As businesses utilize the internet to establish their brands, content moderators have also been increasingly on-demand. Content moderation, in general, can help you boost your online reputation.
In today’s modern digital era, user-generated content has also become an essential part of online marketing and audience acquisition.
It is essential in helping you strengthen your brand recognition and capture your audiences’ trust. This is especially true when it comes to their purchase decisions.
But the thing is, user-generated content is also a powerful tool that can also influence your target audiences’ perspective.
Having a content moderator can help you avoid exposing your audience to offensive and harmful content. This can heavily impact how they perceive your brand.
What is content moderation?
Content moderation is the process of monitoring and screening all user-generated content submitted to your platform. This practice involves the application of guidelines and predetermined rules to any content submitted by users.
If user-generated content is not within your guidelines, it will then be deleted or flagged. There are various reasons for this, including but not limited to – violence, hate speech, nudity, and copyright infringement.
The goal of content moderation is to make sure that your platform demonstrates the kind of trust and safety program illustrated by your brand.
Further, content moderation is not only applicable to websites. It can also be used on other kinds of platforms like dating apps or websites, social media channels, forums, or different marketplaces.
What are the responsibilities of a content moderator?
A content moderator is a skilled professional responsible for checking and approving specific content before posting it live on your website or any other online platform.
While it may seem like an easy task, in reality, a content moderator’s job function is composed of a mix of complex tasks like:
- Make use of targeted tools to screen different forms of content like videos, images, text, and audio. Check if they are appropriate, not offensive, legal, and not harmful to your online community.
- Ensure that your users are safe from fraud, scams, harassment, and any kind of inappropriate remarks.
- Decide whether a particular user-generated content must be removed or a user profile taken down for violating your platform’s rules.
- Reply to user questions or comments on your social media posts, forums, or blogs.
- Ensure that your brand demonstrates the ethical standards of online communities and digital businesses.
Important skills you should look for when hiring a content moderator
Here are the things you should look for when hiring a content moderator:
Analytical skills
A content moderator should have a sharp eye for detail and be quick to judge whether particular content is acceptable or not.
Having strong analytical skills lets content moderators evaluate consumer behaviors. This can help them make important decisions that will benefit the entire user community, including your organization.
Platform knowledge
Choose a content moderator who is familiar with the different forums or platforms that brands and users make use of.
This means that they are well aware of the kind of content these platforms require. This way, they can effectively customize your overall brand and user experience accordingly.
Community management skills
A content moderator knows what communication and management styles to implement on different groups, forums, or platforms that you will use. Thus, they know how to respect the core values and dynamics of a particular online group.
Patience
Content moderation can be a long and time-consuming process. In some cases, content moderators are also exposed to sensitive and disturbing content.
Having patience enables these professionals to perform their roles properly without getting stressed out about particular content.
At the same time, they can make appropriate decisions and avoid distractions that will affect your workflow or content strategy implementation.
Types of content handled by a content moderator
Below are the most common user-generated content threats that a content moderator usually reviews:
Violence and abuse
This kind of distressing content displays any form of violence or abuse against animals, children, humans, and other vulnerable beings.
Online harassment
Harassment can easily occur in online communities without proper moderation, as anyone can freely say anything they want without any filter. Unruly behavior can always lead to harassment if not controlled. This is usually the case, especially in gaming communities.
Scams
A content moderator is trained to determine online fraudulent acts that are rampant on online marketplaces. Your content moderator will ensure that users are safe from scammer activities like fake charity scams, online shopping scaps, or dating scams.
Copyright infringement
Copyright infringement can be a serious offense in several countries. It is a content moderator’s job to check whether the content is copyright-protected.
Extremists
It is also the role of a content moderator to set a pertinent boundary to extremist narratives while still upholding the users’ right to freedom of expression.
How outsourcing a content moderator can add value to your business
Contracting out content moderators to reputable outsourcing providers like OP360 lets you fully leverage skilled and well-experienced professionals. At the same time, this allows you to save up to 70% on your overall costs.
Protect your online reputation as well as your users by outsourcing seasoned content moderators through OP360!
Contact OP360 today to get started!
