Many mortgage originator websites have some sort of calculator which allows consumers to put in various scenarios. Now there is a similar product designed for the next frontier, in particular Facebook.
Shastic, Berkeley, Calif., has introduced Calcubot, which company chief executive Ariel Gomez added acts as a lead generation tool as well.
End users can install a company-branded version of Calcubot to their Facebook page, share it with their friends and family, thus turning the company’s followers into a viral promotion network.
On the back end, Gomez said, the app collects contact information about the user for the financial institution. It can also drive them to an online loan application.
Among its functions is an “alert me” mechanism that monitors interest rates and notifies the user of potential savings opportunities via email or text message.
Financial institutions have typically been laggards when it comes to technology, and Shastic saw an opportunity here to fill a gap.
Facebook in particular is “underutilized,” he continued, and so the company created a “personal financial application.”
Shastic’s own study of 200 financial institutions between $200 million and $5 billion in assets, found that only 57% of them have a Facebook page with an average of 1,147 followers.
Their top three uses of Facebook are posting current promotions (96%), notifications about charity work and events (63%) and collecting member referrals (16%). The most surprising result is that only 10% attempt to drive prospects to their website.
For the smaller institutions, this creates a great equalizer and puts them on to the same playing field for consumers as their larger competition. It lets them leverage the power of social media, he said.
Another potential user for this application is real estate agents as well as other referral sources.
Calcubot is already available for use and it is available starting at a cost of under $100 per month. There are several credit unions using it, including Kinecta FCU.
There is interest to have Calcubot incorporated with other social media outlets including LinkedIn.
Gomez noted that loan calculators are among the most popular tools on a traditional website. Putting one into a social media context lets the originator grab the consumer at the right time, when they are most apt to be looking for a loan, he said.
Meanwhile, OpenClose, a mortgage technology company based in West Palm Beach, Fla., has come out with an e-book, “Avoiding the Social Media Sophomore Slump.” It described this slump as a malaise or weariness which can fall upon the marketers who run an originator’s social media campaign.
“Many marketers have spent the past two years immersed in learning social media, then selling it first to the boardroom, then finally to the public,” says Frank Bocchino, vice president marketing and social media of OpenClose. “But even if you knocked the ball out of the park, you’re likely weary and your enthusiasm has been replaced with information overload, more work, and demotivation while the world is hungry for what’s next.”
Subsequent social media efforts fail to live up to what the initial campaign creates, OpenClose said, because of “bad habits and/or overexposure.”
Bocchino adds, “The good news is if you’re a social media marketing executive questioning your motives, then you’re actually ahead of the game and the slump can be avoided.”
Another question to ask is, are marketers publicizing their social media presence to the fullest extent possible? One expert believes not.
Barbara Pachter, communications expert, says social media or blog sites should be included on one’s business card. But there is only a finite amount of space on a card.
“Since business cards tell people what you do and provide a way for them to contact you, each person has to decide how much to include, and how to do so without overloading their card,” she says.
Her five things to consider when putting social media information on one’s business card are:
1. Have I included the necessary information? Think about the majority of your potential clients and customers, and include on the card the information they will need. This usually means your name, your title, company name/logo, address, phone number, and email and web addresses.
2. What can I eliminate? Is the information on the card easy to read? Make sure your card is visually appealing. Can you eliminate your fax number? Do you need both your business and cell phone numbers? If you have a lot to include, use the back for the less-essential information.
3. Which social media addresses do I use for business? Include the social media addresses that help you stay in contact with your customers, clients, etc. If adding all your new links overwhelms the card, place them on the back. When you hand your card to someone, you can point this out by saying, “If you want to connect with me by social media, my addresses are on the back.”
4. Should I include a quick response code? These are bar codes that can be scanned by smart phones to provide a link to your websites or LinkedIn profile. If you include a QR code, place it on the back of the card.
5. Is a photograph necessary? Most corporate cards do not include photographs, but you may want to include a photograph if you use your card for marketing purposes.
