Reputation Management for Lawyers
What is your reputation? For a law firm, your reputation precedes you at all turns, and sometimes reputation management for lawyers is necessary. People talk quite a bit in today’s world, especially online. Comments sections, social media pages, and reviews are filled with people who something to say. Unfortunately, people too often take to these places when they are upset with something, not when they have something nice to say. Reputation management for lawyers takes a two-prong approach to these types of comments – increasing the amount of good comments that you get while trying to intercept some of the bad ones.
A lawyer’s reputation is one of the most important tools he or she will have. More than 70% of people looking for a lawyer will try to find some information about the lawyer, how he or she works with clients, and the end result of cases.
Simple put, your reputation matters, and your online reputation matters the most. Every generation is getting smarter and smarter when it comes to the internet, so you need to start thinking about your reputation online. A single bad tweet, one review with no stars, or a viral comment on one of your videos can really bring down your reputation.
Chances are, if you haven’t checked your online reputation, there is already some damage there. To get started with some clean up, and to make sure that your online reputation is a good one, contact JSA Interactive today.
How many reviews you have will help your brand become more and more visible. For example, a law firm with one 5-star review may look good, but a law firm with fifty reviews that average to 4.7 will look better to people that are searching for you.
Even more important, a well thought out, concise review is better than one that rambles on or one that doesn’t say anything at all. Reviews are a great source of organic keywords and an even better source of free marketing.
Lawyers that take an active role in reputation management will see an increased rate of positive reviews, and a decreased rate of negative reviews. We can help you to intercept those negative reviews, giving you the chance to problem solve with the client so that they not only have a good experience with you, but they may be more willing to listen to what you have to say.
When looking at reputation management for lawyers, there are a few key areas you want to look at:
Lawyer Services: How do you appear on reputable boards or “lawyer finding” services. Search engines are increasingly important, and people are leaving reviews there – and sometimes lawyers won’t even see them for years.
How You Look: Not only does the content of your reviews matter, but how it is presented. If you want to target a specific type of client, you may want to get reviews from clients that you have already worked with that fit that type. At JSA Interactive, we will look at all of your online reviews and help you to see how you appear to other people.
Past Clients: Are you targeting a specific type of client? Getting reviews from those types of clients will help you to get even more of them. We don’t really talk about lawyers over a coffee with friends or while we are at the gym – comments sections and reviews are key.
Gaining Reviews: There are simple ways to gain reviews, helping your reputation. JSA Interactive can give you a few ways to do that, ways that will ensure you get the types of reviews that you want.
Marketing only works when you have the goods to back it up. The best marketing campaigns cannot make up for reviews that are lackluster. While attorneys and lawyers work extremely hard every day, they don’t always seem to get the feedback that they need to continue to grow and bring in new clients. Today’s legal customers are looking for you, and unfortunately, many people aren’t out there yet.
Lawyers are programmed in a specific way: look for concrete evidence to make a case. However, the real world doesn’t quite run that way. Sure, the concrete evidence is great for an infographic on your website or for a blog post. However, reviews that come straight from real people mean even more. The idea that someone hired you and you fought for them and achieved a desirable outcome means more than some numbers on a chart – most people think they are fake anyway.
Today’s potential clients need proof that you are what you say you are.
As humans, we are far more likely to leave bad reviews than we are good reviews. Embracing poor reviews and making strides to better serve your clients is helpful – paying attention to reviews will almost always encourage you to be more thorough, kind, and specific when you help a client.
If you are a law firm and you aren’t paying attention to your reviews, it is time you start. Looking at your reviews can help you to see where you need to make changes – they can also help you to better understand how the community you serve sees you.
Contact JSA Interactive today by filling out the form above or giving us a call. We can talk to you about reputation management for lawyers, advertising, search engine optimization, and more.
Arik Benari
Owner, BenariLaw
Dan Stockmann
Owner, Stockmann Law
Jackson Madnick
CEO, Pearls Premium
Craig Rovere
VP Marketing, All Metals Forge Group
Todd M. Grant
Vice President of Marketing, LogicBay