2026 Loan Officer Marketing Trends Report
What Loan Officers Actually Invest In
We analyzed the marketing choices of 350+ mortgage professionals using historical behavioral data from Morty's marketplace. Rather than asking loan officers what they think matters, we looked at the resources they actually selected.
The headline findings
Source: MLO Studio Research analysis of historical marketing-resource selections from 353 mortgage professionals.
Networking and social media were nearly tied.
The two most widely selected resources were a Networking Kit and a Social Media Launch Kit.
Source: MLO Studio Research analysis of historical marketing-resource selections from 353 mortgage professionals.
Buyers could select multiple resources, so these percentages do not sum to 100%.
Source: MLO Studio Research analysis of historical marketing-resource selections from 353 mortgage professionals.
Not competing strategies.
30% of mortgage professionals selected resources in both the networking and social-media categories. Relationship building and digital visibility frequently appeared together.
Mortgage has always been a relationship-driven business, but the data suggests loan officers did not see digital visibility as a replacement for relationship building. They used the two together.
Relationships → Visibility → Conversion
Three connected jobs repeatedly appear in the choices mortgage professionals made.
33% selected training focused on the first borrower call. The marketing problem did not end when a lead arrived: loan officers also selected resources for engaging leads, improving sales conversations, and following up to turn attention into a client conversation.
Relationships
Networking + referrals
Visibility
Social + brand + content
Conversion
Sales + lead engagement
These groups overlap. The same mortgage professional could select resources across several combinations; the relationships, visibility, and conversion jobs are not funnel stages or mutually exclusive groups.
Source: MLO Studio Research analysis of historical marketing-resource selections from 353 mortgage professionals.
Nearly half of mortgage professionals crossed marketing categories.
46% selected resources spanning at least two different marketing categories.
Source: MLO Studio Research analysis of historical marketing-resource selections from 353 mortgage professionals.
Things they could actually use.
Loan officers weren't only looking for marketing education. They repeatedly selected things that helped them actually execute.
The most popular resources shortened the distance between knowing that a marketing activity matters and actually doing it. Education becomes more useful when it is attached to a workflow, template, tool, or repeatable process.
- Networking kits
- Social-media launch materials
- First-call training
- Open-house collateral
- Sales resources
- Marketing packets
- Lead-engagement tools
Source: MLO Studio Research analysis of historical marketing-resource selections from 353 mortgage professionals.
Free interest and paid intent are distinct signals.
The historical marketplace included both free and paid resources, so the report treats free interest and paid behavior as distinct signals.
Some buyers used only free resources, while others combined free and paid products.
One connected marketing system.
Build relationships.
Loan officers need ways to develop referral networks and create new business opportunities.
Stay visible.
They need a credible, consistent presence across their website, brand, content, and social channels.
Convert interest.
They need a process for turning a referral, visitor, follower, or inquiry into an actual client conversation.
Historically fragmented activities increasingly make sense as one connected marketing system.
How this analysis was made.
MLO Studio analyzed historical marketing-resource selections from 353 mortgage professionals who used Morty's marketplace between 2023 and 2026. The analysis excludes subscriptions, platform access, licensing, and other non-marketing products, as well as refunded purchases. Product variants were normalized where they represented the same underlying resource. Percentages are based on unique buyers unless otherwise noted.
The data reflects behavior within Morty's historical product catalog and should not be interpreted as a representative survey of all U.S. mortgage loan officers. Product availability, pricing, and promotions changed over time.