Without a good reason for marketing in this fashion, strategies may not work.
A lot of time is spent encouraging businesses to join the social media craze. In fact, many small businesses now have a Facebook page or post on Twitter or are being followed on LinkedIn. But they have never examined why they should have a social media presence. Without knowing the “why” for doing something, a business will likely see its marketing efforts in this area fail.
“Social media essentially offers mortgage companies the opportunity to communicate directly with consumers and actually influence the sale,” said Thomas Harpointner, chief executive of AIS Media. Today’s consumer is researching everything they purchase, including their new home and their mortgage, on the Internet.
Furthermore, social media is the No. 1 activity for consumers on the Internet, he continued.
There are all sorts of social media networks, but at the top of the heap is Facebook, which has over 500 million users and adding more every day. “It’s not just for college kids anymore. In fact, the Facebook audience predominantly consists of parents, grandparents, adults aged 40 years and up.
“So they’re exchanging, not just pictures, but they’re exchanging ideas and asking for references and referrals,” Harpointner said.
Women are twice as active on Facebook as men are, and the average Facebook user has 130 friends these days. For an active user of Facebook it goes upwards of 250 friends.
“So if you think about it, if a mortgage company is online and they have a good presence, if there is a good message that they want to broadcast and get out to potential customers, if that message is well received, a customer that has a couple of hundred friends has the ability to distribute that message automatically to all of their Facebook friends at zero cost to the mortgage company.
“That’s never been possible before. It’s not possible with a direct mail piece or a television ad or a magazine ad. It’s the viral power of social media is what makes social media marketing so attractive,” he declared.
Just by clicking their mouse, someone can share a message, an idea or an offer with hundreds of other people, at no cost to the marketer. Not only that, when an offer is shared, the results can be seen immediately and most importantly, can be tracked, Harpointner said.
It wasn’t all that long ago that companies were just “dabbling” on social media sites and the Internet. And the result was some “embarrassing mistakes.”
Now, marketers need to create a strategy first to have an effective social media plan, he said. All the major stakeholders need to sit down and consider what their goals are, what they are trying to accomplish, what are the risks and the rewards and then put a plan of action in place. Next, they need to examine how the success or failure of the plan is going to be measured. “Are we pushing some kind of incentive out? Are we asking people to download some kind of offer or report? Are we asking them to participate in a survey because we want feedback from the market?
“There are a number of ways in which a company can reach out and get people to participate and really grow their brand awareness online. But it really starts with a plan and it is not something that should be done haphazardly.
“In fact, once a social media strategy is launched, it is important that a company recognizes that it has to be maintained. You don’t just put it out there and hope,” Harpointner said.
There needs to be someone to monitor the page for feedback, be prepared to answer page viewer questions and engage with those who post questions.
Otherwise, the effort can backfire. “Social media really can be a double-edged sword. While the opportunities and rewards are tremendous, so are the potential pitfalls,” he warned.
It can be both embarrassing and costly if a company makes mistakes in its social media strategy.
While it doesn’t cost anything to set up a Facebook page, there are costs with having a social media strategy, he said. Content needs to be created, someone has to be responsible for that content as well as monitoring the site, and measuring tools are available to measure the impact of the messages. It is less expensive than running a television marketing campaign, but the low cost shouldn’t be the primary motivator for embarking on a social media strategy. The major motivator should be the viral opportunity that social media has. Your Facebook friends can become your brand advocates, he said.
Harpointner gave the example of a television advertisement. Even if the ad is very well received, he said, the viewer has no ability to share that message with friends and family.
A print ad might be able to be shared with another individual, but there is no viral opportunity. It is impossible to share such an ad with hundreds of people, unlike an online effort. “Now, tens of thousands of people can see a message that would normally never, ever see that message, at no additional cost to the advertiser whatsoever.
“But we still need good messages and we still need good offers. It doesn’t mean that a poorly designed message is going to be successful just because it goes on Facebook,” he said.
Consumers still are the same, and if they have a bad taste in their mouth about a certain brand that is not going to change if a company has a social media ad.
Social media marketing is word of mouth marketing that has been automated, but if it is a bad offer, people are not going to spread it, he said. There has to be something engaging the consumer to make he or she want to share that message.
There is no shortcut in marketing, there still needs to be a professionally crafted message. Companies like Victoria’s Secret already have materials on hand; using social media as a distribution channel just enhances their return on investment, he said.
The mortgage industry is ripe today for growing social media marketing. Because of the downturn, everyone is looking for new ways to reach customers. Those who get on board now can reap the rewards in 2011 as the economy and the housing market starts to recover, Harpointner said.
