Tips for Selecting a Content Moderation Services Provider
Content moderation involves the review and monitor of user-generated content on online platforms to ensure compliance with given standards and guidelines. It entails establishing rules for ensuring that all content present on the site should adhere to and filter out anything that’s considered harmful, sensitive, or inappropriate. The submissions must be reviewed by content moderators for deciding if a submission can be utilized on that platform based on predefined criteria.
Content moderation is a key technique for keeping platforms safe and upholding the brand’s trust and safety program. It is mostly used on websites including forums, social media platforms, dating sites, and online marketplaces.
It helps in protecting a company’s brand and reputation from trolls that publish and spread content that’s not appropriate through online platforms with the aim of hurting consumers that are existing, ruining a business’ name, tarnishing a company’s image and building an environment that’s hostile between individuals and firms.
Types of Content Moderation
There are five types of content moderation:-
1. Pre-moderation: This involves reviewing of user-generated content prior to it going live on a website or application. The goal is to ensure that the online community is not privy to any harmful content, to safeguard the brand against any legal implications. It involves screening text, videos and other content for inappropriateness or offensive content which might damage the brand prior to it becoming viewable.
2. Post-moderation: This involves publishing content upfront and then reviewing it. This method offers users a sense of immediacy because as they submit their posts, they are able to see it go live. This method permits for a quicker user experience which is prone to offensive content paving its way through the system.
3. Reactive moderation: This involves allowing users to flag content which they feel is inappropriate or doesn’t conform to platform’s rules. It is quite frequently used as an extra layer of protection alongwith pre and post moderation for catching any harmful content which might have seeped in.
4. Distributed moderation: This involves adopting a rating system for determining the acceptability of a user’s content. Social media sites including Facebook and Twitter rate user-generated content as per its impact, intensity of harm, and the likeliness of violation.
5. Automated moderation: This involves AI deployment for instantly detecting and rejecting highly objectionable content which includes hate symbols or gestures that are offensive.
Outsourcing Content Moderation Services
Outsourcing your content moderation services will help you in saving time and focus on your business’ major operations. There are many companies offering these services at budget-friendly rates, focusing on major platforms and content types. It is essential to select an experienced provider for ensuring that your business’ brand and reputation is taken care of. Given below are points you must keep in mind while selecting a content moderation company.
1. Security of your Content: The security of your content from leaking out should be a paramount factor whilst selecting a content moderation services provider. Ensure your chosen service provider has in-depth security protocols along with a non-disclosure agreement for protection from both sides.
2. Content Moderation Policies: These policies might vary as per culture and beliefs of business owners, however, they can appear demanding or very liberating for a few. So, content moderation policies and terms should be discussed in order to arrive at an agreement that’s agreeable for a business, provider, and end-users.
3. Skills and Knowledge: Content moderators should be capable of handling high volumes of content both physically and mentally at peak seasons when customer demands are high, and trollers might be tough to get rid of. Hence, its important to select a service provider that employs skilled moderators that can work on quantity and quality along with having the capability to utilizing content moderation tools for maximizing time and resources.
4. Technology: Apart from skills and knowledge needs, one must choose a content moderation services provider who can closely access latest technology for handling thousands and millions of user generated content. Service providers adopting latest AI software will lend a greater advantage against your competitors.
5. Quality of Workplace: Work environment impacts the service quality offered by clients. The service provider must be able to cater to moderators’ physical, mental and psychological health as moderating offensive content can pose various mental health risks.
6. Pricing: Selecting a content moderation services provider that offers cost-effective pricing without affecting the output quality is critical for the success of your business.
In summary, content moderation is key to preserving a company’s reputation. Businesses must be careful of the effect these types of posts and comments can bring on customer relations.
