Strategies to Enhance Engagement using your Personal Brand

Learn how to create consistent marketing using your personal brand, and it to attract, connect and educate future homebuyers.

How to Win Big with First-Time Homebuyers During the Super Bowl
Brian Vieaux, President & Chief Operating Officer, FinLocker

7 Ways to Stay Engaged and Nurture Homebuyers After the Big Game
Brian Vieaux, President & Chief Operating Officer, FinLocker

How to Build Strong Community Relationships and Engagement Through Video Content
Brian Vieaux, President & Chief Operating Officer, FinLocker

Find Your Incentive
Jeremy Potter, Founder, Next Belt Strategies

 

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How to Win Big with First-Time Homebuyers During the Super Bowl

Brian Vieaux, President & COO, FinLocker

The Super Bowl has evolved beyond just a sporting event – it’s now a massive social media phenomenon. Over 50% of viewers will be actively engaged on their phones during the game, creating a prime opportunity to connect with potential homebuyers. With projections indicating significant increases in real-time engagement across platforms like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok, the 2025 Super Bowl presents an unprecedented opportunity to reach your target audience.

This year’s game is particularly significant, with

  • The Kansas City Chiefs, bringing the massive “Swiftie” demographic (last year, Taylor Swift mentions accounted for 5.6% of all Super Bowl social media activity)
  • The opportunity to connect and engage with diverse audiences
  • Peak social media engagement through short-form videos and live interactions
  • The unofficial start of the spring home buying season

Your Game Day Strategy

While Rocket is reportedly repositioning itself as the “Apple of homeownership,” and NerdWallet is using its Super Bowl debut to kick off conversations about healthy finances, you have something they don’t – local expertise.

Before the Game: Content Types to Prepare

  • Short videos about homebuying myths and facts
  • First-time homebuyer programs in your area
  • Credit improvement strategies
  • Success stories from recent first-time buyers
  • Common misconceptions about the mortgage process
  • Creative ways to save for a home purchase
  • Before-and-after scenarios of renters who became homeowners
  • Your agents’ virtual tours of affordable homes in your area
  • Budget planning templates for aspiring homeowners
  • Stories of existing homebuyers who bought a new home in the past 6 months
  • Infographics comparing monthly rent to potential mortgage payments in your local market
  • Local neighborhood insights and property values to highlight the housing market and the properties of your real estate agents in your area, especially if you’re licensed in Kansas City, Philadelphia and New Orleans
  • Schedule pre-written posts so they can quickly go live during key moments (pre-game, halftime, commercial breaks)
  • Set up themed hashtags combining local real estate terms with Super Bowl references

#HomefieldAdvantage[YourCity] – For posts about local market advantages
#TouchdownToHomeowner – Perfect for closing success stories
#ChiefsKingdomHomes[YourCity] or #EaglesNestHomes[YourCity] – Align with local team preference
#BrotherlyLove[YourCity]Homes – Playing on Philadelphia’s nickname
#KCtoHomeBase[YourCity] – Chiefs-themed local real estate
#SwiftlyToClosing – Capitalize on Taylor Swift’s attendance while highlighting quick closings
#FirstDownPayment – For first-time homebuyer content
#ChampionshipClosingsIn[YourCity] – Playing on the championship theme
#SuperBowlSundayOpenHouse – If hosting open houses during game day
#BigGameBigDreams[YourCity] – For inspirational homeownership content
#QuarterbackingYourMortgage – For mortgage guidance posts
#HomeBuyingMVP – For client success stories
#SuperMortgageSunday – For homebuying tips during the game

During the Game

  • Share real-time “Did You Know?” facts about homebuying during commercial breaks
  • Post mortgage calculator screenshots showing attainable monthly payments during halftime
  • Engage with local community hashtags and conversations
  • Run quick polls about home buying interests and concerns
  • Share “bite-sized” first-time homebuyer tips between plays
  • Respond promptly to any questions or comments about home financing
  • Create relatable content connecting game moments to homebuying journey milestones
  • Live-tweet reactions to mortgage-related commercials with your expert insights

After the Game

  • Follow up with everyone who engaged with your content during the game
  • Share a “Monday Morning Quarterback” analysis of mortgage rates and market conditions
  • Create a poll asking everyone to nominate their favorite ad
  • Launch a “Post-Game Game Plan” series about preparing for homeownership
  • Connect with local real estate agents to share leads and insights
  • Schedule consultations with engaged prospects while interest is high
  • Send personalized market updates to those who showed interest during the game
  • Create a “Highlight Reel” of your best homebuying tips from game day

Your Winning Advantage

Remember: While major lenders are spending millions on broad market awareness, you’re the local expert who can provide personalized guidance—not just flashy ads.

7 Ways to Stay Engaged and Nurture Homebuyers After the Big Game

Brian Vieaux, President & COO, FinLocker

If you followed my advice last week and created engaging social posts and videos to connect with first-time homebuyers watching the big game, you’ve likely generated interest and engagement. Now, it’s time to nurture those leads and guide them toward homeownership. Here are seven effective ways to stay engaged and keep them moving forward.

1. Personalized Follow-Up Messages

Don’t let the momentum fade! Reach out with a personalized message thanking them for engaging with your content. A simple email or DM saying, “Hey [Name], thanks for interacting with my post! Are you thinking about buying a home this year? I’d love to help you get started.” can go a long way in building rapport.

2. Fun Social Media Posts to Keep Engagement High

Engagement doesn’t always have to be serious! Keep your audience entertained while staying relevant with these ideas: Here are three fun ways to keep first-time homebuyers engaged on social media this week:

  • Game Day Throwback: Share a photo of your game-day food spread and ask your audience what their favorite dish was. Tie it back to homeownership by talking about hosting in their future home.
  • House Hunting Bingo: Create a fun bingo card or checklist featuring common homebuying experiences (e.g., “Found the perfect house online, then saw the price”,” “Saw a house with crazy wallpaper”). Encourage followers to share their experiences.
  • Dream Home Challenge: Post a question like, “If you could design your dream home, what’s the one feature you must have?” Engage with responses and offer practical advice on finding homes with those features.

3. Educational Content That Answers Their Questions

First-time buyers often have a lot of questions about the homebuying process. Share valuable content like short videos, infographics, or blog posts explaining mortgage basics, down payment assistance programs, and the importance of credit scores to keep them engaged. By providing answers, you establish yourself as a trusted resource.

For short videos, consider:

  • Credit Tips: Share quick tips on improving credit scores and common mistakes to avoid.
  • Down Payment Assistance: Highlight local and national programs available to first-time buyers.
  • Step-by-Step Homebuying Process: Walk through the key stages of buying a home, from pre-approval to closing.
  • Affordability Insights – Compare rent vs. mortgage payments in your local market.
  • Debunk Common Mortgage Myths: Address misconceptions like “You need 20% down to buy a home” or “Pre-qualification means guaranteed approval.”
  • Mortgage Basics: Explain different loan types (FHA, VA, USDA, Jumbo and Conventional) in 60-second clips.
  • Local First-Time Buyer Programs – Highlight grants, down payment assistance, and financing options.

4. Leverage Social Proof and Success Stories

People trust recommendations and real-life success stories. Share testimonials from past first-time homebuyers you’ve helped, or post stories of buyers who recently achieved homeownership. Seeing others succeed can motivate your leads to take action.

5. Host a Virtual Homebuyer Q&A Session

Now that you’ve captured their interest, invite your new leads to a casual, live Q&A session on on whichever social platform they connected with you on. Discuss common first-time buyer concerns, provide an brief overview of the current market, tips on improving credit and saving for a down payment, and answer their specific questions in real time. This creates a sense of community and allows you to build deeper relationships.

6. Use FinLocker’s KeySteps to Nurture Leads

The KeySteps app provides a comprehensive financial fitness platform that helps potential buyers prepare for homeownership. With tools to track credit, manage savings, and understand mortgage readiness, KeySteps keeps your leads engaged and progressing toward their goal. Invite consumers to get your KeySteps as a call-to-action on social media and in the invitation to your homebuyer Q&A session or workshop webinar so you can stay engaged as they get mortgage-ready.

7. Stay Engaged with FinLocker

If you would like more practical marketing tactics and collateral, subscribe to KeySteps. If you’re a loan officer with one of our enterprise lenders, take full advantage of your private-labeled FinLocker app to engage and nurture your leads effectively!

 

 

How to Build Strong Community Relationships and Engagement Through Video Content

Brian Vieaux, President & COO, FinLocker

Building authentic connections with your online and regional community is key to long-term success as a mortgage loan originator. Video content enables you to showcase expertise, foster trust, and engage audiences meaningfully.

Here are five video strategies with 18 video ideas to help you build stronger relationships with homebuyers, homeowners and referral partners in your market.

 

1. Captivating Prospective Clients

Myth-Busting Mortgage Videos: Create short, engaging clips that debunk common mortgage myths. For example, explain alternatives to a 20% down payment or how mortgage interest rates are determined. Use relatable language to simplify complex topics and position yourself as an accessible expert.

Interactive Poll Videos: Post videos with polls or quizzes about mortgage facts, homeownership trends, or loan options. Encourage viewers to engage by voting and commenting.

Storytelling Testimonials: Go beyond traditional borrower testimonials by weaving compelling success stories that resonate emotionally with potential clients. For example, you can explain a financial hurdle the customer had and how you worked together to overcome it to qualify for a mortgage and buy a home.

Loan Journey Series: Develop a video series that follows the home-buying journey of a real borrower (with permission). Showcase key steps, decisions, and milestones to educate and inspire future homeowners.

 

2. Strengthening Bonds with Existing Clients

Milestone Celebration Videos: Congratulate your borrowers on home anniversaries, mortgage payoffs, or refinance completions with personalized video messages.

Proactive Market Insight Clips: Send personalized videos when rates drop or new programs become available, demonstrating your proactive support.

Homeownership Tips Series: Share home maintenance tips, for example, how to change the filter in your HVAC unit, tax deduction advice for your state, reminders to apply for homestead exemption, if that’s an option in your state, and other helpful content to stay connected post-closing.

 

3. Amplifying Community Engagement

Neighborhood Spotlights: Showcase local neighborhoods with videos highlighting parks, schools, restaurants, and attractions. Collaborate with local businesses for cross-promotion for their events, giving away a gift certificate for dinner or brunch if they like the post and follow you and the business’ Instagram.

Community Insider Series: Demonstrate your local expertise by interviewing home inspectors, owners of renovation businesses, and garden and pool maintenance, to foster a sense of community and provide homebuyers and homeowners with reputable services.

Charity and Event Coverage: Capture videos of you participating in local charity events or community projects to illustrate your commitment to giving back.

“Hidden Gems” Tours: Create videos uncovering lesser-known local spots, adding a fun and informative twist to your community-based content.

 

4. Establishing Authority and Thought Leadership

Weekly Mortgage Market Snapshots: Post concise, digestible updates on interest rate trends, lending programs, and industry changes. These videos can also be sent to real estate agents and other referral partners in your network to strengthen those relationships.

Collaborative Expert Series: Partner with real estate agents, financial advisors, and home inspectors for interviews that offer a holistic view of the homeownership journey.

Ask Me Anything Sessions: Host live video sessions to answer audience questions about mortgages and homeownership, showcasing your expertise in real time.

Behind-the-Scenes Glimpses: Offer a sneak peek into your work process, highlighting the dedication and care behind every transaction.

 

5. Maximizing Online Impact

Video Email Campaigns: Incorporate videos into email communications for a more personalized touch. Use tools like BombBomb which makes it easy to track engagement and display a still from the video in the email which links directly to the video for the recipient to watch.

Social Media Challenges and Reels: Launch challenges like “#MortgageMythMonday” or “#HomebuyerTipTuesday” to spark interaction and encourage user-generated content.

Interactive Webinars: Host free webinars on topics like “First-Time Homebuyer Essentials” or “Investment Property Insights,” promoting them through short teaser videos.

By embracing these creative video strategies, you can foster stronger relationships, boost engagement, and establish yourself as a go-to mortgage professional in your community. Remember, authenticity and consistency are crucial – so let your genuine passion for helping homeowners shine through every video you create.

 

Find Your Incentive

Jeremy Potter, Founder, Next Belt Strategies

First-time homebuyers have an incentive to buy a house. For some, it is quite traditional. The financial incentives of earning home equity and potentially generational wealth work for many buyers. For others, it is practical. The ability to control improvements or personalize their home. A larger backyard to finally get that dog or another dog or a couple of cats. We’ve all heard that more and more Millennials are buying homes because of their dog. My point is that you do not need to share the same motivation as your customers to understand what their incentives might be. Certainly, identifying their reasons for wanting to become a homeowner is an important step in earning their trust and then their business.

What about your incentive to work with them?

If you ask most mortgage pros, or even if you don’t because many will just volunteer it, they will say “Seeing someone achieve homeownership is why I do my job” (or some variation of that). It is a job, though. Making a living is also an important motivation. We know that often those are in conflict. Look, it’s not a major conflict, not a dealbreaker, but working with someone for a long time before they are ready for homeownership is expensive. There are other loans and other people you could be helping in the time it takes you to work with someone who is not ready.

It is now well-known that first-time homebuyers are waiting longer and longer to afford homeownership. It is not just about later in life either. Once someone starts shopping, it also takes more offers before they are likely to go under contract. This can be true for move-up and downsizing clients as well. The average age of the US homeowner is now 58 years old. It takes longer to afford a home, and that means you are in it longer, too.

Longer, longer, longer is a rough theme for mortgage pros who are paid on commission. No matter the extra passion and inspiration that comes with helping people achieve the American Dream, the incentives are working against you.

This means you have to figure out your own incentives…for now.

This is critical because it always takes companies longer to catch up to the trends than those on the front lines. You are on the front lines of these home purchase trends. You will have to turn lemons into lemonade, if you know what I mean. At some point, we will restructure industry incentives. It’s inevitable now. Mortgage pros will be able to work with first-time home buyers longer and longer prior to the home purchase without fear of not getting paid in the meantime or losing the lead later on. We are not there yet; you need to address this inconsistency with personal branding and tools. The incentive is to help people for as long as it takes to become ready on their terms. The disincentive is cost and fear of losing the client once they are finally ready to buy.

Make your own incentives: Merge brand and tools

Celebrate slow. Take credit for the time you spend with your purchase clients. While it does not result in immediate compensation, it is an investment not only in that customer but also in all the referrals and future business you’ll generate. Yes, everyone says this, so how do you take credit? Refinance celebrates turn times. Literally, how little we worked with someone. Purchase should celebrate partnership. Advertise how long your client has been your client.

Outsource time management. Yes, this is a FinLocker-produced newsletter and so it makes sense to mention FinLocker, I suppose. The reality is that incubation and nurturing – weird but applicable words – are more important than ever, and there are not a lot of tools out there. Use the tools and provide feedback to help the providers of these first-time homebuyer tools improve. We know it’s all about trust. Leverage technology to support the customer, ease your cost burden and build trust. This is how to streamline the cost of time.

Scale your brand. Increasingly, the combination of personal brand + technology is allowing subject matter experts like you to create the AI version that can actually assist you. We know chatbots and FAQ “look-ups” powered by AI are becoming ubiquitous. For years, we talked about how you cannot scale a person. With AI, it’s becoming increasingly likely that we’ll be able to scale a person. Most mortgage pros are in some version of doubt or denial. At the same time, tech companies are getting better and better at creating you digitally. This would allow for personal brand connection AND lower cost engagement. You can own this tech before your lender does.

Find ways to fund your strategy. The old Hollywood cliche was “two for them, one for me.” If two movies are commercial-focused, one can be a passion project. No reason we cannot look at leads and your valuable time in a similar way. This is not a recommendation to ignore the realities of the current incentive structure. This is an encouragement that there are more and more ways to make it work. For you, for first-time homebuyers.

A mentor once said to me, “Show me your incentives and I’ll show you the outcomes.” The current incentive structure values speed and efficiency over all else. Trust is time-consuming and expensive. As tech improves and scales, you can be on the front edge of adoption. This will make you more resilient as a sales professional AND serve customers in new, important ways. Embrace the incentives and enjoy the lemonade.