Mental wellness has now become an epic and global concern. In fact, statistics show that almost one billion people worldwide struggle with some type of mental illness. What’s even more disconcerting is that 75% of people who battle mental health disorders in low-income countries never receive treatment.
These staggering figures on mental health aren’t expected to budge anytime soon. According to the Center for Disease Control, cases of depression and anxiety are steadily increasing in the US. 41.5% of Americans struggling from some type of emotional or mental duress as of 2021. That’s almost a 6 percent increase since 2020.
In light of the increasing need for more accessible mental health services, the marketing industry is now flooded with an ever-growing demand for effective mental health marketing strategies.
Effective Ways to Develop a Mental Health Marketing Strategy
If you are a marketer cracking into the mental health industry, you might be brainstorming ways to cater your marketing strategies to this specific niche. If so, consider these key points while you are ramping up a solid plan for providing marketing services for mental health professionals and organizations.
Consider Narrowing Your Focus
Emotional and mental wellness encompasses a vast array of areas. For instance, stress in the workplace is a critical issue, with 46% of US workers suffering from anxiety and stress on the job and up to 53% of workers on the brink of burnout. Employee anxiety is a cruel reality. And many mental health professionals are aiming at treating this segment of the population with specialized therapies. As a marketer, you too can cater to this specific branch of mental healing. This can be done by formulating an approach that specifically addresses your client’s needs to reach out to people coping with mental health challenges in the workplace.
In addition to workplace mental issues, you might consider customizing your marketing tactics around other areas such as mental health for families, veterans, and people coping with grief, or substance abuse – to name a few segments in the market.
The point here is that there is no one-size-fits-all when it comes to mental health marketing. Therefore, you’re better off narrowing your focus. Build a marketing strategy that is tailored to a specific mental health genre or client.
The Purpose of Mental Health Marketing
The harsh reality is that depression is the most common illness worldwide. It’s also the leading cause of disabilities around the world and the top contributor to global diseases. Considering these eye-opening conditions, more mental health agencies and professionals are rallying for better mental wellness solutions.
Consequently, these same entities are in need of specialized marketing services. They need to get the word about advanced mental healthcare and the treatments they provide to people suffering from mental illness. In turn, this has prompted the advent of mental health marketing.
As you might expect, mental health marketing is about raising awareness concerning new mental health treatments and services available to the public. Increasingly, mental health centers and providers are opting to use targeted marketing. This marketing announces life-saving treatment services that can make a genuine impact on people’s lives.
Focus On Your Client’s Selling Point
As a marketer, you know it’s crucial to get a clear view of your client’s objective, perspective, and selling point. This same fact-finding mission applies to mental health marketing too. Therefore, as you seek to break into the mental health field, you should get a beeline on your client’s goals.
For example, if you land a marketing contract with a mental health treatment center whose prime advantage is offering mental health retreat services in a tropical paradise, then that’s your marketing bull’s eye. Or, let’s say you landed a client who specializes in online cognitive therapy for trauma victims. In this scenario, you can target your marketing strategy to encourage their potential patients to seek help from this client who specializes in this area of mental recovery.
Plug Mental Health Into Your Existing Marketing Framework
Essentially, marketing for the mental health industry is not entirely different from marketing for any other business. Ergo, you can utilize the skills and knowledge you already have in marketing. Only, do so within the mental health industry construct.
This means holding to your traditional standards, like creating well-written, search-engine-optimized (SEO) content for your mental health clients. A good mental health marketing strategy also implies implementing effective paid search campaigns. These can focus on connecting people in need to your mental health clients.
Additionally, you should craft quality landing pages that are specifically designed to reach out and convert potential patients for your clients. And of course, develop aggressive yet compassionate social media marketing strategies that both engage and compel your client’s demographic to reach out and seek the assistance they need and deserve.
Last Word on Tailoring Your Marketing Services to the Mental Health Industry
Ultimately, your plan of attack in developing a marketing strategy for mental health providers should revolve around educating and engaging their specific clients. Therefore, you should make every effort to fully understand your client’s needs and goals as well as their target audience. This vital information will inform you as to which tact to take in order to satisfy their demands. As well as it gets them the clientele they are striving to have for their mental health practice.
