2020 has been quite the year for the digital world. With everyone stuck inside and looking for distractions, the amount of people using social media has increased to 3.5 billion users worldwide. From a business perspective, social media is an incredible opportunity to reach potential clients.
However, social media can also be the cause of mental health issues, substance abuse, and more. As a mental health facility, this is exactly what you are trying to prevent. So how can you, a business looking to provide help, use social media marketing in an ethical manner?
Let’s dive into how marketing your mental health or addiction treatment center on social media can not only help grow your business, but help others in the process.
90% of people ages 18-29 use social media. Subsequently, we know that there is a strong link between social media use and depression in young adults and that 60% of youth with major depression did not receive any mental health treatment in 2017-2018. This is where your mental health facility comes in.
Teens, young adults, and adults alike are usually not going to stop using social media, even if it makes them feel depressed, that is just a fact. So, meet them where they are at. Bring your helpful insights and services to them, on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, and Snapchat.
The negative thoughts and feelings that are produced from social media are typically from comparing oneself to others and cyber bullying. There is so much destructive content on social media, and your brand can be a combatting force to this by spreading positive messaging and true information about mental health. We’ll talk more about tactics a little later on.
From a business standpoint, you just need to look at the numbers. Instagram has 112 million users in the United States, Facebook has 190 million, and Twitter has 36 million in America. Through using social media marketing for mental health, you can curate a relationship with a huge audience. You can build trust overtime with your followers.
These are users that may never have gotten the courage or even had the idea to search “mental health clinics near me” in Google’s search bar. Through social media marketing, you can reach a target market that you don’t have access to any other way.
Now that we have discussed building a positive relationship with users on social media and spreading positive messaging, let’s get down the nitty gritty.
Social media marketing strategies for mental health.
With so much doom and gloom on Instagram and Facebook, you want to be a ray of hope and awareness. Here’s how to go about this properly:
Sometimes people need simple reminders to take care of themselves, especially when they’ve been scrolling on social media all day.
No, self care tips do not have to be “put a face mask on and take a bath!”. These tips can be concrete and helpful advice like a small guide to saying goodbye to toxic friends or learning to talk to yourself more positively.
You can even ask people to engage on these posts, and comment with other tips and ideas on a particular subject. Or you can ask them to comment on the post when they have followed a piece of advice as an accountability tool. Make sure to comment back and congratulate them!
Cut through the negative messages on social media with joyful, encouraging messages.
For example, a simple post celebrating users for having a tough conversation, finishing a task, or even getting out of bed can go a long way. These also will have a high share rate, as users can send these encouragements to their friends, which will increase your brand awareness.
There is a lot of misinformation and stigma around mental health and addiction, especially on the internet and social media.
Create posts that list facts with sources on certain topics within substance abuse and mental illnesses. Not only does this inform people who may have continued to spread incorrect information, but can provide insight to users with certain mental illnesses.
Make sure to always include a call to action like “To learn more, visit our website” or “Get help now by calling our phone number”. This is key to social media marketing for drug rehabs and mental health clinics, as it gives users a clear next step.
Making sure that you respond to comments and direct messages on your social media profiles is absolutely essential to cultivating relationships with users.
This not only makes them feel supported, but can truly help someone during a tough time. This will increase your credibility and their trust in you to use your services or recommend them to someone.
Create a safe space for your followers. Open up your direct messages to users looking for help. Not only does this encourage engagement, but it is another conversion path for potential admits.
This tactic is not recommended if you have a very large following and a smaller team, as you want to make sure that every message gets answered.
Posting pictures, quotes, and/or fun facts of your staff can put users at ease. This will allow your followers to get to know your business better and see the caring, compassionate faces that will potentially care for them.
One of the main goals of mental health social media marketing is to ensure that the user understands who you are as a business, and showing them your kind, experienced staff is key to accomplishing this.
In addition to marketing your business on social media for free, which does take time and effort, there is an option for paid advertisements.
Paid advertising for rehab centers and mental health clinics is a fast way to reach a specific or broad target audience
With paid social media marketing for mental health, you can target users within your local area, or users who have been researching help for certain mental illnesses. For example, you can target ads to social media users who live in Indiana and have been liking posts related to PTSD treatment.
You can also focus on a broader audience if that is within your services’ capability, like targeting users across the United States or those who have been researching more general mental health topics.
MGMT Digital was founded on our mission statement: to be an ethical solution for behavioral healthcare treatment centers we believe in. We specialize in digital marketing for mental health and substance abuse centers, and have years of experience doing so. Get in touch to see how our behavioral health marketing services can help your center help others.
MGMT Digital can help with all your marketing and branding needs to establish and grow your brand. Contact us with details on your next project and we will get back with you.
