How many times have you seen fantastic media coverage of other mortgage lenders and servicers and thought, “What would it take to get us quoted, too?”
It’s an important question to ask right now. At a time of intense competition, a succession of articles and blogs about a business, combined with broadcast interviews, can elevate a company’s visibility and position it as an industry leader.
This kind of implied endorsement is invaluable for growing your reputation in a way that often generates new leads and prospects. During times of adversity, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, public relations practitioners saw the difference PR makes between companies maintaining their strength or fading away. As the mortgage industry continues to struggle, being consistently visible and searchable gives companies a critical advantage.
“Attaining effective publicity is not that easy for a simple reason. You can’t buy great coverage from reputable media; you have to earn it.”
Attaining effective publicity is not that easy for a simple reason. You can’t buy great coverage from reputable media; you have to earn it. Indeed, journalists and bloggers are pummeled all day long with story and product pitches. If they choose to write about a particular company, that’s automatically a signal to their audiences that this is a business worth knowing about — one of the few they selected from that pitch pile.
So how does a lender, broker or servicer begin a public relations program that convinces highly selective journalists to give them attention? First, they should step back and consider the state of their business.
What are their top goals? Whom do they need to reach in new ways in order to achieve them? Should they be concentrating mostly on borrowers? Mortgage brokers? Realtors? Builders and developers? Financial advisers? Public relations should be very focused and strategic and integrate with other marketing/sales tactics for the best return on investment.
Delicate choreography
Another, larger question these companies should ask is: “Are we beginning PR with a strong brand that sets us apart?” Public relations, like all forms of marketing, is not a cookie-cutter initiative. The best PR and marketing programs begin with frank introspection.
Businesses should understand what their strengths are in the larger community’s eyes, and what they’re not. This rigorous analysis will help them build powerful, memorable brands that ring true in any economic environment, regionally or nationally, and will resonate with journalists as well.
With that foundation in place, it’s time to consider the PR process, which is a delicate choreography because of journalists’ unique role. When companies initiate a public relations program, they are seeking to advance their marketing goals. But unlike with social media or email marketing, where they’re reaching their audiences directly, this time they’re communicating through intermediaries (journalists). That requires an entirely different approach.
After all, journalists are not a mortgage company’s marketing arm and never will be. Their obligation is to provide objective, balanced, accurate and in-depth information to their readers, visitors, viewers and listeners. They need excellent corporate PR sources so that they can stay on top of the latest developments within their coverage areas (such as the mortgage industry, real estate, personal finance or general consumer features). Those sources who can keep them up to date with interesting, value-added information will win their attention.
Understanding this mindset, mortgage companies can still advance their brands while providing journalists with what they require. Having a set of messages that underlie every interview, press release or contributed piece is a way to help ensure consistent corporate positioning in the context of whatever media are covering.
Generate buzz
What kinds of tactics will serve mortgage lenders and servicers well on their PR journey? For one, find a different way to make news. A steady stream of press releases — on new leaders, new products and services, etc. — can help keep a mortgage company in the forefront.
So can more creative releases, such as milestone releases (summarizing several months of impact), viewpoint releases (advancing advice in release form), and case study releases (showing concrete results of a recent initiative).
Media may not publish every single release. Still, they give companies a reason to follow up with journalists, find out what they are currently working on and offer themselves as sources. Businesses should post each release on their website and consider supplementing distribution through a paid wire service to make this content even more searchable and sharable.
When news breaks — be it a change in interest rates, or a downturn or upturn in homebuying or valuations — be confidently proactive about contacting media who are covering the trends with additional insights. Be aware that in these cases, media publish news as it happens and minutes can make the difference in being included or not.
Tell stories
Embrace guest article, blog and op-ed invitations. Having an opportunity to contribute a guest piece is a win-win for everyone. It provides editors with valuable content and enables companies to share their insights without being charged for advertising to accomplish the same objective. It’s helpful to pitch topics before writing to ensure alignment with editors’ immediate needs, and to understand their content/style guidelines.
“Embrace guest article, blog and op-ed invitations. Having an opportunity to contribute a guest piece is a win-win for everyone.”
And treat PR as part of a larger network-building strategy. For example, combining media relations with speaker pitching and an awards program can open other opportunities — introducing a business and its principals to a new crop of prospects and influencers, offering more public relations material (e.g., upcoming speaking engagements or award news) and sometimes offering the chance to meet key journalists in person (during a conference where a company leader will speak).
It’s always important to understand media protocols. What’s the difference between an embargo and an exclusive? What does on the record mean? Will journalists show sources their articles before running them or not? Will they be as happy with an email interview as they will with a live interview? It’s helpful to be aware of these rules of the road, and media training can be useful here. More importantly, this kind of training can empower spokespersons to internalize the kind of preparation and storytelling that can make every interview as productive as possible for everyone involved.
● ● ●
Mastering these skills can offer another upside: Businesses that are seeking partners or acquirers often find that regular media coverage positions them more favorably to these important stakeholders. Whatever the reason: Going from “Who are you?” to “I see you everywhere!” is immensely gratifying and can help accelerate mortgage companies’ momentum. The secret is to learn how to build and strengthen trusted media relationships.
