When using social media for your business, keeping it clean is essential to build your brand image. While we all love customer feedback, some users may use inappropriate or harmful language.
Inappropriate language can harm your business, especially if you try to market to a broad or family-friendly audience. However, social media can be a tedious and challenging effort. And even if you respond quickly to remove or block profane comments, potential customers and viewers may still see them before it gets removed.
This unpleasant fact is why many social media sites, such as Instagram, use a profanity filter for users. This move can help hide offensive words and content from viewers that users may post on a site.
You are installing and utilizing profanity filters to aid in social media marketing by hiding or censoring offensive comments or posts. This measure will help your business by keeping it clean on your social media.
Profanity Filters Help Censor Offensive Terms
Profanity filers use algorithms to censor offensive words, swears, or foul language from a site. These algorithms use a long list of words to filter out terms banned from a site or platform. When these terms are detected, the filter either finds a synonym, uses symbols to block the word, or mutes the audio.
Some platforms, such as online gaming, automatically use profanity filters as they work with a large audience of users.
Social media sites, especially Facebook and Instagram, have settings that users can set themselves. These filters are helpful for people who use social media marketing, as it helps prevent offensive language from showing up in your feed.
However, some systems, such as streaming, have no built-in filters. Therefore you need to have a third-party provider.
Keep in mind that some users may be able to use workarounds. These hacks can include intentional misspellings, using spaces, and using terms that people “in the know” will understand.
Profanity Filters Create a Better Online Experience
While there is no perfect protection against hate speech and inappropriate content, filters can make the internet a more positive experience. Filtering out negative comments and speech can make for a more family-friendly environment for you to market and reach users.
Filers can block out words, subtitles, and other content if you use streaming for promotion. It can also allow users to skip sections that may have content that is not safe for children.
As we know, social media platforms are not immune from toxicity and cyberbullying. Profanity filters can help mitigate some negative impacts by blocking comments that include hurtful speech.
This advancement can be significant to those that use social media as a platform for marketing. Trolls that may wish to harass and harm your business are a constant concern on many social media sites. Filters can allow you to block out those that aim to ruin your day.
Contextual AI is a Must
Savvy users may be able to use terms that, in specific contexts, are harmless. However, in other contexts, it can be deemed an offensive term. A profanity filter with a simple word list may not catch on to these terms and let them slip through.
A contextual AI looks at contextual cues in various media, including audio, text, and chat. The sensors can then detect, remove, or censor the offensive content without any actions by the moderator.
These censors save users a lot of time and energy. While the program filters your content, you can focus on marketing your business.
Keep It Appropriate to Your Audience
Depending on your target audience and the image you are trying to present, there may be an acceptable level of “positive profanity.” If you go for a very family-friendly approach or gear towards children, you will want to keep all profanity filtered.
However, some brands may want to use positive profanity to help provide energy for their product. Sometimes the use of profanity conveys strong emotion, which may also make your business seem more genuine to customers.
You can set your filters accordingly to allow you to choose which comments that contain profanity are acceptable for your brand.
There is No Fool-Proof Plan
While profanity filters are a great tool, it is important to remember they are not perfect. There are ways that people can work around these filters.
Some online community users may work around filters by using synonyms for offensive words. They may also use an alternate spelling or misspelling of a word.
A commenter may make subtle offensive comments without using words that trigger a profanity filter. They may still be able to word their statement where it is understood, even if they do not violate the filters.
Also, remember that a profanity filter will not block harassment. Someone can still harass an individual without violating the profanity filter. It can work as a barrier against the more blatant forms of abuse.
A profanity filter is a valuable tool to help keep your social media marketing a pleasurable experience for you and your potential customers. However, it would help if you also looked into additional software and filters to keep you safe.
