If you have a social media account, chances are you have seen a wide variety of memes shared by friends and family. These memes are cultural shorthand or sorts designed to emphasize a story or point in an often humorous way. Because of their popularity and the fact that many users are eager to share them with their followers, companies are utilizing memes in their marketing strategies. But can funny mortgage memes really make a difference? The fact is, if you choose or create the right loan officer meme or real estate meme, it could go viral, and you could have hundreds or thousands of potential new followers in no time at all.
Key Takeaways
- Memes can be a powerful tool for mortgage lenders to generate leads, increase audience engagement, and educate borrowers in a fun and memorable way.
- Mortgage marketing memes can be educational, celebratory (e.g., clear to close), or request referrals from potential clients and industry partners.
- To effectively use memes in marketing, know your audience, take advantage of humor, don’t go overboard, stay compliant with regulations, and include your contact information on the meme.
- Incorporating memes in your marketing strategy can help target new followers and increase brand awareness, while staying current with social media trends.
What are mortgage memes?
Memes typically contain a culturally relevant image with the addition of text designed to convey the desired message. When creating a meme, you want an image that your target market will identify with immediately and then include relevant text that both fits the image and your desired marketing message.
Should loan officers use memes?
In the mortgage industry, meme marketing is an essential element if you want to engage in social media and boost your followers. Memes can be a powerful tool that can help mortgage lenders:
- Generate leads through referrals and new followers
- Increase your social media audience engagement
- Introduce your business to new followers with a creative and unique message that shows your personality
- Educate borrowers in the mortgage industry in a format that is more fun, engaging, and memorable
Types of memes for mortgage marketing
When creating memes for mortgage marketing, there are three main types of memes to consider. It is important to create a mixture of these different meme types as part of your mortgage marketing strategy as they will appeal to different audiences and draw in different followers.
Educational Memes
The loan process can be confusing and overwhelming for borrowers. By using a meme, you can address mortgage-specific terms or processes in a fun, yet educational manner that social media followers are more likely to engage with, understand, and remember than a blog post or educational post that is simply text. Here are some examples of educational memes.
Clear to close memes
In the mortgage industry, when a borrower is clear to close, it is time for celebration! It is time for your borrower to get the keys and move into their new dream home. Clear to close memes focus on this celebration and the positive moment this is for all homebuyers. You can even take advantage of this opportunity and use a phot-op of the buyers in front of their new home, turn the image into a congratulatory meme and post it to them as a thank you. Here are some examples of clear-to-close memes.
Asking for referrals
Whether you are looking for new leads or referrals to new industry partners, like realtors, memes can be a fun way to ask for referrals and partnerships. It is a way for you to share your personality and connect with buyers and real estate partners that you will connect with and work well with. Here are some examples of referral memes.
How to effectively use memes
Once you have created your memes, how do you effectively add them to your social media marketing strategy? Here we offer some basic tips to help you effectively use memes online to boost sales, engagement, and referrals.
1. Know your audience
Before creating and posting memes, it is important that you understand your target audience. If you are targeting primarily older homeowners for refinancing, then your memes should contain visual references and test that they will find humorous or engaging. In contrast, if you are targeting first-time homebuyers, you will likely have a little more creative freedom. No matter who your target audience is, you want to make sure your memes are not offensive in any way.
2. Take advantage of humor
In today’s stressful world, we can all use a laugh, and sharing a funny meme may be just what it takes to connect with that potential client or new lead. Delivering a meme that shows your humor and gives them a laugh is likely to be more memorable than a simple snippet of text in a social media post.
3. Don’t go overboard
While your personal social media feed may be filled with memes, as a mortgage lender, you don’t want to post too many memes. Adding memes in with other social media posts, such as blogs, market information, educational webinars, etc. provides a wide range of marketing opportunities and appeals to a wider audience.
4. Stay compliant
As with any of your marketing strategies, you must make sure any memes you create follow state and federal regulations, and you remain in compliance.
5. Add your contact information
When creating a meme, you want to make sure that you include your brand information, such as your name and contact information. This can be added to the image below the meme and can include your agency logo or other important contact information. This way, when your followers share the meme, new contacts know how to find you.
Leveraging memes to boost your bottom line
Staying on top of trends and what appeals to your target audience is essential for any marketing strategy. In today’s social media world, memes play a vital role. Including memes in your marketing strategy is a great way to target new followers and increase brand awareness.
At Good Vibe Squad, we understand just how important leads can be to business success. Our Unfair Advantage™ program delivers a boost to your lead generation. To learn more about how we can help you grow your business, schedule a strategy call with us today.
