Sunday, May 4, 2014

10 More marketing tips for loan officers and mortgage professionals!


Last week, we wrote about 10 great marketing strategies loan officers and mortgage professionals could use to build a bigger audience and boost sales.  Back by popular demand, here are 10 more to help you separate yourself from the competition and thrive!

1. Release a regular informational report.
Collect all pertinent real estate and mortgage information and put out a monthly newsletter as a blog on your website and PDF, which you can share via social media and with all your referral partners and client database.  The information isn’t hard to find, and everyone will appreciate an accurate summary of market conditions.  The key to this is to have it in the same format and be consistent with it – release it on the same day of the month and do it monthly without fail.  After a few months, your audience will anticipate and even look forward to your report, and share it.

2. Host a raffle or giveaway.
A great way to increase your social media audience or add people to your email list is by raffling something off.  It can be one fun item, like a new iPod, or a bunch of smaller things, like bottles of wine or even coupons for a free massage or meal at a local restaurant.  Set it up so you need 100 new Likes or sign ups or whatever before you actually do the drawing, and make it easy for people to share the offer via social media.  Take photos of the winner receiving the item and let everyone know to stay tuned for the next giveaway, because people LOVE winning free stuff!

3. Set up your own hashtag.
Did you know that anyone can register a hashtag for free?  (As long as it’s not taken.)  What’s the benefit to that?  You’ll be able to monitor all social media messages with that hashtag and have it link back to your own personal hashtag registration page or website.  You can set up a hashtag for your own business or company but also try creating them for trending topics related to mortgage or real estate.  For instance, imagine if you were the first one to register #ShortSale before the real estate bust, or #JumboLoan, etc.  

4. Interview someone.
The great part of producing content for marketing is that you’re not limited to talking about yourself.  In fact, the less you talk about yourself, the better!  Instead, discuss your clients, community, and the interesting people around you.  The best way to do that is by interviewing other professionals, impactful business people, and community leaders.  EVERYONE feels honored to be interviewed so think of 5 dynamic people and send a nice email requesting an interview.  Send them a few sample questions so they’re not unprepared and do your homework, first.  You can write it up or even video the interview with their permission.  From there, use the content on your blog, website, social media channels, email marketing, and YouTube.  You’ll be shocked how many doors this opens!

5. Throw a client appreciation party.
Once or twice a year, get a group rate on a bowling alley, baseball game, wine tasting bus, etc. and throw a client appreciation event.  It’s a fantastic excuse to call up everyone in your database and reconnect with the sole purpose of showing your appreciation.  Take lots of photos and make sure the day is all about them!  To help with the cost, you can team up with a referral partner or two and combine your client appreciation events.    

6. Offer to speak.
Organizations always need speakers, yet speaking in public scares the heck out of people.  However, it’s one of the most effective ways to connect with a larger audience on a personal level.  So put together a nice power point presentation about mortgages, real estate, and market trends and contact local organizations with an offer to speak at their meetings.  Rotary clubs, Kiwanis, Chambers of Commerce, Realtor meetings, etc. all need speakers on a regular basis and would love to have you!  Video the presentation and host it on YouTube so you can share the link with your audience and email it out for future speaking engagements.

7. Contact internet radio shows.
Local and national radio shows sometimes need guests to discuss real estate and mortgage matters, but Internet radio shows ALWAYS need content!  It’s a great format to start building an audience and you get to chat about your specialty and what you love doing.  You can search on Internet radio platforms like BlogTalkRadio.com for business, financial, or real estate radio shows or even search by region to find one in your area.  Once the show has been recorded you can share the link on your website, via social media, and with your audience, increasing your credibility and reach. 

8. Write up neighborhood histories.
People love nostalgia, so research and create fun historical profiles for the neighborhoods you work and live in.  This works especially well if you’re planning on doing business in a specific “farm” area, like a group of high-end neighborhoods.  Document how the neighborhood came to be, old photos, notable happenings, famous residents, and the comings and goings of favorite establishments like restaurants, theaters, etc.  You’ll be surprised how quickly you’ve established yourself as a local expert and fill up the search engines! 

9. Publish a book or eBook.
You have droves of competitors, but how many of them are published authors?  Put together content about your industry (or you can pay for someone to write it for you,) with your personal spin and publish it via Amazon.com.  It will instantly separate you from your competition, build mountains of trust and credibility with your audience, and open the door for media coverage and speaking engagements, as you’re now an industry expert and authority on your subject matter.  Give a copy of your book to leads and potential clients and referral partners.  If you don’t want to incur the cost of a print book, you can start out with an eBook for little or nothing and offer it that way. 

10. Host networking mixers.
Once a week, every two weeks, or once a month, host a regular networking mixer.  Throw it at the same bar or restaurant every time (they’ll love to have the extra business and should give you discounts for beer or food.)  Tuesday or Thursday evenings right after work usually are most convenient for people and it’s clear it’s a work event.  Reach out for all your referral partners and invite plenty of new people from the business community.  Collect business cards or have them sign in at the door so you can keep in touch and build your email list.  Each week, feature one person, who gets to speak for 5 minutes or pass out promotional materials if they wish.  Get local charities involved and collect tips for donations.  Encourage others to invite people in their professional circles, and pretty soon you’re social and professional circle will be thriving and you’ll have tons of new contacts, leads, and referral partners. 

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Let us know if you'd like more information or help setting any of these up!  


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