Have you ever seen an advertisement that had an emotional impact on you?

When it comes to marketing, many companies try to emotionally connect with their audience. This form of persuasion is known as pathos, which has been successfully used throughout the history of advertising.

Few forms of digital media rely on emotion more than videos – and for good reason.

Consider this Father’s Day video ad from Gillette. The video connects with its audience by showing the genuine emotions between real fathers and their sons. Many viewers felt a connection with the ad because they could relate to asking their dad for help, providing helpful tips to their sons, or both.

The ad works because it creates a connection with its audience. And to build trust with your families, your funeral home first needs to create a connection with families. Through this connection, you can share your values and heart for service in a way that resonates with your community, which will lead to trust.

However, you need an impactful way to show families how you can care for them.

Unlike any other form of content, video has the power to connect with families on an emotional level. With an effective video strategy, you can connect with families, improve your online visibility, educate families, and more.

Here are 3 benefits of making video a cornerstone of your funeral home’s digital marketing strategy.

1. Be memorable with families

The main goal of your funeral home’s marketing plan is to be top of mind with families. But simply bombarding families with digital content isn’t the best way to be memorable.

Your funeral home needs a way to emotionally connect with families so they will remember you when they need funeral services.

Videos can do all that and more – specifically with family testimonials.

Use testimonial videos of satisfied families to show how well you serve those in your care. Families can speak of how you educated, comforted, supported, and went above and beyond for them during their times of grief. Potential customers will likely feel more connected to your business before ever stepping inside your funeral home after watching these testimonials.

Letting families advocate for you is one of the best ways to promote your funeral home in your community.

2. Enhance your SEO ranking and online reach

When families search “funeral home near me” or “plan funeral in advance” in your area, your business needs to be the first one to show up on search engines. Using videos can help your funeral home improve your search engine optimization (SEO) ranking and online reach.

Consider these statistics on the effectiveness of video marketing.

– Content with video gets 300% more clicks on search engine results pages (Superside)

– Online videos have an audience reach of more than 92% among internet users (Statista)

– On average, families spend 6 minutes on web pages with videos vs. 4 minutes on pages without (Wistia)

By incorporating video into your digital marketing strategy, you can improve your ability to reach families online, no matter what their needs are. Plus, all your videos can be shared across social media, websites, email campaigns, and more to increase brand visibility and attract new families.

Ensure that every family in your area is getting the best care possible by reaching them first with a strong online presence that includes video.

3. Educate families about funerals and grief

The internet is a great place for families to find information on funerals, grief, preplanning, and more. However, not all funeral information is accurate, leaving many families with questions on what to believe.

Your funeral home can educate families on the value of a funeral, funeral personalization options, the benefits of planning ahead, funeral funding options, and more by using videos to prove that you’re a reliable source of truth.

Funeral-related topics can also be difficult to understand, which is another great reason to use video!

Not only do many families prefer to watch videos, but users retain 95% of a message when watching a video compared to just 10% when reading text (G2Crowd). Your families will likely understand and remember the funeral topics you discuss in videos rather than reading about them.

These videos can also be done by your funeral home’s staff, which will allow families to associate smiling faces with your business and increase trust.

BONUS – Showcase your facilities and services

While the pandemic resulted in many families working with a funeral home for the first time, there are still plenty of families in your community who have never required your services. Since these families have never met you, they may be under the misconception that funeral homes are cold and unwelcoming.

You can help dispel that belief by using video to show that your facilities are inviting, uplifting, and focused on making families feel comfortable in their time of grief. These videos can also be used to highlight your staff and services, so families can learn more about you without having to physically visit you.

“Videos are a great way to tell stories and can convey emotion in a way that words on a screen can’t. With video, you can see someone’s eyes, you can get a sense of who they are, what they’re passionate about, and what they truly believe in.” – Matt Bailey, President & Funeral Director, Bailey Family Funeral Homes

Let families see the truth about your funeral home and staff by showing them exactly what they’ll get when they visit you.

Tell your funeral home’s unique story with powerful videos

Incorporating video into your digital marketing strategy can help you stand out in your community and show families a more personable side to you. Use video to emotionally connect with families, improve your online reach, educate your community, and more to help your funeral home grow.

Once you decide you want to use video, you need to create them! Consider these questions:

– What video ideas do you want to pursue?

– Do you have high-quality video equipment and editing software?

– Who on your staff knows how to use professional-grade cameras, lights, microphones, etc.?

That can be a lot to think about, so let us do it!

Our Audio/Visual Team experts excel at crafting videos that will resonate with families and drive traffic to your website and through your doors. We’ll be sure to tell your funeral home’s story with custom, onsite video production that is sure to impress families.

Fill out the form below to learn more about digital marketing plans that include video and see what emotional, unmatched video content can do for your funeral home.