Social Media for Private Practice Therapists
NOTE: This post was originally written in 2019 (2019 may as well be 1919 in internet years!) and has been updated (Nov 2023), but things change fast in this world. Read on with that in mind!
You went to school to help people find deeper meaning in their life, not to make “memes” or to learn the difference between a tweet, a story, or a pin (and if you have no idea what any of these things are, you’re in the right place). Maybe you even find it all a little intimidating.
Today we’re going to cover the basic terms that you will need to know to get started with social media.
What is social media?
Let’s not assume anything here, and start with the most elemental question.
Social Media can be defined as:
A broad term that covers a group of websites or applications (“apps”) which are designed for the purpose of users sharing “content” (ideas, images, videos, etc.), sending messages, creating online communities, and doing social or professional networking.
You know you are in the land of social media when users are encouraged to “like”, “comment” “follow” and “share.”
The most common social media sites are:
TikTok
Instagram
Facebook
Pinterest
Twitter (renamed “X” as of 2023)
LinkedIn
YouTube
These are not all created equal! Each one of these has a different user interface, function, and culture.
“I’m feeling a little overwhelmed. Do I need to know all of these different platforms?!”
No, and in fact you really shouldn’t try!
Just pick one or two, and do those well. One social media account can take hours of your time every week so if you have too many different accounts, you’ll be spread way too thin.
Social Media ABCs
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In the social media world, this symbol comes before a person’s user name (aka their “handle”) when you want to mention them in a post. For example, my user name on Instagram is gobloomcreative. So if you want to mention me in post, you would put the @ symbol before my user name, so it would look like this:
@gobloomcreative
The important thing to know about using the @ symbol is that when you use it, the person will be notified. It’s a way of either calling that person’s attention to something you are doing, or giving them credit (kind of like giving a citation in a scholarly article) .
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This is when you remark publicly on something someone has shared on social media. The public part of it is KEY. Everyone can see your comments, so they are not a good place for things like: arranging plans with a person, asking certain questions, or saying something very personal that might be best kept between the two of you. For these purposes, you want to instead write a person a DM (see below).
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This is a broad term that covers everything that is shared on social media, from opinions to videos and images. The type of content you share depends on which platform you are using and on what you are trying to achieve. Since we are talking about using social media for business, the content you share should be relevant to the audience you are trying to reach.
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A “DM” or direct message is a private message between you and the person you are messaging. It won’t show up in either person’s “feed” (see below). It’s best for when you would like to engage in a conversation with the person you are messaging.
Also, you might hear the term if “slide into your DM’s.” Just know that doesn’t have a very positive connotation, but a lot of people use it jokingly, and I’m just going to leave that there.
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Your feed is basically the thing that you are scrolling through when you go on social media. It’s the place where all the content from the people that you “follow” (see below) shows up, and where you can interact with the content (“liking” “commenting” “re-posting” and “sharing”, again, see below).
It’s also the place where sponsored content (aka advertisements) show up. Usually if it’s an advertisement, it will look slightly different than other posts, and it will say “sponsored” somewhere (how it shows up is different for each platform). But just be aware that this is very commonplace and be mindful of what you click on.
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When you follow someone, you will start seeing their “content” in your feed. Be aware that when you follow someone, they will be notified. And it doesn’t mean that they are now following you. They might choose to do so, but they have to opt to do that themselves.
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Think of hashtags as basically an indexing system. When you put a hashtag on your post, other people will be able to find your post when they search for that term. You can use multiple hashtags, so that your content can be found by multiple search terms. Usually there is a limit to the total number of hashtags that you can use (for example on Instagram the limit is 30 for a post), so you have to be somewhat choosy (which is where the marketing strategy really comes in).
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“Liking” a post is a way of showing your support or approval for what a person is sharing. Depending on which platform you are using there are different ways to “like”. On Instagram, for example, you just double-tap the screen (or click the little heart icon). On Facebook you can click the good old-fashioned thumbs up, or you can click on one of their other reactions (like the laughing emoji, or crying emoji, etc) depending on what you want to convey to the person posting.
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A “pin” is totally specific to Pinterest, you don’t Pin anywhere else (hint: it’s in the name).
To “pin” is to find an image that you like on Pinterest and with the click of a button you “pin” it to one of your “boards”. Boards are topical collections of images, kind of like a mood board or an inspirational collage. Your boards might be public or private, you choose. If they are private, only you and whoever you might invite to look at them can see them.
On Pinterest, “pinning” is the basic mechanism-you are expected to pin things. You don’t need to credit the original pin. Often times the creator of the pin will already have baked credit into the image by using a watermark or a link to the original source.
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When you “post” something on social media, it just means you are putting out a piece of content that your followers, or others viewing your account can see and interact with.
Note: if your account is private, only your followers can see your posts and hashtags.
If you “re-post” someone’s content make sure you give them credit by mentioning them with the @ symbol.
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A Reel is the name for a video on Instagram. Sometimes the video is made on another platform, like TikTok and then shared as a Reel on Instagram.
Reels can live on you Instagram feed as long as you want (unlike a Story which lasts for 24 hours, more on that below).
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Share means slightly different things on different platforms.
For example, if you share on Facebook or LinkedIn, it usually goes out to your entire feed, but a share on Instagram, is actually more like a direct message, where you have to choose a specific person (or people) that you are going to share with, and it is not in your public feed.
To share on Pinterest, you are just “pinning.”
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“Stories” (another Instagram term) last only 24 hours and then they disappear forever (though you will always have access to your own). They don’t stay as a part of your feed.
Usually a story has a more casual, spur-of-the-moment feel, versus the more “curated” or “crafted” feel that things in your feed will (and should) have. Stories can be a little more messy, or silly, and imperfect.
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This term can also have multiple meanings, depending on which platform you are using.
For example, on Twitter (aka “X”) it means that you’ve used the @ symbol, the user will be alerted, and when people see their name on your post, they can click the name and it will simply take them to that person’s feed, and that’s it.
On Facebook it’s different. There is a specific button for “tag friends”. If you tag someone in a post, it will also show up on their feed, so be cautious with this one, because that person may or may not want to be tagged. In fact that is part of the privacy settings on Facebook, a user can click a button that doesn’t allow them to be tagged without permission.
On Instagram there is also a separate button for tagging people. But, it also has a different outcome than Facebook or Twitter. If you tag someone, it doesn’t show up in that person’s public feed, it shows up in a special category of tagged photos. They can be seen publicly, but it is like one layer more of digging to find it.
Similarly, it is part of the privacy settings on Instagram where a person can elect not to be tagged without permission.
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This is one you usually hear on YouTube. It’s kind of like a “follow” on other platforms, which just means you’ll be more like to see the content posted by this account.
Having high subscriber counts is how YouTubers (people who post on YouTube) make money, so if you like the content they create it’s a good way to show support!
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At the time of this writing, this is a hugely influential video posting and sharing app. Originally more used by Gen Z and Gen Alpha but much more widely at this point.
The word also doubles as a noun to describe the content itself, so you can say “I watched a TikTok.”
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As of 2023 this is probably a dated term since Twitter is now X? But, it was once what you called a post on Twitter.
OK, so how do I know which social media platform to use?
First, start with why. Social media can be a HUGE time commitment, so you have to make it count. Consider who your ideal audience is and know where they actually spend their time (so you don’t waste yours!).
Here are some of the benefits of each platform, to help you understand why you might choose one over the other:
Great for sharing articles, blog posts, opinions/thoughts, and live video streams. Another huge benefit is that you can either join or create professional networking groups (aka Facebook Groups) which can be great for showcasing your expertise and interests, and meeting colleagues.
The drawback is that because it’s such a huge platform, it can feel hard to stand out and be seen, and sometimes you might feel you are attracting people, but maybe not necessarily your ideal people.
YouTube
It’s the world’s second-largest search engine! Yes it is technically a social platform, but it is very different than the others. This is a video-driven platform, so if you don’t make videos, and don’t want to make videos, it’s not for you.
This is a completely visual medium for sharing images (e.g. photos, illustrations, infographics, and graphic design) and video. It also has “Stories” and a live stream feature. If you are a visual thinker, this is a good platform for you.
Since therapy is not a naturally visual medium, you will have to get used to creating content(which is totally do-able and fun, if that’s something you’re into, but it is time-consuming).
AND the lifecycle of a post is very short and will be pushed down by newer content.
TikTok
This is a platform for people to share short-format videos. Often they are funny ones (but not always). The videos tend not to be as highly-produced as YouTube, but not as off-the-cuff as an Instagram Story.
X (formerly known as Twitter)
The defining characteristic of Twitter is that each post is supposed to be short and sweet. Much of what people do on Twitter is follow celebrities and other public figures.
Twitter can be a little bewildering (in my opinion) because your feed is constantly repopulated with new content, and for that reason, it’s also really easy for things you post to get buried.
LinkedIn is basically an online resume. It’s a good place for sharing content so that your colleagues and connections will understand your area of interest and expertise. You won’t find clients on here, though your clients might look at your LinkedIn page if they are curious.
Pinterest is all about creating “boards” which are basically like inspiration collages. But also, as a therapist, it turns out this site can actually be a really helpful place for people to find you!
Pinterest recently added a feature called “Compassionate Search” because so many people were looking up mental health terms such as depression, anxiety, and stress. Pinterest has a special separate area of their site that they will direct users to to provide help with these issues and more.
Be aware that to create your own content for Pinterest, you will need to be able to do some basic designing (but there are templates galore for this stuff on Canva and Creative Market).
Or, you can just go on there and curate boards full of existing content that your ideal client might find helpful.
Final thoughts
I hope that this was a helpful place to start if you didn’t have a lot of baseline knowledge. I will say, the best way to learn about social media is to go use it. I would encourage you to get an account, and play around.
The thing about social media is this: yes the whole world is watching, but at the same time, no one is watching.
What I mean by that is that there’s so much happening on there all the time, that there’s a lot of room to learn and have the stakes be really low.
Obviously, as therapists it’s important to use social media ethically, but beyond unethical behavior, there’s a lot of space for imperfection
To learn more about ethical social media use, I recommend checking the current guidelines of your licensing body.
