Away from the never-ending circus of global politics, one of the great debates on social media —at least within this industry — centres around financial advice.
Some say that the proliferation of people offering tips to young first-time buyers, through the medium of dancing to whichever song is currently lighting up the charts, is a dangerous thing.
Others opine that these hip-swaying, definitely unregulated social media stars are merely filling a demand that is not being met elsewhere.
Rising above the noise, however, a number of lenders, brokers and other mortgage industry firms are using social media to propel their business to new heights.
‘Word of social media’ is the new word of mouth. Good news travels faster and further
Mortgage Strategy readied its thumb for some serious scrolling, to track these people down and ask them why they do it, as well as how they do it, and what readers interested in delving into this world should be wary of.
Good outcomes
It should come as no surprise that asking people who actively incorporate social media into their business garnered an answer that, yes, using it is worthwhile. The interesting answers revolved around the types of outcome they have seen.
Private Finance technical director and senior mortgage broker Chris Sykes says that, although he doesn’t generate a “huge amount of leads” from social media, LinkedIn — his platform of choice — helps in other ways.
The risk is mostly of offending people or starting a debate. We steer clear of that
“I have had ex-university lecturers, old schoolmates, old schoolteachers and friends/colleagues of existing clients reach out for some advice,” he says.
“I also find client retention to be the real benefit. If somebody who took a mortgage out with us finds my content interesting, they are more likely to come back to me.”
Elan Property Finance director Shazad Ahmed, a prolific user, says that, instead of finding leads through occasional, ad hoc posts, he deploys posts strategically.
He explains: “The real power is in talking about the same topic from various angles and then becoming seen as the expert in that field — which over the longer term means you’re the go-to person and you generate a lot of leads and clients by doing very little.”
Dunham McCarthy Group co-founder Nicola McKenzie says that when her firm began pursuing a presence on social media it took 10 to 20 hours a week over 18 months to produce results. But it seems to have been worth it.
Be consistent and play the long game. Eventually you’ll build up a collection of greatest hits on your feed
“While social media contributes a smaller share to our revenue compared to other methods, its impact on growing our brand has been invaluable,” she says.
“[It has] also attracted candidates aligned with our values during the recruitment process.”
McKenzie adds: “Many candidates have expressed their desire to work for our firm because of the image portrayed through our online platforms. They have been able to get a real sense of what our firm stands for, the culture we foster and the values we uphold before joining us.”
Meanwhile, Twenty7Tec director of communications and marketing Steph Teague observes that, as well as pushing brand awareness, social media drives people to webinars.
“We are very active on social media, and many people say they have seen things we have posted there,” she says.
LinkedIn is our preferred platform for reaching brokers. We have a set tone of voice, consistent across each platform
Webinar attendance seems to be a recurring goal. From the lender side, a Leeds Building Society spokesperson says social media has served as a “fundamental” tool in the past year.
“We have utilised LinkedIn to promote webinars, which resulted in successful levels of attendance, as well as to promote new products and updates.”
Sparking conversation
“The main thing I wanted to achieve was to share my knowledge,” says Sykes when asked why he started using social media as part of his career.
“With mortgages you get only so many touchpoints with clients. You may not get to speak to them for months or years between doing that initial mortgage and their product needing a review. Social media can spark conversation.”
I use Facebook to interact, answer questions and be a subject-matter expert
Ahmed tells a compelling story.
He says: “When I entered the specialist finance industry in a self-employed role, I had no clients, no reputation, no brand and, really, no hope.
“I chose social media to build my personal brand and, by providing as much value as possible, answer questions, create written and video content, and just be authentic.”
He adds: “Another reason [for using it], which I learned in retrospect, is that ‘word of social media’ is the new word of mouth. Good news travels faster and further.”
McKenzie took a more analytical approach.
“Five years ago, we recognised that over 85% of Millennials and Gen Z were influenced by social media in their buying decisions. Given that these demographics constitute a significant portion of our target audience, it became clear that establishing a presence on social media platforms would be an important part of our client engagement.”
While TikTok gets all the headlines, and readers of this magazine may naturally gravitate more towards LinkedIn, other platforms can’t be ignored. After all, Facebook/Meta, while not having quite as much presence in the cultural zeitgeist anymore, is still the biggest platform in the world.
“I currently focus on three platforms,” says Ahmed.
“Facebook, to interact, answer questions and be a subject-matter expert.
Our strategic marketing perspective indicates that YouTube best aligns with our target audience
“Instagram, to build a community and educate, inform and inspire potential clients, investors and peers with both visual and video content. Instagram is my main platform of choice because you really do get to build longstanding and deeper relationships with people.
“LinkedIn, I use to engage and interact with my peers and colleagues within the industry. Doing this has enabled me to get into rooms and discussions that I would normally not have an opportunity to join.”
Multi-platform strategy
As Mortgage Strategy delved deeper, it quickly became clear that a multi-platform strategy was the norm — and not just the obvious social media platforms, as McKenzie explains.
“Despite being more time consuming, our primary focus and time investment revolve around YouTube.
When I entered the specialist finance industry in a self-employed role, I had no clients, no reputation, no brand and, really, no hope. I chose social media to build my personal brand
“Given the nature of mortgages and protection, I believe customers prefer longer-form content when contemplating significant buying decisions,” she says.
“While we are present on other platforms, such as TikTok, Instagram, Facebook and LinkedIn, our strategic marketing perspective indicates that YouTube best aligns with our target audience.”
At Twenty7Tec, Teague says they use Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and X/Twitter.
“We tend to post cross-platform for ease. However, our long-term plan is to tailor the content.
“Instagram tends to be the outlier, and we intend to use TikTok in the future too. For both of those, they will be mostly video content.”
Things are no different at Leeds, with the spokesperson detailing a strategy where content is tailored to the audiences on each channel.
“For example, LinkedIn is our preferred platform for reaching brokers.”
While social media contributes a smaller share to our revenue compared to other methods, its impact on growing our brand has been invaluable
The spokesperson adds: “We have a set tone of voice, consistent across each platform. We don’t intentionally stay away from contentious issues. We voice our opinions and have created campaigns that openly call for a change from the government to help more people get onto the properly ladder.”
The spokesperson offers a fascinating example of this.
“Last October, coinciding with the Conservative and Labour party conferences, we shared the story of Losthaven, a fictional city we put on the map, and the place we predict a generation of lost first-time buyers will end up due to being priced out of the housing market.
“This led to thousands of people signing postcards in support of bringing homeownership within reach of more people.”
Words of warning
We’ve all seen it happen — a universally loved public figure crashes and burns on a social platform in front of the whole world, sparking gleeful headlines and rolling coverage.
The real power is in talking about the same topic from various angles and then becoming seen as the expert in that field
“Remember that your social media profile is your shop window,” warns Ahmed. “Behave and create accordingly, but also be true to yourself and be authentic.”
Being Ahmed, though, he can’t help but spin his answer positively, and soon starts offering more advice.
“Be wary of being too self-critical. Ultimately, no one cares what you look like, what you sound like and so on — as long as you are providing value.
“Finally, be consistent and play the long game. Eventually you’ll build up a collection of greatest hits on your feed, and that back catalogue is what will give you credibility and authority.”
Our social media has attracted candidates aligned with our values during the recruitment process
And from Twenty7Tec, Teague comments: “The risk is mostly of offending people or starting a debate. We steer clear of that, unlike some companies that use it as their plan!”
One wonders which firms those could be….
It strikes Mortgage Strategy that it is far too easy to become doom laden about social media.
It is a potent tool, a lever that can move the world — and it’s up to us to use it for worthwhile means.
This article featured in the February 2024 edition of MS.
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