Some of Australia's top advisers talk about branding and lead generation
Referrals and word of mouth are important tools to generate new business for mortgage advisers. But having a strong social media presence is just as important, according to some of New Zealand’s top advisers.
Read more: Is social media more important for advisers than word of mouth?
Satyan Mehra, founder of iConsult, said social media is an important tool for building your personal and business brand and social presence. “It’s for people to know who you are,” he said.
Mehra also said social media is “like a decision-maker” for people who Google for a mortgage adviser, adding that it’s those advisers with strong social media presence who consumers are often attracted to.
Satyan Mehra was awarded as the Best Mortgage Brokers in New Zealand. Read all the winners here.
Elyce Peters, head mortgage adviser at The Mortgage Girls, said social media is a great tool for letting people know the kind of advisers they’re going to be dealing with. She added that it is through platforms such as Facebook that they get a lot of lead generation.
“When someone posts ‘looking for a recommendation for a mortgage broker,’ for example, it’s awesome to see our clients come forward to recommend us and our team,” Peters said. “That then leads the new potential client on to our Facebook site. They check us out, look at our reviews, and then give us a call.”
Aseem Agarwal, head of mortgage at Global Financial Services, said that more and more customers are looking to search and engage with mortgage advisors online.
Read more: Aseem Agarwal
Agarwal said that even when people get recommended an adviser by friends or family, “they still go out and read online about the company, about the adviser, and see what they do before they actually engage with them.”
“We use it to get our name out there,” Agarwal said. “But we also get satisfied customers to go on Facebook, Google, etc., and write a review for us. We find that the more reviews you have on those sites, the higher they rank you when it comes to organic searches, and we have a person who is dedicated full-time to search engine optimisation (SEO). We can then look at the month-to-month shifts in search enquiries, and we can shape our marketing strategy accordingly.”
