PR With A Purpose

By Anthony Casa, Chairman of AIME

Public relations efforts that are executed by different companies in the mortgage business are quite interesting, and telling. If you really pay attention, the messaging that is being communicated can be portrayed in both a positive and negative outlook.

In terms of negative messaging, there’s no question that PR can be a self-serving, ego-stroking exercise for powerful, well-known players in the industry. This is primarily for those who simply want to keep their names front and center for brand recognition purposes.

But when it translates to positive messaging, this is when PR is used to its best potential. It is an extraordinary way to educate people and positively influence their attitudes and behaviors. This is one of our top goals at AIME and exactly what we strive to accomplish as we look for ways to publicize pro-broker messaging in the media to support our goal of surpassing 25% market share in the independent mortgage broker channel by 2020.

That is why you have seen me on Cheddar TV multiple times in the last few months.

The purpose of this particular media opportunity wasn’t to highlight AIME and the organization that I have built, but to continue generating the message that “Brokers Are Better” to a wider net of consumers, nationwide. This was our key goal when making these early trips to New York City. Not to benefit my own ego, but to benefit and boost the entire channel of the independent mortgage broker community

Mortgage brokers do not have anywhere near the marketing budgets or financial resources of our retail competitors. They are unable to develop and fun TV commercials or sponsor televised sporting events that crosses the airwaves. But what we can do is try hard – really hard – to find alternative ways to broadcast this message to as many people as we can. It is critically important that we deliver effective storytelling to consumers through media platforms like TV and radio interviews, articles in national magazines, op-eds in newspapers, creative videos and online content with viral appeal, etc. All those things take effort, skill and a little bit of luck, but those are things we can do to combat the in-your-face messaging from our competition.

We have done a great job, collectively, of working our tails off to grow mortgage broker market share to within an arm’s length of 20%. Our goal of surpassing 50% is becoming more achievable than you might think, but it will take a lot of effort from all parties involved. We have to make sure that more and more consumers become aware of mortgage brokers and understand why they are their best option for a home purchase or refinance.

Brokers know why Brokers Are Better. The majority of real estate agents know why Brokers Are Better. Now we have to continue to find purposeful ways to make sure that the majority of consumers know and understand why Brokers Are Better.

Consumers and Real Estate Agents looking to find a local independent mortgage broker can go to www.FindAMortgageBroker.com to search for local mortgage brokers in their area.

The Association of Independent Mortgage Experts is a non-profit member trade association dedicated to protecting, supporting and growing Independent Mortgage Brokers and all members of their teams. Brokers interested in becoming a member of AIME or learning mortgage about AIME can go to www.aimegroup.com