Although pretty homes and customer success stories are essential marketing tools for any mortgage broker, borrowers will be working with you. Here are some tips to help you brand yourself as the face of your business.
Be Real
Authenticity is crucial when you’re putting yourself out there. While social media, in particular, is about curation, presenting too perfect of a version of yourself is actually a mistake. Show the best home stories, wonderful photos you’ve shot of your borrowers (with their permission, of course), and fun images of the area you live and where you help people get home loans.
But don’t be afraid to show the fixer-uppers in your business and life. A photo of your messy desk can accompany a caption about how busy you are. A before and after of a home that borrowers got at a steal because it needed work gives hope to potential borrowers who think they’ll never be able to afford a house. And photos of you hiking a tough trail, attending a local event, or showing a home — even if your hair isn’t perfect — make you approachable.
Be an Expert
Borrowers go to you because you know much more than they do about home loans. Share what you know — and how you’ve learned it — in your marketing and social media. This knowledge can be as simple as selfies of you at training events (or taking a Zoom class), a photo of your newest certification or renewal of your state license, or a description of the conference you’ve attended. Or you can create learning sequences that educate borrowers and showcase the depth of your knowledge about loans, credit, and the housing market.
Don’t Be Afraid to Turn People Off
One of the potential drawbacks of showing your genuine self is that you might turn people away who don’t connect with your persona. But that’s not a bad thing. If someone doesn’t like the you they see on social media or your website, they probably won’t be enjoyable clients for you. When you’re helping someone get a purchase mortgage or refinance, you both have to trust each other. Financial data, in particular, can feel very personal. You will be more likely to build an enjoyable relationship with someone who likes you, and those clients will be more likely to refer future business to you.
The same is true of your referral network. You will likely be hanging out with these people at local home buying and business events, and you should get more referrals from someone who resonates with your personal brand than someone who doesn’t feel like a fit. And, again, those events you spend together will be much more enjoyable if you have something in common.
Personal branding may sound scary or overly challenging, but using the tips we’ve provided here as a guide will help you ensure that potential borrowers know you before they even meet you.
Check out EPM’s product offerings here to learn more about mortgage lending options — another way EPM empowers people.
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