If you’re a mortgage broker or loan officer, you know that selling mortgages is all about relationship-building. In this industry, networking works. The only thing that’s changed is how you network. Though word-of-mouth and face-to-face marketing are effective for some clients, more and more people are heading online to start their home-buying journey. That’s why digital marketing is a worthwhile complement to your traditional marketing strategy. 

According to the National Association of Realtors Research Group, Millennials (ages 22-29) made up the largest share of home buyers at 38 percent in 2019. Millennials are known for being highly active in the digital world, with more than 90 percent on social media and more than 90 percent owning a smartphone. Missing out on this market could be a huge loss. 

Whether you’re a loan officer, a mortgage broker, or a financial institution looking for ways to up your digital marketing game, we have some tips to get you started.

Web Presence

At base, you need to have a website that explains what you do, why you’re different, and how people can contact you. These days, when people want information about literally anything, they go to the internet. If you’re not there, you’re missing out on potential clients. 

Ideally, you have a website with killer SEO, content, and graphics that draw people in and multiple ways to engage with your content and provide their contact information. Your website is a place to provide helpful tools for potential leads and use them to grow your contact database. Tools can include loan application checklists, payment calculators, homebuyer guides, and more. By requiring an email address to access these tools, you can grow your email database and continue to nurture those leads with relevant offers and content.

Utilize a Blog

A proven way to draw in clients who don’t know about you or your institution is to create content your target audience will want to read on the internet. People may not be interested in reading about all of the loans you offer, but they might be interested in how to prepare for buying a home or how to improve their credit. As someone in the finance industry, you have insight and expertise on a subject that’s mysterious to many, and that’s valuable. Use that knowledge to draw interest and build trust with those who encounter you on the internet. If you have lots of quality content on your website that is helpful to readers, they will turn to you for advice and, eventually, a mortgage.

Blog content can make you more personable, showing that you’re interested in sharing information about your field in general, not just the next sale. They’re also great for sharing on social media to drive people to your website, which we’ll get into more below.

Organic and Paid Social Media

Likely, you’re in your profession because you know how to network. Social media is networking online. Consider LinkedIn: Here, you can reach out to strategic partners such as real estate agents and builders to develop relationships that turn into future leads. Strike up a conversation with them by commenting on their work anniversary or a post they shared – it could lead to coffee and an eventual partnership. This is a time-efficient way to create contacts in the industry. Social media platforms such as LinkedIn, Facebook, and ActiveRain are ideal places to make connections with those outside your current network.

Paid social media is also an effective way to reach people you don’t already know. With channels like Facebook, you can create ads or share your blog posts and target certain traits such as “likely to move” or other demographics to hone in on relevant leads. Social media is an ideal place to share client testimonials or infographics about what’s going in with interest rates or the real estate market. 

Email Marketing

Similar to blogging, utilizing email marketing can also help you build relationships with people by providing helpful tips, news, and updates on market changes, interest rates, and trends. Think about the needs of your audience and the useful information you can share. Besides being another driver to your website, email marketing also helps keep your services top-of-mind by reminding them of your presence on a regular basis (without overdoing it and becoming annoying, of course). 

Automation 

This may all sound like a lot of work, but through automation tools such as Hubspot, you can have technology do a lot of the work for you. With these tools, you can automate follow-up emails to be sent to those who inquire on your website or download one of your free homebuyer’s guides. For financial institutions, you can set up notifications to be sent directly to loan officers when certain actions are taken on your website. 

For example, Hubspot allows you to integrate your website, blog, emails, social media posts, and analytics for all in one place. This makes it easy to understand what you’ve done and what’s working. 

Are you ready to take your mortgage marketing approach to the next level by incorporating a digital strategy? Contact us here at PRIME to see how we can help you accomplish your sales goals.

If you enjoyed this edition of PRIME Pulse, take a look at some of our other related articles:

• 4 Steps Toward a Better Content Marketing Strategy
• 5 Reasons Your Website is Never Really Done
• 10 Ways to Communicate Empathy and Authority Amidst Crisis
• 4 Reasons Your Messaging is Falling Flat
• The How-To on Facebook Marketing Campaigns