Staying Authentic While Social Selling with PRMG’s Kevin Peranio

This article is from a Quick Hits conversation between Ben Treadway of SocialCoach and Kevin Peranio, Chief Lending Officer at PRMG. Click below to watch the video conversation. 

Overcoming Social Media Challenges in the Mortgage Industry

Ben:  In your experience as the chief lending officer, what are some of the biggest roadblocks or challenges in the industry when it comes to utilizing social media? And how do you think companies or even individuals can overcome them? 

Social media support at the company level

KP: Yeah, I think from the company level we're supporting all of our originators, regardless of channel, but, at PRMG, we put a lot of effort obviously into our retail channel. It's just creating a framework, creating guidance, creating training, giving resources, showing some content ideas, even creating content to help people get into social selling – social media selling.

So, uh, that's on us. I think we do a good job. We have a whole digital marketing team. It's dedicated just to digital marketing. 

We have a digital lending team and then we have a traditional marketing team which comes up with our slogans and does flyers and creative. So we're really big into digital marketing.

Overcome potential apathy towards social media

It's all about support at the individual level. Originators may have apathy, maybe they're not on social media, or they don't want to get on social media, or they don't want to sell in that manner, but Millennials are the biggest first-time homebuyers and they're all there, right? And we're in a first time homebuyer market right now.

We are in a purchase market and Gen Z is right behind them and they're all on social media. So you kind of have to be on social media. 

Use social media tools to help with posting

And so getting loan officers on camera just to be themselves and just, just talk, you know, providing a good tool, like a SocialCoach or something that can put guardrails around how to actually get on there and use and post and do it. 

Because you know, you need help. It's a must have for both the company and the originator and realtor level. 

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Staying Authentic While Promoting Your Business on Social Media

Ben: How do you stay authentic with video on social media and keep yourself genuine while still promoting your business, your mortgage products, and all that good stuff. 

Using the best approach for you with your social media

KP: Yeah. I've seen a lot of different approaches. I mean, I see some pages where all the videos are only about like nuggets from the industry.

“Hey, guess what? This new deadline…” and so you're like a source of information. 

Maybe they're telling a story about a borrower or a family that they helped get a house. And that's from the originator or realtor level.

I've seen some where they're like: “Hey, this is my personal page. You're now connected to me and my family and my business.”

So you get to see posts like: 

“Hey, I'm at the beach this week. Today's the last day of school for three of my four kids. And that's why I have no shoes on. And we're about to head out there in a couple hours and get some sun.” 

And then you'll also see a video, you know, maybe right after that saying: 

“Hey, did you know the new loan limits, you know, are, are larger? Now's a good time to buy or don't wait until the spring because it's going to be crowded. There’s no housing crash!”

So some people's approach is a kind of mix in their personal life with their work life and they are very intertwined for most of us. 

Anyway, I've seen a lot of approaches. They all resonate. They all work. You just have to put content out there because on the other end of it.

Your audience, as you build it, no matter who it is, your friends, your network, past clients, future clients, whatever, they're watching you and they're listening and you need to stay present and top of mind, so that you’re the source that someone to go to for any kind of need, whether it's being a mortgage originator or a realtor.

Balancing Personal and Professional on Social Media

Ben: Personalization of professional content I see has consistently brought a lot of great results; being personal, but also being professional at the same time. If you can find that perfect mixture of both, that's when you really start to see a lot of success with social media. 

KP: Yeah, I agree. I mean, that's my approach on LinkedIn. 

You know, I’m a C-level executive and owner of a lender, but I'm also a normal guy. I like to go out and have fun and be with my family and maybe have a cocktail, you know? 

I don't do consumer marketing, per se. 

Although my KP Talks Dollars and Sense is kind of like an educational series of videos, my LinkedIn audience, that's just me talking to the B2B crowd, our industry group, you know, that's how you and I got connected.

And that's just me talking about what we're dealing with.

But also, I may be on the road at a happy hour with a cool view and I want to share that with you or I may be working on a fix and flip on a side hustle and want to share that video of that house project with you.

And so those are uniquely me, and everyone is unique to themselves and trust me – no matter who you are, no matter how you communicate, trust me – there's an audience that resonates with you. You just gotta put yourself out there. 

Don't be invisible. 

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