10 vital marketing strategies for mortgage brokers

You may think your budget won’t stretch to new marketing activities. But it doesn’t need to be costly. It might just be time you need to invest. But just before you start, answer this question. Who is your ideal customer? Keep that in focus as you read on.

Social Media

Never underestimate social media, it’s a powerful marketing tool. In January of this year, there were 57.1 million active social media users in the UK. That’s over 84% of the population[1] with the average UK user spending one hour and forty-two minutes on their social media every day[2].

Promote your services yes, but don’t stop there. A consistent social media calendar will keep you in your target audience feed. By delivering relevant, timely and educational content, you will quickly build your reputation and reach.

Share your success stories, local industry news, new products on the market, and client testimonials, and add a couple of fun posts to help people see the human side of your business.

Facebook, Instagram and Twitter could all play a roll in your marketing strategy in various ways but ultimately will all help drive traffic to your website.

Facebook

• Build a business page to identify yourself to the world. List services, share links, images and posts.
• Try Facebook advertising to reach your specific target market or your local area.
• Run a competition or promotion to raise brand awareness.
• Use Facebook Promoted Posts to increase reach and impressions.

Instagram

• Carousel posts allow users to swipe through several photos like a slideshow.
• Instagram Stories are very popular and disappear from your profile after 24 hours.
• Instagram Reels are a great way to display short videos.
• Partner with marketing creators (influencers) to promote your services.

Twitter

• Use Twitter trending topics to get a feel for your audience’s interests.
• Try Twitter Communities to join groups of like-minded users and share informative content.
• Use Twitter Spaces to host or participate in audio chats such as Q&As with your audience.
• Twitter Lists are a great way of cutting through the noise to focus on the content that is important to you.

YouTube

• Engage your audience with how-to videos.
• Testimonials from happy customers are vitally important.
• Go behind the scenes of your business to get your personality across.
• Encourage users to subscribe and build your audience.

Find out more about the best social media channels to use for your business in our blog here.

Referral

Happy customers are one of your best assets for new leads. Be brave and ask your customers to spread the word through their network of friends and contacts. Ask them to provide testimonials for website and social use. Even better get them to leave a review on sites such as Google or Trust Pilot, both are simple to do and it all adds up to improved online coverage.

Statistics say it’s worth the effort[3]:

• Customers referred by a friend are 4 times more likely to use your services.
• Customers acquired through referrals have a 37% higher retention rate.

Podcasts and webinars

Podcasts and webinars are a great way to build relationships and create visibility. Pick a topic such as helping first-time buyers to get on the property ladder, and deliver education, guidance, and a few hot tips. Don’t stop at one, consider doing a series focusing on a range of hot industry topics.

Publicise your podcast or webinar well it’s a chance to reach a wide audience. People who sign-up are likely to be fully engaged as they’re interested in the topic you’re focused on. And don’t forget 20-40% of webinar attendees turn into qualified leads[4].

Podcasts will give your audience the ability to subscribe and get notifications through RSS feeds so they will always know when you have a new episode available.

You could also consider using Facebook Live. If you’re looking to grow your audience, this is the fastest way to do it and once your live stream has finished, it’s immediately turned into a video you can use again. When done weekly with educational rather than sales topics you can build the know, like, and trust factor for your brand.

Blogs

Are you a wordsmith? An informative blog will drive people to your website. If it’s educational and answers possible questions your customers may have, it adds to your professionalism and helps generate trust in your business.

Haven’t got the time to spend writing blogs? More than 92% of marketers consider content a valuable asset to invest in[5], so why not try a freelance writer with good industry knowledge?

It’s not just about the words. Add a video for extra impact – blog posts get 83% more traffic when a video is included[6].

Free mortgage reviews

With such a problematic economic climate, customers are eager to secure better deals and get expert advice. You can review their current situation, give them recommendations for the best solutions and provide them with the next steps. And hopefully, if you’ve formed a good trusting relationship in that time, their next steps will be with you.

Your customers expect to use their favourite technology to connect with you, don’t disappoint them. As well as face-to-face reviews try video calls. This flexible approach will work well for families with work commitments, widening your audience and appeal.

Email marketing

When do you check your emails? 58% of us check emails before social media. Not only that, 69% do it while watching TV, 57% in bed and 79% still do it while on holiday[7]. So why not add an email campaign to the list of leads you’ve built up from your social media, blogs, and other marketing activities?

There are many different email marketing solutions out there that make it relatively easy to build your emails without any great design skills. And with an email open rate of 28.57% in the financial services sector[8], it could be worth your time.

Create a YouTube channel

Don’t overlook the power of YouTube. It’s not all about cats and dogs doing cute things. The UK has 35.6 million users, with 35% of the population using it, making it the second most popular social media site[9]. It is also considered to be the second most used search engine after Google[10]. This is a good way to reach a wider audience.

Using video content helps build relationships with customers and potential clients, giving insight into your business. Balance that out with videos that are useful and valuable for your target audiences, such as sharing tips on securing a mortgage or how-to strategies. Testimonial videos will help to reassure prospective clients of your professionalism and persuade them to use your services.

You can see how we use our Mortgage Brain YouTube account to do just this here. Or for a step-by-step guide on how to set up your own channel, see here.

Optimise your website

It may be stating the obvious to say your website is one of your most effective marketing tools, but there are still many in the mortgage industry that don’t give their website the attention it needs. It’s the best way to attract new clients, but also the quickest way to have them pass you by if your website is not functional, simple to use, well-written, attractive, engaging, and informative.

Do you think your website is all of that? Measure it against these guidelines for website best practice, and decide if you need to work on it. With 5,615 mortgage broker businesses in the UK, it’s important to stand out from the crowd[11].

Even if your website is in good shape, you can still get users to stay longer and add more professionalism with Web Brain website plug-ins. A Best Buy or Mortgage Search plug-in added to your site quickly gives users some of the information they’ve come looking for, increasing your chance of converting to a lead. Find out more here.

SEO

So you’ve got a good website. But can people find it when searching the internet? If your search engine optimisation (SEO) is poor, potential clients won’t find it. 63% of online experiences begin with a search engine, and staggeringly SEO drives 1000%+ more traffic than organic social media[12].

If you’re not an SEO expert or don’t know what keywords you should be using, this is an area where a little investment could go a long way to delivering these benefits and increasing visibility:

• Higher rankings on search engines
• Gain market share
• Higher conversion rates
• Improve brand awareness
• Improve your positioning in local search results.

Want to stand out from your competitors? SEO is vital to your success.

Build local relationships

Take advantage of the spirit of community. Local estate agents, solicitors, and accountants are all good targets to help you spread the word. A mutually beneficial referral relationship will work well and can become a longstanding arrangement, but it needs to be just that – mutually beneficial. Think about what value you can you deliver for the other parties? These referrals attract new business, and if the business you build the relationship with has a good reputation that will add an element of trust.

If you’re looking to build more local relationships and brand awareness, sponsorship could be your answer. Show you’re an important part of the community by sponsoring a local sports team. We don’t need to be talking about Manchester United or the England cricket team here, grassroots sports teams can be particularly effective for building a reputation in your local area.

The photo opportunities that come with this will help to raise the visibility of your business, and also lead to greater customer loyalty, especially with long-term sponsorship. Your business name on shirts or billboards around a sports ground will get your name recognised.

In summary

You’re plying your trade in a highly competitive industry. It’s essential to use every marketing strategy you can to get ahead and stand out from the crowd. No, it’s not easy, especially if you’re a busy mortgage broker with not enough hours in the day. But you can free up time by using technology that can streamline your processes and make you more efficient. This way, you can experiment with some of these marketing strategies. Find out more about our time-saving mortgage broker software solutions here.