Mortgage loan originators (MLO), also known as mortgage loan officers, help home buyers or refinancers choose a loan by providing them with key information during the decision-making process and collecting and verifying necessary financial documentation. But, in a busy housing market, it’s common for MLOs to face a lot of competition.
If you’re an MLO, there’s no doubt you want to connect with soon-to-be homeowners looking for a mortgage so that you can help them through the process and increase business. But the big question is, how do you make yourself stand out from the crowd? How do you make home buyers come to you and not someone else? In this article, we’ll share some marketing ideas, strategies, and tips that can help you reach a larger audience and grow your business.
Creating a Mortgage Originator Marketing Plan
You have to keep in mind a few things when you go about creating a mortgage originator marketing plan. First off, you have to identify your audience and understand their needs. This is a crucial step—once you figure out who your audience is and what their needs are, it will become easier to appeal to them and market yourself.
Oftentimes, it’s easier to figure out the demographic you appeal to when you pick a specialization or work in a niche. Having a specific area of expertise will help set you apart from competitors and allow you to attract people that have certain characteristics in common.
For example, rather than marketing yourself as helping with mortgages in general, you might want to focus on narrow areas, such as first-time home buyers, builder business, CPA’s and financial planners or buyers agents. Sticking to a particular area of expertise can make it easier to identify your audience and market yourself to them.
Marketing Strategies for Loan Officers
When it comes to marketing your mortgage business, it’s important to have a clear plan in place. A loan officer marketing plan can help you attract more clients and build valuable relationships that sustain your business. With that being said, we’ve listed our top five marketing ideas for loan officers below. These marketing ideas tend to work best when you combine them together, so do a little experimenting to see which strategy works best for you and your business.
#1: Optimize Your Online Presence
Nowadays, people most often turn to the internet to find the goods and services they’re looking for. This includes homebuyers who may be searching for a mortgage loan originator they can trust. To be competitive online, you have to establish and optimize an online presence.
Start by creating a business website that both looks good and is easy to use. A website makes it easier for prospects to find out more about your services and get in contact with you. Use a URL that you own and that explains what you do or hope uniquely do it. One MLO chose packloans.com. Her name is Jennifer Pack and the site talk about calling her for an approval and getting ready to pack for the move.
#2: Establish a Social Media Presence
Social media can be a valuable marketing tool when used correctly. You can use platforms like Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Twitter, and YouTube to build your brand, establish a following, and connect with prospects. Almost every borrower and real estate agent is on Facebook and linked in can be a way to find other professionals that can be great referrals sources like attorneys, CPAs and financial advisors. Experiment with different social media platforms and see which ones get you the most engagement. Most importantly, try to stay active and post on a regular basis, so you give your followers something to keep up with.
#3: Utilize Email Marketing Campaigns
Email is a communication channel that allows you to engage with customers, leads, and past clients directly. Email marketing can be a great way to reach out to prospects while also maintaining connections with former clients.
When it comes to email marketing, the two most important things to keep in mind are providing value and personalization. If you spam the contacts in your database with redundant or boring messaging, you may end up annoying them rather than converting them into a client—that’s why you need to provide them with value. For example, you might send out a monthly newsletter filled with mortgage tips or industry news to establish yourself as a source of useful and trustworthy information.
Personalization is the other important element of any good email marketing campaign. Since you’re sending a message to a specific individual, it’s always best to address them by name. In addition to that, consider sending birthday messages or mortgage anniversary emails to give your messages a personal touch. Consistency and growing your audience over time can deliver powerful results.
#4: Create Compelling Content
When marketing your mortgage business, creating interesting, compelling, and informative content can go a long way in growing your business. If you create content that’s both relevant to your industry and provides value to your prospects, then you can reach a larger audience and build your brand. There are many different types of content, such as:
- Blogs: Start a blog on your website that discusses industry news, mortgage tips, or other topics that prospects will likely find interesting.
- Videos: Try to shoot some short videos advertising your services or host a livestream where you talk about home financing and answer audience questions.
- Infographics: When they are well designed, infographics can make data interesting and easy to follow. Create infographics that contain data about the housing market, mortgages, refinancing, or other relevant fun facts to effectively engage with your target audience and provide them with a valuable resource.
Benefits of Continuing Education
The one thing that will impress a potential client more than any blog or social media post is proven experience. Getting a mortgage is typically a very stressful and complicated process, and soon-to-be homeowners want to know they’re working with someone who knows what they’re doing. Specialized education and certifications are a great way to prove to potential clients that you are well-informed and capable of getting the job done the right way.
MLO continuing education programs keep you up-to-date with the ever-changing mortgage industry. Work through courses with qualified instructors to update your knowledge and learn new skills. Once you’ve completed a course, your progress is reported to the Nationwide Multistate Licensing System & Registry (NMLS), and you can post the achievement on your website and social media pages.
You might also expand your reach by getting additional MLO licenses for other states. Becoming licensed in more than one state can dramatically increase the number of clients you’re able to work with, providing you with more opportunities to grow your business and network.
It takes a diverse set of skills to become an MLO. In addition to possessing a great deal of knowledge surrounding lending policies, programs, and regulations, you also have to be a self-starter with excellent interpersonal skills. It’s a job that can provide you with a great deal of independence as well as the fulfillment that comes with helping people through the home-buying process.
However, to be a successful MLO, you have to network and find clients—and that means you need to have some kind of marketing strategy. Implement one or all of the mortgage originator marketing ideas listed above to help ramp up your business. Also, look into NMLS continuing education programs that can build your knowledge base and help you remain compliant and protect your license and demonstrate expertise to potential clients.
