Funeral Industry Not Dying With Social Media
In a way, it’s hard to connect funeral homes with social media, but in another way, not so difficult at all.
Many people use social media to connect with friends and family, in fact, that’s how most people use it, and in the sad instance of a funeral, loved ones want to connect.
Funeral homes are witnessing a trend of social media, and it’s an important way to keep up with our continuing burst of technology and being plugged in. Social media is showing up everywhere; funeral homes and funerals are no exceptions.
An important part of the grieving process when faced with the loss of a loved one is sharing stories, feelings, memories and love with family and friends.
If you can incorporate a platform on your site where people near and far can share, you will be adding a great space where loved ones can not only honor the one they lost, but help each other through the difficult times.
According to an article on the National Funeral Directors Association site, by offering an online presence, you are offering your clients a beneficial way to process the loss; you can make your “web site a place where you provide the fabric for others to weave together connections by sharing stories, pictures, and other tribute features will be an investment in giving your families outstanding service.”
This piece also recommends making sure you have social media links on your site through widgets.
Online obits are becoming more of the norm, even interactive ones where loved ones can share their memories, stories and pictures. You can provide this.
Another smart recommendation from Funeral One is to make sure you’re not just focusing on obituaries. Though these are a huge part of your business, there’s more to it and social media.
Engage your clients and open forums for memorials, journal postings, pictures and articles on dealing with grief. You have a lot of knowledge and experience to share; now you have a place to do it and offer a healing place.
Don’t forget about using social media as advertising for yourself as well.
Though sometimes it can be forgotten, you are still running a business and you can let the public learn more about you through social media. On the Funeral One site, you can see how one funeral home used Facebook to show updates and renovations on their building.
Some Quick Housekeeping
Just as with any business, social media etiquette and protocol is important. This is where things like moderating, posting and even how you post come into play.
You may have to jump in sometimes and delete a post or add an explanation to keep things from getting too uncomfortable. Even if it gets awkward go ahead before things get worse, as this is an emotional time for those interacting.
As for posting, keep your posts and updates consistent. Maybe a couple of times a week, but not multiple times a day. This gets to be too much for anyone. And make sure you use spell check and proper grammar – this isn’t the place for text talk and cheeky comments.
You are a professional and you know how to run a business.
And as with any other profession, social media is an important aspect to the funeral business.
About the Author: Heather Legg is an Atlanta blogger who covers topics related to small business, social media and jogging strollers.
Image Credit: funeral.
Posted in Social Networking. Tags: death and social media, social media ethics
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