Establishing Your Mental Health Brand
Intuitively, you probably wouldn’t consider the importance of marketing your mental health brand. Everyone needs to take care of their mental health, right? So why would you need to market mental health?
What if we told you that 55% of people with a mental health disorder don’t receive treatment? Lack of awareness of their options and fear of what treatment might be like are two key reasons people don’t get the mental health assistance they need.
Establishing your mental health brand can help eliminate these and other barriers between your treatment center and the people who need your help.
Why Establishing Your Mental Health Brand Matters
There are plenty of mental health brands out there, but none of them are yours. Consider your ideal client and how you can help them. Once you know this information, you can create a brand that exemplifies your core mission and provide marketing materials that reflect who you are.
Here are some reasons why establishing your brand matters:
- Building Trust and Credibility. It’s difficult to trust salon professionals with a new haircut, so imagine how much more difficult it is to trust mental health professionals with your innermost thoughts and feelings. Because trust needs to be earned, your marketing should be welcoming, thoughtful, and impactful. A positive relationship with your audience will boost your brand’s reputation.
- Attracting and Engaging Clients. You can draw your audience in by starting conversations they wouldn’t normally have. Asking relevant questions normalizes mental health conversations and makes people feel less alone. If you’re brave enough to ask tough questions, you’ll give potential clients a lot to consider.
- Differentiating Your Services. How do you stand out from every other mental health treatment center out there? You have a niche treatment or approach that you’re known for, but potential clients may not know about it. Establishing your brand helps you spread the word.
- Achieving Long-Term Sustainability. Forming an emotional connection with your audience sustains the success of your treatment center. In other words, helping people puts you in a position to continue helping people.
Building the Foundation of Your Mental Health Brand
Everybody starts somewhere! We’re here to help you begin building the foundation of your brand. Much like building a home, laying the foundation is the most important step.
Defining Your Mission and Values
You can answer a lot of future branding questions by creating a mission statement for your business early on. When you know your purpose, you can share your purpose in all aspects of your brand.
A strong mission statement also helps you determine your core values.
What’s the difference between a mission statement and core values? Think of a mission statement like a parent-child relationship. Your parents are the reason you’re alive, much like a mission is the reason your brand is alive. Your parents raise you to adulthood by steering and encouraging your path, much like core values steer and encourage your brand to success.
Identifying Your Target Audience
Conducting audience research is the next step toward building your brand. What does your ideal audience need? What questions are they asking? What’s their age range? Location?
Once you’ve answered vital questions, then you can develop a buyer persona. A buyer persona gives you a clear picture of exactly who you’re marketing to.
For example, let’s say your brand provides mental health treatment for postpartum parents. Consider the specifics of who those parents are. Maybe they’re between the ages of 25-40 and are looking for help transitioning to parenthood, as well as services for postpartum anxiety and depression.
Knowing the specifics of your buyer persona means your marketing tactics can speak directly to the right people.
Crafting Your Brand Story
People love to hear from other people. This is where storytelling techniques come in handy.
Stories from real clients about real mental health treatment success can bring comfort to potential new clients.
Stories create connection and understanding. First-timers or those with medical trauma can struggle to trust any type of treatment. Reading or hearing stories from other people with similar experiences brings peace of mind.
Think about how the power of personal stories can elevate your brand and build trust. You should also feel free to share your own experiences and the stories of your team members. There’s a relatable vulnerability present when you share your experiences and the remedies you trust.
Key Elements of Effective Mental Health Branding
Now that you have the concepts down, what elements do you need to make your brand seen, known, and consistent? Consider the following.
Design and Visual Identity
Explore the role of design and visuals in branding. Keep it clean, concise, and inclusive.
Your website, social media, blog, and the like should be cohesive and representative of your brand.
Consistency makes your brand more recognizable across all platforms.
Everything from your voice, color scheme, text, tone, personality, page organization, and graphics are important to your overall branding.
Messaging and Communication
Crafting brand messaging can be tricky. You want to pay close attention to how you’re being perceived while using appropriate mental health language. You want to communicate thoroughly without being pushy. Your audience should feel heard and held rather than abandoned or ignored. Staying consistent with your communication methods reminds your audience that you’re there for them and value their needs.
Language and Tone in Mental Health Branding
Empathetic messaging is a main component of successful communications as a mental health brand.
Mental health issues can feel isolating, so be sure that your messaging reminds people they’re not alone. You’re here to listen. You’re here to help. You’re here to heal.
Be genuine with your clients. Communicate on a real, human level to positively impact them in a way that builds relationships. Be clear, concise, and honest.
Online Presence and Accessibility
There are few things worse than navigating a poorly designed website. The only thing worse is being unable to access a single thing you need on said website!
When someone builds up the courage to get mental health assistance, the last thing they want is to be confused. Design your site to be clean and easy to navigate. Limit the number of clicks a new user needs to actually receive your services. Consider a live chat option for users to ask questions.
These small details generate ease and confidence for potential new clients.
This same mantra should be replicated in your social media. Come up with a strategy that makes your content pleasing to look at and interact with.
Navigating Challenges in Mental Health Branding
Like with any health-related subject matter, you must examine the difficulties that come with mental health branding. Reaching your audience isn’t without challenges. Some of them include:
Ethical Considerations
Privacy and confidentiality are huge in the mental health industry. You can’t build trust if you don’t value your clients’ privacy. Similarly, remember to be responsible with your messaging and content. All of your communications and marketing should align with HIPAA privacy laws and regulations.
Handling Stigma and Misconceptions
The stigma around mental health treatment runs deep and wide. You can combat misconceptions with accurate research and statistics in addition to your own expertise.
Tell the truth to break down the walls of embarrassment and shame around mental health.
Your brand can be an industry leader simply by speaking the truth rather than sugar-coating what it’s like to have mental health disorders and seek help for them.
Let Content Journey Help You Establish Your Mental Health Brand
It’s safe to say that establishing a mental health brand is a huge undertaking. The workload relief and shared expertise are where we come in. You don’t have to navigate the process alone. Book a call with us today to get started on your future as a trusted mental health industry expert!
