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While a majority of mortgage brokers are using social media sites to promote their businesses, few are seeing bottom line benefits from doing so.
According to The Adviser Bankwest Broker Software and Technology Report, to appear in the next issue of the magazine, 43.1 per cent of more than 350 brokers said social media sites including Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn had not directly improved their bottom line.
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Of the brokers surveyed, just 18 per cent said it had been a positive for their business, while the rest said it was “hard to say” whether they had enjoyed any bottom line benefits.
That said, more than 54.1 per cent said they are using social media in their businesses, while a further 31.7 per cent admitted they “intend to” use the various websites in the future.
But while a majority of mortgage brokers have not seen any remuneration benefits as a result of engaging with social media, AFG’s Jaime Vogel said it was still a powerful marketing tool that brokers should introduce into their business.
“From a broker’s perspective, social media is all about creating a likeable brand and creating trust, positioning themselves as experts in their field, making clients ‘stickier’ and staying top of mind. So when clients need to review their finances or get a new loan, the broker is their go-to person,” he said.
“I would say it’s impossible to attribute profitability to social media alone, but it should be a core component of any sales and marketing strategy for aiding client retention, attracting new business, generating referrals and improving [search engine optimisation].”
Mr Vogel said that if brokers want to harness the power of social media for profitability purposes, they need to be committed to maintaining their presence online. They cannot simply ‘set and forget’.
“It is your ‘face’ and it needs your ‘touch’ to be authentic,” he said.
“That said, there are clever ways to do it without chewing up too much time. I would recommend brokers consider sourcing engaging content, offering something of value, providing insight and expertise, showing personality and consider a Facebook advertising campaign.”
