What Social Media Platforms are Best for Therapist Growth?
Building a social media audience for therapist growth can be one of the most intimidating things about marketing yourself as a therapist. There are so many different platforms that all have different moving parts, and you may feel pressured to jump into them all without fully understanding what each one can do for your private practice.
The good news is, it’s simpler than it feels from the outset. Each social media platform can serve your business in different ways, and all it takes is understanding and taking advantage of those to fasttrack your growth as a therapist. Let’s go over a few of them now.
1. Facebook
Facebook may not be the first website or app you think of when considering social media for your private practice, but it can be surprisingly lucrative! Facebook’s goal is to push community. Instead of followers, people add each other as friends and see casual updates. Many businesses use Facebook as a means of communicating with its customers; updating business hours, announcing sales, and introducing new workers.
But as a private practice therapist, how can you leverage Facebook’s community-oriented platform? The answer is simple– through groups.
Groups are another way businesses thrive on Facebook. From topics like healing trauma and supporting spousal caregivers to coping with chronic pain and healing from parental neglect, there are Facebook groups for everything now. When someone joins your group, they see posts from other members, including you, on their home feed, so it’s also a great way to put yourself in front of your ideal customer.
Focus on community-building with your group and allow people to vent frustrations or commune with their peers in a private space just for them. I would especially suggest running a Facebook group if you currently run or plan to start running group therapy or peer support groups online or in-person. You can use the group as a natural advertising space and allow those who may not be able to afford to go to support groups a free avenue of support. It’s a win/win.
2. Instagram
Instagram probably is the first platform you thought about when considering putting your private practice on social media. After all, many highly successful therapists like Nedra Tawwab and Casey Tanner got their starts on Instagram. You could be the next big name, if you wanted!
The fact of the matter is, Instagram is hard work. It’s three different social media platforms rolled into one:
The Feed: The main page you find yourself scrolling on when you open the app. This feed mostly consists of static images and “carousels,” or multiple images, along with a lengthy, well-written caption. You should be posting here 1-3 times per week.
Stories: The little bubbles at the top of your home feed, where people you follow make short-form posts that only last 24 hours. You can interact with followers, add polls, ask boxes, and stickers, and reply to other Stories, which will send you to the user’s DMs. You should be posting here multiple times a day, five to seven days a week.
Reels: Reels are the newest addition to Instagram, and they’re extremely important for reach, or getting new eyes on your content. They are short-form videos that you scroll infinitely through, similar to TikTok. You should be posting 1-7+ of these a week, the more the better.
Managing all of these different avenues can be incredibly challenging and not very rewarding in the beginning, so if you plan to tackle Instagram, I would recommend purchasing an Instagram template suite to keep yourself from having to do too much designing, or hiring a social media manager to keep track of your posts and comments for you.
As the face of your private practice, you will need to have a hand in creating the posts, whether that’s filming Reels in bulk, sending headshots to your social media manager, or doing everything yourself. I don’t mean to scare you off of Instagram, because it can be a great place to build your reputation and get more clients. But as someone who built her client-base mostly through Instagram, it’s a lot of work, and I burned out a few times in the process.
3. LinkedIn
Yet another social media avenue that might be an off-the-wall suggestion, but hear me out. LinkedIn can be a great place to build credibility and find new clients, especially if you are a therapist who targets young professionals or chronic over-workers.
LinkedIn allows you to write blog-post-esque articles that are then shared among the LinkedIn populace. This can be a great way to demonstrate your specialties and knowledge and give people an idea of the kind of person you are. It’s surprisingly easy to be personable on LinkedIN (especially because so many people aren’t, these days!) and finding like-minded people there who can vouch for you doesn’t hurt, either!
4. TikTok
Don’t let the threat of a ban scare you off, TikTok is a great place for growth and finding new clients. It’s a lot easier to manage than Instagram, as you only need to post one type of media to get views, and I find that more casual, less-polished content does really well there. I will say, the comments can sometimes be brutal, but if you’re targeting younger gen Z clients, it’s a great avenue for you. I would recommend posting twice a day for maximum growth, but once a day or a few times a week is perfectly fine if it’s what you can manage.
5. Twitter
Twitter, or “X,” is, in my humble opinion, a cesspool. However! I think you can do really great things with it as a therapist. Commenting on other Tweets is a big one, and will get you more followers if you consistently provide good, helpful information.
However, the use case that I see as being the greatest bang for your buck isn’t actually building a following there; it’s connecting with journalists. Twitter is a great place to do this, and will land you interviews, guest posts, and even podcast spots if you’re diligent with posting valuable content and reaching out to people who do things you want to be on.
I see Twitter primarily as a means of connection. If you’re successfully doing that in other ways, I say don’t worry about Twitter at all.
Final Thoughts
Social media is overwhelming, yes, but hopefully these tips have cleared some of the murk surrounding them and helped you come to some conclusions about where you should be spending your time.
I also wanted to include a few honorable mentions that I didn't mention above:
Pinterest: I see this more as a way to get eyes on blog posts, rather than a dedicated social media platform where your goal is to gain followers. If you already have a social media manager and your website has a blog, (which it should,) have her throw together some graphics for your blog posts and post one to Pinterest daily, linking back to your posts. It will draw more traffic to your blog, which will make it rank higher on Google.
YouTube: I love Youtube as a social media platform. It’s long-form, so you have room to be nuanced, the comments are usually quite nice, and the videos are evergreen, meaning they’ll be found by users years from now, unlike most other social media platforms, which bury the “old” to make way for the “new”. If you have the time and you like the platform, it couldn’t hurt to try it out! One of my favorite “internet therapists” is Dr. Alok Kanojia, who runs the YouTube channel HealthyGamerGG.
Ultimately, you should use the social media platforms you find yourself gravitating towards. Social media takes a large chunk of time to focus on, so you should enjoy it as much as possible when you’re working on it.
It goes without saying that the more platforms you’re on, the faster you’ll grow, but burnout is, in fact, a thing, and if it hits you, the first thing to go will be your social media presence. So, do what you feel capable of doing on a platform you vibe with. And if you need any advice, don’t hesitate to reach out!