These days, companies are realizing the value of having an online community dedicated to their brand. This can be a channel different from the brand’s official website. It can be on a social media platform like Facebook, Reddit, or Discord.
Regardless of the platform, these online communities come with an array of methods of online content moderation.
Understanding the various methods of online content moderation
While some groups may differ when it comes to some moderation functions, you can expect the majority of them to have the following:
Pre-moderation
In pre-moderation, user-generated content is subject to approval by the online content moderator. This means that whenever visitors of the website try to post or comment, it first goes on the queue until a content moderator approves it for public viewing.
This is an excellent function as it lets you filter inappropriate content before it gets published. This can prevent spamming and derogatory remarks from being posted. With this, you can have peace of mind knowing that discussions on your website will be civil and productive.
Post-moderation
This type of content moderation allows posts to be published without the need for moderator approval. This works best when your company’s online community is active.
Post-moderation also allows for a smooth flow of conversation, an ideal system for members who prefer a fast-paced group. At the same time, content moderators can monitor posts and delete any unwanted content anytime.
Reactive moderation
This feature provides your members with the ability to report content that goes against your community standards. This is a useful content moderation as it can scale with the size of your group, making it theoretically easier to filter bad content.
After all, it is impossible to monitor all user-generated content on the entire site so any help is welcome. Moreover, it is essential for online moderators to regularly check and act on member complaints on time as they can pile up fast in a matter of hours.
Utilizing this content moderation approach with pre-moderation and post-moderation can work quite well. This way, you can ensure your online community remains active while lessening undesirable posts.
Distributed moderation
This strategy is similar to reactive content moderation in which users can help the community with inappropriate content. In this method, members can downvote online content that goes against community standards.
At the same time, content moderators can guide them in determining which online posts are qualified to remain on the website. If you are comfortable with the community being the ones who mostly moderate your business page content, then this system may be advisable for you.
Automated moderation
This particular online content moderation method relies on automated tools to screen user-generated content and take action based on its programming.
For instance, your company’s website may have moderating features that filter out specific words you choose to ban. This ensures that inappropriate terms or phrases will not be published at all. Combine this system with other moderation processes, and you can expect your community to adhere to community standards consistently.
Qualities to look for in an effective online content moderator
Perhaps the best method to ensure your website is in order is by hiring reliable online content moderators. With proper training, your team will be able to know how to best use the above-mentioned types of content moderation for a productive and peaceful online community.
Hiring the right people to look after your company’s online community is necessary. After all, the content you allow to be published on your website can reflect on your brand. For this, you need to find the ideal content moderator with the following qualities.
Internet-savvy
With the fast-paced internet landscape, it is paramount for you to look for someone who knows how to navigate the world wide web. This means being familiar with different social media platforms as well as their features. It also helps to have an idea of the kind of culture prevalent on social media.
Additionally, being knowledgeable in the various terms used by people to refer to unique subjects online is necessary. For example, being able to discern memes from normal user-generated content. After all, you want a content moderator who can relate to different kinds of internet content.
Decisive
Being a content moderator means being quick in making decisions on the fly. There will always be situations where making an informed judgment in a short period can prevent trouble in your community from escalating further.
In addition, there will be moments wherein user-generated content may not meet the community standards, requiring immediate content moderation. In such events, having a quick-witted moderator can save your brand reputation, especially if the post has legal implications.
Discerning
Not everything you see or read on social media is true. With false information rampant on the internet, you want to hire someone who has a good eye for differentiating authentic content from fraudulent information.
This is to ensure that the members of your corporation’s online community are up to date with your brand’s latest products and services. You can also prevent fraud and the spread of fake content that can damage your organization.
Patient
Being a content moderator requires dealing with different kinds of people and some can be quite difficult to handle. By hiring someone patient, you can be at ease knowing that customer complaints or concerns will be addressed properly, without any risk of them escalating.
After all, a patient moderator is likely to listen well to a member’s concerns, leading to a swift and accurate resolution of their issues.
Organized
A growing online community requires a systematic way of moderation. This means dealing with tasks according to their importance. For instance, if there are many pending reports on community standard violations done by erring group members, then you need to take action on them.
On the other hand, if there are not many violation reports but there is already a growing number of pending user-generated content, then maybe you should screen them all first before checking the violation logs.
Pinning important announcements is also a great way to organize content so that everyone knows where to find rules, guidelines, or any news about your business.
Diligent
Moderating online content can be time-consuming and mentally exhausting. This is why it is ideal to find someone diligent enough to handle content moderation. Someone who’s responsible enough to closely examine online content to see if they are authentic or fake.
You also want someone knowledgeable about your brand and the community standards that your group adheres to.
The importance of content moderation
A peaceful and orderly community reflects positively on the brand it represents. With proper content moderation, you can be at ease knowing that your community offers valuable feedback and content.
