Social distancing makes grieving and memorializing a loved one more difficult, but your funeral home can make it easier. With Tribute Center, your staff can create personalized Tribute Videos to honor your client families’ loved ones. It’s the perfect virtual solution that both honors a life and helps families grieve their loss. 

No matter your technology experience, it’s quick and easy for anyone to make a Tribute Video. It’s a matter of learning a loved one’s life story and telling it through imagery. You ask your families the questions, they send you the photos, and Tribute Center’s video tools do the rest. 

Let’s go over how to make the most of Tribute Videos during these complicated times. 

Tell a Loved One’s Life Story Through Tribute Video 

Before you can create a Tribute Video, you need to learn who their loved one was. To do this, you can ask families open-ended questions about their loved one to learn their life story. Open-ended questions rather than yes or no questions are best, so you can learn more details about their loved one. 

Also, remember to keep your questions simple and only ask one thing at a time. Two-part questions can be overwhelming and cause parts of the question to go unanswered or not answered to their fullest.  

Don’t forget to encourage families to share stories if they’re comfortable. Oftentimes, these can give you even more insight into their loved one’s personality and who they were. That’s the power of storytelling, and a loved one’s life is the most important story to tell. 

Below are a few questions you can ask your client families to learn about their loved one: 

1. If you could describe (insert name here) in only five words, what would they be? 
2. Describe your favorite memory you have with (insert name here). 
3. How would (insert name here) spend their ideal day off? 
4. What made (insert name here) special to you? 
5. Describe (insert name here)’s ideal weekend plans. 

If you’re asking your questions via video chat, don’t forget to observe their body language and practice active listening. This way, you can get a better understanding of their responses. 

Evoke Fond Memories by Appealing to the Five Senses 

Now that you know their story, brainstorm how you can use video to showcase their personality and evoke memories. One effective way to evoke memories is by appealing to the five senses: sight, hearing, touch, smell, and taste.  

However, someone doesn’t have to physically experience the senses for them to be effective. It can be a moment that triggers special memories involving the senses. For instance, it can be a video of their loved one cooking that reminds them of the smell and taste of their homemade cookies. Or, it can be as simple as the music playing during the Tribute Video, the photos they see, and holding the DVD to feel closer to them. 

Honor Their Loved One’s Life by Adding Personal Touches 

To make a truly personalized tribute, you can use the family’s photos and videos along with Tribute Video’s innovative features. Use photos and videos from their childhood, vacations, them with their family and friends, doing their hobbies, and other important life events to showcase what made them unique. 

Then, you can easily add the photos to Tribute Center with its high-speed scan technology. To compliment your photos and videos, there are nearly 200 intros and endings to choose from, along with 400 licensed songs and 850 high-quality stock video clips to help showcase their interests. Just choose your favorites and the video creation tools automatically sync the music and transitions. 

Give Your Client Families Tribute Videos as Special Memorial Gifts 

Once you’re finished creating your Tribute Video, you can preview it to make sure it captures their loved one’s life story. Then, you can add the link to their loved one’s Tribute Wall, so their family and friends can watch it.  

You also can burn Tribute Videos to DVDs to create meaningful memorial gifts during these stressful times. You can send one to the family as a memorial gift, and they can order more for their family and friends. To make it even more personalized, there are 500 theme options for DVD packaging. 

To make grief and memorialization while social distancing easier, families can video chat and watch it together. Then, they can rewatch it whenever they want to feel closer to their loved one.