How Artificial Intelligence Is Eliminating the Hassle of Social Media Moderation

Artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities have made their way into many aspects of our lives, finding useful applications in an array of fields we use daily like medicine, finance, transportation, and leisure. From anticipating health concerns and streamlining financial operations, to guiding autonomous vehicles and tailoring entertainment — the impact of AI is far-reaching and transformative.

Yet, there’s an important application for AI that often goes unnoticed — its role in social media moderation. Though less widely recognized, this use of AI is vital in maintaining a safe and positive online environment.

Meet Dee Dee Lawrence, Director of Customer Experience at V Shred. She is one of many Gladly Connect community members that have successfully utilized the capabilities of AI to enhance the customer experience. Dee Dee and her team recently integrated an AI-based social media moderation tool which has significantly streamlined brand management and helped create a safe, positive environment for V Shred to interact with its fans. This technology has quickly eliminated mundane tasks, enabling customer service and social media teams to focus on engaging and impactful work.

1. How did V Shred initially identify the need for an AI solution? What key business objectives did you aim to achieve through its implementation?

V Shred initially identified the need for an AI solution based on the challenges faced by our agents in dealing with disruptive or spam comments. Our agents were spending a significant amount of time moderating these negative interactions, which in turn limited their capacity to engage with genuine customers and provide a high level of service. Recognizing the impact this had on our overall efficiency and customer satisfaction, we sought an AI solution to alleviate this issue.

We aimed to achieve two key business objectives by implementing an AI-powered platform. Firstly, we wanted to free up our agents’ time by automating the moderation process. This would enable them to focus more on meaningful customer interactions and devote their expertise to providing personalized assistance and support. Secondly, we saw the AI solution as an opportunity for organic growth without increasing our headcount. By efficiently handling moderation tasks, we could scale our operations and take a larger volume of customer inquiries without a proportional increase in staffing resources.

2. What steps did you take to implement this AI solution? Were there criteria that you used to evaluate different social media AI moderation solutions? Was the process more or less difficult than expected?

To implement the AI solution, we opted for a vendor who offered a seamless integration process with minimal technical lift. This decision was primarily driven by our goal to streamline the implementation and reduce potential complexities. The initial steps involved linking our social media profiles to the AI moderation platform, which took approximately 20 minutes to complete. This straightforward setup allowed us to swiftly transition to the new system without significant disruptions to our operations.

During the evaluation process, we had specific criteria in mind to assess different social media AI moderation solutions. One crucial factor was a minimal tech lift for implementation. We sought a solution to effectively handle negative and abusive content detection and filtering, freeing our agents’ time for more meaningful engagements. Additionally, we placed importance on the availability of comprehensive reporting features that would enable us to track and evaluate the platform’s performance and impact on our operations.

Overall, the implementation process turned out to be much smoother than expected. The chosen vendor’s no-tech-lift approach significantly reduced any complexities typically associated with adopting new technologies. This streamlined implementation allowed us to seamlessly integrate the AI solution into our existing workflows and begin reaping its benefits without any major hurdles or setbacks.

3. Regarding business impact, what changes do you anticipate with the work your customer service agents manage?

With the implementation of the AI solution, we anticipate significant changes in the type of work our customer service agents will manage, particularly within our social media team. The primary goal is to enable our agents to allocate almost all of their attention to engaging existing customers, fostering a positive and encouraging environment, and providing exceptional customer service.

By automating the moderation of disruptive individuals and filtering out negative interactions, our social media team will be freed from the time-consuming task of dealing with such instances. This means they can redirect their efforts toward resolving customer service issues promptly and efficiently. They will have more availability to address product-related inquiries from potential new clients, providing them with the necessary information and assistance to make informed decisions about our offerings.

Furthermore, our agents will have the opportunity to engage with existing customers, nurturing and strengthening our relationship with them. This includes providing personalized support, addressing concerns or feedback, and ensuring a positive overall experience throughout their fitness journey.

Overall, the AI solution will enable our social media team to focus their energy and expertise on engagement rather than hiding content we do not want to remain visible. This shift in their responsibilities will ultimately contribute to improved customer satisfaction, increased loyalty, and the potential for greater conversion rates among potential customers and allowing for organic organizational growth without expanding headcount.

4. What Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) have you established to measure the success and performance of this social media solution? How do these KPIs align with the initial business objectives you aimed to achieve?

We have identified several metrics that we intend to monitor and evaluate in order to measure the success and performance of our social media solution. These metrics align with our future monitoring plans and are aimed at achieving our business objectives:

• Spam Reduction: We will track and measure the reduction of visible spam content on our social media platforms over time. This KPI will help us evaluate the effectiveness of the solution in filtering out and minimizing spam, resulting in a higher quality and more engaging content environment.
• Brand Attack Reduction in Visibility: We will monitor and assess how effectively we address and handle brand attacks on our social media platforms. This KPI will help us gauge our responsiveness and ability to address customer concerns, protecting and enhancing our brand reputation.
• Engagement on Positive Content: We aim to increase engagement on positive content that previously received little to no engagement. This KPI will allow us to track the growth in interactions, such as likes, shares, and comments, on positive posts, fostering a more engaged and supportive community.

Additionally, our vendor will conduct Quarterly Business Reviews (QBRs) to compare these KPIs with the baseline “before” numbers. These QBRs will provide an opportunity to review and analyze the data, discuss performance trends, and identify areas for improvement.

By leveraging the QBRs as a feedback mechanism, we can foster a strong partnership with our vendor, continually refine our social media strategy, and achieve our goals. These metrics and review processes will enable us to monitor progress, make data-driven decisions, and enhance our social media performance.

5. Considering the overall experience and outcomes, would you have approached the AI implementation differently? What key learnings can you share with other business leaders considering similar AI solutions?

The key learning from this experience is that implementing an AI platform can be invaluable if a brand has a smaller social media team and aims to allocate its resources toward engaging with customers and driving recruitment and retention. By automating moderation tasks and freeing up the team’s time, the AI solution enables a shift in focus toward more strategic initiatives.

For other business leaders considering similar AI solutions, it is important to carefully evaluate their specific needs, goals, and the size of their social media team. An AI platform can offer significant benefits if the objective is to optimize team resources and drive customer engagement. Look for vendors who make commitments and deliver on promises, ensuring a smooth implementation process with minimal disruptions. In our case, no/minimal tech lift was a deciding factor.

Additionally, it is crucial to assess the potential impact of the AI solution on team dynamics and workflows. Consider the resources required for proper implementation, training, and change management. Communicate the purpose and benefits of the AI solution to the team, emphasizing how it can enhance their effectiveness and enable them to focus on more meaningful and strategic tasks.

Lastly, continuously monitor and evaluate the outcomes of the AI implementation. Collect feedback from the team and analyze key metrics to assess the impact on customer engagement, team productivity, and overall business goals. This will help identify areas for improvement and optimize the use of the AI solution over time.

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