I mentioned the importance of having a strong online presence in my article about getting more client reviews last week (here), and this week I wanted to do a deeper dive into how loan officers can do that successfully. If you want to grow your business, you have to be visible. A strong brand helps prospective clients find you in a sea of options. You also have to be memorable — so when someone in your network thinks about a loan officer, you’re the first that comes to mind. Building, and then successfully maintaining your online presence supports those things. It means that when someone searches your name online, they find you easily and across multiple platforms. And when they visit your social-media pages, they see that you’re a real person, regularly communicating, with up-to-date information. It also means that you’ll appear in the social-media feeds of your referral partners, previous clients, and other connections, giving them a reason to spread your name and keeping you top-of-mind. Whether you’re starting from scratch, or you just need a few modifications to boost your online presence, here are some important things to keep in mind:
Your Website
Generally, potential clients will land on your website first. The site needs to represent your brand clearly and accurately. You want to create a brand that is strong enough for people to recognize as yours alone, and making that a foundational element of your website design is crucial. Your website should also have a clear, clean layout and be user friendly. But just because you have a website, that doesn’t mean you have an online presence. People need to see a real person behind your digital presence. Keep your site updated regularly with testimonials and relevant photos, and think about creating a blog where you can share useful information with your audience.
Your Social-Media Pages
Once they’ve visited your website, most people will move on to check out your social-media pages — just to do a little more research. The social-media options are many, but for most mortgage professionals, LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter lead the list. These sites give you even more opportunities than your website to show who you are and what you’re about. A successful social-media strategy is one that you engage with a few times each week. Whether it’s posting content, replying to messages, or commenting on others’ posts, regular activity is important. Facebook also allows past clients to leave reviews of your services. Going back to last week’s post, you need to get comfortable asking your clients for reviews, because potential clients will certainly be looking for them, and you don’t want to disappoint.
Your Strategy
You need to develop an online strategy that works for you. As I already mentioned, consistent activity is a must. After that, share useful information, engage with your networks, stay current, and make it personal. When you tick off those boxes, you’re now building yourself a powerful online presence. Sharing information that helps clients and prospects allows you to position yourself as an expert, and it demonstrates that you’re someone who genuinely wants to help. When you engage with others, it shows that there’s a real human being behind the online presence. Express interest in others, ask questions, share feedback, and reply to the posts and comments on your pages. Keeping your profiles current also shows that you’re an up-to-date professional familiar with all the latest tools and industry knowledge. If it looks like your online presence hasn’t been updated in the last 5 (or 10) years, you’re sending a message that you’re not interested in changing with the times. I mentioned making it personal a few sentences back — your online presence isn’t about sales or advertising; it’s about showing who you really are as a professional and what you believe in. Share what’s important to you and the level of service you deliver. Giving prospective clients a glimpse into these things makes it easier for them to choose you instead of the competition.
It will take some time to and effort to build (and maintain) a strong online presence, but it is absolutely worth the investment.
If you like what you are reading, you can get all future loan officer best practices right to your email. Subscribe today at MD-LoanOfficer.com.
Comentarios