Why is digital mortgage marketing a key component of any loan officer’s success? There’s no doubt that digital communication is ubiquitous. Chances are we’re logging on or logging in whether we’re working, watching a movie or staying in touch with friends.
Would we expect less when it’s time to make a move? The National Association of Realtors says that 55% of 2018 home buyers started their purchase journey with either an online search for properties or for information on the home buying process.
A solid online mortgage marketing program will help lenders start a conversation with potential clients before they decide to act, whether for a purchase, refinance or other mortgage product. Furthermore, a plan will guide you in keeping the conversation going after those prospects have closed on a loan and may be ready to refinance. If you show up in their inboxes and social media feeds regularly, your name will be top of mind when they begin that online search.
The best place to start is by creating your own plan from scratch or adapting a digital marketing plan for mortgage companies – because as we all know, the mortgage industry has unique opportunities and its own set of challenges.
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Whether you’re a mortgage marketing professional or a loan officer in need of marketing strategies to grow your personal pipeline, your digital marketing plan should align with your business’s goals.
Ultimately, many plans focus on generating increased closings efficiently, with minimal cost. Write down some numbers to help you measure your success. Consider a percentage increase in closings; number of leads or prospects added; or percentage of leads converted to prospects or prospects converted to in-process borrowers.
Look past the numbers, too. Consider how your digital marketing efforts will support your mortgage company’s mission statement. If you’re creating a plan as an individual mortgage professional, focus on showcasing your personal business values. You might include concepts like community support, customer service and consumer education.
It’s harder to set numeric goals for supporting a mission statement. Here are some to consider:
Most mortgage companies will market to the following groups, at least.
You might also think of your target audiences in terms of generations. First time buyers are more likely to be around 30, while homeowners don’t qualify for a reverse mortgage until they’re in their 60s. If your digital marketing plan includes social media platforms, you may want to consider posting more first time buyer materials on Instagram and more reverse mortgage information on Facebook, for example.
When you’re planning, prioritize communications with your target audiences based on your own way of doing business and the areas you would like to see the most growth.
Think about how you’ll get the word out. What channels will you use, and what’s your desired functionality for each? What target audiences will you reach? Here are some examples:
Email and/or Text Messaging
Social (consider which platforms you’ll use for different types of messages)
Website and/or Blog
You’ll want to apply some unique industry considerations to your online mortgage marketing plan. These will need to apply to every marketing strategy, every piece of content, every target audience, and every action you take.
In your planning, account for both the features you’ll need to ensure are compliant and for any extra time to implement.
You may need to plan extra time both for setting up these systems and for the review of content as you create it later. Again, the best CRMs for the mortgage industry will help you in these areas.
The best way to find out what we offer is to try it out yourself. We’re confident that you’ll like what you see.
Many mortgage lenders rely on referrals from real estate agents for high quality leads. You’ll start seeing more leads coming in from your digital mortgage marketing efforts, too. Still your marketing plan should include ways to build relationships with referral partners. These might include:
A CRM created specifically for the mortgage industry like Top of Mind’s Surefire can help meet your cobranding needs plus address RESPA concerns around value sharing.
Remember the old Chinese proverb? “Tell me and I forget, teach me and I may remember, involve me and I learn.”
To help your potential borrowers learn and remember, you’ll want to include interactive online tools in your digital mortgage marketing plan. Calculators, video riddles and personalized animations will not only help your prospective clients absorb more information but will also go a long way toward engaging them and keep you top of mind.
In the mortgage industry, as in many others, speed-to-lead makes a noticeable difference. Seventy-eight percent of customers buy from the company that responds to their inquiry first. That’s almost 4 of 5 leads, simply by being the first to reach out!
To maximize your mortgage marketing, be consistent about adding contact forms to your messages. Just as importantly, employ a system for immediate automated responses and develop a plan for human follow up as needed.
All digital marketing plans should include ways to optimize all content for displaying on mobile devices. This is where consumers are most likely to receive your messages. Your email marketing, landing pages, mortgage website and your entire online presence should be designed for mobile display first.
This one may seem obvious, but it’s easy to overlook. It’s important to pay attention to your branding. You’ll want to ensure your company’s style, colors and proper logo are applied consistently.
Think about how, not if, you’ll incorporate video into your digital marketing plan. Ninety percent of consumers say a video helps them decide to buy. Consider these options:
Now that you’ve (finally!) worked through the preliminaries, it’s time to create an actionable digital marketing plan.
The primary part of your plan will address the types of communication you’ll use and details of each. Plans typically are arranged on a spreadsheet for easy organization. Here are primary components of a digital marketing plan for mortgage companies:
Your plan will also likely include linked documents and spreadsheets. You might attach:
Your digital marketing plan should be a living document that you can adjust to fit company needs, industry shifts, and mortgage compliance regulations as needed.
Creating a broad digital marketing plan is not for the faint-hearted. You may want to start by building a sample plan focused on a few platforms/channels or a single target audience.
Consider the resources available to help. Surefire CRM provides not only a place to manage your customer information but also a vast content library, the ability to schedule or trigger communications, set-it-and-forget-it workflows, and more.
Let us give you a look around. We are confident you’ll like what you see.
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Individual loan officers can harness the power of Surefire to perform like a large enterprise while maintaining the personal touch their clients appreciate. Like an extra employee, Surefire CRM will gather leads, nurture them, help you close more loans and earn more repeat and referral business. Open and solidify referral relationships by truly standing out to real estate agents with professional property sites, co-marketing materials and more.
Larger organizations with multiple team members will benefit from the organizational structure of Surefire as you’ll be able to assign users to branches and centralize your marketing and communication from one system. Plus, you can easily deploy award-winning marketing messaging on behalf of your LO team members without them needing to lift a finger.
Larger enterprise organizations benefit from key integrations to their technology stack, including their LOS, POS, and more. This seamless integration gives them a leg up against the competition. The system structure also makes it easy to manage branding throughout the organizational hierarchy. Plus, improve hiring and retention by offering LOs easy-to-use tools that will want them to stay part of your winning team.
Top of Mind's CPO David Orsini has been recognized as an outstanding mortgage technology leader through the MBA Tech All-Star Award Program.
In this episode of The Trending Mind, CRO Nick Belenky recaps our launch of Surefire's Power Video feature and our integration with MBS Highway.
Rick Webster, VP of client strategy at Top of Mind, is welcomed as a resource for clients to achieve better outcomes and meet their goals.