4 Ways Loan Officers Can Use Social Media to Network
In business, the strongest relationships are built on familiarity and trust. Loan officers who are known to their clients, perceived as being trustworthy, and demonstrate a level of genuine authority and professional knowledge are likely to be the most successful. Here are four ways loan officers can use social media to keep in touch with clients, referral sources, and other professionals while building their reputations and positions of authority.
LinkedIn is, in essence, your online resume, the place where you can thoroughly list your credentials, experience and areas of expertise. Individuals use LinkedIn to highlight their resumes when looking for new positions, but a large number of professionals also use it as a consistent platform for showcasing their skills and accomplishments. It’s also common for new business acquaintances to use LinkedIn to find out more about you and your business.
To maximize its effectiveness for networking, explore the LinkedIn community to find groups connected to the mortgage industry. Join and use them as a forum to communicate with mortgage professionals. And always keep your LinkedIn profile up to date with your most recent information, including professional pursuits and accomplishments.
Blogs have become a well-accepted, even expected, part of your online identity. On your business blog, write about mortgage-specific subjects. In the context of your blog, you have full control over what you write, how you write it, and how you present it to your readers.
- Use your blog as a supplemental profile, with details on who you are and your professional standing.
- Include resume-type information and a photograph.
- Provide interesting, useful content that draws on your insight as a loan officer and your expertise in the mortgage industry to address issues in the field. Content can include written articles, videos and audios, or carefully chosen and curated links to other online resources.
- Include your local address and material that ties you to your local community.
3. Use Google+ to Build a Professional Reputation and Authority
Create a Google+ profile and give it as much attention as your blog. Google+ is Google’s own social media platform. Loan officers can use social media to network with like-minded individuals, read content provided by others, and interact with content producers. Google+ connections are groups in “circles,” with structures similar to interest groups on other social media platforms.
When you participate in Google+, you have the opportunity to build your online reputation and standing as an authority in the mortgage industry. Google+ recognizes your authorship of the page and, in the process, perceives you as an authority in the topics you address. Google will then rank you higher in search results people receive when searching on your industry.
4. Create a Facebook Page and Twitter Account
Facebook and Twitter are considered standard, must-have social media accounts for most businesses and professionals. Establish accounts that are directly tied to your business as a loan officer and avoid linking them to any personal Facebook pages.
Use your Facebook page as yet another supplemental profile, and establish relevant links to mortgage professionals and related groups. Post useful, interesting content that boosts your reputation and authority as a loan officer. Use Twitter to send concise, insightful comments and observations.
Knowing how loan officers can use social media to network, how else could you use social media to expand your business, strengthen your reputation, and build your authority in the financial field?