Pistachio Trees & Google Map Mortuaries | 4M #73
Welcome to the seventy-third edition of Morticians’ Monday Morning Mashup, 4M #73, where we’ll serve up bite-sized, easily-digestible nuggets of the deathcare news you need to crush conversations in the week ahead. Bon appetit!
Cross your fingers …
Legislators in two states are considering proposals that could expand their residents’ disposition options. Proponents of Virginia’s Senate Bill 1487 hope their state will become the 29th to legalize alkaline hydrolysis. The proposal outlines the structure of regulatory oversight and an approval process to contend with concerns that “not all wastewater facilities can process the effluent.” It’s also been the target of opposition from a Catholic group that, according to a Virginia news outlet, asserts the alkaline hydrolysis process is “not a respectful way to handle human remains.” Meanwhile, lawmakers in Connecticut are considering House Bill 5246, which would make the state the seventh to allow for disposition by natural organic reduction. As expected, not everyone is a fan. “Let’s call it what it is, human composting. It is not natural. It is not gentle,” said one opponent last week.
No formaldehyde here
Last week scientists published the results of a six-plus-year study of the embalming compounds found in Saqqara, an ancient Egyptian “mortuary,” in 2016, and the ingredient list is all over the place. After completing a molecular analysis of organic residues in 31 of a total 121 pots found in the workshop, experts found a wide variety of materials from Egypt and beyond, including everything from oils from juniper, cypress, and cedar trees to resins from pistachio trees, animal fat, and beeswax. They’ve also been able to determine which combinations were used for embalming certain areas of the body. The study, which was published in the scientific journal Nature, is the first of its kind, as relatively few spaces like Saqqara have been discovered.
Transportation troubles
Funeral homes in one Michigan county aren’t happy about potentially adding another fee to their price list. Recently, authorities in Saginaw county informed funeral homes that they would now be responsible for covering the costs of transporting bodies for autopsies, which are being conducted by a pathologist 100 miles away because the county doesn’t have a local provider. The announcement of the shift in expenses came about after the county spent $10,000 for autopsy transportation in January. However, funeral directors are fighting back, explaining that it’s not their fault — or that of the families to whom they’ll have to pass on these fees — that the county hasn’t figured out a better solution. “It’s a shame, it’s really a shame. The people of Saginaw County deserve better,” said Spencer Skorupski of Skorupski Family Funeral Homes. “It’s not the family’s fault that the county is going through, whatever they are going through.”
Reviews are everything
An Oklahoma man who gave his metal workshop a more historic “old town” facade has found himself the “owner” of two “businesses” with hilarious names, thanks to Google. Why so many quotation marks in that last sentence? Because any human judging the storefronts Joe Krout painted across the street-facing wall of his garage would know they’re anything but legitimate, as Krout is neither the eye doctor operating I.C. Clearly Optometrist nor the funeral director at Diggum Deep Mortuary. However, Google’s street view photo vehicle recently drove by the garage and added the two storefronts to Google Maps as businesses. People in Krout’s town are having a ball posting their reviews on Google, and Diggum Deep is now ranked by the search engine as the city’s second most popular funeral home.
The secret’s out
It’s more than likely there is no course on search engine optimization (SEO) in mortuary school. But that’s ok, because the cool kids at MemoryShare know all about it — and they know how to improve yours … while at the same time making streaming services super simple for your staff. Get ready for a little mortuary math here (also probably not a class):
SEO + superior streaming services + super simplicity + safety and security =
The MemoryShare not-so-secret sauce for success
MemoryShare’s exclusive app makes streaming super easy; you can record your full service with the touch of a button. By sharing these streams with your community, you showcase your excellent service and create name recognition with the viewers. Aaaannnd that’s not all, folks. Because MemoryShare videos are embedded on your own website (and not on the site of a separate streaming provider) your site gets more views, which results in street cred with the search engines.
Two things funeral homes need in 2022 are visibility and increased call volume. MemoryShare provides both of these things as well as a team of REAL people you can talk to if you ever run into trouble. So what are you waiting for? Learn more about MemoryShare today!
