By establishing standards for appropriate community posts, content moderation makes sure members are upholding these expectations.
On social media and other websites that host user-generated material, false information can spread swiftly. For instance, false information about Eli Lilly and Lockheed Martin was uploaded on phony Twitter accounts, which cost the businesses billions of dollars. Additionally, posts involving violence, hate speech, and profanity may appear in user-generated material.
Content Moderation is not Censorship - Justification
However, we must note that censorship and content moderation are two distinct ideas. Speech for those with a minority perspective is silenced or forbidden via censorship. Citizens are shielded against governmental censorship by the First Amendment. However, content moderation involves private corporations establishing rules for their websites, which must be made known in advance.
Nevertheless, Content Moderation basically and primarily focuses on the following objectives:
removing misinformation and disinformation
curbing hate speech
protecting public safety
eliminating obscenity
removing paid ads and content unrelated to the site
Privately held platforms are not compelled to publish content that they deem inappropriate or unsafe for the users in their community. The community becomes a safe environment to discuss without fear of intimidation, harassment, or being given false information owing to content moderation.
Best Content Moderation Practices
With time, the mode, medium, and parameters of expressing thoughts keep on changing. This calls for the need for changes in content moderation policies. Additionally, there are various legal tapestries that sometimes become important for the private platforms to fall prey to or abide by them.
However, amid all these evolving trends and changing needs of social media platforms, the implementation of content moderation policies depends greatly on practices. Therefore, this article focuses on the best Content Moderation Practices that will be helpful for moderators and moderation service providers to cope with content challenges in 2023.
1. Formulate Clear Community Guidelines
Setting up precise criteria and making sure they are obvious are essential components of community guidelines for high-quality content. Be careful to specify what kind of language, conduct, and material is acceptable and undesirable.
Transparent rules and guidelines should be frequently evaluated to make sure the actions are appropriate. There isn't any single or universal content moderation strategy that works for everyone. When formulating the guidelines, keep the audience and members in mind.
Make sure these guidelines are visible to users by including a link in the website footer or the navigation menu. Additionally, users should be informed of these rules upon registration. To ensure that the rules and the consequences of breaching them are apparent, state them prominently in various languages if necessary.
2. Setup Actionable Penalties for Breach of Guidelines
Penalties for violating moderation guidelines should be obvious and actionable. A few examples include:
Editing of the objectionable content
Removal of posts violating the guidelines
Temporary or Permanent Block of access to the platform
Determine specific timeframes for temporary suspensions, such as one month for one offense. The seriousness of the content should determine the actions or repercussions that should be included in the guidelines. Determine the content that, in the most extreme circumstances, should be reported to the authorities.
3. Have Reward Plans for Quality Content Contribution
Consider recognizing efforts and enticing participants to get involved in the community more. Consider utilizing badges like "top contributor" or "top fan"
Users can be more engaged and motivated to contribute quality content if they feel valued.
4. Take Prompt Action on Negative Comments
The natural reaction is to delete any comments that can damage a brand. But this should be the regular practice. Although maintaining these comments might appear wrong, doing so can help you stay transparent with other users.
Nobody anticipates a business to have only favorable reviews, but they are interested in how a business responds to and handles commenters. People will believe a business is transparent and really interested in serving its clients if they witness it handling complaints and answering customer questions.
Select the critical comments that can be kept. Remove insulting remarks, but addressing customers through complaints about products or company errors can be very effective.
Content Moderators can address these remarks and offer remedies. Companies should rectify errors and address problems right away.
5. Allow All Types of Content
Remember that these moderation principles apply to any user-generated content, not just written comments. Think of more content, such as photographs, movies, links, and live conversations. To ensure a secure user experience across all forms of content and watching, content moderation is implemented.
6. Encourage Employees to Participate in Conversations
Employees may assist establish the tone for discussions on social media, depending on the company. The conversation can be started by employees, who can also instruct users on what to post. In the event that there are inquiries in the comments, employees can also assist by giving knowledgeable responses.
Remind employees that for these postings, they must abide by the company's employee social media guidelines.
Irrespective of the fact whether you have a dedicated content moderation team or outsourced ones, principles and practices should be the same in all cases. Set a benchmark, allow users to post and comment, and have an effective moderation policy - this will surely escalate user interaction and experience further to help your brand grow.
Comments