but it seems as though Congress has successfully banned TikTok in the United States.
For those that do not use TikTok, the reaction to this is likely some variation of “who cares” or “why does this matter?”
For you, it probably doesn’t.
But I’ve met a lot of therapists and prospective therapists that were caught up in the idea that the best way for them to build their brand was TikTok. They knew how much time they spent on there, they followed a lot of other therapists, and they heard from others that TikTok was the best free way to reach a wide audience.
Those therapists are now faced with a pretty significant problem: they might – if TikTok gets banned, as it looks like it may be – lose it all.
Just the other day I spoke about the dangers of assuming that Instagram could be a sole source of new clients, and the same held true for TikTok. Yes, some people do make it, but for every successful therapist you hear about, there are dozens of others you do not.
But this ban also highlights one of the other challenges of relying on a single marketing source for your practice: Even if it pays off, it doesn’t belong to you, which means you’re never truly in control:
- If they get banned, as TikTok has, you lose everything.
- If they change their algorithm again, you may lose everything.
- If you get hacked, you could lose everything.
- If you want to leave the site because of their ownership, you lose everything.
TikTok, Instagram, and other social media sites can be high reward, but are also high risk *even when successful* if you’re using it as your only source of attracting new clients.
You’ll see me very active on Facebook. But I also have this website, I also have online reviews, I also am a member of several databases, and I’m working on connecting offline with group therapy and group health practices. In my own practice, I am on Psychology Today, Therapist.com, and many, many others.
Relying on a single source for attracting new clients is risky. Relying on one you don’t control is even more so. If you’re trying to grow a practice, consider as well rounded a presence as you can, so that you’re never limited to a single place for attracting clients – especially not something like social media.
What do you think about this TikTok ban, and do you think it will affect you personally or professionally? How so?