Watch the video ...

Listen to the recording ...

Or read the interview transcript ...

Megan Walker: Hello everyone and welcome to Market Savvy Conversations. My name is Megan Walker and today my very special guest is Adam Sadd who is the Principal Psychologist at Uplift Psychology. Hi Adam, how are you today?

Adam Sadd: Yeah, great, thanks Megan. Thanks for having me along.

Megan Walker: Absolute pleasure. Adam is a star student who, I can't take all this credit, but we've known each other over a few years and of recent times he has really taken the marketing efforts and really run with it, and I've seen him on social media lots. He's been doing a fantastic job. So I thought, Adam, let's sit down and have a chat and talk about how you've made some of those changes because I think it's really inspiring to other practice owners. So before we do that, tell us a little bit about your background, your studies, what you do and the focus in your work.

Adam Sadd: So yeah, I'm a registered psychologist and I guess prior to coming to the world of psychology, I worked in leadership and HR related roles and I always really enjoyed the coaching and development element of working in leadership roles. And so I was really looking for a way that I could do that on a full-time basis without having to focus on all the KPI stuff that goes along with being a manager in a big organisation. And so psychology was kind of the pathway for me then. So I guess since becoming registered, I've kind of really worked in a lot of corporate and organisational settings and working with people that often say that where I work in the mental health space is that kind of intersection between home life and professional life. And so really helping people to perform their best both at home and at work.

Megan Walker: Yeah, beautiful. I love that. That's a great visual there as well, that intersection. So tell us about this new world for you stepping into social media. I can't imagine you just went instantly boom into it with this huge confidence. It's the perception isn't it, of social media that we think everyone's life is perfect and it just must be so much easier for everyone. But talk us through it. How did you make the decision to “Yep, I'm going to do this”, and what were the steps that you put in place?

Adam Sadd: So I think probably when I started doing it was probably off the back of the first coaching session that you and I had, God, that was probably 12 or 18 months ago now. And I think that was one of the recommendations in the coaching session was to be doing the social media posting, I think it was every second day or three times a week or something like that. And so initially I probably just started off with doing the kind of graphics posts, and so I got myself a Canvas subscription and I've never really done a creative role or anything like that before. But I think Canva's really helpful in terms of a lot of the templates and all of that sort of stuff that it provides. So I initially started off with the graphic posts. I was definitely a little bit more hesitant around doing the video posts, but I think I had to just make peace with the fact that probably the first few videos that I would do would probably be a little bit rubbish.

And I've gone back, watched some of my original ones and I definitely feel like I'm a lot more natural on the videos now, and I think a lot more conversational. And that's not to say they're perfect or anything, but I've also been surprised by how much more reach the video the reels or the video posts get compared to just the graphic posts that you might do. So even though I was quite nervous, I think I had to just make peace with that. And yeah, I think the results in terms of the number of people viewing the posts, visiting my social media pages as a result has been really positive.

Megan Walker: And I know for me, when I was first doing reels, I'd have my phone there and then I'd have a post-it note literally stuck on the bottom of my phone with talking points that really high tech, really high tech, really, really professional. How did you get yourself in the zone of knowing what you wanted to say? Did you have a script or did you practice? How did you get that going?

Adam Sadd: Yeah, so I think initially what I do is write down a script in terms of what are the kind of things that I want to say, and then I'll do some practice videos because I find when you've written stuff down how you then speak it, they don't always match. It was a bit more formal and stilted maybe when you've written it down. And so I found doing the kind of practice ones, you kind of reword it and so that it kind of sounds a little bit more natural. And then what I try to do then I kind of throw the script out and then try to do the video just kind of naturally I guess knowing that I've had some practice and I've kind of got most of the main points in my mind. I think the other thing that I got comfortable with doing the kind of videos early on was just going, well, it's okay to just cut and edit them so it's not one long video from start to finish. That's okay. I'm happy to just cut and edit it so that I record little bits at a time as well.

Megan Walker: I love that. That's so good. And what are you avoiding in your social media in terms of topics? I'm going to ask you in a minute how you are coming up with your topic ideas, but what are some of the things that you won't talk about?

Adam Sadd: Probably the main thing that comes out, and this is a constant thing that I probably have to run this kind of lens over it whenever I'm doing social media posts, is all of those advertising guidelines that we kind of have to stick to. So I guess the main ones are making clinical claims around effectiveness of certain things. So I use the word may do this, it also may not,

Megan Walker: Is it intended to?

Adam Sadd: Yeah, yeah. Rather than it can do this or this is effective for. So I guess I try to avoid, I guess what I'm avoiding is making specific clinical claims around how effective things will be or the results that people might get from using mindfulness or CBT or whatever.

Megan Walker: Yeah, so good. I'm so glad you said that because there is that gray that we can play in. I know a lot of folks think, oh gosh, there's so much I can't do, so I won't do any. But I love that you've arrived at that. Well, I can do and I have got a message, I just have to keep this in mind. And so coming up with ideas for your social posts, how do you know what to say?

Adam Sadd: Probably a couple of things. Probably the main one that comes to mind is really around what are the things that I think will resonate with my clients. So what are some of the regular conversations that I'm having in therapy that they find really helpful or that they didn't necessarily know about? And so I find those often tend to make their way into social media posts as well. I think the other one is probably about thinking about the types of clients that I work with. What are some of the common presentations or challenges or problems that they might present with and maybe just providing a little bit of general information about that. So I work with a lot of really high performing people and with that there's lots of perfectionist traits, thinking styles, those kinds of things that come out. So a lot of my posts are often around perfectionistic thinking, those kinds of things as well.

Megan Walker: Guilty of it. Need a separate conversation with you. And then as we start to wrap up, and I want to touch on who you work with and how they can get in touch with you in a moment, but you did something very brave, which is very smart for your business and you got a professional photo shoot. Can you tell us about some of the contorting and things that you did through that process, but the value of it for you?

Adam Sadd: Yeah, and I'm not sure, do you want me to share who the photographer was or

Megan Walker: Yeah, if you like for the people in Brisbane, that's completely fine. Yeah.

Adam Sadd: Yeah. So it was a lady by the name of Rebecca Taylor, and I've just been really super impressed with not just the photos but the whole process leading up to it. And so she really got me to think a lot about, I guess my brand, what kind of impression I wanted to leave people with, what are the kinds of words or thoughts that I would want them to think about me and my business after looking at the website. And so I think she did a really great job of taking a whole range of different photos and for the photos themselves. I think logically I knew that it was important to have those professional images, but I've been really surprised by how quickly once I put those photos up on the website in particular. But I assume having it on social media has made a difference as well, but just how quickly it's resulted in more people reaching out for inquiries and then that kind of converting to appointments as well. So it was, yeah, I would say it was pricey and a lot of people are probably looking at the cost and going, is that something that I can really afford? But I feel like it's already paid for itself and I've got a whole bunch of images that I can use on my website, social media posts, and I think I'll probably be able to keep using the images for the next few years.

Megan Walker: Yeah, Adam and I were joking earlier about just don't change anything too much, don't shave off your beard, but I had a photo shoot, similar price and it three years I've used mine. It's like, don't change it, don't grow your hair, don't change your glasses. It's a lot of pressure. They make a huge difference. I mean that's what jumped out to me seeing you on your videos. And so I just thought, oh, these photos are amazing. They're really warm. They really capture your essence and so encouraging. You work with health professionals, you work with professionals. And so tell us before, I'm really getting to the ending here, but what's your encouragement for people who say, I could never have my photo on my website, I want it to be about my clients, it shouldn't be about me. Have you got a thought there of a reframe that you'd say to those folks?

Adam Sadd: Yeah, so I mean the purpose of having the website is, or one of the purposes I see is it's a marketing platform and so you want your prospective clients to be able to really connect with you. And I think having lots of photos of you in different poses, different settings, different facial expressions, all of that sort of stuff I think really helps people to get much more of a sense of who you are as a person from those images. And I think one of the big barriers for people reaching out for support, particularly I think with psychology sessions is that the rapport that they have with the psychologist is really, really important. And so I think if the client can feel like they get a little bit of an insight into who you are as a person, if they can kind of see you smiling in different settings or maybe having a little bit more of a serious kind of thinking face, I think that just kind helps them to, helps leap over that barrier a little bit and they can feel like they've connected with you a little bit, have a little bit of rapport.

And so I guess the reframe to kind of summarise is you are wanting to do the best that you can for those clients and if you are the best fit for them, you want them to feel comfortable and to be able to remove that barrier, to take that first step and reach out for support.

Megan Walker: So well said. That's great. As opposed to my pitch on, well, it's marketing, so you should do an exactly. Now Adam, what are your handles? Tell us how can we follow you? And in following people, I want to give a message out there that I had this amazing experience on Saturday with this group of women who are presenting these really heartfelt presentations. And as an audience member of any kind, there's a lovely responsibility we can take on to applaud people and lift others up. So when I want you to share your handles, I also want anyone listening who follows you to then keep applauding what Adam's doing, follow suit, step into the arena as well. But when you see something that you like that has been hard for someone to create and put themselves out there, I love the idea that we are just all going to raise each other up. So Adam, how can we follow and raise you up?

Adam Sadd: So yeah, I'm on Instagram, so I think that one is Uplift_Psychology. I'm on Facebook, which I think is just Uplift Psychology. And then I'm also on LinkedIn. So you can either kind of search for me personally, so Adam Sadd is my full name or I do have a business page there as well, which again is kind of uplift psychology.

Megan Walker: Beautiful. And I'll put the links below where everyone's watching this video so that you can go through and have a look. And then Adam, tell us about the types of professionals and health professionals you work with and if they want to get in touch with you to talk on the professional side, tell us a bit about where they can make that connection.

Adam Sadd: And so I work with professionals from early career professionals and often that's about people wanting to set up and establish themselves well for their career, whether it's from a career perspective or from a mental health perspective. Mid-career professionals where they're starting to experience some challenges, balancing everything. They've got young families, they're starting to step up into more senior roles and trying to find time to do everything can be a little bit more challenging, as well as then working with some more of the senior end professionals. So perhaps people who are a little bit more established in their careers and then starting to experience some pressures around parents are getting a little bit older, maybe they've got some longstanding things that are kind of getting in the way of them being able to reach the heights that they want in terms of their career. So yeah, I guess I really work with the full gamut of working professionals in a range of different industries and doing therapy and coaching to really help them perform their best both at home and at work.

Megan Walker: Fantastic. So well said, Adam. Thank you for chatting with us and encouraging others to step into the light, which I know is easier said than done. You're doing it beautifully and can't wait to keep liking all of your posts and sharing them. And thanks so much for chatting with us today.

Adam Sadd: Thanks so much, Megan.

Megan Walker: Pleasure. 

Links and further information

Find out more at: https://upliftpsychology.com.au/. Follow Adam: https://www.instagram.com/uplift_psychology/.