I was so excited to get Ryan Stephens on here and pick his brain regarding brand building and brand marketing. I will let the interview speak for itself, enjoy! SO without further fan fare let the interview begin!

Ryan, what was your first encounter with Social Media? (i.e. facebook, myspace, yahoo groups, twitter, etc.)

I suppose you could consider my participation in forums and my use of AIM as a social media encounter, but I used these prior to the terminology ’social media’ being coined. With this in mind, my first encounter with social media was Facebook. As a college student I actually submitted a request for my university to ‘have’ Facebook because when it first started it was primarily used by the bigger universities. At the time, I had no idea just how powerful of a tool it could be. I just wanted an easier way to keep in touch with friends.

I really discovered the power of social media when I decided to pursue online marketing. As a Millennial it is important for me to be well-read about tools that will impact my future, and social media is one of the those tools. To me marketing is about sharing stories in a way that creates meaning to people. Social media enables me (in any number of roles — a friend, an employee, a marketer) to share my perspective in an effort to build shared meaning and understanding. Social media depends on the interaction, unlike a newspaper or the radio, and that’s something that Generation Y really embraces.
Why is providing “useful free content to anyone looking to acquire more knowledge with respect to online marketing” so important to you?

Honestly, I think it boils down to a passion for two things: online marketing and helping people. For a long time I was that ‘newbie’ scouring for hours through blogs and squeeze pages trying to figure out how to make money online. Once I finally realized that it’s not so much about how I make money, but about how I can help other people achieve their online dreams, the monetary compensation took care of itself. That’s where the inclination to start Ryan Stephens Marketing came from.

Since then I have read and studied business in-depth and I have witnessed firsthand how many people just don’t get it. Just today a lady was telling me about how her car broke down in this small town, and they got it to a dealership to see about fixing it. The dealership gave them another car to drive, told them to go to their destination (another city about an hour away) and on their way back (in a couple of days) they would have their car fixed. They had no rapport with the lady or her family. But how many people do you think that lady has told that story to since then? What if only 2 of those 50+ people purchase their next car at that dealership?

Too many people make marketing too hard. They want to learn all these crazy SEO (search engine optimization) tricks, or traffic generation methods, and certainly you have to be found, but just providing a product or a service that people need, and providing it with great hospitality can separate you from the pack. I think that’s the message that I’m currently trying to convey more so than anything else you might stumble across on my blog.
What are some of the tools you use to interact with your clients? (i.e. blog, podcast, videos, twitter, etc.)

Obviously my blog is one of the primary tools I use to interact with clients. It allows me to share what I hope to be the ‘useful free content’ mentioned above. I believe in under promising and over delivering, and to me my blog is part of that. It allows me the ability to help others and to facilitate conversation on topics I am passionate about. I love receiving comments and feedback on my blog, because to me that is confirmation that I am doing something right in that I am at least sparking people to think about prominent issues with respect to marketing and/or Generation Y.

I am still experimenting with Twitter. I admit that I am a little behind the curve there, and I’m not certain that it is a platform that is conducive to my approach. With Twitter, unless someone is providing me AMAZING content and value consistently I expect some reciprocation if I’m following them, and I hope that they expect the same from me. Truth be told, if that number gets very high though I feel that I would be doing those followers a disservice because there’s no feasible way I could avidly follow them all.

I communicate with clients frequently via both e-mail and skype. I pride myself on getting back to people as quickly as possible, so much so that it some time prevents me from completing work that should take priority. I suspect that it might bite me in the ass eventually, but for now I am hoping that it serves as a testament to the quality of service that I try to provide my clientele.

LinkedIn is another resource that I am very interested in, and envision myself using significantly in the future, but alas time is no man’s friend. I would love to connect with anyone reading this though.

Both podcasts and video are something that is on the horizon for RSM. They are mediums that I have explored and just have not had the free time to implement at this point.
Let’s talk Marketing. Loan Officers are struggling with a lot of negative press but, the individuals who have built a strong personal brand don’t seem to be affected.

Negative press is partially part of the gig so I will not get into that. I think that comes with virtually any job though and especially with jobs that the average consumer does not understand in full. Those people are forced to deal with the media, and we all know how that goes. That aside, you are a 100% right that the individuals who have built a strong brand for themselves are going to succeed; they stand out. When you see Daniel Rothamel wearing a zebra tie you remember, “Oh yeah, he’s the “Real Estate Zebra,” I remember him.” By branding himself that way, he’s increased his reach and visibility.

(If you want some great insight into how to build your own personal brand then you need to check out  Dan Schwabel’s Personal Branding Blog.

So maybe you’re a loan officer and you’re asking yourself “how do I build my brand? It’s tough to be that innovative.” Well I agree, and you can take one look at the title of my blog and realize that evidently I didn’t come up with something as cool as the ‘Real Estate Zebra’ or ‘Mad Mortgage World.’ First of all, I went with my name in the title because I want my name to become synonymous with marketing (eventually), but more importantly I realized something that a lot of people do not: what other people say about your brand is more important than what you say about your brand. This is something Schwabel touches on frequently, and it is something I have always embraced.

If you are over delivering and consistently providing people with great value, they’ll talk, and they’ll talk in a way that makes others find you. Great marketing = great stories. Think the car dealership example from earlier. Is having the visibility that an innovative approach affords a great start? Absolutely, but doing business the right way, selflessly helping others, and being authentic (something you’ve mentioned Daniel) can overcome a lack of creativity; in that I don’t have to go to work in a clown suit to get noticed.

What are some ways that Loan Officers can begin separating themselves from the “rest of the pack?” i.e. what are some steps to take or mistakes to avoid?

• Provide great content consistently – To me, this might be the single most important way to separate yourself. If Seth Godin was a jackass, I would still read Seth Godin’s riffs on marketing because they’re awesome. They make me think, I learn from their application, and as a result I grow as a marketer. Always aim to provide the best possible value to the consumer.
• Be authentic and honest – Loan officers, marketers, umpires… It shouldn’t matter. You should always, out of respect for yourself and your clientele be authentic and honest. Providing the great value is how you get a brand in the first place, but not obeying this commandment is the quickest way to lose it. If you make a mistake, own up right away and try to rectify the situation as quickly and as smoothly as possible.
• Value relationships – This is something that took me a while to get when I first started. Traditional advertising is dead. You can shout through a megaphone all day long about how great your product is, but I couldn’t care less until someone else starts telling me it’s great; you let me give it a trial test, etc. So don’t yell at people and shove your idea down their throat. Listen and learn what your consumer needs and then try to provide them with a solution. Value the relationship first and foremost. If you can’t give them the best solution send them to someone who can. Chances are they’ll come back to you when they need something else.
• Be more prepared – Know your industry inside and out, at least a specific niche. Be the best at what you do, or at least capable of seeming like the best. Before doing a consulting session I ask the client a few questions that give me some indication as to where they are and where they want to go or what they want to accomplish. I seek out their personal brand and learn everything I can about what they embody. This enables me to provide insight into how I can specifically help them and not just give them generic re-hashed advice.
• It’s reciprocal – Make it a conversation, a discussion, a sounding board. Bounce ideas off of people. You aren’t going to ruin credibility by asking your clients questions, you’re going to gain their respect. If you take a reciprocal approach you can utilize feedback to logically map out the best strategic insights for your clientele based on your knowledge and their insight.
• Be passionate – It speaks for itself, and it’s contagious. Aside from that, if you’re not passionate about what you’re doing then you probably should not be doing it in the first place.
  

  Final Thoughts for us as we continue into the future given the current press regarding the lending industry.

  You can sulk and gripe and moan about all the negative press or you can take a step towards changing it. If you work hard to create a solid brand for yourself and you’re not timid, in that you are putting yourself out there and actively trying to make changes, and you are utilizing social media and other web 2.0 tools to get ahead and stay ahead, then there’s no reason why you cannot set the tone for the future of the lending industry. Start a blog, follow your predecessors and learn from them, and expand your ability to best serve your clientele.

  Thanks for having me Daniel. It’s been a true pleasure.

Join the conversation and place any questions you have for Ryan in the comments below!

Tags: branding

This entry was posted on Tuesday, June 10th, 2008 at 11:30 am and is filed under Personal Branding. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.