Today’s funeral homes and funeral suppliers understand the importance of marketing.

Whether they have a dedicated marketing department or rely on an outside resource, most companies invest considerable time and resources in websites, social media, email marketing, search engine optimization (SEO), digital advertising, and online reputation management. These tools are essential, and today’s marketing professionals have become highly skilled at using them.

But there’s one area of communications that’s often overlooked or assigned to someone without specialized experience.  That’s public relations.

Different Skills, Same Goal

Marketing and public relations share the same objective: helping an organization grow. They simply approach that objective from different directions.  Marketing focuses on messages a company controls through its website, advertising, email campaigns, and social media channels.  Public relations focuses on messages others choose to tell.

That distinction is important because writing an effective news release requires a different mindset than creating a digital ad or social media post. A successful news release isn’t written for customers—it’s written for editors.

Instead of asking, “What do we want people to know?” a PR professional asks, “Why would this be newsworthy to our audience?”

That’s a very different conversation.

 

Joe Weigel is today’s guest columnist at Funeral Director Daily.  Weigel, is the founder of Weigel Strategic Marketing, a communications firm serving funeral homes, cemeteries, suppliers, and other organizations throughout the funeral profession. A former marketing and communications executive, he specializes in public relations, content development, and strategic communications. He can be reached at we**********************@***il.com.  You can also visit weigelstrategicmarketing.com

 

Public Relations Doesn’t Replace Marketing

Occasionally, organizations hesitate to bring in outside public relations support because they believe it duplicates the work of their marketing team.

In reality, it does just the opposite.

Marketing creates awareness.

Public relations builds credibility.

Marketing professionals understand branding, digital strategy, analytics, and customer engagement. Public relations professionals understand media relationships, storytelling, editorial writing, and how to position a story so it resonates with editors and readers.  The two disciplines are complementary, not competitive.

 

 

Every News Release Creates Marketing Content

One of the most overlooked benefits of public relations is that a well-written news release can become the foundation for an entire marketing campaign.

A single announcement about a new location, community event, product launch, leadership appointment, acquisition, or anniversary can quickly become:

• Website content
• Social media posts
• Email newsletter stories
• Blog articles
• Sales materials
• Trade show messaging
• Customer communications

In other words, public relations doesn’t just generate media coverage.  It generates content.  For marketing departments that are constantly looking for fresh, relevant material, that’s a significant advantage.

A Stronger Strategy

The most successful funeral homes and suppliers don’t choose between marketing and public relations.  They integrate both.

Marketing drives traffic to your website and social media channels. Public relations adds third-party credibility that advertising alone can’t provide. Together, they reinforce one another, extending the reach and impact of every announcement.

When a news release is picked up by a respected trade publication like Funeral Director Daily or local newspaper, the story doesn’t end there. That coverage can be shared across your website, social media channels, email campaigns, and sales presentations, giving the original announcement a much longer life.

The Bottom Line

As digital marketing continues to evolve, organizations will rightly continue investing in advertising, websites, SEO, and social media.  But earned media deserves a place in that strategy.

A good public relations professional doesn’t replace your marketing department—they make it stronger by creating credible stories that generate editorial coverage and provide valuable content for every other marketing channel.

The best communications strategies aren’t built on marketing or public relations alone.

They’re built on both.

 

Funeral Director Daily:  Joe Weigel is a friend of mine and no stranger to the Death Care industry.  I found his article about the combined efforts of marketing and public relations very interesting.  Unless you are a very small firm in a very small town where an owner’s handshake with fellow residents on the street or in a church is both marketing and public relations, there is probably room and growth potential for both at your firm. . . .Make sure you know the difference.

 

And, as for Public Relations. . . . there is something very powerful about getting others to “tell your story” for you in a positive fashion.  That’s the value of a great PR person!!!

 

More news from the world of Death Care:

• Home burials are allowed in town but are time-consuming and costly.  Mass Live (MA)
• Atlanta funeral directors say the industry is changing, but compassion remains the focus.  WXIA TV – Atlanta (GA)
• Eagle Scout replaced headstones, marking graves for veterans in Roscoe Township Cemetery.  Rockton-Rosceo News (IL)
• Couple on a mission to restore every headstone in a northwest Ohio cemetery.  Video news story and print article.  WANE 15 – TV – Fort Wayne (IN)

 

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