Caleb Wilde isn’t exactly who you think of when you hear the words “funeral director.” The 32-year-old, a student in a master’s program on “Death, Religion and Culture,” has an extremely active presence on social media. He has a blog – “Confessions of a Funeral Director,” with upwards of 80,000 monthly readers; a Twitter account, with 17,000 followers; and a Facebook page, with more than 52,000 likes. He was even recently interviewed by 20/20.
Wilde, who works for the family business in Parkesburg, Pa., writes about all things death on social media and uses humor to lighten up the subject. That is, when he’s not busy taking care of the deceased and their families.
Brands could learn a thing or two from Wilde when it comes to social media content and strategy.
1) Touch On Emotion.
Wilde recently posted this story about a man who wanted to see his dog before dying.
The post resulted in 405 likes, 65 shares and 19 comments. It’s a good reminder that brands should always be asking themselves, “Will my followers relate to this post?”
2) Use Quotes, Especially On Twitter.
Here are some examples from Wilde’s Twitter account:
“You have to die a few times before you can really live.” – Charles Bukowski
— Caleb Wilde (@CalebWilde) April 1, 2014
and
Being healthy is slowest possible rate at which you can die. #happythoughts
— Caleb Wilde (@CalebWilde) March 24, 2014
3) Use Humor, But Don’t Go Over The Top.
The question brands should ask themselves is: “Is this funny, or does it cross the line?” Set content guidelines. Some strong examples of Wilde’s humor on Facebook:
and
Caleb also generates engagement with more serious posts and by fostering open discussion in the comments.
and
4) Think About Your Blog Headlines.
Lists tend to draw a ton of engagement and eyeballs on social media – just ask BuzzFeed. Wilde recently published this blog post, “Ten Reasons I’m a Funeral Director.” Some of the reasons he gives are: service, perspective, affirmation, safe death confrontation, , power and obligation, lack of the superficial, and his associates. This one post led to 53 comments by readers.
5) Be As Transparent As Possible.
Wilde wrote in a blog post about the importance of transparency for funeral homes, but this also relates to brands: “Today, with the transparency of social media, the GOOD, honest funeral homes can disclose ourselves from the inside out. I’m not talking about a funeral home having a website. I’m talking about a funeral home having a blog, a facebook page, a twitter account, etc … a forum that invites feedback, that invites questions, criticism and praise … from you, our customers. I’m talking about voluntarily disclosing ourselves to the world. Fighting the dark side with the lightsaber of transparency.”
And that’s no joke.
