Home buyers are often encouraged to compare rates between lenders when buying a home. Yet, according to a 2020 study from the National Association of Realtors, only 73% of buyers interviewed more than one lender. 

For brokers and lenders, it’s vital to know how to market mortgage loans to rise above your competition. Here are some tips for refining your mortgage marketing plan.

Why Lenders Should Be Marketers

Lenders are in the business of making dreams come true. Your services provide customers with affordable options and can take the confusion out of the entire process. 

But you’re not the only game in town. Home buyers have a sea of options to choose from. If you want to increase the visibility of your lending practice, you’ll need a marketing plan that helps you stand out.

Top 10 Marketing Ideas for Lenders

Here are a few tried-and-true marketing ideas for lenders that can help promote your business.

1. Define Your Goals

Start by defining your goal. Are you seeking to create a comprehensive marketing plan for your business? Or are you looking to create a marketing campaign to drive a particular area?

Knowing your goals ahead of time can keep you focused throughout the process. Your goal might also help you narrow down your strategy or direct you to choose a particular marketing method or channel. Additionally, a clearly-defined goal will help you evaluate the success of your marketing plan down the line.

If your lending practice occupies a unique industry niche, this can further help you refine your goal. For example, do you specialize in commercial real estate or loans for first-time lenders? If so, you can create a plan to reach those who can benefit the most from these specialized services.

2. Create a Borrower Persona

Lenders must also understand the needs and behaviors of their target market. One way to do this is to create a “borrower persona.” How would you describe the lifestyle of your typical client? Think about things like:

• Age
• Income level
• Marital status
• Budget

Creating a borrower persona can help you think through ways of nurturing a long-term relationship. A borrower persona might also help you keep your lending practice focused on your target market.

Can you have more than one borrower profile? Of course. But the more you can focus on a unique market, the more effective your future marketing campaigns will be.

3. Design a Customer Funnel

A customer funnel is a process by which prospective borrowers are introduced to your business and guided to commit. A typical customer funnel will look something like this:

• Awareness (learning about your company for the first time)
• Evaluation (deciding on whether to choose your services)
• Commitment (choosing you as the preferred lender)

Your marketing strategy will look different at each phase of the funnel. At the top of the funnel, you’ll rely on a broad-based approach, such as social media marketing or pay-per-click (PPC) advertising. Content marketing can help borrowers evaluate your expertise and services.

The closer you are to the bottom, the more personal you should become. Email marketing platforms can offer a direct approach and help you nudge interested parties into committing.

4. Set a Budget

Marketing campaigns require funding. Social media and pay-per-click advertising cost money depending on the number of people you reach. It’s important to determine how much you’re willing to spend and how much to allocate to different marketing channels.

A customer relationship management platform already has mortgage marketing services built in. These tools can help you save money on separate systems as well as save you time through pre-built content, web templates, and more.

5. Build a Quality Website

The first step to cultivating your online presence is through a quality website. Even if you already have a web page, it’s always good to consider an update to keep your content fresh. Consider such questions as:

• Is my site’s appearance clean and modern?
• Does my site look great on mobile devices?
• Can customers navigate the site easily?
• How does my site help me capture customer data?

Search engine optimization (SEO) strategy can also help you leverage keywords to reach the top of search engine results pages. For instance, you want to make sure your site shows up at top of the search results when a customer Googles “mortgage lenders near me.” 

Including the right keywords (along with your location) can help you connect with more customers.

6. Create Compelling Content

Content marketing remains one of the best mortgage ideas for lenders. After all, you have a wealth of knowledge — why not share it with the world?

Lenders can create blog posts and even video posts (or “vlogs”) that offer something of value. A post called “Tips for New Home Buyers,” for example, might generate interest and introduce your business to first-time buyers.

Over time, your content will become a resource library that adds value to your website. You can also promote your content through social media, where “likes” and “shares” can give your business greater exposure.

Make sure your content contains a section that enables you to capture leads. Asking readers to subscribe to a newsletter can be a good start, but you might have better results by offering something of value. A free e-book, for example, can be a great “lead magnet” that helps you build your mailing list.

7. Leverage Social Media Channels

Businesses love social media because it offers free exposure. But most major platforms (Facebook, Instagram, Twitter) also have paid advertising options. If you’re wondering how to market mortgage loans, these channels might be a good starting point.

You might promote a particular post to attract new viewers to your website. Facebook offers several options for online marketers, including options for video content.

Staying active on social media by responding to comments and questions can build credibility.

Admittedly, content marketing and social media promotion can be demanding. But the best customer relationship management (CRM) platforms offer mortgage marketing services that make it easier. Pre-built marketing content can keep you agile and efficient as you build your following. 

Your CRM may also help you produce video content, which you can share online through your webpage or social media channels.

8. Invest in Digital Advertising

Taking an ad out in the newspaper is a thing of the past. These days, marketers rely on digital pay-per-click (PPC) ads. You design the ad using the tools provided by the platform, and users will see your ad when they meet the right criteria.

With Google Ads, for example, the popular search engine will display an ad for your business each time a user searches for related companies.

You’ll pay only when users click on the ad — not when the ad is displayed. You can also select the number of desired clicks, which can help you integrate these PPC methods into your marketing budget.

9. Host a Local Event

Your best customers will no doubt be local. Reach this target market by hosting a local event. You might even partner with other real estate professionals to organize a helpful seminar. 

Organize the topic around the needs or interests of your target market. “Tips for First-Time Buyers” will help you connect with younger adults interested in buying a house. Using the event to capture customer data can help you build your email marketing list and provide follow-up opportunities.

If in-person events are too cumbersome, you might host a live webinar. This allows you to connect directly with your target market and may even be a better option for busy customers. You can also use the registration process to build your email mailing list and follow up with attendees.

10. Build a Referral Network

Your best leads might come from your immediate social network. It also helps to have a modern customer relationship management (CRM) solution. 

Local realtors may be impressed by how you’ve built a mortgage pipeline and marketing funnel. This makes them more willing to work with you, and your CRM system makes it easy for realtors to share leads even on the go.

These leads enter the top of your marketing funnel, allowing you to follow up through directed email marketing.

Following up with your former clients can also be an effective way to generate leads. Sending a thank-you message to your satisfied clients can remind them of the help you provided. This may prompt them to recommend your services to others who may be looking to buy a house.

Bonus Tip: Leverage CRM Mortgage Marketing Services

Now that you’ve learned some good marketing ideas for lenders, the best way to put your plan into action is with the right tools. The BNTouch platform is an all-in-one software solution that reduces administrative burdens and helps you focus on the customer. 

To see these features in action, contact BNTouch to request a demo.

The post Stay Ahead of the Competition with a Mortgage Marketing Plan appeared first on .

A crucial component of marketing yourself as a loan officer is social media. Social media has made it easier than ever for businesses to reach their target audience, with both its accessibility and the sheer number of internet users on social media. 

Social media has assisted businesses of all sizes in establishing customer connections for years. While it is a helpful tool in increasing traffic and lead generation, more than anything else, social media helps businesses gain more exposure. 

With all that said, it’s a lot easier to state the benefits of using social media than it is to start.

There’s also the issue of keeping up the momentum –knowing what to post, finding the right image, editing it, and writing a catchy headline…

It’s a lot of work, we know!

Read on to learn the steps that can make social media content less intimidating and assist you in creating a lead-generating strategy.

Have you checked out the newly expanded Social Media Marketing Program? Our awesome automated evergreen content now also comes with done-for-you branded content to share on your personal social channels plus the ability to create your own branded social content for partners to share. 

Learn more in this video.

How To Create A Mortgage Social Media Strategy

1. Define your Audience

If you’re a loan officer marketing your services to everyone you can, you’re wasting time, energy, and money. Let’s say, for example, you’re based in Texas. Instead of marketing to “everyone in Texas,” it may be helpful to narrow it down to “first-time homebuyers with poor credit looking to buy in Houston.” Being aware of and planning for your audience, in particular, can help you reach the right people with the right message and more successfully accomplish your marketing objectives.

So, to start, decide who your target market is. Broadly, you may say a homebuyer, but what does a homebuyer specifically look like?  You should base the specifics of who these people are on your market research and the audience information you already have.

Find your target audience by:

1. Gathering data. You must be aware of your target market’s characteristics to reach them. To effectively market to your audience, you should learn what a typical homebuyer’s age, location, and engagement trends are on various sites. Although gathering this data may seem difficult, a CRM makes this information easily accessible and simple to use.
2. Taking advantage of social media analytics. Many social media sites, including Facebook and Twitter, have built-in analytics that can provide you with information about your followers, such as when, where, and other interests they may have. Additionally, using these tools with business accounts is free.
3. Keeping up to date with the competition. You’ll gain insights into how to communicate with your audience by knowing what those around you are doing. To fill any gaps in your current strategy, you can look at where your rivals are lacking and improve upon that.

Once you’ve identified your target market, stay up to date on their needs and interests, and put a social listening strategy into practice.

2. Establish Clear Goals

Setting objectives that direct your work is crucial to succeeding at social media marketing. The SMART goal strategy provides a helpful framework for setting up fundamental goals and achieving your overall objectives.

• SMART is short for:
• Specific: It’s critical to be clear about the specific, smaller results you hope to achieve to meet your goals and measure your progress. By being specific, you can narrow in on what you and your team need to do to achieve your larger goal. For instance, you might want to increase your Instagram followers by 15% this quarter as a specific social media goal.
• Measurable: You have to have a way to quantify whether or not you have succeeded in achieving your goal. Having clear ways to measure your goals can do that– you can use metrics to gauge your development and adjust your goals as necessary. For instance, if you discover that likes and follows don’t result in increased website traffic, you can change the metric to one that will.
• Achievable: All of your objectives should be attainable for your company. Unrealistic goals can discourage workers and cause conflict in your business plan. Realistic goals can increase your productivity and keep your motivation up. Make sure to adjust your goals as you set them if it seems like you aren’t achieving them.
• Relevant: Ensure that your social media marketing objectives align with your overarching business goals. For instance, if increasing brand awareness is your goal, you might set a target of getting 25 social media followers to click through a post to a landing page that details your services.
• Timely: Your goals should have a clear and firm deadline to hold yourself accountable. Set a specific cadence to check in and ensure you’re staying on track rather than setting a goal for some vague time in the near future.

Using SMART goals gives you a place to start, as well as a way to check in on your progress and make adjustments as necessary. Even though social media marketing has many moving parts, these goals can help to keep you on track and not get disoriented.

3. Administer your resources wisely

Social media tasks are often mindlessly handled as an afterthought for loan officers. It may seem that you’re saving money and time by just handing social media to whoever has the free time, whether that be yourself or a colleague, but managing social media successfully calls for specific abilities such as:

• A strategic mind
• Organizing abilities
• Branding knowledge

Hiring a specialist to manage your social media can be beneficial if you have the funds. If you don’t have the funds to hire a social media manager, you can still spend money on social media advertisements, increasing reach and promoting brand awareness. 

4. Use each platform differently

You may want to post on as many platforms as you can be strong, but doing so could hurt your social media marketing plan. For instance, if your target audience is people over 40, you may want to focus less on TikTok. You will likely find that most of your audience is on Facebook or Twitter.

When you are creating your strategy, take into consideration:

• Where your competition posts
• Where your target audience is most likely to be
• Your metrics

Additionally, you should consider how to use each platform most effectively based on the purposes for which it was designed and the types of content that perform best there. For example, Facebook is good for quality live video streaming and interacting with followers one-on-one; Instagram and Tiktok rely more on visual content, like pictures, infographics, and short, entertaining videos.

Youtube is also for videos but is more oriented toward longer, informative videos. LinkedIn and Twitter are more written content-based, but Twitter is better for real-time conversations and quick news alerts, while LinkedIn is better for long-form written work, like articles and blogs. 

You might discover that the majority of your target demographic doesn’t tend to use fast-paced platforms like Instagram, so you’ll want to gear your focus more toward Facebook or LinkedIn. Maybe you want to be able to frequently give quick updates to your clientele, in which case Twitter may be helpful.

To get the most out of your marketing efforts, research the best strategy for each platform you use. While there are many ways to expand your small business, social media can be useful for attracting and keeping new clients.

Done-For-You Social Media for Loan Officers

5. Be consistent with your content.

Consistently posting compelling, engaging content is the key to success on social media. This will not only help to give you an appearance of trustworthiness, but it will also demonstrate that you care about engaging with your audience and that you have relevant information to share.

The principle of posting frequently is still valid despite changes in social media platforms’ algorithms over time. It increases the likelihood that your content will appear in newsfeeds. By concentrating on producing consistent, pertinent content, you can convince the algorithms that your posts deserve to appear in different newsfeeds, which will eventually draw users to your page.

6. Engage with your followers

Because social media users enjoy interacting with brands, you can gain advantages like:

• Increased brand awareness and a broader market reach
• Increased brand loyalty
• Seen as a local expert

According to Forbes, a staggering 83% of consumers place a high value on the customer experience, which makes the potential for a high return on investment (ROI) enormous. This includes interactions with brands on social media that help customers feel seen, heard, and understood. Using social media, you can keep an eye on conversations as they happen and quickly address any queries or concerns from your audience.

This can mean several things: it can include posing questions about your offerings, making Facebook groups, and employing the use of fun features like GIFs, emojis, and videos.

It can also be helpful to employ tools like Instagram Live to open up a dialogue with people looking to purchase or refinance a home. You can answer their questions and let your experience speak for itself as you engage with both prospective and current clients in real-time. 

Allow yourself at least an hour a day of constant social media activity to keep engagement high. 

With this hour, however, you should do your best to respond to any urgent concerns as quickly as possible throughout the day.  

7. Keep things professional

Remember that whenever you post something on social media, you are representing your company. Too frequently, posts can be misinterpreted, upsetting followers and causing conflict. Consider developing a social media policy to direct your staff members’ posts and interactions to avoid any unnecessary issues. 

A typical social media policy will include the following:

• Clear, non-confusing guidelines on what to post and how to react to unfavorable comments
• Platform regulations and guidelines
• The consideration of brands
• Security measures

Investing in a social media policy can ensure that your company is prepared for any situation. Remember that social media is fundamentally about putting your customer service philosophies into practice.

8. Hone in your brand identity

Your company’s brand identity makes customers relate to you and distinguishes you from the rest. Therefore, consistency should be maintained across all marketing channels, including print, digital, and social media.

For loan officers, maintaining brand consistency can be difficult, especially in the beginning. But it’s significant in all aspects of your company, and social media is no exception. As you post, be sure to maintain your brand voice (how you speak to customers), keep your posts consistent across each platform, and concentrate on your value proposition. 

A consistent brand identity can help increase loyalty and make it simpler to decide what to post.

9. Quality over quantity

Instead of randomly producing as many posts as you can per day on as many platforms as possible, you should concentrate on producing regular, high-quality posts. It’s actually very likely that posting too many low-quality items will penalize your account and flag you as spam.

It’s also difficult to keep up with a schedule that requires you to post several times a day. So ultimately, posting too often will end up hurting rather than helping your strategy.

Consider implementing a social media calendar to reduce these risks. You can use these calendars to organize your schedule and plan posts in advance. Marketers can keep track of the various moving parts of social media by categorizing posts into categories like when to post, post captions, post visuals, and which platforms to post on.

To keep your posts’ quality high, constantly ask yourself before posting something: Does this information benefit my readers? Is this something new, motivating, inspiring, or enjoyable? Does the text cite its sources?

You can use these to produce high-quality content that interests and draws readers.

10. Watch your outcomes

Social media marketing is influenced by various variables, so it’s crucial to evaluate and track progress. Analytics are helpful because they can improve campaigns, set new objectives, and identify tracking metrics.

Before you begin tracking, you should decide which metrics are most critical to your marketing objectives. 

The most typical metrics include:

• ReachsEngagementsImpressions
• Mentions
• Posting clicks
• Video views

Although social media marketing can seem intimidating, there is much to gain. When done properly, social media marketing can be a reliable, cost-effective solution to keeping your pipeline filled and your referral network active.

If you still need help with your social media presence (or would like a quickstart way to supplement your posts), consider adding our social media marketing to your website plan. Click below to learn more and schedule a conversation with an account executive.

See Our Newly Expanded Mortgage Social Media

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Is your lending practice going digital? A digital mortgage process can make you more agile and efficient. But it’s also important to consider all the moving pieces when you make the switch. Here are some helpful tips to keep in mind when switching to a digital process: 

Choose the Right Platform

For starters, make sure you choose the right platform. There are many different customer relationship management (CRM) tools available. They are not all created equal. 

Take your time to consider the features of a digital system and how these features align with your business goals. It might be helpful to start with a list of your key business processes. Then, you can match this list to the platforms on the market. 

But don’t stop there. Consider where you want your lending process to be in, say, five years. Then, choose a provider that can get you there by offering marketing tools and advanced reporting features.  

Stay Focused on Your Relationships

A CRM platform or other software system might seem like a magic bullet. But in business, people always make a difference. Your digital system should therefore supplement your client relationships. 

For instance, you can use automated communication tools to send updates to your clients. But you can also use the communication portal to offer personalized guidance that your clients are sure to appreciate.     

Make Time for Content Creation

Switching to a digital mortgage process will also open new doors regarding marketing. The best software platforms will include options to help you make custom videos or other forms of web content. These templates are helpful but you will still need time and input to craft material that reflects your business.     

Delegate Wisely

When you implement a new system, you may discover that you have more features than you can manage on your own. Lending companies can delegate certain roles and responsibilities to ensure efficiency throughout the workforce. 

For example, consider appointing someone to be in charge of marketing content. Another worker might be in charge of conducting customer surveys. The point is to use your new platform’s features so your business can reach its full potential.   

Let Your People Adjust

Change always takes time. While today’s digital systems are more intuitive than ever, some of your staff members may need time to switch to a digital mortgage process. 

This transition may also mean offering training to bring everyone up to speed on the features of your program and how to use them as part of the customer journey. You might even highlight success stories, showing the benefits of relying on this new system. 

Make the Switch

With the right platform, it’s easier than ever to go digital. BNTouch offers an all-in-one CRM platform. You can use our tools for marketing your company and monitoring your core processes. To see these features in action, request a demo today.

We’ll show you how much of your work we can automate.

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