As a mortgage loan officer, you’re busy. You have relationships to build, loan applications to review, and closings to attend. With so much to do, it can be easy to overlook mortgage marketing — but you shouldn’t. To be a successful mortgage broker, you have to continually expand your business.
So what’s the key to expanding your business? The key is creating a manageable mortgage loan officer marketing plan that will help you cultivate meaningful relationships and get more clients.
Mortgage Marketing Ideas for Loan Officers
It’s no secret that the idea of marketing can seem broad and overwhelming. So what are some scalable ways you can market yourself as a loan officer?
Keep reading for a list of mortgage marketing ideas that will help you find more clients and grow your network — manageably. These ideas will differentiate you from your peers and help you find success — all while allowing you to continue building relationships with your current clients and guiding them through the mortgage process.
1. Find a Niche
Finding a niche isn’t a specific marketing tactic, but it’s something you should be aware of when learning how to market yourself as a loan officer. Almost everyone needs a home, but “everyone” includes people with different interests, hobbies, and household structures. And because each type of home buyer has specific needs, they require an expert’s help — you!
And while you don’t need to limit yourself to one specific niche, it’s important to know who you’re in the best position to help. Ask yourself, “What buyers do I like to work with?” or “Which home buyers do I help most often?” Once you answer these questions, you’ll be in the best position to leverage your expertise through mortgage marketing.
2. Focus on Referrals
When you’re looking at mortgage lead generation, begin by focusing on referrals. Referrals are just warmer leads. In fact, asking for referrals is one of the most effortless forms of marketing because you’ve already established the relationship. Here are some ways you can focus on getting them from past clients…
• Request Reviews: To capitalize on referrals, you have to ask for reviews. After working with a home buyer, let them know how much you appreciate their business, and ask them to leave a review so that you can continue helping others. (Using video can help make this clear and easy.)
• Send Home Purchase Anniversary Videos: Stay top of mind by sending home purchase anniversary videos every year. This reminds past clients why they enjoyed working with you (and that you’re still around).
• Check-In: It’s unlikely that past clients will need your services right away. Periodically check in just because or for holidays and birthdays to let people know you care about them as individuals. (Doing this also shows that you still value your relationship.)
Watch the video below to see how Ruby Grynberg of Salmon Bay Community Lending focuses on maintaining relationships with video…
3. Create Video Email Campaigns
Maintaining relationships with those in your sphere of influence is an essential part of a good loan officer marketing strategy. And creating video email campaigns can help you do this.
A video email campaign provides value to people during a specific time in their lives — like over a holiday or long weekend. The key to a good campaign is to focus exclusively on providing relevant information others can actually use (without asking for anything in return).
So what are some good video email campaign ideas?
• Hiking Around [TOWN]: The top five family-friendly hikes for you to take this spring!
• Happy Fourth of July, [TOWN]: The best spots for fireworks and how to get around town on the big day!
• Take-Out in [TOWN]: Hidden gems around town offering the best take-out this weekend.
(Tip: If you want to create video email campaigns but are short on time, explore Prompt. Prompt creates personalized video email campaigns just for you.)
4. Market to Real Estate Agents
As a mortgage broker, most of your clients will already be working with a real estate agent. In fact, according to the National Association of Realtors, 88% of recent home buyers relied on a real estate agent’s services. It’s vital to your success to build relationships and network with this group of professionals because you’ll have so much contact with them.
So what are some ways you can focus on marketing to real estate agents?
Cultivate Relationships
To market yourself to real estate agents, you have to build relationships first. You can do this by connecting with agents on social media platforms, visiting open houses to introduce yourself (very briefly), and attending local trade shows. These initial interactions are the foundation of the relationship, so it’s critical to focus on creating the connection rather than going straight for your marketing pitch.
(Tip: Use video to follow-up after you connect with an agent for the first time. The more they see your face and hear your voice, the more likely they are to feel like they know you.)
Create Partnerships
Partner with agents who specialize in your niche. Work together to create home buyer packets, host informational webinars, and share resources for a specific type of buyer.
Provide Ongoing Value
Stand out from your peers by using video to create short, biweekly market updates for real estate agents in your network. When you send updates, keep your content brief and relevant without asking for anything in return.
In the following video, Rebecca Hansen of Guild Mortgage Company sends a short market update covering complex information. Because she’s using video, the information she provides about the market is clear and easy for viewers to understand.
5. Host Virtual Events
People are busy, and they don’t always have time to meet in person. Consider hosting virtual events to get face to face with potential clients and referral partners without taking up too much of anyone’s valuable time.
These events don’t need to be large or overwhelming. Keep your audience small. Doing this will help you create more meaningful connections within your sphere of influence because you’ll be able to focus on individuals. Here are some scalable online events you can host…
• Lunch and Learn Sessions: Host seminars about the mortgage process or essential financial elements to consider when buying a home. Offer these to small groups of college graduates, real estate students, or first-time buyers — and include a lunch gift card from GrubHub, DoorDash, etc.
• Educational Webinars: Get involved in your community by reaching out to colleges, local businesses, etc., and offer short and free webinars about finance. Consider reviewing topics like how and why to create an emergency fund or the importance of understanding working capital. (This is where knowing your niche market can be beneficial.)
• Open Office Hours: Each month, schedule an open Zoom meeting where anyone can connect with you to ask questions.
6. Use Social Media to its Maximum Potential
Social media allows you to connect with almost anyone. And this makes it a powerful mortgage marketing tool. There are a few ways you can use social media to its maximum potential to grow your network:
Use Social Media to Build Relationships
Use social platforms like Facebook and LinkedIn to connect with real estate agents, home buyers, and businesses in your community. Once you’ve made the connection, you can build relationships by…
• Meaningfully commenting on posts
• Providing helpful feedback or answers to questions
• Asking engaging questions
• Sharing content your connections may find valuable
(Tip: Use video when you request to connect on social media. Video will help you stand out. It’ll also humanize you because your connections can see your face and hear your voice. This creates a sense of trust.)
Use Social Media to Advertise
Very few mortgage advertising ideas are as manageable as using social media. But how can you use social platforms specifically for mortgage broker marketing?
• Share helpful content from your blog or website.
• Advertise events you’re hosting (tag any partners attending or presenting).
• Share positive reviews and testimonials from your clients.
• Post photos of home closings and tag anyone in attendance — with permission.
• Share listings from any real estate partners.
Take a look at how Loan Consultant Eric Peltier of Caliber Home Loans shares helpful content with his connections using video…
7. Start a Blog Offering Free Resources
Mortgage broker marketing doesn’t always mean trying to sell yourself. In fact, focusing on the value you can provide to others will go a long way. Consider adding a blog to your website and create resources your audience can use — for free.
To keep your audience engaged, make sure your content is genuinely helpful. The more people feel you’ve helped them, the more likely it is that you stay top of mind when it matters most.
So what are some ideas of free resources you can create?
• A home buyer checklist
• What financial goals to set before purchasing a home
• How-to guides for home showing preparation and walkthroughs
• Short videos explaining concepts like the in’s and out’s of the lending application process
• Financial document checklist for closings
Drive traffic to your website by sharing your content within your sphere of influence and on social platforms. The more people you can reach, the better!
8. Adopt a Multichannel Approach to Networking
To continually expand your network, you need to get your name and face in front of your sphere of influence — potential clients, real estate agents, business contacts, and more — on as many channels as possible. And while some people prefer communicating over email, others prefer social networking sites.
It’s important to adopt a multichannel approach to communication to meet others where they’re comfortable. Here’s an easy way to do this…
1. Start by sending an introductory email or follow-up an in-person meeting with an “It was nice meeting you” video.
2. Then, connect across social platforms and meaningfully interact with them.
3. Finally, leave a voicemail message to follow up.
Watch the video below to see how Tai Star of Minuteman Mortgage sends an introductory message to a prospective client. He also mentions leaving a voicemail. Doing this shows that he’s connecting across multiple channels to meet his prospect where they’re comfortable.
(Tip: You can use a tool like the BombBomb Google Chrome Extension to record, send, and share videos on multiple channels directly from Google Chrome — click here to learn how.)
9. Build a Quality Database
Once you’ve started using some of these mortgage broker marketing strategies, you have to determine if they’re working. Not everyone is going to respond to your methods. And it’s key to success (and saving time) to focus on quality relationships over quantity.
To determine if your marketing strategy is working, focus on tracking your analytics. Analytics will help you understand who’s engaging with your content. The data collected lets you see things like who’s opening your emails, watching your videos, and reading your blog posts.
After you understand who’s responsive, divide your contacts into segmented lists and use those lists to follow up. (Learn more about why analytics are important and how to use them in BombBomb here.)
Want to Improve Mortgage Marketing Today?
Now that you have some ideas to help you create a successful mortgage marketing plan, why not use video to take your marketing strategy one step further?
And if you’re interested in learning more about how to create connections and increase your mortgage referral business, check out these “8 Tips to Increase Mortgage Referral Business” to get started.
Don’t stop here — try BombBomb free for two weeks!
