Frazer Blog

How a New Facebook Feature Connects You Directly to Families

by | Jun 20, 2017 | Funeral Home Marketing

If your funeral home isn’t on Facebook, you should consider changing that. Facebook continues to create convenient ways for your funeral home to easily connect with families. And this newest feature allows you to do so directly.

Facebook and Funeral Homes

It’s important to remember Facebook won’t replace your face-to-face conversations with families. But when used correctly, Facebook can help build and maintain those relationships. Ultimately, it saves you time and sets you apart from your competitors.

If you’re still not sold on Facebook, here are a few things to remember:

Ok, so it’s easy to see why Facebook is important. But what is this new feature and how will it connect you directly with families?

Facebook Messaging Families

The social media giant recently rolled out its Facebook Messenger Ads. According to Facebook’s website, this feature “gives your business a fast and convenient way for people to get in touch to schedule appointments, ask questions about your products and services and more. And it allows you to build personal connections with your customers.”

How Facebook Messenger Ads Work

A Facebook Messenger Ad starts off looking like a traditional newsfeed ad. But when a family clicks on the call-to-action button, they will be directed to Facebook Messenger. From there they will be sent a custom prepared message from your funeral home. After that, you can start directly messaging that person in a one-on-one Facebook conversation.

Here are some ideas for how your funeral home can increase engagement with this new feature:

  • Promote awareness of new products and services.
  • Remind families of the importance of preplanning, and invite them to ask questions directly through the messenger ad.
  • Highlight community events, seminars, or other activities, and encourage families to message your funeral home with any questions.
  • Share grief resources your funeral home offers.
  • Simply encourage families to message you with any questions they might have about funeral service and funeral planning.

How to set up Facebook Messaging Ads

  1. Sign in to your funeral home’s Facebook Page. Go to ads creation in your Ads Manager. Or on the left sidebar, click on the “ad” button listed under create. You also can sign into Facebook’s Business Manager page to go directly to your Ads Manager.
  2. Choose your goal. This is listed as either traffic or conversions. The traffic goal is meant to create an ad that drives people to visit your website. While the conversion goal is meant to complete some sort of call-to-action (such as to visit your funeral home in person). Click here to learn more.
  3. Choose the name of your campaign. For example, if your Messenger Ad is aimed at encouraging families to message you about preplanning questions, you can name it “Preplanning Ad.” This will help you keep track in your Ads Manager.
  4. Choose your audience, budget, and placement. This is similar to when you decide to boost a Facebook post or page.
  5. You can choose the ad format. The simplest option is to stick with a single photo. Other options include a carousel, video, or slideshow format.
  6. Choose the Page you want to connect the ad to. This will be your funeral home’s Facebook Page.
  7. For the destination option, this is where you choose Messenger. From there, you can select a custom welcome message. When someone clicks on your ad, this is the message that will automatically be sent to them on Facebook.
  8. The final step is to review your selections, then select Place Order.

Check out this article for an in-depth and illustrated guide to setting it all up.

Tips for Effective Facebook Messenger Ads

Here are a few tips to make the most of this tool when connecting with families:

  • Save time by keeping a list of saved replies. This is perfect for common questions a family might message you about. For example, your saved replies can answer things like your funeral home’s hours and locations.
  • Greeting messages are important. They help you start a conversation with a person and let them know to expect a follow-up response from you. Make sure to spend time crafting a personal and friendly greeting message.

Download our free eBook to learn more about how funeral homes can use Facebook to better reach today’s families.

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