So, you need to create a social media marketing plan for your funeral home. Not an easy task, is it? But, don’t worry, you are not alone in this -many people and entrepreneurs have a hard time even understanding what social media strategies stand for, let alone building one from scratch.
So, let us explain in this blog what a social media strategy is and how it can contribute to your business.
Social media platforms are more popular than ever and they are growing. Their impact and reach are powerful and undeniable, so why would you deprive yourself of that enormous benefit?!
What is socila media strategy?
To put it simply, every action you take on social media should be part of a broader marketing strategy. This means that every post, reply, like and comment should be guided by a plan that is directly aimed at achieving business goals. It may sound complicated, but if you take the time to create a comprehensive social media strategy, the rest of your efforts will follow naturally. All you have to do is to put an effort into it and approach it seriously to planning and implementing your funeral home social media strategy.
5 Steps you Should Follow for Creating Successful Funeral Home Social Media Strategy
1. Define your Goals
The first step in any social media strategy is to establish and define the goals you want to achieve. When you have clearly defined goals, it allows you to react quickly and adequately if the campaign you are running is not meeting desired goals and expectations. Without determined goals, you have no means of measuring success or proof of ROI (Return on Investment).
These goals should be aligned with your overall marketing strategy, that way your social media efforts will go directly toward your business goals. If your social media strategy supports your business goals, you have a better chance of making a return on your investment and securing new investments.
Taka an extra step and go beyond metrics like „likes“ or „retweets“. Focus on advanced metrics like leads, conversion rate, and web referrals. When setting goals, it would be good to follow the so-called SMART backbone. This means that each goal should be specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound.
Funeral home social media strategy has to be well adjusted, carefully planned and executed – and above all needs to have a compassionate and delicate narrative.
Losing a loved one or a member of a family is hard and stressful. And you, as a funeral home, are the one who can offer a trusted helping hand to them in their time of need.
2. Target your Audience
Don’t be misled by some huge numbers of followers and likes you can often see on your competitor’s social media profiles. Yes, that can mean that they invested in their funeral home’s social media strategy, but more often is the case that they spils a large amount of money on paid advertising without clearly defined parameters, which will make them attract the audience that is really interested in the services they offer. The number of followers is irrelevant if they are not people who will at some point request your service.
Social networks give you the option to choose the audience you want to reach based on a number of relevant parameters, such as gender, age, interests, place of residence, and much more. If you target the audience in the right way, you will get the desired results. Otherwise, you will get a few passive followers, which will not efecct your business in any way.
3. Do a Checkup of your Social Media Channels
Before creating a funeral home social media marketing strategy, you should first assess the current benefits you get from social media and how you use it. This means you need to find out who you are connected to on these networks, then which social media platforms your target group uses the most, and how your social media presence compares to your competition. In simple words, you need to do thorough research before you start building your social media marketing strategy.
Different social media platforms attract different types of audiences and support different forms of content. You need to assess what is it that your audience prefers and expect and base on that data choose first a mix of platforms you will use and then carefully develop content you will share with them.
Once you’ve done this check, you should have a clear picture of how each of your accounts represents your business, what their purpose is, and which account is the main account. This list should be updated regularly, especially if you regularly evaluate the success of your business.
During the review, it should be obvious which accounts need to be updated and which are less useful or not useful at all. You don’t have to be present on all social media channels, there’s no need for that, For a start, it should be enough that you create Facebook and Instagram accounts, and later you can expand your presence by introducing Twitter, and Linkedin or maybe Pinterest.
4. Find Inspiration in Similar Industries, Brands, Competitors, and Clients
Not sure what type of content and information will get you the most engagement? For inspiration, look at what other people in your industry are posting and listen to social media to see how you can differentiate yourself from your competition and what they’re missing too. But remember, always keep your authenticity, because that is what distinguishes you and builds your brand identity.
Consumers can also offer inspiration for social media, not only through the content they post but also through the way they craft their messages. See e.g. how your target audience tweets and try to follow that style. Also, learn their habits – when they post and why – and use that as a base for your social media marketing plan.
The ultimate source of inspiration is the leaders in your industry. In every industry, there are large and successful companies that do a fantastic job on social media, and they’ve managed to set themselves apart from the rest by using advanced marketing strategies. Follow them and learn all you can. Check if they themselves have already shared their tips somewhere.
Funeral home social media marketing strategy consolidation might seem like a challenge, but when you do a little research online, you will see that you’ll find a bunch of fantastic ideas that you can use.
5. Customer Survey
You know perfectly well what your prospective customers need and what are the expectations from your funeral home. But are you aware of what they desire to see on social media platforms when they are in that delicate and fragile situation? People nowadays are overflowed with information and their memory is short, so you need to create a portrayal of your brand on social media that will make it more competitive and proactive. You need to act on time and use all resources at your disposal to always be close to your prospective clients. While designing a funeral home social media strategy you need to consider your customers; in the end, they are the ones who will be knocking at your door, reaching out to you through DMs, messengers, or call your phone number. Funeral services are not pre-planned; hence, your brand needs a strategy that makes people remember you and recall you at a time when they need your services. If you achieve that, that means that you created excelente funeral home social media strategy – one that gives actual results.
To wrap it up, with a funeral home Social Media Marketing strategy correctly utilized and executed, you can
• Attract new clients
• Grow your business significantly
• Build a strong brand identity
• Increase your revenue
