Social media is a lucrative investment, online creators say

Before loan officer James Dinh began making industry-related content on TikTok, he dreaded the process of finding clients. The LoanLock LO said most of his Realtor partners came from cold-calling or attending open houses, feeling like he was "fishing for business all the time."

He created his platform to spread education using his colorful personality, and months later, business began flowing in. After learning how to film and edit himself, he now has over 38,000 followers on TikTok. He's part of a community of loan officers where some creators have audiences of over one million viewers. 

National Mortgage News sat down with Dinh and some of the other loan officers in this community to discuss their strategies for developing an audience and translating online engagement into loan closings. 

The analytics on these creators' social media platforms show that their viewership is made up of people ranging from ages 20 to 45.

Jordan Nutter, a loan officer for NFM lending and content creator on TikTok, said as the age of the average first-time homebuyer continues to increase, her content appeals to those prospective first-time buyers as well as a younger audience to prepare them for homeownership early. 

These creators went to TikTok for different reasons, but mainly to educate prospective clients. Some decided to stick with it after starting with low expectations and finding that audiences craved their advice. Others saw an opportunity to share knowledge on their passion in a unique way while being new to the industry. They now have anywhere from a year to four years of experience making content. 

"A lot of content has transitioned into more educational content, because of the market itself," Nutter said. "Not everybody wants to just watch people dance, they want to understand 'How can I make this dream of mine a reality?'"

Here are their strategies: 

Be genuine, and unique 

These lenders' most popular TikTok videos have several things in common, but boil down to two things: simplicity and authenticity. 

They have low production value. Andrew Russell, the creator of RCG Mortgage based in Long Island, spent a lot of time brainstorming complex ideas for content that often got few views after posting. His most successful videos are of him sitting at a desk, black Sharpie in hand, breaking down what loans a hypothetical couple with an average income could qualify for. The best videos, he said, are educational and infuse the loan officer's personality. 

These loan officers also talk to the camera as if they are talking to a friend. This builds trust over time, and they reported receiving messages from viewers saying they appreciate the simplicity of their teaching and have followed their advice for years. 

"You have to be upfront with the audience," Dinh said. "They crave information and what is real, and they can sense really quick if you're just trying to sell them." 

Like any form of media, the creator only has a few seconds to grab the viewer's attention. These creators saw success by finding entertaining content strategies that get their point across quickly. They use the same strategies to market themselves on multiple social media platforms, such as Instagram Reels, where they often cross-post videos they made on TikTok for more engagement.

Rebecca Richardson, aka The Mortgage Mentor on TikTok, has over 140,000 followers on TikTok. One of her most popular videos is about what she would do if she had a second chance to buy her first house. She said videos like that allow the audience to learn from her on a personal level while also seeing that she's an expert in the field. 

Nutter found a simple yet unique way to present much of her content in which she reenacts phone calls with clients. She makes videos about scenarios that have come up in the mortgage process with past clients, something few service-industry content creators were doing when she started in 2021. Another popular video explained misconceptions about consumers' credit scores. 

Community 

Marketing yourself as a loan officer on a nationwide scale comes with its caveats – you can't help everyone. These loan officers told NMN that they frequently get messages from consumers outside of their licensed states saying they'd like to work with them. They handle this by either passing them off to another officer who works for their lender or referring them to another content creator. 

Nutter is the vice president of NFM Lending's Creator Collective and sports over 300,000 followers on TikTok. The Collective began as a way for loan originators to advise each other on how to make social media content and grow a following. She said many potential clients will come to her seeking a mortgage, and if they are in a state where she is not licensed, she will pass them off to another NFM lender who may not be in front of the camera. 

Richardson met her business partner through TikTok. They decided to team up having never met each other in person after connecting through their content. Most of her client referrals to other loan officers come from TikTok, partially because they are easily accessible. 

"I have to be efficient with my time and social media, for a long time, has been part of my business for that reason, because it allows me to stay in contact and in front of a lot of people when I don't maybe necessarily have the physical time to devote to that," Richardson said.

Having such a close look into a stranger's practices and advice as a loan officer allows her to make informed decisions when referring clients as well. Through their content, she can gauge whether their client would be in good hands. 

"I am protective of these people because we have a huge responsibility," Richardson said. "This is their home, this is their money, and not all loan officers bring that level of, I think, awareness of that responsibility."

Richardson said she likes to refer viewers to "other people that are like me around the country" who are often other content creators who she's grown to trust.

"It's not like I'm doing something special. It's just that I care enough to educate them, not sell them, not manipulate them, not force them, not take advantage of them, all those things," she said.

Russell described the community on TikTok as a "band of brothers," a group of highly skilled loan officers who refer clients to each other if they aren't licensed in a certain state. With his company RCG Mortgage specializing in New York, he said many creators refer clients to him because of that advantage. 

"The whole goal is that the consumer has a great mortgage process and is able to get the American dream," Russell said. "So if we can do that, it's just good in general."

Long-term investment 

These creators all stressed that generating a following on social media is no quick task, and it's another waiting game to generate leads. 

Dinh said he spends a lot of time answering messages from viewers asking him to walk them through certain processes or how to qualify for a loan. Many times, these viewers are not yet ready to start the mortgage process. They are exploring and weighing hypothetical options. 

Six months down the line, however, those same viewers often come back to the creator, having built up trust and knowledge of what they can expect, and decide they want to work with them. The viewer will refer content to a friend and provide that creator with a lead. 

"How do you help out people that currently own a home? You do videos like, 'This is how you pay off your mortgage early,'" Dinh said. 

That kind of advice doesn't necessarily build business immediately, but it does "serve the community and build an audience."

When people do reach out to the creator, it can be in the form of a direct message, but it is often done through links on the creator's page. Many loan officers on TikTok allow viewers to set up introductory meetings or fill out a quick form with their contact information and goals, all without ever leaving the app. 

A reality check, regulation and risks

Tens of thousands of loan officers left the industry in 2023, according to data from InGenius. Creators said they've seen peers in the industry start making online content in hopes of closing loans and stop after not immediately growing a following.

They also may not be properly consulting with their company on their strategies in line with the fact that marketing through social media is a regulated practice.

That's becoming increasingly important given a potential U.S. ban of TikTok related to allegations its China-based owner could share sensitive user information with that country's government or allow it to be used as a vehicle for misinformation, something the company has denied.

Other countries have banned TikTok, but the U.S. has said it won't if a sale to a buyer it's more comfortable with take place. The possibility that access to TikTok could be cut off is a risk worth considering given that the timeline for generating leads through it can be a long one.

"I'm constantly thinking of content, and it sucks because it's a long game you have to play," Dinh said. "You can't just think that every video is going to go viral, and you can't think that people are just going to want to follow you. It takes a while, and sometimes they flop, and someone else creates the same video and it goes viral, and you're like, 'How come no one's loving me?' It's a big ego thing." 

At the same time, these creators said that even if a lender sticks to making content for a year, they will still not see success if the audience feels they are trying to sell them. 

"They're trying to get on there and sell, and it's (actually) like, get on there and be yourself," Richardson said. "Social media is hard because it's kind of an act of vulnerability. If I'm myself, will you like me? And that takes a little bit of time to get to that point, but part of the reason that it is so powerful is because they really get to know you, and you're not a commodity, you're not a vendor." 

It's also important to be posting consistently. There is no magic number of posts that draws an audience, they said, but posting helpful content a few times a week over six months will likely draw attention.

Richardson started posting content in late 2019 with no intention of developing a following, but by the summer of 2020, she realized she needed to have more intention behind her platform after hitting her first follower milestones. 

"It's small things over an extended amount of time," Richardson said. "But people are like, 'Well, that's hard,' Okay, pick your hard. The business is hard. Would you not rather do it on your terms or just do the same things that apparently aren't working?"

These creators stressed that if generating leads from social media were quick and easy, every loan officer would be doing it. Russell, however, is a firm believer that social media, often viewed as an extra task and a project put on the back burner, is now a requirement for being successful in the industry. 

"Focus on the 'likes,' not just the 'must-haves' – work on the business, not in the business," Russell said. "That's really what we're trying to focus on." 

Narrowing down the audience 

Dinh told NMN that his specialties are in California real estate and down payment assistance. While offering advice that applies on a nationwide scale, he also seeks to target specific viewers in need of that area of assistance. 

He will sometimes post videos showcasing homes for sale in California or clarifying information on DPA so that he can be viewed as the "industry expert" in those areas. 

"The wide net will help you grow in terms of followers, but then you have to sometimes drop those (more specific) videos," Dinh said. "Inevitably, the algorithm sometimes just leads you to the right audience."

Richardson said she doesn't have to chase clients because she knows which ones she would be a great fit for and which loan types she specializes in. While she tries to help everyone, she also makes content around more specific housing markets and loans. 

"When I make content around that, people who can fit that avatar see that and they're like  'Oh, she's a perfect fit for me.' Then they're initiating it. They're coming to me," Richardson said. 

"They already know me, my delivery. They've already educated themselves."

It also helps her adjust her marketing quickly as the business cycle moves into new phases, she added.

Pivoting with the market 

These loan officers allow their audience to guide her content, a strategy Russell described as "reverse engineering."

It's easy for a mortgage professional to forget what the average person doesn't know, and using audience reactions helps her find ideas for content that will be useful to them and overcome the "curse of knowledge," she said. 

"It's a good understanding of where buyer sentiment is right now," Richardson said. "If you listen to what people are saying in your comments, if you listen to the questions that they're asking, it helps."

Dinh keeps a finger on the pulse of misconceptions consumers have about industry developments, and provides clarification on them that he said has led videos to virality. His most popular video explained who qualifies for California's "Dream For All" shared appreciation loan. Over the course of a month, the traction from that video generated him "hundreds of leads." 

In the current market, it's not as easy for loan officers to close loans. Potential homeowners have little to no incentive to buy or refinance, and creators' content helps them navigate through their concerns. 

"As home values have increased, people want to find ways to use their equity, pay off debt, purchase an investment property, whatever they want to do, but they don't want to refinance," Richardson said.

In some cases this could lead to the development of content about home equity lines of credit or cash-out refinances that may help borrowers determine whether these might be the options for them, he said.

"I might give them a different perspective, and because I gave them a different perspective, they might want to learn more from me," Richardson said.