7 Types Of Content Every Funeral Home Should Be Creating
September 19th, 2014
Myth: I’m a funeral director and no one wants to read any blogs, articles or social media posts I write.
Truth: You’re a funeral director and anyone who is going through one of the most difficult times in their life (the loss of a loved one) will benefit from the content you write… if you write it.
You probably clicked on this article because you’re interested in creating content at your funeral home, right? Well thankfully, you’ve come to the right place. At funeralOne, we’re firm believers that educating families is the key to your online success – and it all starts with content marketing. We also believe that the more types of content you create, the more valuable content marketing can be for your business.
Interested in hearing what types of content you can create, and how to create them? Then check out these 7 types of content you should be creating today:
#1: Infographics
FACT: High quality infographics are 30 times more likely to be read than plain text articles.
Infographics are one of my favorite types of content because they get more shares, likes and engagement than most other types of content, hands down. Why? Because they take big data and transform it into a visually pleasing, bite-sized graphic. And since nearly two-thirds of our population are visual learners, infographics are the perfect way to make all of the complex details of funerals look simple. Hiring a graphic designer to create an infographic can cost a lot of time and money (usually at least $1,000), but thankfully there are some affordable, easy-to-use tools you can use to create your own infographics (below).
Tools to try: Visual.ly, Piktochart, Easel.ly (all have free basic templates and premium templates starting at $29).
Idea: Create an infographic that compares the different types of disposition in a fun, engaging way that makes it seem more personal and less scientific.
#2: Videos
Here is an example of a marketing video created by social media website Social Media Examiner in less than ten minutes on VideoMakerFX.
FACT: Adding a video to your website makes your site six times more likely to convert a casual “browser” into a paying client.
In the world of content marketing, infographics would be the queen and video would be the king. Not only is video the most powerful way to communicate a message to people, but video is also the big daddy of SEO. Videos can take your website from being on the third page of Google’s search engine results to the first in a flash. Why? Because Google’s search engine algorithm prefers to show users “blended results” – which means that Google will rank video and images higher to produce these blended results. The best part about video is that once you create them, you can use them anywhere – at your funeral home, online, with families, or at a presentation.
Tools to try: VideoMakerFX, Youtube Editor, Vine, Life Tributes Tribute Videos.
Idea: Create a video that shows off your best personalized services, testimonials, and facilities with Life Tributes’ Tribute Video creator. Don’t want to create your own? Then choose from the library of videos on the f1Connect website platform. When you’re done, play it on your funeral home’s flat screens.
#3: Memes
FACT: 93 percent of the most engaging posts on Facebook in 2013 were photos.
Memes might possibly be the #1 “like”, share and comment generating type of content in all of social media. That’s probably why your Facebook feed is full of them. Plus, they’re really easy to create and personalize. Don’t be mistaken by thinking you always have to be serious on social media. Funeral homes can be funny too, so show the world that you’ve got a good sense of humor with a meme, and you never know what type of engagement you’ll get online.
Tools to try: Imgur, Livememe, SomeeCards, Quickmeme.
Idea: Create a meme lighthearted meme that relates to your community.
#4: Blogs
FACT: Small businesses who blog generate 126 percent more leads than those who don’t.
If you’re not already blogging at your funeral home, it’s about time to get started. Your blog will set you apart from your competitors. But how? Well, first off, you’ll be getting nearly 60 percent more traffic to your website, which opens up the door to many revenue and lead generating opportunities. Secondly, you’ll establish trust with your website visitors by humanizing your brand. After all, people don’t buy from businesses, people buy from people – and a blog will help you put a face to the names visitors see on your funeral home’s website. Find a great freelance writer online, get your blog setup on your website, and get to blogging, already! If you’re new to blogging, be sure to check out our post 7 Questions You Should Ask Yourself Before Starting a Funeral Blog.
Tools to try: f1Connect (we’ll help you setup your blog), and freelance writing services/marketplaces Zerys, Contently and Scripted.
Idea: Try writing one of each of these types of blogs: a how-to guide, a list of resources, a book review, a controversial piece on the state of the industry, and a Q & A post on a hot topic in funeral service.
#5: Guest posts
After guest blogging for several publications, Caleb Wilde quickly became a nationally recognized funeral service blogger.
FACT: 46 percent of people read blogs more than once a day.
Once you’ve gotten the hang of the whole blogging thing, why not give guest blogging a try? Guest blogging is a fantastic way to establish thought leadership because you expand your reach by leveraging other publications’ audiences. Do some research and find out what kinds of brands, industries and blogs would benefit from your insight. Even if you don’t want to guest blog on someone else’s website, be daring and submit some of your writing to a news outlet – whether its your local newspaper or The Huffington Post. The point is to get your name out there and establish thought leadership, so think big and submit often. Even if no one’s knocking down your door asking you to write for them, be bold and submit guest articles and pitches to everyone you know. Here’s a great how-to guide on guest blogging to get you started.
Tools to try: Guest blogging websites such as Blogger LinkUp, Guestr and Guest Crew.
Idea: Reach out to a local hospice care center and write a post about the benefits of planning for your end-of-life.
#6: Guides
Evergreen Mortuary, Cemetery and Crematory has experienced a lot of success with this landing page that requests potential leads’ information in exchange for their pre-planning guide. To view this page live, click on the image.
FACT: 42 percent of consumers look to online content for information about potential purchases.
Think of a guide as the most epic blog post, ever. It’s going to be longer (most are downloadable), more in detail (usually more than 1,500 words), and more valuable than the average blog post – which is why most guides require some sort of request or opt-in to be downloaded. Since most consumers are woefully uneducated about their end-of-life options, this is the perfect opportunity for you to offer your potential families useful, lead-generating content.
Think about it this way: who wouldn’t choose the funeral home that goes out of their way to help people make their funeral planning process easy and painless? Just remember that a guide requires a landing page of some sort (see example above), good idea, a good designer and an even better writer. Whatever you do, don’t skimp out on those important details.
Tools to try: Google Docs (for drafting/editing), 99Designs (design marketplace), Evernote (for brainstorming).
Idea: Take a few of your best blogs and turn them into an all-encompassing guide on pre-planning, personalizing, celebrating etc. The possibilities are endless!
#7: Case studies
FACT: 8 out of 10 people say that opinions and recommendations from people they don’t know indicate brand quality and influence what they buy.
What’s the most sure-fire way to let your potential families know they’re in good hands? By letting your past families tell them why you’re so awesome, of course. A case study is basically a story that shows your potential families “this is what we do, how we do it, and how we’ve helped our families”. In order to write a case study, you’ll need to interview families you’ve served before (not imaginary ones). Once you interview them, write your case study (or have someone write it for you) and publish it on your website, put it on your marketing materials, print it out… show it off to the world! If you need some extra help putting together a case study, here’s a killer guide, compliments of KISSmetrics.
Tools to try: Interviewing tools like SurveyGizmo, SurveyMonkey, and Google Forms.
Idea: Once you write your case study, take it to the next level and turn it into an infographic, a video, a blog, and a social media post.
Over to you…
As you can see, there are a TON of different types of content your funeral home can start creating without expending a lot of time or effort. My biggest piece of advice for you is to start with content ideas that can be transformed into multiple types of media. How awesome would it be if you came up with a blog post idea that turned into an infographic, video and a case study? The more types of content you create, the more potential your content has for your funeral business.
Regardless of its form, content speaks to an audience. Your audience. When you produce content, they’ll listen, like, share, and learn from it. See the potential? If you don’t believe us, learn about how content marketing transformed O’Connor Mortuary’s business. And once you’re a believer in content marketing, get out there and start creating content! Then tell us about your success in the comments below 🙂
PS. Don’t forget about the center of your content efforts…
Your website. Without the right website, your content marketing efforts might not result in the ROI you were hoping for. Want to see how your website is doing? Talk to one of our website specialists by clicking here or give us a call at 800-798-2575, ext. 5 today!
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Thanks for including Content marketing in your post.
Great article lot tips & stuff included thank you
I liked that you pointed out that having a video on your site can really help bring in new customers. Personally, I would like to be able to see what a funeral home looks like or what services they offer in a video before going to the physical location. That seems like it would help speed up research.
Thanks Penelope, we agree! Glad you found this valuable, it means a lot!
Very interesting topic for content marketing. Content is king according to google. Good Work
Manshu
Digital Marketing Expert
https://www.quantum-coders.com/
I love this you can also read my poems during your leisure time poem on independent