It’s Been a Year, Now We Need HAWKS! | FFFW #28

IT’S BEEN A WHOLE YEAR

Remember back when the world decided to take a two week pause to stop the spread of COVID-19? Well, the past twelve months have been the longest two weeks in the history of the world. Alas, things seem to be looking up after over a year of confusion and chaos. So before we get going too far into the GIFs and games, I just want to say thank you. Thank you funeral professionals for the hard work you’ve done this year. Thank you for adapting and rolling with the many punches you faced. I have a unique view of the funeral profession. I work in it full-time through DISRUPT Media and Connecting Directors, but I’ve never embalmed a body, pre-planned a funeral, or woke up to a 3 AM pick-up call. For all intents and purposes, if the funeral profession were a military, I would be the guy making slogans and Uncle Sam posters. I see what’s going on, and I’m trying to do my part, but I’m not on the front-lines. So I see you, and for what it’s worth, I appreciate you. Now, let’s get this weekend kicked off with some fun and games!

GAME TIME!

Which state has the lowest cremation rate?

SHOULD YOUR FUNERAL HOME BE ON TIKTOK?

TikTok almost isn’t new anymore. It started getting mainstream in 2019 and built a massive user base during the pandemic. So with so many people being on a platform, shouldn’t you be there too?

Well, no… but yes. See, your demographic isn’t actively using TikTok enough to justify a large budget and time commitment to it. There’s also no way to target your content specifically to your community. So for the time being, you shouldn’t stress too much over this platform. That being said, adapting the trends to a funeral home would be amazing to see, and we here at the FFFW VERY MUCH support it. So, though you don’t HAVE to and it might not be SUPER beneficial, you should start making some Toks.

So what does work? Still, the best platform for reaching people 55 and up (your target demographic) is Facebook. And nobody manages funeral homes on Facebook as well as DISRUPT Media. If you’re interested in seeing high ROI through social media then you should see what all DM has to offer!

Click here to learn more!

WANT AN AD IN FFFW LIKE THIS? JUST SHOOT RYAN AN EMAIL AT RYAN@DISRUPTMEDIA.CO WE’LL WRITE UP AN ARTICLE AND MAKE A CUSTOM GIF!

HOW TO ROCK INTERVIEWS

Most funeral professionals didn’t go to HR school, (I don’t really know if that’s a thing or not) however HR responsibilities must be completed in any privately owned business… so that responsibility might fall on you. A big part of this type of thing is hiring and firing people. Because this is a positive/upbeat publication, we’re focusing on the hiring side of things. So this week, CD put out an article that goes over best practices for finding the next addition to your team. You can read it here!

It got me thinking about an old theory I have. It’s called the hawk theory. See, the CD article earlier mentioned is great for those doing the hiring. Still, I happen to know that many of our readers are people looking to be hired or could potentially be in that position if they were to leave their current funeral home. So, hawk theory is the perfect way to wow any employer of any profession. It only takes a few slightly intense steps to accomplish.

Step 1) You need a hawk. Like a very well-trained hawk. Like you can’t just go pick-up this bird the day before your interview and expect everything to go hunky-dory. This bird either needs to be bought pre-trained, or you need to dedicate about a year to bonding with and training this hawk.

Step 2) You need a resume. I’ll be honest, it doesn’t really matter what’s on the resume. All that matters is that your future employers (who very shortly will become your employees) know how to reach out to you.

Step 3) Interview time. This interview is actually more about what you don’t say. See, you’re going to walk in wearing a dark trench coat. Also, dress yourself in a hat that covers your eyes – mystery creates history. Next you’re going to turn to reveal that you have a hawk perched on your inner forearm. Not just any hawk, but a hawk holding your resume in a wax sealed envelope. Said hawk then flies ferociously at the interviewer, causing fright, but as it’s about 5 inches away, it drops your information from its talons as it releases a blood-curdling “CAH-CAH!” Then, you verbally retrieve your feathered friend and throw a smoke bomb. By the time the coast is clear, the only remnants you leave behind are your contact information and the highest level of fear and respect.

Step 4) You’re going to be hearing back. Don’t accept anything less than twice the amount of their first offer.

So, there’s your challenge. Try it out and let me know how it goes.

COMIC OF THE WEEK

“We have options that fit every individual and family…”

YOU OTTER BE PROUD

Let’s be honest, our profession gets a lot of negative press, so we’ve searched the internet to find stories of funeral things getting respect and doing great things!