It's often said by both economists and historians that tough times breed innovative ideas. An interview with Harvard Business School Professor Clayton M. Christensen that ran in the Wall Street Journal last year reinforced this train of thought. Christensen told the Journal that in an environment where people have to push innovations out the door fast and keep the cost of innovation low, the probability of success is much higher than if the people have more time and more money.
This theory could help explain why many brokers - a lot of whom are also independent business owners - have turned to the Internet for marketing purposes of late, taking advantage of the immediacy of blogs and social media. Brokers have also looked for ways to connect more effectively with their clients and referral sources, going back to basics (i.e. face-to-face networking) when leads aren't as plentiful as in times past.
Although the economy appears to be on the upswing for 2010, Christensen's lesson is a good one to refer back to as people wait for things to return to "normal." It's a reminder that even when times are good, there is always room to evaluate, improve and, of course, innovate. Below, we look at different ways brokers have kept on top of their businesses without breaking the bank, showing that even small efforts can turn into something great. We hope these ideas help spark some of your own for the New Year.
Blog for business
While it used to be that not having a website put you behind the times - and, don't get us wrong, it still does - having a blog is now practically a prerequisite for a great website. On top of that, it's a gateway to social media, the current buzzword of online marketing.
For Rowan Smith, a broker with The Mortgage Centre in Vancouver, B.C., blogging has led to more than a few referrals. After taking a "blog guru" course offered by ReachD.com, an online marketing training company, Smith began posting regularly and estimates close to 30 per cent of his recent business has come from his blog. What are his secrets to success? He updates content frequently and creates posts that are both relevant and keyword-search friendly, for which he spends about three hours a week on.
"You have to adopt an 'if you build it they will come' attitude and make sure you're blogging about topics people care about or that they're searching for," says Smith, who makes sure to vary the length of his posts, with some short comments on news stories and other in-depth explanations.
For post ideas, Smith simply looks at client questions, especially ones on lesser-known topics. A recent example was a phone call he took about vendor takeback mortgages. He says the conversation got him "fired up," so he decided to film a short video with his point of view on the subject for his blog. Smith also posts his videos on YouTube and adds that video content helps his site's Google searchability.
Other ways Smith optimizes his blog for business includes adding keyword tags, putting his name on all posts to encourage a "call to action" from readers and taking a personal, not formulaic or recycled content, approach to writing.
"The bottom line is that you have to produce your own content," he says. "I am my own business and I'm the guy who writes the articles. I don't think a blog works well any other way."
Embrace social media
Along with the blogs, Twitter was another online marketing trend that grew in both size and influence in 2009. The site is estimated to have reached close to 18 million users, and judging from CMP's Twitter (@CMPmagazine) following, many brokers and other industry players have embraced the social media tool.
One broker who is actually gaining clients through Twitter is Paul Sidhu, who has more than 2,500 followers on both of his pages, @PaulSidhu and @TorontoMortgage.
"Through the knowledge I've provided on Twitter, I find I have a lot of people calling me and talking to me about their situations and looking for solutions," says Sidhu, who works at KTX Financial in Toronto. He gives the example of a post about mortgage penalties and interest rate differential, a hot topic over the past year.
Other topics Sidhu posts (or "tweets") include rate changes, specials and general housing and mortgage news that links back to his website, where he puts up news roundups once a week. He also sends a weekly e-newsletter that links back to Twitter and includes his phone number and website link on most posts - something he says get him at least one lead a week.
"The whole thing about Twitter is interaction, so if you can start building a relationship with someone, they'll refer you to someone else and gradually people start telling other people about you," says Sidhu.
"It's almost like I'm not working anymore on Twitter. I'm just keeping up relationships and letting other people do the work for me."
Along with his weekly news roundups, Sidhu keeps a Facebook page and creates tools for homebuyers on his website. One recent tool was a closing costs checklist, something particularly relevant to first-time buyers. Sidhu says the document, which is available in a PDF format, gets close to 20 downloads a day.
Another popular article on his site is titled "The top nine ways to improve your credit score," which he posted on Twitter to great click results.
Go to page: 1 2