Monitoring your loan originators’ activity on social media

by Jacquelyn Knoll

Loan officers are the face of your institution and the direct contact a borrower has with your company. Obviously, your loan officers have a lot of different tasks and skills. Since social media has such a big presence in today’s mortgage industry, one of these important skills should include being well-versed on how to use social media as a professional tool. It’s 2019 and millennials are taking the reins in the homebuying market. What does that mean? The homebuyer is spending their time online. It’s imperative to the success of your mortgage company to ensure that your loan officers are taking advantage and directing their efforts towards the platforms most borrowers are on, but it's also important that you monitor it.

Personal vs Professional
There are essentially two social media uses, personal and professional. On the personal account your loan officers can still positively promote themselves to people whom are close to them, but mainly focus more on their life outside of work. These accounts allow for people to get to know who they really are. Personal accounts most often should be private and therefore closed off to the public eye. At the same time, LOs should always be cautious about what they post, as they are professionals and should always be seen as one.  With that being said, you never know what a potential homebuyer might catch a glimpse of. The professional account is one where the loan officer must stay positive and promote their personality while sharing relatable articles, creating unique content, and posting their thoughts and insights through text, images, video and live video posts. This creates an online presence that will stick into a potential borrower’s brain. When the topic of homebuying comes up they will most likely turn to you for guidance. However, a professional account doesn’t have to be all work and no fun. For example, if something fun is happening in the office such as a birthday celebration, it’s okay to snap a picture and upload it to your professional account in order to let your professional network get to know your company culture a little better.

Consistency is Key
Social media is a tool to grow clientele all-the-while closing more deals and increasing the revenue. Encouraging interaction online by posting consistently and often is key to doing so. You must make sure that your loan officers are keeping up with their social media by liking, commenting, and posting. An amazing way to promote interaction is by creating question and answer videos. Everyone has something they’re curious of. A good idea would be to ask their audience to send in some questions and then an LO can do a video or live video answering them. Another thing you could possibly post on social media is contests. Who doesn’t want free stuff? The followers will like, share, comment and tag others just to get something for free. It’s an easy way to drive traffic and attention to their profile while getting their name out there. However, be sure to check with your compliance department to determine what can and can’t be said or given away.  These little additions to a profile will add so much interaction to a LO's page.

Utilizing LinkedIn
LinkedIn is a social media network for professionals. It is a must that your loan officers are active on LinkedIn, if nothing else, with a strong profile and at least 15 minutes a day dedicated to the platform. They can build a strong profile by filling out everything LinkedIn asks in great detail, using a professional headshot, and using appropriate keywords that someone would use to associate with themselves professionally. This will ensure that they are seen as a trusted loan advisor, rather than just someone who is approving a loan. You want to make sure they are connecting with others they have worked with in the past and that they are asking them to use the recommendation feature to better promote themselves; this will demonstrate to potential homebuyers that their loan officer knows what they are doing, and that they are the best option to lend them a hand in their homebuying endeavor.

When a potential homebuyer feels like they know your loan officer, they’re going to feel more comfortable turning to your company to seek help in the process of buying a home. With that being said, having a solid presence on social media is key to your LO’s success. An active online presence, creativity, and remaining professional will lead to ultimate success for years to come.

Jacquelyn Knoll’s role as marketing coordinator at WebMax spans a great deal of important duties as she takes part in all of WebMax’s marketing initiatives. Her role produces lead generation from various marketing and sales angles including writing opportunities, email marketing campaigns, and social media efforts. She also manages all paid advertising campaigns for WebMax clients.