Leaving A Legacy: Why It's Important to Protect Your Online Reputation

April 27, 2010 - It seems every few months we hear about a new "Internet celebrity" - a person who gained their notoriety through the powers of social media. In some cases, this fame is a positive thing, earning talented individuals recognition by acting agencies or record labels. More often than not, people gain Internet fame for more embarrassing reasons.

As a lawyer and a law firm, you have a large part of your business riding on your reputation. While your office, case results, degrees, and associates all play into your overall image, you now have a whole new area to consider: the Internet. In an era where many clients conduct research on lawyers well before ever setting foot in their office, you need to be aware of what is being said by you and about you online.

With social networking becoming a solid fixture in our Internet lives, it's all-too-easy for personal or inappropriate information to be shared among millions of users. Our first tip in protecting your online reputation is to police yourself. Watch what you post on your personal and business social networking accounts, and remember that:
 

• While your privacy settings may be locked, your connections' content may not be
• Anything transmitted via computer has the potential for being recovered no matter how well you think you deleted it
• Your social media profiles are just Internet extensions of your reputation

 

The next tip in protecting your Internet image is to dominate your representation online. If you find yourself the victim of embarrassing or negative content from a competitor or "friend," don't go into attack mode. Instead, make sure that YOU are the most credible, search engine-friendly source that pops up on Google when you're searched for.

It may take time, but those negatives will eventually get pushed down in the rankings and disappear. It's never wrong to ask friends and family to take down potentially embarrassing content, either. If it's a serious case of slander, you may need to take more action to remedy the situation.

If you find yourself plagued by an upset client posting negative remarks about your company, utilizing the same channels to respond to the issue in a professional manner may help douse the flames. Many companies have found PR success in responding to negative press via social media, often through the very same channels they were attacked in.

Good monitoring of all your Internet content is the best overall tip for keeping your online image as clean as possible. You should already be proactive in commenting and interacting with your various Internet media, such as your blog comments and social media discussion posts. While you're doing this, remember you are representing yourself and your firm.

Many law firms are turning to recent law school grads to help manage and monitor their social networking outreach. This generation has grown up in the social media era and understands the wide reach your Internet reputation has for your business.

One of the most reliable ways to safely and effectively establish your social media profiles is to have the help of an experienced Internet marketing company like We Do Web Content.

We offer establishment and monitoring of your social networking profiles, as well as advice on how to best integrate your social media with other aspects of your internet marketing. When you enhance your website with relevant content that's custom written for SEO, you'll see a great increase in your search engine rankings and client relations! For affordable, quality content exclusive to YOUR website, blog and clients, contact We Do Web Content today!  1-888-521-3880.