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3 X 5 Free Social Media Resources for Funeral Homes & Cemeteries

December 16, 2010 By Robin Heppell Leave a Comment

Welcome to my collection of Free Social Media Resources for Funeral Homes and Cemeteries.  This is part of my Funeral Social Media Week Promotion.  This promotion is in conjunction with the launch of the New & Improved Traffic Geyser Tools and Social Media Marketing Machines.

Also, don’t forget to register for my free webinar this Friday:

Advance Social Media Strategies for Funeral Homes & Cemeteries

Fri, Dec 17, 2010 1:00 PM to 3:00 PM EST / 10:00 AM to 12 NOON PST

Registration Information
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What is your biggest question about Social Media for the Funeral Industry?

Below I have create 3 Groups of Social Media Resources for you – that are all free to use.  If you wish, please leave your favorite free social media resources in the comments section.

5 Free Funeral Industry Friendly Social Media Icons

There are hundreds of free social media icons available for download on the Internet, but some aren’t appropriate for your funeral home or cemetery website.  Here is a list of my top 5 choices.

3 X 5 Free Social Media Resources for Funeral Homes & Cemeteries social media check it out IconDock.com – Vector Social Media Icons: Classy icons in original colors and vector based so that you can scale the icons to the desired size. IconsEtc.com – Blue White Pearls Icons: Very classy, all white with blue icons. For other colors with the white pearls design, click here for the White Pearls Icons Custom Search. MediaLoot.com – New Social Media Icons: Original colored icons with slight embossed border. ChethStudios.net – White Magik Social Icon Pack: Similar to the white pearl, these icons have the original colors for each social media website. IconsEtc.com – Blue Jelly Icons: Glossy, all blue icons. For other colors with the jelly style, click here for the Jelly Icons Custom Search.
Honorable Mention: IconsEtc.com – Whitewashed Star Patterned Icons: Maybe not for funeral homes but have a cut-stone look to them and could be appropriate for Monument Dealers.

If you would rather have all of your social media set up done for you, just click this button

3 X 5 Free Social Media Resources for Funeral Homes & Cemeteries social media check it out and we would be happy to get you all set up in a week!

5 of My Favorite Free Online Social Media Tools

Ping.FM: A social media account aggregater where you can send one update out to your various social profiles like Facebook, LinkedIn & Twitter. Feedburner: FeedBurner is a web feed management tool that provides custom RSS feeds and management tools to podcasters, and other web-based content publishers. This service is owned by Google and will also automatically take your new website posts and tweet them to your twitter account.  Although other services do this as well, this set up gets pushed instantly through Google’s system – letting Google know immediately that you have new website content. iGoogle Dashboard + Google News Gadget: By adding the Google News Gadget to your iGoogle Dashboard and adding topics that would be relevant to connecting to you and your community, all of the latest news gets sorted and funneled right into your lap. Then you can re-purpose this by sharing it on your blog, Facebook or Twitter. HootSuite: Similar to Ping.FM, HootSuite allows you to schedule your updates in advance. I placed it under the iGoogle Dashboard because you can now gather a week’s worth of content from your iGoogle / Google News dashboard and then schedule it to be distributed out over a number of days – all with in an hour… now that’s smart social marketing! iTunes Podcast Network: The most overlooked & powerful tool right at your fingertips.  3 to 5 years a Podcasts were for techies, but now with so many people having “pod-catching” devices including you – whether it is your computer, iPad, iPod, Zune, iPhone, Blackberry, Android, or other smartphone, you have the ability to receive and consume podcasts.  As a learner, you can get the latest training on any subject – more up-to-date than any university program – my beat up iPod is literally my Online Marketing MBA!  On the other hand (or in the other hand) of your potential client families,

Animoto is a great and easy way to create promotional videos

3 X 5 Free Social Media Resources for Funeral Homes & Cemeteries social media check it out

(You can even make Video Tributes & DVDs)

5 of My Favorite Free Social Media Plugins for WordPress

AddThis Social Bookmarking Widget:  The AddThis Social Bookmarking Widget allows any visitor to bookmark and share your site easily with many popular services. RSS Footer: This plugin makes it easy to add a line of content to the beginning or the end of all the articles in your feeds, for instance to display a link back to your website. Simple Facebook Connect: Simple Facebook Connect is a series of plugins that let you add any sort of Facebook Connect functionality you like to a WordPress blog. This lets you have an integrated site without a lot of coding, and still letting you customize it exactly the way you’d like. Social Profiles Widget: This plugin/widget allows you to insert icon links to your social profiles in any widgetized area. WPTouch: WPtouch automatically transforms your WordPress website into an iPhone application-style theme, complete with ajax loading articles and effects, when viewed from an iPhone, iPod touch, Android, Opera Mini, Palm Pre, Samsung touch and BlackBerry Storm/Torch mobile devices.
Filed Under: Check it Out!, Social Media Tagged With: facebook, funeral youtube, marketing, social media, twitter

Video: Secure Your Vanity URL for Facebook

May 7, 2010 By Robin Heppell Leave a Comment

If you are on Facebook, you should do this now! This 2:29 video shows you how to claim your Vanity URL for your Facebook page.

This page contained an embedded video. Click here to view it.
Filed Under: Gain Greater Exposure, Social Media, Videos Tagged With: facebook

Video: Facebook Ads – Tips & Resources

February 18, 2010 By Robin Heppell Leave a Comment

Here is a 9:35 minute video about how you can use Facebook Ads to “Narrow-Cast” – opposite of Broadcast – to connect with specific markets.  Just to let you know, if you are interested getting more training about Facebook Ads at the end of the video I recommend that you register for Ryan Deiss’ Facebook Ad Power program.  Even if you don’t register for his program, you will get some great gems from both my video and his.

www.FuneralFuturist.com/Facebook-Ad-Power

Disclosure: If you register for Ryan’s program through the link above, I will receive a referral fee – but also you will receive free admission to my Funeral Facebook Ads Workshop in March.

Still have questions about Facebook Ads?

Let me know if you have any questions about Facebook Ads, please email them to me at robin@funeralfuturist.com OR leave a comment below…

Thanks.

…Hepp

Filed Under: Check it Out!, Gain Greater Exposure, Increase Market Share, Social Media, Videos Tagged With: facebook, social media, social networks

ICCFA 2010 “Technology Track” Announcement

October 20, 2009 By Robin Heppell 2 Comments

If you are interested in the “Technology Track” at the ICCFA 2010 Convention, please watch this video and add your name to the “Early Notification List” below. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Future Speaking Events, Speaking Engagements Tagged With: facebook, iccfa, linkedin, social media, twitter, youtube

Create Your Own Wire Service

June 12, 2009 By Robin Heppell 2 Comments

Funeral Industry Technology: As a follow up to the Funeral Facebook Formula class in May, I showcased my “Information Gathering Dashboard” and I promised that I would make a video on how you can create one for yourself – here it is…
[Read more...]

Filed Under: Gain Greater Exposure, Marketing, Social Media, Video Tutorials Tagged With: expert, facebook, funeral home websites, funeral technology, google, twitter, video

Best Practices for Funeral Directors to use Facebook

May 26, 2009 By Robin Heppell 1 Comment

Best Practices for Funeral Directors to use Facebook social media marketing google exposure articles When I was young and visiting my Grandparents at the family funeral home – EganFuneralHome.com in Bolton, Ontario – I would spend a lot of time with him walking into town, going to the post office and running other errands.  I was always amazed about how many people knew him and that he knew them.  His success – just like other past generation Funeral Directors – could be attributed to being a helpful member of community, whether professionally or in other activities. They knew, they liked him, and when they needed his services, they could trust him.

Since life is different nowadays and there are a lot less people in the “social hubs” than there was 50 years ago, it doesn’t mean that you have to go to the same places that Gramps hung out – he was where the people were.  You should apply the same philosophy – Go To Where The People in Your Community Are!

Now, I’m not saying quit all of the groups that you are currently involved with – but you should take some quick inventory on your time invested vs. the exposure and reach that you get.

If you think that I am just pushing this Facebook stuff on you because I am a bit of a techie – you’re wrong.  I’m trying to tell you that it is probably one of the biggest networks in your town and you need to be there!

Do you know how many people in your market are on Facebook? Would you be surprised that I could tell you exactly how many to the individual, gender, age? It’s easy to find out – and also you can advertise so directly it would blow you away!

But before we get into my Funeral – Facebook Formula, you have to make sure that you have the basic foundation of Facebook Profiles and Pages.  So we are going to build off of the 7 Mistakes Funeral Directors make with Facebook article, I want to outline what the Best Practices are for Funeral Directors for using Facebook.

The purpose of this “Best Practices” is to cut through all of the noise and give you the straight goods and short-cut the learning process for you as I teach you to nurture your online relationships to build your community, increase your credibility and visibility because people want to do business with people that they Know, Like, and Trust – Facebook can help you achieve that!

I don’t want Facebook to be a new time-waster although I must warn you: if you are new to Facebook, it is easy to get sucked in, connecting with old friends, checking photos, playing games, taking quizzes, etc. Anyway, after the initial rush wears off, it will be back to business – relationship building business that is!

This Best Practices is really going to get you up and running, but when you want to kick it into hi-gear, you should check out my Funeral – Facebook Formula seminar <– Click for more information

Before we get into the Nuts & Bolts, we need to know the difference between Profiles and Pages.

Facebook Profile Pros

You can have one-on-one interaction You create a feeling of a more personal connection You gain “perceived” credibility with more Friends Your Friends can message you (pro from their perspective) You can be Tagged in photos and videos and appear automatically (sometimes good)

Facebook Profile Cons

You need to have mutual agreement for friending People must be Facebook members and logged in to view You can’t message all friends  at once or you could get banned You are limited to 5,000 friends You could get inundated with messages in your Inbox You can be Tagged in photos and videos and appear automatically (sometimes bad)

Facebook Fan Page Pros

You can have an unlimited number of fans You have the ability to message an entire group Your page can be accessed by the public (no Facebook login required + it can be indexed by Google (see naming below) Your Page appears in homepage stream which is a great way to remind your Friends about updates and new content People have opted in to hear updates about your business, unlike your profile

Facebook Fan Page Cons

It is sometimes hard to get people to become Fans The term “Fan†is a little weird, especially when applied to a Funeral Home Doesn’t feel like a personal connection You don’t have the same personal relationship as you only post as the “Business” not as yourself

Best Practices for Funeral Directors to use Facebook social media marketing google exposure articles Ok, now that we know some of the differences, let’s build both a Profile and a Page – leveraging the Pros to our advantage.

Profile Set Up – Phase 1 (1 hour):

Select an appropriate photo: one that best connects you to your audience Upload Contacts from Email Accounts / Outlook: (I skip the “Invite Others To Facebook”) Complete the Profile information: make it as complete as possible but keep within your comfort level. Complete Education and Work Profile Information: this makes it easier for your old contacts to find you List all of your websites under contact information Create Memorable Web Address Upload Contacts from Email Accounts / Outlook

Profile Set Up – Phase 2 (1 to 2 hours + ongoing):

Search Friends’ Friends List Search Groups and Fan Pages for possible contacts: You don’t even have to join the group – just see who the members are. But join if you think that it would be valuable Search Your Competitor’s Friends: click on the View Friends link and add any friends that you think would be appropriate to friend

Notes: When entering a website address (URL) make sure that you use the “http://” before the www… as that will make the link clickable.

Fan Page Set Up – Phase 1

Choose the Category > Local > Event Planning Service OR Professional Service Choosing the Right Name – Place Important Keywords together with your company’s name such as ‘Your Town’ Funeral Homes (unless that is a competitor’s name) | Your Funeral Chapel (see McCall’s example) Upload your logo or an appropriate photo – make sure that it is recognizable and if possible, have some personality Complete the Edit Information Upload Photos and Tag yourself or staff members if appropriate Upload Videos – How To and FAQ videos would be preferred over commercials – again you are trying to build a relationship, not to sell anything (don’t exclude commercials – just limit them) Add Links to helpful information from your website Suggest To Friends – Be selective to who you invite at the beginning until you really have your page “super-charged”

Please remember, Facebook Pages and How Funeral Homes Can Use Facebook are a Work in Progress, these are some general best practices (for now). Here are some examples of Facebook Pages that you can use as a guide to creating your Page:

http://companies.to/mccallbros http://companies.to/rmdfuneralhome http://companies.to/maquoketaareaobituaries http://companies.to/johnsonconsulting http://companies.to/funeralfuturist

There are others that I would have like to list but they haven’t used the “Memorable Page” application.

If you are interested in learning how to USE Facebook for your funeral business, I know you will get a lot out of my Funeral Home – Facebook Formula seminar that is going to be held Thursday, May 28. Replays will be available if you can’t make it.  This seminar is going to be the first of my monthly training course called: FuneralFuturistU – Internet Marketing for Funeral Professionals.  For more information and registration details visit: www.FuneralFacebookFormula.com.

Filed Under: Articles, Gain Greater Exposure, Google, Marketing, Social Media Tagged With: best practices, facebook, Funeral, social networks

7 Mistakes Funeral Directors Make with Facebook

May 18, 2009 By Robin Heppell 2 Comments

It seems like Funeral Directors are going “Facebook Crazy” – every day I am receiving friend requests from Funeral Directors and seeing Funeral Homes creating profiles, pages, and groups.

The problem is that I see a ton of mistakes being made – most inadvertently because there is not a lot of direction and guidance available on HOW to use Facebook properly for the Funeral Industry.

There is no Best Practices for Funeral Homes and Facebook (not yet anyway) but I have been really digging deep into what IS the best way for funeral directors to harness the power of Facebook from a Relationship & Loyalty Building (Marketing) strategy without crossing the line of doing business in a social community.

7 Mistakes Funeral Directors Make with Facebook social media marketing google exposure competition strategy articles You have heard me say it before – and this won’t be the last time – the funeral industry is a “relationship business” where people serve people and buildings, cars, and merchandise are secondary.  When my Great-Grandfather started the undertaking business, and my Grandfather took it over – they built it on building relationships within their community. They did this by being involved in various networks of the day – Church, Lodge,  Rotary, Town Council, etc.  Fast forward 75 years and networks within communities are still very important – they may be the same networks as they used to be or may be different ones.

Even though Facebook is a virtual community, it is growing faster than any other network of people in your community.  Let’s take a look at some of the numbers (Source CheckFacebook.com as of May 18, 2009 – pretty current eh!):
7 Mistakes Funeral Directors Make with Facebook social media marketing google exposure competition strategy articles Global Audience: 192,406,840

United States 60,989,380 United Kingdom 17,839,940 Canada 11,443,520 Turkey 9,531,440 France 9,510,400 Italy 9,424,120 Australia 5,599,000 Colombia 4,568,280 Chile 4,504,560 Spain 4,478,380

United States Age Distribution:

18 – 24: 30.6% (18,338,140) 25 – 34: 27.6% (16,535,280) 35 – 44: 17.7% (10,592,180) 14 – 17: 10.2% (6,089,780) 45 – 54: 8.4% (5,023,380) 55 – 65: 3.6% (2,164,420) 65+: 1.4% (861,340) 0 – 13: 0.6% (348,340)

The 55 and over crowd have over 3 million members in the US. For perspective if this group of 55+ Facebook users were a city – it would be the 3rd largest between LA and Chicago.

One last thing before I get into the 7 Mistakes Funeral Directors make with Facebook is that there are more females on Facebook than men:

Females: 57.4% (34,657,940) Males: 42.6% (25,677,840)

We know women make more buying decisions than men and we have also been told that women regard relationships as very important (hopefully us guys have figured that out by now).

7 Mistakes Funeral Directors Make with Facebook

Not On Facebook Yet: Sign Up For Facebook
Please see the stats above – if you’re not on Facebook yet, I included those stats for you – don’t worry, it’s not too late, sign up today When you do sign up, please add me as a friend: http://profile.to/robinheppell/
Non-Passionate Status Updates: “Monday again, Hump Day, TGIF, Work Sucks” plus others that I can’t repeat
I know that it’s not all about work, but as funeral professionals we are always in the public eye – even online; keep the venting to private conversations – you never know if a family member can see your status even when your privacy settings are set
Not Showing Families How to Add Obits to Their Profile: Let family members promote your online obits to their Facebook community
Whether you have a Facebook profile or not you can harness the power of Facebook to drive traffic to your online obituaries by teaching families how to add their loved one’s obit into their profile so that all of their friends can see it, and then go to your site to leave a condolence When I look at my clients’ Google Analytics (website stats) I am amazed that Facebook is usually in the Top 5 Referrers category Sample from McCallBros.com: Add An Obituary To Facebook
Creating a PROFILE for the Funeral Home instead of  a PAGE: Profiles are for People and Pages are for Businesses
If you have your Profile as your Funeral Home and not you personally, here’s what you do:
Create a Profile under your Personal name and once you have built up your profile, then invite all of the Friends from the first profile to your new one Create a Page under the Funeral Home name and copy all of the pertinent information over – then once it is established you can start to invite people to become a “Fan”
Not “Claiming” your Memorable Web Address for your Profile and Business Page: Do not let your competitor “Claim Your Name”
Here are my Memorable Web Addresses:
Robin Heppell (Profile): http://profile.to/robinheppell/ FuneralFuturist.com (Page): http://companies.to/funeralfuturist/
Having A “Profile” Picture that is Too STIFF: Is your profile picture with you in your “Stripes” or other Funeral Attire?
You want to connect with your “Community” – the more they can relate to you (as a parent, spouse, soccer coach, etc.) the better – could you change your picture so that you could be “more like them?” NOTE: “But Hepp, your profile picture is you in a suit!” Exactly – see the previous bullet point – … connect with ‘your’ community
Do Not Actively Build Your Friend List: The more people that you can connect with in your community, the better – it will not hurt you to have too many friends on Facebook – well, until you hit the maximum of 5,000
Here are 3 ways to grow your “Friends” list:
Upload your “Contacts” from your Outlook or Outlook Express View the Friends of the Most Popular people in your community and “Add as Friend” if you think that it is appropriate to do so Search Groups and Fan Pages for Local Organizations like Chamber of Commerce, Rotary, Church Groups, etc.
NOTE: Just a little bit of advice – create Lists to segment your Friends such as Family, School Friends, Funeral Peers, [Your Town's Name] Connections, etc.  You will thank me later.

I hope that this gets you going on the right track with your Facebook experience.  I have received a lot of feedback from my Newsletter subscribers about their thoughts regarding Facebook which I will go into a little deeper later this week – stay tuned!

…Hepp

PS: What are your thoughts on Facebook and the Funeral Industry?  Have you had any successes (or secure any calls) as a result of Facebook? Please share your thoughts below…

Filed Under: Articles, Competition & Strategy, Gain Greater Exposure, Google, Marketing, Social Media Tagged With: Build Loyalty, facebook, funeral directors, funeral homes, relationships

Part 2 – Social Networks: Relationship Marketing for Funeral Homes

September 9, 2008 By Robin Heppell Leave a Comment

This is the 1st section of the presentation where we talk about Social Networks like Facebook, MySpace, and LinkedIn.  This video is XX minutes long.  See the text below the video for links to the “Letter to Families” mentioned in the video as well as a link to all of my Social Networks.

Resources:

Letter To Bereaved Families Hep’s Social Network Links

Please give me your feedback below…

Filed Under: Build Loyalty, Gain Greater Exposure, Newsletter 2008 10, Social Media Tagged With: facebook, funeral home marketing, linkedin, relationship marketing, social networks, twitter
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