No matter how good and how reputable an attorney is, there is bound to be bad press and negative feedback. A good marketing firm will always, and here the always should be stressed, endeavor to work reputation management into adverting for lawyers. Following are the top four reasons why reputation management is critical in marketing for lawyers.
Combating Social Media
Social media has its upsides, but there are times when social media can be a real detriment to any professional person. There are just some people who thrive on causing trouble whenever they find an audience. Many times the people who wreak the worst havoc are those who have never been a client of the lawyer they are degrading. In fact, they may have never even met that particular attorney and may not even live in the same state that the attorney is licensed to practice in. It�s just that little minds like to bring others down with them. They get a kick out of causing trouble.Angry Clients
What is that old saying? "You can please some of the people all of the time, you can please all of the people some of the time, but you can�t please all of the people all of the time" This is never truer than in relation to lawyers. Attorneys try their hardest to win every case that crosses their desks, but the sad reality is, some cases just can�t be won. Oh, they may get overturned from time to time on a �technicality� but those times are rare. Some clients are just bound to be unhappy with the outcome and negative word of mouth within attorneys� communities can cost them dearly in terms of new business.Counteracting Bias
Then there are those individuals who are biased against all lawyers for some odd reason. Maybe they didn�t get the outcome they were looking for with another attorney or maybe they are just anti-establishment. Even when attorneys are representing a defendant and not �the people,� they are still seen as being part of the �system.� Reputation management needs to take into consideration the growing number of people who are simply anti-attorneys in general. Successful marketing and PR firms like Berbay, know the importance of reputation management and often employ this approach in their marketing campaigns.Bad Local Press
The local media can be a real boon when it comes to advertising, but on the flip side, they can do a great deal of damage to a lawyer�s career. Some lawyers represent serial killers, child molesters and any other social deviant that comes along. They don�t have a choice! If they are criminal defense attorneys, for example, they have taken an oath to serve and that�s exactly what they are doing. The local press loves to eat them alive. Here again, reputation management can take the sting out of the bite perpetrated by the local press.For the most part, reputation management deals with counteracting an event which has already transpired, but it can also be pre-emptive. By understanding that people will be people and not all of them happy campers, it is quite possible to neutralize negativity before it arises. A good marketing campaign can do that and why it is so important that reputation management always be part of a well-rounded approach.
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