Summary: This article explains one of the most effective social media strategies for mortgage loan officers and brokers. It shows how you can turn your social media platform into a valuable source of information, in order to attract followers and potential clients.
This is the first in a series of blog posts that will focus on social media strategies for mortgage brokers and loan officers.
Today, we’ll talk about some of the different types of content you can share on social media sites like Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn. You’ll also learn how to elevate your content strategy, to give people more reason to follow you.
Social Media Content Strategies for Mortgage Professionals
Social media can be a useful marketing tool for mortgage professionals. It allows you to connect with a large audience at little to no cost. And by “large,” I mean ginormous.
According to the Pew Research Center, seven-in-ten Americans currently use at least one type of social media. They do it to connect with others, share information, and consume news content.
But here’s the most important concept to take away from this article:
As a mortgage broker or loan officer, you can’t treat social media like a traditional marketing channel. With traditional marketing, you’re “pushing” a message onto a specific audience.
Social media is more of a “pull” strategy, where you share useful information to attract followers who could turn into clients.
They call it “social” media for a reason. It’s a place to share information and ideas, rather than a traditional or conventional marketing channel. It’s best to adopt this mindset early on, ideally before you even start sharing content.
Having said that, you can certainly use these platforms to generate mortgage leads from potential clients. You just have to take the right approach.
And when it comes to mortgage-related social media content, the best approach is to turn your platform into an information service for your target audience.
Types of Content to Share on Social Media
We will revisit the “information service” concept in just a moment. But first, let’s look at some of the different types of content that mortgage brokers and loan officers can share on social media to attract clients and grow their businesses.
Here are some of the most common types of content:
- Educational information about the different types of home loans
- Updates on local real estate market conditions
- Infographics or other visual content explaining mortgage-related topics
- The latest interest rate trends and what they mean for borrowers
- Industry news that’s relevant to home buyers and homeowners
- Information about new mortgage products or programs being rolled out
Most of these content types have one thing in common. They provide valuable information to a specific audience — in this case, home buyers or homeowners who might be in the market for mortgage loan.
Granted, you don’t always have to share informative or educational content through your social media platforms. You could also share testimonials from past clients, to show how you’ve helped people overcome obstacles and secure financing. You could share “behind-the-scenes” content about what it takes to run a mortgage company. You could post pictures of yourself at a baseball game, if you like.
It’s a process of experimentation. You post different types of content on social media and find out what generates the most interaction.
But for the most part, you’ll want to share useful content that helps a specific audience achieve a specific goal or understand a specific topic. To do this, you’ll first need to identify (A) your target audience and (B) the kind of information they need to accomplish their goals.
Who Is Your Intended Audience?
For most mortgage brokers and loan officers, the “audience” usually consists of home buyers who are planning to make a purchase, and homeowners who want to refinance. In short, the audience consists of potential borrowers who could turn into clients.
That’s the broad audience category. You can get even better results if you get more specific.
For example, you probably work with borrowers who live within a certain city, metro area or state. If that’s the case, you can create a more specific audience profile. This in turn will help you shape your social media content strategy.
Let’s assume that I’m a mortgage broker in the San Diego area. I could use social media to share content relating to the San Diego real estate market, local home-price trends, mortgage rates, and other information that’s useful to my target audience.
You have to spend some time thinking about the people you’re trying to reach and how you can help them. This kind of brainstorming can be useful for any type of marketing. But it’s especially helpful when it comes to posting mortgage content on social media sites.
That covers “Social Media 101.” Now, let’s shift gears and talk about how you can take your mortgage social media strategy to the next level…
Advanced Strategy: Creating an Information Service
When I work with real estate professionals who are developing social media strategies, I often encourage them to view it as a kind of information service.
This concept applies to mortgage brokers and loan officers as well. Social media gives you a way to create a kind of information channel geared toward a specific audience. Earlier, we talked about identifying your target audience and their needs. Now it’s time to put that brainstorming to use, by creating valuable content that helps your specific audience.
To illustrate this point, let’s compare two hypothetical (but realistic) social media accounts managed by mortgage companies:
Amber Valley Mortgage
This company uses social media to share company updates and news, home buying tips, and the occasional testimonial from clients.
Summit City Mortgage
This company uses social media to share updates on the local real estate market, with in-depth analysis specific to their area. They also share detailed information about the different types of mortgage loans, complete with infographics and YouTube videos. They monitor mortgage rate trends and provide updates on a weekly basis. In short, they have turned their social media channel into a useful information service for their intended audience.
The first example represents the basic social media strategy used by many mortgage companies across the U.S. And they’re never particularly useful. They provide the kind of basic information that’s already available all over the internet (e.g., “10 tips for buying a home”).
The second example (Summit City Mortgage) represents the kind of social media strategy I often recommend to my clients. This is an example of taking your social media content strategy to the next level, by turning your platform into a valuable source of information.
Instead of sharing stock or “canned” content, this mortgage company is sharing specific information for a very specific audience. They are using social media platforms to keep their readers informed about local real estate market conditions, mortgage rate trends, and other timely content.
Better Content Equals More Followers
Now let me ask you this:
Which of the two companies mentioned above do you think would have an easier time attracting followers on social media? Which one would be more useful and beneficial, from a home buyer’s or homeowner’s perspective?
If you answered Summit City Mortgage, you would be correct. They’re the obvious “winner” in this comparison. Sure, I’ve made it pretty obvious. But it’s still a realistic scenario.
I know companies who operate on both ends of the spectrum, when it comes to social media content strategies. And I know from experience that if you want to succeed with a mortgage social media strategy, you have to work harder to provide better information.
Getting Local With Social
If you serve a localized audience, such as a specific city or metro area, you can drill down even further on this concept. You could even name and brand your social media accounts to support this kind of content strategy.
For instance, a mortgage broker or loan officer in the Phoenix area could brand their social media account as the “Phoenix Mortgage Advisor.” They could share updates on the Phoenix-area real estate market, local home-price trends, mortgage rates, types of loan programs available in the Phoenix area … you get the idea.
This is often referred to as a “hyperlocal” marketing strategy. And it could help you connect with local home buyers and homeowners within the geographical area you serve.
Here’s the bottom line to all of this:
When it comes to using social media as a mortgage professional, you get out of it what you put into it. If you take the low-energy approach and copy and paste canned content provided by someone else, you probably won’t get very far. You aren’t giving people a good reason to follow your social media accounts.
But if you create a useful informational service designed for a specific audience, you will likely enjoy better results over the long-term.