Marketing is all about trial and error. As you develop your online marketing strategy, it’s important to test different things and see how your community responds to them. The funeral industry is unique, to say the least, so you need to make sure you develop a strategy that resonates with consumers. With that in mind, it’s also important to understand that there are proven strategies and best practices to follow.
To help make sure your firm is in the best position to succeed online, we’ve compiled 5 common marketing mistakes and how to correct them.
Forgetting about mobile users
In 2018 alone, nearly 40% of all web traffic was done on a mobile device in the United States. That’s a large number of people that could be having a negative experience if your website is not mobile friendly. Because we live in an age where you can find out anything by pulling a cell phone out of your pocket, it’s imperative that your website looks great on any device. Not only does having a site that isn’t mobile responsive present the chance to create a poor first impression, but it can also hurt your ranking on search engines as well.
Not having a blog for your funeral home website
Plain and simple, your site needs a blog. If you want to get more traffic visiting your website, start publishing blog posts. It’s a proven tool to help educate consumers, promote your services, and build relationships with families in your community. Not only that, but funeral home websites with blogs have 97% more inbound links than sites that don’t. Blogging also creates content you can share across social media channels or in newsletters.
Focusing too much on sales
Every business wants to be successful, and that means generating sales. Whether its preneed contracts or at-need families, an online presence is a great way to generate leads and help grow your business. A problem arises though when you start to get too salesy. It doesn’t matter whether it’s your Facebook page or your website, it’s essential to keep the customer experience in mind. If all of the content you post is about pricing or reasons to preplan, you could actually be hurting your reputation and in turn, your business. Instead, try to focus on answering questions families might have and providing them with engaging content. Its ok to include material that is salesy, but just make sure its a part of your strategy to help create and nurture leads, not your entire strategy.
Undervaluing the importance of video
You don’t need to create a YouTube channel and start making viral content to harness the power of video. Just doing something as simple as going live on Facebook or Instagram is a great place to start. Research has shown that more than 100 million hours of video content is watched on Facebook every day. In fact, 80% percent of people are more likely to watch a video opposed to reading the text on a website page. Video content is some of the most valuable content you can create, and that means its a surefire way to get consumers engaging with your content.
Targeting anyone and everyone
If you’ve ever tried social media advertising, you’ll know how detailed you can get when targeting an audience. A problem we see time and again is when firms try to run digital ads, they end up targeting too broad of an audience. Sure it might be great that you can reach a large group of people across different demographics. But, if the people seeing your ads are not your ideal demographic, you’re wasting time and money. Considering current and prospective customers is important. If you want to see the most return on investment, take some time and make sure you segment your audience and target your ads to reach the people you want.
I like to use the analogy of a billboard when explaining this. It might sound enticing to run a billboard ad that is seen by 50,000 people every day. However, if only 5 percent of those people fit in your target demographic, you’re essentially wasting 95 percent of your budget.
When it comes to funeral home advertising, less is more. By that I mean, by targeting a smaller defined group of people, you’re more likely to see higher interest and response. Brand awareness and having people of all ages know about your firm is excellent. But if you really want to capture the ones who will walk through your doors and make a preneed arrangement, take the time to make sure they’re the majority of the people your ads are reaching.
Need help correcting these mistakes?
At FrontRunner, we are always happy to answer your questions and help set your firm up for success. In a day and age where people are processing information faster than ever before, it’s important to make sure you’re doing everything you can to make your firm stand out and achieve your goals. The marketing and advertising world is continuously evolving, and we would love to help you navigate these waters. This includes finding a solution or service that meets your budget and offering guidance to ensure you get the best results. Contact us today if you want to learn about social media, search engine optimization or how to stop guessing with your marketing efforts.
Tommy holds a Communications degree from Laurentian University and an Integrated Marketing Communications Graduate Certificate from St. Lawrence College. He is a Content Marketing Specialist at FrontRunner and focuses on producing engaging content that funeral homes can use to connect with families. In addition, Tommy crafts SEO content for clients and specializes in helping the general public connect with the death care industry as a whole.
