7 Mortgage Advertising Examples and Ideas That Work

Mortgage Advertising Examples and Ideas That Work

In the mortgage industry as everywhere, advertising is critical. It's not enough to just have a great product and service - you need people to know about them. That's where advertising comes in. But there are many different ways of going about it, from traditional methods like radio or TV ads to digital tactics and social media - all good ways to get your business noticed by potential customers who may be interested in what you're offering.

But how do you know which kind of ad will reach the right audience? This article looks at some of the most effective types of advertisements that can help make sure your message gets through loud and clear so people seek you out when they're looking to purchase a home.

Which Types of Advertising Work Best For Mortgage Companies?

Mortgage brokerage is a relationship business. Your prospects have to trust that you're looking out for their best interest, trying to find them the lowest rate and the best terms for their loan. Marketing tactics that help to build these relationships and establish you as a trustworthy authority will be the most effective for the greatest number of brokers.

Many brokers are turning to online mortgage marketing over traditional advertising because it's easier, cheaper, and can be effective. With the right mix of lead generation tactics, you can get prospects who are looking for mortgages coming to your website whether it's through organic search results or by clicking on a PPC ad.

However, mortgage professionals shouldn't be so quick to rule out more traditional marketing tactics, particularly newer entries into the category like handwritten direct mail. These methods place actual objects in your customer's hands, giving them something visceral to interact with — and also something to remember you by.

In a trust-based business, the emotional impact your advertising has on your prospects is just as important, if not more so, than the features and benefits you're promoting. That's because consumers will pick the broker that feels most comfortable to them, the one they feel they can work with. They rely on their feelings more than their intellect.

As a result, the best strategy is multichannel — a mix of traditional and new, digital and analog. Reaching out to prospects in all the places they frequent gives you the best chance for your message to sink in.

Close up on a person about to sign mortgage documents.

Advertising Examples That Work for Mortgage Professionals

The following seven examples represent the mortgage marketing ideas most likely to make inroads with your prospects' hearts. Remember that it often takes multiple engagements to win people over, so don't give up if you aren't having luck initially. Create a marketing plan and stick with it. Over time, your customer base will grow, and once it begins to grow, you can leverage these tactics to make it snowball.

1. Handwritten Direct Mail

Handwritten direct mail is a channel that marketers have largely ignored in favor of online platforms. It's a mistake, as the channel still has the best ROI for most industries.

In addition to being profitable, direct mail has another advantage: it gets attention from consumers, who find handwritten messages more compelling than those with typed text only. Handwritten messages also stand out more and get noticed.

There's a crucial difference between traditional direct mail and the handwritten variety. Standard printed mailers lack personalization. They're cookie-cutter, one-size-fits-all solutions that treat every prospect exactly the same. They feel like the advertiser did very little to try and build a relationship with each specific recipient.

Handwritten direct mail takes advantage of the emotional immediacy of the handwritten word. A handwritten mailer feels as if it was written specifically for the prospect. That creates an immediate connection — and that's critical for relationship building.

Best of all, handwritten direct mail enjoys a 99% open rate! Imagine if nearly every single person you advertised to opened and read your message. What kind of return might you expect?

Simply Noted offers the best way to do handwritten direct mail. We've built a fleet of proprietary handwriting machines that use real ballpoint pens and our advanced "Infinity" fonts to recreate the subtleties of real handwriting. Authenticity is crucial because if your prospects can tell your handwritten mailers are really handwritten, they lose their appeal.

A screenshot from the Rocket Mortgage spot.

2. TV Ads

TV advertising is still a very popular option for mortgage brokers, but it comes at a high price - you have to pay for air time and there's no guarantee your ad will be seen by a potential customer. But if you have an ample budget, TV ads are a feather in your cap. That's because they're perceived to be (and are) expensive, the domain of big-money players. Someone viewing the ad might assume you're a large, legitimate business simply because you can afford television advertising.

The recent Rocket Mortgage commercial that aired during the 2022 Super Bowl demonstrates the power of television advertising. They used Barbie's Dreamhouse as a foil for the difficulties of today's crowded real estate marketplace. They fused humor and nostalgia to create an engaging narrative that pulls in the viewer.

What you need to do is try out different ads to see what sticks with your audience - the ones that offer something valuable or solve a problem; or make people laugh; touch their heart; inspire them; get their blood pumping; motivate them to take action.

3. Radio Ads

There's a reason radio ads are still popular — because they can be effective if you get the right mix of elements.

One thing to note is that radio ads aren't just for brokers in big cities - depending on your niche and audience, they could be great for you as well. They enjoy some of the cachet of more exclusive television ads but are more affordable for smaller players.

One ad campaign that worked featured someone talking with their mortgage broker. The broker was going through all of the fees his customer had to pay, and that got worse as the commercial went on. At one point the broker talked about the "entitlement fee". The customer asked if the broker meant "title fee" and the broker responded, "No. I mean the entitlement fee...all the fees I'm entitled to!"

It's very clever because it strikes a chord with people who can relate. People are scared of the mortgage process because the mortgage business is so opaque, and there are so many little fees that seem to hide from you. The point of the commercial was to stress that trustworthy brokers are worth their weight in gold. Your ads should highlight customer issues and communicate how easily you can solve them.

4. Voicemail Messages

This is actually something real estate brokers are using more frequently because it's all about differentiation - you need to separate yourself from the competition so people will choose you. There are some companies that are doing it better than others, but there are also some that were obviously put together by amateurs - which is why you have to be careful you don't fall into the same trap.

You want your messages to stand out so they'll leave more of an impact and get people to call you. One common mistake is to keep your message too short - you want to give them enough information so they'll want to talk to you, which means telling them what sets you apart from everyone else and how it can help them because that's what will motivate them to call back.

First off, avoid using the same exact message for all your calls; that gets old in a hurry. Second, don't be afraid to get creative when you make them - if you can say something interesting or funny it will make people smile when they hear your message (at the very least) and possibly want to call back just because they find you amusing. Don't just talk about your loan program. Talk about what it will mean to your prospects.

Third, even if you're not much of a wordsmith and think you'll just sound stupid, you should still try to be friendly and personable with your messaging. It might take a little practice, but it's worth it when you consider many of the people who call you probably don't know your company or what sets you apart from everyone else.

In essence, voicemail messages are just old-fashioned cold calls, but they take advantage of the fact that people can now see the number that's calling them and often opt not to answer calls they don't recognize. You get their ear without having to bend it. This can be a boon for loan officers with long lists of prospects.

5. Newsletters

Newsletters, digital or print, are a mix of information and advertisements, so it doesn't have to be one or the other. You should always include a mixture of things that will keep people engaged and have them coming back for more.

Newsletters are great for building word-of-mouth referrals. You can send them to new prospects, existing customers, and past clients. Existing customers are reminded of your presence, so when a friend asks them for a recommendation, your name is at the top of their minds.

Newsletters also help establish your expertise and provide an opportunity to help people with difficult questions. The best way to do this is to include helpful articles in your newsletter about mortgages - how they work, what homeownership entails, etc. You can even include helpful tips to make their life easier, money-saving ideas they may not have heard of before, and other things that could inspire them to do business with you.

A cell phone with various social media logos on the screen.

6. Social Media

As great as social media platforms are for sharing information, it's really all about engagement - getting people interested in what you're doing so they'll want to talk to you and maybe even buy from you if they're convinced you can help them out.

The best place to start is on Facebook, where you should create a business page for your company and write posts that people will want to share and comment on - this creates backlinks which helps improve your search engine rankings so more people find you. You can also share blog posts you've written on your page, have some fun with contests every now and then to boost interest in your company, etc.

Twitter is another great way to engage people. You can write helpful content or even advertise on Twitter, but the best use of it is the banter you can have with others who are tweeting about mortgage companies. It shows you're just a normal person with something intelligent to say, which might encourage people to visit your website or call you up. It makes you approachable and establishes your credibility as a mortgage broker.

LinkedIn is also an effective social media platform to use when it comes to marketing your business - mostly because there are quite a few professionals who will be interested in buying homes looking for companies like yours to provide them with a mortgage. Having a company page on LinkedIn helps you develop credibility so people will be more confident doing business with you, and it can even help improve your search engine rankings for certain keywords which is great. You can find all new markets when prospecting for mortgage leads through social media.

7. Search Engine Optimization

Search engine optimization is a primary marketing tactic because it amplifies your website's ability to pull and convert traffic. When prospects search Google for a business like yours, an optimized website is more likely to pop up sooner in the natural listings — those search positions that you don't have to pay for. Pay-per-click ads are great for getting paid placements, but they're costly. SEO gets you more exposure for free.

You can improve your own SEO by properly organizing your website, writing helpful blog posts, submitting press releases about things that might be newsworthy and creating backlinks from social media sites and other websites you're a part of - all of this helps increase your search engine ranking.

Making sure you have a good SEO strategy is one of the most important things to do when it comes to marketing your business - without this, home buyers won't find you and, as such, won't patronize your company.

Having an optimized website helps every other tactic you're utilizing as well because most other tactics eventually point the viewer back to your site, and optimization doesn't just make your website easier for search engines to use. It improves user experiences as well.

SEO best practices put the information your prospects need right at the top of the page where it can do the most good. The practice creates ideal information flows that simplify the process of getting questions answered. An optimized website will hold people longer and convert considerably more of them.