Doula Business and Social Strategies 101
Before I discovered my passion for birth and postpartum, I was a copywriter. I worked for a marketing agency and also owned a digital creative agency. My company specialized in giving businesses the voice, images, branding, and social media strategies to clearly communicate their unique selling propositions and therefore set them apart. I say all of that to tell you that I am not only talking to you as a fellow doula but as someone who has some marketing experience.
It is my belief that in order to turn this into a profitable and sustainable career, you have to remember that you are a business owner. That’s a hard thing for many of us since we don’t typically see ourselves as entrepreneurs. I know for myself, I want to be in this work for the long haul. I want to help families for years to come. But in order to do that, I have to make money to support MY family. I can’t disrupt my family to go to a birth or a postpartum shift if I don’t have something I can bring back to them to make it worth it. Because they don’t get the emotional payoff of helping a family to make up for the missed bedtimes.
As a business owner, I think it’s imperative to have five things:
A website. There are plenty of free platforms that you can use if it’s not financially feasible, but a website gives prospective clients a way to find you, get to know you, and most importantly, contact you. A lot of doulas rely on Facebook pages instead of websites. I think having a Facebook page is great, but the amount of information you can share there is limited. When clients hire us, they’re hiring a relationship. The amount of copy on a website allows you to walk prospective clients through how we can solve their problems.
A Google Business page. Make your business searchable! How many of us look on Google to find service providers in our area? Creating a business page is completely free and will absolutely bring you more business. Plus you get the added bonus of giving past clients a place to leave their reviews, which is a great way to boost your credibility.
Diverse services. Burnout is real in birth work, especially if you focus all of your time on one thing. By diversifying your services, you can not only get a break from being on call, you can also build your business in a way that ensures that you will have some sort of work at all times. Some of the services you could offer include:
Birth doula support
Postpartum doula support
Lactation counseling
Placenta encapsulation
Childbirth education
Infant feeding courses
Newborn care classes
A clearly communicated service area. This is so important across all platforms - site and social media. Your location should be prominently stated on your home page. Not only that, but you should add your location in the bio of your social media accounts. I see so many businesses, doulas especially, who miss this absolutely crucial step. Without it, even if a prospective client does find you, they have no way of knowing if you’re in the same state as them. Don’t make clients work to learn key information. They will absolutely give up and move on.
Business-specific social media accounts. I don’t know about you, but anytime I hear about a business, I try to find them on Instagram. If I have a question about their hours, offerings, or anything - I look on social media. Create social media accounts for your business. Share important information, including your website link, and establish your expertise by creating and sharing educational content.
Now, when it comes to social media, it’s easy to get overwhelmed. It seems that things are always changing. And on top of that, content creation can feel like a bear. There are a few things you can do to make things more manageable:
Identify your target audience. Who are you wanting to reach? By thinking about your ideal audience, you can know how you should talk to them and what you should say.
Create a strategy. Sit down and think through a plan. What do you want prospective clients to know about you and your services? How many times a week do you want to post? Now create a plan for each of those days. This will help you narrow down the possibilities and come up with topics much easier. For example, on Fridays, I try to post a FAQ.
Find and use content planning resources. Canva and Planoly are wonderful resources, and both have free options. Canva allows you to create and use branding for content creation. You can add brand colors and fonts, and then find or make templates that feel cohesive. Planoly gives you a chance to plan out posts, along with the captions. This brings me to the next point.
Batch create your content. If you know that you’re going to post something specific on certain days, then you know exactly the kind of content you need to create. Which means you can sit down and create a lot of it. This not only saves you brain power, it saves you time.
Write down any and all ideas. Create a list that you always have handy, like in your Notes app. Any time you think of a potential idea for content, write it down. You never know when inspiration is going to strike, but it is almost never when you need it. This list can be a real lifesaver.
I hope that this has inspired you to take your doula business to the next level. It’s my hope that by presenting ourselves as professionals, we will elevate the profession and therefore make it more accessible to all families. Because everyone can benefit from the support of a doula. And every doula should be able to do this work and support their family.