funeralOne Blog » Blog Archive 14 Easy Funeral Marketing Tips You Should Try This Fall

14 Easy Funeral Marketing Tips You Should Try This Fall

August 16th, 2019

By Rochelle Rietow

“Marketing is my favorite part of running my funeral business!” said no one…ever.

We know getting into that funeral marketing groove can be a challenge, so we put together this list of 14 inspiring and easy ideas to get your funeral home’s marketing juices flowing.

While going through these tips, remember to take it one step at a time and watch your marketing game improve dramatically. It’s all about getting into the mindset and letting small actions lead to bigger ones.

You got this! Check out these tips below:

1. Take stock of the content you already have

Let’s start by taking a look at everything you’ve already put out there! This will help give you a sense of what’s working for your business and what doesn’t resonate with your audience. Take some time to shift old content that wasn’t a big hit and take note of what your clients really want to hear about. You can stockpile the most successful content to revamp and post online with a fresh take, since these reflect what’s really working for your funeral home.

2. Create new content only you can produce

Everyone has something unique to offer! Become a thought leader by sharing your expertise on the topics you’re most passionate and knowledgeable about. Your perspective is informed by your lived experience making your ideas and knowledge something only YOU can share with the world!

3. Focus on quality over quantity

Pumping out cookie cutter content only fatigues your audience when the real magic comes from engaging with them. Interacting with your client families increases your visibility beyond measure!. So get deeper with your content! Try asking questions and share truly original ideas that inspire others to get into the conversation.

4. Engage as a friend on social media

Who do you get excited to interact with on social media? A business that’s promoting a sale, or your friend that’s sharing something from the heart? Strive to be the latter, and you’ll notice right away that people want to interact with fun stories and share empathy, not just be sold yet another service.

5. Find out where to share your expertise

There are more platforms than just your own! You have knowledge to share – check out other places you could be engaging. Consider being interviewed on a podcast or writing a guest blog for another funeral professional. Not only are you getting introduced to a new audience, you’re also building trust and community with your fellow funeralpenuers!

6. Remember that client families can do some of the work for you

Ask families you’ve worked with to share testimonials and stories about your time together. You could even have a weekly spotlight for client families, where you share their stories and what work they do in the community giving them a boost as well! Plus, they’ll be inspired to share your post with their audience, so it’s a win-win for everybody.

7. Boost your knowledge with free trainings

It’s exhausting keeping up with the ever-changing skill of funeral marketing. Luckily, you can brush up with the latest trends and methods by taking one of these many free courses on social media & marketing. If online isn’t your thing, look out for in-person meet ups at your local community college or with small business support groups.

8. Identify your ideal client

In order to speak directly to the people you most want to work with, you need to know who those people are and what it is they need and want from you. Take some time thinking about the families you’ve loved working with. Make lists of who they were and why your relationship is so successful. You’ll start to notice trends, and these will help you create content that resonates not only with new potential clients, but the ones you’ve already been working with.

9. Build a framework to better understand your audience

While you’re considering who your current and potential client families are, try using the “See Think Do Care” framework to really understand how they think!

Take a piece of paper and make four column heads: See, Think, Do and Care.

The “See” column is anyone who could potentially use your services.
The “Think” column is the same individuals, only including those who are thinking about your brand.
The “Do” column is people ready to buy use your services
The “Care” column includes customers who have worked with you more than twice.

Now that your client families are organized, take a look at what signals they’re sending you about what services they need. This can include things like keyword searches, page views and what posts they like and comment on. Record these indicators in the columns and take note of any trends.

Some other questions to ask while collecting these insights are:

How did they find you?
How did they end up reaching out to your funeral home?
What did they enjoy about your services the most?
Where could you likely reach a similar audience?

10. Breathe some new life into your website

Your funeral home website is often the first impression you’ll give to potential client families. Is it truly representing you and your unique services to your full advantage?

Tip: Building a website can be a lot of work, but luckily the f1Connect website platform can help you build the website of your dreams with cutting edge technology that highlights all you have to offer your client families in a beautifully designed and engaging way.

11. Tell potential client families who you are!

Why should someone choose to work with you out of the sea of funeral homes out there? Because you know what families need and that you are the person to help them! They need to know who you are as a business owner and funeral director if they’re going to be inspired to work with you.

So get ready to celebrate your strengths and write a bio that highlights all your passion, expertise, and unique experiences that make you the awesome death care professional you are.

12. Share resources on social media

You don’t have to do all the work of creating original content for every single post you make on social media. Use your platform to share resources with families, like these 6 Affirmations for the Modern Griever or these 15 Inspirational Quotes on Death, Dying & Grief.

Consider the local businesses you can partner with who offer support groups and other services you can feature on your social media. Create a post where families are sharing resources that have helped them! Get people engaged by getting them connected to the resources they need.

13. Get creative with your newsletter

If you don’t already have a newsletter, it’s definitely time to get one. Mailchimp offers a free and easy to use platform for easily connecting with your client families.

But what do you say in your newsletter? It’s a great place to be a storyteller. This can go so many ways – the story of your funeral home, how you become a death care professional, an inspiring service you’ve held, your personal experiences with death and grief and how they have shaped you, the list goes on and on.

At the end of your newsletter remember to invite others to share their stories with you, this creates a personal connection they are sure to remember when considering funeral services.

14. Create a free offering

Your newsletter is also an awesome place to give the people what they really want – free stuff! Consider using a free offering such as a pre need planning kit or free attendance to a workshop you’re hosting as an incentive for families to sign up for your newsletter. Make sure to put the offering at the bottom of the newsletter so they get to read all of the epic content you prepared for them first!

We hope that these ideas have gotten you excited about investing your time and energy back into promoting your business. A little planning and effort can go a long way, try out one idea at a time and build up your confidence. You have an awesome business, and the world needs to hear about it!

What is one new marketing technique you’re going to try this week? We’d love to hear about it in the comments below!