Social Media Management Software Must-Haves for Loan Officers

Social media management software. Why should loan officers and mortgage brokers even bother?

Two hours and 25 minutes. That’s why. Estimates vary, but a quick search shows that this is about how much time U.S. residents spend on social media each day. Clearly, it’s a place loan officers and mortgage brokers want to be. But who has 2 hours and 25 minutes to spare out of their workday to post and monitor interactions? That’s where social media management software comes in.

A good management software platform will provide automated social media posting with only front-end work required of the loan officer. But this isn’t the only benefit for your business. Keep reading for some features any marketer will want to see, and then some that are specific for mortgage social media marketing.

Social Media Management Software Enables You to Pre-Schedule Social Posts

One of the key benefits of having social media management software is gaining the ability to log in one time, to just one platform, and share information across multiple channels on the schedule you set. This automated social media posting will boost your mortgage social media marketing efforts in several ways.

First, and perhaps most obvious, it will simply allow you to accomplish more in less time. There’s no need to log in to several different social media channels and to navigate each one’s unique requirements.

Second, automated social media posting will facilitate the implementation of your longer-term social media marketing plan. We talk a lot in this forum about creating a mortgage marketing plan and implementing it through your mortgage CRM. You can devise an annual social media plan by thinking through normal real estate cycles, typical seasonal online discussion topics, and even holidays, then identifying content to share at the appropriate times.

With social media management software, you can log in once at the beginning of the year, schedule out all of the messages you’ve identified, then worry only about updating with timely pieces as the year progresses.

Finally, when the time comes to post those timely messages, your software should facilitate the process not only with the time-saving single login mentioned above but also by providing timely images and suggestions for messaging.

Look for Integrations To Aid Your Mortgage Social Media Marketing

Your mortgage social media marketing will be most effective if you reach audiences in several channels, and your social media management software should help you do that through integrations. Many platforms boast about the number of social media channels they reach. However, quality is better than quantity. You need only to be concerned about the ones where you are most likely to meet prospective borrowers.

Facebook is the most widely used social media platform, and you’ll probably want to be there. Common platforms with target audiences relevant to mortgage social media marketing are LinkedIn, Pinterest and Twitter (skewed toward older borrowers) and Instagram and TikTok (skewed toward a younger audience, but definitely still a significant number who are home-buying age). And don’t forget YouTube! Videos are popular with all ages!

While we narrowed the list, don’t think you need to be on all of these channels. Choose two or three that match your interests and personality and are most suited to your business goals, then focus on those.

Content Is Helpful in Social Media Management Software

You’ll need something to post on all of these channels. Ideally, you’ll use a platform that has some content pre-created for you. A mortgage CRM like Surefire is your best bet there, since the content will be relevant to the home financing industry.

At a minimum, you’ll want templates to help you create content and size images appropriately for your targeted channels. You’ll also want to be able to store your content within the platform, so you’ll have it available for easy reuse and for future audits.

Here Are Some Social Media Management Software Platforms to Check Out

Investopedia ranked Sprout Social as the best overall social media management software, and it’s a favorite tool for Top of Mind’s marketing coordinator. Strong scheduling tools, analytics and reports are among the features that set it apart.

Zoho was selected as the best “all-in-one” tool since it also offers CRM capabilities (purchased separately), so businesses can manage additional tasks in one place, including accounting, project management, and email.

Depending on the plans you purchase and the size of your organization, social media management software can become expensive. Investopedia recognized Buffer as the best option for tight budgets, especially when using it for a limited number of social media channels. The cost increases as more users and more social media channels are added.

Social Media for Mortgage Brokers Must Meet Added Requirements

Like any marketing in the mortgage industry, mortgage social media marketing comes with its own rules and challenges. While off-the-shelf automated social media posting tools are helpful, they aren’t likely to accommodate all of the requirements lenders must satisfy.

Surefire mortgage CRM has built-in compliance controls, including an approval management system that prevents the posting of non-compliant messaging. And with its full library of content, lenders can quickly fill out their year-long plan with industry-specific, out-of-the-box content. Or, if they don’t want it just as it is, Surefire gives LOs the flexibility to make edits or to create their own content within the system.

Another convenience of using Surefire is the ability for marketing department staff to manage automated social media posting for each LO’s social media sites. This puts social media marketing in the hands of the experts and frees loan officers up to do what they do best – close loans.

Another benefit? Social media content, compliance controls and automated social scheduling are all part of the package at Surefire mortgage CRM. Ready to check it out? Schedule your demo today!