Inside the social media strategy of a high-end mortgage broker

For many private mortgage brokers, the traditional paths to client acquisition are being challenged by a changing media landscape. At Anderson Harris, a boutique brokerage focused on affluent and high-net-worth clients, director Harry Arnold is finding new ways to connect with introducers and clients - starting with Instagram and LinkedIn.

"We actually did a full rebrand before launching our social media strategy," Arnold said. "The idea was to bring our visual identity in line with the clients we serve." With a growing number of wealth managers and private banks establishing strong digital presences, Arnold and his team saw an opportunity to do the same.

"The old fisheye lens photos are gone," Arnold said. "Our clients are buying beautifully marketed properties. You know, the standard of mortgage of property marketing has gone up so dramatically. We thought, well, if our clients are there and our introducers are there, then we should try and be there as well."

Social platforms have also helped the firm engage a wider circle of introducers. "There's a lot of people leaving the big firms and setting up on their own or setting up boutiques and they're using social media as a really, really big way in which they're promoting themselves and we want to connect with those people."

Balancing accuracy with engagement

"There's a lot of noise on these platforms - people spouting drivel or presenting assertions as facts," Arnold said. "It's really important that FCA-regulated businesses are out there to try and cut through a bit of the noise, talk about things as they actually are, not how potentially they're perceived to be."

Anderson Harris uses social media to offer measured, factual insights. That includes mortgage Q&A posts, economic commentary, and updates following major financial announcements. "I remember during the latest budget - we're watching the budget... I'm there on Bloomberg looking at gilt yields as the budget speech was taking place and they didn't seem to be rising too much. I thought I'm going to get out there early and get some content created. We put a video out about how the budget wasn't having a huge impact on the bond market. Twelve hours later, that was proved to be incorrect."

"This is quite dangerous [as] you want to get your information out early," he said. "Because obviously otherwise it gets drowned out in all of the noise and you want to be the breaking news. But the market's so febrile, so fluctuating, it's actually very, very difficult to know what to say and when to say it."

"The internet is written in ink and you've got to get things right as a professional advisor," Arnold said. "So there's a lot of effort that goes into making sure that what you're saying is substantiated and correct, and that's not always easy to do."

Instagram for clients, LinkedIn for community

The firm has found a balance between two key platforms. "Instagram is more directed at direct clients and also to potential mainly property related introducers... it's much more brand led and it's a lot more consumer driven," Arnold said. "LinkedIn is more [about] keeping in contact with our network of people we already know."

They’ve stopped using X (formerly Twitter) and haven’t yet ventured into TikTok. "We're all practising advisors. We don't have a marketing manager. We don't have a company spokesperson. It's me and I'm actually keying in my applications and doing my job. So finding the time to spend filming oneself all the time is challenging."

When asked whether social media is essential for mortgage brokers, Arnold said. "Nothing is more important than compliance... I don't actually think that every business out there needs to have social media... to be successful."

But for those aiming to scale or break into new markets, it can be a powerful tool. "You used to grow your business through lunches, coffees, and handshakes. Social media lets you do that at scale - if you're consistent, serious, and clear on your goals."

On paid promotion, he said: "What we occasionally do is pay for that content to be promoted. It's not like we're doing content for paid and then content for organic. For us it's [a case of] this is the content we're producing and we're choosing to promote this in a certain way."

Measuring the impact

"That's why we see social media as part of a larger strategy. We did our website,  we've invested heavily in reviews... we spent a lot of money and, for example, all of the imagery for the business is bespoke and meant to reflect our clients and client profiles and the areas of London and the areas of the country that they live and the types of houses they buy. So it's all meant to be a whole thing."

"Is it working? It's hard to say. It takes quite a long time and it is successful, but it's been it's been a lot of work, no doubt about that."