To Know Us Is To Love Us: Transparency in Social Media

Perhaps it’s unfair that those of us who work in the funeral profession have a bit of an uphill battle in dispelling the unearned negative impressions the public may have formed about us. Death is a fact of life, and it takes a special person and a special team to show honor to those who have passed while comforting and serving the family and friends of the deceased. If you could convince John Q. Public to spend time with you and your staff at your facility you could reveal how wonderfully human, compassionate, professional, and fun you really are.

But, alas, it’s not likely that most people will enter your doors until they have suffered the loss of a family member, a friend, or an associate. You certainly make them feel welcome, but during these times it’s not about you; it’s about them in their time of loss.

This is where Facebook, Instagram, and other social media channels can fill a gap that is only trumped by a face-to-face visit. Certainly your web page is useful in helping the public learn about you, but those images are static and the words, while helpful, are mostly about the business at hand. Your Facebook and/or Instagram pages provide an exceptional opportunity to put you, your staff, and your facility on display so viewers can get to know and love you in the comfort of their homes while on their computers, tablets, or Smartphones.

In what ways can you be transparent in social media? Here are some ideas:

• Share interesting tidbits about your facility…old photos, new projects, places where staff members “hang out,” or fascinating bits of trivia about the building.
• Provide opportunities for viewers to meet your family and employees. Feature an employee each week to tell about their favorite things, their hobbies, their dreams, or their history with your business.
• Feature the owner’s pets, or the pets of staff members. Perhaps you have a comfort dog or another animal that is there for the benefit of the public. Tell the world about this special animal! Provide a fun video. My son and his wife follow, on Instagram, a woman who owns a basset hound and several other pets. Even though they have never met her personally, they wept with her when they learned of the recent passing of her beloved hound dog.
• What public events did you or your employees take part in over the weekend? Post photos or videos of parades, charity events, or community celebrations in which you participated.
• Certainly share awards you have won or honors you or your employees have earned, even if they have nothing to do with your business.

Trust is the foundation of all relationships. Relationships fuel business growth and long term success. Transparency in social media is a great way for businesses to connect with their audiences while slowly building trust. Even though it’s not difficult to post these kinds of updates to your social media pages it can be time consuming, and you certainly have a lot of other important tasks to which you must attend. If so, you can turn to the experts at DISRUPT Media. We are the only full-service social media agency specifically catering to the funeral profession. Go to https://www.disruptmedia.co/demo to find out more about the services we offer. Our clients who are a part of our FUNERAL Social Design Process are seeing an increase in post reach and engagement of over 300%.

About Author:

Mark Thogmartin, VP of Business Development at DISRUPT Media

Dr. Mark Thogmartin is a life-long educator, working with students from Kindergarten through the doctoral level. He has degrees from the University of Kentucky, the Ohio State University, and Andrews University. Mark's book, Teach a Child to Read with Children's Books, has gained wide acceptance among reading tutors and parents who are teaching their children at home. In addition to assisting his son, Ryan, at DISRUPT Media as Vice President of Business Development, he works part-time as a mentor of doctoral students at Capella University. Mark and his wife Donna live in Millersport and are the parents of three adult sons and two beautiful granddaughters.

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