Are funeral homes really blog-a-phobic?

I was working with an industry supplier recently who’s been redoing their web site and as part of that process, they were wrestling with whether or not to put the word “blog” on their main navigational bar. “Should we call the blog a journal or make the blog link say 'resources'?” the vendor asked me with some hesitation and concern.

When I asked the vendor why the reluctance in just being forthcoming and calling the blog a blog vs. referring to it as something else, the vendor’s reply caught me a slightly off guard: “Well, funeral homes don’t really blog much. They probably wouldn’t even know what a blog is or know enough about a blog to want to click on it.” The vendor’s assistant also chimed in, “Funeral homes are afraid of blogs. They just don’t blog.”

In the end, their strategy, then, was to “hide” the fact they have a blog by calling it something else. Only problem is that in the act of wordsmithing, they are needlessly confusing the web site users with their indirect approach. I can't remember all the word or term possibilities they were playing with but most if not all of the word labeling choices they were thinking of using would have been misleading. A "news" link insinuates a press or media room with press releases and news briefs, not a blog. A "resources" link implies a list of helpful industry links to web sites and other locations on the web where folks can get more information on a certain topic.

Let's stop for a few...

Let’s pause here for a bit. I realize funeral homes and death care operations aren’t known for their blogging, but I’m an eternal optimist and can’t believe that death care professionals are “afraid” of blogs or are so in the dark about what blogs are and how they are helpful ... right?!?

Although ... I did hear recently about a few high visibility folks in the death care world who had been asked to blog on behalf of a well-known organization ... the story is that when they were asked to blog about the latest happenings in the industry, their faces lost some color and their eye balls glazed over in a haze upon hearing the word "blog."

Hmmm... could the vendor be (gasp!) right?

I know the majority of folks in the industry don’t actively blog. And I’m aware most industry web sites do not include a blog. But does this mean that folks would be fearful of clicking on a link entitled “blog?”

Yes and no

Most things in life, contrary to popular belief, don't have clear cut answers. It's the ol' glass half full, half empty syndrome. And when it comes to blogs and blogging, I presume the half full, half empty syndrome applies as well.

The vendor mentioned above has a web-based service. Therefore, folks interested on the solution are already seemingly comfortable on the Internet if they are considering their service. One would have to comfortably deduce that if the prospect is (a) web savvy enough to consider a web service and (b) the prospect is interested in learning more about the vendor, then more than likely, the prospect will not be repulsed with disgust upon seeing the word "blog" on the nav bar.

To that end, however, I do know many folks are:

• still in the dark as to what a blog is


• not understanding as to why they would benefit from having a blog


• clueless as to how to go about launching a blog, keeping it up and establishing a credible, powerful presence on the web through the effort of blogging

A word of advice

When it comes to blogs, folks, there's nothing to fear and everything to welcome. Blogs are one of marketing's *bestest* friends. They bring traffic, generate awareness and position an organization as credible and professional when the information shared on the blog is relevant and of value.

My recommendation: When you come across any web site where the word "blog" is prominently displayed as part of the navigational bar, resist the garlic necklace and opt instead to for the chocolate bar. The information a good blog can share and shed light on is usually much too sweet to pass up!