Thousands already came on board, including industry bodies and aggregators
.jpg)
Having a personal and professional connection with many brokers, and a close knowledge of how they put in long work hours even on weekends, real estate agency First Home Buyer Buddy joins the fight against the Royal Commission’s recommendation to scrap trail.
“Brokers never really switch off! The service they provide the everyday Australian is so valuable and desperately needed and we wanted to do something to show our support and allow others to do the same,” Daniel Baxter, First Home Buyer Buddy co-founder, told MPA.
Together with his wife and business partner Lisa, they tapped the power of social media by creating an impelling Facebook profile frame that declares loyalty to brokers.
Having built their businesses off the back of online marketing campaigns and seen sporting teams attract huge support with profile frames, the couple figured they could launch a similar effort to unify brokers and to bring more awareness to the issue at a community and consumer level.
Since the frame’s messaging is not aligned with any particular bank, brokerage, or aggregator, the Baxters felt it could easily bring anyone, including the family and friends of brokers, to jump on board.
“We believe that creating more awareness at the consumer level using social media can add extra support to what the MFAA and FBAA are doing,” Baxter said.
“Australians often feel strongly about supporting the 'little guy'.”
Simple, effective, and free
According to Baxter, a million of Australians can access the frame. It’s simple, effective, and free. It bears no branding, with two colour options supporters can choose from, depending on how they want to express their unity.
The Baxters created the frame to show personal support to the broking channel, but when it gained traction and a growing number of people have begun using it, they saw a great opportunity to bring awareness and to stir conversations on the concerned issue.
"We also felt that this could bring the brokers together as one; to show their unity in what was probably the hardest week many of them have had to go through," Baxter said.
The frame comes in aqua and purple, bright colours that can easily spur curiosity to someone’s profile image. The aqua frame bears the message “I Support Mortgage Brokers Not Banks”, while the purple one says “I Support My Local Mortgage Broker”. Each frame comes with the hashtags #brokersbehindyou, #brokersworkforyou, and #keepcompetitionalive.
Gone viral
According to Baxter, the frame has been garnering positive reactions since it first appeared. He may not be able to provide an exact count of the frame’s users with Facebook removing a particular tracking feature, but based on research, what others tell them, and the number of aqua and purple profile images that flood his Facebook feed, he estimates that it’s already in the thousands. Baxter had industry bodies, aggregators, and brokers sharing the frames and reaching out to thank him and his wife.
"The fact the frames are going viral shows real support for the value that brokers provide their clients. Everyone is backing them!" Baxter said.
"It's nice to have made a positive impact in what was a very rough week for our friends."
