Getting digi with it

Feedback from the 754 attendees at the three events suggested the boot camp was a roaring success, with everyone walking away with tips and tricks from some of the industry’s most digitally experienced speakers.

A quick show of hands in Sydney revealed the majority of brokers in attendance had some knowledge of, and experience in digital marketing but were eager to take things to the next level. Several admitted to being beginners in the digital marketing space, while just two claimed to be experts.

These feelings were matched by the boot camps held in Brisbane and Melbourne, suggesting an abundance of brokers are actively seeking to learn ways to engage with digital technologies to expand their loan writing potential and service offering.

In this follow-up report, we outline the topics showcased at the event, and share tips for how you can tame the digital marketing beast and boost your business in the process.

Keeping up with content

“We can’t keep up with content creation” declared the majority of brokers when asked about their most feared aspect of digital marketing.

What you put out to consumers can be the difference between make or break for your digital presence.

The experts suggest:

• Less is more. Don’t write a 50-page eBook; deliver short, sharp articles containing valuable information. Make it readable in just five minutes
• Be consistent. There’s nothing worse than seeing a post that’s over two years old. Make content generation part of your regular work routine.
• Avoid bombarding your database with information overload. Consider segmenting your database to determine how much and what type of content is appropriate for each client.
• Incorporate an FAQ page on your website, or what Tim Reid calls a “knowledge centre”. “Think of digital marketing as helpful marketing,” he says. This ensures you solve most customer enquires before they even call you, saving you time and promoting yourself as knowledgeable.

Paid advertising

‘Paid advertising is effective but too expensive’ was a common mindset among brokers. However Greg Cassar says it doesn’t need to be. If you’re smart and efficient, you can lower advertising costs while still driving the same amount of traffic to your website that someone else is paying double for.

The experts suggest:

• Limit the number of ads you create but make the ones you do use more effective. Use eye-catching images; if you’re targeting first home buyer loans, an ideal image is a happy young couple in front of a house.
• Brokers who don’t thoroughly research ad designers could end up paying thousands more. Look at the designer’s testimonial page or ask to speak to some past clients.
• Make Google your best friend. ‘Geo target’ your advertising to lower costs. “If you’ve only got a limited advertising budget, it makes sense to set up a geographical circle around you,” says Mr Cassar. A 20-kilometre perimeter is a good place to start.
• Only buy concentrated keywords. Walk in your potential client’s shoes to ensure the keywords you select are used by consumers online.

Social media

Using at least one social media platform is a necessity to thrive in the digital space. Several experts touched on its value and how LinkedIn and Facebook in particular can complement traditional business practices.

Most importantly, though, social media provides a valuable research tool when looking for new clients, while also offering a way to strengthen relationships with existing clients.

Social media takes little time away from day-to-day responsibilities, while also being a targeted, but low or no cost means of promoting your business.

The experts suggest:

• Promote seminars and conferences you are hosting on social media, and share news such as appointments to drive more attraction.
• Pose questions to your connections. By doing this, you are actively finding out what people in your network want to know about broking. You then become top of mind when the time comes for them to seek the services of a broker.
• Actively use second-degree connections to get introduced to new people and grow your network.
• Tommy Lim says: “Lock down your business name on the social networks; remember that you do not need to create your own content to attract likes or add that presence; follow The Adviser or Domain and share their stuff, because content like that is interesting to your audience and it means easy clicks to your website.”

Financial costs

Most delegates believe digital marketing is too expensive, but the reality is rather different. For brokers concerned about costs, Mr Greg Cassar recommends starting with “explainer” videos, which feature a common problem and how your company can solve it, all done via animation and voice-over.

“You write a script, record it then pay someone to do the animation. Some videos can be done for as little as $400,” he says.

Mr Tim Reid uses podcasts to deliver The Small Business Big Marketing Show and says brokers could easily tap into this resource. He uses his laptop and a $250 USB microphone, then pays an editor $100 a week to produce a weekly podcast.

The experts suggest:

• Utilise free services such as social media, Skype, YouTube and Audacity to market your business.
• Limit costs where you can. Ensure you search for the best deals by really scoping out the competition.
• Embrace lower-cost forms of digital marketing such as podcasts and animation advertisements.
• Weigh up the costs of digital versus traditional advertising. Often digital options can provide a much better ROI.

What NOT to do

As well as what you should be doing, it’s always good to know what you should avoid. And as boot camp delegates discovered, when it comes to mistakes even the experts have made some whoppers!

The experts suggest: 

• Don’t drive people to YouTube, as they will get distracted by cute kittens and other videos. Instead, embed the link within your own website and email signature.
• “Most people sit on Instagram and Facebook as a social procrastination tool,” says Adam Franklin. Take 20 minutes throughout the day to focus solely on what you want to achieve from them, whether that is gaining new connections or distributing content.
• Don’t use your personal Facebook account as your business account. Keep those photos of you at the beach or after a few wines away from client eyes.
• Don’t forget to make your website mobile responsive. A website that isn’t mobile-friendly could be losing you clients.
• Don’t send out or upload content without having a second set of eyes view it beforehand. This was a hard lesson, noted one expert, after a marketing email was accidentally sent to an entire database addressed “Dear Rich Bastard”.

Due to demand, The Adviser will roll out the Digital Marketing Boot Camp in Adelaide and Perth later this year.