Most people only consider malware and viruses to be a local issue that their antivirus software can easily handle and take care of. Unfortunately, if you own a website it can severely effect your website and search results as well. As Google is in the habit of doing, they recently released a tool for website owners’ who’s websites have gotten hacked. This tool will take you through the steps in several easy-to-follow videos and help you to identify some of the problems with your site.
https://www.google.com/webmasters/hacked/
Let’s go through these steps quickly for those who don’t feel like following the link.
So you’ve been hacked
The very first thing to do (before any of these steps) is to grab several copies of your website. You want a copy of the current infected files, a separate copy of your local fileset, and a copy from your server of clean files before the infection occurred. Mark each fileset appropriately and keep them separate. This will give you the opportunity to look through the individual ones and isolate the problem without infecting your clean site files. In addition, it could take several days to find everything and get it all cleaned up, at which point you will have lost your server backups.
1. Contact your host or technical team
If you can take care of all of this yourself, do it. You’re still going to want to contact your host as they can run more in-depth diagnostics that you don’t have available. They’re also going to want to know so that they can quarantine your site away from the other sites on their servers.
2. Quarantine your site
An infected site can easily infect other sites on the server or it’s users. If your site is infected and you found out about it, it’s likely that Google has taken the important step of notifying users to your site with a big, obnoxious red warning page. Quarantining your site involves taking the working files offline and putting up a simple landing page or 503 error page. At this point, you’re also going to want to change EVERY password associated with your account. No matter the way that the malware or bug got into your site, you want a clean and secure slate to start off with again.
3. Check Google Webmaster Tools for more info on your condition
You do have Google Webmaster Tools hooked up to your site, right? If you don’t, you need to set this up now as the tool will allow you to find more information about your particular issue and request a review from Google which will remove the massive warning that’s keeping anyone from actually visiting your site.
At this stage you’ll be able to look through the code, read the error messages and hopefully identify the main issue that your site is dealing with. It could be that someone got in through FTP, a bug in your hosts’ servers, and they may even be using your own files against you at this point to dynamically insert malware.
4. Clean the site up
Once you have a good idea of what’s wrong, go through every file on your site in depth. Check your .htaccess, every php and js file, every dependent and core file. These bugs have a tendency to infect multiple areas of your site and can hide really well. It’s important that you check EVERY single file and eliminate all possible causes. Any strings that you don’t recognize on the site, especially in js files is likely causing issues.
It’s useful to setup a test subfolder once you have a clean file set and test it thoroughly against the problem. If you’re convinced that you’ve eliminated the problem, set your domain to go to the new, clean directory and eliminate your old fileset. Make sure you have backups from along the whole process as it’s easy to forget a file!
5. Request a review from Google and any other programs that are showing error messages.
Google will go back through your site and if it’s completely clean, eliminate the error messages. You want those messages gone as soon as possible, so make sure that you take this step as it might be another month before Google crawls your site otherwise. Also, submit requests with other programs such as AVG or Bing as they’ve likely noticed that your site was contaminated. Google is usually pretty fast with these requests, so you should be back online within 24 hours.
6. Rejoice in your clean site!
You just cleaned up your site and eliminated a major issue. Pat yourself on the back.
The link to the Google Hacked page will give you significantly more in depth info on all of these steps, so give it a read through. It’s worth it to read through even if your site is currently safe. You want to be able to eliminate any problems within hours of them occurring and being prepared is the easiest way to do this!
Video is an often overlooked method of connecting with future (and current) patients and building credibility, especially in the medical industry. Since the beginning of the pandemic, more and more services have switched from in-person to hybrid or 100% online and people are utilizing digital platforms more than ever for things like finding credible providers and hosting virtual visits.
Video marketing for doctors is becoming more necessary in helping form personal connections by allowing people to get a sense of their doctors before scheduling a visit.
In this blog, we will cover why you should use video marketing for doctors, types of videos to make, and tips for ensuring your videos are successful.
Why Use Video?
Video marketing for doctors isn’t just about making specialist introduction videos to post on a website. Patient testimonials, informational videos, introductory videos for doctors, and office overviews are great tools to engage your audience and turn curious viewers into lifelong patients.
The first and most important outcome of video marketing for doctors is establishing trust and credibility.
When a patient can watch a quick interview with their physician, they feel a connection and gain an understanding of the doctor’s background, qualifications, and personality.
Many people searching for a provider will automatically self-disqualify if they feel a practice or particular physician may not be a good fit, so providing them with a glimpse into a doctor’s personality will help them feel at ease, knowing in advance who will be trusted to care for them.
They may feel drawn to a particular physician based on personal or medical backgrounds, forming a bond that helps the patient feel at ease with their provider choice.
On top of building trust, video marketing for doctors establishes a platform for education. People turn to the internet to search for medical information that pertains to their situation, so being a source of accurate information is a valuable way to position your practice. It also helps deter misinformation, as these videos are being produced by experts in the field and hosted by credible sources.
Video Types for Successful Marketing
Informational Videos
Many people search the internet to learn about their diagnoses and potential treatments, which is where informational videos come into play.
As a doctor, you may often find yourself explaining complex concepts to your patients repeatedly. If there’s a topic that comes up often in your practice, it’s probably a great subject for an educational video.
People usually turn to the internet to learn about a diagnosis or treatment before visiting a specialist, so providing accurate information is a great way to help guide a patient on their health journey. As a bonus, you’re establishing your expertise while providing education.
Patient Testimonials
Patient testimonials are another great tool to show your audience proof of credibility. Since video is more personal than a text-based review, patient testimonials can feel more like a friend’s referral. The audience can see the patient’s genuine enthusiasm and may feel more invested, as a result.
Introductions and Office Tours
Introductions and office overview videos provide a glimpse into the world of your practice. Viewers can get to know doctors, their backgrounds, their personalities, and take a tour of the office before even scheduling an appointment. Providing this type of content is an important part of video marketing for doctors, as it establishes a welcoming atmosphere for anyone considering an appointment.
For example, check out this introduction video we did for a new doctor joining the team at the Orthopaedic & Spine Center of the Rockies.
This video is great because it’s short, informative, easy to embed on on a website, use for a social post, or include in an email newsletter.
Tips and Tricks for Great Videos
Sound
Consider recording audio separately from video. You can find inexpensive, great quality unidirectional microphones to use, and this is an easy way to automatically increase the production value and professional feel of your video. A great tip to remember is to use a clapboard or have your subject clap in front of their face when sound and video are both recording, as it helps when the time comes to sync audio to video during editing.
Lighting
Lighting is another simple way to increase production value and make your videos look more professional. Simple, soft lights are preferred (even a large ring light is a great investment for this) and will help fill in any dark shadows if you’re also using overhead lighting, which can be unflattering on its own.
There are tons of great resources online that explain three-point lighting, if you’re looking to step up your lighting game even further. If you don’t want to use separate lights, natural lighting is a great supplement. For this, place your subject facing a window (don’t place the window behind them) and the natural light will be much more flattering than overhead indoor lighting.
Framing
When framing your scene, keep it simple. Avoid clutter in the background, and have your subject stand slightly off-center. While we love visual interest, a lot of background items can be distracting, so it’s a good idea to stage an area so it feels welcoming and clean, without distracting from the subject matter.
Length
You may have a lot to say about your subject matter, or want to help a new doctor get a complete introduction out into the world, but keep in mind that most people do not have the attention span or interest to watch a long video online.
Keep it simple! Ask yourself, “what are the main points I want to get across?”
It’s always better to provide the necessary facts and invite a viewer to contact your office for more information, or refer to an article or blog post that explains your video topic in more depth.
We want to establish trust, get to the point, and invite people to interact with your content. Keeping videos under two minutes is a great rule of thumb. If you have a longer video, consider breaking it into shorter clips for social media.
Include a CTA
A CTA, or “call to action,” encourages follow-up from viewers. It’s as simple as listing your phone number or website at the end of the video and saying something like, “for more information, get in touch!” You may want to offer a link to one of your blog posts or to the contact page from your website. The point is to encourage people to do something based on the content you’ve provided. Video marketing for doctors isn’t just about getting your practice seen; it’s also about creating a comfortable space for interaction with people who may be looking for guidance or services you offer.
Why a Distribution Plan is Important
Once you make your videos, where do they go? If they sit on your website, you may notice very little interaction, so creating a distribution plan will ensure you make the most out of your videos. When deciding how to utilize your content, you should first establish the purpose of each video. Is it short and educational? This may be a great candidate for not only your website, but YouTube and social media. Is it a tour of the office? In addition to your home page, this may be a great video to embed in a marketing email for new or potential patients. For more information about full funnel marketing check out this blog we wrote.
Think about what you want your video to accomplish and where it could best achieve those goals. Don’t be afraid to post cross-platform, either! The more people your video can reach, the better! Video marketing for doctors can be tricky, so don’t hesitate to reach out to a marketing agency with a video production team if you want help figuring out a plan or managing distribution.
No matter where you are in your marketing process, video marketing for doctors can be an effective way to humanize your practice and establish your expertise. Video brings people together and offers a more personal experience, which is why people are often more receptive to video marketing. With these helpful tips and ideas to keep in mind, you’ll be able to up your game and see more online interaction with easily made, high-quality videos.