Have you ever searched for a business on the web only to find that they have no web page, or their web page is archaic and outdated? You know the first impressions you have about the organization as a result…Have they shut their doors? If not, don’t they care about how they appear to the outside world? If they are this unconcerned about their web presence, how much attention do they give to their face-to-face customers?
Well, in today’s social media-centered world, the same is becoming true for your business presence in Facebook. Increasingly, customers search for business Facebook pages to learn about current offers, recent happenings with the company, or even to interact with people at the company. Things have changed in the past few years! Your public face in the social media has an impact on your bottom line.
What will your potential customers find when they search for your funeral home Facebook page? Will they want to engage with the content you post? If you find you are getting little or no traction with Facebook and wonder why, consider these possible reasons:
- You have no Facebook presence at all, or your Facebook business page was created by someone else. Prior to meeting with a potential client, I will search for them on Facebook. Many times I discover a page that was created when someone “checked in” at their facility. People who are active in Facebook frequently report to their friends where they are at a given time by using a feature in Facebook where they let their smartphone pinpoint their location, then they choose from a list of places registered at or near their current address location. If the funeral home pops up from the database, they will choose it from the list. This, essentially, creates a Facebook page if none was listed before.
- It’s possible, then, for a person to find this page and to leave comments that may be positive…or negative. I met with a potential client last week who was shocked when I showed them their Facebook page (which they didn’t know existed), and the only content on the page was an extremely negative review. Unattended negative comments on a poorly maintained page are a business killer!
- Some funeral homes have set up a page only to have forgotten about it. Any content that exists on the page is terribly outdated. Readers probably form a negative opinion as a result.
- Or a page has been set up and, through one process or another, the only content being posted is obituaries. While posting obituaries is not a bad idea, if this is the only content that appears, many Facebook users who have “Liked” the page will hide the funeral home’s content from their timelines. Posting obituaries only is not a good way to maintain or increase your fan base.
- One other reason your Facebook page isn’t bringing attention to your business is that you have an unfocused posting strategy. The old maxim is true: if you have no goals you will probably achieve them. Businesses who garner a lot of attention in the social media are those who have a focused strategy for achieving results. Posting random content at irregular intervals is an ineffective way to increase your followers, primarily because the Facebook algorithms will not work in your favor.
Of course, if it’s difficult to find the time to manage your Facebook page, or you have a hard time choosing or creating content for your page, you can turn to the experts at DISRUPT Media. We will create and optimize your Facebook business page to garner the attention you’re business deserves. We can craft a Facebook strategy tailored to your business using our exclusive four part FUNERAL Social Design Process. Our process is what enables DISRUPT Media to claim that we are the funeral profession’s only full-service social media management firm. Our clients who are a part of our FUNERAL Social Design Process are seeing an increase in post reach and engagement of over 300%. Go to http://funeralsocial.com to find out more about the services we offer.
About Author
Mark Thogmartin, VP of Business Development at DISRUPT Media
Dr. Mark Thogmartin is a life-long educator, working with students from Kindergarten through the doctoral level. He has degrees from the University of Kentucky, the Ohio State University, and Andrews University. Mark’s book, Teach a Child to Read with Children’s Books, has gained wide acceptance among reading tutors and parents who are teaching their children at home. In addition to assisting his son, Ryan, at DISRUPT Media as Vice President of Business Development, he works part-time as a mentor of doctoral students at Capella University. Mark and his wife Donna live in Millersport and are the parents of three adult sons and the grandparents of two beautiful granddaughters.
