SAIF Golden Charter

Communities get engaged with Funeral Notices

Every Independent on localfuneral.co.uk now has access to the new Funeral Notice feature, a valuable tool for families which has also been helping Independents to engage their local communities.

Funeral Notices provide a single space online for everything from practical details about the funeral arrangements to donations and memorial posts. And they are proving popular with families: the feature currently garners an average of 130 views per notice. With footfall so important to an Independent’s success, the notices act as a free way to ensure your name is in front of local families.

The notice can be shared online by families on Facebook, by email or as a direct link – and unlike some other online offerings, they can be set up as a private link so the family can choose who to share it with. On the other hand, they can be embedded so they can be viewed directly onto your website.

Ciarán O’Toole of localfuneral.co.uk explained: “A key benefit when you are publishing funeral notices with localfuneral.co.uk is you have the ability to embed them to your own website, something the funeral directors using the feature have found really useful.”

Already families are sharing Funeral Notices, and the people they share them with are sharing them on in turn. People are increasingly using the Facebook share button, leading to a high number of further shares on the social media site itself.

Ciarán added: “Our new Funeral Notice feature is another way to boost your presence online. Many people are finding you on localfuneral.co.uk at their time of need, but by using the Funeral Notice feature you are getting more exposure of your brand, organically.”

Independents registered on localfuneral.co.uk can get involved by logging into the localfuneral.co.uk funeral director portal. Others looking to get involved can speak to their local Golden Charter business manager.

Case study

In this month’s issue, Lee Jackson (LE), of Jackson & Browning Funeral Directors, tells SAIFInsight (SI) why he uses Funeral Notices, and the results he’s had so far.

SI: What made you decide to try the new Funeral Notice feature?

LE: It’s free, it’s easy and it’s straightforward. I work with Golden Charter which is easy, so I thought this must be easy too. When I Google my name, it’s Golden Charter that comes up, and localfuneral.co.uk is the same.

SI: Had you used any other online tool or site to create a Funeral Notice previously?

LE: I had trialled options and never been happy with them. localfuneral.co.uk notices are easy and quick – I’ve got other things to be doing with the funeral so I don’t have much time.

SI: How did you find the process of setting up a notice for the first time? Was it easy or difficult to get started?

LE: It was very straightforward and self-explanatory. You can sign in and out of the Notice feature and add details as you receive them. You can also publish Funeral Notices for funerals you conducted months ago.

I like that it’s not published until I press it. I can wait for the information to come in from the family and it takes seconds to go back and update it.

SI: What would you say to other funeral directors who haven’t yet tried the Funeral Notice feature?

LE: I would say, give it a go. Why not? Firstly, it’s free, so if you don’t like it you can just stop using it. Secondly, I don’t think the funeral industry is with the times, and this is a good way to move into the 21st century. Thirdly, it’s free advertising, and we all know how expensive advertising can be.

Every time the funeral notice is shared or looked at, it’s your business that people are seeing.

SI: Do you have any other comments about localfuneral.co.uk more generally?

LE: localfuneral.co.uk gives us more visibility and online presence. Emails from localfuneral are also helpful – it lets you know where the leads come from.

On average, we get three calls per week through localfuneral. It shows that people are searching for Jackson & Browning.