Best Practices for Funeral Directors Using Facebook

When I was young and visiting my grandparents at the family funeral home, Egan Funeral Home in Bolton, Ontario, I spent a lot of time with him walking around town, going to the post office and directing other homeless people. I was always amazed at how many people knew him and that he knew them. His success, like other funeral directors of previous generations, could be attributed to being a useful member of the community, either professionally or in other activities. They knew it, they liked it, and when they needed his services, they could trust him.

Since life is different today and there are far fewer people in the “social centers” than there were 50 years ago, that doesn’t mean you have to go to the same places Grandpa hung out – he was where the people were. . You must apply the same philosophy: Go where the people in your community are!

Now, I’m not saying drop every group you’re currently involved in, but you should do a quick inventory of your time vs. the exposure and reach you get.

If you think I’m just promoting this Facebook stuff because I’m a bit of a techie, you’re wrong. I’m trying to tell you that it’s probably one of the biggest networks in your city and you need to be there!

Do you know how many people in your market are on Facebook? Would you be surprised if it could tell you exactly how many per individual, gender, age? It’s easy to figure out, and it can also advertise so directly that it would blow your mind!

But before you get into my Funeral – Facebook Formula, you need to make sure you have the basic foundation of Facebook profiles and pages. So let’s start with the article 7 mistakes funeral directors make with Facebook. I want to summarize what are the best practices for funeral directors when using Facebook.

The purpose of these “Best Practices” is to cut out all the noise and get you the right products and shorten the learning process for you while teaching you how to nurture your online relationships to build your community, increase your credibility and visibility. because people want to do business with people they know, like and trust – Facebook can help you do that!

I don’t want Facebook to be a new waste of time, but I must warn you: if you’re new to Facebook, it’s easy to get sucked in, connecting with old friends, reviewing photos, playing games, taking quizzes, etc. Anyway, after the initial hustle and bustle wears off, you’ll be back in business: relationship-building business!

Before we get into Nuts & Bolts, we need to know the difference between profiles and pages.

Facebook Profile Professionals

* You can have a one-on-one interaction
* You create a more personal sense of connection.
* You gain “perceived” credibility with more Friends
* Your friends can message you (pro from their perspective)
* Can be tagged in photos and videos and appear automatically (sometimes good)

Cons of the Facebook profile

* It is necessary to have a mutual agreement for friendship
* People must be Facebook members and logged in to view
* You can’t send messages to all friends at once or you could get banned
* You are limited to 5,000 friends
* You could be flooded with messages in your inbox
* Can be tagged in photos and videos and appear automatically (sometimes wrong)

Advantages of Facebook Fan Page

* You can have an unlimited number of fans
* You have the ability to send messages to an entire group.
* Your page can be accessed by the public (no Facebook login required + Google can index it (see name below)
* Your page appears in the homepage flow, which is a great way to remind your friends of updates and new content * People chose to hear updates about your business, as opposed to your profile

Cons of Facebook Fan Page

* Sometimes it’s hard to get people to become Fans
* The term “Fan” is a bit strange, especially when applied to a funeral home
* Doesn’t feel like a personal connection
* You do not have the same personal relationship since you only post as “Company” not as yourself

Ok, now that we know some of the differences, let’s build both a profile and a page, leveraging the pros to our advantage.

Profile configuration – Phase 1 (1 hour):

1. Select an appropriate photo: the one that best connects you with your audience
2. Upload contacts from email/Outlook accounts: (I skip the “Invite others to Facebook”)
3. Complete Profile Information – Make it as complete as possible but stay within your comfort level.
4. Comprehensive education and work profile information – this makes it easy for your old contacts to find you
5. List all your websites in contact information
6. Create a memorable web address
7. Load Contacts from Email/Outlook Accounts

Profile Setup – Phase 2 (1 to 2 hours + ongoing):

1. Search friends list of friends
2. Search groups and fan pages for possible contacts: you don’t even have to join the group, just see who the members are. But join if you think it would be valuable
3. Find your competitor’s friends: Click the View Friends link and add any friends you think would be appropriate as a friend.

Notes: When entering a website address (URL), be sure to use “http://” before the [http://www..]. as that will make the link clickable.

Fan Page Configuration – Phase 1

1. Choose Category > Venue > Event Planning Service OR Professional Service
2. Pick the Right Name – Place important keywords alongside your business name, like Funeral Homes ‘Your City’ (unless it’s a competitor’s name) | Your funeral chapel (see McCall’s example)
3. Upload your logo or an appropriate photo – make sure it’s recognizable and, if possible, has personality.
4. Fill in the editing information
5. Upload photos and tag yourself or staff members, if applicable.
6. Upload videos: How-to and FAQ videos will be preferred over commercial ones; again, you’re trying to build a relationship, not sell anything (don’t exclude commercials, just limit them)
7. Add links to useful information on your website
8. Suggest to friends – Be selective about who you invite at first until you really have your page “supercharged”.

Remember, Facebook Pages and how funeral homes can use Facebook is a work in progress, here are some general best practices (for now).

If you’re interested in learning how to USE Facebook for your funeral business, I know you’ll get a lot out of my Funeral Home – Facebook Formula seminar. This seminar is the first of my monthly training courses called: Funeral Futurist U – Internet Marketing for Funeral Professionals. For more information and registration details, visit: http://www.FuneralFuturistU.com.

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