The Digital Broker: how to win in modern marketing

How do you stand-out in your marketplace? How do you develop your personal brand so customers pick you ahead of others? And how do you maintain your professional image and relationships when you need to get so much other $#!@ done?!

Successful brokers are digital brokers. They use tech for the heavy lifting so they can do what they do best – spending more time with clients.

To stay top-of-mind in your marketplace, you need an integrated suite of digital tools:

• easy to use website with lead-generation functionality
• automated marketing communications for nurturing prospective clients and staying in touch pre and post-settlement
• active social media presence
• digital advertising that delivers leads when and how you want

You need marketing support that has your back, ensuring you have the right digital innovations at your fingertips to get your business out there.

Digital also adds value to offline marketing – public relations, fundraisers, business and community presentations, sponsorships – providing a measurable way to grow your personal brand.

Dynamic websites without the effort

Around 80% of Australian households have an internet account (what are the other 20% doing?). So, your website needs to be dynamic and engaging – just like you.

Our digital lifestyles have changed the way we absorb information. We know what we want, and we want it NOW!

You don’t have much time to convince people to stay on your website – as little as 15 seconds!

Your digital presence is like a meal: your digital ads, social media and more are the entree, but your website is where people really consume what you’re about.

And just like sitting down to a meal, people eat with their eyes.

So, if your website looks like it was last updated in preparation for the Y2K bug, your time is up. #gonein15seconds

Your website should shout out your value proposition. What are your:

• credentials?
• specialisations?
• promises?
• values?

And how do you prove it’s all genuine, and not just another sales pitch?

Your website should showcase:

• testimonials and reviews
• awards
• services
• products and process
• news that informs and drives decisions
• video (hugely effective in showcasing who you are and driving SEO)

And while 80% of households have an internet connection, the rate of smartphone ownership is even higher. Websites, therefore, need to be optimised for mobile devices. If users have to pinch, shift or zoom in to read content or fill in a form … forget it – you’ve lost them.

Having a team behind you that provides dynamic and recognisable branding for your website, consumer-focused navigation, curated content that drives leads, populates accreditations and certificates and integrates with your other digital platforms, is a must in getting your business out there. It saves you countless hours, as well. 

#makingsocialmediaworkforyou

Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Youtube, (breath) Whatsapp, Pinterest, Tumblr … social media platforms have grown exponentially.

Australians spend an average of almost six hours a week on social media. It’s a ready-made arena to develop your brand.

Some brokers use social brilliantly to get their brand out there and reap the rewards as a result.

Promotion of client testimonials and your awards on social media are important. It lets consumers and referrers – an important audience segment – know you’re the real deal.

But it can’t all be ‘chest-beating’ – you need to mix the self-promotional with content that is purely for the audience’s benefit. In-turn, it’ll benefit you.

We’re talking:

• your loan process
• market insights
• thoughts on interest rate movements
• 101 guides to borrowing
• tips on getting loan-ready
• and more

Joining social media groups and communities – local schools, football clubs, suburb pages, professional groups – allows you to address the exact priorities of that particular audience.

But, it’s hard to find the time to do all this.

Being able to call on digital specialists for a library of ready-to-go evergreen stories or campaign collateral for your content calendar helps build your social media profile.

It drives traffic back to your website where you can capture client details.

Build it and they (followers) will come. 

Market yourself for the life of the loan

Ongoing post-settlement service to clients is critical and essential part of broker service.

But the nature of broking means you have to keep one eye on your next client or prospect.

If you stop marketing yourself and your services to existing clients, THOUSANDS OF $$$$$ can fall off your loan book.

On your own, post-settlement marketing takes hours. It takes an admin specialist around 14.5 hours a month to deliver quality, customer-segmented communications to an active client loan book of 175 clients.

The most efficient way to stay-in-touch with clients is through an automated marketing solution.

A savvy aggregator will deploy automated emails to clients that coincide with critical points in the clients’ financial journey, including:

• pre-approval expiry
• settlement notifications – woo-hoo!
• 6 week post-settlement check-ins
• information on client protection and insurance
• information on car, renovation and personal loans
• annual client reviews
• fixed-rate expiry notifications
• interest only expiry notifications
• even birthday wishes

An ongoing digital marketing strategy is doubly important for brokers:

• Helping them remain front-of-mind for their clients, limiting the chance of them going to someone else;
• It opens up a raft of opportunities to provide more value for clients and create ‘stickier relationships’ via car and personal loans and the all important personal insurance solutions.

Keep your personal brand top-of-mind without touching a keypad

How do you maintain your brand with clients who are not yet ready to proceed, while you’re under-the-pump with everything else?

Yep, automation to the rescue, again.

Automated marketing – delivering bite-sized finance information, education and tips – will keep you front-of-mind and will drive clients to convert sooner, and at scale.

Say goodbye to cold leads!

A digitally savvy aggregator can help you develop and schedule regular, automated content. You can own the communications via your email address – not a generic address which will drive greater engagement from your prospective clients.

And you don’t need to lift a finger.

Once a client relationship has started, communication is critical so they don’t go to the dude next door. The ‘nuggets’ of information should speak to prospective clients’ individual situations.

A smart aggregator will curate the right messages for the right audience.

For instance, you wouldn’t send a seasoned investor a 101 guide to borrowing jargon; and there’s no point educating First Home Buyers on using equity to invest.

Most importantly, automated marketing lets you carry-on existing commitments while the tech works for you in the background giving you peace of mind.

Getting ROI on digital marketing

Have you been turned-off by digital marketing, before?

It’s a time consuming gig – crafting the right ads with the right message, build audience lists and placing the ads. You mightn’t have known where your ads appeared (or even if they did); who was seeing them; the resulting leads were less than promised or too many, compromising service standards.

Well, those days are gone. Get ready to #future-proof your funnel.

A digitally-focused aggregator can deliver ROI (return-on-investment) so you have certainty in your budget … that’s right, you can pay per lead.

Pick the geographic radius from where you want clients. Choose a number of leads. Decide the days you want them delivered. Start the relationship with the client. No faffing about – just leads in your CRM.

Building your brand for free

Offline activities are still critical to getting your name out there and building your business.

Engaging mainstream media journalists is great for engaging customers, while industry journals and e-zines help attract the eyeballs of referral partners.

What makes news? It’s an age-old question with loads of answers.

In simplest terms, it’s something a reader didn’t know, which they should.

There are loads of ways you can use this rule of thumb as a platform to build your profile.

For instance, providing local perspectives on nation-wide borrowing trends.

Public relations is a winner because it:

• builds personal brand awareness;
• boosts your credentials (“If you’re in the media, you must be a star”)
• let’s you reach large-scale and multiple audiences, at once.

And when you’re aggregator has their own PR unit in-house, they can help you build your profile in the media, FOR FREE!

You can share your media stories through social media for a second-bite of the cherry.

Combine PR and offline marketing endeavours such as fundraising, fetes, DL drops and sponsorships, and you’ll have a holistic approach to building your brand.

Perception is reality

Digital marketing has enabled brokers to build their profiles like never before.

A digital strategy that encompasses a dynamic website, a to-die-for social media following, automated marketing that builds and maintains relationships – and good old-fashioned PR – will put you ahead of the game. #perceptionisreality

Want to know how a digital-focused aggregator can put you on top? Reach out today.