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Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, families are facing many difficulties during the grieving process. Sometimes a final goodbye isn’t possible. Circumstances may get in the way, from distance to health-related emergencies.
As a Funeral Director, you can help to bring them closer with simple solutions, such as live streaming. Even though the situation has improved over the last few months, we’re seeing a rise in funeral webcast services. The reason is quite simple: it helps funeral homes provide better, modern alternatives to their communities.
Times are changing, and so must we.
How difficult is it to live stream funerals and memorials?
Most of the funeral directors we work with used to think that live streaming is a complicated process. Webcasting services used to be difficult, but not anymore.
Long gone are the days in which you had to install expensive cameras at your funeral home or at the church to be able to live stream. What about the graveside? We thought about all these scenarios and solved them in an easy way.
Technology evolves constantly. Although it might be scary at first, you will soon learn how live streaming can make your life easier. And not only will it be a source of comfort for you, but it will also be for your clients. Keeping up with their demands allows you to help them more effectively.
In 2021 some funeral homes saw a spike in funeral webcasting requests, and others simply talked to their community and found out that they were looking for it… so they had to try.
Now to answer the question… is live streaming a funeral an easy task?
Yes, it is. It can be as easy as recording it with your tablet or smartphone and allowing people to watch in real time.
You don’t need special skills or training. All you’ll need is an internet connection and a tablet or smartphone, both of which you are likely to have already.
Should you charge for live streaming funerals or memorials?
You can, but we find that most funeral homes we work with simply aim to offer a better service for their clients.
Every mortician we spoke to was more concerned about providing a respectful and private service than anything else. Profit seems to take the backseat, but that doesn’t mean it’s entirely ruled out. After all, you’re providing a service and families are interested in it.
Live streaming services are very affordable these days. You can easily provide the best experience for your clients with a private viewing page, tribute wall, and high-quality video. Your cost for offering this solution to families can be as low as 25 USD per event.
What if you wanted to charge for it?
Some people in the death care industry charge anywhere from 150 to 400 USD to live stream the funeral or memorial. That being said, their primary concern is the experience of bereaving families. The easier it is, the faster the family can forget about technology and focus on connecting with their loved ones.
Is Social Media the best way to live stream a funeral?
The answer is simple and straightforward: no, it is not.
Social media is a great way to promote your funeral home and build connections with your community, but it is not the best way to celebrate the life of the deceased.
Using Facebook to stream a funeral means that it won't be an easy access for everyone. Families get lost using it, trying to find the service. We solved this by creating short, direct links. They're easy to share, visit, and type in the browser if they needed to.
Another downside of social media is that it offers no privacy, no discretion. Strangers can watch the event and leave comments. Unrelated content will show up next to the service, with no regards for the family’s situation.
YouTube is another platform that could work, but it comes with its own disadvantages. You won’t be able to play music during the event for the risk of being taken down, and your account needs over 1000 subscribers to even begin live streaming from your phone.
Zoom and other alternatives exist too, but they require a person managing the stream. If you don’t have someone to do this for you, it will be difficult. They also require an account to view the funeral, which could be an issue for some people. Another downside with Zoom is that it forces you to manage recordings manually, which can be a very time-consuming task.
Should my funeral home offer live streaming services?
You might be looking for alternatives to free live streaming platforms such as Facebook or YouTube.
Most of the Funeral Directors we have spoken with have the same problem: Facebook is far from perfect. Technical problems are common, difficulties while joining happen every day, and they are constantly blocking webcasts due to copyright issues. Some of them even complained about how time-consuming Facebook can be.
I know it’s hard to keep track of the changes in the death care industry when you simply don’t have the time. Your services and work ethic may be better than the competition, but other funeral homes adapted to the pandemic faster and now your business might be suffering.
We can help your funeral home provide better services, improve the experience of bereaving families, and embrace the change that the world -and the funeral industry- is facing.
How to Live Stream Funerals, the easy -and private- way
The problem used to be that funeral homes needed expensive equipment to keep a live stream working. It was a long, expensive process. It locked you down to a unique location, offering little to no room for alternatives. However, we simplified the live streaming process so you can provide a private and respectful service to your clients no matter where the service takes place.
It doesn’t require installing cameras and the learning experience is very streamlined. You could use your tablet or smartphone, simply connected to your internet connection. Your clients get better services and your costs don’t go up. Does it sound appealing to you?
You can start today. There’s no need to wait until all funeral homes in your area are offering live streaming services. You can adapt to the needs of your community to better serve them today.
Why us?
Because we’ve been working with funeral homes even before the pandemic started. We fully modified our platform in 2021 to be the easiest -and fastest- solution to live stream a funeral service or memorial.
It's so easy that you don't need to hire a professional. As a funeral director, you can get 3 free Event Credits to try at any upcoming services. Families will love it and they’ll even receive a full recording of the event, on top of a beautiful viewing page to remember their loved ones. It will even host your funeral home logo on top.
Your organization will provide better services without buying expensive cameras or equipment and will be recognized by your community and improve your reputation.
How does it work?
The whole process takes about 5 minutes, but you can do it in under 3 if you run a test instead of an actual event.
- Step 1: Install the EventLive app on a smartphone.
- Step 2: Schedule an event (or Test for free. That’s it, you finished)
- Step 3: Add the private link to the Obituary. You can also share your event link with your clients or post it on social media
- Step 4: Set up your smartphone on a tripod
- Step 5: Open the App and Go Live when you're ready to broadcast
- Step 6: You can send the downloadable recording and guestbook to the family after the service.
We’ll add three free event credits to your account as soon as you get in touch with us. We want you to try a system that was built for your funeral home needs.
Do you need any help getting started? Please give us a call at +44 7588 302446 (UK) or +1 (786) 305-8530 (USA).
We can help you improve your services within 5 minutes.
