Promote your practice with an online video
Anyone in private practice ought to have a website, although we know therapists have been reluctant to take the time and effort. But even if you have no intention of advertising the site on search engines, a website is still important for potential clients who have heard about you and want to know more.
It could be the difference between making a final choice between seeing your or your competitor down the street.
It’s often difficult to come up with ideas for website content, though, and here’s something all clinicians should at least think about: an introductory video. Nothing – short of meeting you in person during a free initial consultation – helps a potential client make a connection with a therapist.
An article on a website is helpful, but once a visitor clicks on a video, chances are pretty good he or she will follow through and watch the whole thing.
Here are two examples of videos that therapists have put up on the web. The first is very professionally done. It’s by Huffington Post blogger Judith Orloff, a psychiatrist and author of Emotional Freedom: Liberate Yourself From Negative Emotions And Transform Your Life.
In this video she talks specifically about narcissists and how to deal with them in relationships. Orloff is a high-profile clinician, but this shows how getting very specific can produce a video that can “go viral” on the Internet – get spread around through listservs, blogs and other links.
The second is an example of a more modest effort from a counselor in Burnaby, British Columbia. Geoff Ayi-Bonte has put this video up on YouTube and although there are no bells and whistles, it’s a good “get acquainted” effort that has the potential to pay off. The straightforward title is: What is counseling and why should I have it?
By the way, Ayi-Bonte’s website, offers video introductions for all therapists in the office.
Making a video doesn’t require great amounts of skill. A modestly priced video camera that allows you to upload the file to your computer is all you need. To place it on YouTube, here’s the latest video tutorial from the service on how to do it.
It’s a low-priced – but effective – way to promote your practice.