Facebook’s new link restrictions have funeral homes worried about getting obituaries in front of their communities. But Facebook may have actually done funeral homes a favor.
Here we go again.
Facebook changed something, and funeral homes are freaking out.
As Meta rolls out Meta One, some Facebook Pages are beginning to see restrictions that limit them to just two organic posts containing external links per month unless they subscribe to certain paid plans.
For most businesses, that's annoying.
For funeral homes, it feels like a much bigger problem.
Why?
Obituaries.
For years, funeral homes have automatically pushed obituary links from their websites to Facebook. Someone dies, the obituary gets published, a link automatically hits Facebook, and everyone moves on.
Now funeral directors are asking:
What are we supposed to do with our obituaries?
Before we answer that, we need to address something much bigger.
Obituary Links Were Never a Social Media Strategy
I know that might sting a little.
But it's true.
Posting 15, 30 or 60 obituary links every month does not mean your funeral home is "doing social media."
And the data supports it.
Link posts have historically been among the lowest-performing content formats on Facebook. Socialinsider's analysis of millions of Facebook posts found link posts generated significantly less engagement than more native forms of content.
Think about what that means.
For years, funeral homes assumed the value of posting an obituary link on Facebook was distribution.
Publish the obituary.
Push the link to Facebook.
Facebook distributes it to your community.
People click through to your website.
Everybody wins.
Except that's not really what was happening.
Those obituary links weren't getting the distribution you thought they were getting.
And if people aren't seeing the post, they're certainly not driving massive amounts of traffic back to your website from it.
The obituary link wasn't the win you thought it was.
The obituary itself still matters.
The family matters.
The story matters.
The service information matters.
The link format was the weak part.
And that's why Facebook may have actually done funeral homes a favor.
Facebook Is Forcing Funeral Homes to Create Better Content
Instead of automatically dumping another external link onto your Facebook Page, what happens if you turn that obituary into native Facebook content?
Use the person's photograph.
Include their name.
Write a thoughtful summary of the obituary.
Include visitation and service information.
Give people the information they need directly inside Facebook.
Now you've created the type of content that has an opportunity to generate significantly more reach and engagement than an external link.
Think about the difference.
The old strategy was:
Post a link and hope somebody sees it and clicks.
The new strategy becomes:
Create native content people actually see, engage with and associate with your funeral home's brand.
That's the real win.
You could potentially get more obituary distribution, more engagement and more brand awareness by losing the obituary link than you were getting when Facebook allowed you to post as many links as you wanted.
Facebook is forcing funeral homes to create better content.
And better content creates more attention.
More attention creates more familiarity.
More familiarity builds trust.
And when the consumer eventually needs a funeral home, best known wins.
So what should funeral homes do now?
1. Turn Facebook Users Into Obituary Subscribers
This might be the biggest opportunity hiding inside this entire change.
Create a simple video explaining that Facebook is changing how external links are distributed and that the best way to make sure someone never misses a local obituary is to subscribe directly through your funeral home's website.
Then pin that video to the top of your Facebook Page.
But don't stop there.
A pinned post only helps people who actually visit your Page. This needs to become organic content that you create and redistribute regularly.
Every month, remind your community:
Want to receive local obituary notifications? Subscribe on our website.
Now something really important happens.
You're moving that relationship from rented land to owned land.
You don't own Facebook.
You don't own your Facebook followers.
We're all renting space there.
Meta can change the algorithm tomorrow. They can change link rules. They can change reach. They can change what you have to pay for.
But when someone gives your funeral home permission to communicate with them through an email address or mobile number, you've created a direct relationship.
That's an asset you own.
Use Facebook to build that audience instead of depending entirely on Facebook to reach it.
2. Make the Obituary Native Facebook Content (Photo Post)
Instead of posting:
John Smith Obituary → LINK
Create an actual Facebook photo post.
Use the person's photograph.
Include a thoughtful summary of their obituary.
Include visitation, service and other important information directly in the post.
Then tell people:
Full obituary and current service information are always available at YourFuneralHome.com.
The consumer gets the information they need and that post gets more distribution, more comments, and more shares.
You've transformed a low-performing link post into native content that has a much better opportunity for reach and engagement.
That's important because funeral homes have been looking at this backwards.
The goal shouldn't be getting the obituary link distributed.
The goal should be getting the obituary content distributed.
There's a big difference.
If a native photo post reaches more people than the old link post, you've actually increased the exposure of that obituary while simultaneously putting your funeral home's name in front of more people in your community.
More distribution. More engagement. More brand awareness.
That's a win.
3. Build Text Obituary Notifications
Email shouldn't be your only owned channel.
Give your community the ability to receive obituary notifications by text.
Make it simple:
Text OBITS to '12345' to receive local obituary notifications.
Now, instead of hoping Facebook's algorithm decides to show someone an obituary, you're able to communicate directly with people who have asked to receive those notifications.
And once again, you're building something your funeral home owns.
You're capturing permission.
You're building a database.
You're creating a direct communication channel between your funeral home and your community.
That's far more valuable than another Facebook link.
4. Turn Obituaries Into Short Memorial Videos
Here's another opportunity.
You're already receiving photographs from families.
In many cases, you're already producing memorial videos.
Why not create a short 30 to 45-second vertical memorial video specifically for social media?
A few photographs.
The person's name.
Dates.
A short sentence about their life.
Service information.
Done respectfully, you've transformed a static link preview into something human.
And human content is what social media has always been about.
That doesn't mean every obituary needs to become a Reel.
It means funeral homes need to start thinking about how information can be created natively for the platform instead of automatically throwing another link into the feed.
5. Get a Web Address People Can Actually Remember
Here's something funeral homes haven't had to think about much in the social media era:
Your web address is about to matter again.
For years, you could just say:
Click the link.
But if Facebook is going to make links harder to use, we need to get consumers comfortable with going directly to your website.
The problem?
Some funeral homes have website addresses that are ridiculously long, difficult to spell or nearly impossible to remember.
Imagine my funeral home website was:
RyanThogmartinFuneralHomeAndCremation.com
Good luck getting someone to remember that after seeing it in a Facebook post or hearing me say it in a video.
Instead, I might buy something like:
RTFH.com
or
RTFHC.com
The shorter domain doesn't have to replace your existing website or change anything about how your website works.
It can simply redirect people to your existing website.
Now you've got something you can actually market.
Put it in Facebook posts.
Put it in videos.
Put it on graphics.
Say it on camera.
Put it on your vehicles, signage, print materials and anywhere else you're communicating with your community.
"For today's obituaries, visit RTFH.com."
That's a lot easier than hoping someone remembers RyanThogmartinFuneralHomeAndCremation.com.
And this goes beyond obituaries.
If Facebook, Google or any other platform makes it harder or more expensive to send people away from their platform, having a simple, memorable way for consumers to find you directly becomes increasingly valuable.
Your funeral home's website is property you control.
Your Facebook Page isn't.
So make your website easier to find, easier to remember and easier to market.
The fewer clicks we can depend on, the more important your actual brand becomes.
6. Use Your Remaining Links for Something That Matters
If your Page is limited to two external link posts each month, don't waste them.
Think strategically.
Maybe one link promotes obituary subscriptions.
Maybe another drives people to an educational resource, event, preneed opportunity or landing page designed to generate qualified leads.
The question shouldn't be:
How do we recreate the 40 link posts we used to publish every month?
The better question is:
What are the two most valuable actions I could get my Facebook audience to take this month?
That's a much better marketing question.
And that's the mindset shift funeral homes need to make.
Posting Content Is Not the Same as Having a Content Strategy
This problem goes way beyond obituaries.
A huge percentage of funeral homes have outsourced their "social media strategy" to a preneed company or marketing company that automatically posts generic grief quotes, inspirational graphics, canned holiday posts and links to generic articles.
That's not marketing.
That's content getting posted for the sake of saying something got posted.
Some funeral homes are even paying companies to continually drive their audience away from their own brand and onto someone else's website.
Why?
Your Facebook Page should be building YOUR brand.
Your content should make people know YOUR funeral directors.
Trust YOUR staff.
Understand YOUR expertise.
Recognize YOUR funeral home.
Remember YOUR name.
Best known is better than best.
And you don't become best known by filling your Facebook Page with generic bullcrap that could have been posted by 100 other funeral homes.
You become best known by becoming human.
Your people.
Your stories.
Your community.
Your content.
Real funeral directors answering real questions.
Educational videos.
Behind-the-scenes content.
Stories about your community.
Personality.
Transparency.
Content that builds familiarity before you're needed.
That's marketing.
No Generic Bullcrap
If Facebook eliminating obituary links destroys your funeral home's social media strategy, you never really had a social media strategy.
You had an automation.
There's a difference.
The funeral homes winning on social media aren't winning because they figured out how to automate more posts.
They're winning because they're creating content people actually want to consume.
And that's what we've built DISRUPT Media around for more than 15 years.
No generic bullcrap.
No posting something just because Tuesday came around and the content calendar says you need a grief quote.
No pretending 30 automated obituary links equals a marketing strategy.
Build content around your people.
Build content around what your community actually wants to know.
Use organic content to earn attention.
Use that attention to build familiarity.
Use familiarity to build trust.
And use trust to become the funeral home people think of when the need eventually comes.
Facebook will change again.
The algorithm will change again.
Another feature will disappear.
Another feature will become paid.
That's what happens when you build your entire strategy on rented land.
But the fundamental strategy doesn't change.
Organic is the engine.
Attention is the advantage.
Best known > best.
And maybe Facebook just gave funeral homes the push they needed to finally start creating better content.
If you're ready to stop posting generic bullcrap and build a real organic content strategy designed to increase awareness, generate qualified preneed opportunities and help drive at-need call volume, schedule a demo with DISRUPT Media.
We'll show you what real funeral home social media marketing looks like.
