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Are you a loan officer looking to build your social media presence but not sure where to start? We've got you covered!
If you are here, you're probably a loan officer or working with one who wants to start using social media to its full potential but feel unsure how to get the ball rolling. We want you to know that you are not alone. Social media can be very daunting when you are first starting out, especially with its ever-changing nature. However, with some time and effort, you can start utilizing it to your advantage and begin to increase your mortgage marketing efforts through the many social channels available to you.
By the end of this article, you will know step-by-step how to begin your social media journey and be tooled with best practices to master it like a pro.
Where Do You Start?
For starters, create your social profiles on the platforms that you want to use. We recommend Facebook, Instagram, and/or LinkedIn as they have the largest audience among the different social media sites.
Once you have decided on which platforms you want to use and begun to create your profiles, ensure that you add in all necessary information so that your page is compliant and looking as professional as possible. This includes your work email, phone number, professional headshot, NMLS number, Equal Housing Lender information, and any other information relevant to you and your company.
To start gaining traction, follow people that you already know both personally and professionally and engage with their posts. Not only will this help you increase the number of followers that you have, but those that you already know are more likely to like and comment on your posts, increasing the chances that a wider audience will see your content.
Creating Content
The most effective way to build an audience on social media is by creating content that benefits them in some way.
With that being said, before you start curating posts, define who your target audience is. Are they first-time homebuyers? Those looking to refinance? Decide on who you want to see your content and create posts that will appeal to them.
Once you have defined your audience, you are ready to start generating content. As a loan officer, your posts should be doing one of two things: offering value to the viewer and/or providing insight into who you are.
This can be done in a multitude of ways, such as commenting on current house trends to inform your audience of the state of the market, posting positive reviews to highlight your strengths as a mortgage professional, or even a photo with new homebuyers, whom you just helped close on their dream home. This can reinforce the success you have had with past clients.
While creating valuable content is a solid foundation for your social media strategy, to truly set yourself apart from the rest of the competition and gain serious traction in a crowded media landscape, your posts must feel both unique and authentic.
YOU are in the driver's seat of your social media journey, so let your personality show through your content. Make yourself relatable. Consider what you would want to see someone in the mortgage industry post. Once you do this, you have already set yourself apart from the other countless number of mortgage pages that flood all the social media platforms.
One final note on the content you create: don't be afraid to test out different strategies. Use social media analytics to your advantage (most major platforms offer free analytics tools right within their dashboards) and see what really speaks to your audience. Sometimes what we think will land with our followers ends up falling flat. Let the data drive your decisions.
Social Media Best Practices
To help you truly master social media, here are a few best practices to keep in mind:
Make sure your content is easy to read and error-free. Remember that the general public does not have the same knowledge of mortgages that you do, so put things in a language that they will understand. Additionally, proofread your content for any errors, as the biggest way to lose authority is having grammatical errors and mistakes in your copywriting.
Let your personality show and be creative. As we previously mentioned, stand out by staying true to who you are and let that reflect in your social media presence.
Be consistent with your messaging. Whenever you create a post, ask yourself: "Does this post align with my and my company’s values?"
Encourage your audience to engage with your posts and engage back with them. Add some Call To Action's (CTAs) in your posts and captions. This can be as simple as asking them to write in the comments any mortgage questions they have.
Keep the information short and simple. You only have 8 seconds to capture a user's attention... use them wisely.
Keywords, Keywords, Keywords. The internet is all about algorithms, so when you use keywords, people that are interested in, for example getting a loan, are more likely to see your content. With that being said, implement keywords when they are relevant, don’t just keyword stuff.
Getting started on social media doesn't have to be scary. With all of this in mind, you now have the knowledge necessary to begin your social media journey and see the wonders that social media marketing can do for your mortgage business!