We get it. Most Christian counselors – including you – are more focused on helping people than tracking analytics or building an online presence. Do you really have time to think through a specific strategy of how to reach your target audience or build your brand? You got into Christian counseling because you want to help people work through issues while offering clinical and spiritual support. While this is a common mindset, it may actually be hindering your ability to serve more people and get more therapy clients.
So, while marketing may not be your primary focus as a Christian counselor, it may help to be aware of these 3 common Christian counseling marketing mistakes. Addressing these issues will help you gain more clients for your Christian therapy practice and increase the number of lives you can change.
1. Lack of an Online Presence
This is crucial. If you want to maximize your impact and transform lives, then people need to be able to find you. Social media is the new town square, and search engines are the white pages.
In desperate moments, people don’t have time to ask for recommendations for a mental health professional or get a referral from their church. They will be madly typing “Christian counselor near me” into their phones. Don’t end up on page 18 of their Google search! You must have an optimized website with relevant keywords and blog posts to drive traffic to your site.
Another crucial element of an online presence is social media. Determine which platforms are most used by your target audience (more on that below), and then make sure you are actively posting content to give your practice exposure. Use a variety of methods – post photos and videos, collaborate with local influencers, or even offer online courses. All of this content boosts your presence online and drives people to your practice. This is one of the easiest ways to avoid a major Christian counseling marketing mistake and get more clients for your therapy practice.
2. Ignoring your Target Audience
Another Christian Counseling marketing mistake you should avoid – ignoring your target audience. Every counselor has their niche. Whether it’s addiction, betrayal, depression, or eating disorders, a Christian counselor draws specific clients based on their training and experience. So you must take some time and research your target audience.
How to isolate your target audience:
- Think through your clients who seek your type of counseling.
- Analyze your longest-standing clients. Can you identify any similarities?
- Ask friends, family, and colleagues about your strengths as a counselor.
- Use data and analytics from your social media and website to track who is engaging your content.
3. Inconsistent Branding
Once you’ve identified your target audience, then you can build consistent branding into your website and social media. It may be tempting to market yourself as a jack-of-all-trades, but it’s much more effective to find your niche and create a brand around it.
For example, imagine you are a Christian counselor with a background working with sexual addiction and have a personal experience of betrayal in a past relationship. With this experience, you could market yourself as a Christian counselor focusing on sexual healing and restoring relationships. Between your mix of training and personal experience, you offer your clients holistic assistance whether they or a loved one is wrestling with sexual addiction.
Why You Must Avoid These Christian Counseling Marketing Mistakes
It may seem like a lot of work outside of your area of expertise as a counselor. But when you avoid these Christian counseling marketing mistakes, you optimize your practice to help the most people possible. You can get more clients for your therapy practice when you avoid these Christian marketing mistakes.
