What is Text Moderation: Your Definitive Guide

When it comes to your company's reputation, taking the chance that your brand will grow in popularity through user content is a tremendous gamble. Managing user-generated content (UGC) is critical because it has a significant impact on the reputation of your brand. It is a universal truth regardless of whether your company chooses to operate an interactive online community, allow onsite customer content, or actively encourage user-generated content.

However, the ability to post anything on the internet has its consequences. In fact, a 2020 survey revealed that more than a third of online harassment victims in the United States alone have halted, curtailed, or changed their online activity as a result of extreme abuse. The same research also found that 28% of online respondents have faced serious types of online harassment, such as violent threats, sexual harassment, and hurtful comments. Others even go as far as to stalk other users.

According to the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), 22% of online users feel less comfortable in their online community because of online hate. 37% of adults have experienced severe online vexation.

Based on these numbers alone, it is reasonable to believe that the online world is becoming overrun with internet trolls at an alarmingly rapid rate. Community administrators ought to take prompt action to keep dangerous internet users at bay and devise security measures to guarantee the safety of their members against inappropriate and harmful behavior committed online.

One feasible option is to look for a text content moderation solution. An effective chat and text content moderation system gives you the power to monitor and screen content submissions. It helps ensure that only relevant content is submitted to your company's website, social media, or online community.

Text & Chat Moderator Definition

If you are wondering what a text and chat moderator does, what is chat moderation, or how is it different from moderating text content, check out the definition below:

The scope of a text and chat moderator’s responsibilities are highly similar, in the sense that the types of user-generated content they monitor is mostly text-based. In some instances, for chat moderators, they may also have to deal with images with text moderation, especially if users exchange images, GIFs, and other types of multimedia that contain text. The process covers blog or forum comments, reviews, chat rooms, discussion boards, and even tweets. 

Moderating texts encompasses chat, but chat moderation may also be an independent subcategory of moderation services on its own. 

Nevertheless, the goal of both is to carry out an in-depth content analysis to make certain that every text-based information or message uploaded or delivered complies with the criteria established by your website. Moderators also implement policies that govern and restrict content displaying hate speech, racial slurs, sexism, cultural insensitivity, and other forms of offensive and abusive content.

Moderators may block, approve, or review content submissions based on the policies and thresholds of a certain site.

Before determining whether your business needs text moderation, chat moderation or both, it is essential to look at your current metrics and assess the volume of UGC that your website or platform regularly receives.

Understand your audience's behavior and the frequency at which they send you content. Your website or platform may receive a high volume of content contributions at particular periods of the day. It is critical to have trusted personnel assigned to monitor user activity and content during these peak hours to maintain excellent user experience.

Some moderation agencies offer text moderation services with advanced monitoring capabilities. The more diverse and integrated the type of content monitoring process employed, the more precise the detection of inappropriate text content not only in discussion boards and chats, but in texts embedded in images or video clips as well.

Types of Text Moderation

Each type of text moderation can be used to deal with various types of user-generated content depending on the website, platform, or online community.

1. Chat Moderation

This type of text monitoring process refers to the implementation of rules and guidelines to live chat sessions to prevent users from breaching your community or broadcasting regulations. These rules and guidelines can be implemented to prohibit users from engaging in inappropriate behavior. Chat moderation can be utilized to its full potential in a variety of web activities, ranging from webcam sessions and webinars to in-game streaming and even live streams on YouTube. The main goal is to minimize the impact that trolls have on a company's credibility and prevent harmful content from disrupting its efforts to reach more customers.

2. Review Moderation

Most negative reviews are from genuine customers whose expectations of the product or service were not met. Their disappointment could be caused by different or similar factors. 

On the other hand, despite being an important component for businesses to establish a solid foothold, review sites can still pose a threat to brands. At times, these evaluations may not even be factual and are just intended to harm a brand's online reputation.

Have you ever heard of a Karen attack?

Karens are essentially online trolls who deliberately harm a business's online credibility by posting false and derogatory reviews on Yelp, Google Reviews, TripAdvisor, and other review sites. If ignored, these negative assessments about the brand might lead to a slew of workflow mishaps or, worse, a rapid decrease in loyal patrons.

Review moderation monitors user reviews to preserve your brand's reputation by carefully analyzing accounts to determine whether the person who posted the review is a genuine account or a spoof. Troll or not, moderators should always respond to user feedback in this circumstance as to demonstrate professionalism, credibility, and expertise.

3. Social Media Moderation

Most brands maximize social media to interact with their customers and website visitors. It is a powerful tool for maintaining a healthy engagement between the brand and its followers while preserving long-term credibility. It is critical to efficiently manage user-generated content across social platforms. Social media moderation services effectively monitor and filter user submissions to help spread a positive online presence and influence.

Social media moderation includes an extensive range of content monitoring approaches, but post-moderation is by far the most common. Post-moderation is mostly applicable to managing the comment section and discussion boards. 

In other instances, as with private Facebook groups, moderators may use pre-moderation both in checking user content and determining whether a user requesting to join the group meets the community’s standards. 

4. Custom Moderation

Custom moderation entails the use of one or more types of moderation to deliver a full-scope and solid form of damage control for brands and online communities. It could be a combination of text, image, and video moderation, human and AI-powered filtering systems, or pre, post, and reactive moderation.

Boost Online Visibility and Overall Engagement with Text Moderation

What is the scope of text moderation service in helping businesses establish a strong online presence and engage the right audience? 

Text moderation, in addition to closely monitoring UGCs, adds to the building of more harmonious B2C relationships. Customers are encouraged to reach out and show their support for products and services that they highly regard. It is the usual aftermath when a company goes out of its way to utilize communication channels that are regularly used by its target demographic.

In a world where customers are heavily dependent on the instant gratification brought by technology and the internet, the competitive market tends to reward enterprises that have a tangible online presence.

When a company has an online community for its brand, they provide their audience an opportunity to take a more active role. They are given the freedom to demonstrate their support, freely voice their ideas, and interact with others who have similar preferences in the products and services.

Combine that freedom of expression with reliable text filtering processes, and it effectively stops con artists and hackers from exploiting unsuspecting users and carefully established businesses. 

If a company is willing to provide a more accessible communication line for their clients and demonstrate more customized support through their online communities and social media channels, then the company should also follow suit in assuring the safety of their online audience.

Any business that permits user-generated content must provide solid content moderation services to avoid legal liabilities. Moderation can get customers to be more involved in protecting the brand’s reputation as well as the safety of their fellow community members. Eliminating offensive and obscene comments diminishes the likelihood of the brand name being associated with inappropriate contexts.

Even while there is a possibility that a business could benefit from negative publicity, it is highly unlikely that any customer would be willing to take a chance on a company with a questionable reputation. Business owners have a greater understanding of the factors that have the most influence on their target demographic, and in exchange, the target demographic helps fill in the blind spots.

Get in touch with us to discover how New Media Services can assist you in your content moderation and online branding needs.