Mortgage Marketing: 5 Tips for Building a Positive Brand Online
Email ArticleYour online reputation is every bit as important as your offline reputation…and when I say reputation I am talking about your brand. In fact, here’s a couple of statistics you should be aware of…
- 70% of consumers trust brand recommendations from friends and family
- 92% of consumers trust opinions of brands posted online by other consumers
I would suggest that these statistics largely hold true for both business-to-consumer companies and business-to-business companies in the mortgage banking industry.
With these statistics in mind, establishing a brand for
your company online is not really an option any longer…it’s very much of a
necessity. This is especially true for retail lenders due to the fierce
competition that exists already as well as any other consumer or industry-facing
company in the mortgage industry that has an expectation of true longevity…and
prosperity!So, how do you go about establishing an online brand? Well, first make sure you’re very clear on what your brand is. You might consider conducting a brand assessment both internally and externally. A brand assessment is a survey, conducted by phone or email/online which asks your pre-selected audience questions that relate back to your level of awareness in your target audience and perceptions. If you discover inconsistencies in brand perception, then that needs to be dealt with first. The last thing you want to do is promote a misaligned brand for the world to see.
Be clear on what your brand drivers are...“who” you are, what you stand for and how you’re different…which drive your USP’s (unique selling points) and brand essence statement. Believe it or not, if you do this you will be heads and tails above many companies in the industry which will serve you very well when you promote yourself online...or offline...competing for your share of the market.
Now that we have this out of the way, let’s talk about...
The Keys to Building a Positive Online Reputation:
- Leverage the voice of your brand, not sales. You may find this hard to believe (unless you are one of these companies), but there are still companies out there that use social media channels including Twitter, LinkedIn Groups, Facebook and Pinterest to sell product! I see it all the time and I’m sure you do too. Instead of going down this road, think of what you can do to position yourself as an information resource. For example, answer FAQ’s, talk about industry trends, share industry videos, respond to blog comments, write about industry experiences…you get the idea.
- Stay professional. Remember that everything you do online is there for the world to see. There are times when people will react negatively to you and/or attempt to “one up” you to make you look unknowledgeable. In these situations, remember to take the high road in all cases. The best way to respond to negativity is to either not respond at all or respond by accepting…and respecting…their point of view and offer something well thought out in return using phrases like “in my opinion.” If you show respect, even to troublemakers, think of how good that makes you and your brand look in the eyes of others! I’ve found that when people respond negatively to others online, they frequently alienate themselves, digging their own hole so to speak. Nobody likes to be a party to a verbal online argument and people who engage in that fashion lose the respect of their peers very quickly.
- Keep track of positive feedback. When people respond to you or your company, products and services positively, make sure you get a screen shot and post them or keep them in a file. Use them in your marketing campaigns. Remember the statistic I pointed out at the beginning…92% of consumers trust opinions posted online by other consumers. Very powerful.
- Your online reputation, especially when it’s negative, affects search results. Keep this in mind as you interact with others…or even when you make a choice not to interact. Remember the Progressive Insurance fiasco where a family sought to collect insurance after a woman died in a car accident? If you don’t, just Google “progressive insurance” and you’ll be able to read all about it right on the first page. What a mess!
-
Be
responsive. It used to be that you
could have an unhappy customer and word would spread, but not that far because
there was no outlet for them to let the world know what they thought about you.
These times are long gone…there’s nowhere to hide. They can now Tweet, Yelp,
comment in Facebook and go to any number of venues to complain about you. When
you uncover an issue, deal with it immediately and preferably online in the same
venue so that others can see how you handle yourself as a company. These can
potentially be opportunities for your brand to really shine. Depending on the
gravity of the complaint, you may well consider calling a PR agency that has
experience in this area to guide your response and take a proactive stance on a
larger scale if necessary.
Being responsive is also important from a positive standpoint as well. When someone responds or voices their opinion on something you’ve posted…engage! This is what we pray for, so don’t miss the opportunity…and make sure your responses are professional, not loaded with typos and well thought out. I find some engage and don’t invest time in thinking through their posts which costs them in credibility.
I hope these points were helpful. Let me know!
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