Lawyers: Are You Monitoring Your Online Reputation?

With the speed of information travel on the internet, it's more important now than ever before that you monitor what people are saying about you. In addition, you need to add to the online conversation so that you have a presence and forum for building your own reputation.

I want to address not only ways you can build your reputation online, but also some suggestions for tracking what is being said about you.

1. Create a blog and regularly contribute to it - By writing articles about the fields of practice you work in is a great way to build trust and reputation. Others will look to you as an expert and you will build a great catalog of material to "show off" to prospective clients.

2. Use Google Alerts - Google provides this tool to everyone for free. This powerful tool enables you to enter words you want to scrape the internet for. It will email when a new instance of the word you are tracking appears. You can track your name, the name of your firm, and much more.

3. Check Twitter - Twitter allows you to search the stream and follow when others are talking or mentioning you or your law firm. Some desktop Twitter tools such as TweetDeck will allow you enter search terms that will automatically populate when they are found. Utilize the Twitter stream to your advantage.

4. Participate in social media sites and discussions - Getting active in social media is a great way to build your reputation online as well as keeping track of what others might be saying. Answering questions in your area of practice on LinkedIn or submitting new articles on Digg is a good way to build relationships as well.

The web is really good tool for connecting and sharing information. Much like in the offline world, establishing your identity and expertise will help build trust. This helps if others complain and say negative things about you and your firm as well.

When others write things that are negative or complain about and experience with your firm, this is an opportunity to track what is being said and respond accordingly. Most often, the situation can be diffused and turned into a positive for your firm.

When you put forth effort into establishing and developing your online reputation you will see potential clients turning into actual clients. Establishing trust and monitoring is essential in the online community.

Jeff Berman is Executive Director of AttorneySync's Lawyer Marketing Service. With so many online advertising for lawyers solutions out there, aren't you ready for one that works for you?