Magic mushrooms. They’ve shown up for years in pop culture from classics like Alice in Wonderland, to Michael Pollan’s How to Change Your Mind. And now even on the side of a Dr. Bronner’s soap bottle.
But psilocybin is more than just a passing fad. If you’re in the behavioral health field, sit up and take notice of what’s sure to become the new normal!
On November 3, 2020, Oregon became the first state to legalize psilocybin,1 the active chemical in “magic” mushrooms, and pave the way for use in a medical setting. This is largely seen as a trend of what’s to come as cities like Oakland, Denver, Ann Arbor, and Washington, D.C., have all decriminalized psilocybin.
Although still in the nascent stages, Oregon’s model can help behavioral health treatment centers start planning for their own psilocybin treatment content marketing strategies. Get a head start on your competition by crafting your content strategy now in anticipation for when this movement inevitably gains momentum and moves into the mainstream of addiction medicine.
Four Ways to Stake Your Claim Using Psilocybin Content Marketing
Now’s the time to make an investment in the coming “shroom boom” before it becomes legal. Here are four approaches to connect with prospective patients and set your center apart from the competition.
1. Make Your Website and Treatment Center Stand Out
Invest in your web development, content marketing, and overall messaging so these assets are responsive to public and private interest. If your digital marketing looks just like every other treatment center, you won’t attract new patients, and another competitor will scoop them up.
Jump on this opportunity now, and your center will be in a strategic position to introduce psilocybin-based therapies when they become legal (and they will). University of Wisconsin–Madison School of Pharmacy Professor Paul Hutson says he expects MDMA and psilocybin to be FDA approved for therapeutic treatment within the next five years.2 Start today by highlighting recent research and making this information immediately accessible on your site.
2. Know Your Audience
Consider that prospective patients, their loved ones, and referring physicians will be researching psychedelic treatment options for substance use disorders. Be clear and professional. Don’t try to oversell psilocybin as a miracle cure. But at the same time, don’t hold back on the promising research.
Your center and your web presence serve as an educational resource, as well as a treatment service. By maintaining a balanced, yet informative, approach to these new therapies, you start establishing the trust necessary to build the foundation for a therapeutic alliance with your patients.
And be truthful. Admit you don’t know everything right now and assure patients you’re not doing away with your traditional treatment programs. This is simply a new doorway into recovery.
3. Make Your Content Interesting and Engaging
Any behavioral health center serious about building their patient base and SEO rankings knows the key is fresh, relevant content.
The latest findings about psilocybin will give you a wealth of ideas for blogs, videos, webinars, podcasts, and interviews. Your psilocybin content should be well-researched, keyword-rich, targeted to your ideal client, and updated as new information and research becomes available.
Your prospective patients are going to have a lot of questions about this emerging area of treatment. By providing them engaging, relevant content that answers the questions they might be afraid to ask face-to-face, you can help them learn more about the possibilities—and limits!—psychedelic therapies.
4. Expand Your Content Marketing
Content marketing is the number one way to increase search engine ratings3 and connect prospective patients to your site. Align your content with your keyword strategy so the reader will actually find you when performing an online search.
So, if your clients are interested in psilocybin, they’ll likely be interested in other alternative treatments as well. In addition to psilocybin, consider ranking more broadly for related keywords for other psychedelics, ketamine, LSD, and MDMA. Include related topics that your clients may be interested in as well.
This is an excellent opportunity to produce engaging, up-to-date content with a local focus, if possible. And it provides you with the opportunity to speak frankly about other topics. You can be a trusted source of factual information for your patients, prospective patients, and others researching psychedelic treatments and related keywords.
Some ideas for expanding your content marketing include
- highlighting research in the medical marijuana field, concentrating on local facilities in your area,
- featuring studies of other therapeutic psychedelic drugs like MDMA and LSD,
- exploring pandemic-related mental health issues and the opportunity of psychedelics to alleviate them, and
- spotlighting innovations in other alternative medicines. This includes the recently FDA-approved Janssen Pharmaceuticals’ nasal spray, Spravato (a component of ketamine), for treatment-resistant depression.4
Build Your Psilocybin Content Marketing With Us
Interested in creating quality psilocybin therapy content but not sure where to start? Dreamscape Marketing can help. Contact us today at 888.307.7304 to schedule a strategy session.
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Editor’s Note: This article was originally published in March 2022 and has been updated for accuracy and comprehensiveness.