If your funeral home is on Facebook, it’s crucial to make sure you aren’t making any of these mistakes. You might not even be aware that what you are doing is wrong. If you’re unsure of what you should or shouldn’t be doing on Facebook then take a look at 5 of the worst mistakes a Funeral Home can make.
Posting Updates Without Thought (or not posting at all)
One way to approach writing a post is to represent yourself as a person, not a business. It can be a way of showing others that you aren’t a faceless funeral director (debunk the ‘creepy’ myth) and that you are also a member of the community like they are. If this is how you wish to present yourself, don’t use it like you would on your personal Page. Complaining about a bad day or using crude language can be a fast way to lose clients. Remember that even an informal post must be treated with the same professional manner as you would with the rest of your business. Almost as bad as making an unprofessional post is not posting at all. If you fail to make updates to your Facebook Page you risk people losing interest. Or worse, they might think that the business doesn’t exist anymore and go somewhere else.
Making A Profile Instead Of A Page
Using a Profile instead of a Page is an easy mistake to make, so it’s important to know the difference. Profiles are designed for individual people, not businesses. It is also against Facebook’s TOS to use a Profile for Business purposes.
A Page can be used for multiple purposes and there are different benefits that are available through Pages that are not offered for a Profile. One of the benefits to having a Page is that you can make other people admin status and they can make posts on your behalf (perfect for outsourcing). There is also the option to advertise the Page with Facebook Ads.
If you’ve already made a Profile and wish to change this then follow this link: How To: Convert Your Facebook Profile to a Facebook Page
Not Building Your Fan Base
It’s not enough to make a Facebook Page and leave it at that. Unless you’re actively getting involved on Facebook and searching for people, it’s unlikely that everyone will just come to you.
It’s essential to build as many contacts as you can. On your Page it’s possible to import contacts from email, Skype and messenger accounts. Then you can invite them to start following you.
You could also search for groups and organisations within your community such as Church groups. Try to find the people who are influential within the community and invite them to be Friends.
Pushing Too Hard For Preneed Sales
Facebook is not for generating Preneed sales leads (we will refine this statement in an upcoming article). If that lead happens then great, but Facebook is the conversation and engagement piece that can eventually lead to preneed sales conversations with a user but it can not be the message you are pushing through your Facebook Page. If you’re pushing hard for preneed sales you could be coming across as un-caring and money-grabbing. Remember, you’re a business that cares and you need to be there for your clients, no matter what services they need. Even if it is to just provide an online space where they feel comfortable asking questions.
Not Having A Strategy
Something any business user of Social Media should know is how important it is to come up with a strategy. If your posts are falling flat, why are they? If you want to gain more followers how do you do that? It is only when you stop to analyse what’s working and what isn’t, that you can move forward and make it better.
Social Media for Funeral Homes
For more information on embracing social media for your funeral home please contact DISRUPT Media.
