Before making this post I sent an email to my graphics department and asked for a whimsical image that played well with the content on this post. Here’s what they came up with:

Ok so maybe they had a bit too much fun with it, but it definitely makes the point!

(It seems that the title of this post guided the direction of their drawing)

Back to the point at hand, I was definitely impressed with how well Carl White has incorporated social media into a miniature online community. His approach is an example for the rest of us of what social media is all about.

It’s about having an audience. Think of it this way, when you speak who is listening? If you suddenly had the greatest loan program in the world, who would know about it? If your audience is small, then that means you have to work hard at “selling” as you don’t have a lot of ears waiting to hear what you have to say. But if your audience is ready built in the form of a responsive online community (Just like Carl built using FaceBook) then you don’t really have to ‘sell’ as much now do you?

There’s familiarity there, so you talk. You ask questions, you make comments, you make invitations… The people are listening, and sales become a by-product. Sure, salesmanship is still involved, but we’re no longer sinking or swimming based on cold calling.

I have immense respect for what Carl accomplished with social media, and he definitely deserves recognition for this. So for 2010, from the loan officer community to you Carl: “Congratulations, and thank you for the fine example you’ve set for the rest of us!”

Next on my list is those two crazy guys over at TBWS – Frank Garay and Brian Stevens… Is it just me, or did these guys come out of nowhere, and absolutely dominate the industry? What a wonderful example of how to use targeted information to build your audience! I’m not sure how many daily listeners/watchers TBWS currently has, but I seem to recall being quite impressed with the estimates they threw at me back in 2009. As we inch into 2011, I wouldn’t be surprised in the least to learn that they’ve doubled those numbers.

The formula? Good information, a great delivery system (Video), and a heaping helping of personality to make the information entertaining. Let’s face it people – Our industry can be dry, dull, and boring! Sure, related news may be interesting to us as this is out livelihood… But to outsiders, this stuff is a veritable snooze-fest!

However, Think Big Work Small is one of the only mortgage/real estate services I’ve personally witnessed where outsiders (Non-mortgage people) subscribed and regularly enjoy the show. In other words, the information is relevant, but spiced up in such a way that just about anyone can enjoy it!

This is what is often referred to as ‘info-tainment’. It’s informational in nature, and entertaining at the same time. This can be a difficult concept to master, as it requires a fine balance. Too much focus on entertainment, and your core message is lost. Too heavy handed with the information, and you risk overloading your recipients. Frank and Brian seem to have nailed down the right balance, and I applaud them for making such a splash in this industry. I look forward to their videos every morning.

So there you have it! Carl White and Think Big Work Small are my 2 picks for the Mortgage Marketing Heroes of 2010. I apologize if the tone of this post has been gushing, but I enjoy having the opportunity to point to wonderful examples of marketing gone right. Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, and Happy New Years to all of you. Make it a great one.

I admit it I poo-pood Twitter not that long ago. Dismissed it as yet another Internet rabbit hole down which one could piss hours of productivity. Until I started to notice it everywhere. No longer confined to a small group of nerds primarily in the SF Bay Area, Twitter was everywhere: TV shows, celebrities, speakers, regular joes… So obviously I was missing something.

And then came along Twitter Power, Joel Comm’s latest best seller. Twitter Power does a masterful job of explaining the size of the Twitter-tunity, sorry I couldn’t resist. Opportunity. And it’s big. Twitter Power not only explains in terms regular joes like me can understand, he does a terrific job of helping us understand where Twitter fits in the Social Media landscape, and how that landscape as a whole and specifically with Twitter can be used to grow communities (to whom we can sell to, learn from, and share with).

One of the exercises in the book is a strategy that puts you in front of OTHER Twitterer followers. The idea being that with such a large audience a number of them might be curious as to who you are IF you were mentioned by the Twitterer themselves. 4 hours after reading that, I was in front of 11,000+ people when @EzineArticles answered one of my (thoughtful) questions. Today I hit the mother load. I set as a goal the author Joel Comm himself to recognize me in one of his Tweets. Mission Accomplished! And yes, this resulted in a number of new followers (audience members) with whom I can sell to, learn from and share with.

If you are not already on Twitter. Get there. If you want to learn what to do once you get there? Get Joel Comm’s book Twitter Power. It’s one tenth of what I charge per hour and HE is the expert. So get the book, read it and DO it. But, for those of you who don’t like to read, or want to have a discussion about YOUR specific goals, by all means contact me at stefan@stefanlubinski.com to book an hour.

Stefan

Check this out, someone sent me this link of a long time loan officer being interviewed about going from 7 figure business to starting over. She definitely exposes some great stuff about some of the training and subscription sites we all know.I love it! Thanks for sharing Elise!

CLICK HERE FOR ENTIRE INTERVIEW

Stefan

Ok, so this has nothing to do with video marketing, but it COULD if you created a video about what I am about to share with you.

In fact, now that I say that – THIS IS a post about video marketing, because good video marketing has everything to do with the VALUE you are sending in the video. We talk a lot about WHAT to put in a video to keep them wanting more and how to avoid sending crap that results in your videos to cease being viewed, and the most consistent strategy is value.

NOT regurgitating the financial news as blasted out to thousands of loan officers and/or REALTORS but instead bringing timely, interestting and BRIEF useful information like I am about to do for you.

Ok, so back to why you are reading….

Several of my clients are in the credit restoration business and a recent conference call with some of the heavy hitters in the business revealed an astonishing new update to how the FICO score is computed.

Balance management – that is the practice of getting the “balance to available credit” (similar to ltv) below 50% and ultimately to below 30% for maximum benefit, “NO LONGER appears to improve the score” was the quote on the conference call. It was a common, and very simple way to get a few point increase in FICO score was to transfer balances accross cards, or pay down accross cards to get the balances below 50 and 30% of the available credit line. Another common practice if there was no room on other cards or no cash to pay balances down was to call the credit companies and request an increase in the available credit limit – which would result in an improved ratio and a better score. It appears this is NO LONGER the case.

I don’t have any more details than that, I am afraid. But this should give you something to investigate, validate and communicate to your partners, prospects and friends.

Stefan Lubinski

Lead generation is going to be the single most important issue in 2009 and you need to know what works TODAY not what worked from 2000-2006!

Forget those same, tired OLD speakers and trainers who put the SAME shows together year after year peddling the SAME OLD products and websites that MAKE THEM MONEY instead of you!!!

Oh and the cost for this 6 part Teleseminar series – NADA – ZILCH – BUBKES (for those that know yiddish) We are not charging one red cent! So register for FREE and get your pen ready to take notes.

Look, if you KNEW what to do you’d be DOING IT – so take the time (one hour a week) and join me as I run these experts through the ringer to find out what puts LEADS in your PIPELINE.

You can register right here: https://www.loansifter.com/teleseminarregistration.aspx

Just Do It!