What is the first thing that you do when you want to buy a product or avail of any service? You go to search engines and research about it, to know what other people are saying about that product or service. You check the price for it and find the contact information, right? In the same way, legal clients search for you when they are looking for services. Which is why it is important to manage your online reputation.
Having a lawyer’s reputation strategy in place can help you in managing your law firm’s online reputation. In this guide, we will learn more about reputation management for attorneys and take a look at some elements that can give a boost to law firm reputation management.
What is Online Reputation Management For Lawyers?
Online reputation management, aka ORM, is the process of building a strong reputation for your business online. In simple terms, ORM for lawyers and firms is the combination of strategies that help legal professionals and firms in building a strong online presence.
The whole online reputation management process helps in establishing a positive digital footprint and minimizing the negative image of the firm.
According to reports, the word-of-mouth strategy is losing ground today. More and more people are searching for legal professionals and firms online. Additionally, they are more likely to make a decision on the basis of what they find online. 97% of the audience looks online when they have to find something about local businesses. So if you want to shine in your local area, make sure you are keeping a close eye on your online reputation.
Reputation Management For Lawyers Tips
Here are some impactful tips for attorney reputation strategy. If you follow these tips, you can create a positive reputation for your firm online:
Identify The Current Reputation of Your Legal Firm
Identifying the current online reputation of your law firm is the first step toward the process of reputation management. Before you create a strategy to improve your lawyer’s reputation online, make sure you identify what are the areas you need to work on. If you know the areas of improvement and the strong points of your online reputation, you won’t have to start from scratch.
Monitor Your Online Presence Regularly
It is important to monitor your online presence regularly across different online platforms. This will help you stay in check. To begin with, you should set up Google alerts for your firm and attorney’s name. Additionally, you should monitor social media channels, and stay vigilant about your firm’s online reviews on different platforms and legal directories.
Create Relevant Online Profiles For Your Law Firm
Don’t just create general social media profiles, but go beyond them and create listings in legal directories and other websites that are specific to lawyers and the legal field. By creating and maintaining profiles on platforms that are specific to the law will help you reach your target audience. Make sure to look for reputable sites to attract your prospective clients.
Encourage Your Audience To Share Review Online
The more positive reviews your law firm has, the more clients you can attract. According to reports people want to work with your business only if they see more than 40+ online reviews, on average an individual reads around 10+ reviews before they trust your brand so make sure you encourage your clients to post reviews about your law firm online. Ask them to mention what they like about your legal services. You can also ask for areas for improvement and work on them accordingly.
Publish High-Quality Content
To build your lawyer’s reputation online, you will need to develop a content strategy that showcases your legal strategy. Consistently publish informative content to keep your audience engaged. Create content such as blogs, articles, case studies, and guides on your website. This will help you establish credibility in your industry and play a major role in online reputation management.
Hire a Dedicated Digital Reputation Manager
If you feel that you don’t possess the expertise to create your own content strategy and the reputation management process is time-consuming for you. Hiring a professional dedicated to creating a digital reputation for your firm is the best option. In this way, that legal professional can take care of your online reputation and you don’t have to get involved in the process.
Elements That Can Boost Reputation Management For Law Firms
Here are a few elements that will give a boost to your online reputation management :
Reviews: Reviews can be a game-changer element for your firm. So to boost your reputation management efforts, make sure to get reviews from your law firm clients. According to reports, 72% of consumers write reviews if you ask them to do so. Start an email campaign or go ahead and personally ask your satisfied customers to write a review about your firm.
Create a Google My Business Account: A Google My Business profile is essential. It is available for free, so make sure you are taking advantage of it. Few statistics show that a local business with a Google My Business profile gets more visitors than others and visitors are likely to take action too.
Take Advantage of Legal Directories for Lawyers: There are various legal directories that let you list your legal services and law firms, so take advantage of these. Your potential clients will be able to reach you through these legal directories. The main motive behind adding your profile to these legal directories is to improve the visibility and authority of your legal practice.
Stay Consistent: Consistency is an element that will boost your online reputation management efforts. Ensure that you are maintaining the uniform image of your brand across all different platforms. Everything that you are posting online should align with your firm’s brand image.
Parting Thoughts On Online Reputation Management For Lawyers
Managing your firm’s online reputation is worth more than you can imagine. You can easily manage your firm’s reputation online with the help of the tips that we have mentioned. Additionally, by considering the elements that are mentioned above, you can also boost the process of reputation management. Your potential clients are going to search for you online and you don’t want to create a strong online reputation. So evaluate your online reputation and do necessary to improve your reputation online.