Having a grasp of the key roles of a content moderator lets you protect your reputation and its reputation. Knowledge of the required skills would ease the filtering of what kind of facilitator you would want for your team.
From the constant rants on Twitter to the statuses people share on Facebook; writing data has become second nature to all end-users. These are some of the subjects that proliferate social media on a daily basis. But who protects the community and brands that have to tread their way into screens of their target audience? A digital content moderator comes to the rescue.
Let’s take a closer look.
Content moderation is the technique used to filter a post through the set of rules and guidelines of the social media platform or online community that the post was introduced to. Contrary to the norm, moderators are not exclusively AI. Moderators can also be humans with rigorous training and a tough gut. It is a thorough job that has key roles that social media content moderators understand and embody in their work.
Key Roles of a Content Moderator:
- Protect your brand and company’s reputation by sorting the awful from the upright posts and topics
- They also categorize what kind of issues or topics are publicly visible and discussed, and if it needs reactions or not from the community.
- Filter out spam and explicit posts that are inappropriate for their community and brand
- Engage the online social media community through replies about blogs, videos, and the like.
- Acts as the barrier between offensive posts and language through the guidelines of the platform.
Now that we know what are their key roles, knowing what skills are needed would help you outsource people to become remote content moderators.
The main skills and characteristics of a content moderator
- Moral Compass
- Tolerance of Peculiar Content
- Tolerance to Stress
- Interpersonal Skills
- Communication Skills
- Empathy
- Alertness
1. Moral Compass
One of the crucial factors that often define the question, “What is a digital content moderator?” is the presence of a solid moral compass. This means that our online referees have a good sense of what is right from wrong. They are the front liners against explicit matters that are not suitable for the target audience of the brand. They have a sound mind when it comes to making decisions about filtering positive from destructive user content and immediately deleting posts that are offensive or unacceptable..
2. Tolerance of Peculiar Content
No matter what social media platform, forum, or messaging app you use to share your posts, the subject in it would always be sorted. More often than not, some people would share topics that are explicit and downright dangerous for the community. Content moderators must be capable of distinguishing if the post or video is suitable for the audience with the degree of peculiarity that it presents.
3. Tolerance for Stress
Content moderation workflow is one that tests the facilitators every day. Imagine the numerous variety of peculiar and explicit posts and videos that digital content moderators are exposed to every day—the sheer amount of user content they have to deal with on a daily basis leaves them emotionally and mentally drained. The pressure to have to categorize all of the content made can break them and take a toll on their well-being. That is why a high tolerance for stress is needed for the job.
4. Interpersonal Skills
This skill entails being able to talk to others while communicating the subject matter well. The role of moderators is not limited to filtering the information and content shared by users. Talking and initiating discussions in the community that they are part of is also part of their responsibilities. Chats are an example of this and more often than not when a post or video is tagged as offensive or dangerous, moderators have to fly in and explain why the content was tagged as such without riling the person more.
5. Communication Skills
Even if this skill is under interpersonal, it is still a different skill on its own since it is one thing to be sociable and another to clearly state your case when it comes to a subject matter. Digital referees have to be able to answer why posts and videos were banned and also explain in the guidelines they make why possible content will be banned.
6. Empathy
This is an important skill when it comes to moderating content since each and everyone is going through something. Sometimes, people post what they feel or think without thinking if it will benefit others or not. Facilitators of chat posts need to be able to not let their bias get in the way of their work and try to feel what the person who posted feels. They are not to offend, but to be professional and be partial when there is a fight in the comment section because they understand both sides and would focus on helping solve the feud.
7. Alertness
Alertness is needed since posts come at a fast pace and are in need of sorting and filtering. Moderators cannot be sleepy and slacking. One misstep on confirming reactions for dangerous posts runs the risk of sharing posts that could contain malware that destroys the database or the safety of the digital or social media community that they are part of.
Knowing all these facts, outsourcing would be the best choice for you and your company. It allows you to protect your brand and reputation while effectively resolving concerns involving limited resources and the workforce for moderating user content. It is highly recommended that you try Chekkee’s Social Media Moderation Services.
They have trained Social Media Content Moderators to help boost your brand and allow you to engage better with your community on your chosen social media platform. The key features of their social media moderation tools include increased audience through traffic-inducing engagements by followers, real-time customer support through security and protection, and credible online presence that is backed by professionals.
Now that you know what a content moderator is and their importance, go ahead and check out Chekkee for your content moderation needs.