It might just be one of the most powerful tools mortgage marketers under-utilize.

It’s Facebook.

Now, I know what you’re thinking.

“Facebook? Really? I’ve tried it. It didn’t work. Little to no leads. The leads I DID get were terrible. It’s mostly people with bad credit… and people posting videos of cats. Lots of cats on Facebook.”

Well, yes. You’re not wrong.

But Facebook is much more than that.

Facebook is also a leading platform for advertising and growing your business – if done CORRECTLY.

And if you want to grow your mortgage marketing efforts on Facebook, you’ll find that it’s not only a great tool for building trust with your customers—it might just be one of the best online tools you’ve ever used for lead generation.

Sound like an exaggeration?

Then let’s dig into it. Let’s explore some of the best ways to grow your mortgage marketing business on Facebook—and how you might incorporate these techniques into a powerful, effective web presence.

Understanding the Basics of Facebook Growth

First, let’s talk basics.

If you haven’t promoted your business on Facebook before, there’s a good chance that the whole thing looks like Greek to you.

Understanding what Facebook can provide can go a long way in helping you build your business, though, so take it from me: this is worth it.

Let’s start with the understanding of what kinds of offers people are most likely to respond to on Facebook.

We know from Google data that lots of searches for real estate will be more effective if you include anything extra that might appeal to peoples’ interests.

Put more simply, it’s more effective if you get specific. Don’t think about a generic term like “mortgage offers.” How exciting is that for someone who wants to click on your Facebook page? Not very.

Instead, think about specifics. Think about homes for sale. Real estate listings. Exclusive property lists. Property reports. Home values. Foreclosure deals. Open houses. Zero down programs.

Those specifics might not appeal to everyone, but you’ll actually cast a wider net as you incorporate these into the way you handle Facebook engagement.

What you want are quality and quantity. You want them both.

For Facebook engagement, remember that you have to think in terms of “fans,” not “friends.” These fans aren’t going to like your page or engage with you unless they think there’s something in it for them.

I recommend setting up a primary Facebook page for your mortgage business. You can also use additional “Community” pages to assist in your real estate marketing efforts along the way.

For example, think about pages like “buying in CITY” or “CITY home values.” Those pages offer a lot more engagement for the average user on Facebook. They promise something immediate. Something specific.

Fans are people that “like” your page—but they don’t do this out of the goodness of their heart.

They’ll “like” your page because you give them something worth checking out.

They’ll “like” your page because they want to see your updates.

So for someone who’s on the hunt for foreclosure deals, for example, they’ll “like” your page if they think that you’ll provide them with those deals.

Those are the basics of Facebook. You’ll want to:

• Establish a business presence, thinking in terms of “fans” who like you and not “friends” who follow you.
• Get specific about what you’re providing. Think about Facebook much in the same way you’d think about Google searches. The more specific you are, the more engaging you are for your target audience.
• Give them something to “like.” People will like your page when they think that liking your page will bring value to their feed. It’s as simple as that.

Tactics for Utilizing Facebook

Now that you’ve established a presence for yourself, let’s talk about the individual tactics you’ll use.

A great strategy: take pictures and/or videos of you and your clients at the closing. Really go all out! Include the following:

• A “Sold” sign
• Cutting a ribbon
• Give them a gift like a wine or a gift basket

These little details may seem unnecessary at first, but keep in mind that people can see these pictures over and over again. That helps them double as little advertisements for your mortgage offerings.

A $30 gift basket can go a long way when it appears again and again on your timeline.

Clients want to feel valued. They want to feel like when they search a Facebook page like yours, that if they work with you, they’ll have the same experience.

It may even feel “cheesy” at first. But you’ll find that over time, it will help you build a reputation as someone that’s willing to go the extra mile for their clients.

One little tip on that: make sure that you ask permission to share these photos!

When it comes to when you should post your photos and ads, you might also want to think about the best times. According to data from CoSchedule.com, it’s generally a good idea to post around mid-day to afternoon for these types of posts, including Wednesdays at 3:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. and Saturdays and Sundays around lunchtime.

These are the times when people are thinking about things like mortgages. You’ll want to get your posts in front of those eyeballs, won’t you?

Utilizing Facebook Ads

One of the reasons Facebook is such a powerful tool: its ad system. Facebook ads are a massively efficient channel for generating leads, and the cost per click can be very favorable to small business.

Facebook Ads allow you to target highly select groups of people so that you don’t waste your time advertising mortgage offers for people who aren’t in the market for a home.

Really take the time necessary to dig deep into Facebook ads. Get a sense of your options. Learn all of the parameters you can set. The more specific you get, the more likely it is that you’ll capture a lead that’s actually relevant to your business.

But keep in mind that when you do run these ads, you should also have a specific goal in mind.

You want to draw people back to your pages.

You want to draw them specifically to your individual landing pages.

These landing pages will give you a chance to convert potential leads into genuine leads. And that starts with having an infrastructure in place that allows you to establish all sorts of landing pages with minimal cost and labor.

We can help provide that. I recommend that you try a free trial of leadPops to establish the landing pages you need to utilize Facebook ads and make the most of your mortgage marketing efforts on Facebook.

Don’t just use social media for browsing. Make it work for you—and make it a great way to meet your future leads.