January 2021

Page A10 JANUARY 2021 FUNERAL HOME & CEMETERY NEWS Se c t i on A www. vischerfuneralsupplies.com Call 651-450-7727 to request a wholesale catalog, Our Extra-Large Cremains Bags (13”x 15”) are perfectly sized for the Standard Plastic Human Service Urn. or visit UrnBags.com to order some bags. Just $2.90 each*. * Bags sold in multiples of 10 Choose from Black, Blue, or Burgundy J t $3. 0 each* The Affordable Funeral Network launches Mobile App 4 Simple Steps to Improving Your Facebook in 2021 FUNERAL HOME & CEMETERY NEWS www.nomispublications.com Monthly Columns online at Dr. Troyer’s free library of Facebook tutorial videos can be found at www.JasonTroyer.com. Dr. Jason Troyer is a grief expert, author, former psychology pro- fessor, and therapist. He helps funeral homes and cemeteries con- nect with their communities through Facebook content and grief support materials. He frequently provides community presenta- tions, professional workshops, and trainings across the country. In addition to providing his Facebook content service and pre- sentations, he also works at Smith Funeral & Cremation Service & Grandview Cemetery in Maryville, TN. Dr. Troyer can be reached at DrJasonTroyer@gmail.com. You can view all of his video tuto- rials and learn more at www.JasonTroyer.com. By Jason Troyer, PhD Facebook Made Easy ple content that focusing on connecting people-to- people, you can continue to build relationships all the time – not just when they need your services. On a personal note, I want to thank each of you for serving the families in your respective communities through such unimaginable conditions. I suspect you are feeling worn-out and perhaps even disheart- ened after 2020. But I earnestly believe 2021 will be a new beginning. Thank you for preserving and providing your invaluable services. Please visit me at https://www.jasontroyer.com/facebookschool/ for free video tutorials on Facebook topics. And feel free to contact me directly with questions: DrJa- sonTroyer@gmail.com space in the latest issue. Your Facebook posts are free, so how many people reached for free would make it worthwhile? It doesn’t take much! 3. Keep It Simple Your Facebook posts don’t have to be full-fledged ad- vertisements. In fact, usually it is better if they aren’t. Post daily events. Do you lower your flag when serv- ing a veteran? Take a picture and post it. Do you have a therapy animal or other pet at the funeral home or cemetery? Get them a little costume or show them greeting someone. Is there a local festival, parade, or event? Take a few pictures and share them. You don’t need an expensive advertising agency to create some- thing expensive for your Facebook posts. 4. Share the Love If you’re concerned that people will think that you’re focusing too much on yourself or your own busi- ness, then simply focus on others in your commu- nity. Is there a great lunch place or local diner that you love? Take a picture of their famous apple pie and post it! Are the volunteer fire fighters having a fun- draiser? Share their posts and ask others to help sup- port them. Did the local high school women’s basket- ball team win their conference? Post a congratulatory message for them. Most important, in 2021 I hope that you will rec- ognize the value of Facebook for connecting directly with your local community and your local partners (e.g., hospice professionals, clergy, first-responders, etc.). A small amount of effort can have a huge im- pact. For example, I work with several funeral homes and cemeteries in smaller towns (i.e., less than 10,000 people) that have their Facebook posts viewed 5,000 or 15,000 times per month. By focusing on the sim- Building your Facebook audience is helpful for name recognition, increasing attendance at your events (e.g., preplanning seminars, remembrance events, etc.), and building relationships with your local community. But Facebook only works if you have an active Facebook page (and just posting your obituaries doesn’t count). So here are 4 sim- ple things you can do to re-energize your Facebook page in the new year. 1. Highlight People It’s called social media for a reason – ideally Face- book connects people-to-people. People-oriented content gets much more engagement than other types of content; so use Facebook to highlight you and your colleagues. I can hear some nay-sayers al- ready: “But I don’t want to brag” or “I hate to be the center of attention.” This isn’t bragging. It is simply sharing a little bit of your life with others. Did you or any of your colleagues have a child? Did your apprentice get married? Did one of your funeral assistants welcome a new grandchild? Did you get a new pet? Did you meet someone famous? These are all life events that your community will respond to. Just take a quick picture, type a sen- tence or two, and post it! 2. Commit to Regular Posting Facebook only works if you’re posting regular- ly – at minimum, weekly. Admittedly, this takes commitment. But learn to focus not on how many “likes” a post gets, but on the number of “People Reached” (which shows up below the post on your feed). This shows how many people saw that post. We can compare this to advertising in a newspaper. Imagine that your local newspaper gave you free INDIANAPOLIS,IN— Affordable Fu- nerals Network (AFN) is proud to an- nounce the January 15, 2021 launch of the AFN mobile app. The first-of-its-kind app will be accessible free of charge for both Apple and Android users. With the United States being one of the countries most impacted by the global pandemic, the $20 billion funeral servic- es industry is being forced to meet the changing needs and desires of the cus- tomer. The funeral industry was very much steeped in tradition, but with the realities of COVID-19, many firms are exploring new and innovative tech-driv- en ways to keep their clients and families safe. Enter the Affordable Funerals Net- work app. With a network of top notch affili- ates across the country, the AFN app will make it easier to connect consumers with “COVID-conscious” funeral homes that are working hard to ensure their cli- ent’s safety during these challenging and uncertain times. Participating firms will go above and beyond to slow the spread of COVID-19 via the AFN-approved Certified Clean Program in partnership with a highly respected national disaster cleaning company that will also be an- nounced early 2021. As per The Foresight Companies’ 2020 Funeral and Cemetery Consumer Behav- ior Study, 75 percent of consumers now want pricing online, a practice virtual- ly unheard of today, and 52 percent say they will only do business with compa- nies that provide online pricing options. The “Cost Sensitive” firms on the app will make their General Price List avail- able along with other pricing options. This app is going to be a great market- ing tool for the firms that want to reach the average smartphone owner who uses 30 apps each month according to tech- crunch.com. A recent report by buildfire. com, the largest builders of apps, stated 49 percent of people open an app 11 plus times each day and 57 percent of all me- dia usage comes from mobile apps. “I began my career in the funeral in- dustry, following in the footsteps of my father, the late Nathan L. Bluitt, Sr. over five decades ago. The world we live in today is much different than what it was when we all entered the busi- ness, but one thing remains the same, and that is our desire to continue our families’ legacy by meeting our client’s needs,” said AFN Chief Marketing Of- ficer, Nathan L. Bluitt, Jr. “This glob- al pandemic has presented countless op- portunities for us to innovate as we have by offering livestreaming and the AFN mobile app is just the innovation our in- dustry has been waiting for.” According to Chris Cruger, Foresight partner and COO, “We’re experiencing a sea change in consumer behaviors with long-term implications for technology and physi- cal infrastructure, as well as the deploy- ment of human resources for the funeral and cemetery professions, webcasts and on-line pricing have gone from nice-to- haves to minimum expectations over- night. You can’t put that genie back in the bottle.” Founded in 2013, Affordable Funerals Network is an online community dedi- cated to bridging the gap between fu- neral homes and the families that need them. To learn more about the AFN, visit www.afnfunerals.com or email nathan@afnglobal.com. PO Box 5159 Youngstown, OH 44514 Fax 1-800-321-9040 press_releases@nomispublications.com www.nomispublications.com Send Us Your News! www.adornimages.com