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5 Ways To Use Pinterest And Blogging To Explode Website Traffic.

Pinterest still remains one of my favorite ways to get traffic to any therapy website.

When you combine content that truly serves your potential therapy clients with the multiplication power of Pinterest, it’s a winning combination to get more traffic to your website and reach a larger audience.

In this article, I’ll share with you 5 ways that you can use Pinterest to explode your website traffic.

Want to start at the very beginning with Pinterest? Check out this Pinterest guide.

Let’s get started…

1: Get Very Clear On Who Your Target Audience Is

Story: My very first blog

My second blog with my portfolio site

The problem with that first blog was that it really only served one person… me!

I wasn’t offering anything that anyone would really want, outside of my own family and friends who wanted to see my photos.

This is why it’s so important to define why you blog and who you blog for.

Doing so will help you focus your writing, explode your blog post ideas, poise you to connect with your potential clients and showcase your expertise.

That’s why today’s lesson is so important. It lays the groundwork for everything else we’ll do in this challenge.

Questions to Get You Started:

1: Who do you love helping in your private practice? 

What types of clients do you get really excited to work with? Think about the last time you were looking forward to that first session with a new client… what were they like and why were they coming to you?

2: What questions are your favorite clients consistently asking you? 

List out a few challenges and topics you love to tackle with your clients. Be as detailed as you can here.

3: Who do you want to see more of in your private practice? 

People who need help with … (fill in the blank). This is like the first question, but this one is for the future. Who do you want to attract to your private practice?

4: How can reading your blog posts help them (even if they don’t become a client)?

Is it inspiration? Is it hope? Is it simple tips to help them with (fill in the blank).

2: Set Up A Pinterest Business Account and Enable Rich Pins

Using a Pinterest Business account will give you access to some awesome statistics so you can understand how well or poorly your account is doing.

This also allows you to verify your website and use something called Rich Pins, which will attach information about your blog and website to pins you create for your blog posts.

I actually covered the process of setting up Rich Pins in detail in this post here.

3: Treat Your Pinterest Profile As A Resource Library For Your Ideal Clients

I’ve said it a few times and I’ll say it again… your Pinterest profile is an extension of your website and your private practice.

So, when someone lands on your Pinterest profile, you want your board titles and the images you pin to reinforce what you do and how you can help your ideal client.

What you DON’T want, is for your ideal client to click onto your Pinterest profile, expecting to learn more about your practice, only to see boards like “Hairstyles,” “Cute Dogs,” and “Desserts I Love.”

That’s confusing.

  1. Use your professional portrait for the profile image or your private practice’s logo
  2. You can create a “featured” board on your profile where you pin all the content that comes from your blog
  3. Name your boards with clear titles that have keywords in the title – these can even be the same as your blog’s categories
  4. Search for BOARDS related to the content your ideal client would read so you can curate other helpful resources that are NOT from your blog

4: Use Keywords Everywhere!

Now, Pinterest is a really just a search engine… and just like Google, the way to get found is through using keywords.

Also, your Pinterest profile is an extension of your website and blog.

It’s a place where you share resources that are helpful to your ideal clients.

So, with a couple simple tweaks, you can ensure that your profile is one that can be found in Pinterest AND captures your ideal clients and readers’ attention.

Here’s how we do it:

1: Add keywords to your Business Name

In your profile settings, there’s a space for your business name and Pinterest gives you some extra space that you can fill with keywords related to your niche and services.

So, instead of just putting your name, ie “Daniel Fava”, you can expand it to something like this:

Daniel Fava Marriage & Family Therapist

Or

Daniel Fava LPC | Marriage Tips, Couples Therapy

Think of your most important keywords that will attract your ideal client and include them in your business name.

2: Write a solid bio focused on your ideal client

Your Pinterest bio (About you section in your profile settings) is PRIME real estate you can use to attract your ideal client and let them know how you plan to serve them.

It’s the first impression people get of you and your practice when they land on your profile.

This is where you’ll want to get clear about who you help and what you help them achieve.

You can also include a call to action here and link over to your website for some bonus traffic.

So, instead of saying, “I’m an LPC in Atlanta, GA” (pretty boring, right?)

Say something like THIS:

“I help couples and parents restore relationships and families through collaborative therapy. Download your free Family Conversation Starters cheatsheet here >> http://bit.ly”

Now readers can tell exactly what you do and what they’re gonna get from you.

3: Use keywords in each of your board descriptions

Every board you create on Pinterest can be a new topic that you can use to attract your ideal clients.

Make sure you don’t leave your board description blank but use it as a way to let people know what the board is about, including the keywords anyone would use to find it.

4: Write a keyword-rich description for each pin you save for your website content

This works just like the meta description on a page on your website. 

It lets searchers know what the content is about and contains the keywords your clients are searching for.

Here’s why this step is so important:

  1. It will help your target audience find you when using Pinterest search
  2. Pinterest will see your keywords and suggest your pins to people who don’t yet follow you but view related topics
  3. This will, in time increase your Pinterest followers and ultimately, your traffic

5: Use Pinterest automation tools to get more traffic

Just like blogging, consistency is key to using Pinterest to get more traffic to your private practice website.

You must be active on Pinterest in order to grow your following and traffic. Pin relevant content to your boards each day and mix in some of your own blog post pins as well.

Yes, you can pin your own content multiple times to multiple boards! It’s ok!

So you’ll want to go beyond just creating a pin for each blog post you publish on your website.

Because pinning anywhere from 10 – 25 times a day is really ideal to keep your account fresh and consistently at the top of your followers’ feeds.

You want to repin other helpful resources for your clients and mix in your own content that links to your website and drives that yummy traffic.

So in order to do that without going crazy, a Pinterest Scheduling tool is ideal.

I personally use Tailwind which lets me set a pinning schedule then fill up a queue of great content that will get dripped out over the course of the week.

Tailwind has a great feature called the Smart Loop, where you can put in your best content and tell it how often you want it to pin that to your account and it will just auto loop it over time. 

Ready to use Pinterest to explode your traffic, grow your audience and attract more of your ideal clients? Join the free 10-day Kickstart Your Blog Traffic Challenge by clicking the banner below:

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Why Getting Press & PR Matters For Your Private Practice Web Presence

A guest post by Melody Wilding

You’ve created an awesome website for your private practice. You’ve identified who your ideal client is and refined your niche. You’re even blogging on a consistent basis!

 

A guest post by Melody Wilding You’ve created an awesome website for your private practice. You’ve identified who your ideal client is and refined your niche. You’re even blogging on a consistent basis! The only problem is, no one is reading your content or signing up to work with you because they don’t know your practice exists.

The only problem is, no one is reading your content or signing up to work with you because they don’t know your practice exists.

Creating a thriving therapy practice requires that people know about your business and trust you.

But how do you stand out in a crowded marketplace and attract more people to your website?

One of the most powerful ways to stand out, connect with potential clients, and create instant credibility is by leveraging the power of free publicity.

You might be stumped at how to go about getting a slew of shiny “As Seen On” logos on your website. Maybe you feel nervous at the thought of giving media interviews. It’s understandable, but if you can put your doubts aside for a second,

I’ll show you how to get free PR right now, whether you are a seasoned clinician or just starting out in private practice.

Why Psychotherapists Need Media Exposure

Your public profile and platform are keys to your success, regardless of what your business goals are. By getting featured in the media you:

Become easier to find online through Google.

Media exposure is one of the best ways to drive more traffic to your website. It also helps you rank higher on Google by boosting your SEO.

When large, reputable news sites link back to your therapy website, it makes it more likely you’ll show up high in Google search results.

Connect with ideal clients.

You’ve probably heard that you should “go where your ideal clients are hanging out”.

Giving interviews and getting featured in the media is a shortcut to showing up exactly where your ideal customers are consuming content and looking for solutions.

It gives you an opportunity to speak directly to them by providing advice that solves the pain points they’re experiencing.

Gain powerful social proof

Social proof is a powerful marketing tactic that helps potential clients see you more positively.

It legitimizes your expertise in the outside world. When potential clients see you’ve been featured in the media, they come to regard you as an expert.

They trust you more. Having credibility indicators like press logos on your website can mean the difference between a website visitor choosing to book a consultation with you over your competition.

How to Get Free Publicity for Your Private Practice

The simplest, fastest to get media exposure without spending a penny is by using a powerful, free PR service called Help A Reporter Out or HARO.

HARO is a free service that connects journalists with experts. Through HARO, you can get featured in over 55,000 media outlets including top publications like TIME, USA Today, and The Washington Post.

I used HARO to go from zero clients and credibility to being featured in major publications like New York Magazine, Fast Company, Forbes, Shape, Cosmopolitan, Glamour, and Mashable, within one year of starting my business. 

Working with the media is what’s allowed me to build a six-figure business and be booked out with a wait list.

Publicity has also helped me pursue other opportunities like paid writing, speaking, and building courses.

How HARO Works

After you sign up at helpareporter.com, you will start getting three emails every weekday with a list of requests (called “queries”) from reporters looking for experts to comment on topics ranging from health and wellness to relationships and career development.

Each HARO email contains about 50-75 different requests from reporters. This adds up to over 150 more opportunities to get featured in the media every single day, delivered straight to your inbox at no cost.

Here’s how it works:

  1. Scan the HARO emails every day. When you see a query that fits your expertise, act quickly. Journalists get hundreds of emails from HARO, so time is of the essence.
  2. Next, compose a new email to the reporter. Make sure your response is concise, adheres to the reporter’s requirements, and most importantly, provides helpful advice for readers.
  3. If the reporter opens your email and is interested in what you have to say, then you may be quoted in an article or be interviewed. When that happens, you get exposure to the thousands or millions of readers of that publication.
  4. Share it! You worked hard to earn this media exposure, so celebrate. For example, post the article on social media, send it to your email list, and put the publication’s logo on your website. Make sure to follow up with the journalist and thank them, as well.

HARO gives you a great opportunity to drive more traffic to your website and boost your credibility so that more people want to engage your services. It’s also a powerful tool that can help grow your business, your reputation, and your impact.

Discover How to Have Success with HARO

Sign up for my free training, Media Made Easy: The Secrets To Getting Press Coverage (Even When You Have No Connections) and discover the top 3 tips to use HARO successfully and get featured in the media.

About the Author

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Melody Wilding is a licensed social worker and coach who help high achievers mentally and emotionally thrive in their careers. When Melody started her practice a few years ago, she had zero clients and no credibility. Today she runs a six-figure business, has a client waitlist, has given a TEDx talk with over 20,000 views, and has been featured in dozens of top media publications including The New York Times, The Washington Post, Inc, Forbes, and Fast Company, Cosmo, Shape, Glamour, and dozens more. Melody is also the creator of The Media Darling Method, an online course that teaches therapists how to land major publicity that grows their private practice and personal brands.

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How To Market and Fill Your Therapy Group Like A PRO

A quest post by Katie May

So you have an idea for an awesome group and you just KNOW it’s going to benefit the clients that you serve. In fact, a few of them may have even mentioned that they wish something like it already exists.

A quest post by Katie May So you have an idea for an awesome group and you just KNOW it’s going to benefit the clients that you serve. In fact, a few of them may have even mentioned that they wish something like it already exists.

You create a flyer, open enrollment AND… Crickets.

Why does it feel so hard to fill a group when you know your clients will benefit from it (and they’ve even expressed interest and excitement?)

It’s because group enrollment actually starts way before you open the doors. There’s pre-launch work that needs to be done.

And what’s cool about this is that you actually get to offer a LOT of value and content to help your local community before they even connect with you for a group screening.

Step 0: Your Therapy Group Pre-Launch

I like to think of the pre-launch as “step 0.” It’s what prospective clients can start to do to help themselves before they decide they know, like and trust you enough to reach out for help.

Think about it… that first step of asking for help (or admitting you need help) can be the hardest one.

When you follow a process that moves your prospective clients through a journey, you’re moving the relationship with them from complete strangers to one where you position yourself as the go-to expert that they NEED to see.

You’ll want to give yourself about eight weeks prior to the start of your group to set yourself up for full group success.

This gives you enough time to be able to effectively market, but also to recognize that life happens and that work, family and/or sickness can get in the way.

You want to plan for hiccups so that you’re not scrambling at the last minute to fill those last few seats.

Start by really fleshing out your ideal group client, even if you think you already know them.

Understand what their pain points are and what relief they are looking for by reaching out to you. This should be easy for you if you work with this specific type of client in your practice already.

You’ve likely fielded tons of calls, had tons of intake sessions and serve multiple clients per week on this very issue that you can use as your “market research.”

Make a List of Potential Group Clients

Make a list of clients that you already see that could be a good fit for your group. You may even want to think about “pre-selling” them. This is easy peasy!

As you wrap up a session (or in an email between sessions) you can simply say, “Hey, I’m thinking about running a group for women with anxiety in the next few months. If I run it, would you be interested?”

This will give you a good idea of the potential for your group and whether clients like yours will be interested in it.

You want to be sure that those who are interested have a place to get more information. Create a page on your website that is fully dedicated to your group.

Be sure to talk about who it’s for, what this person experiences and have specific and bullet-pointed outcomes that this person will achieve when they join your group.

You don’t even need to have a specific date or time for group yet.

Create a Contact Form For People Interested in Your Group

The most important part of this group page is having a contact form for those who are interested to fill out their name, email address and phone number.

This will allow you to follow up with them further in the launch process to share more about the group and invite them to connect with you.

Create a flyer using the same information you used on your group page.

Be mindful to not overcrowd the flyer with details and understand that the goal of the flyer is to drive people to your group page to complete a contact form so you can gather their information for further use.

Share this flyer in your waiting room and with any colleagues who support a similar population.

Formulate Your Therapy Group Goals

Finally, start to formulate some really concrete goals for your group.

How many clients would you like to ideally have signed up to start the group? What is the minimum amount of income you’d like to make to run the group successfully?

When you can set clear goals to know exactly what you’re working towards, it will motivate you and guide you in the whole group filling process.

Write down your goals and really visualize that full and profitable group every single day.

Once your ideal client and group goals are clear, the rest becomes a numbers game.

It’s about driving targeted traffic to your group web page and using a phone conversation to screen members to enroll those who are a perfect fit.

For more information on how to market and fill your group once you’re clear on the who and what, visit ​www.becomeagroupguru.com​ and watch the free webinar to Fill Your Therapy Group in 6 weeks.

​Stop wishing and waiting to get enough clients interested all at once and learn the 3 step process for creating group clients on demand with a fool-proof marketing process that brings group members to you in 6 weeks or less.

KKM Profile Pic 1

About Katie

Katie helps therapists market, fill and run group programs so that they can make a massive positive impact on the world (and their bank account) at the same time.

Visit www.becomeagroupguru.com to learn the fastest and most effective way to go from zero to full group, even if you hate marketing and you have no idea where to start.

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How to Create A Blogging Routine… While Managing Your Private Practice

A guest post by Katie Springs

Blogging is an important marketing task for mental health practitioners. It helps potential clients who are searching online discover your practice. But when you run your own private practice, you can end up wearing many hats throughout the day.

A guest post by Katie Springs Blogging is an important marketing task for mental health practitioners. It helps potential clients who are searching online discover your practice. But when you run your own private practice, you can end up wearing many hats throughout the day.

You’re not just the counselor, therapist, or clinician. You’re also the office manager, the billing department, the support technician, the receptionist, and the marketing director all rolled into one.

With so much going on, it’s understandable that you may feel a little overwhelmed.

The good news is there are ways you can simplify your blogging process so it takes less time from your busy schedule.

Set a Schedule

Imagine if you stopped making appointments for your clients and instead invited them to pop in whenever they felt like it.

The result would be an unpredictable schedule that may result in confusion and would likely mean you would struggle to get to the all- important tasks you need to accomplish to maintain your practice, such as returning calls, billing insurance, and completing session notes.

Soon, you would feel like your practice is running you, rather than you running your practice.

The same is true for blogging.  

Without a schedule, blogging may become an after-thought, or a task that you just don’t get around to as often as you hope.

Setting a schedule and blocking of time to write is the best way to prevent yourself from getting behind on your blogging routine. Your schedule doesn’t have to be hard or complicated. And, you don’t have to start off blogging weekly.

When you’re first starting out, you might only want to commit to one blog post a month for the first few months, and then increase your frequency as you find your groove.   The important part is to commit to a schedule, book it into your calendar, and follow through.

Write in Batches

Once you have a blogging schedule, you know how many posts you’ll need to write every month. A savvy way of writing blog posts is to batch.

The idea behind batching is to write a series of articles in succession about a similar topic. It’s even more effective if you are able to write them over a few days.

Here is a sample batching process that can yield a month or two of initial blog posts:

  • Determine your primary topic
  • Create 3-5 (or more) blog titles that center around the primary topic
  • Write an outline for each blog
  • Write the blogs in succession

The beauty of this process is that you are creating a few blog posts about a particular topic, making it easier for ideas to flow.   It doesn’t mean you have to publish each post in succession.

When you sit down to blog, eliminate as many distractions as possible.

Consider putting your phone on silent and try to mute notifications on your computer. If you find it too distracting to work in your office, go to a local coffee shop or another quiet area to help you disconnect.

Get an Accountability Partner

Sometimes, the best way to make sure a task gets done is to enlist an accountability partner. An accountability partner is effective because you know you’ll have to give them an update later.

If your accountability partner is also blogging to build their private practice, you could become writing buddies.

Arrange to meet up in a quiet location such as a library or hotel lobby or, if you don’t live near each other, meet virtually on a free video platform such as Skype and work on your individual posts at the same time.

When you begin your active working session, you and your partner should both set a goal for how many words or posts you want to complete.

Take a break in the middle of each working session, checking in to see if you are on track to accomplish your goals.  If not, find out how you can support your accountability partner move past writer’s block, motivation dilemmas, or other challenges.

At the end of your working session, check in with each other and report your success.   You might even find that a friendly competition helps.  Perhaps a cup of coffee or glass of wine is on the line.

Outsource Your Blog

Another way to have fresh content for your blog is to pay someone else to write it.

While you’ll pay for each blog post, usually based on the number of words, you may find that the amount a freelancer or outsource contract costs compared to the amount you charge per hour is a savvy expense.

One note about outsourced blog content.  It is unlikely that any copywriter will create content that sounds just like you.

Therefore, you should be willing to spend a few minutes editing the content once you receive it to use specific word choices and examples that sound like you.

If you are going to outsource, make sure you select someone who has a strong portfolio and understands your business.

If you don’t know a writer, ask for recommendations from other mental health practitioners. They may know a writer who would be a great fit for your blog.

Blogging can be a wonderful way to connect with potential clients and grow your private practice. With a sound strategy in place, and one that is easy for you to maintain, you’re likely to keep this visibility strategy going – and see return on your investment for your practice.

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About Katie Springs

Katie Springs, LPC, BC-NCC, BC-THM understands the demands of a thriving private practice.   In addition to managing her private practice, she is a marketing coach for mental health professionals who want to be highly visible so that they can grow their practice and maximize their impact.  Learn more about Katie and The Savvy Private Practice at www.TheSavvyPrivatePractice.com.

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How To Set Up Pinterest Rich Pins for Your Private Practice Website

Rich Pins allow Pinterest to display extra information about you and your website when pinning content from your website. It’s a great way to stand out on Pinterest and makes it easier to drive traffic back to your therapy website.

In this post we’ll go over what Rich Pins are exactly and how to get started using them on your own Pinterest profile and private practice website.

Rich Pins allow Pinterest to display extra information about you and your website when pinning content from your website. It’s a great way to stand out on Pinterest and makes it easier to drive traffic back to your therapy website. In this post we’ll go over what Rich Pins are exactly and how to get started using them on your own Pinterest profile and private practice website.

What Are Pinterest Rich Pins?

Rich pins are a way for Pinterest to provide some extra information about your website along with pins that link back to your pages and posts.

By enabling a bit of code on your website, it allows Pinterest to gather a little information about any content pinned from your website.

A bold title, your website name and your profile picture all appear with your pin to let pinners know more about who they’re repinning and where the content came from.

Here’s an example of what Rich Pins do:

pinterest for therapists rich pin

All this extra info will help you stand out in the busy Pinterest feed.

Notice how Rich Pins display your blog titles clear and gives your ideal audience more chances to click over to your website.

And tests have shown that Rich Pins have been proven to increase traffic.

So you’re going want to set up this functionality if you’re using Pinterest to promote your private practice blog.

You may be wondering, what does a NON Rich Pin look like?

For comparison’s sake, here’s an example:

pinterest non rich pin

There’s no extra information, such as a bold title for the content, a “read it” button, or “Article from” highlight of the author’s Pinterest profile.

This can result in less repins, fewer follows and less traffic back to the original website’s content.

Getting Started With Rich Pins for Your Therapy Website

Setting up this extra Pinterest functionality does not take long and has tons of benefits.

And you can set it up once, and then any content pinned from your website will display as a Rich Pin.

In order to enable Rich Pins, you have to have what’s called “Open Graph” code on your website.

This is the same type of code that Facebook uses to pull in information for links you share on their platform.

The process is a little different depending on which website platform you use. So I’ll cover a few of the most popular ones below.

Using WordPress to Set Up Rich Pins

The process to enable Rich Pins is extremely easy when using WordPress.

Step 1: Install the Yoast SEO plugin

Step 2: Click on “Social” under the Yoast SEO settings

rich pins yoast 1

Step 3: Click on the Facebook tab and make sure Open Graph is enabled

rich pins yoast 2

Step 4: Validate your Rich Pins with Pinterest using their Rich Pin Validator

rich pin validator

Once validated, Pinterest will show you the information they see for your website:

rich pin pinterest validated

Using Other Website Platforms to Enable Rich Pins

Wix: Setting up Rich Pins with Wix

Squarespace: Already supported when you link your Pinterest account from within Squarespace settings. Once linked, run the Rich Pin Validator here.

Weebly: You’ll have to first add the Open Graph code to your website’s “Head” code. Check out the instructions here.

How Using Pinterest led to a 15x increase in traffic to my own website… in just 6 months.

Rich Pins are just one of many simple strategies you can use to help drive lots of traffic to your private practice website using Pinterest.

Now, I’ve spent the last couple years testing what works and doesn’t work for driving traffic to websites.

And Pinterest can be a game changer.

It currently accounts for more than 90% of all traffic to this here site… and all without having to pay for my content to be seen (like you have to do on Facebook).

And after just 6 months of using Pinterest strategically I saw a 15x increase in my traffic!

I’d like to share this Pinterest strategy with you…

Because what I’ve learned is that it’s not rocket science, so anyone can follow this system to see an uptick in their own website traffic.

So I’ve compiled together my favorite traffic-driving tactics, combining blogging with simple Pinterest strategies to help you grow your website traffic quickly into a free, 10-day email challenge.

Ready to use Pinterest to explode your traffic, grow your audience and attract more of your ideal clients? Join the free 10-day Kickstart Your Blog Traffic Challenge by clicking the banner below:

Click here to join the free challenge

 

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Why Your Private Practice NEEDS To Be On Pinterest

Pinterest isn’t just for recipes, workout plans, and dream weddings. It’s actually a great way to drive traffic to your private practice’s website.

Did you know that Pinterest is the second largest driver of traffic, second only to Facebook?

So, if you’ve been weary about trying a new social media platform, below are 5 reasons why you need to be using Pinterest to your advantage.

Pinterest isn’t just for recipes, workout plans, and dream weddings. It’s actually a great way to drive traffic to your private practice’s website.

Reason #1: Pinterest has over 150 million users (and growing) who are providing details about their psychographics.

Whether they’re looking for inspirational quotes or have a board dedicated completely to self-care tips, your ideal clients are identifying themselves daily.

Using attractive graphics and optimizing your captions with keywords specific to your niche will draw your future clients directly to your site.

Your potential clients are using Pinterest already, so use it as an opportunity to attract them with content relevant to your private practice and expertise.

Reason #2: Your clients are open and receptive to your message.

In fact, they’re looking for it.

By being consistent with the design of your pin images and consistently providing content that will serve your ideal client, you can stand out as an expert in your field.

And as they become receptive to your helpful content, your target audience may be more likely to contact you, set up an appointment, and become a regular client.

I can’t promise this is going to happen overnight, but as traffic increases over time it does increase the likelihood of converting visitors to clients.

Reason #3: Pinterest can increase traffic to your therapy website exponentially.

When someone pins a post, it’s shared to their friends and followers. This means an entire network of individuals will be seeing your content.

The best part is that this can work exponentially in your favor to bring you loads of traffic.

For example, if you pin an image that links to your blog post and you only have 400 followers, it has the potential of being seen by those 400 individuals.

But if one of those 400 individuals REPINS your content and THEY have 4,000 followers, well you have the potential getting your pin (and clicks to your website) in front of 4,000 more people.

And on and on it goes.

So, more eyes means more traffic. More traffic means more prospective clients.

Reason #4: Your audience is looking for the inspiration and content that you can provide.

Since 66% of people on Pinterest are using the platform for that purpose, give them what they’re looking for.

You see, Pinterest is really a search engine… NOT a social media website.

Pinterest is a place where people go to find answers and it’s a great place to provide answers by pinning your blog posts there regularly.

Ensure your messaging is both inspirational and actionable, giving your future clients a roadmap to follow that ultimately leads directly to you.

Whether they’re numbered lists or how to’s, providing the right content to the right audience on the right platform could be a game changer for your private practice.

Reason #5: Pinterest can help with your SEO

One thing that search engines pay attention to is something called “social signals.”

Social signals do play a role in organic and local search engine optimization. Search engines want to show their users the most relevant and engaging content.

As people interact with your pins and traffic increases over time, it can cause a positive impact on your local search engine rankings.

So when potential, local clients search for services related to your practice, Google will be more likely to show them your website, as it sees that Pinterest is sending many other engaged users to your content.

And beyond local search, your pins can (and probably will) pop up from time to time in Google search results, eventually leading traffic back to your website.

Is Your Private Practice on Pinterest Yet? If not, read on…

Personally, Pinterest is my FAVORITE way to drive traffic to any website.

It currently accounts for more than 90% of all traffic to this here site… and all without having to pay for my content to be seen (like you have to do on Facebook).

In fact, using Pinterest led to a 15x increase in traffic to my own website… in just 6 months.

It required a little bit of strategy (but ANYONE can do it)

I’d like to share this Pinterest strategy with you inside this challenge…

Because what I’ve learned is that it’s not rocket science, so anyone can follow this system to see an uptick in their own website traffic.

Ready to use Pinterest to explode your traffic, grow your audience and attract more of your ideal clients? Join the free 10-day Kickstart Your Blog Traffic Challenge by clicking the banner below:

Click here to join the free challenge

 

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Marketing for Therapists: Top Tools to Schedule Social Media Posts

Social media can be a great way to market your private practice, reach new clients and drive traffic to your therapy website. But it can also suck a lot of your time and become an ugly monster that always seems like it needs to be fed.

In this post I’ll share some tools that let you schedule your social media posts to help you save time and keep you sane.

Social media can be a great way to market your private practice, reach new clients and drive traffic to your therapy website. But it can also suck a lot of your time and become an ugly monster that always seems like it needs to be fed. In this post I’ll share some tools that let you schedule your social media posts to help you save time and keep you sane.

Why Scheduling Social Posts is Important

Social media is all about consistency.

In order to keep a constant place at the table of the internet, it helps to consistently be part of the conversation.

Consistency means that you are daily sharing information that resonates with you audience. It can educate or inspire, encourage or entertain.

But in order to be consistent, that means you’re sharing posts on social media each and every day. That may not be too difficult but when you start to add in Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, etc., it can take up a LOT of time to try and keep up with it all.

This is why I recommend finding a tool that will help you schedule your consistent content across all your social channels.

This doesn’t mean that you don’t interact with people. You’ll still want to join in conversations, answer comments that come in and be present.

But setting aside an hour per week or month to load up social posts is much more efficient than being sucked into social media each day for an hour.

No more getting distracted by cat videos when you should be sharing your latest blog post!

So let’s get into some tools you can use to schedule social media posts.

1.  Buffer

buffer schedule social posts therapist marketing

Buffer is my social media scheduler of choice. I began using their free service (limited to 10 scheduled posts per social channel) to get a feel for the app and just loved it.

It’s extremely easy to get started using Buffer and sync up all your social posts.

The way it works is you set a schedule of times you want to share posts on each of your social channels.

Then you fill up your queue of posts and Buffer will automatically share them according to that schedule you set.

I like to use their browser extension to share articles I’ve come across or even Tweets I’d like to retweet.

Their “Power Scheduler” is great for sharing your new blog posts. It lets you create numerous social posts in just a few minutes, sharing it hours, days and weeks into the future (great for Twitter).

I also like their “Content Inbox” feature, which lets you collect links to blog posts from websites you follow and want to share with your audience. Then, with the click of a button you can add those articles to your queue.

They offer a free version to get started and learn the ropes. I’ve found the next tier, which is $10/month, to be well worth it.

Check out Buffer here.

2. Hootsuite

hootsuite social media marketing psychotherapists

Hootsuite is one of the most popular social media management services out there. It not only lets you schedule your social posts, but it has the added feature of letting you also interact with your audience by responding to tweets and comments.

So it can be more of a social media management tool than just a tool for scheduling your posts.

You can check them out with a free 30-day trial, after which the plans start at $9.99 with unlimited scheduled messages across all your social channels.

3. Everypost

everypost social media marketing therapists

Everypost’s features give you everything you need to curate content and schedule posts across multiple channels, including Facebook, Twitter, Google+, Linkedin, Pinterest and tumblr.

Their content curation features are a highlight of this service, enabling you to find engaging visual content from YouTube, Instagram, Flickr and RSS feeds and then publish it across all your social media platforms.

Their free account limits you to just one social channel and paying $10/month can up that to ten social channels.

4. SocialOomph

socialoomph private practice social media scheduling

SocialOomph allows you to monitor your social activity and schedule posts into the future. Their free version gives you tools for Twitter only, so if you’d like to use their service for Facebook, Pinterest, etc., you’ll have to upgrade to a paid plan.

While SocialOomph can let you publish posts to Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, LinkedIn, tumblr and blogs, it seems like their focus is definitely their Twitter tools, of which there are many.

5. SproutSocial

sprout social psychotherapist marketing

SproutSocial is for those of you that require a robust social scheduling and monitoring manager. It may be just a little too much for those of us just starting out, but their tools are pretty powerful.

Not only can you schedule posts, but you can manage the many conversations you’re having across multiple social platforms, all in one place.

This bad boy starts at $99/month (after the free trial) so it’s definitely an investment and only recommend it for folks who may be taking their private practice more online, selling products and really focused on social media strategy.

Conclusion

If you’re losing your head trying to keep up with social media, I hope that one of these five tools will give you some peace of mind.

I recommend setting a block of time each week where you schedule social posts.

Then your time can be better spent answering questions and interacting with potential clients on social media.

Another tip? If you’re starting out, start small.

Choose ONE platform to learn how to use and what works. This will keep you from getting overwhelmed trying to keep up.

Check out my latest FREE training to learn the content you need in order to attract your ideal clients to your website, plus tips on driving more traffic. Just click the banner below to get started!

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How to Use Facebook to Market Your Private Practice

Last week I sent out an email to my audience asking one simple question: what would you like to know about using Facebook to market your practice?

Well, I was amazed at the response and the questions that came back were just SO good!

Many of you want to know if Facebook is even relevant for marketing your therapy practice.

Some folks were concerned over privacy issues and how to separate your personal Facebook account from a business account.

So many of you really wanted to know more about how to use Facebook ads to market your private practice.

I really needed an expert to answer all these great questions, so I reached out to Jennifer Spong Sneeden, from Thriving Therapy Practice, for some help.

Jennifer has seen SO much success in using Facebook to market her private practice that it’s actually become her number one source of new clients.

She’s since taught hundreds of other therapists to use Facebook effectively in their own practices.

To help you out, she decided to create the video below just for the CMTW audience, answering some of your most common questions about Facebook.

Now, Jennifer is taking this one step further…

Because she’s so confident that Facebook is one of the best ways to grow your own practice, she’s agreed to host a free, exclusive live training just for the readers of this here blog.

In this virtual training, she’s going to show you her simple 5-step system to build your Facebook following, engage your fans, and increase your income.

If Facebook seems like a waste of time because you’re not getting the results you want, this FREE training is for you. Just click the banner below to claim your spot:

Learn how to use Facebook to market your private practice

This Facebook training will take place, January 19, 2017 at two different times: 1PM and 8PM EST. Sign up now to make sure you get a spot.

We’ll see you there!

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What Do YOU Want to Know About Creating and/or Marketing Your Therapy Website?

I want to take some time out to get some feedback from you. Yes… YOU!

While I may know a couple things about how to build a therapy website or digital marketing, I want to make sure that I provide the best, most helpful articles to my readers. And I can’t do that without knowing more about you and the questions you may have.

It would do you a disservice and be prideful for me to just assume what your needs are with building or marketing your private practice.

And I don’t want to do that!

Maybe You’re Wondering:

  1. How can I make sense of Google Analytics?
  2. What’s the most important part of my therapy website’s homepage?
  3. How can I use social media to market my private practice?
  4. What’s the best way to attack a Rubix Cube?

Ok maybe you don’t care about that last one especially. But it proves the point. I can’t assume what challenges you face as a therapist or counselor marketing their practice.

So, Could You Answer a ONE Question Survey For Me??

It would help me out immensely and I would love you forever if you could answer this question for me. I created a one-question survey that asks, ‘What are/has been the biggest challenge you face in creating a successful private practice website?’

It should only take you a minute to fill out. Just click the button below, fill out the survey and I’ll do my very best to answer your questions to the best of my ability.

 

TAKE THE SURVEY >

Thanks!

~Daniel

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How to Super Charge Social Sharing on Your Private Practice Website with SumoMe

I believe the blog on your counseling website DESERVES to be shared with the world. You’re probably sharing your posts on your social networks, but is your blog optimized to let OTHERS share your amazing content?

One way to increase your social footprint and drive more traffic to your therapy website is with the use of social sharing buttons. You’ve seen them. They’re those buttons on the top, bottom or floating on the side of most websites that let you share content on Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest and other social media.

According to a past study of the 10,000 largest websites, those that featured Twitter share buttons were, on average, mentioned in 27 tweets containing a link back to the site, whereas those not featuring tweet buttons were mentioned, on average, in only four tweets that contain a link back to the site.

So, you might be wondering… Daniel, how do I install install these social sharing buttons on my website?

I’m glad you asked.

Installing Social Share Buttons on Your Private Practice Wordpress Website (for FREE!)

If your website is built on WordPress, you’re in luck. Social sharing plugins make it stupid easy to install social sharing features on your blog. You can do it in about 5 minutes.

The only issue I’ve run in with social sharing plugins on WordPress is that there are just SO many to choose from. Some of them are more easily to customize than others. And some have limitations on where the buttons can be placed.

I did some research when developing a few websites over the last year because I was not content with the plugins I used in the past. They didn’t look cool and I couldn’t get them to work how I wanted. I must have installed 5 and then un-installed them on my own blog. After searching for eons (ok, maybe not THAT long), I FINALLY found some great social share buttons from the company SumoMe. And I fell in love (is that weird?… to fall in love with social sharing buttons?… maybe.. I dunno).

Like I said, there are many plugins out there. You can use whatever one you like. I only recommend SumoMe because I’ve used them and it’s been the best plugin for me by far. But just like I did, test out a few and see what works for you.

What is SumoMe and Why I Love Them

installing social sharing plugin on your therapist website

SumoMe is a company that builds tools to help you grow your website traffic. Plain and simple. They are real online marketers and entrepreneurs that stand by and use the tools they produce. Heck, they even support you with tips on how to make your website a complete success. I’m really impressed with what they do, and that’s why I use them on my blogs today.

They have many tools you can add to your website, like pop-ups and ways to build your email list, but today we’ll focus on their Share Plugin.

Installing the SumoMe WordPress Plugin

1. Log into the WordPress dashboard and click on Plugins on the left navigation.

Then click “Add New”. From the Plugins search page, type “SumoMe” into the search bar:

search for social buttons plugin

 

2. Locate the SumoMe Plugin and Click on “Install Now”

Install the SumoMe plugin

 

3. Activate the Plugin

activate social buttons plugin

4. Set Up SumoMe

Once activated you’ll see some hand-drawn text asking you to set up SumoMe. Click on it to get started:

setup sumome social sharing buttons

5. Create Your SumoMe Account

You’ll see a popup to create your free account

Create SumoMe Account

6. Click on Sumo Store (don’t worry, we can use free versions of their social sharing tools 😉 )

social media buttons for therapy website

7. Scroll Down and Click on “Share”

social sharing

8. Click on “Free”

Sharing features will be installed. Close out of that screen and click on the crown icon at the top right. This area is where you can access the SumoMe settings in the future.

social media for private practice website

 

9. You’ll See that Share is Installed. Click on it to Access Options

SumoMe Share

 

SumoMe Settings and What You Need to Know

Ok, now that the share plugin is all installed and we’re feeling good, we have to make sure the plugin is set up how we want it to be. Let’s go through what each setting does. A few settings are paid features, so I’ve omitted them in the explanations below.

Clicks: Reveals Your Total Number of Clicks for the Week

Clicks shows you how many times people have clicked on share buttons

Clicks is the summary of how many times people have clicked on your share buttons. It should read zero when first installed (no one has clicked yet) but over time this will give you insight as to the total clicks and which of your pages is getting shared the most. If you stick with the free version, the data is limited to only the last 7 days.

Settings: Decide What Services to Include & How You Want the Buttons to Look

share settings

The settings screen is where we start to customize. You can choose which social media sites you want to allow your blog to be shared on. Drag from the “available services” to the “selected services” to add networks, and the other way to remove them. You can then re-order them by dragging and dropping them within the “selected services” view.

Go through each of the settings and choose your preference. One of the reasons why I love this plugin is you can really customize here. You can change how many services show, the size of your buttons, how they’re sorted, change the background color to match your brand, change the shape and decide at what screen size you want the share buttons to switch to mobile view.

Go through each setting, making changes and saving them as you go. You can have your blog open in another browser window to refresh the page and see how the changes look, until you arrive at something you like.

Layout: Decide Where on the Page You Want Your Share Buttons

social button layout

The layout panel lets you choose exactly where you want to place your social sharing buttons on your therapy website. Click on each gear to turn it blue and set where you think they’ll work best. You may want to test different locations to see if the difference leads to more shares or not. I’m more of a “set it and forget it” kinda guy here. I just like having them constantly visible so I opt for the left side floating share buttons.

Test it and do what works best for you your private practice website.

Display Rules: Decide on What Pages You Want Social Sharing

Displaying social share buttons

Using the Display Rules settings, you can choose what pages you want your share buttons to appear on. With the free version, you get a good amount of options for places to show or hide the buttons. Setting it to show on “All pages containing an article” will make the share buttons only visible on your blog. Add multiple rules to get really specific, if you want. You can even have them appear only on certain size screens. The combinations are endless!

Services: Include Your Twitter Name in Shared Tweets

setting up social sharing on your counseling website

The services tab lets you include your Twitter username, if you have one. This way, any time one of your amazing counseling blog posts is shared on twitter, it will automatically include a “via @YourTwitterName”. This is great because other people will not only see your link, they can follow you on Twitter as well. BONUS!

How to Install SumoMe Social Sharing on Non-WordPress Sites

Ok, so we talked in depth about installing the SumoMe WordPress plugin, but what about a site that isn’t built on WordPress? A valid question, and one that SumoMe has already thought of…

Go to http://sumome.com/instructions#step2 and you can grab a piece of HTML code and follow the instructions on that page to register your account and install the tools.

They also give instructions for these other website building platforms (links to the instructions):

  1. Squarespace
  2. Blogger
  3. Shopify
  4. Weebly
  5. Tumblr
  6. Google Tag Manager

A Note About the Free Version

I have to mention that with the free version of this plugin, there will be a visible SumoMe logo underneath your share buttons. Personally, it doesn’t bother me because I think the free version has tons of options and works great. Aside from that, there is a TINY blue line that will appear on the side of your site (you can see it at the bottom left of this post). This is for you to log in to SumoMe. You can change the location of this in the SumoMe settings box. Again, it’s the tradeoff for using the free version.

So now you’re site should be ready for sharing across the interwebs! Make sure to explore the SumoMe plugin and even try installing some of their other tools. You can use their Image Sharer tool to make all your images shareable. Great for marketing your counseling blog on Pinterest 😉

How has marketing your private practice on social media been going for you? Let me know in the comments.

Download my 4 steps to creating and marketing a therapist website

This is a free resource I created to get you started building YOUR private practice website today.

GET THE FREE CHEAT SHEET

 

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