11 Dos & Don’ts of Mortgage Ads on Facebook for Loan Officers, Brokers and Lenders’ Companies
Wondering if Facebook Ads can generate mortgage leads? The answer is yes, if you do it right.
Our Real Estate Bees editorial team reached out to seasoned lenders, mortgage brokers, and loan officers for their advice on Facebook Ads for mortgage companies.
They shared whether or not this strategy works for them, and what to do or avoid doing to make it work.
Read below to learn how to successfully use Facebook advertising for mortgage brokers and lenders.
Survey Results
Do you use Facebook paid advertising for your lending business?
Now, let’s get to the tips on how to get the most of Facebook Ads for mortgage loan officers, lenders, and brokers.
5 Dos of Facebook Paid Advertising for a Lending Business
Let’s begin with the best practices of using Facebook Ads for mortgage leads.
#1 Target the Right Audience
To get real value, speak directly to a very specific segment — like seasoned rental property owners, or real estate investors who flip multiple properties each year.
For example, when our campaigns highlighted our zero-doc DSCR and portfolio loan flexibility (such as consolidating multiple properties under one loan and not requiring income checks), and showed real numbers (e.g., “Close in 7 days, loans up to $50M”), the quality of inquiries dramatically improved.
Set up criteria where you are actually targeting people in the market looking at real estate or looking for a home loan.
The broader and yet focused on buying, refinancing, or remodeling, the better. Otherwise, you must target further, such as VA loans for veterans, or something very targeted, or you won’t have the proper response and will be wasting money.
I have used Facebook paid advertisement since 2018 as a part of my marketing toolkit.
The ability to do granular targeting at the platform enables me to be able to reach real estate investors and property developers, who are more aligned to my ideal borrower profile.
Use an existing client database to create your custom audiences and find similar prospects with lookalike audiences.
My reason for using Facebook paid ads is that they allow me to target the right type of buyer I’m looking for.
I can filter for income, city, and intent which makes the spend much more effective than throwing money at broad ads.
#2 Offer Educational Value Before Pushing for Conversion
After running Facebook ads for my lending business, I’ve found the most success by creating educational content that addresses specific pain points, like explaining down payment options or credit score improvements.
I always make sure to include a clear call to action with a free consultation offer, but focus 80% of the ad on providing genuine value rather than pushing for immediate applications.
Educational information, not loan offers, should be the starting point. My most converting campaigns are about market intelligence and investment plans.
I conduct video advertisements that describe the current interest rates trends or that analyze the local market chance. This will generate reliability and thereafter offer financing solutions.
The best performing ads provide buyers with something they can use right away.
A brief video that explains what $2,000 buys in Dallas or a good walkthrough of loan programs most people miss will generate some real interest.
Generic ads with stock images and vague low-rate claims always waste money.
Use short videos or carousels that walk through deal structures — my explainer posts on explaining loan products led to higher engagement and new inbound leads even off-platform.
Develop educational material on the market conditions instead of solicitation of loans.
#3 Optimize Your Landing Pages
I keep the landing page stripped to one obvious action and try a few different hooks until I only keep the ones that work.
Retargeting then returns the buyers who made a pass on the first time.
#4 Keep Messaging Simple
Relative content that is original. Simplify and do not overexplain or be too technical with lending terms common potential homeowners do not understand.
#5 Highlight Your Credibility
Use video testimonials of past clients talking about their experience.
6 Don’ts of Facebook Paid Advertising for a Lending Business
And here is what not to do when running mortgage broker Facebook Ads.
#1 Mentioning Rates
You must tag your ad for housing. You need to make sure that the language of the ad doesn’t touch prohibited words such as “lowest rate,” or “best rate,” etc.
Those terms require extra disclosures and may complicate the ad. Stick to owning a home and first-time homebuyers and offers that actually make sense for an open public message.
Do not pledge certain rates or terms in advertisements. Never use urgency words such as “limited time” and “act now.”
#2 Giving Guarantees
Do not give claims on earnings or guaranteed approvals. Ads indicating a particular return or guaranteed result on loan are instantaneously flagged on Facebook.
Use not such words as “instant approval” or “no credit check.” Do not target according to categories of financial hardships.
#3 Ignoring Facebook Rules
Most of the campaigns I have seen die because of compliance. The policies of Facebook in respect of financial services are very strict.
The reason why many lenders lose their accounts due to ignorance of the advertising rules governing loan products is quite high.
I’ve even seen coworkers spend thousands due to breaking policies without knowing they existed in the first place.
Most do not master the compliance requirements within the first account suspension and simply give up the steep learning curve.
Do not collect any sensitive financial details by using Facebook lead forms unless sufficient security precautions are taken.
Multiple ad forms should be tested at once, and there should be excessive disclosures regarding licensing and equal housing opportunity policies.
#4 Complex Messaging
The biggest mistake is falling into the same pattern as everyone else, and being dismissed and going unnoticed entirely.
Do not overcomplicate or be too busy in messaging.
#5 Using Automated Replies
Do not try to automate replies or DMs with templated answers — investors with complex needs get frustrated fast.
#6 Neglecting Following Up
Don’t underestimate how quickly poor follow-up can ruin trust; Facebook leads go cold within hours, so I always personally reach out with a quick, custom question to vet the project, not pitch the product.
Why Haven’t Facebook Ads Worked for Your Lending Business?
Facebook Ads for mortgage brokers and lenders don’t always work as expected. Here is what our experts who have had a negative experience with loan officer Facebook Ads say about it.
I tried Facebook ads in 2019 and stopped after three months. Financial services are associated with compliance requirements that are incompatible with the targeting capabilities of Facebook.
The platform was not coping with the mortgage advertisement prohibitions and provided leads in areas where we were not authorized to work.
The conversion rate was smaller at 0.8% versus 12% by referral partnerships.
When it didn’t get us the right borrowers, it was usually because the ad creative and targeting appealed too broadly.
We’d get high click volume but not the kind of serious applicants or property types we serve best, like multi-property investors or those looking for renovation financing — not just basic homebuyers.
My first campaign failed because it looked like every other lender pitch.
People on Facebook are scrolling for quick content; they are not scrolling for mortgages and so if the message does not grab them right away with something concrete, the budget dries up without return.
We are a specialized investment and commercial lender. The leads we got were for personal loans and all kinds of loan products that we don’t offer.
Alternatives to Facebook Ads for Mortgage Companies
As you see, Facebook Ads may work for some lenders and be a waste of time and marketing budget for others. Fortunately, there are alternative ways to get mortgage leads.
Real Estate Bees Lead Marketplace
At the Real Estate Bees Pay-Per-Lead Marketplace, you can simply buy borrower leads already generated for you — without the headache of designing ads, running campaigns, and creating educational content to warm leads up.
Create a free account, indicate what kind of borrowers you are looking for, and get notified as soon as a new lead matching your criteria becomes available.
Real Estate Bees Directory
We also have a free nationwide directory of real estate professionals, including sections for:
Create a free account and get listed among the best companies in your location. If you fill out your profile thoroughly, you can get to the top of the list of your local lending companies.
Once a borrower browsing the best companies in your area chooses yours and contacts you, this lead will be free for you.
Get Recommended to Property Buyers on Our Real Estate Marketplace
Finally, you can have your company suggested to homebuyers within property listings on our popular real estate marketplace.
Many of them find it convenient to find a financing option together with finding a property to purchase.
To discuss the pricing and get featured, contact us via this form.
Kristina Morales is both a licensed mortgage loan originator and real estate agent in the State of Ohio. Inspired by her years of working with buyers and sellers and seeing a need for more consumer education, Kristina created loanfully.com, an online educational resource for borrowers and industry professionals. In addition to real estate sales and mortgage lending, Kristina had an extensive corporate career in banking, treasury, and corporate finance. She ended her corporate career as an Assistant Treasurer at a publicly traded oil & gas company in Houston, TX. Kristina obtained her MBA from the Weatherhead School of Management at Case Western Reserve University and her B.A in Business Management from Ursuline College.
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