Bad Reviews Are Bad for Business: What Will You Do with Them?

Online reviews are a crucial part of marketing for your law firm. They enable clients to provide a recommendation of your services while also providing others with insights into your process. It’s a great way to drum up business for your firm.

But, as you’re well aware, not every client is going to walk away satisfied.

As such, you can expect any grievances clients feel towards your law firm to eventually make their way to the online review platform of their choosing in the form of bad reviews. So, what do you do?

Lash out in anger?

Shrink away in denial?

Get defensive?

Delete your business page on that platform and hope that shuts down the criticism?

This brief guide will teach you what to do with those bad reviews.

 

What to Do with Bad Reviews Online

Bad reviews happen to even the best of law firms. You see it all the time. They have near-perfect 5-star ratings, with the exception of a few bad reviews. While they might not be enough to destroy a law firm’s reputation, the way in which they’re handled could turn prospective clients’ scrutiny to complete distrust in no time at all.

So, here is what you need to do to handle bad reviews properly:

 

1. Read All of Them

There’s no point in trying to ignore bad reviews (or even online reviews altogether). Whether or not you publish a business page for your law firm on Google My Business, Facebook, or Yelp, your clients will find a way to have that page created so they can leave reviews for others to find.

That means you should take ownership of those key review platforms and, then, use an online review tool to seamlessly monitor and manage them all in one place.

2. Always Respond

Clients are leaving reviews online – especially in popular forums – because they want to be heard. If you stay quiet, it’s only going to stoke the fires even more.

Worse, if you leave a comment like this hanging with no reply, you’ll instill fear in prospective clients who use online reviews to vet the qualifications of law firms. Don’t give anyone a reason to think your law firm is unprofessional or uncaring, even if the case has long since closed. All feedback is worth your time.

3. Don’t Take It Personally

When it comes to engaging with bad reviews online, remember that it isn’t personal. There’s no need to make excuses for why one of your lawyers acted the way he or she did or to try to pass the buck for why you lost a case.

The client is upset about the outcome and is looking for a way to lash out. Don’t make the response be about you and do not, under any circumstances, reveal details of their case as a way to justify the complaint.

4. Verify That It’s a Legitimate Review

One of the problems with enabling consumers to leave feedback online is the anonymity of it. If someone held a personal grudge against your law firm, they could do so without having to submit any real proof they were ever a client.

In this example, the reviewer was indeed a client unhappy with their results. However, they decided to immaturely lash out while referencing a workshop they hadn’t taken part in. The firm’s partner did a good job of stepping forward to correct this inaccuracy so that readers of the review would understand the context from which it came.

5. Be Sincere

One of the things you should always do when responding to a bad review is to thank the reviewer for their input. Just remember that it needs to be sincere. If your response sounds canned or like you’re subtly giving them the brush off, you run the risk of increasing their attacks on your firm like this:

It’s also not a good sign when others “Like” the negative feedback they’ve left for you. Someone is clearly listening to the conversation, which means you’re losing business as a result.

6. Stay Calm

Another thing to keep in mind is that you want to keep things civil and never go on the offense. Stay calm, respond succinctly, and try to leave it on a positive note if you can’t work to resolve the issue.

7. Take It in Private

When a bad review hits the Internet, don’t continue the conversation in public. When possible, respond to their review online and try to move them to a phone call.

While it would be great if you could resolve their complaint and get them to change their review to a more positive one, that won’t always be the case. Even if they don’t change their mind, you’ve conducted yourself with decorum which may lessen the damage the review could’ve otherwise done.

8. Learn from Bad Reviews

Often, consumers look to reviews to sniff out common trends in complaints. So the last thing you want to do is receive bad review after bad review that says your lawyers were unresponsive or that your law firm charged exorbitant fees.

Use these bad reviews as a way to learn where your law firm falls short and repair your business accordingly so that no one has any reason to leave another bad review again.

Bad Reviews Are Bad for Business

The world wide web has given consumers a way to air their every thought, complaint, and desire in the public forum. Which means there’s no getting away from the fact that bad reviews abound online.

Online reputation management can be difficult for a law firm, especially when you’re busy tackling cases for current clients. Reach out to Trial Law Digital today and let’s talk about how we can help.

8 Best Online Review Tools for Law Firms

There are a number of reasons why online reviews are crucial for law firms [link to article]. In addition to reviews helping you quickly and effortlessly bolster your reputation online, they improve prospective clients’ ability to choose a law firm that will serve their needs best.

It might seem as though there isn’t much work to do in terms of generating online reviews. But once you start reviewing and managing reviews, you’ll see that there’s much more to it than meets the eye.

That’s because online review management is also about reputation management and relationship management.

Because there is so much that goes into managing online reviews, you don’t want to try to do this on your own. It’ll leave you feeling frustrated as you spend excessive amounts of time hunting down reviews left around the web. Or, worse, discovering that clients haven’t felt inclined to leave any reviews at all.

You need to take ownership of your online review channels and optimize the way they are managed. You can do this with online review tools.

 

8 Best Online Review Tools for Law Firms

Online review tools perform a number of functions. Your goal in choosing one is to find the tool that streamlines as much of the work involved in online review management as possible.

1. BirdEye

Highlights from BirdEye:

• Take control of all your online business listings and create a consistent message for your firm across each platform.
• The second a negative review is left somewhere, you will be notified so you can respond.
• Send review requests by email (or SMS) to clients after their cases have wrapped.
• BirdEye isn’t just an online review tool. It has other tools for reputation management, like social media sharing and search rank monitoring.

 

2. Grade.us

Highlights from Grade.us:

• Receive real-time updates whenever you receive a new online review.
• Create automated review campaigns and send to clients via email, text, or printed cards.
• Share review highlights directly to your website (which helps with SEO) or your social feeds.
• Respond to reviews left on Facebook or Google from your dashboard.

 

3. Law Review

Highlights from Law Review:

• Use this to build a better balance of reviews on the platforms you want feedback left on (e.g. Google, Yelp, Avvo).
• Automate review requests and drive clients to your preferred landing page.
• Monitor your Net Promoter Score to see what all of these reviews and feedback translate to for your law firm.
• Convert the best online reviews into testimonials for your WordPress site.

 

4. Podium

Highlights from Podium:

• Podium provides review request templates you can then text or email to clients.
• Whenever new online reviews post, you’ll be notified right away, giving you a chance to respond in a timely manner.
• Gain insights into keywords that commonly show up in your reviews so you may infer what this says about your firm.
• Compare your online reviews and overall firm reputation with up to five competitors.

 

5. Pozative

Highlights from Pozative:

• It’s free to use.
• Sync your Facebook and Google online review pages to your account and drive clients directly to them with a text message.
• Before Pozative sends them to the review platform, it asks if they were satisfied. If they say “no”, it gives clients a chance to email you directly with the negative feedback instead of posting it online.
• Upload your recent client lists and automate these review requests.

 

6. ReviewPush

Highlights from ReviewPush:

• Receive instant email notifications when new reviews publish. You also have the option to respond to reviews from those emails.
• Use this to keep tabs on how each of your firm’s locations are performing and drill down into what’s working and what’s not.
• If you have more than one person in charge of managing online reviews—like an assistant at each location—grant them custom access to the dashboard.
• ReviewPush scans the web to make sure you have and own an online review page on all key channels.

 

7. ReviewTrackers

Highlights from ReviewTrackers:

• Choose from over 100 online review sources to connect to your ReviewTrackers dashboard.
• Connect with your most satisfied clients and ask them to leave you a review.
• Multi-location law firms can use this to monitor how each brand is doing in terms of client satisfaction.
• ReviewTrackers helps you manage review generation, monitoring, and responses. It’s also a full-scale reputation management platform so you can keep an eye on the competition as well as your individual firm’s performance.

 

8. Synup

Highlights from Synup:

• Includes a free listings and reputation scan to tell you what the current state of your firm’s review channels looks like.
• Synup doesn’t just monitor online reviews. It will also scour social media for mentions of your law firm.
• Use the review response templates to ensure you respond to feedback in a professional manner.
• Not only can you monitor all reviews and mentions from a single dashboard, but you can leave internal notes so you have a record of action taken on them.

 

Summary

By now, you have a good sense for how important online reviews are to your law firm. In addition to helping you win more clients, they also provide a great opportunity to learn more about what your firm is doing well and what it needs to improve upon.

With one of these review tools on your side, you can optimize your online review management efforts while still keeping your focus on running your law firm.

If you’re not feeling confident about managing your firm’s reviews and think an online review tool will only create more work for you, then it might be time to outsource to Trial Law Digital. Contact us today to schedule a quick discovery call.

Law Firm Facebook Ads to Inspire Your Own Paid Marketing Strategy

What began as a means for connecting college students to one another, and later became a way to stay in touch with friends, family, and colleagues, Facebook is now a key element in a business’s marketing strategy. And that includes law firms.

There’s much that can be said about the viability of Facebook as a social media marketing platform for lawyers. There’s even more to say about how law firms have to be prepared to put time and money into it in order for it to work in their favor.

Now, you’re no stranger to the idea of using Facebook ads to connect with prospective clients. You know why they must be part of your marketing strategy and you even know how to use Facebook ads effectively.

Today, we want to show you some real-life examples of law firms that are using Facebook ads to connect with new clients. Each of them plays to their unique strengths and should serve as inspiration as you work on writing and designing your own.

 

11 Examples of Law Firm Facebook Ads to Inspire Your Own

As Facebook says:

Be it Facebook, Instagram, or Messenger, placing your ads in front of prospective clients at the right time and in the right format could drive a significant amount of new business to your law firm.

But, first, you must have ads that grab attention in a meaningful way. This may mean:

• Promoting your law firm’s website and services in a relatable manner.
• Promoting a blog post that’s informative and valuable to your prospective clients.
• Sharing of recent news that strikes at the emotional core of clients and why they’d seek out your legal services in the first place.
• Offering free consultation services.
• And more.

Here are some inspiring examples from around Facebook that we’re particularly fond of (and why):

Arnold & Itkin

Arnold & Itkin is a Houston-based law firm that represents personal injury cases. As such, they promote related messages in their Facebook ads:

At first glance, this may seem totally self-promotional. However, the post itself discusses a specific type of injury and one that’s relevant to those living in the Gulf regions, too.

Video does extremely well on Facebook, so it’s a smart move on Arnold & Itkin’s part to include a playable video right within a sponsored post. Video is much easier and quicker to consume, so this helps appeal to prospects who might not take time to read the message.

One other example from Anold & Itkin that’s particularly rave-worthy is this blog post promotion. There’s a brief description of the accident paired with an eye-catching image and clearly written headline. It’s bound to get lots of attention.

 

Cellino & Barnes

Cellino & Barnes is a personal injury law firm based out of New York state. While this particular sponsored post is generic in nature, it has two things going for it:

Unique imagery sets an otherwise unforgettable ad apart from anything else in a targeted user’s news feed. Pair that with the free consultation offer, and they’ve given them something worth clicking on.

 

Cordell & Cordell

Cordell & Cordell is a domestic litigation firm for men. That highly targeted specialty, in and of itself, gives their marketing strategy an edge. But the ads they share with their prospective male audience are quite unique too:

We have another great example here of video used in Facebook ads. However, take a closer look at the message and link. They’re not promoting a client testimonial or blatantly trying to sell their legal services. This ad promotes an upcoming webinar.

This ad makes it a little more obvious that a webinar is being promoted. But check out the title beside the webinar details: “The 10 Stupidest Mistakes Men Make When Facing Divorce (and How to Avoid Them)”. If that’s not a killer hook, I don’t know what is.

 

Greenberg & Bederman, LLC

Greenberg & Bederman, LLC is a law firm that focuses on personal injury cases. A number of their specialties revolve around harm caused by the medical or pharmaceutical industries, and they’re using Facebook ads to get the message out:

This is a good example of how to offer value without going straight to the sell. The image isn’t necessarily pretty to look at, but it does get the message across:

DANGER.

Here’s another example of how this law firm uses a sense of risk and urgency to pique curiosity and draw attention to their ads:

Hare, Wynn, Newell & Newton

The personal injury law firm of Hare, Wynn, Newell & Newton boasts the claim that they “are committed to helping individuals from every walk of life stand up for their rights and fight for the justice they deserve.”

Being a law firm with a wide range of specialties falling under personal injury, you might think they’d go the boring route and just promote their page… which they did:

But take a closer look at that message. They’re not just asking for meaningless Likes to drive up the number of followers on Facebook. They promise safety tips in return.

They’ve also run ads that promote a specialty, but do so by promoting a blog post on the site, which gives this particular message more value:

What makes their Facebook advertising efforts even more special is that they aren’t just zeroing in on their areas of specialty. They’ve used ads like this one to reach a particular kind of client:

Because this kind of legal case is so specific, it’s much easier for the firm to target ads to artists, writers, developers, musicians, and others who have had their work stolen.

 

Wrap-Up

With a little bit of creativity, a well-chosen image or video, and a value-driven message, your Facebook ad campaigns can be a highly effective way to gain more clients. But it does take some work and research to get this formula right, which is why you should work with a Facebook Ads professional [link to Facebook Ads page on TLD… when it’s ready] who can handle it all for you. And ensure you maximize results from this investment.

Get in touch with Trial Law Digital today and let us know what we can do for you.

The post Law Firm Facebook Ads to Inspire Your Own Paid Marketing Strategy appeared first on Trial Law Digital.

Facebook Ads — A How-To for Attorneys

You’ve probably wondered at some point if Facebook would be a worthwhile investment in terms of adding it to your social media strategy. The answer to that is “yes”… but it comes with a major caveat.

Facebook is a must-have in an attorney’s social media strategy, but it must be handled with care. Because Facebook regularly changes its algorithms, and it’s more and more growing in favor of those willing to pay to play, it’s important to adjust your strategy to align with Facebook’s “rules”.

Facebook may not officially be a pay-to-play platform, but there’s no way to make any progress with its audience if you don’t. At least to start. Facebook isn’t the only one doing this either. Google has given more of its precious real estate to those willing to pay for ad placements. Amazon has now begun to do the same. This is the marketing landscape nowadays.

That said, just because the system seems to favor those with money to spend, doesn’t mean you have to be a big spender in order to win. Facebook advertising can be both cost-efficient and effective. You just have to do it right.

How to Set up Facebook Ads the Right Way

Facebook advertising isn’t one of those things you can throw money at and it will instantly work in your favor. Some time and consideration should be put into strategizing a Facebook ad campaign.

Here is what you need to know about how to set up Facebook ads the right way:

1. Understand Why It’s So Effective

Facebook ads are unique within the context of marketing. Think about it like this:

This is typically what a Google ad looks like. It’s not too exciting. Just a page title, a brief description, and maybe some extra details regarding the business. It’s effective in reaching more people simply because it sits at the top of search results pages… but is it enough to set your law firm apart from the sea of others?

Now, here is an example of a Facebook ad:

 

Your company name sits at the top of the dedicated block in which your ad is encased. There is a custom-written message that’s short and to the point directly below it. There’s a visual element included, too. This one happens to use a mouth-watering video. And, below that, you have an opportunity to share a compelling call-to-action.

Oh, and targeting an audience with Facebook ads can go much deeper than other platforms, as you might imagine. Facebook gathers a lot of data on its users. Demographics. Geography. Interests. Behaviors. Search history. And more. Reaching prospective clients with ads of real interest to them could greatly improve your chances of success.

2. Create Your First Ad

If you have a Facebook Business page, you are now eligible to start running ads from it. To do this, go to your business page on Facebook and locate the Ad Center tab.

Click on Create a Promotion to view the available options for advertising on Facebook. These include:

• Boosting a post that already exists.
• Promoting your Facebook Business page.
• Promoting a call-to-action on your Business page (like “Message Us” or “Visit Us”).
• Promoting your website.
• Creating a custom ad.

Your goal here isn’t just to get a bunch of eyes on your ad. You want real engagement. People should be compelled to comment on or share the post with others. They should also want to click on the link to find out more about your offer. Learn more about your law firm. Sign up for a free consultation. Submit your questions on Messenger. Follow us for news related to workers’ compensation litigation. And so on.

Whatever sort of post you decide to put money behind, be sure it’s something prospective clients will find value in.

• Choose the right offer.
• Write an accurate, succinct, and engaging message for it.
• Use a custom and eye-catching image or video.
• Decide where you want them to go: stay on Facebook or visit your website?

Then, create it.

3. Focus on Targeting

As I said, there’s a whole lot of data to tap into within Facebook’s network of users. Make sure to put it to work for you as you target the ad.

As you can see, Facebook allows you to drill down based on characteristics such as:

• Gender
• Age
• Location – you can get much more specific than country or state if your firm serves a smaller geographic region

Facebook also lets you use more detailed targeting pertaining to interests, employment, behavior, and so on. Just be careful with this as too narrow of a targeted group will prevent you from achieving positive results with your ad placement. Thankfully, Facebook will tell you when this is likely to happen:

Be practical in your selection here, but also don’t be afraid to branch out a bit too. You know your client base well, but you may learn something new about who they are and what their user profile looks like on Facebook by running ads.

4. Set Your Budget

The final question Facebook asks is about your budget and timeframe. While it might seem like a good idea to run an ad indefinitely (after all, won’t a longer campaign lead to more views?), it’s not—especially if this is your first ad.

Tread lightly in this first go-round with Facebook. Set a small budget to start and run it for a week. Give the ad some time to stretch its legs and monitor it daily to see what sort of impact it’s having. At the end of the campaign, you can assess the results and use them to make future decisions regarding Facebook ad spend.

Wrap-Up

With the right setup, Facebook ads will get you in front of the right audience and will, in turn, help you land more clients. But this requires a lot of work.

Facebook may make the setup of ads seem simple enough, but there’s a lot of research, configuration, tweaking, and analysis that goes into succeeding with Facebook ads. Plus, if your Facebook Business page or WordPress website aren’t ready for the limelight, you’ll need to give them a professional polish before opening your wallet.

Trial Law Digital can help you create a killer Facebook ad campaign and fix up your site in anticipation of it. Learn how now.

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