If you’ve ever participated in social media marketing or even just posted something online to a personal social media profile, you’ve likely already encountered content moderation.
Some platforms require you to wait for approval after sending in a submission. For example, this often occurs in private Facebook groups where most admins have a pre-moderation process.
On the other hand, maybe you’ve seen users get banned for violating online community guidelines or posting harmful content. This form of moderation is reactive moderation because it’s a response to an already live social media post.
But even though you’ve likely experienced content moderation, the topic begs the question: why is content moderation important for user-generated campaigns?
Let’s find out.
Real-Time User-Generated Content Content Moderation
Content moderation begins as soon as any piece of content goes live, regardless of the type of content it is or the social media platform it’s on. You must watch comments for inappropriate content, such as the following:
- Bad links
- Explicit content
- Harassment or hate speech
While the work of content moderation sounds demanding (it is), it’s also necessary to protect your brand’s values and provide the best experience for your target audience.
In its many forms, content marketing is undoubtedly influential in helping customers make purchasing decisions. However, with it comes the necessary task of ensuring content remains free from negative influences and people with bad intentions.
For instance, you’ll often find robo-accounts (spam bots) posting a long list of hashtags or unrelated content under your Instagram content. Although it takes time to remove these comments and block these users, you’re doing your brand and customers an excellent service by doing so.
Why Are User-Generated Campaigns Important?
UGC campaigns are essential to promote your business with social media. These campaigns create interest in your brand and showcase you as an industry leader. You could even see your product or service go viral or become a trend through one of these campaigns.
But importantly, user-generated campaigns extend beyond social media. Your website can boost your brand image by displaying positive reviews to showcase customer trust. It just so happens that the focus is on social media because of its broad reach and impact.
In fact, a 2019 report by AdWeek found that 85% of users say UGC is more effective in influencing purchasing decisions than brand-generated content. This means potential buyers trust other buyers more than they trust brands. This is because buyers spend their own unpaid time curating content to offer an unbiased opinion.
Why Is Content Moderation Important for User-Generated Campaigns?
Although moderation protects a company’s online community, it also allows businesses to survey their customers. They can see what customers like and dislike, which helps companies create better content to boost engagement and build trust.
Not to mention, focusing on supporters creating content can be part of a more comprehensive marketing strategy.
Why You Need to Moderate User-Generated Content
We land on a few significant topics to explore when discussing why content moderation is important. Read more about them below.
Brand Reputation Management
Most big businesses watch their image like a hawk to ensure it remains strong. User-generated content moderation helps your business stay on-brand and protects brand loyalty. There’s nothing more important than protecting your brand’s image.
However, if your brand’s image needs uplifting, learn how to create a winning brand strategy for your business before tackling content moderation.
Understand Your Users
UGC moderation allows you to understand your customers’ needs, which will help you build a better business. For instance, you can view actionable insights to understand customers’ purchasing behavior in your eCommerce store.
It will also help you discover new ways your customers use your products or services. You can use this information to create better marketing materials in the future.
Boost Your Organic Traffic
Did you know that moderating UGC can also help improve SEO and increase your search engine rankings? That’s right; UGC will help your website rank faster and higher, mainly when you publish reviews from real customers.
Google loves new content, so the more high-quality content you publish, the higher your ranking. Posting a constant flow of recent reviews on your website is an easy way to automate your SEO strategy.
Plus, a higher ranking will lead to better brand recognition and even more conversions from potential buyers.
Deal With the Trolls
It’s easy for some trolls to throw a wrench in your marketing campaign by spamming a product review with misleading or false testimonials. Nothing will drive potential customers away faster than a long list of poor reviews.
But when you moderate user-generated content, it drives these trolls away.
How Does Moderation Work for User-Generated Campaigns?
Skilled and experienced human moderators often handle content moderation to ensure the best user experience for potential new clients and recurring clients alike. Most social media platforms have their own moderation teams to keep their sites secure and scan various forums for content that should not be online.
Yet, human moderators can be a significant business cost for social media providers, and the job is often grueling. Scanning the web for harmful or dark content can take its toll. This is why many also rely on artificial intelligence (AI) for content moderation.
Of course, you can also moderate user-generated content yourself or amongst your marketing team. But this is time-consuming and not the best use of your resources. If you want a more hands-on approach to tackling the content moderation process, there are moderation tools you can use, especially those that employ AI, or you can hire a company that provides content moderation services.
An effective content moderation strategy comes down to spending less money on better resources to ensure your UGC campaigns are always successful.
Implement Content Moderation in Your Next User-Generated Campaign
So why is content moderation important for user-generated campaigns? Aside from keeping your company’s online community a positive experience, content moderation allows you to protect your brand’s image, understand your users, boost organic traffic, and manage hateful trolls.
If you’re ready to craft your next user-generated campaign or need other assistance with your digital marketing strategy, let’s have a chat about how EraserFarm can help you create better content. Our team of experts will offer advice and guidance on taking your marketing strategy to the next level!