Death Care Publicist bloghttp://www.deathcarepublicist.com/blog/en-US2010-03-11T04:59:03ZSquarespace Site Server v5.9.2 (http://www.squarespace.com/)this blog is *** moving *** (and an apology)http://www.deathcarepublicist.com/blog/2010/2/18/this-blog-is-moving-and-an-apology.htmlThe Death Care Publicist2010-02-18T17:38:04ZSorry it's been a while since I last blogged here. There's too much to go into but never enough time to share it :) That's been my life as of late, both in business and with family: Too much too do and only 24 hours to do it in.

That is the reason for many of the positive changes that have been put into effect since last fall. I stopped working as a one-(wo)man army and have, since then, welcomed really fabulous team members into the mix. And the timing couldn't have been better for that decision. Clearly, the need for quality marketing and PR ... especially in the death care services industry ... is sorely needed. Despite my silence here for literally months ... calls have kept pouring in; emails too ... asking for consulting guidance, assistance, direction and the like.

My sincere apologies...

I want to apologize openly to anyone that emailed me in the last few months and heard nothing back. That was not intentional. I honestly just fell dramatically behind in all of my email inboxes. Coming back from email inbox avalanche syndrome has not been an easy feat but I am happy to report, I am finally caught up and then some.

New blog location for "The Death Care Publicist"

One of the things that I realized during my "time away" was that I needed to consolidate my internet presence.  That includes this blog which has received so much traffic month-to-month despite how dated it became. I will debut the blog's new location in the next week or so ... stay tuned!!!

Thank you for all the emails, calls and interest!

Be back very soon ...

:)

]]>the internet and death ... they go hand in hand as of latehttp://www.deathcarepublicist.com/blog/2009/7/16/the-internet-and-death-they-go-hand-in-hand-as-of-late.htmlThe Death Care Publicist2009-07-16T05:22:28Zmemorialization on the web the internet's impact on deathAs shared in an earlier post, the Michael Jackson memorial and passing really put a worldwide spotlight on how people are actively using the Internet to share their grief, express their sorrow and memorialize this international entertainer.

The thing is this ... regular, non-celebrity type of people were and already have been using the Internet to share their loss or their experiences at memorials, burials and wakes well before MJ's passing. Yet with MJs death, it seems like attention to and awareness of "Internet mourning" and web memorializations have been thrust forward unlike ever before.

]]>dear blairsville cemetery ... where's your press and news room?http://www.deathcarepublicist.com/blog/2009/7/10/dear-blairsville-cemetery-wheres-your-press-and-news-room.htmlThe Death Care Publicist2009-07-10T14:41:42ZBlairsville Cemetery cemetery marketing online digital marketing for cemeteries digital marketing for death careI came across quite a terrific news article online just today entitled "Blairsville Cemetery planning memorial walk addition." As you can see, the article goes into some length about Blairsville Cemetery's history as well as the new memorial walk which will be lined with brick pavers patrons can purchase and have etched in honor of or in memory of a loved one.

Clearly, this is an extensive article that's full of wonderful information about the cemetery and really positions the cemetery in a positive light as well as a meaningful contributor to the local community.

I was happy to see the cemetery's web site address published at the end of the article, informing users to "learn more" about the cemetery at www.blairsvillecemetery.com.

My happiness, however, was rather short lived once I found myself on the Blairsville Cemetery site. It's just so sad to see absolutely zero mention or reference to this super wonderful memorial walk they are adding to their cemetery grounds.

I searched this cemetery web site high and low (not that there was tons to search, mind you) and confirmed that not only what this new memorial walk not being shared at all online but even worse ...

... their "News and Events" section was more outdated than my passport. Events listed were for 2007 and 2008 ... and we are in mid-2009.

Although it kills me ...

Look, I take *no* pleasure -- trust me -- in throwing this cemetery's web site under the digital marketing and PR bus. Really. I would much rather report a totally different story or scenario where Blairsville Cemetery was totally on the web 2.0 ball and had an interactive calendar of events posted on their site in addition to more information about their new memorial walk (amongst other things).

So what's the (real) prob?

The problem with this specific death care site -- as well as an infinite number of other funeral service-related sites -- is not the web site itself. The web site is simply a symptom of a much bigger problem ... which is ... the mindset of many death care operators in so far as their view of the Internet's potential and value not only to their business but to the industry as a whole.

I realize this is a non-profit cemetery challenged with funds and with fundraising...

I used to be Executive Director of a non-profit organization way back when so if anyone knows how challenging fundraising can be, hey ... that would be me. The secret ingredient to raising funds of any kind, however, is raising awareness of your cause. And once can't do that if he or she doesn't expend the effort to share their story with the community at large. Therefore, while monies can be a challenge, updating this cemetery's web site with 2-3 paragraphs and a link to the article online is not a huge monetery expenditure. All it would cost is about 5-10 minutes of someone's time to post and publish the information.

More thoughts ... coming soon

In upcoming e-newsletter editions, I will address some of the things cemeteries, crematories and funeral homes can do to improve their web sites to better maximize their internet presence and digital marketing and PR efforts.

Have you subscribed yet?

And P.S - If Blairsville Cemetery or any other cemetery or funeral home really needs help with their web site, marketing, PR and outreach, you know how to find me.

]]>death, funeral services and memorials are all over the tube (and the web) these dayshttp://www.deathcarepublicist.com/blog/2009/7/6/death-funeral-services-and-memorials-are-all-over-the-tube-a.htmlThe Death Care Publicist2009-07-07T02:31:48Zmemorialization on the webI don't know about you but with the deaths of Ed McMahon, Farrah Fawcett and Michael Jackson (and not to mention the shocking deaths of pitchman Billy Mays and footballer Steve McNair), funeral services and memorials are all I've been hearing about on television these past few weeks.

And in the reporting about these famous deaths, there have been some extremely interesting things taking place in so far as to how people are expressing their grief and choosing to memorialize their icons or favorite stars on the Internet.

I am writing about these specific and very trendy observations and will share my thoughts in my next edition of Death Gets Digital which will be distributed by mid-month.

If you haven't subscribed to receive my FREE e-email newsletter, you can subscribe here.

]]>interview with webCemeteries.com's nick timpehttp://www.deathcarepublicist.com/blog/2009/7/5/interview-with-webcemeteriescoms-nick-timpe.htmlThe Death Care Publicist2009-07-06T03:36:02ZNick Timpe web 2.0 webCemeteries.comNick shares valuable insight and information regarding not just webCemteries.com's capabilities but also what factors cemeteries owners need to consider before deploying web-based web 2.0 solutions.

View the complete interview here.

]]>i've moved ... here!http://www.deathcarepublicist.com/blog/2009/7/3/ive-moved-here.htmlThe Death Care Publicist2009-07-03T15:51:00Zdeath care marketing web 2.0Well, I used to house this Death Care Publicist blog on my small business marketing and personal site as an add-on feature. Today, as you can see from the new duds ... this blog is now more than just a blog. It has become a full blown web site with articles, samples of work and my new e-mail newsletter *exclusively* catering to death care service providers seeking to further develop a competitive marketing edge via web 2.0 and social utility tools.

Read the press release here

]]>debuting shortly: *death gets digital* e-mail newsletterhttp://www.deathcarepublicist.com/blog/2009/7/3/debuting-shortly-death-gets-digital-e-mail-newsletter.htmlThe Death Care Publicist2009-07-03T13:11:30ZDeath Gets DigitalDeath Gets Digital ... e-mail newsletterVery exciting news!!

I am proud to roll this e-mail newsletter out the door and into subscriber inboxes to help further progressive digital marketing ideas, news and PR insight throughout the death care and funeral service arena.

  • To subscribe to Death Gets Digital, click here and select the "death care marketing & PR" option
  • To learn about advertising opportunities, click here
]]>nscaa presentation recap: digital marketing for cemeteries (part 1 of 2)http://www.deathcarepublicist.com/blog/2009/7/1/nscaa-presentation-recap-digital-marketing-for-cemeteries-pa.htmlThe Death Care Publicist2009-07-01T18:24:38Zdeath care marketing digital marketing for cemeteries digital marketing for death care

so how did it go?

I've been getting this question a lot from friends and colleagues lately about my presentation @ the North & South Carolina Cemetery Associations Joint Annual Convention (NSCAA) which you can see below. I want to share that the folks at NSCAA were warm and friendly. It was a small yet intimate group of industry professionals who sought networking and educational opportunities along with beach-time and sunshine :)

the presentation

This was the presentation I gave. You'll note there are various relevant, timely examples of real-world usage of social networks and web 2.0 tools for the purposes of death care communications and outreach.

Digital Marketing Frontier ... for Death Care Operations
View more documents from Mayra Ruiz-mcpherson.

 

event videos and photos

The lighting wasn't so great but I managed to take various video clips and photos of folks who attended the NSCAA event.

my thoughts ... and what i learned

I have been a bit occupied with project work and launching this new blog and web site so I haven't had much time to share what *I* personally discovered while attending NSCAA. Clearly, I was retained to educate and enlighten the audience about all things digital marketing for cemeteries ... but I, too, also learned much as well about the climate of digital marketing in the industry. I have specific thoughts about this but you'll have to wait for them ... I will post them soon, I promise via a Part 2 blog post.

huge thanks to Andrew "Rusty" Tysor

I want to personally thank NCAA Executive VP Andrew "Rusty" Tysor for finding me online, for reading my writings in ICCFA Magazine and for being innovative and progressive in bringing down someone who could share digital marketing insight and information with NCAA members. Mostly, I just want to thank him for being an all around good guy ... gracious, kind and a terrific host. Thanks, Rusty!!!

]]>told you so! baby boomers, like jerri, are online (and then some!)http://www.deathcarepublicist.com/blog/2009/6/8/told-you-so-baby-boomers-like-jerri-are-online-and-then-some.htmlThe Death Care Publicist2009-06-08T11:02:06Zbaby boomers death care marketing internet usage by older americansthis is one social web-savvy granny

Jerri Hesson doesn't look like she might be as web-savvylicious as she *is* but trust me, this grandma keeps in touch with her grandkids on MySpace, she plurks, tweets and has a Facebook page, too! Businesses, even funeral service providers, who don't think Baby Boomers are online are truly missing the social web boat. Jerri, as you'll note, couldn't agree more!

I am sharing this video interview here (which I am debuting Monday morning @ the North Carolina Cemetery Association's convention taking place in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina) because, in general, there have been comments made in the recent past where some funeral home owners or death care professionals dismiss the notion that their marketing and outreach need to become more entrenched on the Internet because, they say, "no one's out there" or "it's all hype" or the timeless classic: "Facebook and social networking are for teenagers."

]]>keynoting @ myrtle beach on june 8, 2009http://www.deathcarepublicist.com/blog/2009/5/20/keynoting-myrtle-beach-on-june-8-2009.htmlThe Death Care Publicist2009-05-21T01:48:42Zdigital marketing for cemeteries social media marketing for funeral service speaking engagementfab opportunity to help cemetery executives learn more about digital marketing possibilities

I am thrilled to share a wonderful opportunity that landed on my lap while I was in Boston this past March. After going back and forth on it with the North Carolina Cemetery Association (NCAA) folks for a bit, the opportunity finally materialized into an exciting speaking opportunity this coming June where I will be keynoting at the June 9 North and South Carolina Cemetery Association's Joint Annual Meeting in Myrtle Beach.

For complete information on this speaking engagement, see the press release here.

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