The importance of video content in marketing your practice is growing. Video is one of the best ways to create trust, inform your audience, and build a relationship. The truth is, through your work as a therapist, you have a deep personal connection with your clients. In order for a potential client to make the massive step of reaching out for a consultation, they must already have a level of trust in you and your practice.
But, where does one even begin with video content? It can be daunting for even the most confident individuals to open up and share a video message with all of the world wide web. We’re here to help you define a strategy, figure out which video formats work best for you, and even have some prompts to help you hit the ground running!
Are you wondering what kind of recording setup you need to start creating video content? Check out Part 1 of this series for recording tips, gear recommendations, and ways you can appear more confident in your videos!
The old adage, “if you fail to plan, you are planning to fail,” comes into play here. Creating a comprehensive plan will allow you to be strategic and get the most out of your video content. With a plan, you will also be less likely to quit if your first video doesn’t go as you might have hoped.
You most likely already have your ideal client demographics mapped out. Now, it’s time to think about what this audience wants to hear and how they want to hear it in a video format. For example, if you serve teens and 20-somethings, tap into the latest trends using Instagram or TikTok sounds. If your ideal clientele skews older, try posting videos to Facebook and appearing on Facebook Live.
Take the time to learn what video content is performing best on Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, and Youtube. See what other therapists in your niche and industry thought leaders are sharing. Take note of your direct competitors’ strategies. Take in all of your findings, but remember to stay true to yourself and the platforms you gravitate toward when marketing your practice. Do any of these formats or types of messages appeal to you? Could you create a better or more informative video? What types of popular video formats fit your brand and your personality?
We highly suggest that you sit down with a calendar and plan when and what you will be posting. Your engagement will benefit from a consistent schedule, and this will help you keep your content themes on track. Schedule times during the week that are convenient for you to create and post your content. It will also make it easier in the long run if you batch plan and record your content in advance.
Try creating a series of video posts, such as “Motivation Monday” where you share motivational anecdotes, or “Fact Friday” where you share the latest relevant mental health studies or statistics. This will give you a guideline of what type of content to plan each week, and give your audience something to look forward to and expect from you.
When planning your content, avoid writing a script for each video. Instead, create a brief outline of points you want to make. The more natural you look and feel, the more engaging and personal each video will be.
You can also schedule your videos to be posted ahead of time using Creator Studio or a social scheduling site like Later or Hootsuite.
In the planning stage, consider the formats that you would prefer to express different types of ideas. There isn’t just one way to create video content - the options are endless and customizable to your brand. As with any form of marketing for your practice, your videos should echo your values, personality, tone, and feel.
If you are still feeling anxious about recording, try starting out with a visual-only video. This way, you will appear in the video but won’t have to speak. A popular example of this is creating a video to a trending sound or song while only pointing to words on the screen.
You can create videos with moving graphics, text, images, and/or video clips edited together for a dynamic piece of content. These types of videos can be created with templates and are great for emphasizing short phrases and ideas.
A voiceover is made with your voice overlaid with another video. For example, maybe you want to show your office space where clients will be seen but don’t want to appear on camera. You could record clips of the office, edit them together, and then record yourself speaking over the visual to give more context and explanation to the video.
If you are going through all of the effort to plan, create, edit, and post quality video content, make sure that it is cropped to the correct aspect ratio for the platform you will be posting on. If your aspect ratio isn’t correct, the platform might resize the video.
We always recommend that your content be tailored specifically to you, but we welcome you to put your own spin on these prompts. These are a great way to get started and gain experience creating videos.
You know why you are uniquely qualified to help your clients, but you need to communicate that to the world in an engaging way. Here are some questions to get you started:
Frequently asked questions are easy to generate because you probably answer so many of the same questions for potential clients. It’s likely that some of your followers are wondering the same things. Here are some common FAQ’s among therapists:
You might shy away from openly discussing a pain point, but these are important topics to address. Chances are, you have great insight or advice to give. Addressing a pain point may be just what one of your followers needs to take the next step and reach out to you for a consultation.
It may seem silly to use trending sound effects, songs, or hashtags as a professional, but these are surefire ways to boost engagement on your videos. After a trend is established, social media algorithms then push the videos using that trend to more viewers. If you are active on social media, especially Instagram or Facebook Reels or TikTok, these trends will be obvious. You can also find trending sounds listed in the “TikTok Viral” category on TikTok. Many of these trends will transfer over to Instagram and Facebook Reels. On Instagram Reels, spot trending sounds by find a small white arrow to the bottom left of the video it’s being used on.
The great thing about using trends is that most of them already have an established format or plot. All that’s left to do is figure out how to make that format apply to your niche!
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If you would like some help forming a successful video content strategy, or would like content ideas customized to your practice, contact our team at Theory About That.
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