As a loan officer, it is important to have a sound marketing strategy in place if you want to be successful. Mortgages are a complex product with many options and consumers need guidance when shopping for one. The person they choose to work with when buying a home is often just as important as the mortgage itself. Whether you are just starting out, or are a seasoned mortgage professional, these 5 marketing ideas will help you become a more successful loan officer.
Improve your Networking
Direct networking with industry professionals is one of the easiest ways to bring in regular clients. First, take a look at who your current networking partners are. Are they sending you consistent referral business or are they sporadic and inconsistent? If it is the latter, it may be time to replace them or to look into additional professionals to work with. Maybe there is a Realtor in your local area that you know is successful and you feel there is a partnership opportunity there. Reach out! It is never too late to foster a successful relationship with a partner you have always wanted to work with.
Once you have established a reliable network of partners, be sure you are promoting them. By promoting your partners, you are not only sending business their way, you are also showing that you are committed to the partnership. One of the best ways to promote a partner is through social media posts. Social media posts are easily shareable to massive audiences. A good post can reach thousands and thousands of viewers and potential clients. Email marketing is another tool for shareable promotions. Highlight your partners in monthly newsletters, or unique email campaigns. Be sure to create a page for your partners and promote them as recommended professionals on your website. All of these options provide something tangible that you can show to your partners, helping them see the value in working with you.
Stay in Front of Your Past Clients
It is always important to keep your name in front of past clients. Even if a past client isn’t in the market for a refinance or a new home, there’s a good chance they might know someone who is and can pass your information along as a referral. Some great ways to stay in front of past clients are through social media platforms, email marketing such as monthly newsletters, and even direct mail.
Social media can be one of the best ways to stay in front of clients. With a proven social media strategy in place, you can engage with past clients through both entertaining and informational posts. Be sure to have variety in your strategy. Too many mortgage-specific posts, or too many attempts at making humorous posts could cost you followers. Balance is key!
These same principles apply to email marketing. An automated newsletter is a great way to reach your past clients 12 times per year while providing them with some industry-related information as well as share-worthy content. Content such as recipes, funny stories, or infographics can be shared with anyone which can put your name in front of an even larger group than just your past-client database.
Personalized messages can be a great touch as well. Once a year, write a hand-written note to past clients on the anniversary of their close. Be specific if you can. A personalized message will have a greater impact than one that sounds generic.
Easy Email Marketing
Every loan officer should have an email marketing system at their fingertips. Ideally, one that is simple to use, yet flexible enough to provide the customization you need for effective email marketing. Before you begin writing email campaigns, it is important to be able to automatically add website visitor information to your database. This can be easily achieved through lead capture tools.
Sort your database into various groups. This allows you to target specific message to specific types of clients. For example, you can target your past clients with messages related to refinancing options, or you can send messages to prospective clients about new loan programs that might meet their needs. The better you do at sorting and grouping clients, the more customized you can make your emails. When sending emails, but sure to include snippets in the email, with links back to the primary content on your website. This is valuable for driving traffic to the website which can improve your website ranking.
Promote Your Social Media
As we touched on earlier, social media is an outstanding way to stay in front of your clients. It is important to stay active on all your social media accounts. You should attempt to post at least once per day on these platforms. Be sure that your content is engaging and include variety within your posts. Remember, the content is for your followers, not for you. Your followers are most likely interested in mortgage related information, but social media is also a platform for entertainment. Use these social media platforms to keep in touch with current and past clients, and business professionals you are working with. Commenting on and sharing their posts is a great way to stay active.
LinkedIn is a great platform that you should be using as well. However, it should be treated a little differently than Facebook or Instagram. Use LinkedIn for staying in touch with business professionals and for networking purposes. Don’t attempt to sell your products or services here. Show your industry expertise and the business will follow.
Improve Your Online Reputation
When making a significant purchase, how often do you read reviews for products or services you are considering? If you are like most, it is quote often. Your online reputation means everything these days. If you have a poor reputation, consumers will just skip right over you when researching loan officers to work with.
Always be actively working on generating reviews. Ask both current and past clients if the had a good experience working with you and if so, ask them to leave you a quick review on Yelp, Facebook, or Google. The more quality reviews you can generate, the more success you will have.
Ensure your business information is accurate across all of these sites as well. A consistent business name, address, and telephone number will make it easy for your clients to locate you on any of these sites. Accurate information also helps search engines gather information about you as well. The more accurate your information is, the better your search placement will be. If your information is scattered and inaccurate, search engines may be able to associate a potential client’s search with your business.
Don’t wait. Start implementing some of these strategies into your marketing efforts today. The sooner you get into the habit of doing these things regularly, the sooner you will see results!
