In the first podcast episode of 2019, Gordon has a conversation with Amanda Patterson about her private practice in Pembroke Pines and how she utilizes social media to gain clients. Then, Amanda gives some advice on keeping private information private, using professional pictures, and social media reviews. Then, Amanda and Gordon discuss the benefits and possible issues with Facebook groups and Amanda explains some ethical dilemmas that come about.

Meet Amanda Patterson

Amanda Patterson is a private practice consultant who helps therapists create business and marketing plans. She's the owner of a group practice, Caring Therapists of Broward in South Florida. She's the founder of My Private Practice Tribe, an online community for therapists in private practice. Find out more about Amanda here: www.amandapattersonlmhc.com

Social Media

Amanda has been a therapist for over ten years and never imagined herself going into private practice. Her group practice is in Pembroke Pines, Florida and she utilizes social media to gain clients. In the beginning, she would private message people online to try and increase her clientele. Facebook and Instagram allow you to create business pages and keep personal information private from the public eye. Amanda wants everyone to ensure their webpage looks pretty and suggests using Canva to perfect headers and posts. Also, use a professional picture to appeal to your audience and capture their attention. On Instagram, it is essential to have a consistent color scheme to keep an audience on your page for as long as possible. Amanda points out that social media is a long-term marketing plan. She gets most of her clients from being on the first page of Google. However, those clients will look at social media reviews and make their decision based on that. Thirty hashtags on Instagram will target an audience and create follower growth.

Facebook Groups

Facebook groups are a great way to attract clients and become an essential part of your community. Amanda even joins Facebook groups with other therapists to network and gain potential referrals. Throwback Thursdays are a creative way to engage a Facebook group and a way to advertise your niche therapy. For example, you can share your services in a Facebook group free of charge, and those people will think of you first when looking for a therapist. Amanda did a thirty-day marketing challenge on a Facebook group and engaged many people. The group was left open and is now a support system for over seven-thousand therapists. Amanda recommends not breaking HIPAA because people can screenshot and it could break potential laws.

Ethics

Amanda recommends not breaking HIPAA on social media because people can screenshot and it could break potential laws. A social media policy should be involved in your informed consent paperwork. For example, Amanda will not answer messages on social media from her clients to ensure she is following all ethical practices. Do not ask your clients for Facebook reviews, ask your colleagues to review on social media instead.

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Meet Gordon Brewer, MEd, LMFT

Gordon is the person behind The Practice of Therapy Podcast & Blog. He is also President and Founder of Kingsport Counseling Associates, PLLC. He is a therapist, consultant, business mentor, trainer, and writer. PLEASE Subscribe to The Practice of Therapy Podcast on iTunes, Stitcher and Google Play. Follow us on Twitter @therapistlearn and Pinterest "Like" us on Facebook.