The Key to Staying Linked

Funeral Industry News Funeral Industry Press Releases February 16, 2016
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The Key to Staying Linked

By now, you’ve probably already established a LinkedIn profile for you and perhaps your funeral home/cemetery.  No doubt you have “linked” with people in your network and then, likely, have just left your page lying dormant on the site.

 

Using LinkedIn to promote your funeral home or cemetery can be very valuable.   When used properly, LinkedIn can help you connect with families, generate real business, meet others in funeral service, and create a forum for collaboration with like-minded funeral professionals.

Here are five suggestions to help you maximize LinkedIn as part of your marketing efforts:

  1. Create a business presence and establish a company page.  Company pages are where funeral homes and cemeteries can tell their brand story, communicate their mission and highlight services. The first few lines of your company description are the most important, so use powerful and keyword-rich language to maximize LinkedIn and Google search results. In addition, include eye-catching images where appropriate.
  2. Attract followers. Leverage your employees’ networks by encouraging your staff to add a link to the company’s LinkedIn page in their email signatures. Add a “follow” button to your website to let LinkedIn users follow your company with a simple click. Invite families, suppliers and colleagues to follow your company. Join a few of LinkedIn’s more than one million groups, participate in discussions and establish a presence.  Better yet, start your own group to help others and build a thriving community.
  3. Get folks talking. The best relationships come from great conversations. Post regular updates with highly targeted content designed to accomplish two goals. First, it should teach others about the profession. Second, it establishes you as a thought leader in your community. Encourage dialogue, monitor comments and respond promptly.
  4. Go viral. When you post compelling content to your LinkedIn company page, followers can amplify your message by sharing it with their connections. Post your updates as discussions in relevant groups. When posts gain momentum, LinkedIn may step in and feature your post in a Pulse Channel or as an influencer.
  5. Evaluate and adjust. The success of any marketing effort depends on your ability to analyze its impact on your target marketing. The number of clicks, likes, shares, comments and follows are real-time indicators of audience engagement. Also, it’s possible to track leads that came directly from your LinkedIn network. See what others are doing, experiment, track your progress and tweak your content accordingly.

Like with any marketing initiative, a LinkedIn strategy requires preparation and constant upkeep. If you deliver high-quality content that addresses the interests of your target audience, you’ll grow your network and develop relationships that can benefit you in the long run.

Joe Weigel is the owner of Weigel Strategic Marketing, a communications firm focused on the funeral profession that delivers expertise and results across three interrelated marketing disciplines: strategy, branding and communications. For more information, you can visit his website at weigelstrategicmarketing.webs.com. He also can be reached at 317-608-8914 or weigelstrategicmarketing@gmail.com.