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Mortgage Leads: Best Practices

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Social Networking Overrated for Mortgage Professionals?

Posted by John Scott Smith on Tue, Oct 20, 2009 @ 01:11 PM
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I admit it.  I'm on Twitter.  I'm on facebook.  I read and comment on blogs.  Struggle that it is, I try to send only "good" Tweets, and avoid contributing to the pointless babble with which these networks are wrought.  I do all of these things with the stated goal of promoting my business, but, mostly I do it because it's fun!

Traipsing through the Internets, it will seem that everyone talks about how invaluable these services are to business.  Many real estate agents and loan officers out there saying that social media are important to them, too.  But, how are they important?

The very best description that I've heard of the usefulness of social media for most of us was from an interview with legendary social media expert, Chris Brogan, when he spoke on HubSpot TV. Brogan explained that social media was a great place to keep people (leads, customers, prospective customers) warm between meetings with them.  That's it.

My thoughts are that Twitter, facebook, et.al. are an excellent way to interact, lightly and occasionally, with your leads and customers, but probably not a very good way to get new customers.

What do you think?  How are you using social media for your mortgage business? 

(By the way, if you would like to read my very own brand of pointless babble, I can be found on both Twitter AND facebook.) 

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Comments

Thanks for sharing your thoughts on this blog. I've been following you on the various social media technologies and always enjoy what you have to say. 
 
I would think that all social activity involves some kind of human networking. I would also suggest that all networking is social (even when the subject of such networking could be antisocial) 
 
One never knows who is watching or listening to what you are saying, no matter in what venue it is being said.  
 
Interactions among friends, colleagues or clients provides opportunities to be genuine and authentic.  
 
I think social media technology offers a huge advantage because the audience is huge. I rarely stop to think that everytime I tweet something, potentially hundreds if not thousands of people are seeing it. 
 
It's really not my first priority to develop new business through any form of social networking. I try to be a generous, contributing, and productive member of the community. I also might have a service to provide that will be mutually beneficial to all. If someone reaches out to me and I am able to offer assistance, it's been a very good day.
Posted @ Tuesday, October 20, 2009 1:58 PM by Joe Sheehan
Excellent points, Joe. I know I am often surprised when I see someone I don't recognize retweet something I've typed or reply to something I've written. It really is surprising when you see the reach that this can give your voice. 
 
Make it a great day, 
 
John Scott Smith
Posted @ Tuesday, October 20, 2009 4:10 PM by John Scott Smith
I think social networking can be utilized by mortgage professionals to share trends, best practices, industry news, answer questions about guidelines, regulations and programs. The relationships may lead to new customers or even new job opportunities, but even if not, "meeting" colleagues we wouldn't normally meet in our own little corners of the world has endless possibilities.  
 
Love the blog!
Posted @ Tuesday, October 20, 2009 7:15 PM by Cyndi
I'm not a mortgage professional but I would think that a lot of people go online to shop for rates. They want information about the mortgage or refinance they are looking for. Doesn't the person that provides this information have an opportunity or advantage of making that person a client? 
Taking a lesson from Chris Brogan, isn't this a place for you to build trust or maybe even go as far as building a community. If you are able to accomplish this even on a small scale shouldn't you be able to help more people?
Posted @ Wednesday, October 21, 2009 10:08 AM by Evolution Of Wealth
Clarification: I contribute on Twitter and facebook a great deal, and it is my hope that my contributions are not seen as "pointless babble". 
 
@Cyndi, I absolutely agree that these work very well for networking within our industry. I suspect that there is better opportunity for that than for finding new customers.  
 
@Evolution, in my opinion, your suggestion may be one of the best ways for mortgage professionals to use social media to "soft touch" their leads: occasional, relevant updates on the mortgage environment with a smattering of personal to further develop the relationship.
Posted @ Wednesday, October 21, 2009 2:53 PM by John Scott Smith
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