In this blog post, we will provide tips for mortgage and insurance businesses on how to build a strong social media presence. From identifying your target audience to creating a content strategy, we’ll cover everything you need to know to get started.

Identify Your Target Audience

One of the first steps in building a strong social media presence is identifying your target audience. Who are the people that you want to reach with your social media content?

To identify your target audience, consider factors such as age, location, income level, and interests. You can also use social media analytics tools to gain insight into the demographics and behaviors of your followers.

Once you have a clear understanding of your target audience, you can tailor your content and messaging to better resonate with them. This will help increase engagement and establish a stronger connection with your followers. For example, if your target audience consists of first-time homebuyers, you may want to create content that educates them on the homebuying process and provides tips for navigating the housing market.

Choose the Right Platforms

With so many social media platforms available, it can be overwhelming to determine which ones to focus on. Here is an overview of some popular social media platforms for mortgage and insurance businesses:

Facebook: With over 2.7 billion monthly active users, Facebook is a great platform for reaching a wide audience. It offers a range of features such as business pages, groups, and paid advertising.

LinkedIn: As a professional networking platform, LinkedIn is a good option for B2B marketing and reaching professionals in the mortgage and insurance industry.

Twitter: With its fast-paced and real-time nature, Twitter can be used to share industry news and insights, as well as engage with customers.

Instagram: A visual platform, Instagram is ideal for showcasing your brand’s personality and visually appealing content such as photos and videos.

When choosing which platforms to focus on, consider your target audience and where they are most active. It’s also important to weigh the pros and cons of each platform, such as the level of competition and the types of content that perform best.

Based on these factors, we recommend focusing on Facebook and LinkedIn as the primary platforms for mortgage and insurance businesses.

Create a Content Strategy

Once you’ve identified your target audience and chosen your social media platforms, it’s time to create a content strategy. A strong content strategy should align with your brand and resonate with your target audience. Here are some tips for creating an effective content strategy:

Create a content calendar: This will help you plan and organize your content in advance. You can also ensure that you are addressing important topics and seasonal trends.

Use a variety of content types: Mix up your content to keep your audience engaged. Some examples of content types include educational blog posts, infographics, videos, and industry news.

Be consistent: Consistency is key in social media marketing. Aim to post at least once a day on your chosen platforms, and engage with your audience regularly. This can be the most challenging part of building a strong social media presence for busy professionals. A social media posting service such as 220 Social can help you achieve your goals while allowing you to focus on your business.

Monitor and measure: Use analytics tools to track the performance of your content and adjust your strategy accordingly.

By following these tips, you can create a strong content strategy that helps you build a loyal following and increase engagement on social media.

Build Your Community

Building a strong community on social media can help you establish trust with potential customers and increase brand loyalty. Here are some tips for building your community:

Follow relevant accounts: Follow accounts related to the mortgage and insurance industry, as well as accounts that your target audience is likely to follow.

Engage with your audience: Respond to comments and messages, ask for feedback, and participate in conversations related to your industry.

Respond to reviews: Responding to both positive and negative reviews shows that you value your customers’ feedback and are committed to providing excellent service.

By actively engaging with your audience, you can create a loyal following that helps promote your brand on social media.

Utilize Paid Advertising

Paid advertising can be a powerful tool for increasing your reach and targeting specific audiences on social media. Here are some tips for creating effective ad campaigns:

Define your goals: Determine what you want to achieve with your ad campaign, whether it’s increasing website traffic, generating leads, or promoting a specific product or service.

Target the right audience: Use targeting features to ensure that your ads are seen by the right people, such as those who have expressed interest in your industry or those who fit your ideal customer profile.

Use compelling visuals and messaging: Your ads should be eye-catching and clearly convey your value proposition.

Monitor and measure: Use analytics tools to track the performance of your ads and adjust your strategy accordingly.

In today’s digital age, a strong social media presence is essential for mortgage and insurance businesses. By identifying your target audience, choosing the right platforms, creating a strong content strategy, building your community, and utilizing paid advertising, you can establish a strong presence on social media and reach new customers.

Remember, building a strong social media presence takes time and effort. But by implementing the tips covered in this post, you can refine your strategy and establish a strong presence on social media for your mortgage or insurance business.

The post Tips for Building a Strong Social Media Presence as a Mortgage or Insurance Professional appeared first on 220 Social.

Brand assets play a crucial role in building trust and credibility with potential customers. A strong, consistent brand identity helps to establish a company as a reputable and reliable source of information, products, and services. For mortgage and insurance professionals, building trust with clients is crucial. These industries can be perceived as complex and confusing, and a strong brand identity can help to alleviate these concerns.

For example, a well-designed logo and website can help to convey a sense of stability and professionalism, while a consistent message across social media channels can help to establish a company as a thought leader in the industry. In addition, a well-crafted brand message can also help to differentiate a company from its competitors, making it more likely to stand out in a crowded marketplace.
Another important aspect of brand assets is the ability to create emotional connections with customers. A well-designed logo or a clever tagline can evoke feelings of trust, security, or excitement. This emotional connection can be a powerful tool in building loyalty and long-term relationships with customers.

For mortgage and insurance professionals, this emotional connection is especially important. These industries often involve large financial decisions, and customers need to feel confident and secure in their choices. By building an emotional connection through brand assets, companies can help to alleviate any concerns and build trust with potential clients.

Key Brand Assets

• Brand Name: All brands need a name, so begin here if you do not have a well-established brand name already. A brand name should be meaningful yet easy to remember.
• Logo: A logo that is easily recognizable is key to successful branding. Logos serve as a quick visual signal for brand recognition. Think once more of the Apple logo. A quick glance at the logo and you know immediately what you are looking at. A well-designed logo should provide the same recognition for your brand. When designing a logo, they should be created in different sizes and colors for various uses.
• Colors: Colors evoke human emotions which means the colors that you choose to represent your brand are an opportunity to create an emotional connection with customers. Blue is associated with competence and trust. Black with sophistication and power. Yellow portrays optimism and happiness. Select colors that coincide with the message and identity that you want your brand to have. Blue is a popular color used by many fortune 500 companies and is a great starting place for professionals in the mortgage and insurance industries.
• Taglines and Slogans: “Can you hear me now? Good.” Most people would know that this catchy phrase comes from Verizon’s television campaign. Capital One’s “What’s in your wallet?” has been around since the year 2000 and is an easily recognizable slogan. While not every business will have a tagline or slogan, they can be a valuable asset for brand association.
• Photos and Videos: Quality photos and videos can be a powerful brand asset. While often used by companies selling physical products, high-quality photos and videos can set your brand apart from competitors. Mortgage and insurance professionals can have high quality images taken of their office and staff to portray professionalism on their website, social media, and other marketing resources.
• Typography: Much like your logo and color choices, the font style you select should also be used to portray specific emotions. For example, Disney uses a fun and whimsical font, while Coca-Cola uses a timeless font that is very similar to the original logo developed over 130 years ago. These font choices are an important part of the brand identity for each of these companies.

Utilizing Brand Assets on Social Media

Social media has become a crucial platform for businesses to showcase and promote their brand assets. Social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram allow companies to reach a wide audience and connect with potential customers in a more personal way.

For mortgage and insurance professionals, social media is a great way to connect with potential customers and to build trust. Platforms like LinkedIn allow professionals to establish themselves as experts in their field and share valuable information with potential clients. Social media can also be used to drive traffic to a company’s website and increase visibility in search engine results. As a mortgage or insurance professional, you may not have time or know-how to incorporate your various brand assets into every social media post. A social media posting service like 220 Social can create images and posts for you so that your branding and messaging is consistent across various platforms such as Facebook, LinkedIn, and Instagram.

Brand assets are an essential part of building trust, credibility, and emotional connections with customers. For mortgage and insurance professionals, a strong, consistent brand identity can help to establish a company as a reputable and reliable source of information, products, and services. Investing in the development of strong brand assets can help these professionals stand out in a crowded marketplace and build long-term relationships with customers.

The post What Are Brand Assets and Why Are They Important to Your Business? appeared first on 220 Social.

Optimize Your Instagram Bio 

We have mentioned it many times in the past, but an optimized bio is the starting point for any good social media account, especially Instagram. This is the place where you let potential followers know what your business is all about. Your bio is also the only place where you can provide a clickable link for your audience.   

You only have a couple hundred characters to create your Instagram bio so use this space wisely. Provide a description of what your business does, a call to action, and a link to your website or landing page. A great call to action that many successful Instagram accounts use is one asking followers to tag them in their posts. For example, a call to action could say “Tag @220Marketing and share your success story!” The content they create will be shared with their followers, and you are able to share it with your followers as well.  

Bonus Tip: Update your bio link often to correspond with new content you have posted. If you make a recent post on VA loans, update your bio link to a VA loan landing page for a week! 

Make Use of Hashtags 

Hashtags are a valuable social media tool for categorizing your posts and sharing them with a specific audience. While they are useful on all social media platforms, nowhere are they more important than on Instagram. On most social media sites, one or two hashtags in a post would be considered appropriate. On Instagram, you are able to add up to 30 hashtags per post. While you are able to add this many, you do not have to add 30 hashtags to every post. Roughly 10 or so hashtags in a post is considered ideal and enough to see maximum engagement for that post. 

When deciding on hashtags for your post, don’t always go with the most popular ones. These most popular hashtags are overflowing with posts and it is easy for your content to get lost. Niche hashtags can be far more effective when it comes to reaching a specific target audience.  

Cross-Promote Your Instagram Page 

Don’t rely solely on Instagram to attract Instagram followers. Promote your Instagram account wherever you can. Add links on your website to your Instagram page and other social media pages. Include a link in your email signatures, and in any automated correspondence such as e-blasts and monthly newsletters. Wherever you might interact with clients, there should be a link. Site visitors and individuals you are in contact with are already interested in your business and what you do. They are far easier to attract as followers than those who might find your page randomly while on Instagram. 

Write Great Captions 

Instagram is a highly visual social media platform centered around photos and videos. However, captions that you create for content can often have a tremendous impact on how your post is perceived. As an example, let’s say you post a photo of a couple who just recently purchased their first home. Consider writing a story about how they came to you with a goal in mind, and how you were able to successfully help them achieve this goal and become first time homeowners. Stories like these often resonate with individuals and can make them more likely to share your content with their followers. Stories, humor, inspirational quotes, and more can be highly successful for increasing engagement. 

Tag Your Location 

Similar to how hashtags work, Instagram allows you to add a location for each post. When a user clicks on the location tag, they can see posts from that specific area or office location. This is a great way to reach local users, which is especially important for local business owners. When other users tag your location as well, both your posts and their posts will be visible under that location tag thus increasing your overall exposure. If you attend trade shows or charity events, be sure to tag those locations as well in any images or videos you share from the events.  

Post Often and Consistently 

While you may be able to get away with a few posts per week on other social media platforms, Instagram is one where you will benefit greatly from posting every day. In fact, posting anywhere from one to three times per day is ideal. Instagram is very fast paced. If you only post once every few days, it is easy for potential followers to miss what you share. By posting multiple times per day, you greatly increase your visibility. Many Instagram users are active throughout the day so posting anywhere between the hours of 9am and 4pm is safe. Experiment with different times throughout this window to find out when your posts see the most engagement. Post consistently at these times when you can. Considering using tools that allow you to schedule posts at these times to ensure you don’t miss opportunities when you are busy. You may even want to outsource this to a team that will handle all of your social media posts for you. This allows you to focus on your clients while getting the social media exposure you need. 

Take Advantage of All Post Formats 

Instagram is more than just photos. You can create posts, stories, reels, and do live video sessions. Posts are the classic photo and video format you are more likely accustomed to. Stories are for more spontaneous content. Reels are a video format and are generally focused on being more entertaining than informational. Live videos are great for things like an AMA session where you can engage with followers in real-time. Instagram will show followers what they enjoy seeing so it is important to share content across all of these different formats when possible. Limiting yourself to classic posts will decrease your overall engagement. 

Run an Instagram Giveaway 

If you spend much time on Instagram, you have likely seen a giveaway or had a friend tag you in one. When you run an Instagram giveaway, entry into the content can require that someone follows you, or tag someone that they know in a comment. If you offer something interesting, you will find that many people love entering these types of giveaways. A small giveaway now and then can help you gain a great number of followers! 

If you are struggling to grow your Instagram following, contact 220 Marketing today. Our experienced social media team can help guide you in the right direction so that you can start seeing results from your efforts on Instagram and other social media platforms.

The post 8 Things You Can Do to Increase Your Instagram Following appeared first on 220 Social.

Every mortgage and real estate professional should be on Instagram, but in order to be successful, there are several best practices you will want to follow. Let’s take a look at how to best use Instagram to grow your brand and online presence.

Start With a Thorough Profile

As with every social media account or page that you create, you always want to be sure to complete your profile. Many sites allow you to create a lengthy profile to give detailed information about your business, but Instagram profiles are quite short in comparison. You have limited space to write your bio so be creative. Always ensure you are using your company logo as your profile image. Your profile should be easily recognizable by anyone who is viewing or searching for it. Make sure your account name and username are your full business name if possible. This is something that should be identical across all your social media accounts. Do not use different variations on different platforms. Also be sure to include your website or an Instagram-specific landing page. A landing page can help you track clients that are coming to your site from your Instagram page.

Complete your profile with your company logo and ensure your profile name and business name align.

Determine Your Goal

Instagram can be used to build brand awareness, to sell products directly, and more. It is important to determine what your goal with Instagram will be. As a mortgage professional, you are likely looking to build brand awareness and recognition. Each post you make on your account should reflect this goal. A business Instagram page should be more than just a collection of random pictures. Some of the most successful Instagram accounts appear as if a story is being told across the many pictures and videos that are shared. There is consistency in the style of each post, as well as the message that is being delivered. Determine what message you want to deliver or how you want your company to be perceived and begin to structure your posts with that goal in mind. Maybe you want to highlight that you are someone who puts customer service above all else. Your Instagram account could focus on photo and video testimonials from new homeowners who are praising you for the outstanding service you provided them with. Not every post has to follow the same format but finding a focus will build your brand identity on Instagram.

Fine Tune Your Posting Schedule and be Consistent

Every social media platform has a window where engagement and activity are at their highest. Additionally, each of these platforms will have an ideal posting frequency based on how the site functions and how their unique algorithms treat each post.

Instagram activity is fortunately steady throughout the week. If you can post during the hours of 9am to 4pm, Monday through Friday, you will be posting in an effective window. If you are looking for the most ideal times, engagement is at its highest on Wednesday and Friday between 10am and 11am. You can even post on weekends and be successful with Instagram. Remember, nearly 60% of the 2 billion monthly users are logging in every single day so posting 7 days a week is going to be beneficial. Try posting one to three times per day during these peak windows. If you are struggling to make daily posts at this frequency, an outside agency can help supplement your posts to ensure you are reaching the largest possible audience.

Experiment With Content Types

Instagram is more than just photos. You can share photos, videos, and post both formats directly to a story. Photos can be great for branded content highlighting products and services, or you could take photos of clients with their keys in front of their new homes. Videos could be a great way to capture and share client testimonials.

The Instagram algorithm will show people what they like to see. If a user likes to view photos over videos, Instagram will suggest more photos than videos to that user. For this reason, it is important to experiment with content types to see what your audience prefers to see. Start with a mix of both photos and videos and see which posts get the most interaction.

Engage! Engage! Engage!

Social media is designed for people to make connections with one another. From day one on Instagram, you should be doing your best to engage with as many people as possible. Reply to comments and like appropriate comments that are made on your posts. Follow partners and other business you interact with that are relative to your audience. Comment, like, and share their posts as well. This helps to build your organic audience and increase the number of followers you have. The larger your audience grows, the easier it will be to gain additional followers. Connect with local businesses and professionals where you can. Many may already have a large following and this could help you not only grow your following on Instagram, but on other social media platforms as well.

Instagram relies on hashtags to categorize posts and to allow people to find content they are interested in. You should take advantage of these in every post. Consider researching niche hashtags where you think you could stand out. The most popular hashtags are flooded with content and your post can easily get lost in the shuffle. Niche hashtags with less content that have a more specific focus give your posts a greater chance of being seen by your target audience.

Instagram is an absolute must-have for any mortgage or real estate professional. With billions of users visiting the app daily, Instagram is one of the best places to connect with potential clients. Follow these guidelines to see your Instagram page grow into one of your most successful marketing tools. If you are struggling with success on Instagram or other social media platforms, contact the team at 220 Marketing to see how we can help get you on the right track.

The post 5 Tips for Building a Successful Instagram Business Page appeared first on 220 Social.

LinkedIn is first and foremost a networking platform for professionals. It is one of the few remaining social media sites that places networking and relationship-building above all else. LinkedIn users are generally on the site for making professional connections and a hasty sales pitch can easily turn them away. Not only can it turn individuals away, but your entire reputation on LinkedIn can be tarnished if you are too aggressive and neglect relationship-building before pitching any products or services. For these reasons, LinkedIn can be a difficult place for some professionals to cultivate new leads and business.  

If you have the right strategy, LinkedIn is full of business opportunities. Do not look at your network as a list of leads though. The key is to focus on building genuine relationships. If you can do this effectively, prospects and leads will follow. Here are some things to focus on to ensure you are focusing on relationship-building before pitching sales and services on LinkedIn. 

Showcase your Knowledge and Expertise 

LinkedIn is a great place to post and share content that highlights your expertise as a mortgage professional. Responding to comments on your content and commenting on posts of other professionals is also important. This will keep your name in front of potential clients and referral partners on a regular basis. The key to turning these individuals into clients or partners is not to make an aggressive sales pitch, but to simply continue to display your knowledge and expertise naturally. 

As an example, let us say an individual asked a question on a post that you or another mortgage professional made. You take the time to provide a thorough answer, but they still have another question or two. This is a great opportunity to reach out to the individual directly, to make a connection, and to start building a relationship. Have a conversation and address their questions and concerns. This will show that you are putting their interests first. 

When having a conversation with an individual, you can provide them with examples of successful deals you have closed in the past. Providing an example of a solution that would meet their needs is an effective way to pitch a product or service, while showing real world experience. 

Use an Offline Approach Online 

How you approach potential referral partners and clients online is likely very different from how you approach these same individuals in a face-to-face setting. This is a bad habit that needs to be broken by many sales professionals. When approaching someone online, you should go through the same process as if you were talking to that person face-to-face. 

Have an open conversation with those you connect with on LinkedIn. Always address them by name, ask personalized questions, and find commonalities on their profile that allow you to connect on a personal level. Online interactions can come off as very impersonal even if you do not mean to be. This is why it is important to stand out from the generic sales messages and make those personalized connections. 

Explain Why You Want to Make a Connection 

When attempting to connect with people on LinkedIn, give them a reason why they would want to accept your request. Perhaps you met someone at an event and want to connect with them. Even though they may remember you, get in the habit of explaining why you want to make a connection with that person. 

You will encounter many people that you think would make an ideal client or referral partner that you have not met before. This is where a message about why you want to connect becomes very important. Many individuals who spend time on LinkedIn will be able to quickly tell if someone is interested in making a genuine connection or if they are only interested in a sale. If you are unable to make connections, you are drastically reducing your chances of developing future partnerships or sales opportunities. 

LinkedIn is a great resource for leads and potential partnerships, but you must remember that it is first and foremost a networking platform and needs to be treated as such. Do not attempt to simply “connect and pitch” without establishing a relationship first. This will be an unsuccessful endeavor and will likely leave you with a bad reputation on LinkedIn. Have genuine, personal conversations with people and use your knowledge and expertise to prove that you are a valuable connection. The relationships you establish in this manner will set the stage for future referral partnerships and sales opportunities. If you have questions or need a hand establishing your LinkedIn presence, the social media experts at 220 Marketing can provide the support you need. 

The post The Importance of Creating Relationships on LinkedIn Before Making a Sales Pitch appeared first on 220 Social.

One of the primary goals of marketing your business on social media is to gain followers. This includes your current clients, past clients, prospects, referral partners, and potential referral partners. There are a number of benefits to growing your following on popular social media platforms such as Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter. As you increase the number of followers you have, your visibility, exposure, and reach will grow as well. Your name and brand will be in front of, and on the minds of those who follow you and are viewing your content. You will be able to showcase your expertise to a larger audience, which opens up more opportunities for your content to be shared. Social media platforms are also a great place to share industry news, opportunities to save money, and to present business opportunities and solutions. Big name companies like to overwhelm consumers with generic advertisements on social media. As a local mortgage or insurance professional, you can present content that speaks to local consumers, in a personalized manner.  

Let’s take a closer look at these benefits and how you can utilize social media to build your brand as a mortgage or insurance professional. 

Social Media Increases Visibility, Exposure, and Reach of Your Brand 

Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, and Instagram are all valuable platforms for increasing your visibility, exposure, and reach.  These social media sites are great tools for reaching your specific target audience, humanizing your business, establishing quality connections with potential clients and referral partners, and establishing yourself as a thought-leader in your specific industry. It is important to maintain an active presence across the most popular social media sites as they attract different types of users. For example, LinkedIn is a professional audience which is ideal for connecting with referral partners. Facebook content can be targeted to both clients and potential referral partners as the audience there is a mix of both. 

To increase your visibility, exposure, and reach across these popular social media sites, you will want to focus on the following: 

• Ensure you are posting frequently and at ideal times based on the platform you are on. Doing so will give you the best chance of having your content seen by your target audience. Posting infrequently or outside of recommended times can cause your content to go unseen. 
• Make use of hashtags to make your content easier to find. Hashtags are great for categorizing and labeling content for those seeking industry-related information. They are perfect for getting content in front of users who may not be following you yet. 
• Use appealing and attractive visuals in your content. Posts that take advantage of quality visuals are much more likely to be viewed and will stand out in the crowd. 
• Always be engaging with your followers and with those who are commenting on your posts. Actively comment on the posts and content of others in your industry as well. This humanizes and gives personality to your brand. It also builds trust with users knowing there is a person behind the brand. Imagine a user was to comment on a Facebook post about VA loans, asking for information on obtaining their Certificate of Eligibility. Mike the Mortgage Broker sees this and replies with a thorough, personalized message to the individual. In one response, Mike is able to showcase his expertise as a mortgage professional, humanize his brand, and establish trust with a potential client by solving their problem and actively engaging on social media. 

Create Easy Referral Opportunities Through Social Media 

When you are consistently active on social media, you will keep your name in front of users on a regular basis. When you keep your name and brand in front of users, you will remain in the back of their minds. Let’s use billboards as an example. If you are going on a trip you don’t regularly take and see a billboard for the first and only time, you might think about it for a second, but you will likely forget it forever. However, on your drive to work every morning, you pass the same billboard for an auto insurance provider. When you decide you are ready to shop for a new auto insurance plan, that billboard is likely to stand out in your mind given how frequently you see it. Social media has the same effect. If you only post on occasion, you will likely be forgotten. However, if you post on a consistent basis, you will be on the minds of your followers, even if subconsciously. 

This is also very important when it comes to referrals. Even if a follower doesn’t need your services at the time, they are more likely to recommend you to a friend or colleague when you remain on their mind. Referrals from past clients are common, however social media sites are great for a type of referral known as reputation-based referrals. Consider Mike the Mortgage Broker again. If Mike consistently posts and engages with followers on social media, those followers will likely remember his name. Perhaps one of those followers sees that a friend of theirs has a question about an FHA loan. Knowing that Mike has been a trusted source of information and that he is regularly active, that follower refers their friend to Mike for advice. They may have never done business with Mike, but he has proven his expertise and they are confident in referring their friend to him. 

Roughly 4 billion people world-wide are on social media. In the United States, people spend on average, 2 hours and 3 minutes per day on different social media sites. 38 minutes are spent on Facebook alone. Millennials spend even more time on social media. On average, 2 hours and 30 minutes per day. Users in the 16-29 age range spend almost 3 hours per day on social media. A business needs to be where their customers are, and social media is clearly one of those places. In fact, 18% of users between the ages of 25 and 34 won’t even refer a service provider if they are not on social media. This age bracket is an emerging market with endless referral opportunities as most are likely not past or current customers. Social media platforms are where you will want to connect with this demographic. 

Become An Industry Expert on Social Media 

Posting regularly on social media is important, but equally as important, is the type of content you are producing. Social media platforms are an excellent place to display your industry expertise. This can be done in a number of productive ways: 

• Create unique and informative content that highlights your industry knowledge and experience. Content can include market updates, important tools and resources, breaking news, and easy-to-understand breakdowns of industry information. Social media allows you to put this content directly in front of your target audience. In addition to adding to your own feed, you can post to industry-specific groups and use appropriate tags and hashtags to ensure that your target audience can find your content. 
• Respond to as many questions and comments on your social media pages and your content that you can. People often have specific questions unique to their situation, and answering those questions promptly displays a deep and thorough understanding of your industry. 
• If you are active on social media, you should be viewing the content of others in your industry as well. This can be a great opportunity to comment and leave additional information, or to provide clarification on topics that may seem confusing to readers  

One type of content that is very important to stay on top of is timely information such as industry news or updates. News is time-sensitive content that you want to present immediately. Social media is a fast-paced environment, making it perfect for this type of content. Content such as industry updates, new opportunities for saving money, or new business solutions, are examples of content that is considered time sensitive. When you are one of the first in your industry to post this type of information, it has a much greater chance of being shared amongst your followers and target audience. If Mike the Mortgage Broker regularly posts industry updates as soon as he becomes aware of them, he will become a main source of information and industry news for potential clients and referral partners. Potential clients and partners will go to him with questions and to check in on industry updates. If Mike is slow to post, a competitor has likely already posted the same information. At this point, although Mike is posting the same information, it is unlikely to be shared, or even viewed. Keep in mind that you don’t need to share every little industry change as this can feel like spam to viewers. Focus on big updates or changes that are most important and that you feel your audience needs to know. 

Beat Out Marketing Efforts from Your Biggest Competitors 

Big name companies such as Rocket, GreenLight, Geico, and Progressive all have marketing budgets exponentially larger than the individual mortgage broker or insurance agent. They spend millions on advertisements designed to overwhelm and outcompete individuals and smaller companies. These smaller companies and individuals simply can’t compete in the same ad space due to costs. Fortunately, big-name companies make mass-appealing generic content to appeal to the largest audience possible. Social media is where these smaller companies can combat this type of impersonal advertising.  

As a smaller local broker or agency, your content can speak to your local community and be personalized to the specific type of clientele you typically interact with. You have the ability to establish personal connections with individuals which builds trust. Big name companies are known only by their name. An active presence on social media lets viewers put a name and a face to your business and your brand. Social media is also free. You do not have to spend millions to reach your potential clients or referral partners. You only have to commit your time. If you were to gain one referral partner through social media efforts alone, the value is immeasurable. This one partnership can open doors for endless opportunities.  

Increase Your Social Media Following for Results Today 

Social media is one of the most valuable tools any mortage or insurance professional has available to them. It is a free resource that any service professional can use to showcase their industry expertise, present valuable news and industry-related content to viewers, keep their name in front of and on the minds of their audience, deliver local and personalized content in the sea of impersonal big-name advertisements, and increase their visibility, exposure, and reach. Focus on gaining new followers to maximize the number of potential clients and referral partners your content will be in front of. If you are struggling with your social media efforts and need a guiding hand, the team of experts at 220 Social can walk you through social media best practices and help you see the true value in social media. Reach out today to see how the team can help with your individual social media goals. 

The post How to Use Social Media to Build Your Brand appeared first on 220 Social.

LinkedIn Improves Your Reputation and Credibility

When it comes to professional content delivery, there is no better platform for industry professionals than LinkedIn. Developing and posting rich content that highlights your experience and expertise is an excellent way to improve your online reputation. LinkedIn also allows you to join various groups and networks where you can build relationships with other professionals in your industry or associated industries. Sharing quality content and establishing yourself within groups and networks will help you be recognized as a leader within your field.

As an example, if you are a loan officer, think of information you can share that comes with experience and industry expertise. First-time homebuyers almost always need a guiding hand during the homebuying process. Share an article that offers your own personal tips and tricks you have learned over the years that will give Realtors the tools they need to help their clients make an offer with the best chance of being accepted. This type of content shows readers, and ultimately potential referral partners, that you are truly experienced and are a credible source of information.

By delivering a stream of quality content and information to your network, you can quickly and drastically improve how you are perceived. Commenting on and reacting to content of those within your network will also help you improve your reputation and credibility.

LinkedIn Supports and Drives Traffic to Your Website

One of the many advantages of having an active social media presence is that you can use these platforms to drive traffic back to your website. LinkedIn often gets overlooked when it comes to driving traffic to your website. Many users still think of LinkedIn only as a networking platform for developing professional business connections. With over 700 million members, there is unlimited potential for generating website traffic and leads.

When creating content and developing your profile, always be sure to include links back to your website. For example, if you write a marketing piece that mentions specific loan programs, add links back to your website where you have more detailed information on those loan programs. By linking to additional information, a Realtor may find that a program you offer is something many of their clients could take advantage of. Similarly, landing pages can be designed specifically for the type of content you are creating. LinkedIn also offers paid advertisements where landing pages are ideal as well. Take advantage of as many of these different places as you can to direct traffic to your site. Every person that is sent to your website is a potential lead!

LinkedIn company pages also do very well in search engine results. By optimizing these pages and including links to your website, you can improve your organic SEO which will naturally drive traffic to your website as well.

LinkedIn Will Grow Your Reach

Before you can attract new customers on any social media platform, you need to grow your reach. This means getting your content and information in front of more users and connecting with those users. This is done through shared content, joining various groups, commenting on other users’ content, and more. When it comes to social media sites such as Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, you are often connecting with many of the same customers. LinkedIn is unique in that it is designed for business professionals. As you grow your reach on LinkedIn, not only are you increasing your reach from purely a numbers standpoint, but you are also likely to get your information in front of a much different audience than more traditional social media sites. According to LinkedIn, out of the 250 million monthly users, only 3 million are sharing content on a weekly business. This leaves the window wide open to get your content in front of your target audience.

As a loan officer, the importance of establishing connections on LinkedIn cannot be overstated. Not only are you growing your network and getting your information in front of your target audience, but you are opening the door for endless referral partnership opportunities. Connections made on social media platforms such as Facebook are often with customers. Many of your LinkedIn connections will be professionals within your industry. The odds of establishing a connection with a potential referral partner are far greater on LinkedIn than any other social media platform.

The Most Effective Platform for Quality Lead Generation

LinkedIn is nearly 3x more effective for lead generation than both Facebook and Twitter. LinkedIn boasts a lead conversion rate of 2.74% whereas Facebook and Twitter have conversion rates of .77% and .69% respectively. This might sound surprising considering that less content is posted to LinkedIn than Facebook and Twitter. The difference is in the type of content that is being presented on each of the different platforms. Facebook and Twitter posts consist of nearly any type of content you can imagine. Advertisements, funny videos, photos of social gatherings, and more. The content on LinkedIn is almost exclusively business-related information. So, while less content overall is being posted, it is far more likely that your content will be noticed by your target audience as it isn’t being lost in the clutter found on other social media platforms. This creates a huge opportunity for you as a business owner or professional to reach prospective clients and referral partners.

Individuals on LinkedIn are also in a different mindset when on the platform when compared to other social media sites. LinkedIn users are business-focused while engaging on the platform, often looking to make improvements or connections in their professional lives. The combination of this type of user and a clutter-free content feed makes LinkedIn an excellent place to advertise with better conversion rates.

LinkedIn continues to be one of the fastest growing social media platforms. There are more opportunities than ever to generate quality leads and to build professional relationships and partnerships. If you are unsure where to begin, or need help strategizing your LinkedIn approach, the 220 Social Team can provide the coaching and support you need. Our experienced team will guide you on the most effective ways to establish valuable connections, deliver engaging content, generate high-quality leads, and more. Visit 220social.com to learn more about how we can help your business thrive on LinkedIn and other top social media platforms.

The post Why Every Service Professional Needs to Be On LinkedIn appeared first on 220 Social.

Organic reach on Facebook has been on a decline for some time due to the power of paid content. It can be difficult for any business to reach potential clients organically, but not impossible. First off, what is Facebook organic reach? Organic reach is simply the number of people who have viewed your post through any unpaid means of distribution. Impressions on the other hand, are the number of times a post was read, including multiple views from the same user.

Facebook decides what you see first based on things such as frequency of posts, the number of people interacting with posts, posts that come from family and friends, the odds that you will like a post, and more. This works similarly to how Google and other search engines would provide results if you were to conduct a search. Ranking refers to the process of analyzing posts and sorting them based on the likelihood that a user will have a positive interaction with that post. Posts with higher ranking show up first on your content feed.

In order to increase organic reach, the goal is to create posts that have a higher ranking score, so that they appear first for a user. Here are some tips for boosting your organic reach and increasing your business through Facebook and other social media.

1) Optimize Your Posting Schedule

There are peak times for posting on all social media sites. You will want to do your best to post during optimal times if you are looking to improve organic reach. Facebook tends to have the most engagement during the middle of the week. Tuesday through Thursday are the best days with Wednesday being the most ideal. Do your best to avoid early morning and late evening hours if possible. We recommend posting at least once every day. Even if engagement is lower on weekends, posting these days is better than not posting.

2) Engage With Your Viewers

It is comforting to know that there is a human behind a business page. Posts that come from a business can often lack a personal touch. It is important to engage with your viewers and followers. Respond to inquiries and comments, like comments made on your page, ask questions to encourage further engagement. Personalize your responses to those who comment on your posts the best you can. This personalization and humanizing of your page will go a long way toward developing a connection with your viewers.

3) Publish Facebook Videos

Native Facebook videos are something you must be capitalizing on if you aren’t already. Facebook videos have a higher reach rate than statuses, photos, and links. They key though is to ensure they are native videos. Facebook reach is 10 times higher with native videos than videos that are hosted elsewhere, such as YouTube, and then shared on the platform.

When creating videos, be sure to create content that is shareable and engaging. Try to offer the most valuable information within the first few seconds of a video to capture the attention of viewers. Try to offer solutions and express an understanding of your audience's needs in your videos. Add captions and hashtags to each of your videos to further increase reach.

4) Target Your Posts to Your Specific Audiences

Not all of your posts may be meant for each and every individual that follows you or views your content. By using organic post targeting, you can choose to get your posts directly in front of a specified group of users who are more likely to engage with that content. In doing so, that content should have a higher likelihood of being shared and liked, and in turn increasing your organic reach.

5) Post Quality Content

We have all seen clickbait articles, posts, and advertisements all across the internet. It is a common practice, but not one you should ever engage in. Facebook looks at the quality of your posts and gives great consideration to it when ranking your posts. Any post or content that you create or share should be free from clickbait titles, links to questionable sites, and anything else that might be construed as low-quality content. Facebook will take notice of these types of posts and will likely penalize you for them. It is best just to avoid these practices entirely.

6) Post a Variety of Content in Different Formats

When looking to increase your organic reach, consider posting content of all varieties. We know that native video does very well but that of course will not be the only type of post you create. You can share many different types of content on Facebook including:

• Images and Gifs
• Blog Posts
• Stories
• Questions to your audience
• Quotes

Be creative and mix up the types of content that you are posting. This will break up any monotony on your Facebook page and hopefully make it more attractive and inviting for your audiences.

7) Live Video

Live video has one of the highest engagement rates of any post type. It is also another great way to humanize your business and engage with your viewers and followers. People enjoy the personal interaction with others over live video. Q&A style videos also allow you to give valuable information about your business, products, and services to your viewers.

Organic reach may be a bit more difficult to achieve than paid reach but every business should be making an effort to improve theirs. Follow these tips and you will see your organic reach improve.

The post 7 Ways to Improve Your Organic Facebook Reach appeared first on 220 Social.

Facebook is not only one of the most popular social media platforms, but it also offers a variety of great tools for businesses to capitalize on social media opportunities. Let’s look at some of the reasons why you absolutely need Facebook for your business. 

1) Facebook has 2.8 Billion Monthly Active Users 

That’s right. 2.8 billion active monthly users! On top of that, 1.8 billion of those users are visiting Facebook every single day. At 59%, Facebook is the only social media platform to reach more than half of all social media users. Facebook has such a massive reach and active userbase that is simply cannot be ignored by any business. This userbase is only going to grow and it is predicted that Facebook will surpass 3 billion monthly active users in 2021. With such an incredible number of users, there is no better site to stay in front of your target audience than Facebook.

2) 2/3 of Facebook Users Visit a Local Business Page At least Once Per Week 

Perhaps you thought that those 2.8 billion Facebook users were only looking at pages of friends and family. This could not be further from the truth. Two thirds of all active Facebook users are visiting a local business page at least once per week. 80% of people reported that they discovered new products through Facebook and 18% made a purchase through the site. There are over 200 million businesses on Facebook, most of which are small local businesses. If you are not on Facebook, these users are going to be visiting your competitors pages.  

3) Facebook Is Great for Search Engine Optimization (SEO) 

Search engines look for the most relevant results to a user’s search. One thing that search engines love is fresh, rich content. If you are actively posting on your Facebook business page, you will be giving your brand a significant SEO boost.  

Having an updated Facebook profile with your website helps search engines link your pages. Having social media links on your website is equally as important. Making sure your website and all of your social media pages are tied together in this manner will boost SEO. 

4) Target Your Best Customers Through Facebook Ads 

Facebook offers many valuable tools for targeting your ads to ideal customer groups. When someone signs up for Facebook, they are asked to provide various information about themselves such as age, interests, gender, etc. Facebook also analyzes, clicks, posts, shares, clicks, and more to identify what someone likes or dislikes. 

When creating ads, this information can be used to target clients in a specific area, by their interests, by their age, or a combination that allows you to focus on your exact target audience. When on a limited budget, this allows you to spend your money on the audience that counts.  

 5) Facebook Humanizes Your Business 

Your website may ultimately be the place where your audience can learn the most about your business, but there is likely no interaction there. Social media is all about connecting people. A Facebook page allows you to connect with individuals through likes, comments, shares, private messages, and more. This interaction allows customers to attach a face, and a personality to your brand. 

These human-to-human interactions go a long way in building trust and confidence with your customers as well. Customers have far more trust in a business that responds to questions and interacts with them than one that is unresponsive. 

Social media is here to stay and if you are a small business owner, you need to be taking advantage of as many as you can. Facebook is free to use for businesses and is one of the most valuable tools you have for connecting to your target audience and potential customers. 

The post 5 Reasons Why You Need Facebook for Your Business appeared first on 220 Social.

Over the years, social media has evolved from simply a place for individuals to connect with friends and family, to one of the best opportunities for businesses looking to generate leads and drive traffic to their websites. While social media platforms themselves have changed drastically over time, there are many businesses that have not kept up and that are missing out on the opportunities social media offers. If you’re in that boat, don’t worry, we’ve got you covered. Here are some tips to get you back on track and help you start taking advantage of your social media platforms to drive traffic and business to your website.

1) Build and Optimize Your Social Media Profiles

Let’s start right from the beginning. Hopefully you have already created profiles on the major social media platforms including Facebook, LinkedIn, and Instagram. If you haven’t done so yet, this should be a top priority for your business.

 

Once your profiles are created, optimization is crucial. Your profile is the essentially SEO for your social media pages. This is the information used to identify your business and connect you with potential customers. Take your time to go through each individual field and complete it as thoroughly as possible. Use keywords in fields where they are applicable such as your business description. Not only does a complete profile make it easier for customers to find you, but it will also instill confidence. An empty profile can raise questions and concerns about the legitimacy of a business.

Your profile is part of your online brand. Be sure to maintain consistency with your website when it comes to logos, color schemes, and various marketing materials. When you update your website, remember to update all your profiles.

2) Post Often and Consistently

Now that you’ve optimized your profiles, it is time to start accumulating followers and likes. One of the best ways to do this is one of the easiest. Simply start making regular posts on your social media pages. Depending on the platform, you will want to be posting anywhere from a few times per week to a few times per day.

 

Facebook: One or two posts per day.

 

LinkedIn: One post per day.

 

Instagram: Two or three posts per week.

 

Start developing a consistent posting schedule for each of these platforms and do your best to time them around peak hours. If you can’t do this, just be sure to get your posts in at some point during the day. You can find our detailed breakdown of the best times of day to post on popular social media platforms here. Be sure to always be providing links back to your website where appropriate. Remember, one of the goals is driving traffic back to your website where clients can find more detailed product information.

3) Engage with Your Followers and Target Audience

Social media is built around making connections with others. This not only means building a list of followers but interacting and engaging with them as well. If you develop a consistent posting strategy and accumulate a large group of followers, you are surely going to get comments on those posts. Take time out of the day to answer questions that may be asked or simply reply to comments so that customers see you engaging.

 

You might not have time to respond to every comment, but even a like here and there will go a long way. Also be sure to dedicate some time to answering private messages on these platforms. Not all interactions will be on your public page, but they are all equally as important. Engaging with others on social media is another great way to build confidence with your followers and potential customers.

4) Create Shareable Content

Posting at the perfect time of day and on the recommended schedule is great, but if you aren’t producing interesting content, your posts will go unnoticed. Even though you are a business, not all of your content has to be business-related. More often than not, it will be something that is completely unrelated to your business that will go viral and gain you a ton of followers and likes. Some ideas of things you can post on your social media pages include:

• Industry News and Information
• Product Information
• Infographics
• Tips and Advice
• Memes
• Holiday Posts
• Recipes
• Contest and Promotion Information
• Inspirational Quotes and Images
• Company Event Pictures
• Company News
• Customer Reviews
• Sharing Blog Posts

A great social media posting strategy will include a mix of these types of posts and others as well. Be creative and don’t be afraid to think a little outside the box when it comes to the things you post. Just be careful to avoid sensitive topics that may offend others.

5) Join and Participate in Industry-Related Social Groups

Social media platforms are full of groups related to your business. When building your follower-base, these social groups can be a great place to meet individuals and other industry professionals to connect with. Think of your target audience and demographic and start searching for groups that meet the criteria. Once you’ve found a few to join, be active and participate in conversations.

 

Many potential customers will join these groups looking for information. If you can be a resource for that information, you can build trust and confidence with customers and with the group as a whole. These groups will also attract other industry professionals like yourself. This opens up opportunities for potential referral partnerships as well.

 

Social media marketing can be one of the best sources of leads and traffic back to your website. Take some time to work on your profile and developing a sound posting strategy. The results will surely be worth the effort.

The post 5 Tips for Using Social Media to Drive Traffic to Your Website appeared first on 220 Social.