Creating a personal brand online and producing content on social media are essential parts of the daily routine of a broker or loan originator. But how can you make your online communication more efficient and turn your marketing efforts into deals?
Jacob Gaffney, co-founder of Gaffney Austin and former editor-in-chief of HousingWire, answers this question in any interview on the AD Mortgage YouTube channel. Together with Jerry Byers, they discuss personal branding, LinkedIn marketing, content creation, public relations, and the role of AI in professional communication.
How to Build a Personal Brand: Broker Strategy
According to a NAR report, social media is the top source of high-quality leads for nearly 40% of real estate agents. Even more brokers and mortgage professionals – 60.5%, according to AD Mortgage’s Technology in Mortgage study – plan to implement technologies, including AI tools, into their marketing and lead generation in the future.
To build a personal brand, mortgage professionals should be present online and produce content. However, posting regularly is not enough – the ideas and value you deliver matter.
‘This is where many people fail. Thay want to copy, they pay for books, they listen to podcasts, but the execution requires an extra jump. It is extremely difficult for an individual to make that jump. Looking at your community might be the right way to finding the answers.’
A personal brand often begins with creating and developing a LinkedIn profile. But what are the next steps?
‘Move in like-minded circles, identify your allies. Believe it or not, your competitors might be your allies – some of the best relationships that I have are with my competitors.’
Some things never change, and being among people with the same attitude is one of them. Creating your circle of influence, building relationships, and engaging people in communication is where marketing starts.
I am Bad at Writing and Creating Content. What to Do?
Whether you have blank-page syndrome or so many ideas that you don’t know where to start, do not despair – writing is a skill that can be developed pretty quickly.
‘Turn off your spell check and write an email. Go back and read it out loud to make sure that it flows. Turn on the spell check. Did you have any errors? One thing that will dismiss a good message is glaring errors for the reader.’
Meaningful communication starts with small touchpoints like a well-written email or a good phone call. Jacob outlines how important it is for LOs to master communication skills:
‘Understand your audience and how to connect with them. Listen to them. Don’t just chase stated goals, because communication is more than an art, more than a science.’
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What Works for Social Media? Spoiler: You Need Personal Content
The most common broker question regarding social media is, ‘What should I post?’ Indeed, developing a content strategy can be challenging. Jacob shares an easy-to-implement plan for 10 posts per month:
‘Five posts must be something relevant that you read about in the industry – for example, post the rates with the link to the Freddie Mac report and your one-sentence comment to it. Three posts should be original – review your emails and share something useful from that. Two posts must be personal – a picture of your cat or a photo of the family can be touching and gratifying.’
The last part usually faces the biggest resistance from brokers and LOs.
‘In the mortgage industry, people tend to keep business and pleasure separate. But it does not work for algorithms or for the state of media today. Put your life out there just a little bit more – that is by far the hardest part for the people in this industry to do.’
AI in Written Communication: How to Get Started
AI in relation to content creation – particularly the written word – is a great way for people who want to get started but do not know how to get started,’ says Jacob, reflecting on how technology can be used in broker communication.
However, he suggests using AI carefully and remaining reasonably skeptical:
‘AI can help you create content, but does it put meaning into the relationship you create? Is it going to give you message consistency? Yes. But is it your message?’
AI is all over the place in recent years. AD Mortgage conducted the Human Skills in an AI Word study, analyzing responses from more than 300 mortgage professionals. The research found that 82% of respondents think relationship building and communication are key drivers of future success. Technology and AI take second place, with over 58% of professionals naming them among the most important skills for a broker in 2027.
To get the most value from AI chats, Jacob advises users to ask questions rather than tell AI what to do:
‘You can drop your email into ChatGPT and ask, ‘Is this a good answer?’ Then it will start thinking with you. That is where it works best on the individual level.’
However, simply asking AI a one-sentence question is insufficient. To receive valuable, thoughtful replies, brokers need to provide context for the chat. We have simplified this process for you and created five prompts that will help you save time and get better results from using AI chatbots. These prompts are made for improving marketing operations:
- Creating texts and pictures for social media posts
- Asking for reviews and building a reputation
- Creating LikedIn profile descriptions
- Developing email marketing and keeping leads warm
