Mastering Law Firm Reviews: What to Do, What to Avoid, and Creating Social Proof Through Compelling Social Content

Law firms have to constantly seek innovative ways to stand out and attract new clients. One powerful tool in this quest is leveraging your client’s law firm reviews. Client testimonials are not just feedback; they’re a testament to your firm’s expertise, trustworthiness, and the quality of service you provide. When utilized effectively on social media, these law firm reviews can transform your online presence, offering authentic social proof that resonates with potential clients. The significance of client reviews (and responding to them) for law firms will only increase as markets reach saturation, so it is important to leverage your law firm reviews in your overall marketing strategy. Let’s explore how the importance of law firms reviews, how to get more of them, and how to them into compelling social media posts as a way to gain more social proof across digital platforms.

The Importance of Client Reviews for Your Law Firm

Client reviews are more than just accolades; they’re a critical component of your law firm’s online reputation. In an era where most people turn to the internet to find legal advice, a robust collection of positive reviews can significantly influence a potential client’s decision to choose your firm over competitors. Law firm reviews reflect real-life experiences and outcomes, providing prospective clients insight into what it’s like to work with you. This direct feedback from past clients acts as a beacon, guiding new clients to your door. 

Psychologically, people are more likely to be compelled to go through the effort of leaving a negative review if they had a bad experience than a good review for a positive experience. This is why it is important to capture reviews from your satisfied clients so that a few bad apples do not unfairly tank your firm’s review ratings and reputation.

When it comes to search engine optimization, algorithms are now incorporating your law firm’s reviews into its rankings. However, an artificial push of positive 5-star reviews that seemingly come out of nowhere can negatively impact your firm’s result rankings. In an ideal situation, your law firm’s clients have positive experiences and are given multiple opportunities to conveniently leave a review of their experience with your firm. This way, reviews trickle in consistently and do not raise any red flags for spam in the algorithm. 

What Not To Do With Law Firm Reviews 

As search engines and algorithms get smarter and more refined, it is important to take note of what not to do with your law firm reviews. As mentioned above, an artificial influx can hurt your law firm review rankings. 

For example, if you were to send out a group text asking multiple people from your firm to leave a 5-star review for your law firm after not getting many reviews or a mix of 1-5-star reviews, this could get flagged and hurt your search engine optimization rankings, not help it. Purchasing reviews is also not a good strategy and can reflect poorly. Business reviews are meant to be completed by clients and customers who actually use the business’s services.

Google can also penalize your law firm for submitting fake or unfair reviews both on your account and anyone else’s. Do not try to “get even” with a local competitor by leaving a fake or inaccurate review.  In some cases, submitting false law firm reviews can even be punishable by law. 

What To Do With Law Firm Reviews 

It’s important to understand what actions you should take as your law firm reviews come in. As genuine, positive reviews are shared, reply from the business page and thank them for sharing their experience (this can even be automated with ChatGPT). If a law firm review comes in that looks like spam, it is important to report it so that the proper steps can be taken to remove the spam review. Some hints that a law firm review may be spam are:

• Incorrect business name utilized 
• Mentions employees or services you do not have
• One star with no details or response when asking about their experience 
• The reviewer’s profile is generic or unprofessional 
• The reviewer’s history of reviewing other service providers
• Multiple law firm reviews coming in a short amount of time 

Additionally, any law firm review that falls into Googles prohibited and restricted content guidelines should also be reported and removed. 

Beyond ranking higher in searches, client testimonials help to humanize attorneys and offer more insight into the legal processes. Having the depth of strong reviews over a longer period shows the consistency your firm offers clients and can help individuals gain a sense of which attorney they may want to work with at your firm. 

After vetting through the fake, spam, and unfair reviews, the next step of what to do with your law firm reviews is to communicate your client’s satisfaction to your target audience. 

How To Promote Legal Reviews as Social Media Content

Turning your law firm’s reviews into engaging social media content not only enhances your online presence but also strengthens your relationship with past and future clients. After all, what is the point of collecting client reviews if your target audience never has the chance to see them? Here are three approaches to effectively receive and promote your legal reviews, both old and new:

Feature Reviews in Visual Posts

Take the text from your client reviews and repurpose it into eye-catching graphics that highlight the positive experiences of your law firm’s clients. Use your brand colors and include your logo to maintain brand consistency across posts and videos alike, but do not let that hinder your creativity. Every client review shared as a visual does not need to be the exact same design. Having cohesion but differentiation across a variety of templates for your law firm’s reviews will provide a visually pleasing experience for those exploring your social media. By cycling through a handful of different visuals, you reduce the risk of any given review not standing out to your audience. Simply sharing the text of the review in the same way every time will not get you very far in 2024. 

Video Testimonials

Especially if your divorce and family law firm practice is large and serves hundreds of clients a month, you may not be able to get a video testimonial from every satisfied client. However, selecting a handful of success cases to ask for video testimonials can be an excellent way to highlight your law firm and show the Google algorithms your firm keeps up with trends like increasing accessible video content to paint the bigger picture of what it is like to work with your law firm as a client. These personal accounts can be more engaging and trustworthy than written reviews. As algorithms adapt and change, we continue to see a stronger emphasis on video content and that it often reaches a much larger audience than a graphic or photo post. 

In order to effectively obtain video testimonials, consider how your firm would like to communicate the ask, in addition to the instructions to create and submit their video testimonial. Depending on the volume of clients your law firm services, you may want to invest in a top video testimonial tool to help streamline the process and create engaging video content to represent your firm and contribute to social proof. 

Once you have your client video testimonial use these tips to take your content a step further and maximize your reach: 

• Edit in App: Social media apps can favor and push content that was published directly in-app over third-party services 
• Closed Captioning: Making sure your law firm’s video content is accessible is crucial. When sensitive topics are being discussed, your potential clients may not be in an environment where they can listen to the audio of a video reviewing a law firm. An increasing amount of video watchers are also consuming media with the sound off, so closed captioning allows this portion of your audience to stay engaged.  
• Paid Promotion: For high-quality law firm review posts on social media, consider putting some money into boosting the law firm reviews that highlight the best and unique aspects of your firm. Make sure to understand what restrictions Meta places on what content can be promoted and boosted to reach a wider audience. Some audio tracks and interactive elements can restrict a post from paid promotion. 
• Provide Talking Points: Share a simple outline of the elements you’d like for clients to use as appropriate to their case and experience. Consider what is most important to be included, like the name of the attorney worked with, type of case, and the positive experience/outcome. 

Asking For Law Firm Reviews 

Why You Should Ask

Over 60% of today’s consumers report they are likely to leave a review if they are asked for one. The most efficient way to capture these law firm reviews is to have a process in place to grab the attention of your clients at various phases in their family law journey. One of the most important reasons to ask for law firm reviews from satisfied clients is that unsatisfied customers are much more likely to complain and seek out leaving a bad review. If unsatisfied clients are the only ones making the effort to leave law firm reviews, then this puts your firm in a vulnerable position, risking your firm’s efforts in client acquisition, SEO, and reputation management. 

The benefits of asking for law firm reviews go beyond just increasing your Google search ranking. You can also showcase your law firm’s client satisfaction on social media platforms and your law firm’s website. In 2024, law firms need to consider that social media is another extension of law firm reviews, and every mention of your law firm online can reflect on the overall quality and experience clients can expect from your firm. 

How You Should Ask For Law Firm Reviews

By implementing asks for law firm reviews within your firm’s existing communication sequences and emails, happy clients will be more likely to take action and leave a positive law firm review. With strategic timing and repeating reminders, your divorce and family law firm can consistently earn quality law firm reviews to show search algorithms and legal service seekers alike that your firm provides a quality experience.

If you’re not sure where to start with asking for law firm reviews, consider the following: 

• Ask your happy clients in person for reviews on their experience.
• Create a visual with a QR code to post in common areas of the office.
• Including a direct link to leave a review in firm communications and emails to clients .

The Value of Social Proof for Attorneys 

Often attorneys question the point of social media in their field and can be hesitant to jump on the social media bandwagon. As we delve deeper into leveraging law firm reviews on social media platforms, it becomes increasingly evident that the power of social proof extends far beyond individual testimonials. In today’s fiercely competitive legal landscape, attorneys are continually seeking ways to distinguish themselves and capture the attention of potential clients. This transition opens the door to exploring the broader significance of social proof in establishing credibility, building trust, and ultimately thriving amidst competition. 

Social proof is a psychological phenomenon where people conform to the actions of others under the assumption that those actions reflect the correct behavior. For attorneys, social proof can be a game-changer. It leverages the human tendency to trust peer experiences over advertisements. Displaying positive law firm reviews and client testimonials across your social media platforms serves as evidence of your firm’s competence and reliability, significantly boosting your credibility in the eyes of prospective clients.

Divorce & Family Law Firm Reviews As Social Content

Leveraging client reviews in your social media strategy not only showcases your law firm’s successes but also builds a trustworthy brand that attracts potential clients. Remember, the key is authenticity. Genuine reviews and testimonials will resonate more deeply with your audience, fostering a sense of community and reliability around your brand. By implementing these strategies, you’re not just promoting your firm; you’re creating an engaging, client-focused narrative that speaks volumes about your dedication to serving your clients.

For help with reputation management and social media services, reach out to Cardinal Concepts today!