MHM#26 Book more appointments through content creation

These days, marketers (myself included :) ) are always banging on about content creation.

What does content creation actually mean? Why does it matter? How does it relate to booking more appointments?

Marketing can't make anyone do anything. The objective of marketing is to increase the propensity of an ideal prospective client booking an appointment with you.

How does content help with that?

Website copy, blog articles, newsletters, social media posts, and videos help you….

• Provide value
• Connect
• Build trust

Connection and trust are everything in therapy practice marketing. The more you can connect and build trust with prospective clients, the more likely those prospective clients will feel confident that you're the right therapist for them and take the next step and book an appointment. 

Content creation is simply a tool that enables you to connect with prospective clients and build trust with them. 

Video content, although quite daunting when you're starting out, is one of the most effective types of content to connect and build trust. Through videos, prospective clients can get to know you, get an idea of your personality, and get a sense of whether you'll be the right fit for them. Videos help them imagine what having a therapy session with you will be like.

Content does the heavy lifting

The connection and trust you build through your content often results in less effort once that person makes an enquiry. If you have minimal content available for people to consume, and therefore minimal opportunities for people to connect with you prior to them making an enquiry, you're often having to do a lot more work in that enquiry conversation or in the initial free consult to demonstrate you're the right therapist for them and to get them to move forward and book an appointment. This is, of course, assuming they're the right fit for you and you believe you can genuinely help them. 

So content creation not only results in more prospective clients reaching out and making an enquiry, it also reduces the effort required to move the right fit clients from enquiry / initial consult into appointment. 

The content creation block

There is often a lot of fear and self-judgment wrapped up in content creation. Writing blog articles or making videos can make you feel vulnerable. "I'm putting myself out into the world. What if I'm not great at what I do? What if my videos are terrible? What if people don't like me?"

These feelings are very normal, especially with videos. There is no hiding in videos, so I understand how scary they can seem. And yes, you can grow a therapy practice without creating videos. But nothing is more effective than a video to help clients get to know you.

Remember, your audience doesn't need you to be perfect; they just need to see your authentic self, your passion for what you do, and that you genuinely care about your clients.

My advice is to start backing yourself a little more. From working with your clients, you can see the positive difference you're making in their lives. Pretend your phone or webcam is a client. What would you say to them if they asked what they could do to support their emotional wellbeing at home? Your response is exactly what a social media video should be - providing value to your ideal clients. No one is expecting or needing you to be perfect. Just be your authentic self, talk from the heart, and show your ideal clients that you "get them" and work with people just like them - this builds connection and trust. 

There will never be the perfect time

You will never feel 100% ready to start creating videos, so you may as well start this week. The sooner you start, the sooner you begin practising, learning, improving, and feeling more comfortable. Initially, making videos feels weird as you're looking into a lens and not receiving feedback. But I promise the more you do it, the less strange it feels.

Where you film can also make a difference. My whole demeanour and tone change when I'm out of my office and not sitting at my desk. I'm more relaxed when I film outside in the garden, which comes through in my videos. Think about where you are most comfortable and relaxed. That might be at your desk, or it might be on a comfy chair in your therapy room or on the lounge at home.

Video tech

You definitely don't need to spend a lot of money on tech, but if you're filming at your desk having a decent webcam and microphone can make a big difference to the quality of your videos. Away from your desk just use your phone and purchase a tripod made for phones. There are lots of cheap options in Amazon. You can purchase a lapel mic for your phone in Amazon too, but if you're using a recent iphone/android phone the mic in those are totally fine. Also, always ensure plenty of light shines on your face to remove shadows.