Publishing engaging blogs, building brand awareness on your social channels will only get you so far. At some point you need to provide evidence of your success. And proof doesn’t get much better than genuine reviews left by happy customers.
How to find and remove fake reviews is just as important, though. In the legal sector credibility matters; but your hard-earned reputation could be toppled by a tactfully placed and malicious fake review.
Whether you invite customers to post feedback on Google Reviews, TrustPilot, or Reviews.io, regularly auditing and responding to feedback should form an important part of your marketing strategy.
Don’t know how to find and remove fake reviews? Here are some tips to help your law firm get started.
Step 1 – What evidence has the customer supplied?
Imagine a customer posted negative feedback about your firm, claiming you ignored their communications – and were rude to them on the phone.
No dates, times, or names are listed. So it’s highly likely the review has been fabricated by a competitor, added by a bot, or left by a troll out of sheer malice.
Step 2 – What writing style and vocabulary is used?
Understanding how to find and remove fake reviews is an art. But these scammers often leave behind a Hansel and Gretel trail you can follow to uncover their deceit.
An angry person won’t use short controlled sentences and simple language. Writing in the heat of the moment their review will include typos, long sentences, and repetitions.
Step 3 – What’s the reviewer’s name and do you recognise it?
Fake reviewers are masters of camouflage who know how to cover their tracks. Sometimes, though, they slip up.
With that in mind:
- check their name: are they on your system?
- Google them: do they work for a competitor?
- Have they left reviews for other companies?
Step 4 – Has the reviewer posted feedback in batches?
Even if you know how to find and remove fake reviews here’s a fact that might surprise you: people are paid to leave negative feedback – often by rival companies.
They usually do so in batches, attacking a series of accounts in a single day, after which they create a new identity with a fake email address and start again.
So, if you spot suspicious feedback, delve deeper. If your allegedly unhappy customer left dozens of reviews on the same day they’re likely fake.
Step 5 – Has the reviewer left comments or just a star rating?
If no comments have been left the feedback is almost always fake. Of course there will be exceptions. But you should be highly suspicious of empty one-star reviews.
Think about it this way: if you’d received bad service at a restaurant wouldn’t you be incensed enough to shout about it – even if only to warn other customers?
How to deal with fake reviews and protect your firm’s reputation
Now you know how to find and remove fake reviews, it’s time to start challenging the trolls trying to topple your brand reputation.
The process will vary depending on the review platform you’re using – so we’ll use Google Reviews (arguably the most popular) as an example.
- Log into your Google My Business profile
- Locate the Reviews tab in the top-left corner
- Find the review you want to challenge
- Use the ‘Flag as inappropriate’ option
- Complete a very short survey
- Submit your response
The final step is to respond as if speaking to a genuine customer. This will promote your brand as credible and fair to visitors.
Just as importantly take time to acknowledge positive reviews and steer visitors’ attention away from fake feedback.
Building a brand in the legal sector?
Then get a head start by talking to Boss Digital. Book a free consultation and let’s get to know each other.
