It used to be that disgruntled clients would leave your office, complain to a few friends and family; maybe write you a nasty letter, and then they simply moved on with their lives.
Not so today. The internet has opened new and dangerous venues for vocalizing complaints, right or wrong.
Recently, a client called, very upset, that one of his previous clients from over a year ago had just posted a flaming negative review on Yelp. My client knew that every thing that was written online was fabricated and incorrect, but what could he do. Suing someone for defamation is a difficult road. A week later, another client called with the same problem.
Both clients' initial response was to write a long reply defending themselves and their firm. Fortunately, they talked to me first.
WHAT NOT TO DO:
1.) Don't panic. Seldom can you think clearly when you are angry and in a panic.
2.) Do not attempt to defend yourself in a posted response. You will lose! Defending yourself, you will provide more information for your reviewer to attack; then you will defend again,and the reviewer will attack your defense, and so on and so on...... you will lose!
3.) Do not break client/attorney privilege by writing anything about the case. Not only will this give the reviewer something else to attack, you have now provided them something to take to the state bar.
4.) Do not attack the credibility of the poster. This is not a courtroom and it quickly becomes your word against theirs. Most times, you will lose!
5.) Do not write a advertising type review of yourself; citing how all of your clients are happy with your work, etc. In your haste to defend yourself, you may unintentionally violate Rule 400.
6.) Do not respond as a victim. What you write will remain on the internet for future clients to find. Broadcasting yourself a victim may interfere with your brand as a competent attorney.
7.) Do not ignore it and hope it will go away. A negative post without a response may be the one result a searcher will find.
8.) Do not continue clicking on the link, or send it to friends to read. What assists search results to stay at the top of results is their popularity. The more clicks - the longer the life of the link.
9.) Do not ask others to immediately post on this review, or respond to the poster of the review. Positive reviews all posted immediately after the negative review, posted on the same day, near the same time and worded similar will appear manipulated and dishonest.
Removing or reducing the impact of your negative reviews is best achieved when following a strategic plan.
WHAT TO DO:
1.) Take a breath.
2.) Write our your response in a word document, and set it aside for a day.
3.) Make a plan to ask colleagues and clients to post positive reviews on several OTHER sites, including your firm website, over a few weeks span, without any reference to the negative site.
4.) Claim your profile on this site, if possible, to respond appropriately in proper time. Build this profile with the same focus as your website.
4.) Claim your profile on this site, if possible, to respond appropriately in proper time. Build this profile with the same focus as your website.
5.) When you feel you are ready to respond to the review, have what you intend to post reviewed by someone who understands Rule 400, client/attorney privilege and Public Relations, in order to make sure your response is appropriate and places you in the best light possible.
6.) Submit a request to the search engines to de-index the offending site/page. Be prepared to explain why it should be removed from the database. Your request should be as carefully worded as your direct response to the post. In some cases, you can ask the specific site to remove a post. Revenge sites are another matter. They have sprung up with the intention to give people a platform to say anything. They have shown to be unreceptive regarding removing negative posts. In those cases, your strategy needs to be one to drown the bad review with a strong plan of positive actions and reviews.
7.) Post positive reviews on your website. Update the content on your website so it continues to be fresh and current for the search algorithms.
8.) Take advantage of free attorney profiles on legitimate 3rd party sites to build your brand and acquire positive reviews.
9.) Be active on legal websites where you can answer legal questions and showcase your expertise.
All that being said, some negative reviews can be a support to your image. All 5 star, glowing reviews can appear disingenuous.
Another Big DO: Stay on top of your internet reputation. Do not simply trust a Google Alert to keep you informed. Google and Yahoo have their separate and sometimes similar database so you may not see everything that is on the internet about you. I recommend using Dogpile.com , Mamma.com or zabasearch.com. These mega search engines aggregate and organize the web's content from several of the leading search engines.
These are only the top tips on what you should and should not do. Your internet strategy should contain additional actions. All that being said - when in doubt - call me.
For assistance, training or consultation with your internet marketing, call 800-569-8279 or email me through this link
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