Is there room for death on social media?

Funeral homes provide a service everyone will be faced with one day.  Until that day, many people dread visiting a funeral home.  When most people think of funeral homes they think of death, grieving families, and dark suit, solemn men.

The funeral industry is a tricky industry for marketers, and even more so in the social media world.  Social media platforms promote content, conversation, and interaction, all of which is important for all industries, including the funeral industry.  Finding a place in this world can be a bit more difficult than expected by many funeral providers.  

SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORMS

WILL PEOPLE REALLY "LIKE" A FUNERAL HOME?

While this is still up for debate, many funeral home consultants suggest using a social platform to interact with your consumers.   According to FuneralOne (Funeral One Blog), a funeral home website and technology consultant, the top four social networks funeral homes should be using for engagement include: Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and Google+. All platforms are effective in reaching an audience, sharing a message, maintaining a presence, and encouraging interaction for funeral homes. 

Facebook, of course leads the list, because of the number of individuals and the amount of time individuals use this site.  Twitter is number two and should be used as a referring source, whereas Pinterest, the number three suggestion, provides a space for visual content and inspiration. And lastly, Google+, based solely on the probable usage of future users (Funeral One Blog). 

FACEBOOK

Funeral homes do have a purpose on Facebook, but many are still determining this purpose.  For many funeral homes, Facebook is simply another area to list obituaries.  These funeral homes are missing out on ample opportunities to interact with the community, provide valuable content, and reestablish the reputation of the funeral industry among online users. 

This is a great example of a funeral home who understands the importance of interaction, content, and conversation.  The funeral home has taken death and used it as an opportunity to share words of wisdom, encourage community involvement, and initiate conversations (Newcomer Funeral Home Facebook Page).

TWITTER

Funeral homes have a lot of valuable information to provide to families who may be grieving, anticipating a death, or pre-planning a funeral/cremation.  Twitter provides a wonderful platform to share information, but I am not sure it is the best fit for this information.  Microblogging is a wonderful concept to use for most businesses that may advertise a sale or a promotion.  But for a funeral home, these microblogs would be a lot less exciting.  For example, BOGO shoes from a department store would be a great Tweet to receive as you are eating lunch, but getting a quick tip from a funeral home on the three objectives of embalming, may not be very enticing.  Now, that is a bit of an exaggeration, but finding a market that would want to follow the tweets of a funeral home may be a bit more difficult than anticipated.  And those who follow would in most cases only need the advice during a time of loss.  So in my opinion Twitter, would move from the number two position to the number three position on the list of social media platforms for funeral homes. 

PINTEREST

Of all of the social media platforms for funeral homes this is my personal favorite.  I would place this in the number two position for best social media platforms for the funeral industry.  I believe the visual content and inspiration should be the most important platform, but with the smaller number of users and large female demographic, Facebook out ranks Pinterest. 

Pinterest “makes” sense to me when discussing funeral homes and social platforms.  Through the use of pinning, many images and ideas can be shared amongst users.  Allowing users to pin their content can be a great way to interact and create content users would like to view.  These pins could be inspirational to users, may provide ideas for services, or most importantly create a relationship between the funeral home and the user and/or other users who may be grieving. 

GOOGLE+

Google+ is the most similar to Facebook, but has yet to appeal to the funeral industry’s target market.  Google does assist with SEO and market segmentation, but without the proper target market, time and effort may better be spent on other platforms (2012 Infographic).  Therefore, I would reduce the list of social platforms for the funeral industry to three.  Well maybe three and a half, with the edition of YouTube.

YOUTUBE

YouTube provides a social platform for video content.  While the funeral industry could use YouTube to provide informational videos, most would use YouTube to feature the facility.  YouTube has the possibility of being a success if used properly by funeral homes, but the time involved, and the industry limitations may reduce the effectiveness of YouTube.  That being said, if a funeral home could properly find ways to make videos in regards to merchandise, merchandise selection, funeral home etiquette, and possibly feature a weekly “FAQ” video, YouTube may prove to be a valuable content platform. 

OTHER CONSIDERATIONS

According to Ryan Thogmartin, a funeral home social media consultant, there are four reasons whyfuneral homes are afraid to use social media.  I agree with most of his points, but I feel these points go a bit deeper.  I have extended my explanations in italics.

1.     They do not get it.
Funeral homes understand and get social media, but they do not get their place on social media.  As discussed earlier, social media should be used as an interactive, engaging tool, not a place for obituary links. 

2.     Fear of bad brand management.
Yes, yes, yes.  There is a huge fear of bad brand management and inappropriate remarks.  This is a concern faced by all businesses, but with the sensitivity of consumers within the funeral industry, the fear of inappropriateness is at an entirely different level.  For most local funeral homes, word of mouth and referrals are key to a successful business. Social platforms provide the opportunity for both positive and negative word of mouth, but for many funeral homes the fear of negative press can outweigh the positive. 

3.     No personal time to devote.
The funeral industry is unpredictable.  Not having a guaranteed amount of time to spend on social media can hurt a business.  If a funeral home cannot devote a specific amount of time a day, to respond, update, and patrol social media platforms,  the content may suffer.  In this case, choosing one platform may prove the most beneficial.

4.     Funeral home owners think social media is just a fad.
I think this is an excuse used by owners who do not want to confess to the top three fears. 

Social media platforms create a relationship between an organization and a consumer through interaction.  This interaction must be content and conversation driven in order to maintain and establish these relationships.  The funeral industry may be a late bloomer in the game, but with time and knowledge, this industry may find its place in the social media world and excel as many other industries.