By Thomas A. Parmalee
Funeral homes have long understood the importance of meeting families where they are. Today, that reality spans both physical and digital touchpoints — and according to Welton Hong, the founder and CEO of Ring Ring Marketing, success depends on integrating both.
During an April 7 webinar, “Facebook for Funeral Homes: How to Build Trust First and Preneed Later,” Hong outlined a practical framework for how funeral professionals can use social media — particularly Facebook — to expand visibility, build trust and ultimately support preneed growth.
Start With a Simple Truth: It’s Not Either/Or
One of the most important takeaways is that digital marketing should not replace traditional outreach — it should complement it, Hong said.
If direct mail campaigns or lunch-and-learn events are working, Hong emphasized, keep them going. These channels often generate high-intent, “warm” leads because families are actively choosing to respond.
By contrast, digital channels — especially social media — are designed to reach families earlier in their journey, often before they are even thinking about funeral planning.
Understand the Role of Each Channel
Hong broke down the digital landscape into two primary functions:
- Search platforms like Google Search capture at-need demand. Families searching “funeral home near me” are ready to act.
- Social media platforms like Facebook create awareness and trust among families who are not yet in need.
That distinction is critical. Funeral homes should prioritize search visibility, strong reviews and phone responsiveness to capture at-need calls — while using social media to build long-term relationships.
The Shift to “Intent-Based Branding”
Social media marketing, Hong explained, should not be random or purely promotional. Instead, it should follow an “intent-based branding” strategy, delivering content that aligns with the interests and needs of your ideal audience.
Without that intentionality, funeral homes risk overspending on content that generates little return.
The Four Pillars of Social Media Success
Hong outlined four key disciplines every funeral home should implement:
1. Social Listening (Most Critical)
Monitor engagement daily. This includes responding to comments, filtering out spam or bots and staying aware of how your audience is reacting.
2. Social Influencing
Establish authority by sharing helpful, relevant content — not sales pitches.
3. Social Networking
Engage with other organizations, community leaders and influencers. Even a thoughtful comment on another page can extend your reach to new audiences.
4. Social Selling
Convert trust into leads over time—particularly for preneed.
The 80/20 Rule: Content That Builds Trust
A common mistake funeral homes make is posting too much promotional content.
Hong says 80% of what you post should be what he calls “goodwill content” — and the rest can lean toward promotional.
The goal is to educate, inform and support instead of selling.
To do this effectively, funeral homes must clearly define their “ideal avatar”—their core demographic—and build a topic map based on that audience’s interests.
Organizations like AARP, Rosetta Stone and H&R Block offer strong models: they consistently publish content aligned with the interests of their audience, without overtly selling services.
For instance, H&R block will share content about saving money for college, business finance, employment and home ownership. “Their ideal client are business owners, not just those who come in once a year to get their taxes done,” Hong observed.
Likewise, Rosetta Stone posts content focusing on travel, culture, famous multilingual people and other such topics.
Visit these pages and see for yourself, Hong suggested. It’s not a constant sales pitch, but it boosts awareness and can move people further down your sales funnel as you cultivate trust.
Why Facebook Reach Requires Paid Support
Organic reach on Facebook has declined dramatically — often to around 5% of followers.
It’s simply not like “the good old days” when you could reach a large segment of your audience organically — now, you have to pay, Hong said.
That means even your existing audience may not see your posts unless you boost them.
The good news: It’s inexpensive.
- As little as $1 per day can reach roughly 100–125 existing followers.
- Around $100 per month can significantly improve engagement and visibility.
This small investment helps “train” the algorithm to distribute your content more effectively.
A Missed Opportunity: Obituaries on Social Media
A piece of content that is woefully underutilized in terms driving funeral home awareness is obituaries, Hong said.
As newspaper distribution has declined, funeral homes have an opportunity to fill the gap.
Communities still want to know when someone has passed—and they still seek out obituary information.
Hong’s recommendation:
- Post obituaries on Facebook as community notices.
- Boost them immediately for broader local reach.
- Run the boost for about four days at $7 per day.
This approach helps:
- Increase visibility within the community.
- Reinforce your brand presence.
- Drive traffic to your website.
For funeral homes that do not want to invest the man hours to do this themselves, Ring Ring Marketing offers an Obituary Promotion Service that top funeral homes nationwide are leveraging to retain and boost market share.
Ring Ring Marketing also can help funeral homes with retargeting strategies to stay connected with visitors over time.
The service is for funeral homes that want to get more eyes on their obituaries, boost brand awareness locally, drive more traffic to their website and stay top of mind in the community.
“The more people who see your obituaries, the more people see your funeral home,” Hong said. “That visibility adds up. It builds awarenss. It brings traffic to your website. And it helps make sure that when families need a funeral home, they know who to call,” Hong said.
He invited owners who are interested to schedule a sign up for a no-obligation conversation to learn more about the service.
Video Builds Trust Faster Than Anything Else
If there is one content format funeral professionals should prioritize, it is video, Hong said.
Short, simple videos — recorded on a smartphone — can be highly effective:
- Answer common questions (“What should you wear to a funeral?”).
- Provide quick tips.
- Offer guidance in a calm, approachable tone.
“Faces create trust,” Hong noted. Seeing and hearing from a funeral director helps humanize the brand in a way static images cannot.
These videos can also be repurposed as Facebook Reels, increasing their reach, he said.
Consistency Matters More Than Timing
While marketers once emphasized posting at specific times, Hong said that consistency now matters far more.
That’s largely because a page’s organic reach is now extremely limited unless it boosts its posts.
Regular posting, however, indicates to Facebook that you are reliable and helps the platform’s algorithm favor your content.
Tools like Hootsuite and ContentStudio can help schedule and manage content across platforms, he said.
Of the two, Hong prefers ContentStudio, which he says is “cheaper and better.”
From Visibility to Trust to Preneed
Ultimately, social media is not about immediate conversion.
It is about building familiarity and trust, so that when a family does face a loss or begins thinking about preneed planning, your firm is already top of mind.
The strategy is straightforward: Show up consistently, provide value, be visible in the community and nurture relationships over time.
If you do that well, preneed conversations will follow naturally.
Watch a recording of Hong’s webinar.
Learn more about Ring Ring Marketing.
Schedule a conversation to learn about Ring Ring’s Obituary Promotion Service.
