Looking for social media tips for mortgage loan officers? This is the blog post for you. If you’re a mortgage expert, you may be wondering if you need social media. If you’re actively looking to bring in new business, the answer is yes. Websites can be useful for a bio and contact information, but social media allows you to define your brand, hone a niche, and demonstrate your expertise to leads, borrowers, and realtors. Plus, if you have a multichannel marketing strategy, content that you create on your blog, website or email newsletter can also be repurposed on social media—and vice versa. Don’t create extra work for yourself if you don’t need to!
Social media can also be intimidating. There’s so much content out there, and it may feel like trying to do it yourself won’t pay off. You may also feel stuck on what to post. Where do you start? Conversely, you may feel like putting content on social media is giving away your expertise for free. But, great news: none of that’s true. Social media can be the missing piece of the puzzle to market yourself effectively.
Social Media Platforms You Can Use
Make sure you research the differences between social media platforms before you dive in. A few of the most popular platforms are:
- LinkedIn: primarily for professionals and businesses looking to connect; content can include short and long posts, video, and images
- Facebook: used for personal and professional use—businesses can connect with individuals and vice versa; wide variety of content, including posts that range in length, video, and images
- Twitter: used for personal and professional use; because of character limit, posts are usually shorter updates and links to longer content but can also include images and video
- Instagram: used for personal and professional use; strong emphasis on striking visual, audio, and video content, with the ability to write long posts
- YouTube: used for personal and professional use for wide range of content; primarily video and occasionally audio
- TikTok: used for personal and professional use; primarily shorter video and audio content, emphasis on quick, impactful messaging
The age range varies for each platform. Do some research and figure out where your potential clients are. Keep in mind they might spend time on multiple platforms. Let’s be honest, you may not have the bandwidth to create a meaningful presence on every single platform, so focus on a maximum of three to start. You can create a professional profile for any of these platforms and start sharing content right away, but have a plan for how you’d like to present yourself first.
What Your Content Could Cover
Potential borrowers may head to social media to look for experts or local mortgage loan officers (MLOs) they might want to work with—or simply to answer questions they have (just like you may have gone online looking for social media tips for mortgage loan officers). If they find you, and you show that you know what you’re doing, it can essentially be an advertisement for your expertise. You don’t have to communicate every single trade secret you have. In fact, specific, nitty-gritty content wouldn’t be engaging to many people. Here are just a few basic topics you could cover:
- Frequently asked mortgage questions (i.e. “Tuesday Tips”)
- Misconceptions about mortgages, debunked
- The mortgage process from start to finish in easy-to-understand language
- Complex lending terms, explained in simple ways
- The housing market, locally or generally (particularly if there are unique quirks in your area)
- Your work, and how you help your clients
- Changing rates
- Things to avoid (like closing a credit card) in the months before getting a mortgage
- The pros and cons about how much of a deposit to put down
- How much your income needs to be to buy a particular property
- What first-time real estate buyers don’t know—but they should
- Mortgage “hacks” (a.k.a. tips people don’t know to make the process easier on themselves)
- Specific questions that followers ask you
And this is just the beginning. To get inspired, search for other mortgage experts on the platforms and see what you might like to cover, too (without copying their content exactly, of course). When it comes to content, the sky’s the limit!
Types of Content to Make
Depending on the platform, the time you have available, and your natural skillset, here’s how you could create engaging content:
- Posts: Write out a caption or post that goes into some detail about a subject in simple language but is also a teaser for more in-depth content.
- Infographics or other graphics: Create a short, to-the-point visual about some aspect of the mortgage process. You can create a simple visual with free tools like Canva.
- Photos: Even though writing a mortgage isn’t very visual, the homebuying process can be. Use home closings, properties that sold, or listings from real estate partners as potential content. (Be aware, though, about permissions, so make sure to ask before sharing.)
- Videos and virtual events: In the same way as a post, you can speak about a particular topic—short videos tend to perform better when you’re offering quick insight that’ll help potential borrowers, and longer videos can cover a topic more in-depth. Additionally, Instagram and TikTok live videos can be opportunities to interview, be interviewed, or discuss a shared interest with another professional on the platform.
- Announcements, events, and holidays: If you happen to have professional news to share, are hosting a webinar, or just want to wish your followers a Happy Holidays, social media can also be the place to do this.
- External Content: Outsourcing content is useful when you don’t have content of your own to share at the moment (and when you have other real estate and finance partners who are also paying interesting content), but don’t make all your content external. Only re-share content when you think it’s relevant to your followers.
For all types of content, encourage users to check out your blog/website/email list if they want more details. The ultimate goal is to raise your profile, get people interested—and then get their contact information. And don’t forget to repurpose your content!
How to Gain Followers
Remember, you’ll need to post consistently (ideally once a week at minimum) for your social media initiative to be worthwhile. You’ll also need to spend a few hours a week following potential clients and collaborators—a good strategy to get people to follow you back—as well as interacting with other users and mortgage content through messages and comments. Social media is made up of communities of people, and the best way to become a part of the online mortgage community is to engage.
You can also pay for targeted ads to guide users to your website, have them sign up to your email list, fill out a form, or just have them check out your profile. It’s helpful to have your social media presence up and running when you create ads so your followers have content to browse. In following you, they want to feel like they’re getting something in return.
Social media also doesn’t have to stay limited to the online space. You can encourage people who attend your events to follow you. If someone joined your email list, tell them that you also offer free resources and where they can find you. You can advertise your social media posts in emails, on your website, and even on your business cards. To avoid confusion, if you have a personal social media page, you may want to make it private and direct people to your professional page instead.
Believe it or not, engaging in social media for work can actually be quite fulfilling and fun. And, you can always change your strategy if it’s not working. So give it a try; the results might surprise you!
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