A marketing director for mortgage brokers has found that many are cynical about social media because their LinkedIn and Facebook pages do not seem to deliver any leads.
Nick Bendel (pictured above left), director of copywriting agency Hunter & Scribe, said it was possible for brokers to win business through social media, but only if they were willing to play the long game and provide real value on their social media pages.
Bendel has shared his top five tips for brokers to win new clients on social media:
Bendel said before choosing a mortgage broker, many consumers research several potential candidates.
“This due diligence often involves looking at the brokers’ social media pages, so if you’re publishing content regularly, you’re going to seem active and professional. If you’re not, people might wonder if you’re still in business,” Bendel said.
“Another advantage of publishing regularly is that it increases the chances that potential clients and referral partners will see your content.”
Bendel said as strange as it sounded, the worst way to make sales on social media was to act “salesy”.
“That’s because salesy people come across as sleazy and desperate. The best way is to be helpful because you’ll appear friendly and professional,” he said.
“Focus on publishing content that is interesting, relevant and helpful – such as a post about the difference between offset and redraw – rather than posts that boast about how good you are. The more advice you provide, the more that people will see you as a trusted authority figure.”
Bendel said posts with images attracted more attention than those without, but the type of image also matters.
“If you publish a post on home loan approvals, then a graph illustrating this trend will be more powerful than a picture of a house. Hard data which include graphs makes you look knowledgeable and authoritative.”
Bendel said if you were based in Sydney and only service Sydney, you should focus on the Sydney property market.
“But if you’re a Sydney broker who services the entire country, you should publish content about markets throughout Australia,” he said. “Similarly, if your target market is first home buyers, you should write content that reflects the values and aspirations of younger people. By contrast, if your target market is self-employed borrowers, you should focus on business and the economy.”
Bendel said social media, like any content marketing, rarely delivered instant gratification unless a post went viral.
“Seldom happens, but it will take months or even years to build trust, credibility and brand recognition with your audience,” he said. “You should see that as a positive rather than a negative. That’s because most brokers aren’t willing to invest time and energy in regularly publishing quality content. If you do, you’ll (eventually) stand out from your rivals.”
Rhianna Farnan (pictured above right), from Hobart brokerage Derwent Finance is an advocate for mortgage professionals engaging with social media.
In May last year, The Derwent Finance TikTok account had over 16,000 followers and one of its videos received more than 1.4 million views.
“40% of Gen Z searchers turn to TikTok or Instagram before performing a traditional Google search, so if you are a broker and you are not active on social media and posting engaging posts, you could be missing out on a big chunk of a demographic,” Farnan said.
“Additionally, being active on social media and engaging with your followers can build a lot of trust and loyalty before the transaction starts. I believe that building trust with our clients is a crucial part of our industry because the more trust a client has for you, the easier the transaction can be.”
Farnan said often her most successful and relatable videos were of her sitting at her desk with her phone. She would be wearing no makeup and dressed in casual clothes because her audience would relate better to this.
“I suggest when you start posting videos to upload three to five times a day because this is how to build engagement and followers quickly; once you find a video that works and a popular topic, keep posting about it,” she said.
“Try not to sell yourself, people do not want to be sold to on social media. Use the platforms to build trust and to educate your viewers, your viewers will need to come to you organically. Also make sure you are following the social media guidelines for mortgage brokers and ensure you are only giving general advice.”
Are you a mortgage broker who is actively using social media? Tell us about your online presence in the comments below.
