Which social media platform works best for psychologists and therapists?0:20 Every psychologist or therapist that I work with in https://psychologybusinessschool.com/ (Psychology Business School), which is our programme for people starting out in private practice, asks me at some point which social media platform they should be on. We are all so time poor that no one wants to waste time on a platform that isn’t going to move them forwards. Plus many of us don’t use social media that much personally and feel like we don’t really understand what will “do well” on each of the platforms.
2:46 Today I am going to talk about the four main platforms that people tend to weigh up when they are choosing which social media platform to focus on. At the moment the big hitters are still Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and LinkedIn. Yes, there is potential on newer platforms like Clubhouse (the audio only chatroom app) and TikTok (short video clip sharing platform) but most people I have seen have success on those also have a strong presence on one of the core platforms so I’m not saying that they are not useful but at the moment, if you are strapped for time, I wouldn’t put all my energy into one of those just yet.


3:30 The strengths of each social media platform psychologists and therapists need to consider (3:30)

4:40 Facebook for psychologists and therapists
Facebook is so mainstream that these days it can look weird for your prospective clients if you aren’t on there. If you haven’t already then listen to the episode I recorded a few weeks ago about https://psychologybusinessschool.com/the-business-of-psychology/3-ways-to-use-facebook-for-psychologists-and-therapists/ (how to use Facebook) because, even if it is not going to be a platform that you focus on, I would recommend at least having a “shop front” presence on Facebook and I talk you through how to create the right strategy for you in that episode. These days Facebook is all about community. Yes we still have and use our news feeds and Facebook has a stories tab where we can see short clips from our friends BUT Facebook really loves three things:


Bringing friends and family together 
Getting people with shared interests into groups together
Keeping people on the platform watching videos, especially FB lives



It is not interested in promoting a business page for free as it has such a strong revenue stream from paid advertising. So Facebook is still a very useful platform, especially for building community but may not be the best place for reaching new people if you don’t have a budget for ads. 


Example of a psychologist or therapist using Facebook brilliantly:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/199418986881710 (The Gentle parenting group )(originally started by Sarah Ockwell Smith)
This works because the group brings people together who share a non-mainstream approach to parenting. It allows people to vent about their experiences of parenting in this way and to help each other with dilemmas. If Sarah wants to promote her books on there she can just comment on posts that have hundreds of comments and will most likely make sales as people are grateful for the space she has created.


The breastfeeding groups are another good example of this principle. Often they are run by groups that hold classes or support services and they are able to advertise to the people who use the group for support.
People tend to find these groups through search or promo on other platforms (LI, Instagram, podcasts etc). If you have a budget you can run ads to a freebie, get people’s email addresses and then encourage them to join the FB group. 


2 further podcasts covering other aspects of Facebook: 
https://psychologybusinessschool.com/the-business-of-psychology/three-ways-to-fill-up-your-facebook-group/ (3 ways to fill up your facebook group)...