Art therapy is one of those businesses that could benefit more than most from exposure. The key is to use your Facebook page effectively to find those who would benefit the most and be the most interested in what you have to offer.
Here are some effective ways to get the word out.
If you haven't decided on a speciality first, this would be something to figure out. A good way to develop your speciality is to think about what sorts of people ask for help. It could be based on age, such as children, teenagers or seniors, for example. Or, you could specialise in depression, PTSD, anger management, or others. Since you already have Art Therapy, you already have a speciality of sorts, but it never hurts to hone in a little more. Whatever your speciality is, if you know your audience, you can pitch ads to them more effectively.
Once you know your speciality, you could create a group on Facebook that names that speciality. These groups will often come up when someone searches for them in the app. So, if you created "Art Therapy for Vets in X City," you could draw people in naturally.
Even just having groups where those with similar problems can talk to one another is something that can be highly effective for patients. They will then represent a pool of potential clients that you don't have to try to find since they will come to you instead.
Another effective strategy is to post articles on your page that are relevant to your speciality. If your subscribers share this with their friends, then you could get some natural word of mouth advertising this way. Keeping with the example, having statistics about how much PTSD patients struggle with traditional therapy would be an example of content you could spread around.
The key to getting something to spread is to have some emotion behind it. Compassion for those who are struggling for good reasons can be one such emotion. This would work for many different specialities given how stigmatised mental illness often is. Reassuring potential patients about how not everything is their fault is doing a kind of therapy with them before they are even a patient!
One of the reasons why Art Therapy is so effective is because it helps patients get into a state of flow, where they are focusing on the art instead of whatever is bothering them on the surface. Posting videos, music, or other types of Facebook ads that actively demonstrate this for potential patients could give them a bit of relief just seeing them.
In other words, they could achieve a little flow before they are even a client. It's a way for them to see an example of how you could help them upfront.
Shared experiences are often an effective way for people of similar problems to bond and get some of the fear out. It's easy to think that you're alone when you're not, after all. Nothing demonstrates how not alone you are quite like a shared event. If you have a Facebook page, you can plan events that can also serve as effective advertising as well.
There's nothing to help get trauma survivors to relax and get out their tension quite like different types of painting, or music, or moving around in a dance. The body keeps the score and unlocking the body is often the key to healing.
Demonstrating this principle to potential patients is also the key to advertising!
Once you have a steady stream of clients coming in and your business is taking off, you're going to want to make sure that you're covered with insurance. An excellent way to do this is with an IICT membership. You'll get discounted Art Therapy insurance if you join, which will make sure that you're both adequately covered, and that you don't pay too much for insurance for your practice.
So, contact us today so you'll be all ready when your Facebook tactics start paying off and all the clients come pouring in, ready to have fun with their art and to heal what ails them. It will be a win-win scenario for everyone involved.