How to use TikTok to attract (and keep) new clients

“A broker has to develop a mindset that they’re the person closest to a client, and therefore, has the most leverage,” Mr Roper told The Adviser.

“When mortgage brokers start a business, they are trying to figure out how to market their business. Quite often, they may pay for advertising through different platforms. They might even outsource lead generation.

“This puts a middleman between the broker and the customer.”

However, by creating content that is relevant to existing and new clients and posting it on TikTok, brokers could communicate directly with them, Mr Roper argued.

Moreover, creating relevant content that educates and entertains clients demonstrates a broker’s value and is “worth more than advertising dollars”, he added.

Mr Roper’s comments came amid the Better Business Summit 2023, where he will unpack how brokers could use TikTok to generate leads by creating targeted and relevant content and converting followers into clients.

Figure out who you are and whom you want

When asked who brokers should target on TikTok, Mr Roper said the issue is less about who uses TikTok (as the number of older users has increased compared to two years ago) and more about whom the broker wants to target.

To do this, brokers could identify who their ideal client avatar is (for example, age, gender, high-net-worth clients, first home buyers, retirees, etc) and what topics and issues they would be interested in.

Brokers could then create relevant content for their targeted client base.

“When creating content, keep in mind that if you try and speak to everyone, you’ll speak to no one,” Mr Roper warned.

“So, figure out who you are and what your speciality is. If you want to target first home buyers, make sure you’ve got the knowledge to back it up. If somebody sees your content and contacts you about how they could use the government’s first home buyer schemes, but you’ve got no knowledge or understanding, they’re not a very good choice for your ideal customer avatar.”

Explaining the home loan process could also be valuable to a TikTok audience as many would lack knowledge in this area, particularly first home buyers, Mr Roper said.

Collating frequently asked questions from existing customers could also provide brokers with content ideas, he added.

Mr Roper said: “For example, questions could include:

• When should a customer contact a mortgage broker for pre-approval?
• Why should they do that?
• What does it mean when you approach a real estate agent but you already have a pre-approval letter from your mortgage broker?
• Does that make your offer stronger?” 

Education could empower clients to make decisions around their property purchase, he added.

“If you add value to the experience of the home buying process for a client through TikTok videos, clients would want to return the favour by doing business with you,” Mr Roper said.

You’ve got your followers. Now what?

To convert TikTok, Facebook, or Instagram followers into leads, Mr Roper advised brokers to divert them to their profile.

“In your videos, you need to provide a call to action with explicit instructions that [direct] viewers to a place where they can do business with you,” he explained.

“Once they’ve arrived on your profile page, you need to funnel them to a clickable link that leads them to your business website.”

To increase the likelihood of clients contacting the brokerage, brokers could build a simple website that takes them directly to a contact page or form, Mr Roper concluded.

“You’ve already used social media to demonstrate your value and taken them all the way to the bottom of your sales funnel,” he said.

“You now need to make it really simple for them to contact you.”

To hear more from Rob Roper about how you can become a thought leader and broker of choice for a new wave of clients by creating meaningful content on TikTok, come along to the Better Business Summit 2023.

It will be held in the following locations:

• Sydney, 23 March 2023 at The Star
• Melbourne, 30 March 2023 at Pullman Albert Hotel

Click here to buy tickets to the summit and don’t miss out!

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For more information about the 2023 Better Business Summit including speakers and agenda, click here.

[Related: How brokers are getting lead generation wrong (and how to do it right)]