Why Facebook Advertising Works For Funeral Homes (And Best Practices)
January 25th, 2021Remember the good ole’ days when marketing your funeral home was as simple as putting an ad in the newspaper?
Since the newspaper had everything you needed (national and community announcements, news, comics, gossip, opinions, classifieds, sports… etc.) everyone read it, and reaching your target audience was easy!
Even though we still have newspapers, I think by now we all can recognize that newspaper advertising just isn’t what it used to be.
At the height of the newspaper advertising days 20 years ago, newspaper ads accounted for $68 billion in sales. And within the last 14 years, those sales have gone down 75%.
So where did all the advertising go?
Pew research says: it moved to Facebook.
Yes, Facebook. You know… the social media platform that 3 out of 4 people use every single day (and that was in 2019, that is likely higher given the pandemic).
So the question of the hour is: are you advertising on Facebook? If not, you should be! We’ll cover your questions on Facebook advertising, and hopefully inspire you to get started with Facebook ads for your funeral business:
Question: Is Facebook Advertising really worth it?
Here are a few reasons to consider Facebook advertising for your funeral business:
- Audience. Facebook is the 3rd most visited website in the world. The WORLD. If you’re wondering if your target audience is on Facebook, know that 63% of the U.S. population over age 12 uses Facebook.
- Messaging. It’s difficult to mass target people about funeral services. To put it simply, it’s awkward. Facebook, on the other hand, is a “one to one” medium which makes it personal and targeted…and since you sell personal services, this makes much better sense as a platform for advertising.
- Engagement. Unlike a newspaper ad which you send out and hope for the best, Facebook ads get immediate engagement with your target audience. This level of engagement will help you advertise smarter, as your audience is giving you live feedback. Talk about smart advertising.
- Pricing. Facebook advertising is fairly inexpensive compared to some of the traditional marketing routes. In fact in some cases, businesses earn up to $8 for every $1 they spend on Facebook advertising. If that’s not convincing enough, I’m not sure what else is!
Question: Now I understand Facebook is a powerful advertising tool, but how can I be successful in my efforts? I don’t have much time to waste!
In order to create a Facebook ad campaign that works, any business should know about the four pillars of advertising. All your marketing efforts should take these into account:
Pillar #1: Reach
How many people will your ad be shown to?
One really cool thing about advertising with Facebook is that it minimizes the guesswork on your end. You can target very specific audiences based on their interests, location, and even TV shows they watch. And along the way, Facebook will show you exactly how many people are seeing your ads. The platform also lets you set up geofencing, meaning you can target people within your local market specifically.
Pillar #2: Frequency
How often is your ad running? How many times per week / month / year does your target audience see your ad?
The reason it’s important to make sure your Facebook ads are posting frequently is simply that consumers today are inundated with ads. They see so many and forget most of them within minutes. It can be tough to skirt the line between “enough” and “too much”. But, seeing your business pop up regularly makes people much more likely to remember you when the need for funeral planning arises.
Pillar #3: Consistency
How long will you stick with an ad campaign?
It’s easy to get restless waiting to see results from your marketing efforts. So often, businesses will abandon a strategy before giving it any time to gain traction. Funeral homes in particular should never underestimate the value of consistency. More posts eventually result in more engagement, which creates leads and builds your credibility with potential customers.
Pillar #4: Copy
What are you saying about your business?
When creating ads for Facebook, be straightforward about what you do; own it and be proud of it. Too many funeral home ads are almost apologetic when it comes to talking about death and dying. Didn’t you know we’re in the middle of a death positive movement!? What you have to say on these topics is valuable, so don’t underestimate the power of your wisdom. Change up the content in your ads regularly, so that people aren’t seeing the exact same thing over and over.
Question: OK, I think I understand how Facebook advertising works. Now what should I post about?
Before we get into the types of content you can include in your Facebook ads, let’s cover a couple of rules of thumb:
First, it’s absolutely critical to be honest, transparent and straightforward about your services. You’re offering a very targeted service, and you want to make sure your ad attracts those who need your services.
The next most important thing is that your marketing content conveys some kind of feeling. When your post makes people feel a positive emotion, they will associate those good feelings with your firm. It’s usually best to keep each ad very specific, rather than trying to cram every single thing about your company in one post.
These are the kinds of posts that get the most engagement for funeral homes on Facebook:
- Pre-planning information
- Ads touting a family-owned firm
- Historical photos and facts about your firm
- Grief support tips
- Inspiring grief quotes & affirmations
- Tips on planning a service in these COVID-19 times
- Examples of beautiful celebrations of life
- Pictures showing off your beautiful grounds or facilities
- Posts about individual staff members
- Ads with information about service options & how you’ve adapted during COVID-19
- Posts that highlight your unique value
Remember: craft your Facebook ads in a way that conveys your passion for what you do. Tap into the emotions you feel when you see the way your work touches the lives of families, and use those to inform your ad copy.
More resources on Facebook advertising
If this Q & A about Facebook advertising for funeral homes piqued your interest, here are some deeper reads on the topic from industry experts:
- Facebook Ads: The Complete, Always-Updated Guide (via Buffer)
- The Complete Guide to Creating Facebook Ads (via Facebook)
- Why Facebook Works for Funeral Homes: And Everything Else Doesn’t (written by Bill Johnston; the NFDA 2020 Expo speaker who inspired this blog)
There has been too much advertisements about cremation and not enough about traditional or organic burial.