Are you struggling with putting yourself out there online? Finding it hard to be authentic and promote your awesome skills, without feeling icky, like some sort of used car salesman? Not sure about the right way to market yourself so you dabble here and there, but aren’t seeing results? Yep! That’s pretty common.   Want to know why? There is a HUGE gap between our natural health qualifications & running a business, particularly in this online world.  It’s something health pracs just aren’t taught.  They’re granted their qualification, kicked out of the “natural college nest” and expected to flourish – but most struggle, hustle & end up burnt out. I know there are coaches online telling you to post on socials multiple times every day (posts, lives, stories and reels).  There’s “experts” telling you to spend hundreds, even thousands, on social media ads and campaigns.  Do a google search and you’ll see completely unachievable stats on how often you should be active on each platform just to be visible (and that’s not make a sale – that’s just “be seen”).  To be honest, if I see one more “eye popping”, “pointy finger at text bubbles” reel…I think my head will explode.  And if you follow the stats on how many times to post everywhere – you’ll explode…lol! You know I’m a qualified Naturopath and have a long career as a Business & Marketing Strategist. So believe me when I tell you it’s SO much easier than you’re making it.  In my opinion, where you want your potential clients is as CLOSE to your “book now” button as possible. And generally that’s not on your social stories – it’s your website.  But more about that later… What I’m going to share here are the main mistakes I see Health Pracs making in their well-intentioned marketing efforts.  I’m also going to tell you how to fix them. Let’s begin…

Mistake #1 – Trying to be everywhere, doing all the “things”

Like I said, if you follow the stats on how often you should post everywhere, you actually wouldn’t have time to see any clients!  Think about this rationally for a minute – do you REALLY think a potential client seeing you 13 times a day across 5 different platforms will really make a difference to them booking with you?  The basic answer here is a resounding NO. And the biggest reason for the NO is the fact most Health Pracs don’t have a clear message. Think about this from a client perspective – if you’re posting many times every day, about all different topics & skills, it’s confusing. Who are you and what do you actually do? You are actually adding to the clutter that is already all over the social feed & making it harder for potential clients to know you & book with you. Note here though –  if you have a very clear and targeted message that you’re sharing multiple times a day, that really CAN make a difference.  But trust me, if your message really is clear and targeted, you don’t need to post that often.

Quality wins over quantity every time!

 

Mistake #2 – Not selling the client solution

Everything you share about your business, your service & your skills needs to be crafted from the point of view of the client and what you can do for them.  They are coming to you in search of a solution. You need to craft your messaging in this way, because solutions sell!  Yes your qualifications, your experience and the fabulous course you just did are all great points that add to the clients’ ability to trust you.  But when you’re communicating these do it from the clients point of view.

Solutions sell. Craft everything from client point of view and what you can do FOR THEM.

For example, let’s say you’ve just done brand new training in menopause treatment and you want to share that on your socials.  You could craft a post that reads: “Had an amazing week with some awesome pracs learning new techniques in menopause treatment”. Now that sounds good, but what if we add a client perspective it might read “My menopause clients can now enjoy more targeted and effective support after the week I’ve just spent up-levelling my skills & learning new cutting edge treatment techniques!”.  The second one is definitely more engaging from a client perspective.

Mistake #3 – Fear of saying too much, or the wrong thing, so saying nothing

Many pracs share with me the fear they have about being visible online.  They fear saying the wrong thing, getting backlash for their opinions, or just fear the unknown as it’s all new to them.

• Firstly, if you want to run a business in todays world you need to get ok being online. I don’t mean you have to go live every day and share the intimate details of your life – being visible for you might be a regular facebook post, a weekly blog post, or sending an email to your client database.  It doesn’t have to be going live on socials, if that doesn’t interest you.
• Secondly, share what you’re comfortable with, the things you’re passionate about and that you know well. Staying in your comfort zone will help with the fear.
• And lastly, remember the delete button and the word sorry.  If something does come out wrong or doesn’t get your message across, delete it can try again.  Should it have upset someone, just say sorry for your genuine mistake and move on.

 

Mistake #4 – Being fake-authentic

Sounds weird I know, but in the health genre we deal a lot with imposter syndrome & not feeling good enough. It’s easy to share things that add to the picture we’d like to portray of ourselves, rather than who we actually are.  Believe me, I’d love to share heaps of content about my great gym sessions, the hot yoga I just went to and the 10km run I just finished – problem is, I didn’t do any of it! You’re more likely to find me chilling with Netflix than sweating it out in a gym.  Showing a pic of you in your workout gear on the ONE occasion in the last year you actually went to the gym, is not authentic.  However sharing your daily ritual of herbal tea and meditation is very authentic.  So find things to share that add to the story of who you really are, that way your potential clients can get to know you and connect with you.

Mistake #5 – Oversharing in an effort to be authentic

I think there’s confusion in our industry about what being authentic actually means.  it’s not about sharing every single facet of your daily life online. It’s about knowing who you are as a practitioner, who you can help, and sharing that.  I get asked often “how much is too much” when sharing yourself authentically.  My response is that  authentic isn’t about how MUCH you’re sharing, it’s about WHAT you’re sharing.  There’s two things that will help you make better choices with regards to being visible and authentic:

• Know your message, who you are and what you stand for. You are your brand and everything you share will either add to your brand, or dilute it. So before sharing that piece of content, consider is it in alignment with you, will it add to your brand, or detract from it?
• Set your boundaries and stick to them.  For example, I may share facets of my private life online that are relevant to my audience, but I never share images with my kids in them. I chose to not have them online, it’s one of my boundaries. Some pracs however love to share their kids online. So what’s you’re boundaries and what are you / aren’t you willing to share online?

Thanks for reading my blog on the Top 5 Mistakes Health Pracs Make in their marketing efforts. I hope you found it useful! Remember to join me in my FREE facebook community, Pivot to Profit, and if you need a little immediate help I’ve launched CLARITY CALL – a full hour 1:1 session with me via zoom, to work on your acute business or marketing problem. You’ll get a recording of the session plus notes for action! You can book a Clarity Call here >>> View Calendar It’s time, let’s do this!