There’s a new way of getting the last word in on Facebook. Two-thirds of funeral directors have embraced social networking services such as Facebook and LinkedIn over the past 18 months, a new national survey shows.
And it appears the “deathcare” industry, as it calls itself, has hit paydirt. Nearly two-thirds (64 percent) of funeral directors responding to a survey conducted by the Expressing Sympathy Advisory Council reported seeing an increase in the number of people reaching out to them as a result of opening a Facebook page.
Facebook was viewed as the most popular social networking service and the one having the greatest impact, said 44 percent of the more than 6,000 funeral directors who responded to the survey. Other sites such as YouTube and LinkedIn were ranked highest by 13 percent of the respondents while Twitter and MySpace were named by only 3 percent of directors.
“When you lose a loved one, you are at your most vulnerable and many people are using the Internet to research their options,” said Anthony Kaniuk, associate publisher at Kates-Boylston Publications, a publisher serving the funeral and cemetery industry. “It absolutely makes sense for funeral directors to get online and let people know they are there for them.”
“More and more funeral professionals are recognizing the importance of building an online presence for themselves,” Kaniuk added.
This story was provided by BusinessNewsDaily, a sister site to LiveScience. Reach BusinessNewsDaily senior writer Ned Smith at nsmith@techmedianetwork.com. Follow him on Twitter @nedbsmith.
Interesting insight into social media use in a particular industry.