Online buying and selling are definitely here to stay, and online marketing is necessary for the success of businesses in any niche. That includes your private lending business. Never before has this been more true than since Covid-19 sent us all scurrying to lock our doors and do business online.
For many online businesses, the pandemic has seen their sales skyrocket, since people are doing all their shopping from home. Due to these circumstances, now is the perfect time to learn how to market your private lending business online for ultimate success.
Of course, the basics of online marketing amply apply to a private lending business, but the Rules of Thumb blog from MoneyThumb has a bit of a different take on those basics from what you will find in your online search for direction. Here is our advice on the basics of online marketing, and this applies to any business, not just private lending:
Content Marketing--You will find tons of advice online about what content marketing is and how to use it to reach borrowers for your private lending business. However, we are going to simplify the formula for you: content marketing is any type of marketing you do that contains the written word. This can include blogging using SEO keywords for ranking on search engines, social media posting on sites like Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn, or email marketing, which consists of sending helpful and promotional emails to your list of subscribers.
Your content marketing strategy for your private lending business or a business in another niche might also be expanded to include press releases, ebooks, whitepapers, PPC, and traditional online advertising venues. The one true thing about content marketing is that it should be the core of your marketing strategy.
Website Design and Optimization--Maybe this should have come before content marketing, but not really. Without good and consistent new content you are sharing online, your website doesn't mean much. BUT, it can be much more than a place to park your business online and needs to be. They say the attention span of the average person these days is 5 seconds, so your website MUST be attractive, professional, user and mobile-friendly. One of the biggest no-nos is having popups and other intrusive elements on your website. If you compare websites from the start of the internet to those today, you'd have a good laugh. Distractions, distractions everywhere!
The second most important thing about your private lending website and other niche websites is making sure it is optimized properly for search engines, which is called SEO. SEO is used heavily in content marketing, but your website should be optimized correctly by an expert to work the hardest for you so you can compete with your competition.
One of the best places to learn about onsite and offsite SEO in our opinion is by following the advice of Neil Patel, a true digital guru. Learning SEO is actually fun, in our opinion, but it is an ongoing learning process. If you don't want to learn it yourself, although we highly suggest you learn the basics at least so you understand how it works, you can hire a professional to do it for you.
Transparency and Communication--Being honest about who you are and what your business entails has become more important than ever. We are living in the age of awareness, where people no longer accept what is presented to them without some proof. This is a good thing! The savvy online shopper can quickly tell if you are being sincere about yourself and your business, and in no other business is this more important than in the borrowing and lending of money. Also, you should be easily accessible and available or have someone on your staff available to answer questions and offer guidance concerning your business and what you offer. This includes replying quickly to submissions made on the Contact Us page of your website, solving support questions in a timely manner, answering emails promptly, and being a regular contributor and problem solver on your social media pages. These rules of decorum are a sure recipe for success when you are selling a product or service online. PEOPLE BUY FROM PEOPLE THEY TRUST.
If you implemented all of the above three online marketing strategies for your private lending business, you can almost hear the money stacking up in your bank account, and that goes for a business in any other niche.
The Rules of Thumb blog and the team at MoneyThumb would appreciate it if you would share this blog post on your social media page. Have a great weekend!
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