If you’re interested in connecting with your audience in a humorous, and relatable way, give mortgage memes a try.

Memes are pieces of content expressed through videos, images, text, or a combination of the three. They often are funny or satirical and go viral due to their sharable and customizable format.

For this article, we created multiple mortgage memes in minutes using an online meme generator. We’ll share these examples to give you an idea of how to pull together your own unique mortgage memes.

Mortgage marketing is adopting 2023 marketing trends including personalized content and a relatable, human approach to connect with their audiences.

Let’s discuss how you can incorporate memes into your complete mortgage marketing strategy. We’ll also look at other techniques and tools to attract more qualified leads.

Attract more qualified mortgage leads to your business with our results-driven marketing services.

What is a meme?

Today’s memes often present as an image, video, or gif with a text overlay.

Memes are widely shared and often humorous, and they can be adjusted to suit an individual creator’s message.

Some users create them in photo editing programs. Others simply use an online meme generator that includes photos of the most popular memes and allows users to insert their own text.

Imgflip.com is among the most popular meme generators. Take a look at the screenshot below of a meme we created on the website.

You can also add your own image and create an entirely unique meme. But the most successful memes come from existing images that have become culturally relevant. Take, for example, the image of Liam Neeson above from the movie “Taken.”

Memes allow businesses and individuals to connect and engage with their audience while sharing relevant information.

How can mortgage professionals use memes?

Mortgage professionals should consider using memes as part of their mortgage marketing strategy. New ideas can boost brand awareness, encourage audience engagement, and attract new leads.

You can share memes on multiple platforms, including your social media channels, your website, your blog content, and emails and texts.

The trick is to maintain a healthy meme balance. Don’t overload your audience with memes, but instead share them sparingly and keep the content lighthearted and relevant.

Mortgage memes can be powerful for lenders to accomplish the following content marketing goals:

• Boost engagement
• Showcase your personality
• Inform or educate borrowers
• Reach new audiences
• Generate more leads

Memes can share thoughts and ideas in an entertaining and easily digestible format.

Let’s take a look at some of the considerations for using memes as a part of your strategy.

Considerations for using mortgage memes

As with any marketing strategy or campaign, mortgage memes must be thoughtfully executed.

This includes the following:

• Understanding your target audience and their sense of humor
• Creating your own unique, branded memes
• Planning which memes will perform on which platforms
• Measuring engagement and taking in any feedback

This should go without saying but never post memes that insult borrowers. And don’t make the loan process seem overly complicated or frustrating.

Best-case scenario, the audience loves your meme, comments about its relatability and humor, and shares it with their friends and followers.

Worst-case scenario, your audience is offended by the meme or misinterprets the message and unfollows your page.

There also are many in-between scenarios, from just ignoring the post to garnering a few “likes.”

Let’s take a look at how you can avoid a worst-case scenario and always aim for the best.

Understand the meme image

Meme images from a meme generator have a lot of context behind them. Make sure you understand where the image is from and how it is commonly used in popular culture.

While you can turn a meme template or image into something new, it’s helpful to understand the context of its usage so you are in on the joke, too.

Ensure the information is accurate

Meme images can only hold so much text. As you can see in the example above, you have to convey your message in as few words as possible to save space and not cover the image.

As a result, simplifying the information could lead to inaccuracies or misinterpretations from your audience.

Make sure the topic or joke you’re attempting translates in such a simple format.

Know your audience’s sense of humor

I can’t emphasize this point enough: You have to understand not only what your audience may find funny, but what is funny online.

While the two may not always align, understanding what’s funny and trending online right now can guide you to what your audience may like.

Some memes were funny at one time, but aren’t considered relevant or humorous anymore as time has passed.

It’s also easy to offend your audience. Taking the time to understand what they like is key to your mortgage meme’s success. To be safe, you can survey your audience to find out what memes they enjoy.

Or, you can post more easy, lighthearted content that can appeal to a range of audiences and narrow down what your target audience enjoys based on the level of engagement.

Take a look at your competition

Are your biggest competitors posting memes? What types of trends are they incorporating into their marketing strategies?

Of course, you’re not planning to steal any content. You’re just seeking inspiration and gauging what similar audiences are engaging with the most.

Who owns the rights to a meme?

According to The National Law Review, posting and sharing memes online as a form of expression is not actionable. They’re typically protected under the First Amendment and doctrines of fair use.

Meme activity is granted less protection when the intent is to profit from it without permission from the rightful owner.

Your mortgage memes also must comply with all federal and state marketing regulations.

Mortgage meme examples

The best mortgage memes are humorous but still convey a useful, relevant message to your audience.

Popular mortgage memes include:

• The excitement of closing on a loan
• Relatable frustration of mortgage rates
• The role of mortgage brokers and lenders
• Memes that poke fun at the process (tastefully)

For memes that express frustration in a humorous way, remember that you can share these types of memes and use the message to explain how you do things differently — or as an opportunity to explain the concept in detail and educate your audience.

1. Left Exit 12 Off Ramp

The “Left Exit 12 Off Ramp” meme pictures a car swerving onto an off-ramp. The meme author will write something the subject disapproves of vs. something they would prefer, and the car swerves toward the preference, according to knowyourmeme.com.

In the meme example above, the car, or “mortgage rates” swerve away from “stay the same” and onto the exit ramp, “drop right after a borrower locks it in.”

The meme pokes fun at the frustration of capturing the best rate during periods of volatile or fluctuating rates and offers loan officers the opportunity to step in with a solution.

2. One does not simply…

The image above is a screen capture from the film “Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring.” The character originally says, “One does not simply walk into Mordor.”

It is a popular meme used today to express what someone shouldn’t do. In the example above, we playfully emphasize the importance of not making a large purchase prior to closing.

You can expand on the idea to borrowers by explaining the do’s and don’ts while you wait to close on your loan.

3. The Great Gatsby cheers

The next example is an image from the film “The Great Gatsby.” The meme is often used to praise or toast someone or something.

In this case, we are congratulating the borrower for closing on their loan.

4. The Hotline Bling

The Drake Hotline Bling meme includes images from the singer’s music video for his hit single “Hotline Bling.”

The meme is used to express something the viewer doesn’t want vs. something they’d prefer instead.

We promote 2-1 buydowns in the meme above by expressing that Drake doesn’t want a 7% mortgage rate, but would prefer a 2-1 buydown to lower the rate.

5. So hot right now meme

This image was taken from a memorable scene in the film “Zoolander,” and is used to express something that is popular right now.

6. Success kid meme

Success Kid is a popular meme that is frequently used to express a win.

We used it again to convey the excitement of a lender calling a borrower and telling them they are cleared to close.

Remember to inject your own personality into mortgage memes and align this persona with your other content.

Where to distribute your mortgage memes

Your distribution plan for your mortgage memes depends on where your target audience hangs out, but also on which platform lends itself best to the meme format.

Instagram

Instagram, for example, may not be the best space for memes in 2023 because it doesn’t fit the platform’s ever-changing aesthetic. At times, Instagram has had to purge accounts for being solely meme-based.

Instead, memes on Instagram are best suited for Stories, which disappear in 24 hours, Instagram Reels for video memes, or for occasional posting on your main feed.

Facebook

Facebook is a popular platform for memes, either in your regular feed or in Facebook Stories, which works similarly to Instagram Stories.

LinkedIn

LinkedIn can work for the occasional meme as well, as long as it fits your audience on the platform. 

For example, you may choose to post memes that are targeted at other mortgage professionals or referral partners rather than borrowers.

Twitter

Twitter also is a meme-friendly space — and perhaps the most forgiving when it comes to frequent posting.

Experiment with different platforms and measure the level of engagement you get per post. This will help you determine which platforms are worth your time with memes and which are better suited for other content types.

We also recommend experimenting with different types of memes on different platforms to determine which audience responds to which meme.

How to outperform your competitors with mortgage marketing

Mortgage memes are just one part of your successful mortgage marketing strategy.

The single most effective way to beat your competitors in 2023 is with a thoughtful, carefully planned digital mortgage marketing strategy that includes content and incorporates the latest trends.

Leveraging your industry expertise, information on your current clients, and relationships with your referrals, you can refine your strategy to be more engaging, informative, and personal.

With a complete mortgage marketing strategy, you have the power to help your current and future borrowers make sense of what’s going on and guide them to the right decisions for their unique situation.

Let’s take a look at the marketing trends you need to know in 2023 to more effectively reach your target audience, from personalized content to AI tools and strategies.

Generate high-quality mortgage leads now.

Marketing trends to know in 2023

No matter what is going on in the housing market, you know that the right time to buy a home depends on many personal factors for homebuyer hopefuls — not just mortgage rates and home price averages.

The problem is that those homebuyer hopefuls don’t know this. They are reading the news, stressing about the rising rates, and feeling like their opportunity to purchase or refinance has passed.

This is where embracing the latest marketing trends — and incorporating them into your mortgage marketing strategy — comes into play. 

Use your expertise to build a strategy that speaks directly to your clients’ concerns, and helps them solve these problems.

We’ll show you exactly how to do this by skillfully adjusting your current strategy.

Personalized and relatable content

One consistent marketing trend in our post-pandemic world is personalized content that has a strong voice and speaks directly to your target audience. 

This voice is maintained across all channels and has proven to be effective in boosting customer engagement and overall ROI.

Personalized content is created based on the information you’ve gathered in the past about your clients. 

Depending on how sophisticated you’re able to be with your existing mortgage CRM, you may base the information on certain demographics such as location, age, or specific interests based on past interactions or behaviors.

As a mortgage loan officer or lender, this “voice” and content should be easier to execute than it is for other types of companies because you have a unique individual personality and style that you can embed into your content.

It just may take some practice to figure out how to translate your voice into your content.

Most importantly, have fun with it — and leverage content like mortgage memes. 

Consumers have a strong interest in seeing the human side of businesses because it helps them connect with you and make these important purchases and decisions.

Educational yet entertaining content

Educational content that is entertaining, otherwise known as “edutainment,” is not just for kids anymore, says Sprout Social.

Brands are increasingly leveraging edutainment in their marketing strategies to boost engagement.

The key is to strike the delicate balance between relatable humor and helpful tips to demystify confusing processes or explain complex topics simply.

TikTok creators are thriving in this area, combining memes and other relatable, relevant, timely jokes with content that is actually helpful and teaches viewers something.

Consider everything we just discussed concerning memes — if there’s a way to make complex topics funny while also sharing a meaningful, thoughtful message, your content is sure to perform well.

Consumer-direct marketing

Mortgages are just one of many products today, pivoting to consumer direct.

Most mortgage lenders and loan officers are used to preparing an experience that’s a mixture of in-person, over the phone, and email.

But as we collectively shift to a more digital mortgage process — even partially — we are going to have to reframe our marketing to reflect this shift.

Luckily, this goes hand-in-hand with our first point on being more relatable and personable as a business.

Mortgage professionals will have to work a bit harder to incorporate their voice and what makes them unique into their marketing, because they’re losing out on the chance to make in-person first impressions.

One of the best marketing tips for helping make that “missed” digital connection is video marketing.

Video marketing

Video is a major marketing trend and a nearly guaranteed engagement booster.

Consumers love to view and share videos online. Short-form video content is reigning due to the popularity of social media channels such as TikTok and Instagram, but depending on your chosen platforms, video can take on multiple formats.

For example, YouTube is best for longer-form video content, and Facebook is popular for live streams.

Examples of video marketing for mortgage professionals include:

• Educational videos on your loan products
• How to apply for a mortgage
• Tutorials on the mortgage process
• Series on a certain product or news topic
• Client referral or review
• Meet the team
• Personal holiday greeting

If video marketing seems intimidating, we have good news. Most people prefer videos that are lower quality and more authentic over high-quality, polished videos that don’t feel authentic.

A good place to start with your video strategy is on your social media channels. Going “live” on Facebook, Instagram, or TikTok is a good way to get in front of your followers and start engaging.

If you have a penchant for humor, you might enjoy taking to TikTok and trying out the latest trends with a mortgage twist.

No matter what you decide, it just has to be true to you to help your current and potential clients connect and engage with you.

Social media marketing

There are tons of ways to engage with your current and potential clients on social media, as well as your referral partners.

The more you engage, and the more others engage with you, the more your posts will appear in people’s feeds.

Consider these suggestions:

• Post mortgage memes
• Comment on the posts of your referral partners, or tag them in your own posts
• Frequently film and post short videos
• Post infographics
• Link to your blog posts or your referral partners’ blog posts
• Search for mortgage keywords and answer questions or frustrations from consumers
• Post quizzes, surveys, and polls
• Reply to all comments on your posts
• Reply to all reviews
• Reply to all direct messages

You’d be surprised how many businesses don’t reply to comments interested consumers leave on their posts or respond to direct messages.

Not only will the social media channel’s analytics and tools realize that you don’t reply to comments or engage often enough, but your followers certainly will notice — and they’ll stop commenting or messaging you.

Compelling blog content

What do you wish your future clients knew about the mortgage process? What are some of the most asked questions you get on a daily basis?

Answer these questions and more on your blog! Your blog can be framed as your website’s full resource center, where visitors can find information on any aspect of the mortgage process.

Blog post examples for mortgage professionals include:

• Steps to buying a home
• How much home can you afford?
• How to get pre-approved for a mortgage
• FHA vs. conventional loans comparison
• How VA loans work
• How to choose a mortgage lender
• How long does the mortgage process take?
• How to make an offer on a home

You can write blog posts for each type of loan product you offer and include different homebuyer scenarios.

Backed by a little keyword and competitor research, you can include some hot keywords in your articles to boost their ranking on Google.

If you have a blog section on your current website that needs a refresher, see which topics can be expanded or updated and republish them.

Then, you can promote your blog posts on social media or via email.

Generate high-quality mortgage leads with Kaleidico now.

Influencer marketing

In 2023, the influencer marketing industry is expected to grow to $21.1 billion.

Influencers have earned their title because they “influence” their followers with their information and recommendations. 

It is largely rooted in trust: They have built up a loyal audience that trusts their recommendations.

What is an “influencer”? Think of it as today’s version of celebrity endorsements. Influencers can include celebrities, but more often, they are everyday people who have built up a following due to their personalities and high-quality content creation.

The key to partnering with a social media influencer is to note the level of engagement on their content above all else.

Sure, it’s enticing to partner with someone who has hundreds of thousands of followers but note how much engagement is on their posts vs. someone with only 1,000 followers but high numbers of “likes,” comments, and shares.

Choose these partnerships thoughtfully by ensuring their audience interests and behaviors match yours for the most successful partnerships.

Maybe there’s a financial guru in your area with a loyal chunk of followers on Instagram who can recommend your services or a millennial TikToker who is sharing their home search journey and giving you a shout-out for your helpful homebuyer checklist.

Email marketing

The average ROI for direct mail is $4.09 for every $1.27 spent, according to GlobalNewswire.

A USPS study also found that nearly all millennials love receiving mail, and almost 60% responded to direct mail offers.

Direct mail offers consumers another form of engagement and connection that they are craving in a very digital world.

Postcards and catalogs in particular are increasing in popularity, as the digital surge during the height of the Covid-19 pandemic burned out some consumers from the constant marketing emails and digital ads.

To complement your digital marketing for mortgage strategy, consider launching a direct mail campaign with beautifully designed postcards or pamphlets — or even a thoughtful, personalized letter.

Email automation tools

The most successful businesses in 2023 have upgraded to a certain level of automation in their marketing strategies.

Mortgage professionals can start implementing automation into their campaigns by creating and executing drip marketing.

Drip marketing campaigns involve sending out a series of emails or texts based on specific consumer actions or triggers.

For example, if someone signs up for a newsletter or submits their contact information on your mortgage website, they will automatically receive specific emails based on your drip campaigns.

Drip emails make staying in touch with potential, current, or past clients effortless, so you can continue nurturing your mortgage leads for as long as it takes them to close.

Newsletters

Mortgage, real estate, and economic news are always hot topics, but many people don’t understand what it really means for them.

With your target clients in mind, you can share and translate the news for them to help them understand what’s going on and how it affects them.

You can share this news in a weekly newsletter, social media video series, email, blog posts, and more.

Marketing for mortgages often involves education, with the goal to position yourself as the trusted expert in the industry.

Sharing the latest news can help you connect with your clients’ struggles while addressing them in a meaningful way — and offering solutions with you.

Podcasts

If you love listening to certain podcasts, why not reach out and ask if they want a guest?

There are over 460 million global podcast listeners in 2023.

Prepare a pitch for the topic you’d like to discuss and bring your expertise to their audience.

If you’re feeling ambitious and have a lot of mortgage tips and information to offer to the world, you can launch your own podcast.

AI

No mortgage marketing guide in 2023 would be complete without mentioning AI tools.

I’m not sure many of us could have predicted in 2022 just how massive of an influence AI would become this year.

From the explosion of chatbots such as ChatGPT and Google Bard to the advancement of AI tools, experts are in agreement: If you don’t adopt AI for your business in some way, you’re going to be left in the dust by your competition.

If you’re unsure about AI, keep in mind that the “scary” AI experts are debating isn’t where we are currently. Let’s leave the debate up to them while we use the tools available to us today that can make your job much easier.

AI is most often used in marketing to collect and analyze massive amounts of data, which can be used to help marketers personalize content and more effectively target their audience’s preferences and behaviors.

AI tools also can help marketers brainstorm content ideas and create drafts. 

Let’s take a look at what some of the top AI tools today can do for your mortgage marketing strategy.

ChatGPT

ChatGPT is a chatbot assistant with free and paid versions.

It can chat with you about any topic and provide support for boosting productivity, brainstorming tasks, and improving communication.

You also can ask ChatGPT to write email copy for you, meta descriptions, drafts, and more. 

Jasper

Jasper can assist users with creating content and generating images.

It is considered by many to be among the best platforms for content creation. Jasper can help businesses boost their content quality and creation strategies.

SurferSEO

As the name suggests, SurferSEO can help businesses analyze and optimize their content so it will perform better in search rankings.

Use it to evaluate your current and future web content — from landing pages to blog posts — and receive suggestions for beating the competition.

Magic Studio

Magic Studio is an AI design tool that can help businesses create compelling product images, social media posts, and other visuals.

It helps you remove or add backgrounds or objects without needing design skills or expensive software.

Kaleidico can help you update your mortgage marketing strategy

Are you ready to give your mortgage marketing strategy an upgrade using mortgage memes and other 2023 trends? 

Kaleidico has generated mortgage leads through booms and busts since 2005. Our process has been refined and perfected in good and bad markets—from a refi boom to a mortgage meltdown and back again.

We can help you get your loan products in the hands of the people who will benefit most from what you do, powered by the latest marketing trends and tools.

We know mortgage—Get 20 years of mortgage lead generation experience with Kaleidico.