As the real estate market starts to slow down, it’s a great time to evaluate and strengthen your personal brand as a local mortgage broker. There are countless marketing and advertising options out there – and it’s up to you to decide which strategy will be best for you and your local market. Below we outlined a few brand-building and lead-generating tactics that will help!
Evaluate and build your social media sites.
A strong social media presence will help potential clients find you (and get to know you) online. Many clients may hear about you from a friend or be referred to your by their real estate agent, but that doesn’t mean that they won’t check you out on the internet too. At a minimum, it’s good to have a professional LinkedIn and Facebook page for your business, so potential clients can see that you are legitimate. Be sure to include a few key aspects to your pages to maximize their impact on your brand.
- Include a clear, high-quality headshot.
- Include reviews, testimonials, or recommendations from past clients or colleagues. (Don’t be afraid to ask for them!)
- Post important news about your business such as awards, positive shout-outs to colleagues, and information that clients may find useful.
Facebook Business Pages allow users to leave feedback directly to the page.
LinkedIn allows you to accept and publish recommendations that users write directly on your profile.
Once your social media sites are all set up, you can use them as a tool to regularly promote parts of your business. Post about new financing opportunities, networking events, and industry news for clients.
Attend/Sponsor local events
It’s no secret that many clients find mortgage brokers through personal referrals. One way to expand your number of referrals is to expand your local network and pool of potential referrers. Local events are a great place to meet new people and establish yourself as a well-known member of the community. If you have the opportunity to be a sponsor of a local industry event or charity event, you will get publicity for your brand, and it may put you in a better position to interface with more community members.
Run a local first-time buyers seminar
If there aren’t any upcoming events that your want to sponsor or attend, set one up yourself! This option is much more labor-intensive than our other suggestions, but it has the potential to be very lucrative as well.
New home buyers are generally interested in getting as much information as they can so that they can make educated decisions during the home buying process. Presenting a local home buyers seminar will establish you as an industry leader in the community and expose you to new potential clients.
You can promote the seminar on social media or sites like eventbrite. It can also be a great opportunity to get other industry members involved. If you can provide a lineup of industry experts, like a home insurance agent, real estate agent, and escrow assistant, the seminar will be more thorough and valuable. The other speakers will also be able to promote the seminar to their networks and widen the pool of invitees.
Each week, set a lunch meeting with a fellow industry professional
Don’t lose sight of what your brand is really about – YOU! It is important to maintain your personal relationships through networking. You could meet hundreds of industry professionals at a networking event, but if you don’t create a relationship, none of those connections will be truly valuable.
If you can set a time to meet with at least one professional acquaintance per week, your relationships will deepen and your true network will develop into partnerships and potentially referrals.
