With approximately 4.9 billion social media users worldwide, companies of all sizes and industries are in a position to reach, engage, inform, and sell to their audience. 

Mortgage lenders with a strong social media presence are better positioned to make a mark on the industry. 

Schedule a free discovery session to learn how Kaleidico can fit into your marketing strategy.

But what is social media marketing?

There’s a big difference between simply using social media and implementing a marketing strategy to generate leads, make sales, and boost revenue. 

Social media marketing is the use of social media platforms — such as Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and Twitter — to interact with an audience to:

• Share information
• Build a brand 
• Drive website traffic 
• Generate leads
• Increase sales

As a mortgage lender marketing professional or loan officer, you want to build a social media marketing strategy that helps you reach these goals. 

Should loan officers use social media?

There’s no shortage of ways for loan officers to generate leads and make sales, with social media as one of the best. 

Some of the many benefits of using social media include:

• Share various types of content, such as links to blog posts, industry updates, company news, and infographics 
• Build a personal brand while boosting your company’s brand
• Organic social media marketing is free 
• Another way for customers and prospects to connect with you
• Access to a large (and growing) audience

Social media shouldn’t be the only aspect of your digital marketing strategy, but it deserves a prominent place. 

Top platforms for the mortgage financing industry

There are four primary platforms to use as a mortgage professional:

• Facebook: From the larger user base to its easy-to-use features, Facebook is one of the most — if not the most — popular platforms for mortgage companies 
• Instagram: The most visual of all the social media platforms, success here often comes down to your ability to create visually appealing imagery
• LinkedIn: Use LinkedIn to reach a large audience of business professionals 
• Twitter: Twitter is best for short, informal posts. For example, sharing recently published blog posts and links to news articles 

There’s no right answer as to which platforms are best for the mortgage financing industry. You may have the most success on Facebook and Twitter while another loan officer is generating regular leads on LinkedIn.

What you shouldn’t do is feel like you have to master or even try every single platform. Your followers will be able to tell which platform you’re most comfortable with based on your posts. Basically, pick the one you know best to build an audience on and adjust your strategy accordingly.

The key to success is to experiment with each platform, track your results, and tweak your strategy as necessary. This will eventually lead you toward the platforms that generate the most return on investment (ROI) for your business. 

How to market mortgage products on social media

What works for you may not work for the next person and vice versa, but there are specific things you can do to effectively market mortgage products on social media. 

1. Share unique content and viewpoints

This is priority number one. Remember this: You’re not the only mortgage professional posting on social media. There are millions of others doing the exact same thing at the exact same time. Sharing unique content and viewpoints is the best way to get noticed. 

Sharing relevant news content is always a good way to attract engagement, but social media is the best for sharing your own content. If you’re not already creating content for your website, it’s time to start. This could be short blogs or videos pertaining to the market or how-tos for new clients. 

Original content that leverages your own expertise intrigues your audience. Capitalize on market conditions by providing your authoritative opinion on navigating the market in its current conditions. 

Most important, it links to your website. This means that anyone who clicks through can read the article and take further action, such as contacting you for a quote.

Don’t rehash what everyone else is saying. Unique, actionable social media posts will always come out on top. 

2. Stick to a publishing schedule

This is where many mortgage marketing professionals first slip up. They get excited about social media marketing. They create a content calendar. They stay on track for a few weeks. And then something happens: They stop posting altogether or are less consistent than before. 

Consistency can be the difference between success and failure on social media. Benefits include:

• You’re regularly sharing fresh content with your audience
• Your audience knows to look for your newest updates
• It helps with search engine algorithms
• It shows both search engines and your followers that your business is open and active 

This doesn’t mean that you have to publish content all day, every day. Find a schedule that works for you and stick to it.  

Most social platforms have analytic pages where you can monitor what time your audience is online the most. Try out a few different posting times (and take advantage of an auto-scheduler) and monitor which ones get the most engagement. 

As you gain experience, you can adjust your schedule for maximum results.

3. Engage with your audience

Consistently sharing content is a good place to start, but there’s something else you need to know: Engaging with your audience is every bit as important. 

Don’t let the conversation die. If someone asks a question or leaves a comment, do the same. This shows that you care about them while also providing another reason to revisit your post. 

As your audience grows, it’ll become more difficult to engage with everyone who leaves comments. While you may not respond to every comment (and you probably shouldn’t), you should always respond to some. 

If any comments are negative, that’s a great opportunity to display your customer service skills and a chance to correct a mistake or misunderstanding.  

Jumpstart your mortgage social media marketing

With these social media marketing tips for mortgage lenders, you have everything you need to get started or change up a strategy that’s already in place. 

If you’re interested in taking your social media game to the next level, our team is here to help. Schedule your discovery session today. 

We’ll spend 30 minutes discussing your mortgage business, social media marketing, and examples of how we help our clients win big online. We can then work together to determine the next best steps for you.

Photo by Dominika Roseclay