Having a good online presence has always been recommended so that brokers can build their businesses, but the pandemic has made the need for a strong, and trustworthy presence, imperative. Kate Aubrey takes a look at best practice in the social media space
Being the best broker in the world means nothing if no one knows who you are. While the best referrals are word-of-mouth referrals from existing clients, having a digital presence is key to ensuring any referrals follow through.
Even before COVID-19, there was high growth and adoption in social technology, but the pandemic has accelerated the use of social media in the financial sector – for consumers and content creators, according to social media management tool Hootsuite.
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The data platform said Generation Z are consuming more financial services information on social media, and Baby Boomers are increasingly embracing both social media and mobile payments “like never before”.
Social media and digital marketing expert Sarah Barnett from Social Broker said with growing competition of brokers in Australia, now more than 16,000, there’s never been a more important time to build an online presence.
Ms Barnett said the pandemic had further pushed more brokers online, which has “amplified” the need to have a “strong presence” in the face of growing competition.
“And the simple reason is, when someone is referred to a broker... The first thing they’re going to do is check them out online… to ensure they’re the ‘real deal’,” Ms Barnett said.
Consistency and authenticity are key
More important than having a digital presence is being consistent, Ms Barnett explained.
“The worst thing is to start off all guns blazing, posting really consistently for a couple of weeks or months and then drop off. That’s worse than if you committed to posting once a week,” Ms Barnett said.
“That lack of consistency can be quite damaging to your brand.”
In addition, the initial experience a client has with a broker is often online, highlighting the importance of “authentic” and visually appealing content, which aligns “exactly” with the experience they have with you in person.
“People make a snap-judgment, within milliseconds, about the credibility of a business based on the collateral that they’re putting out,” Ms Barnett said.
“It’s about being really clear on what’s the value you deliver to people.”
Which social platform to choose from?
From Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, YouTube, Google Business, TikTok… the list goes on. Deciding which platforms work best for your business is important to ensure that you delegate your time and resources towards a strategy that’s going to be beneficial.
When it comes to business-to-business leads, broker Christian Stevens from Shore Financial said LinkedIn is the “#1 social platform”.
Ranked as LinkedIn’s “most viewed” broker in Australia, Mr Stevens has more than 200 recommendations on the platform, which has been crucial in gaining potential referral partners and new clients.
“If you are looking for referral partners, this is a great place to start. You can search for an exact location, specific industry, years of experience and different roles within an organisation,” Mr Stevens said.
With increasing broker competition, ensuring a web page’s visibility ranks high across search engines is also key to being seen online.
Through Google Business Profile, brokers can create a profile page and include essential information such as business address, phone number, open hours, website to allow potential customers to find them, as well as increasing the web page’s visibility on Google Maps and Search.
The platform also includes public reviews, which Mr Stevens said is one of the most important ranking factors for search engine optimisation.
As for Facebook, general business pages appear to be losing momentum while Facebook Groups are forging ahead as a useful platform for networking and educating potential clients.
Mr Stevens said he created the “First Home Buyers Australia” group on Facebook four years ago, which has now gained more than 12,000 followers and provided multiple leads.
“I wanted to create an online community where anyone could ask questions and get the answers they needed,” Mr Stevens said.
“The best way to sell is to educate, this is why I have found Facebook Groups a much more effective platform than the typical business page.”
Finding the right content through education
Educating potential clientele through social media is a strategy followed by broker Evelyn Clark, who has been building her business Everlend by creating educational “bite-sized” pieces of information using video on Instagram.
Ms Clark said despite overcoming some nerves around creating videos and putting her “face on camera”, it has reaped benefits by gaining new clients, recruiting new staff and creating deeper interactions with clients.
“The biggest benefit that I’ve found is [clients are] already more informed by the time they come to you. They’ve got a base level of education,” Ms Clark said.
“Which means you’re not then going through simple concepts like what is LVR, you’re starting to have more strategic conversations with clients.”
Also by sharing videos on Instagram, potential clients gain a “good sense” of who you are as a person.
“They’re coming to you excited and ready to learn from you and work with you. Because they’ve already broken the initial barrier of having to meet someone, just by watching your videos,” Ms Clark said.
While there is merit in YouTube and TikTok, it is certainly for the more “forward thinking” broker, once they are on top of the bare essentials, according to our social media experts.
Time to consider outsourcing
Finding the time to engage with a social audience, alongside current workflows may seem like a daunting task, which is why Mr Stevens at Shore Financial told The Adviser he outsourced some tasks overseas.
“You can’t expect [brokers] to do everything and get through the amount of work you need to, and grow your business.. and meet with referral partners, post on social [media], do back office processing and do post settlement – it’s just impossible,” he said.
“So you need to understand how to build an offshore team, which is a third of the cost of having people onshore.”
Another option, without adding the burden of creating content yourself, is to seek services that can take on your social media management, such as Social Broker or your aggregator/head group.
For example, MoneyQuest manages 105 franchise social accounts creating “customised” content to suit individual businesses.
General manager of operations at MoneyQuest, Julie Ryburn, said when valuing a franchise, the businesses’ “digital footprint” is arguably just as important as the trail book.
“We know that the brokers themselves don’t specialise in marketing of that business. So that’s why we do it on their behalf,” Ms Ryburn said.
Whichever way brokers choose to navigate the world of social media, it’s clear the medium has become a critical tool to help build trust and maintain relationships when used consistently and authentically.
