To succeed as a local mortgage broker, you’ll need to have a firm grasp on marketing techniques that get to the heart of your local customer base.

We look at effective ways to expand your firm in local markets and ensure you get in front of people who need your services most.

Make time for community engagement

People moving within a specific area will find it easier to trust mortgage brokers that show a clear and genuine connection to their local community.

There are many ways you can make yourself seen and establish your services as part of the community. These can range from digital marketing initiatives like sharing and promoting local news stories online to sponsoring local events and sports teams.

When you’re able to make your brand visible in these elements of the local community, you’ll make it easier to keep it top-of-mind when anyone starts looking for services like yours.

Practise effective review management

Social proof can be a major influence on the success of any local mortgage broker.

As many of your clients are going to be checking reviews and testimonials before they even consider contacting you, you’ll need to do everything possible to maximise the visibility of positive feedback and mitigate the impact of negative reviews.

There are a few effective methods you can use to actively tip the ratio in your favour and maximise positive feedback, including:

Actively asking satisfied clients to consider leaving a review on a public channel.

Publicly responding to negative reviews if a certain situation needs clarification.

Displaying glowing testimonials on your website, social media profiles, and other online touchpoints.

Using platforms like Magic to collate data from different public review sites and manage ‘all your review platforms in one place’.

Though you can’t ensure that you get a glowing review every time, having a more active role in your online reviews can make a big difference to your prospects for attracting new business and expanding brand equity in your local market.

Employ local SEO strategies

Mortgage brokers looking to expand their marketing have a tendency to cast a wide net with search engine optimisation (SEO) and optimise their sites for the highest volume search terms with a fairly general appeal.

Suppose you try to move away from this and employ search marketing techniques that match your status as a local broker. In that case, you can gain more traction from your ideal customers in the local area and enjoy a greater return on investment from your marketing budget.

You could consider employing popular local SEO strategies such as:

Creating and optimising a Google Business Profile.

Using structured data to make it easier for Google to understand details of your offering through your website, such as your address and reviews relevant to your local area.

Publish highly localised content that’s optimised for people looking for local property-related news.

Invest in your email list

Buying a property is a big step, and people are likely to do a lot of window shopping for both properties and auxiliary services before they make any major decisions.

Email marketing can be a highly cost-effective way to keep an engaged audience up-to-date. One of the best ways to start building an email list is through an online lead magnet: a piece of digital content that people who might need your services would be interested in (e.g a buying guide or mortgage calculator), which is accessible in exchange for a subscription to your newsletter.

E-books, simple online tools, checklists can be great ways to start building your email list depending on the nuances of your ideal client. CRM provider Hubspot has a great guide to getting started with lead magnets to help you choose an option that’s right for you.

Lucy Cromwell is a specialist property writer