On this episode: We Pong it up, rethinking how we engage/use traditional media, generating Facebook leads and who won the "Skittle Challenge"?!

Facebook is accelerating quickly into the world of live streaming, recently making it possible for all users to broadcast videos to a huge audience. This isn’t new technology, apps like Periscope and the less-popular Meerkat have done mobile live streaming before, but Facebook’s massive global reach will bring the technology to a bigger audience than ever and this could be a game changer for funeral homes.

This week on Disrupt U!: Stop being romantic about traditional media and 'old' advertising habits! Being romantic about what use to work and not giving attention to what 'works now' and where the consumer is playing, is hurting thousands of funeral homes. Social media is not an option for funeral companies in 2016, it's what's required to be relevant.

Consider your own browsing habits as you scroll through your Facebook news feed. When you are skimming through the content, which posts typically catch your eye and force you to stop or pause? I would bet that, usually, it’s an image that gets your attention first.

Article by: Ryan Thogmartin, CEO of DISRUPT Media

This week we recap the ICCFA Convention, WIN a trip to the Disrupt Media offices for a social media strategy session, and:

Facebook is accelerating quickly into the world of live streaming, recently making it possible for all of the site's users to broadcast videos of almost anything to a huge audience. This isn't new technology, apps like Periscope and the less-popular Meerkat have done mobile live streaming before, but Facebook's massive global reach will bring the technology to a bigger audience than ever and this could be a game changer for funeral homes.

On this episode I talk about:

Facebook is quietly rolling out a professional services recommendation feature aimed to take on Yelp. If you are unfamiliar with Yelp, it is a web-based service/app where consumers can find, rate, and review local businesses with which they have dealt. Because Facebook users can rate and review businesses, it only makes sense that Facebook would formalize the review and recommendation process by providing a portal in which it can take place.

You are a media company first and everything else second. Winning attention is winning the game.

Yes, you read that correctly. Whether you realize it or not, your business, as a supplier in the death care profession, is also a media company. It’s 2016 and you’re not just a product pusher anymore. You’re not just a distributor. You’re now in the eyeballs business. Everybody has an urn, the casket game is more crowded than ever, yet every supplier is still trying to sell the same way they have for the last 30 years. Why aren’t you marketing in the year that we are in? Why do you continue to spend all of your time and money on outlets that you yourself don’t digest? Other than looking through the print publications to see what your competitors are marketing, do you really read them?