Values-Based Marketing (part 6): Building Community
This is the final email in a series about marketing. See the other 5 parts here.
I remember one of the first clients I did Motivational Interviewing with. You know, outside of grad school classes.
They were a veteran suffering from addiction and on the verge of losing housing due to it. I tried what I thought was Motivational Interviewing with them, but it ended up looking like leading questions, authoritative knowing, and exasperated pros and cons. If I had to sum up the spirit of how I practiced, it would be something like, let's fix this or something bad will happen!
Quite different from the true spirit of MI, which in my mind is very much, I trust you, I respect you, let's look at this together and figure out what works. (Don't worry, I got better at my skillset and he got the help he needed).
When I think about networking, er, building community, it's the same. It can be one of two things: help me find clients or something bad will happen (i.e. my practice will fail!!)!!, or, it can be, I'm here to contribute, let's connect.
When it comes to building community, checking your intentions goes a long way. Yes, you want to grow your practice. But why not pair it with another intention? A few others I like (along with wanting to contribute) include wanting to learn, showing support, having fun, being creative, showing gratitude, and improving clinical skills.
With that in mind, here are a few ways to build community and develop referrals:
On Facebook, Instagram, or other social media platforms, show up in the comments section. A sincere "love this!" goes a long way. {Intention: support}
Start a Facebook group specific to your area of expertise. For example, queer therapists helping BIPOC clients, or neurodivergent therapists helping parents. {Intention: support, being creative, improving clinical skills}
Start an informal referral network. Find clinicians who overlap with your work, meet up monthly to discuss marketing efforts, learn about their areas of expertise, and if it's a good fit, send one another referrals that aren't your exact area of practice. {Intention: support, learning}
Join a clinical consultation group run by a well-established, generous therapist. This is one of my favorite ways to learn new skills while opening up a referral channel. {Intention: clinical skill development}
Buy coffee for each and every therapist who refers to you, and have either a virtual coffee session or meet in person. {Intention: gratitude, and fun!}
These are just a few ideas. Do you think you'll try any of them? How are you currently building community? Feel free comment below and let me know. Hope you're doing well. {Intention: compassion ;)}