Over the last few weeks we have had fun implementing some really cool development solutions for our clients. By taking a very strategic approach – stepping back from the immediate client challenge and thinking through solutions with a very strategic focus – we actually ended up not only resolving the challenge, but coming up with some interesting website improvements for those clients!

Strategic thinking can sometimes get lost in the process of day to day issues and the quest for immediate solutions. We have a very collaborative approach at AVID Design – we gather around our war room table and talk through the client need from all perspectives – development, design, and content. By having this conversation sooner than later, we bring together all website functions that will ultimately be touched by the solution.

Make sure your healthcare organization is planning AND implementing from a strategic focus. There is something to be said for those war room conversations!

AVID Design offers full-scale written and visual communication services for hospitals and healthcare systems, including Web design, SEO and PPC content development and assessment, online video and rich media, analytics and measurement, content management systems and more.

Tom Brand | Executive Director | AVID Design

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It’s autumn and everything is changing. On a personal level, I’ve gotten a new job here at Avid Design, I’ve gotten engaged, and I’m moving in just a few months. All of these are great and fun things that I’m excited about, but they are big changes and a little bit stressful/scary. But that’s change for you. It’s difficult sometimes, it takes time to get things right, but the end result is really great.

It doesn't have to be this way.

Yes, this is me about relating my planning a wedding and nice-ing up a bachelor pad to redesigning a healthcare website. And my first piece of advice: Don’t let people scare you into thinking that your website redesign is going to be a logistical nightmare. It doesn’t have to be.

1. Be open-minded when you’re dealing with your experts. Come with a firm idea of what you want, but listen to the advice and ideas offered to you and take them into consideration. They’re experienced, and they don’t benefit by leading you astray. They only do well if you’re satisfied with your site.
2. Decide on a look and feel and stick to that. Most hospitals have already established their theme, colors, and how they want to represent themselves to the public. Keep that in mind when you’re working on your videos, content management, widgets/modules, and your different page layouts/themes. Healthcare sites are notoriously busy, but having a consistent look and feel will lead to a more organized and less scattered looking site.
3. Art in Brevity. This is one of my favorite phrases for papers, ceremonies, and websites. Keep your content relevant and to the point. On a patient/client facing website you have about 15 seconds and the span of an iPhone screen to get and retain a person’s attention. Use it wisely.
4. Tackle one thing at a time. Yes, you have a lot of decisions to make. Yes, it will take time to make all of those decisions. It will also probably take about the same amount of time to make those decisions one at a time in a logical order as it will for you to panic and think about all of them at the same time. So take it easy, make a list of your priorities, and go down the list.
5. It’s mostly about you, but it’s important to be a gracious host. It’s important that you get all of your information across, but it’s just as important to convey it in a user-friendly way. That means easy navigation, simple but thorough content, and limiting the amount of content and content types that occur on each page. This will make it easy for your patients/clients to find the information they need and understand it quickly and easily.

All you want is a comprehensive, user-friendly, engaging website that will direct your clients to where they need to go. And all I want is a wedding venue coordinator that doesn’t yell at me for just wanting to marry my best friend then have a nice party with a cake.

AVID Design offers full-scale written and visual communication services for hospitals and healthcare systems, including Web design, SEO and PPC content development and assessment, online video and rich media, analytics and measurement, content management systems and more.

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Put away those white shoes (it’s after Labor Day) and the mosquito repellent! It’s time to take out your boots and get yourself a flu shot.

See ya, summer! Revisiting our top 5 blog posts from this past summer.

Say goodbye to the warm summer season and hello to the (looming) crisp autumn air.

As the weather in Atlanta has been rather cool and cloudy lately, and although I do love it at times, I’ve been feeling slightly nostalgic and missing the warmth of the sun.

So, with the changing of the seasons, let’s revisit this past summer’s top 5 blog posts.

• How Long Keyword Phrases Can Play to Your Strengths

• Hospital Mobile Strategy: Best Practices for Quick Response (QR) Codes

• Learn it, Know it, Live it – 7 Link Building Strategies for your Hospital

• Quick Tips on PPC Ad Writing

• AVID Design Gets Mentioned in Ragan Communications’ eNewsletter

So long, summer!  It’s been a hot one.

AVID Design offers full-scale written and visual communication services for hospitals and healthcare systems, including Web design, SEO and PPC content development and assessment, online video and rich media, analytics and measurement, content management systems and more.

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I recently got back from a trip to the sugary, white sands of Florida’s Gulf Coast, Panama City Beach, to be exact. When I was not bronzing in the sweltering sun or sipping some fruity concoction, I was visiting the neighborhood shops and enjoying local fare at various establishments.

Cowabunga, dude! Surf's up!

I noticed that most of the locals spoke in a different language. Not different per se that it was not English, but just in a different way.

Yes, it is a beach town with a laid-back attitude, so that is not to be completely unexpected, but when I heard the 20-year-old-something male at one of the local surf shops speak to me (in surfer lingo) the same way an older 40+ woman server spoke to me at a fancy restaurant, it made me think about languages, slang and jargon.  Ultimately, it made me think about writing in natural language for Web sites.

Natural Language…Write on!

Writing in natural, simple language is the way to go in order for your audience to understand what you are trying to tell them. It flows more naturally, and is similar to a conversation you would have with a friend, family member or co-worker.

Writing in natural, simple language allows for:

• More traffic to your site (this is far out for SEO)

• Engagement with your audience (readers will be stoked if they can connect to your content).

• Your info to be read from beginning to end (bailing mid-way through your content = total burn).

• Better usability in understanding what information you are trying to get across (let your audience shred through your content and dig it).

Web Content Writing Basics

While having natural, simple language on the brain, don’t forget the other gnarly basics for Website content writing, which basically breaks down to:

• Having clear calls-to-action

• Writing with one-topic per paragraph

• Using specific and focus-driven copy

• Providing short and easy-to-read copy

AVID Design creates optimized Web content for hospital and healthcare systems.  Contact AVID today to see how we can help you.

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QR codes, or quick response codes, seem to be the latest “craze” for marketers, businesses and organizations. Lately, I’ve seen them everywhere, from fashion magazines, to Guitar Center print ads to televised sporting events (during Summer X Games 17), to hospitals.

Check out this QR code I generated for a mobile site we designed for one of our clients!

Yes, hospitals.

While hospitals are usually on the slow end of embracing the “latest” technology and/or trend, more and more are incorporating mobile strategy into their marketing plan, and even using QR codes.

Scratching the Surface: QR Code Benefits

Simply to scratch the surface of the many benefits of implementing a QR code campaign into your hospital’s mobile strategy, here are a few reasons that stick out:

• Instant information for users

• Consumer to company interaction

• Easy to include in all marketing materials

• Relatively inexpensive in terms of advertising dollars

QR Code Best Practices for Hospitals

If your hospital is thinking about creating a QR code campaign, here are some best practices to keep in mind:

• Mobile Optimized Landing Page – Nearly 100% of QR codes are scanned by a mobile device, so if you send users to a URL or landing page on your hospital’s Website, make sure it is optimized for mobile devices. Do this so users can easily navigate through your site (if they want, and you definitely want them to). Don’t have a mobile site for your hospital? What are you waiting for? Contact AVID Design and we can start developing a mobile site for your hospital today!

• Value Exchange With the User – Give users something interesting and useful, like rich media or a video of your hospital’s new maternity wing, maps/directions of direct locations from your hospital’s directory, or even offer a discount to something in conjunction with a 3rd party affiliated with your healthcare organization. Be creative!

• Placement – Place the QR code where it is easily accessible for the user (i.e. not a billboard off the highway). Better examples include in health (e-)newsletters, direct hospital mail pieces, etc.

• Test- Perhaps one of the most important! Test in several mobile phone platforms, as well as with bar code scanning apps. This is the best way to spot problems.

• Track – As with any kind of Web strategy or communication effort, set up in your analytics, such as in Google Analytics, and track user engagement. See how many users “hit” your page, see if they go anywhere else.

• Short URL – Use a shorter URL rather than a longer one to keep the code smaller. The longer the URL, the larger the code. Try using goo.gl or bit.ly to shorten it.

Check out how some hospitals are using QR codes and other tips:

• QR Codes Gaining Popularity

• Hospital Enhances Print Ads with Barcode Technology

Do you have any QR code best practices to add?  Is your hospital currently using QR codes within their mobile strategy?

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