I understand the temptation of using stock photos for your website and content marketing. Many of these images are clean, simple – and, of course – free.
But would you walk through Walmart, purchase a set of picture frames, and hang them up with the stock family photos inside? No, of course not – because that’s not your family, it’s not your dog, and it’s not your backyard. It’s someone else’s . . .
So, why would you use stock photos on your practice’s website or in your brochures? That’s not your staff, and it’s not your office. You want to show your patients and prospects why your practice is better than your competitor’s. How are you going to achieve that when you’re putting another medical practice on display?
Stock photos don’t provide the kind of benefit that you assume they should. Here are a few reasons why your practice should stop using stock images all together.
You Look Cheap
Once your audience identifies one of your photos as what is clearly stock photo, there are a few thoughts that start running through their minds.
The first and most obvious one is, how cheap can they possibly be?
Having professional photos taken isn’t going to break the bank or blow your practice’s entire marketing budget and the money you spend on photos will pay for itself when patients that are on the fence end up choosing you over a competitor – the one who’s flashing generic stock images across their website . . .
You Look Suspicious
But they’ll never know that it’s not my company!
No, they absolutely will. Stock photos are extremely easy to spot. They’re ambiguous and generic, and they’re that way for a reason – so that they can be used more often!
And this becomes a problem because you work in the medical field. Potential patients expect to be able to trust you with their health; and if you’re not using real photos of yourself or your staff, you’re likely scaring away some patients who would have been considering your medical practice otherwise.
Your Look the Same as Your Competitors
Yes, there are millions of stock photos that you can grab from the web. But some are better than others; and you can bet that competitors within your niche are thinking the same way and are targeting similar photos.
How tacky does it look when you’re sharing stock photography with your competition? Verytacky . . .
If a potential patient runs a number of Google searches for local practices, chances are that they’re going to arrive at a few sites that are using some of the same stock images.
Definitely not a good look for your practice!
You Look Inconsistent
If you’re using stock photos while also trying to brand your medical practice, you’re fighting an uphill battle.
Those photos don’t represent your brand; they represent someoneelse’sbrand. And that produces inconsistencies within the story you’re trying to tell.
Stock photos are also bad option for your medical practice if you have specific products or facilities that you need to showcase on your site. How are you going to market these things properly when you don’t have professional photos of them?
So, maybe it’s time that you invested in having some professional photos taken for your website or your next brochure – in which case, filmMED might be exactly what you need. We have a professional photography team that is not only exceptionally skilled, but also understands how to brand and market medical practices.
Contact us today. Let’s talk about what you need and schedule your next session!
