Today, nearly every business has an online presence of some sort. This can range from a Google My Business listing that contains basic information about a company to a digital strategy that includes a website, social media, and pay-per-click advertising. Regardless of the extent of your firm’s digital footprint, you will want to make sure that you make a positive impression on those who find you online. This is why reputation management is crucial.

What Is Reputation Management?

Online searches are the primary way most people find information, whether they are looking for answers on a computer at home or at work or are searching for a local business on their smartphone. When a firm shows up in search results, their listing is often accompanied by reviews and star ratings that people have submitted. These ratings often play a key role in a potential customer’s decision to click through to a company’s website or contact them via phone or email.

In addition to influencing people’s decisions about who they choose to do business with, online reviews can also have a significant impact on SEO. A business with a large number of positive reviews is more likely to be displayed in search results, and negative reviews or low average ratings can result in SEO penalties that will reduce a company’s chances of being found in online searches.

As with most professions, an attorney’s reputation is one of his or her most important assets. Training, education, experience, and skill, obviously, are vital to a lawyer’s long-term success, but a poor reputation can impact his or her ability to reach new clients and grow the business. There is little question that the internet has changed the way that people share information, and online reviews can have a major impact on the way the public views you as an individual as well as your law firm as a whole.

You probably realize that that you will never be able to completely satisfy every single client that walks through your door. Despite your best intentions—and, no doubt, your most sincere efforts—the legal world is often unpredictable and, occasionally, a client will be upset by the outcome or some other element of a case. If that client were to leave a negative review on Yelp or Google, your available options may be somewhat limited. A reputation management service, like that offered by OVC, INC., can help you mitigate the review’s impact, but even a disgruntled client is entitled to an opinion—unless the review contains false allegations. Then, as at least one case from Florida demonstrates, the situation may be significantly more noteworthy.

Blake v. Giustibelli

As a successful professional, you have spent many years building your brand. Your office represents your values and the commitment you have to your clients, and you look to offer exemplary service for years to come. Every business, however, eventually must deal with dissatisfied customers and clients. Dissatisfaction may stem from unrealistic client expectations or from legitimate cases of substandard service, but, whatever the case, unhappy customers can create problems, especially when they utilize the internet to voice their displeasure. Negative online reviews can cost you significantly by impacting your office’s ability to attract new clients and maintain the image you desire, but, fortunately, professional online reputation management can help.

Online Reputation Problems

It is not uncommon for a business owner or professional to be completely surprised by impacts to his or her online reputation. Negative reviews on Google+, Yelp, and other sites often contain hurtful personal attacks and wild accusations regarding service or customer care that bear little semblance of truth. However, the internet has very few filters and many reviewers are not afraid to exaggerate for attention. These types of reviews are often created by disgruntled clients or, in some cases, competitors looking to improve their own relative images.

Just what is “branding?” The word has multiple definitions, but for many companies, branding relates to establishing a unique and identifiable name, design or term that allows automatic recognition of a person, place or thing.

For the practicing attorney, branding could mean everything. With the open for business sign flashing on the Internet 24/7, it is more important than ever for attorneys to build a brand to set themselves apart from the competition. Establishing a unique brand in conjunction with all other functioning digital components, an attorney opens the doors to prospective shoppers seeking specific services, backed by an established, recognizable, strong and trusted online presence.

The following suggestions may prove beneficial to learning more about branding before scheduling a consult with a marketing manager or contracted online marketing firm.

A small force of four has waged war against LinkedIn, perhaps the largest web-based professional network to inhabit the Internet. The social network currently has nearly 300 registered million users. The recent class-action lawsuit, filed mid-October in California, alleges the professional social media network dedicated to employment networking violated consumer protection laws as mandated under the federal Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA). The basis of the suit targets LinkedIn’s reference search option that provides  premium level account holders with instant access to a report listing of possible “off the record” references of fellow LinkedIn members with only one swift click of a mouse.

By merely clicking on a prospective candidate’s profile photo and opting for the reference search function, the prospective employer is privy to a sortable list of additional members who worked under the same employer at the time of the prospective candidate. This questions the accessibility of an expansive list of possible “off the record” references, all without the knowledge and consent of the candidate.

The four plaintiffs argue this type of LinkedIn generated reference list is protected under the FCRA. Enacted in 1970, the FCRA was enacted to protect consumers against discriminatory hiring and lending practices due to unfair credit reporting practices by third party agencies. The class-action suit alleges LinkedIn’s reference search option lends validity as a fee-based third party entity offering consumer information with members protected by the reporting, accuracy and disclosure regulations under FCRA.