 Here are 8 reasons mortgage professionals should be marketing on Instagram, the world's fastest-growing social media platform: Facebook may still be the world’s most popular social media platform, but Instagram isn’t far behind—and ready to take top honors very soon. In fact, Instagram has passed the one billion user mark this year - more than twice the number of monthly active Twitter users. Instagram is also a terrific resource for mortgage brokers and loan officers who are looking to gain a bigger client base, connect with Realtors for more referral business, and close far more deals this year (and who among us isn’t looking for that?!) Here are 8 reasons why every smart mortgage professional and loan officers should have a business profile on Instagram: 1. Connect with a huge number of Realtors on Instagram and expand your referral business! Refinances are great when rates drop to historical lows for years on end, but seasoned mortgage professionals understand that's an anomaly – not something to build your career on. Instead, the rock-solid, recession-proof cornerstone of any loan officer’s business is purchase loan business, which means referrals from our Realtor friends. And there’s no better place to network with a huge number of Realtors than Instagram. In fact, every day on Instagram you can easily find Realtors doing business in your area, connect with them, demonstrate your value with great content and resources, and form a professional relationship. Smart mortgage pros can even piggyback on established organizations like the California Association of Realtors, etc. on IG. No matter what your marketing focus, you can grow your audience far more efficiently than through Facebook alone. 2. Reach the demographic of today’s (and tomorrow’s!) homebuyer. Homebuyers (who need purchase loans then refinances) are trending younger in a big way, and Instagram is their social media of choice. For instance, 68% of today’s homebuyers are under the age of 39, and that number will increase even more in coming years as Gen Y enters the workforce and is ready to buy. Additionally, 59% of 18-29 year-olds use Instagram, and many say it's the most important platform in their lives. 3. Plenty of creative marketing options with photos and videos. Of course, Instagram features photos and videos, which makes it seem like it's perfect for marketing real estate. But mortgage brokers can have fun, too, with endless options of photos and videos that get attention and expand their sphere of influence. Charts, graphs, refinance illustrations, rent vs. buy projections, special offers like no-money-down financing, photos with business partners, resources for Realtors, and market updates are examples of perfect content for lenders to share. Also, don’t be afraid to turn on the camera and video yourself breaking down some mortgage education. In fact, Instagram videos receive 200% the level of engagement (clicks, likes, comments, shares, etc.) than photos or videos on any other social media platform. And their new platform, IGTV, let’s you post live videos up to an hour long and will eventually rival YouTube! 4. Instagram users won’t mind you advertising or marketing at all. While users may get a little annoyed at all of the sponsored posts or ads on Facebook, YouTube, and others, studies show that they actually welcome marketing on Instagram! Consider these statistics: 80% of Instagram users follow at least one company. 60% First are exposed to a product or service through Instagram. At least 30% of Instagram users have purchased a product or signed up for a service that they found on the social media app! In fact, 65% of the top-performing posts on Instagram feature products from companies and brands! In that way, Instagram is a lot like a hybrid between Pinterest and Twitter than it is Facebook, and that’s GREAT news for mortgage pros who can offer their services boldly and unapologetically on Instagram! 5. Pinpoint your marketing locally with Instagram’s location-tagging feature. Part of Instagram's utility for mortgage lenders comes from its unique geolocating feature, or Location Tagging. In a study of millions of individual photos and videos, researchers found that Instagram posts that were tagged for location received 79% more engagement than those without! For the most part, lenders work in specific markets. For instance, they may only be able to issue mortgages in California, or a list of several states. They may want to target specific high-cost regions. Or, they may just want to work the city and neighborhood that they live in. You can do all of that with ease thanks to Instagram's geo-locating feature. Not only can they target potential clients by location, but they can do the same with the Realtors they wish to do business with. 6. Easy to pinpoint your marketing and audience with hashtags. Even better than just laser focusing our marketing with location tagging, Instagram’s utilization of hashtags allow lenders to connect with Realtors, homeowners, and homebuyers based on shared interests, products, organizations, trending topics, values, or even life experiences. In fact, posts with at least one hashtag average 12.6% more engagement than those without. You’re allowed a whopping 30 hashtags on any Instagram photo or video (and there’s a great way to maximize all of those without just listing them all in your original post, keeping an organic appearance.) You can also tag other user accounts, which is a fantastic way to grow your following of Realtors quickly. 7. Less competition for mortgage brokers and lenders! Mortgage professionals who start using Instagram to market their services have a HUGE leg up on their competition. Yes, there are almost 80 million Instagram users in the U.S. and 25 million businesses or brands, but ONLY 8 million business accounts. Likewise, only a small percentage of mortgage professionals have set up business accounts on Instagram and are marketing systematically, so you’re really missing out on a great opportunity if you don’t get on board! 8. Undervalued paid ads and boosted content. Marketing guru Gary Vaynerchuk recently named Instagram paid ads the most undervalued resource for advertisers anywhere on the web! In fact, mobile ad revenue through Insta is expected to hit $7 billion in 2018! The relatively-new Instagram business profile also gives smart mortgage professionals a considerable advantage over just having a personal profile. Professionals can include their company name, phone number, and address, and also feature easy-to-use post boosting and targeted ads, as well as detailed analytics that allow you to refine your ad campaigns. *** In summary, this year’s top-producing lender is starting to take Instagram seriously, today! I’d love to tell you more and manage your mortgage Instagram marketing for guaranteed and affordable results! Contact me for details.
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