LinkedIn may be turning 20 years old in 2023 but there are still many Funeral Directors who aren’t making the most of what the platform can offer. If you haven’t already jumped on the LinkedIn bandwagon, or you want to know how to get more from posting on the platform, here are a few things to consider.

Your visuals are vital

In a sea of content, you need to catch the eye of anyone scrolling through their feed. The statistics show that a LinkedIn post with an image or video attached will get double the engagement of text-only post. High quality, professional images or video that gives people an instant snapshot of who you are and what you do best are incredibly important on any social media post.

When it comes to something as personal and emotive as funerals, images that demonstrate not only the quality of your services but the human, caring side of your business are particularly valuable. For optimal results, it’s also a good idea to save your images in the right formats and sizes for each platform. You can find the recommended dimensions for LinkedIn images here.

Attention to detail pays off

Every element of your company page needs to be on point. It’s your virtual shop window and needs to be treated with the same amount of care and attention. It has to look the part, tell people what they need to know about your services and give people a reason to choose you over everyone else. So, fill out every section, craft your words carefully (include keywords that people will search for), use properly formatted images, customise your URL and add links to your website and other social media. And don’t forget to add those all-important professional certifications, affiliations and awards to your page.

Once you’re done, don’t forget to cast a fresh eye over your LinkedIn page and update it every so often. It’s not only important for keeping your information current but also shows customers and fellow professionals that you pay attention to the little things.

LinkedIn works for both B2B and B2C marketing

Every platform has a different audience demographic. LinkedIn has always been more of a business to business (B2B) focused platform, so is a natural fit for anyone in the funeral industry wanting to widen their professional networks and promote their brand to potential business partners. However, by virtue of the unique position funeral directors hold in society, most people will be looking for your services at some point in life. So, it’s worth remembering that LinkedIn also works on a business to customer (B2C) level when considering the mix of content you post.

Be more active

It’s easy to set up a page and then let things tail off when you get too busy or the enthusiasm wears off. The truth is, that you need to be following businesses that you want to connect with, liking and sharing content and posting regularly (at least once a week). If regular posting is difficult to manage, why not consider using a scheduling tool, like Buffer, Later or Hootsuite, for example? This allows you to upload a batch of posts which the scheduler will automatically post on the days and times of your choosing. Joining a LinkedIn group is also a great way to network further with people in the funeral industry and other related professionals. You can find out more about LinkedIn Groups here.

Look at the best times to post

Did you know that there are optimal times and days to post in LinkedIn? Working out when is best can be trial and error but it’s worth looking for patterns in how your posts perform. While each industry may have it’s own quirks, there are plenty of overarching statistics that give you a good idea of when most posts get maximum traction (type ‘best time to post on LinkedIn UK’ into Google and go from there). There are also analytics available on your LinkedIn page and, if you use a scheduling tool, that can give you some useful metrics to add to the mix.

 Showcase your skills and get recommendations

LinkedIn endorsements and recommendations are a very effective way of building trust in your business by highlighting the quality your professional skills and services. Endorsements work by adding your skills to your profile which can then be validated with a tick mark by first-degree connections on LinkedIn. Of course, you can also do the same for people you want to endorse.

Recommendations are more like a traditional testimonial. You can request recommendations from other connections and, much like endorsements, return the favour if you’d like to recommend someone else’s services.  

Follow the links to find out more about LinkedIn endorsements and recommendations.

Harness the marketing power of LinkedIn

So, if you haven’t paid much attention to your LinkedIn presence lately, or want to promote your funeral services on there for the first time, why not try some of the tips above? It might be just what your business needs to engage with more customers and build wider, stronger networks with others in the funeral industry.

“While Funeral Directors do an incredible job of helping families with compassion and professionalism, there are limits to the services we can provide in-house. Funeral homes that forge the right specialised professional connections are in a prime position to help their families access complementary services that can facilitate the necessary estate administration following a bereavement, relieving them of another task on their list”

John Harris, T Cribb & Son

Work with Laurelo. If you have a funeral business and would like to know more about working in partnership with our probate experts (who also share their marketing teams expertise), please call 0203 058 2329 or email info@laurelo.co.uk.