Whether you are new to the mortgage industry or are a seasoned veteran, understanding mortgage marketing and implementing a strong marketing strategy is essential for your success. Determining what sets you and your business apart from the competition and leveraging that in your marketing is a key factor in developing the right marketing strategy. Here we look closely at the importance of mortgage marketing and offer tips to help you strategically boost your existing campaign.
Key Takeaways
- Mortgage marketing is essential for success in the industry and includes tactics like email campaigns, social media, and community involvement.
- Creating a unique value proposition (UVP) helps you stand out from competitors by showcasing what sets your business apart.
- Utilizing a variety of platforms, like social media and email campaigns, helps reach more potential clients and generate leads.
- Partnering with real estate professionals and being active in the local community can help build trust and credibility.
- Monitoring your marketing strategies and making adjustments as needed is important to achieve the best results.
What is mortgage marketing?
Mortgage marketing is the process of creating and executing a marketing strategy that promotes your business, informs and educates, and persuades potential leads to choose you or your company over your competition. Mortgage marketing can include everything from email marketing campaigns and direct mail flyers to developing referral partner relationships and being an active member of your local community. Successful loan officers and mortgage brokers understand the importance of a powerful mortgage marketing strategy and understand that it is important to constantly evaluate current strategies and make adjustments as needed in order to achieve the best results.
Why is mortgage marketing important for your business?
A clear and powerful mortgage marketing plan is a key factor in a business plan for every successful loan officer or mortgage broker. The right marketing strategy focuses on increasing your exposure to potential clients, helps create and maintain a strong online presence, creates brand awareness, and attracts new leads that are ready to close the deal. Without a mortgage marketing strategy in place, you will struggle to maintain reliable lead generation.
19 mortgage marketing strategies to help boost your business
You know you need to have a comprehensive marketing strategy in place, but what should that include? How do you know which strategies will work best for your business? The fact is everyone is different. While some of the following tips are recommended for every mortgage marketing strategy, you may find that certain marketing options work better than others for your business. When implementing new marketing strategies, it is always important to monitor and track the success of each one, so you know where your business is coming from and where to best focus your marketing efforts.
Here we take a closer look at many of the different marketing strategies you have available.
1. Define your unique value proposition.
The mortgage industry is saturated with loan officers and mortgage brokers so when it comes to marketing, it is essential that you clearly convey how you are different from your competition. Before you create your marketing strategy, it is essential that you define your unique value proposition.
In marketing, a unique value proposition (UVP) is a statement that highlights what your business provides the customer, how the customer will benefit from your services, how your services will help address their needs, and how your business is different from the competition. When creating your UVP, ask yourself these questions:
- What do you want your business to be known for in the mortgage industry?
- What is your target customer demographic?
- What is something your business can do better than your competition?
- What markets are underserved in your local area, and can you target those markets?
- Is there something specific about how you conduct business that is different than the competition?
2. Find your niche.
In the competitive mortgage industry, it can be very difficult to stand out above the competition. This is where finding a niche market can truly make a difference. By focusing on a specific area of the market, you can quickly become an expert in that market, drawing the attention of potential leads. Example niches can include first-time buyers, refinancing, low-credit mortgages, and USDA or other specific loan types. Once you determine a niche, become an expert in that niche.
3. Create a professional website.
If you don’t already have a website, now is the time to have one created. If you already have a website but it hasn’t been updated since the early 90s, it probably needs a makeover! In today’s digital world, having an online presence is essential, as it is what you offer through your website. In fact, according to a report from Forbes, 58% of borrowers report that having access to an online application is likely to affect their lending decision. When creating a website, you want to include clear and precise information, easy ways for potential leads to contact you or signup for additional information, and always include a strong call to action that guides the user in what they should do to proceed.
4. Optimize your site for SEO and mobile viewing.
It doesn’t matter how well-created and eye-catching your website is if users are unable to find the site in their search results. In order to be relevant in user searches on sites like Google, your website needs to be optimized with your target keywords. For example, if your niche is first-time homebuyers, you want to ensure that you include these keywords in your site.
Statista reports that as much as 64% of all search engine visits are performed by a mobile device, such as a smartphone. Given this is a majority of search visits, you want to ensure that your website is easy to navigate and displays clearly on a mobile device.
5. Engage in social media marketing.
When used correctly, social media marketing can be a powerful tool for information gathering, customer engagement, and lead generation. For mortgage brokers and loan officers, the most powerful social media platforms can include Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and LinkedIn, but it is important to understand the ins and outs of each platform and how to use them best.
As of the second quarter of 2022, Facebook had 2.93 billion monthly active users, with the average American user spending an average of 82 minutes per day on the site. This provides a giant platform for you to take advantage of when it comes to marketing. However, it is important to focus your advertising dollars on marketing to your local area. Using Facebook’s Audience Builder, you can create ads that focus on your local market and help you engage with new, potential clients.
Instagram marketing focuses more on eye-catching images to draw viewers’ attention. This is a great site to showcase a photo of a client getting their new keys or walking through the door of their new home.
Twitter is a great platform to interact and engage with potential customers. Keeping posts short and informative and taking advantage of mortgage-industry hashtags, such as #mortgage, can get your name and your information out to millions of people interested in mortgages or following the industry.
LinkedIn is a social media platform that focuses on building professional relationships. This is a great place to share industry news, meet and engage with professional partners, and establish a great referral network.
6. List your business with Google Business Profile.
Creating a Google Business Profile, formerly known as Google My Business, allows you to create a free listing that includes your business in Google maps and in the local results section at the top of search results. In this profile, you can include all of your business contact information, photos of your business or products, and a collection of Google reviews clients have submitted for your company.
7. Create email marketing campaigns.
Email marketing is a powerful strategy in today’s digital age. Email marketing campaigns can include anything from a monthly newsletter packed full of mortgage industry information to simple birthday or anniversary wishes to previous clients. Keeping your name in front of previous and potential clients on a regular basis makes them more likely to remember your name when they need your services. While sending multiple email campaigns can seem like a daunting task, implementing a CRM into your business not only helps you better manage your contacts, it allows you to automate many different email marketing campaigns at once, leaving you more free time to focus on other areas of the business.
8. Create a content marketing campaign.
As a loan officer or mortgage broker, borrowers turn to you for expertise throughout the mortgage loan process. For the average borrower, this process can often be overwhelming or confusing. Creating a content marketing campaign that includes articles or blog posts covering common questions by borrowers helps to answer their questions while also displaying your expertise. While these posts are great to include on your website or on social media platforms, you should also consider creating content for your referral partners as this provides exposure for your business as well as a service to your referral partner.
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9. Add video marketing to your strategy.
The use of video marketing has become a popular trend for marketing professionals in every industry, and the mortgage industry is no different. Adding creative video ads or even informational videos to your site is a great way to engage and connect with potential clients while boosting your lead generation. In fact, a survey by Hubspot reports that 86% of video marketers say video has been very effective for lead generation and this number has been increasing every year. In addition, 94% of marketers report that the use of video content has increased their user understanding of their products or services. Keep in mind that the average American spends as much as 19 hours a week watching online videos, meaning your simple video ads can reach a large audience.
When creating a video marketing strategy, there are some basic steps. These include:
- Determine your target audience and consider which sites or platforms they are likely to spend the most time.
- Create a budget and timeline for your video. While you can choose to make a professional video production in a studio, today’s smartphones make it much easier to create a quality video right in your office.
- Choose the best platform to upload your video, such as YouTube.
- Determine what your marketing goals are for your video and the message you want your video to convey, as well as the type of video you are going to make. Videos can include educational videos, customer testimonial videos, personalized message videos, and many more.
10. Don’t forget referrals.
Referrals play an important role in your marketing strategy, whether they are from satisfied customers or from professional referral partners. Maintaining regular contact with previous customers helps keep your name on their minds, making it easy for them to suggest your business to family or friends when they are looking to purchase a home or refinance. Regularly working with your professional partnerships also helps to boost a regular referral stream.
11. Automate your marketing when possible.
Marketing and lead generation can be a full-time job on its own, leaving you no time to focus on customer relationships and closing deals. Implementing a quality CRM in your business can help you automate many different aspects of your marketing strategy, leaving you more time to focus on other parts of your business.
12. Utilize mortgage ads on different platforms.
In the digital world, your advertising opportunities are endless. The most common advertising opportunity is through Google Ads. This advertising opportunity allows you to create ads that display when a person searches for specific keywords. The more targeted you make your keywords, the more targeted leads you will attract. But keep in mind, your competition is likely doing exactly the same and their ads will also display. This is where ad design and information are key. You want to make sure the ads you create highlight your UVP.
Another common advertising option is on social media platforms, such as Facebook. American adults spend an average of 82 minutes per day on social media, so creating an ad that highlights your UVP and targets specific keywords will put you in front of potential leads.
For each advertising campaign, consider creating a unique landing page on your website that allows you to track the success of each individual campaign, allowing you to see what works and what doesn’t.
13. Get creative and catch the eye of potential leads.
When creating ads or other marketing copy, it is important to highlight your UVP in creative and fresh ways that not only point out what makes your company different in content but also in presentation. Don’t be afraid to try adding an industry-specific meme to your social media posts or highlight different colors in your marketing copy that draws attention to specific terms or keywords.
14. Team up with real estate professionals.
As a loan officer or mortgage broker, you often work with other industry professionals, such as realtors and title agencies. While working with these professionals is often necessary to close a loan, these individuals can also become valuable partners for you and your business. Working together with a real estate agent to hold an open house, for example, helps the real estate agent provide mortgage and loan information while also providing you with qualified leads.
15. Get involved in your community.
Becoming a successful loan officer or mortgage broker requires you to get your name and face out in front of people within your community. You work hard to build trust among community members while highlighting your industry expertise. A great way to do this is to become active in community events, either through sponsorship or simply attending the events and networking with the community.
16. Go live online.
While offering community educational presentations or creating recorded videos to upload are great marketing techniques, there is another option that allows immediate engagement with potential customers. Live platforms, such as Facebook Live, allow you to go live online providing answers to common questions consumers have while also opening up for live questions that you can answer directly to the consumer.
17. Share the news.
If you are having trouble coming up with ideas or talking points for content, videos, or even general networking, consider taking some time each week to simply monitor the news. The mortgage industry is impacted by a number of economic factors, such as real estate trends, interest rates, the stock market, and consumer confidence, just to name a few. Following the news, whether on television, Facebook, or your Twitter feed will keep you updated on industry news and trends, while also giving you information to share with your followers.
18. Don’t forget direct mail.
Direct mailings, such as postcards or flyers, have been a traditional mortgage marketing go-to for generations. While most turn to digital marketing today, direct mail can provide an alternative option that more viewers are likely to read. Consider your personal email inbox and how many promotional emails you may leave unread. Chances are your potential clients are the same. Choosing to send out direct mail flyers as well as email marketing helps to keep your name in front of potential clients. Unlike generations past, you are now able to track the success of direct mailing campaigns by adding a QR code or directing readers to a unique landing page on your website.
19. Location, location, location
As we mentioned above, signing up with local listings, such as Google Business Profile, and online local directories helps boost your SEO for your website when it comes to local searchers performed by consumers. In most cases, these listings are free and easily managed but they can be a powerful tool when it comes to lead generation.
The right marketing strategy can make all the difference.
As a mortgage broker or loan officer, you are always looking for ways to boost your lead generation and marketing efforts in order to meet your business goals. Implementing some or all of these mortgage marketing strategies can provide a fresh new approach to your marketing and help you develop a regular lead generation stream. Finding the right mix of marketing tools can help you create a marketing strategy that paves the way for a smooth drive to success.
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