May 2020

Page A10 MAY 2020 FUNERAL HOME & CEMETERY NEWS S ec t i on A The Fan Man, Inc. Fans Calendars Urns Register Books Dresses Advertising Specialties John Mannion “WhatEver You Need” 1-800-671-8280 Cell: 803-417-2940 Thefanman@comporium.net bankersadvertising.com/thefanman White shared that during this dev- astating public health crisis his com- pany is upgrading many family events from the standard 30’-50’ vessels to larger 65’-110’ vessels at no addition- al charge, enabling for safe social dis- tancing for up to 10 passengers aboard at the same time while following pub- lished CDC safety requirements. Capt. White expects full body burials at sea are on hold until after the pan- demic subsides, but in the meantime is offering this scattering upgrade so families can get the healing and closure they need without feeling compelled to make immediate or uncertain final plans while coping with the unexpected loss of their loved one. New England Burials at Sea is the larg- est USCG licensed provider for custom- ized ash scatterings at sea, serving fami- lies from all cultures and creeds, civilian and military, on both coasts of the USA for groups up to 400 people since 2006. The company operates year-round, de- parting from over 73 ports with 86 dif- ferent vessels that are clean and current for personalized and affordable servic- es. They are recognized by the EPA, US Navy, U.S.C.G. and over 2,500 funeral homes and crematories who have taken advantage of their Sea Burial Certified™ training program. For more information visit www.newenglandburialsatsea.com, call (781) 834-7500, or email Ocean- Burial@aol.com. COVID-19 INDUSTRY RESPONSE New England Burials at Sea upgrades services and vessels to account for Social Distancing MARSHFIELD,MA— Cap- tain Brad White , founder of New England Burials at Sea LLC (NEBAS) an- nounced that the company has designed a no charge upgrade program for the increased demand of CO- VID-19 related family scattering requests in 2020. Your Facebook Page Is More Important Than Your Website Did you know your Facebook page can often be more powerful and important than your website for build- ing relationships in your community? Don’t believe me? Here are 4 ways your funeral home or cemetery’s Facebook page is more powerful than your website: 1. Interaction & Feedback Do you ever wish you could get feedback from the people in your community? Facebook is designed for feedback and makes it easy for people to react (with “Likes,” “Hearts,” and other clicks) and comment on your posts. As opposed to your website or an adver- tisement in the newspaper, you can hear directly from your target audience. My funeral home and cemetery customers often get actual feedback like “This reminds me of when…” and “This is just what I needed today.” Furthermore, Facebook is designed to allow you to respond to your community. If someone has a question about a resource or a policy, you can respond to them directly and everyone can see the answer to their ques- tion. In contrast, websites are more like virtual bill- boards; you have no idea how many people see it and you have no opportunity for interaction. 2. Easy to Change When is the last time you changed something on your website (other than posting an obituary/tribute)? How long did it take? In comparison, Facebook is designed to be changed easily and frequently. This includes daily content you might share (videos, pictures, etc.) and your profile or header images. You can post a 1 minute Face- book live video with just a push of a button and have it 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 sup- port materials. He frequently provides community presentations, professional workshops, and trainings across the country. In addition to providing his Facebook content service and presen- tations, 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 are actual comments from funeral home & cemetery Facebook pages). I believe these spontaneous com- ments from local people are more powerful than 5-star reviews. These are endorsements from local people that other Facebook viewers know. Having an active Facebook page with an engaged au- dience gives many opportunities for your biggest fans and Facebook gives them a huge megaphone with which to sing your praises. There really isn’t any way that your website can do that. You should still have a website with clear descriptions of your services, great pictures, and an easy-to-navigate for- mat. But in terms of engagement, ease of adding content, reaching your target audience where they look every day, and letting your biggest fans talk about how great you are to their friends, you cannot beat an active and engaging Facebook page for your funeral home or cemetery. uploaded in less than 2 minutes. Try doing that with your website. The new pictures and content keeps people com- ing back to your Facebook page to see what is new. 3. Reach Your Target Audience People only view your website when they specifically seek it out. They check your website when they have a specific question (e.g., When and where is a service being held, what are the service options, etc.). Conversely, con- tent from your Facebook page will appear on your fol- lowers Facebook feeds without them seeking it out. That means you can have weekly contact with your target mar- ket, without spending money on advertising. Furthermore, did you know that a Statista.com survey from 2019 found that almost 70% of Baby Boomers are on Facebook? This statistic is especially powerful when com- pared with a Pew Research study in 2018 that found only 16% of American adults get their news from a printed news- paper. Baby Boomers are quickly shifting to online resources and social media for their information. The trick is to pro- vide content that they want to see and interact with. This provides a very gentle way to maintain a presence in your community without overwhelming them with advertising. 4. Let Your Biggest Fans Sing Your Praises While it is possible to post quotes from your positive re- views on your website, nothing is more powerful than gen- uine comments that people see on your Facebook page. For example, after you share a grief resource you may see spontaneous comments like, “I so appreciate you sharing this!” and “Thank you for posting!” “You took such great care of our mother we can’t thank you enough!” (These