How to make sure your marketing actually works: How to use authority for psychologists and therapists

The Business of Psychology

How to make sure your marketing actually works: How to use authority for psychologists and therapists

Hello and welcome to today's episode of The Business of Psychology. Today we're going to be talking about how to make sure the marketing that you invest your time in actually works to bring people into your practice and attract the right kind of clients.

Full show notes of this episode are available at The Business of Psychology

Links & References:

Episode 19: How psychologists and therapists can use an ideal client avatar to co create and market their services

Start & Grow: The Complete Course for Psychologists and Therapists - Psychology Business School

Rosie on Instagram:

@rosiegilderthorp

@thepregnancypsychologist

There are a few key questions you have to know the answer to before you can decide what kind of marketing is going to work best for your practice and what is going to be the most valuable use of your time.

Once you know the answer to those questions, you can effectively cut out all the unnecessary noise and busy work and focus on the stuff that's really going to move the needle in your business and your professional life.

Authority

So we're going to get on to the questions themselves in a minute, but before we do, I want to talk a bit about the concept of authority, because the questions you need to know the answer to all link to authority.

In order for people to invest in your services, they have to be sure that you are the right service or person to help them. Different client groups are going to need different proof in order to feel that reassurance. But for all client groups, this is going to come from a mix of your credentials and content that you create that shows and tells your experience.

So what kind of credentials might demonstrate authority effectively? Well, that might be things like your experience, especially NHS roles that you've held or hold currently. It could be your core qualification, not stuff like CPD, people don't really get that sort of thing, but your core qualifications, your professional body. Even if people have never heard of them before, people do tend to be reassured by a logo or a professional body accrediting you.

It could be things like publications, journals, books, even some high profile blogs that you might have appeared on as a contributor. It could be things like institutional positions, like a position with a university, a position within your professional body or on the board of a charity. All of these things show that other people think that you are credible and that really helps people and media coverage, local media, national media, print, tv, and radio, all of those gate kept media sources. Give people some reassurance that other people out there think that you are worth talking to about your specialist area.

So what then are examples of content that shows and tells your authority? Well, that could include things that you can create yourself, like blogs, podcast episodes, YouTubing, public speaking. Also, making guest appearances on other people's. So guesting on podcasts, guesting in social media groups, and being helpful on social media generally.

Now before you get overwhelmed, don't worry. You don't have to do all of these. In fact, I'd recommend focusing on just one or two activities from the credentials list and one or two from the content list. You can always add more as you get more established in business.

So which activities do you choose?

This is where those questions I mentioned at the beginning come in:

• Who do your ideal client group go to for advice about their health?
• Where do they look for their news?
• Where do they go for healthcare specific information?
• What anxieties might they have about coming for therapy?

The answers to those four questions should tell you which authority building activities are most likely to give your client group the reassurance that they need to work with you. If you are feeling stuck about which of those activities are really going to matter to your ideal client group, it's probably because you haven't defined your specialism and therefore your client group clearly enough.

Yet, once you know who you are talking to, answering those questions shouldn't really be too hard. If it is, then I suggest talking to as many people from your ideal client group as possible, and asking them directly, as well as asking other professionals who spend a lot of time with your ideal clients.

Now, if you aren't sure about how to connect with your ideal clients, then check out our past podcast episode on that subject, which I've linked to in the show notes.

If you aren't sure about your specialism and what message you want to send to those ideal clients, what services you want to provide, how you want to be known, and what you want to be known for as a psychologist or therapist, then please do come along to our special training that we're running on the 13th of September.

Thank you for listening to today's episode, and if you have any questions at all, please do get in touch with me on Instagram. I'm @rosiegilderthorp. Or you can always reach out to me on email. I love to hear from you.

Mentioned in this episode:

Start and Grow

Before you go, did you know that I have a course for professionals just like you who are starting out in independent practice? In fact, my Start and Grow course has already supported hundreds of psychologists and therapists to build impactful, financially rewarding, and professionally fulfilling practices. When you sign up to the course, you get clear step-by-step support to build a practice that supports your values and rewards your hard work through our comprehensive online learning modules. You get peace of mind, thanks to our complete suite of legal documents from Clare Veal at Aubergine Legal, you get 12 months of membership to our supportive student community, access to our private students' podcast, so you can learn in your own time and in your own way. You, yes, I see you learning while you're doing the washing up! And you get access to regular group coaching sessions with me and the rest of our lovely students. If that sounds like exactly what you need to get out of private practice paralysis, then sign up today at https://psychologybusinessschool.com/psychology-business-school/