A mortgage marketing strategy is critical to educate and motivate potential clients to come to your virtual door versus your competition.

In 2022, the mortgage industry is fueled by a dynamic and hectic real estate market that has every lender looking for a way to expand and promote.

The strategies for mortgage marketing can range from simple to complex, quick to big-picture, and free to costly. 

Mortgage marketing can focus on corporate brand management, advertising for your individual loan officers, or generating referral partner relationships, to name a few.

There are many options available for your business to get noticed. Let’s take a look at some of the latest and perhaps overlooked mortgage marketing strategies, and marketing tips and tools for your mortgage business.

SEO-optimized content for sustained lead generation

Lead generation is used to target potential customers and convert them into bona fide sales.

Optimize various components of your site such as calls to action and landing pages with copy that’s tailored to your target audience. When a user Google’s “FHA mortgage lender,” you’ll want your office to appear in the results. 

But that’s just your website and landing pages. The crux of your SEO work should be in your content. If you’re new to creating content, whether it be blogs, videos, ebooks, infographics, etc, simply start with the products that you offer. 

Write guides on how to apply for each of your loan programs. Publish a frequently asked question and answer post. Not only are these educational for the reader, but they’ll also have more confidence in contacting you right from that content page.  

Make sure each post has a prominent button or lead path form that allows users to contact you directly. This is the whole reason you want to implement an SEO strategy—user has search query, your content shows up in search results, they contact you from that page. Simple! 

The first entry on a Google search engine result page (SERP) has a click-through rate (CTR) of 28.5%, whereas the second place cuts that CTR in half.

That’s one heck of a drop from first to second place. Therefore, it’s easy to see why SEO content is essential for lead generation.

Pro tip: Tools such as Ahrefs or Ubersuggest can help you find relevant, high-volume search terms, as well as keep track of what your competitors are ranking for. Of course, you can always just search for a preferred term and analyze the results yourself. There’s nothing wrong with copying your competitors’ approach—but doing it better.

Niche Google Ads for mortgage leads

Focusing on one or two niches within the mortgage industry gives you a much better chance for success when dealing with Google Ads.

Your mortgage marketing strategy should be focused on this niche. It can help to naturally steer you towards lower-cost and less-competitive keywords—but only if you know how to fine-tune your ads accurately.

What, exactly, are your unique selling points? What pain points do you solve better than other mortgage brokers? Why do the majority of your borrowers deal with you? Is refinancing where you shine, or perhaps your overall mortgage process?

Answering these questions can help you create a specific ad campaign on Google. Once you have your niches discovered, set goals for what you want to accomplish with these ads. Pick a budget and where you want your ads to show. 

Google Ads even has an automated bidding system that makes the most out of your desired budget, depending on if you want to maximize conversions with your ads or simply clicks to your website. 

Pro tip: Create multiple ad groups for each of your mortgage products that include similarly relevant keywords, such as “FHA mortgage lender,” “FHA refinance,” and “mortgage refinance.” Be specific about the products you offer so that you can target users searching specifically for that product. 

Landing pages—Branch and loan officer marketing

It’s not unusual for your average mortgage lender to have several branch locations represented under one website.

But if potential clients are trying to reach a specific branch or loan officer, this strategy can fall short if they’re not all listed on your website. So, create a drop-down menu at the top of your landing page for “Branches” or “Locations.”

Once they have reached the location landing page, you can easily go one step further and create individual landing pages for your loan officers.

Almost every target audience will prefer dealing with a human being instead of a faceless, big company. These landing pages can show off your staff’s skills and talents, making the whole business look good.

Pro tip: Even your loan officers’ bio pages can be written with SEO in mind. If they specialize in specific products or areas, be sure to mention that on their page. 

CRM—a marketing tool for connecting with past customers

Many digital marketing strategies employ customer relationship management (CRM) software to keep current customers happy. But not as many use their CRM to reconnect with previous clients or ‘stale’ customers.

Just because you closed the loan doesn’t mean your mortgage marketing strategy has to stop as well. While a loan officer might switch their focus to the next potential borrower, they could also nurture the relationships they’ve already created.

Many former clients respond positively to their loan officers offering consultations for refinancing or sending out up-to-date real estate market developments and timely news. Nurturing that relationship can lead to repeat business.

This is also a great pool to draw from for referrals. If your previous clients had a positive experience, reach out and ask if they know anyone who might be buying or refinancing a home soon. Former clients can be a great way to generate new mortgage leads. 

In the same way that you use a CRM to remind you of appointments, follow-ups, or significant events for your current clients, you can also use it for past clients to help you fill that lead pipeline. 

Email marketing drip campaigns

Drip campaigns can be a crucial part of feeding your sales funnel. Automated email marketing keeps your client base informed, up-to-date, and in a position to become repeat clients. 

Likewise, email marketing keeps you on top of mind for your contacts and past clients, which can lead to referrals and new leads.

Because modern email marketing allows for customizable automation, this can lessen the time spent accessing your email list and reaching out to new or previous potential customers.

Drip campaigns can also be used to highlight:

• Fresh and local listings for interested buyers
• Updates on local market data and open houses
• City and community updates
• Positive testimonials on local markets
• Offering resources—especially useful for first-time homebuyers
• Past listings you have sold
• Blog post updates

While email may have seemingly been eclipsed by social media, it’s still the best bang for your budget. Real estate emails have a 20% average open rate and a low average unsubscribe rate. 

Social media marketing strategy for your mortgage company

From Facebook ads to Linkedin, social media is one of the best tools for mortgage marketing campaigns. 

Globally, the number of social media users is expected, according to some estimates, to grow to 3.29 billion this year. That would be 42.3% of the total world population.

As you can see, social media posts can be powerful tools to reach a wide swath of real estate agents and potential clients. Here are some extra tips to improve your social media marketing efforts:

• Stay on topic. The account is for professional reasons; keep personal posts out.
• Address your audience. Different potential customers use different platforms.
• Be relevant. Provide timely, breaking news that is real estate industry-related.
• Educate. Post helpful information for daily living issues, increasing your account’s value.
• CTA. Always include a well-crafted call to action (CTA), even if it’s just encouraging them to respond to a question.
• Have tact. Most importantly, always be polite and professional.

Mortgage marketing strategy for mortgage brokers and lenders alike

These are just a few of the hundreds of potential mortgage marketing ideas out there. 

Each one has the potential to positively impact your mortgage business if they are employed effectively and efficiently. 

To create a successful mortgage marketing plan, leverage the expertise and guidance of a top-level digital marketing company like Kaleidico. 

We’ve read through the information and done the leg-work that leads potential customers from the landing page to the loan application.

Learn how our proven framework can create success for your mortgage business.

Photo by Karolina Grabowska