Why Every Mortuary Should Have a Blog
July 23rd, 2012
I always get asked a lot of questions when I tell someone I work at a mortuary… and run their blog. People always ask: “What does a mortuary have to blog about?” – well, that’s a good question!
I didn’t know exactly myself until I began working on the project several months ago with my CEO, Neil O’Connor. He had the foresight several years ago to create a blog, but the content didn’t quite match the grand dreams he had.
At the beginning of this year, he decided a re-vamp was necessary (since blogging was bigger than ever) so he asked for volunteers from our staff to join a blog team.
I initially hesitated, asking the above question & wondering where this could possibly go.
We had our first blog meeting, and we turned in our first blogs, and we all wrote about the same thing: death & the mortuary.Talk about depressing! Our “re-vamp” needed a re-vamp.
Neil approached me about taking over as editor, and after my first blog post failure I felt passionate about making this work. I jumped at the chance to take this on. I just finished a master’s degree in English Literature and editing is something I love doing – who would’ve thought a mortuary could put my degree to some use?
The new game plan was to keep the blog upbeat, providing inspiring, thought-provoking and encouraging content for normal people dealing with the ups & downs of life.
We launched our blog this year on May 1st with a small following of 25. 2 months later, we are at 118. It’s not a huge number but it’s a surprisingly nice following for something as obscure as a mortuary blog!
Here’s why I think it’s working, and why other mortuaries should consider blogging:
Blogging Helps Us Inspire:
We decided to write on a ratio with about 80% of our content being positive, allowing the other 20% to be death or grief-related. We can’t and don’t want to ignore death & grief on our blog, but we also don’t want to be constantly weighing people down with sorrow & pain. Keeping the content uplifting and relevant to people in all different aspects of life is unique to our mortuary blog.
Blogging Keeps Us Active in The Community:
We know that mortuary blogs are probably not going to be the next BIG thing, so keeping the content community related & relevant to our readership is really important. O’Connor has an extensive reputation in our community so incorporating other local businesses, churches, organizations & community figures is something we try to do – and will be exploring more thoroughly.
Blogging Encourages Team Building:
Because our blog team is exclusively made up of our staff, we have been able to learn a great deal about each other through our writing. It’s been a tremendous blessing to learn about my co-workers in such deep and wonderful ways.
Not only do we feel more bonded in our mission to blog & serve our community, but I think the blog has enabled us to present ourselves as a strong united front of professionals, and most importantly, as real people. Our industry does not have a great reputation in the “heart” aspect of service. However, it seems like a lot of that stigma has been erased for anyone who sees our Blog, Pinterest, or Facebook pages.
My hope is that our blog conveys our company’s heart for all the people we interact with.
Overall, it’s been a great experience and a lot of fun discovering what social media can do for a mortuary.
See how you can make your mortuary a positive force in your community by starting up a blog and carving out your niche in the social media world.
What do you think of mortuary blogs? What other ways do you think social media can benefit our industry? Share your thoughts!
Molly –
I realized that after our first month of blogging that I was not the right person to be leading the charge. You have been one of the brightest stars our company has ever had in leadership. I am so proud of you and your dedication to our blog and our team. You are helping change the image of our profession into a more positive light. I am deeply grateful for YOU!
Neil
Very nice words of encouragement Neil 🙂
Molly, you have done an excellent job! We love your blog, and we hope that more funeral professionals can learn from your experience and start using social media and blogging to change the way families view our profession!
– Krystal
funeralOne Blog Lead
Molly,
Congratulations on your new venture!! Way to tackle it head on and gain the respect of other people in the blogging community. So proud of you!!
Kari
Molly,
Great job on getting the mortuary blog up and running. I look forward now to what is coming next with each staff’s blog posts. Thanks for your hard work and dedication to making it a success.
Amy
Molly . .
You, my dear, have brought us into the Social Media world with great success and thunderous applause! I have been so encouraged with the depth of care in writing that our team has brought to our blog page. As you know, our followers are increasing each time we post, and I attribute that to your expertise and your leadership. I’m so excited to see us moving in such a positive direction. Not only within our community, but within our team. I think it has brought us closer together as colleagues, friends and professionals. Thank you !
AP
You two are so very kind. I think growing up around the funeral world I have a very keen understanding of how frightened people are of even thinking about a mortuary, when we all know it isn’t the mortuary itself they fear, but the events connected to it. My hope is that we can soften introductions to the idea of a mortuary through positive community interaction and help alleviate some of the initial negative reactions people might have.
I think blogging is a great way to do this & I’m thrilled to be a part of it.
Pat, I so agree! I remember after our first blog meeting how excited & bonded I felt with my fellow writers & it’s a feeling I’ve chased in each of our meetings. It’s so motivating when there is a shared purpose & goal that everyone is excited about and that’s what we are fortunate to have.
I didn’t expect the “team building” aspect of the blog to come so easily to us but it did & I’m thrilled with the quality and tone that it has given our blog.
I recommend that mortuaries (and any business for that matter) pursue the talents of their employees when it comes to blogging rather than outsourcing the content to a business or team that knows little about the process. We have become closer as friends & coworkers and that love of each other comes across in our blogs & comments. I think there can only be positive reactions to a mortuary whose employees are so willing to be real & share their hearts with their community. It’s a great thing!
Thank you, Amy! I’m so glad that it’s something you look forward to. THAT is a great compliment!
Thank you so much Kari! It is really exciting being a part of something so new and fresh. I’m so excited to see where this will go & am so thankful for your continued encouragement & support!
Way to go Molly! thanks for taking the lead and moving our blog forward with great content and insight. You have been a breath of fresh air, keep it up. I was hesitant I must admit but the need for a mortuary to get involved at this level is now so obvious. In any business, it does not matter what, it is about connecting and creating relationships, this helps to that end.
Chuck Ricciardi
Molly,
I am so happy to be on a team with you as our fearless leader! You are exceeding my expectations and I had already set them very high. I love being able to call or email you when inspiration strikes. Your feedback is always relevant, polite and encouraging. If I do not use your exact edits, at least they put me in the right direction.
The sky is the limit with you in charge!!!
Lori
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