One of the biggest trends in business is customer engagement.

An article in Forbes stated that “Customer engagement is the direct route to every important business objective… When you engage your customers, you draw them closer to your brand, your business, your organization.”

Engaging your families is simply smart business. And it pays off in the long run.

• It improves loyalty.
• It increases word-of-mouth marketing.
• It increases families’ overall satisfaction with your funeral home.

Engaged families also are inclined to purchase more. Gallup research found that engaged consumers are 23% more profitable than an average consumer.

For funeral homes, customer engagement isn’t a new trend. It’s basically just providing personal connections and experiences between you and your families.

A few years ago, a funeral home might have engaged families through a local church event or a community club. But customer engagement has changed with social media:

• Your families now expect engagement — both online and off.
• It’s now easier than ever to engage and reach families.

Facebook’s Event feature is one of the ways it’s become so easy to engage families. If your funeral home hasn’t used this feature before — or if you’re looking for tips on how to successfully promote your event — we’ve put together this brief guide for you.

Facebook Events

An event is created through your funeral home’s Facebook Page. It’s an easy way to connect with many families in your community and raise your funeral home’s brand awareness.

A reason it works so well is that Facebook has become nearly ubiquitous. The Pew Research Center found that in 2015, 72% of adults with internet access are on Facebook. And Facebook is the unanimous favorite social media site for Baby Boomers to hang out on as well.

How Can I Use It for My Funeral Home?

The great part about a Facebook Event is that it’s used to engage families in the real world. You can use the feature to help host:

• Volunteer events
• Charity/fundraising events
• Holiday remembrance programs
• Potluck/community dinners
• Educational seminars/Q&A’s

Setting One Up

Creating an event is simple. One the left side of your News Feed, you’ll see the ‘Events’ icon. Click on it. To the right, you’ll see the Create icon. After clicking that, you’ll have the opportunity to name your event, set the date and time, upload photos, and invite your guests. (For more tips on editing the event and other FAQs, click here.)

Tips to Promote

Creating an event seems simple enough, but in order to maximize the exposure and attendance of your event there’s a little more work to be done.

Here are some tips:

• An event photo is a must. A great photo is eye-catching, inviting, and generates interest in your event. Just make sure you use the proper dimensions. For a Facebook Event, the photo should be 1920 by 1080 pixels (16:9 ratio).
• Create the event page ahead of time. This leaves you more time to promote and more time for families to plan to attend.
• When creating the event, add relevant keywords in the keyword section so families can find the event easier. For example, if you’re hosting a holiday remembrance program add words like holiday, memorial, season, families, and/or tribute.
• Allow guests to invite their own Facebook friends, enable them to post on the event wall, and don’t hide the guest list. All of this will help spread your event to your followers’ newsfeeds and increase the visibility of your event.
• Include a detailed description of the event, including directions to the event’s location.
• Pin the event to your funeral home’s wall. This will make it the first thing families see when visiting your Facebook Page. To do this, click on the arrow at the top of a post and select “Pin Post”.
• Don’t forget to update the event with new details if anything changes.
• Facebook Events are free to create. But if you really want to boost turnout, you can pay to promote the event. Boosting an event will allow people to see it even if you aren’t connected with them on Facebook, which in turn builds both your event attendees and your Facebook followers.

If you’re hosting a holiday event this year for families, consider offering them a unique crystal ornament to remember their loved ones by. Call us at 866-372-9372 to place an order or request a free sample!