I think we would all agree that the subject of mortgages is not particularly fascinating to most people. This makes the task of marketing your mortgage business a bit more challenging. Unlike pop, viral content which we can find on blogs like BuzzFeed, UpWorthy and similar websites, the subject of mortgages is rather dry.
How can you infuse some levity and flair into the subject? Use quizzes. With the right angle/spin and creative writing of copy, you can turn a ho-hum subject into an interactive and engaging topic using quizzes.
If you are finding that your content is not getting much traction online, if the engagement and follower count is low on your Social Media profiles, this is the thing that may very well make ALL the difference for your business.
Why Are Quizzes So Effective?
The popularity of quizzes has just exploded in the past couple of years because they are incredibly effective at driving engagement and interaction with your content. Two websites which have been prolific users of quizzes are BuzzFeed and UpWorthy. BuzzFeed has done so well with quizzes, they created a Facebook Group of just quizzes. There may be some who consider this type of marketing “inappropriate” for the mortgage industry. You may find relief in knowing that realtor.com found an appropriate way to form a marketing partnership with BuzzFeed to use it as a platform to deliver entertaining content through this video ad.
If we want to dive into statistics about the effectiveness of interactive content, which quizzes are a part of, we can look at the research that Content Marketing Institute (CMI) published with some very interesting findings. Among the results they cite are:
- 81% agree that interactive content grabs attention more effectively than static content.
- 79% agree that interactive content enhances retention of brand messaging when combined with traditional marketing tactics.
- 79% agree that interactive content can have reusable value, resulting in repeat visitors and multiple exposures.
This is great news for mortgage businesses and originators who are looking for more effective ways to market their business. If you are befuddled by the whole concept of quizzes, let’s look at some of the components of marketing with quizzes that you will need to know.
Types Of Quizzes For Mortgage Marketing
Quiz marketing is so underused in the mortgage and Real Estate industries, you can chart your own course and be a maverick, an innovator. An effective strategy that is being used by other industries is to take today’s hot topics on Social Media and other viral news and adapt them to their industry. The same can be done by mortgage companies in their marketing campaigns.
Hot Topic Quiz Examples:
- “What type of Game of Thrones home buyer are you?” Use some of the characters of GOT to make an attention-grabbing quiz.
- “Which home would your dog/cat love to live in?” People love dogs and cats, most anything that has to do with the furry creatures gets engagement.
- “Answer these 5 questions and we will tell you what your perfect castle would be!” Have fun with this one! You can make some wild outcomes that would cause the quiz taker to share their results due to the wild results you deliver.
Another strategy you can try is gamifying the quiz by using prizes for those that reach a certain score on your quiz.
Prize Quiz Examples:
- Free credit report if the participant scores over 70% on a quiz related to credit and debt.
- Free appraisal to those who come up with the top three answers on a quiz about features of a home that increase the value of the property.
- A gift card to the top scores of a quiz on mortgage knowledge.
Quiz marketing for mortgage lenders is still a wide-open opportunity. There are a very small number of lenders using it. If you want inspiration on how someone is using quizzes now, you can look at Cornerstone Mortgage’s list of quizzes. Considering that they are one of a small number of mortgage lenders using them, the time is now to dive in and let your creativity flow.
Tools For Creating Quizzes
Now that you have some insights on the value of quizzes, and what types of quizzes you may use for your mortgage marketing strategy, you are going to need some tools to create and publish those quizzes.
There are a couple of considerations for you to think about. Do you want to have total control and create your own quizzes, or will you use third parties to create and host them for you?
Create Your Own Quizzes
The advantages of self-contained quizzes are in two areas. First, you will have 100% control on all aspects of the quizzes. You design the look, format, and layout of the quiz pages. Secondly, your cost will be much lower since you will purchase quiz software which is usually a one-time fee rather than monthly subscription services.
The easiest path to creating quizzes online without using subscription services is to use WordPress plugins if you have a WordPress website. The “Quiz Maker” plugin by AYS-pro is one of the many options available. Another popular option is WP Quiz.
3rd Party Software Quizzes
If you decide you want a more turn-key type strategy than using plugins on your WordPress website, there are solutions for that. You can use services which provide quizzes on their own platform, and have pre-built quizzes you can launch with minor customization
One such platform is Leadquizzes. Neil Patel, a well known and respected online marketer with a considerable amount of success behind him, endorses the platform. In fact, when you visit their website, you will see him front and center on the home page.
Leadquizzes happens to have a number of pre-made quizzes for mortgage and Real Estate so it makes it that much more convenient to use them to get started.
Another well know quiz platform is Interact. They have a wide range of template quizzes for you to use as well. Unfortunately, they don’t have and pre-built mortgage or Real Estate templates but you can easily create your own.
Interact as well as LeadQuizzes both have free 14 day trials so you can work with both and see which one is best for you before committing to a subscription. Both services also allow their quizzes to be embedded in non-WordPress websites.
Putting It All Together
Implementing quizzes can make a significant impact on your marketing. According to a BuzzSumo study, 82% of those exposed to quizzes on their social media news feeds will interact with the quiz. That is an off-the-charts rate of engagement compared to other types of content, and you can start even on a low budget.
- Choose A Strategy
Start by choosing a strategy, one that you can be consistent with for long enough to see results. Make sure to do some research at this stage, in and outside of the mortgage space, so you can get some idea of what’s working and how you can adapt that research to your campaign.
- Choose Your Tool
Choose the quiz tool that makes sense for you based on your capabilities. Consider who will administer the campaign, the technology available such as website type and follow up system.
- Launch Your Quiz
- There will be a learning curve no doubt. However, given the efficacy of this strategy in other industries, you are likely to experience a very positive ROI if you follow through until you get results.
BNTouch offers the tools you will need to convert those leads you generate, into closed business. Use a combination of the right tools to make sure you make the most of your marketing in 2019 and beyond.
