Why You Should Moderate User-Generated Content

There are multiple types of content moderation techniques a company or business can employ to generate sales and the desired traffic for their respective websites, with one of them being user-generated content (UGC). Adweek, an advertising trade publication, wrote that around 93% of consumers on the market claimed how UGC has helped them decide on which purchases to continue with.

So, what makes content moderation for user-generated posts a more frequently used technique for campaigns than the rest?

What is moderation of user-content?

Examples of UGC are any text, photos, reviews, or videos created by individuals, product users or brand followers. The contents of these types of posts are independent to the opinions and ideas of the people who posted them, and are not the outcome of branding. It can range from the simplest comment of a customer on a business’ post, to an excellent or an awful product review.

Either way, as long as the content created and shared by the people are filtered by human or AI-powered moderators, that is the real essence of UGC moderation. That said, the question is: why is content moderation important for user-generated campaigns?

Here are five major reasons:

1. Branding

The reputation of your brand is your highest priority—and UGC moderation plays a helpful role here. It becomes a crucial segment for branding since you have to market your company or business in a positive light while continually segregating the offensive reviews in the process. Often, customers’ words have a higher bearing on the path of your company’s progress based on how delightful or distasteful their experience was while using your products or services. User experience dictates how people will spread the word about your brand. Additionally, moderating UGC also helps you understand the positive and negative aspects about your product or service.

2. Legitimacy

Checking the legitimacy of a product or service is considered one of the methods for moderating user-generated content. This is because of the rise of spammers, scammers and trolls. Moderation of user-generated content allows your end-users to see and gauge your authenticity. Genuine concern about the issues that customers are dealing with serve as the main basis of people for determining excellent customer service.

The more time you spend on getting to know the types of content and responses that impact your followers, the better you can sieve the trolls from actual consumers. Legitimacy aids in your branding and builds rapport. Rapport then turns into trust that ultimately creates a wider customer range for your company or business.

3. Mental Health

Following the worldwide crisis that the pandemic caused, your team of moderators must have the tenacity to have or develop a high moral compass. Some users go a great distance to share whatever is on their mind despite the scandal it would cause. As much as social media is prone to instances of cyberbullying, the reality is it is also quite instrumental as a source of content for brand-specific communities.

The sheer number of individuals registered in each platform can turn into a valuable source of traffic at any minute. Social media has a 28% higher engagement rate compared to content found on company websites. You can utilize Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and the like for your marketing strategies all you want, just make sure you provide your moderation team sufficient support in terms of helping them stay healthy and maintain a sound mind. Do not allow them to feel exhausted or exceed their limitations if you want them to perform their duties aptly and establish a strong barrier against your detractors.

4. Ranking

User-generated content helps you organically rank higher on search engines. This implies that you do not need paid advertisements to rise up the ladder and adhere to a broader audience. Client feedback boosts the ranking of your website and helps prove your relevance to Google’s algorithms. As such, by keeping a keen eye on what your followers post enables your team to assess the accuracy of negative reviews while preventing inappropriate images and texts from  harming business reputation.

5. Costs

Moderating user-generated content makes it possible to save more funds for your business or company. The usual budget for content creation ranges from $250 to $1500 per asset (photo), and if you utilize content from your community without any precautions, it would be impossible to consistently pinpoint which photos or posts would resonate with your target market. User content submission is your best bet in making the most of your allotted budget since you already have staff ready to identify the different types of content that your target market seek along with specific trends that your ad strategies can benefit from.

Likewise, moderators are ideally tasked to seek permission from content owners to use their creations for your business. (Take note: Negotiations under the use of content outside of your company should coincide with the terms and conditions you have for the UGC-ownership clause.) This way, it will save both parties from disagreements and misuse of intellectual property.

Select the methods for moderating user-generated content wisely. You also have the options of hiring in-house content moderators or outsource the entire responsibility to an external body specializing in the said field. New Media Services provides real-time assistance in staying ahead of community-created content and acquiring a deeper understanding of online user behavior.

They expertly monitor your online communities and pages, generate real-time reports based on user engagement and activity, and intelligently weigh all potential motivations behind each user’s content. New Media Services takes pride in the human and automated element of their services, as represented by their smart and versatile moderation solutions.

Moderate your UGC now and reap the results in no time!