Pop Off the Screen – Scotsman Guide

The time for video marketing is now. This tool is an extremely effective way to advertise a mortgage company’s services on digital and social channels. It continues to be a successful path for reaching clients, promoting campaigns and executing a social media strategy.

Loan originators who aren’t utilizing it — or keeping it on the sidelines — can fall behind competitors who are. If you’re looking to reach the next generation of homebuyers, this valuable marketing approach could help you generate more leads and  build brand awareness.

Video marketing allows loan originators to reach borrowers by promoting their services via simple, authentic videos they create themselves. More than just endorsing their business, these videos attempt to create a personal connection with clients and offer a peek into the loan originator’s personality. These “homemade” videos often perform better than those that are professionally produced and can be filmed quickly with a smartphone — no crew or studio needed.

 A well-done video can help educate clients, drive website traffic and convert prospects. Clients love video because it’s easily digestible, engaging and personal. It also helps them feel more connected to a brand and can influence purchase decisions. Videos can be integrated within websites, e-mails, social media, paid ads, promotional material and other channels. The statistics speak for themselves:

• 85% of all internet users in the U.S. watch video content.
• 88% of businesses are satisfied with the return on investment of video marketing.
• 93% of businesses have landed a new customer as a result of video marketing.

Let’s go over the ways to get video in front of your potential clients. And let’s look at the advantages of each channel.

Reach the audience

E-mail is one of the most important digital strategies for communicating with clients. And including videos in e-mail marketing can grow and further engage your audience. Video e-mails help boost click-through rates by as much as 300%, and just including the term “video” in the subject line can increase the click rate by up to 272%.

To enhance e-mail engagement with borrowers, loan originators should consider using BombBomb. This “face-to-face” video-communication product is a fast way to record and send video, making otherwise transactional communications more personal and relevant. BombBomb also can be used to welcome new clients, congratulate a borrower or real estate agent on a closing, ask for an online review or even to remind past clients that you’re here for them and their referrals.

Social media is a fantastic way to connect with current and prospective clients. It has a large reach — and large potential for growing brand awareness. Once video is added, the numbers get really staggering. On Facebook alone, videos are viewed 8 billion times every day.

Most recently, social media videos are trending toward “micro-moments” — small stories that offer a realistic and personal approach to delivering content. Facebook Live and Instagram Stories are popular examples of this type of storytelling — using shorter snippets of content to offer clients an authentic experience.

A great way to start the journey into these micro-moments is by experimenting with a weekly “Ask the Expert” segment on Facebook Live, where commonly asked mortgage questions can be answered in real time as followers watch and comment. Then, take to Instagram Live to show a “Day in the Life of a Loan Originator” or share borrower success stories.

YouTube may seem like just another social media platform, but as the second-largest search engine in the world, it can really offer so much more. YouTube is owned by Google and the interfaces are closely connected, so creating an active channel can help boost rankings in search engine results. Consistently publish videos and utilize  YouTube’s search engine optimization features to ensure it reaches the right people.

YouTube also can be embedded into websites, landing pages and other social media platforms. Loan originators can grow a larger audience by uploading videos on YouTube and cross-promoting them on their websites and social channels. How-to videos, interviews, and loan-process information and tips are great examples of content that can add value. 

Set your goals

Before filming or posting videos, it’s essential that loan originators outline their goals. Are they looking to increase leads, boost website traffic or simply be a thought leader? Once goals are clear, content ideas can start flowing. For inspiration, consider the following ideas to keep viewers interested and engaged.

• Update clients throughout the entire loan process with personalized one- to two-minute clips through platforms like BombBomb.
• Include “about us” videos to demonstrate company values and culture.
• Interview business professionals who are relevant to existing homeowners and prospective buyers in the region (such as real estate agents and attorneys).
• Create educational content that explains how to increase a credit score or what a fixed interest rate is. Or educate audiences on common questions they may ask themselves, such as how much is needed for a downpayment.
• Highlight the success stories that clients have had with you.
• Collaborate with real estate agents by showcasing open houses and co-branding efforts.
• Host events such as closing celebrations or first-time homebuyer consultation nights. Promote events beforehand and post  a quick recap for those who couldn’t attend.
• Show quick snippets of everyday life through closing table highlights or behind-the-scenes footage.

Loan originators also should consider using video content to repurpose or expand upon existing print content. Presentations, e-mail newsletters and blogs all can be easily turned into video talking points. Plus, offering a variety of content options helps determine what audiences prefer to engage with. 

Tell a story

Here’s where the fun really begins. Start creating video content that will wow prospective leads and turn them into clients. Just follow these best practices to ensure your videos are effective.

Videos should ultimately help tell a story and communicate a message. Instead of coming off as a salesperson, solve a common issue faced by clients by outlining a start-to-finish solution. This will show that the loan originator truly cares about their clients and isn’t just motivated by money.

The average audience has a short attention span, so keeping videos short and simple is key to having a high viewer-retention rate. Ideally, videos should be less than two minutes, but if you can say what you need to say in 20 seconds, then do it. Videos should convey a complicated subject in a simple way for the average viewer to understand.

Cross-promoting your videos across multiple digital channels is imperative to building brand awareness and engagement. Promote videos on social platforms, e-mails, websites and paid ads. Loan originators can even use shorter video snippets as sneak previews and post them to build hype around the full video.

As with any marketing strategy, videos need to promote some sort of action for the audience to take. Whether the goal is for viewers to subscribe to the channel, visit the website or call the loan originator directly, the action needs to be verbalized in the video and clearly written in the accompanying description.

Videos are viral. So, in order to be found by a larger audience, it’s imperative to follow search engine optimization best practices. This means including keywords that rank highly with Google and other search engines in the title and description, and choosing the correct tags to help those search engines properly identify your content when they are crawling the internet. Also, fully transcribing your videos will help  Google bots crawl your content.

Be sure to include captions for your videos. Viewers are more likely to spend time watching your video if they have the ability to view your message with the sound off.

“ Once a video goes live, the work is not done. Originators must consistently monitor how their videos are performing so they know if their goals are being met. ”

Measure success

Once a video goes live, the work is not done. Originators must consistently monitor how their videos are performing so they know if their goals are being met — and if not, where they can improve. To measure the success of a video, it’s vital to consult any available metrics.

Facebook and YouTube offer analytic insights for publishers that display where viewers are from, viewing time span, retention rates and more. Loan originators need to know what the metrics actually mean.

View count is the total number of times the video has been viewed. Play rate is the percentage of people who played the video, divided by the number of total impressions. Sharing is how many times the video has been shared across social channels. Video completion is the number of times a video has been played completely. Click-through rate is the number of times the call to action has been clicked.

Metrics allow loan originators to derive important data about how to move forward with their video marketing strategy. For example, if people aren’t watching the entire video, it may need to be shorter. Or if they’re watching the video but not clicking on the call to action, the message may need to be updated.

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If integrating video into a marketing strategy sounds intimidating, remember that it’s all about building an authentic relationship with your clients and prospects. Loan originators don’t need to hire an expensive film crew or be equipped with the latest technology. They simply need to represent themselves. So, pick up your smartphone and start filming your next video. Then watch your business begin to grow.