Finware has leveraged our eight (8) years of experience providing website solutions to our clients and identified the Top 8 Online Engagement strategies that you can use on your website. We even included a bonus suggestion!

1. Produce OR Source Great Quality Content: become a knowledge centre. Customers prefer quality over quantity and they will appreciate your business more if your content always provides value in some way.

Options include downloadable Property Reports, Homebuyers Guide, Checklist of Purchasing a Property, Website Calculators, News Articles.

2. Keep it Simple: Basic is better, and use clear information. You don’t need to invest large sums of money creating a complex site. The basic pages done well will provide the right solution for your business. Select 4-5 pages that look concise and then go-live. Don’t forget to use short paragraphs - nobody wants to battle a wall of text.

3. That there is a real business behind it: If you are a small mortgage broker, the best thing you can do is not pretend you are large multinational. Allow your site to look like a small business.

Talk about your family holiday (limit to a max 1/3) or your interests and show your real personality. Recommend that you use your photos, rather than stock photos ie: you and your team at your desk on the Contact Page.

4. Provide Information to Customers that is Relevant: A Mortgage Broking website should include Mortgage Broking information, along with related partners or services. Don’t be afraid to link to other sites, such as the industry ombudsman, industry magazines or industry bodies.

Consider sharing an interesting article on your website using a Content Management System (CMS). The CMS allows you to load up new content to your site without the need for a web developer. You can then extract customer emails from iLend™ and send an Electronic Direct Marketing (EDM) campaign where your email includes a summary along with links to the article which is on your website.

5. Be Social: Engage with clients on email and social media channels. Social media allows you to quickly interact with customers and answer simple questions or queries. When linked to your website, social media can also encourage customers to look at other pages on your website.

Responding to blogs or industry articles can also help build credibility. Forward relevant articles to your clients’ emails, respond immediately to online customer feedback, including thanking them for a compliment or quickly addressing any issues to show others that you are on top of business. CAVEAT: Only engage in social media if you do it regularly ie: daily.

6. Utilise Search: Make sure that you can be found on the internet. Our industry is extremely difficult to achieve 1st page Google search rankings, but you should aim to be found when someone knows your business name, or par there of. Google optimisation will ensure that your business is still easily found.

Social Media is also a good way to get your website out there. Simply setting up Facebook Places for your business, so people can register that they were in your office, or use LinkedIn to promote your business.

7. Integrate your channels: Include links to your website and social profiles (Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn) on all correspondence to clients, referrers and other associates. Why not include your website and Facebook link on your email signature and business cards?

8. Currency: Nothing screams ‘unprofessionalism’ more than outdated or old content on sites. Worse still, you may look like you are out of business. If you have been doing your own newsletter or have ceased using an old provider, simply remove the page rather than continue to show old content.

When you do outsource your website solutions, don’t ‘set and forget’ also. Make sure that your clients aren’t the ones that tell you, that your links are broken - make the effort to check your site every month.

Ways to keep your site interactive include the Finware Rate Ticker, Finware Weekly News articles.

9. Be consistent with branding:  Think about what your message is and ensure it is reflected across your traditional and digital marketing channels. This includes consideration for your branding on all emails, websites, business cards and letter heads as well as the choice of font used in all these mediums.

Contact the Finware team to discuss how we can help your online presence.