Protecting Your Professional Reputation Online

Geri L. Dreiling

Beth Lewandowski

Presentation materials may be found at:

http://www.slideshare.net/GeriDreiling/newsfeed

“It takes 20 years to build a reputation

and five minutes to ruin it.” -- Warren Buffett

Session Overview

•Who is online and using social media?

•Why should you protect your online reputation?

•What are the types of harm to online reputation?

•How do you protect your online reputation before it is harmed?

•What should you do if negative information is posted?

Who is online and using social media?

According to the Pew Research Center, as of January 2014,

87 percent of Americans used the Internet.

Source: http://www.pewinternet.org/data-trend/internet-use/latest-stats/

Who are these social media users?

Who are these social media users?

Source: http://www.pewinternet.org/fact-sheets/social-networking-fact-sheet/

71 percent used Facebook

22 percent used LinkedIn

21 percent used Pinterest

18 percent used Twitter

17 percent used Instagram

According to the Pew Research Center, as of September 2013, 73 percent of Internet users

also used social media sites.

Source: http://www.pewinternet.org/fact-sheets/social-networking-fact-sheet/

Top 15 Most Popular Networking Sites, June 2014

Who are these social media users?

Source: http://www.pewinternet.org/2013/12/30/demographics-of-key-social-networking-platforms/

Who are these social media users?

Source: http://www.pewinternet.org/2013/12/30/demographics-of-key-social-networking-platforms/

Who are these social media users?

Source: http://www.pewinternet.org/2013/12/30/demographics-of-key-social-networking-platforms/

Who are these social media users?

Source: http://www.pewinternet.org/2013/12/30/demographics-of-key-social-networking-platforms/

Who are these social media users?

Source: http://www.pewinternet.org/2013/12/30/demographics-of-key-social-networking-platforms/

In late 2012, the law firm of Moses & Rooth created a

Google Consumer Survey to help them make legal marketing

decisions.

They received 1,183 online responses.

Source: http://www.mosesandrooth.com/blog/2012/12/-i-cannot-tell-you.shtml

Clients use the Internet to search for lawyers look at websites & online reviews

99% of households with income of $75K or more use the Internet, 75% are on social media

Internet use for those 18-64 nears or tops 90%

87% of Americans are online

Key takeaways:

Why should you protect your online reputation?

1. Professional Identity Theft

2. Damage to Professional Reputation

3. Hurts Profit

4. Copyright Infringement

5. Physical or Emotional Harm

What are the types of harm to online reputation?

1. Internet Fraud

2. Online Defamation

3. False Online Reports

4. Intellectual Property Rights Violations

5. Domain Name Disputes

6. Cyberbullying

7. Cybersquatting

How do you protect your online reputation before

it is damaged?

Assess your online reputation:

Perform a Google search of your name and your law firm’s name.

Set up a Google Alerts with your name and law firm name so

you are notified if the names appear online.

What if someone is cybersquatting and holding your name?

A victim of cybersquatting two options:

Sue under the provisions of the Anticybersquatting

Consumer Protection Act (ACPA), or

Use an international arbitration system created by the

Internet Corporation of Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN).

How do you protect your online reputation?

Assess your online reputation:

If someone creates a social media profile using your identity or your law firm’s

identity, no specific cause of action exists. However, you can:

• Check the terms of service on the site for a violation.

• Consider a defamation, fraud or false light lawsuit.

Source: BlawgIT, Brett Trout, http://blawgit.com/2008/12/13/social-media-accountjacking/comment-page-1

How do you protect your online reputation?

Is your law firm’s domain name

reserved?

• Is it reserved on LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook and Google+

Have you reserved your own name as a domain name?

• Also reserve name on LinkedIn, Twitter and Google +

Does your law firm have a website?

• Do you have a personal blog or website?

Online Channels for Lawyers

Blogs and Online News:

Online Channels for Lawyers

Reputation Aggregators:

Online Channels for Lawyers

Professional Networks:

Local Bar Association

Online Channels for Lawyers

Social Networks:

How do you protect your online reputation?

Facebook Firm Page and Twitter:

Best practices basics:

•Create a banner photo that includes the law firm name and logo for branding.

•“Humanize” the firm. Upload photos from law firm birthday lunches and holiday

gatherings.

•Publicize community outreach and charitable work.

•Recognize lawyers and staff for their contributions.

•Provide general educational material.

•Post infographics, graphics commemorating holidays, important birthdays and marking

the passing of notable people.

Offensive posts can have serious consequences, to wit:

How do you protect your online reputation?

LinkedIn:

A recent article in PCMag summed up the pros and cons of LinkedIn as follows:

•Pro: Best online professional network.

•Con: Excessive email by default.

•Bottom Line: “LinkedIn is the most important cross-industry professional network.”

Source: http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2120736,00.asp

How do you protect your online reputation?

LinkedIn:

Best practices basics:

•Write a one or two sentence “elevator” introduction.

•Upload a professional photo.

•Identify your educational experience.

•Connect with other users.

•Join groups and add to discussions.

•Consider whether to add Missouri Supreme Court Rule 4-7.2(f) “choice of a lawyer”

language.

How do you protect your online reputation?

YouTube:

Best practices basics:

•Be sure to include the law firm name and logo for branding.

•Write subtitles.

•Include tags.

•Engage with the YouTube community.

How do you protect your online reputation?

Google+:

If Google search results are important to you, then Google+ should be important as well.

•Google has developed a step-by-step guide to help businesses

How do you protect your online reputation before?

Devise a PR plan.

1. Develop an editorial calendar. Plan your posts at least four weeks in

advance. Note important holidays or novel dates. Plan posts and assign

responsibility for writing.

2. Consider a press release service such as BusinessWire, PRWeb or

PRNewswire.

3. You can try out PR Scorecard to measure your effectiveness.

4. Consider using a PR professional to assist your efforts.

5. Develop a law firm social media policy. Review it periodically with lawyers

and staff. A lack of a policy can lead to HR, PR and Bar issues.

How do you protect your online reputation before?

Best practices summary:

•Listen to what others are saying about you through Google Alerts and

monitoring Twitter.

•Establish a presence on the Internet and social media networks.

•Update your online presence on a regular basis.

•Remember that your online presence is a virtual handshake and opportunity for

collaboration.

What do you do when faced with online criticism?

Online reputation management doesn’t just include

reacting when people post favorable comments.

It also includes deciding what -- or if -- to do anything in

the wake of criticism.

What do you do when faced with online criticism?

Bring critics DIRECTLY to you – IN PRIVATE.

Have a highly visible place on your own site where clients can leave private

feedback directly for you. It might deter some from posting negative comments

on consumer sites or their own blogs.

What do you do when faced with online criticism?

Address every online complaint promptly.

Try honey before a hammer. The client might feel deceived twice:

first, when the lawyer didn’t deliver as promised, and secondly,

when the issue was not addressed after the complaint. Most people

just want to be heard – and apologized to.

Review sites such as Yelp and Angie's list allow the professional to

respond to reviews. React positively and professionally

What do you do when faced with online criticism?

Determine whether the criticism is an opinion or whether it contains defamatory

or false information. Does the post involve copyright or trademark

infringement?

Consider the possible negative repercussions of threatening legal action. Be

aware of the Streisand effect . Any attempt to censor information can cause

it to be more widely distributed.

In an excellent blog post on Popehat, lawyer Ken White reminds readers of the

importance of taking the “do no harm” approach.

“How to write a takedown request without running afoul of the Streisand effect.”

What do you do when faced with online criticism?

SLAPP - A strategic lawsuit against public participation (a lawsuit intended to

censor, intimidate and silence critics, by burdening them with legal costs, until

they abandon their criticism).

What do you do when faced with online criticism?

Anti-SLAPP Statutes

SLAPP suits are typically claims for defamation, intentional infliction of emotional

distress, invasion of privacy, or tortious interference with contract filed against a

party who has criticized or spoken out against the plaintiff in some public

context.

The paradigm case is a real estate developer filing a defamation or tortious

interference suit against a citizen who has spoken out publicly against a

proposed development project.

By filing suit, no matter how weak its claim might actually be, a plaintiff forces the

citizen to spend money responding to the claim and, in the process, to think twice

about speaking out publicly again.

What do you do when faced with online criticism?

Washington became the first state to pass anti-SLAPP statutes that offer some

procedural protection to defendants in these actions. Twenty-seven states have

followed (including Missouri).

What do you do when faced with online criticism?

MO. REV. STAT. § 537.528(2004)

Speech or conduct undertaken at, or made in connection with, a public hearing

or public meeting, or in a quasi-judicial proceeding before tribunal or decision

making body, is protected.

If a customer or former employee has posted a damaging comment about your

business, it would be wise to consider all the costs of pursuing that individual for

defamation or libel. Remember that if you sue in a jurisdiction which has Anti-

SLAPP motions and you lose, you could be on the hook for the defendant’s

attorney’s fees.

Keep in mind, that among the various defenses to libel and slander, truth is a

defense.

What do you do when faced with online criticism?

“Question: Where do you hide a dead body?

Answer: On the third page of Google results.”

– Lori Randall Stradtman,

What do you do when faced with online criticism?

Assess the impact of the criticism.

Is it showing up on page one or two of a Google search?

If you need to hire an online reputation management professional, what do you

need to know before you do?

1. Look at track record. (“Before” or baseline Google ranking and “after”

results.) Negative comments should be moved down on search

results, with positive mentions at the top.

2. Ask what tactics will be used to improve your reputation, including

SEO.

3. How does this translate to mobile devices, and apps, since many

more people access the internet through their phones and tablets.

What do you do when faced with online criticism?

The Online Reputation Management (ORM) industry divides its clients into two

categories:

Proactive – those who are actively seeking reputation protection, and

Reactive – those who have just been attacked online

Sampling of ORM providers

Reputation.com

Big Blue Robot

Akado.com

Most ORMs deal with content suppression

Protecting Your Professional Reputation Online

Geri L. Dreiling

Beth Lewandowski