We live in an era where the internet is no longer a luxury but a necessity. This has not only opened new avenues for content creation but also exposed us to a deluge of online content. User-generated content (UGC) like recommendations, reviews, comments, videos, photos, forum discussions, and social media posts have become some of the most powerful tools for consumers to express their views.
The online presence of any business, irrespective of the industries or verticals, allows its users to express their responses and opinions— it helps businesses in building customer trust and enhancing their brand recognition. At the same time, negative comments can put the brand at risk, resulting in a poor brand reputation. This is because UGC plays a highly influential role in the decision-making process of consumers, especially when they are shopping online.
The spam content posted by users and followers on different online platforms makes it difficult for brands to thrive in the fast-paced digital world. So, as this user-generated content is becoming more powerful, monitoring becomes the need of the hour for businesses looking to protect their online presence. In such cases, customized content moderation solution helps companies in monitoring such things as well as adhere to the community guidelines given on the digital platforms.
Basics of Content Moderation
It is a must for every business to protect its website from any kind of harmful elements present in the user-generated content. Therefore, any content submitted to a website or platform must go through a screening process before it is posted, which is called the moderation process.
In other words, it is the process of examining whether the created content meets brands’ guidelines and is fit for the website or not— whether the submissions are appropriate or not is decided via a predefined criterion.
Companies that outsource content moderation tasks to professionals can easily get rid of any harmful or malicious content. As the experts take care of such ancillary tasks, businesses can focus better on increasing the number of active users on their platforms. Stakeholders can also gain insights into what the customers are thinking to develop marketing campaigns accordingly.
Significance of Content Moderation
Apart from the above-mentioned benefits, businesses can reap a plethora of benefits by investing in outsourced image moderation services and video moderation services. Here’s a list:
Higher Online Traffic
Higher online traffic is one of the tangible benefits of having a content moderation process in place. By monitoring a brand’s website and other online channels, stakeholders can drive greater traffic, which helps in improving the overall ranking of the website. An increase in online traffic empowers businesses to draw more attention toward them. As a result, users will interact more, leading to greater social engagement and improved brand reputation. The search engine automatically surges the online traffic towards the brand that has more engagement on its website.
Protected Website & Users
User-generated content comes in different forms such as product reviews, images, and posts on social media to likes and comments on forums, blogs, etc. It can also hamper brand image if it violates community guidelines. Besides, users might be offended if they see hateful or offensive comments on a brand’s social media posts. The professionals help businesses to protect their website and their users from this offensive behavior and comments, creating a healthy and positive environment for their interaction.
Optimized Marketing Campaigns
User-generated content influences customers looking to make a purchase decision. Positive views, comments, opinions, etc., helps brands in getting more visibility in the digital space and boost their marketing campaigns. Revealing features of the new product or creating a contest on social media, for example, can create a buzz amongst the followers if you are planning for a product launch. Content moderators can monitor the comment or any such thing that does not comply with the brand’s guidelines, helping in a successful product launch.
Improved Purchase Decision
Word of Mouth advertising has been one of the most important aspects that can either build or destroy a brand image. As most users look for product/service reviews and ratings before making the purchase decision, content moderation professionals can help in maintaining the brand reputation by eliminating fake/false views. And, stakeholders can also understand the pattern by reading the user’s opinion of the product/services.
Better Spam Control
There are different types of spam including adult, commercial, hate speech, etc., that can clutter the brand image. And, blogs, social media sites, forums, etc., act like a flashing invitation for the spammers to post offensive comments. Hence, agile content moderation practices assist brands in removing spam content and creating a positive image for the brand so that the customers can connect easily.
Better Site Credibility
The credibility of a brand is vital for its users as well as its online presence. Spam content and fake reviews can diminish the brand image to a great extent. If this negative brand reputation spreads amongst its users, there might be a possibility that they unfollow the brand. Real-time content moderation practices help businesses in monitoring user-generated content as much as possible while adhering to community guidelines.
Winding Up
Considering the current scenario, where an individual can express his/her views online, a single comment on Instagram or a single Tweet can either make or break the brand’s reputation. Unauthorized use of the brand’s name can turn the tables upside down for a company. It can tarnish the image within a few minutes, which takes years to build.
Collaborating with professional content moderators not only helps in keeping the online presence safe but also assists in serving better products to the customers. So, you know where to begin!
