“When my mother was dying, Facebook made it possible for my friends and family to give their support and love during a time when it was needed. When my mother died, notification was easier. The ongoing support I’m still receiving six months later is one example of how Facebook has shortened distances between loved ones.” – Mary Castle / New York
The above quote is real and comes from an infographic put together by Mashable.com, a leading source for news, information & resources for the Connected Generation.
Mashable.com recently surpassed one million Facebook fans and marked the accomplishment by compiling an infographic of responses submitted by readers to the question “How has Facebook had an impact on your life?”
Facebook itself recently reached one billion users who each spend over 11 hours a month (on average) on the social network. Facebook is now woven into our everyday lives and we seem to hold back nothing when sharing on the social network.
The conversation is happening and death is a discussion that is taking place. Here are a few Facebook Timelines where consumers are creating thousands of discussions about death care, funeral services and grief.
The Grief Toolbox – 5,743 Liks and 3,300+ talking about this
“Grief The Unspoken” – 22,080 likes · 33,205 talking about this
Silent Grief – Child Loss Support – 3,535 likes · 1,523 talking about this
Grief Loss & Recovery – 6,089 likes · 188 talking about this
These Timelines are just a sampling of the conversations that are taking place on just Facebook and they fully support the statement I made in June “No One Wants to Talk About Death…Bulls**t!”
Still think I’m wrong? Listen to Facebook COO Sheryl Sandburg talk about the decision to post her Grandmother’s obituary on Facebook and the surprise response she received.
I beg someone to come up with facts that prove me wrong.
Come on funeral professionals, get on the boat before you drown.
SoFund.us is a reward based crowdfunding platform for funeral professionals
Prove you wrong in what way Ryan? There’s no question that people are able to communicate loss and receive support from friends and family via Facebook and other social media resources.
The question is only, how does the funeral home become a participant in the conversation in its little corner of the world, without overstepping bounds.
You have to know your audience and interact accordingly.
Thanks for the reply BT. You are correct, the question is how does the funeral home become a participant in the conversation.
The first step is being present on social media. Having a Facebook TImeline where a conversation can take place.
If you look through the conversations centering around deathcare there are many question being asked.
Funeral directors need to put themselves in those conversations and provide useful, actionable information.
Being apart of the conversation isn’t the hurdle. Its getting funeral professionals to stop ignoring the fact that the conversation is taking place and they need to have a focused presence on social media outlets where the conversation is heaviest.
Like everything else in the current era, time and energy become the limiting factors. There are so many conversations happening in so many different places, it takes a significant amount of energy and persistence to stay engaged year after year.
By comparison, Lions Club or Rotary are very simple. All you have to do is show up, participate and be yourself.
Online is more like running for office. You have to be on the move all the time, constantly reading the tea leaves, except that when an election ends, you can slow down the pace. With online it’s 24/7 forever. And that’s a big commitment to make.
Here is my take…you are right!!…but still two problems…#1 it is always someone elses death–people do not talk about “their” death…#2 until there is discussion about personal death-“my death”, the funeral industry does not have a chance to educate the consumer…the uneducated consumer is the “disconnect” between the funeral industry and the general population…Dr. Canine