February 2021

Page A10 FEBRUARY 2021 FUNERAL HOME & CEMETERY NEWS Se c t i on A Are Severed Fingers on Your Facebook Page? (Part 1) FUNERAL HOME & CEMETERY NEWS www.nomispublications.com Monthly Columns online at Dr. Troyer’s free library of Facebook tutorial videos can be found at www.JasonTroyer.com. Dr. Jason Troyer is a grief expert, author, former psychology profes- sor, and therapist. He helps funeral homes and cemeteries connect with their communities through Facebook content and grief support materials. He frequently provides community presentations, profes- sional workshops, and trainings across the country. In addition to providing his Facebook content service and pre- sentations, he also works at Smith Funeral & Cremation Service & Grandview Cemetery in Maryville, TN. Dr. Troyer can be reached at DrJasonTroyer@gmail.com. You can view all of his video tutorials and learn more at www.JasonTroyer.com. By Jason Troyer, PhD Facebook Made Easy ness’s page. The problem with reviews on an unofficial Facebook page is that the business owner doesn’t know they are there and you don’t get notified when the next one is posted. You’re just flying blind and the negative review is hanging out in the wind for everyone to see. I think you can see why unofficial Facebook pages can be so problematic. In my next column, I’ll discuss how to know if you have an unofficial Facebook page (and why it is important even if you have an Official Page) as well as how to “claim” an unofficial Facebook page and gain control of it. I also tell you how it was possible for severed fingers to show up on XYZ Funer- al Home’s page. Feel free to contact me with questions and to visit www.JasonTroyer.com/facebookschool for helpful videos. * I assure you this was a real situation with a real pic- ture of severed fingers for a funeral home’s profile pic - ture on Facebook. You can’t make stuff like this up. But I didn’t want to embarrass the funeral home – it wasn’t their fault – so the business’s name has been changed. cemetery as they visit their mother’s place of final rest. If Facebook can’t find an official page for your business, then Facebook automatically goes out and searches for your business on the internet. After they find your web- site, they will copy the phone number and address to create an unofficial Facebook page with your business’s name and contact information on it. Not only that, but they may pull images from your website to use as images on this newly created unofficial Facebook page – and it has your business name and contact information on it. How Can an Unofficial Facebook Page Hurt My Business? Unofficial Facebook pages are sometimes called “zom- bie” pages – because no one is controlling them and they just hang out there on Facebook. They can hurt your business in two ways: (1) You don’t have control over them, and (2) You don’t know they exist. Unofficial pag- es, by definition, do not have an owner or an adminis- trator. People can post on the unofficial page (including posting pictures and videos) and can also leave reviews. Usually this is harmless. People will typically post pic- tures of a funeral or cemetery service or post images of a gravesite or pictures of their loved ones. But here’s where the second problem comes in: you don’t know what people are posting on the unofficial page be- cause you won’t be notified. While most posts to an unof- ficial page are harmless, that isn’t always the case. Imagine if a disgruntled former employee or competitor discov- ered that you had an unofficial Facebook page. They could post anything they wanted: negative comments, rude or obscene pictures, or anything. And everyone who searched for the page could find those rude comments or pictures – and worse, you would never know it was there until someone told you or you searched for it. Another concern is that people can leave reviews on un- official Facebook pages. The problem is that you are nev- er notified of these reviews. Thankfully, most reviews are likely to be positive. But most business owners I know want to have the option to respond to a negative review. Responding to a review allows you to give your side of the story. Perhaps you can convince them to take it down or perhaps the reviewer left a review on the wrong busi- This was a real telephone conversation I had last month with XYZ* Funeral Home. Jason: Hi, this is Jason Troyer and I help fu- neral homes with their Facebook page. Do you know that your funeral home’s Facebook page has a picture of severed fingers on it? XYZ Funeral Home: What? We don’t even have a Facebook page. At this point, I’m sure they think I’m some sort of weirdo or spammer. Jason: Are you in front of a computer? Yes? Do me a favor. Just type your name: ‘XYZ Fu- neral Home’ into Facebook. XYZ Funeral Home: Ok. Give me just a sec- ond…Why is our funeral home’s name on this Facebook page? What is that in the picture?!? Jason: That is an “unofficial” Facebook page for your funeral home and that is an image of fake severed fingers as your profile picture. So what’s going on here? Let’s talk about what an “un- official” Facebook page is, where they come from, how they can hurt your business, and how severed fingers ac- tually showed up on this particular funeral home’s page. What is an Unofficial Facebook Page & Where Does It Come From? Facebook appears to create unofficial Facebook pag- es for businesses when someone tries to “check-in” or “tag” your business through Facebook. If you don’t have an official Facebook page for your business, Face- book will create an unofficial page. One challenge is that an unofficial page can often look like a legitimate page because it will often list your business address, phone number, and website. And in case it isn’t clear, unofficial Facebook pages can be seen by anyone who searches for your business. So, let’s say you have not created a Facebook page for your funeral home or cemetery, and then someone vis- its your facility for a service and they want to “check in” on Facebook. An example of a check-in might be someone posting that they are “Visiting Mom on Mother’s Day” and then “checking in” or tagging your Security National Financial Corporation again named “Top Workplace in Utah” SALT LAKE CITY,UT— Security National Finan- cial Corporation (NASDAQ-SNFCA) has again been named as one of Utah’s Top Workplaces. On December 9, 2020, Security National received this award from the Salt Lake Tribune as part of this year’s Top Workplaces employee survey. This is the fifth consecutive year that the Security National family of companies has ployee satisfaction surveys. Energage utilizes a proprie- tary scoring and ranking system that confidentially ana- lyzes the results of employee surveys. Despite the extraordinary difficulties experienced through- out the country this year, Security National has seen tremen- dous growth in both its employee base and financial results. The Company views the award as a validation that its CO- VID protocols and revised employee processes have contrib- uted to increased employee efficiency and satisfaction. Through its three business segments; Life Insurance, Mort- gage Lending, and Mortuaries and Cemeteries, the Com- pany has experienced continued growth, allowing it to pro- vide good jobs in many communities throughout the nation. Winning this award for five straight years is a great honor and a testament to the high level of employee satisfaction in the Company and to the valuable opportunities the Com- pany provides to its employees to help them further their ca- reers. For more information, visit www.securitynational.com been named as a top place to work in the “large com- panies” category. The Top Workplaces Award recog- nizes the best organiza- tions, as voted by their em- ployees. The 2020 Top Workplac- es employee survey was conducted by Energage, which specializes in em- Park Lawn Corporation Announces December 2020 Dividend TORONTO,ONTARIO— Park Lawn Corporation (TSX:PLC) announced that the monthly dividend of $0.038 per share will be payable on January 15, 2021 to share- holders of record at December 31, 2020. PLC provides goods and services asso- ciated with the disposition and memo- rialization of human remains. PLC and its subsidiaries own and operate busi- nesses including cemeteries, crematoria, funeral homes, chapels, planning offic- es and a transfer service. PLC operates in five Canadian provinces and fifteen U.S. states. www. nom i s p u b l i c a t i on s . c om FUNERAL HOME & CEMETERY NEWS