What Are Content Moderation Services?
Content moderation services, sometimes used interchangeably with social media moderation services, are a type of service that involves a third party reviewing, monitoring, and managing your user-generated content on online platforms, typically social media, to ensure adherence to your company’s standards and guidelines. The objective of content moderation services is to remove inappropriate or offensive content to enforce community guidelines and terms of service to maintain safety, appropriateness, and alignment with a brand’s values.
Such a service is highly sought after because online scams and illegal content that are harmful to users are all over the internet, and it takes a lot of time and effort to go over all content, analyze their intent and impact, and decide whether they are suitable to the platform and brand or not.
This process entails exposure to an overwhelming amount of content, which can be exhausting and stressful to the moderator. And the leading reason why companies hire content moderators is because professionals have found a way to quickly and accurately evaluate content, while managing their stress and emotions. Not only will this keep your online platforms pleasant for your users, it will also help optimize your time.
Pros of Outsourcing Content Moderation To The Philippines
The Philippines is the world’s call center capital because it has 3-4 million employed workers, and it makes up 10-15% of the world’s BPO industry. As a top outsourcing destination in 2024, no wonder that the Philippines is also one of the leading countries when it comes to outsourcing social media management, specifically content moderation. Why? We’ve listed the benefits below!
Cost & Time Efficiency
The hourly cost of content moderation services in the United States is $25 - $49 while outsourcing it to the Philippines costs $10 - $15 on average. That's almost 70% savings!
Not to mention, hiring content moderators requires overhead and direct management. On top of paying their salary, you need to provide benefits and paid leaves. You also have to oversee their work yourself, training them, doing regular quality checks, and giving timely feedback for continuous improvement. Not only will the costs add up, it’s also time consuming.
Meanwhile, if you work with a content moderation agency like KDCI Outsourcing, they’ll manage everything for you – hiring, training, and onboarding, all the way to managing your day-to-day operations, as well as providing reports and recommendations. They do all of these for one flat rate paid monthly, helping you reduce costs and save time.
Highly Skilled Workforce
Did you know that Facebook alone employs over 10,000 social media content moderators in the Philippines? The reason why a global giant like Meta would choose the Philippines for its social media content moderation is because of the Philippines long-standing reputation of having high-skilled workers.
In fact, there are 39.84 million employees in the Philippines with 1.3 million employed in the outsourcing industry. Holding 10-15% of the world’s BPO market, it’s only natural that many companies, small or large, are looking to hire skilled labor, like content moderators, from the Philippines.
Cultural Compatibility
Content moderation is one of those tasks that require cultural knowledge. It’s not enough to know the English language, you need content moderators who understand Western culture to understand context and nuances of content to accurately evaluate their appropriateness and fit with a company’s branding and community guidelines.
Among the many English speaking countries, especially in the more affordable outsourcing destinations, the Philippines has the best cultural compatibility with the United States. As a previous US colony, the Philippine culture is closely aligned with North American culture, with Filipinos able to understand American expressions and pop culture references. This makes Filipino content moderators a great option for screening Western content.
Flexibility & Scalability
Outsourcing a process like content creation puts the burden of management on the outsourcing agency. This means you can scale your operations without worrying about maintaining headcount. Just communicate the changes to your outsourcing partner, and they will make the changes for you.
This flexibility is invaluable for businesses, especially in a highly competitive market where agility can make or break one’s success.
Government Support
Business process outsourcing rakes in around $30 billion every year, and is one of the main drivers of Philippine GDP. As one of the strongest industries in the country, outsourcing is getting support from the government in the form of special economic zones, tax incentives, and laws and legislations that support the industry.
The government is making efforts in improving infrastructure, particularly in telecommunications and economic zones, like the Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA), that grants outsourcing companies fiscal tax incentives to attract more global clients.
And to fuel the BPO economy, the government is also investing heavily in education to upskill the workforce. And they’re rolling out policies like the Data Privacy Act in 2012 and partnering with the private sector to ensure business continuity and sustainable growth of the BPO industry in the country.
Infrastructure
With support from the Philippine government, outsourcing companies are able to enjoy robust telecommunications, modern office spaces, better transportation, growing IT infrastructure, redundant power supply, and security measures that support data transfer.
As remote work becomes increasingly popular, the demand for outsourced services has also increased post-pandemic, highlighting the need for Philippine infrastructure to pick up its pace in development. And with government investment, companies are enjoying faster and more reliable internet. Transportation to and from central business districts where majority of BPO companies are located has also been smoother. And lastly, there have been cybersecurity measures and data privacy protection to support the growth of the Philippine IT BPO industry – which are valuable to content moderation.
Track Record
Since the early 1990s, the Philippines has begun outsourcing numerous services to Western countries. And today, it’s one of the top outsourcing destinations, especially for services like content moderation, requiring good communication.
Along with their exceptional English proficiency, cultural compatibility, and lower labor rates, the fact that the country had many successes in terms of providing outsourced services to global companies instills trust, also fueling demand.
Cons of Outsourcing Content Moderation To The Philippines
Every endeavor has its benefits as well as drawbacks. When it comes to content moderation, outsourcing to the Philippines also presents some downsides that you must consider before working with a Philippine content moderation agency.
Time Zone Differences
One of the biggest challenges when it comes to content moderation is the difference in time zone, especially between the Philippines and United States. With the two nations located on opposite sides of the globe, time zone differences can hinder communication and collaboration.
This is why most Philippine companies adapt shifting schedules to accommodate your preferred schedule, whether that means working your hours or after hours. They also set up clear and reliable communication channels to ensure seamless collaboration and minimize disruptions.
Cultural Differences
As mentioned before, cultural understanding is highly important in something like content moderation. While Filipinos are very Westernized in terms of culture, there are still differences that may be lost to Filipino content moderators.
While this margin of error may be negligible to some, it’s a concern that should be considered nonetheless. And a great way to mitigate this is by training your offshore content moderation team. By working hand-in-hand with your Philippine outsourcing partner, you can ensure your content moderators are able to filter out the kind of content you want much more accurately.
Inconsistent Quality
The difference between doing things in-house versus outsourcing is the amount of control and oversight you have over your content moderation. When you hire a third party to take over the process, there’s a chance that quality control is not quite how you’d like it. This is especially true when you work with more than one outsourcing partner or have part of your content moderation conducted in-house while some are outsourced.
There are bound to be inconsistencies when you’re not the one managing the process. And while you can work as closely as you can with your outsourced partner, especially in the beginning while they are still getting used to the way you do things, your limited control puts you at the mercy of your service provider. This means that if they suddenly decide to not provide services, you’re gonna be in a pickle!
A great way to prepare for this is to assign a contact person in-house who can liaise between your team and your offshore content moderation team. This person should be a subject matter expert, who can serve as a back-up in case things go awry with your outsourcing partner. This person will help with transitioning the process either bringing it back in-house or outsourcing it to a different company.
Data Security Concerns
When outsourcing content moderation, you have to give your service provider and your offshore team access to your content. This presents a cybersecurity and data privacy risk, which risks significant legal and reputational damage.
To avoid this, make sure your service provider has strict access controls, uses encryption for data transmission and storage, and complies with international standards such as GDPR and CCPA. Not only should they have these in place, they should regularly conduct quality checks to ensure adherence to industry best practices when it comes to data privacy.
Dependence on Technology
Working with a team on the other side of the world is possible in the 20th century thanks to advanced communication technologies and the internet. However, the Philippines has regular typhoons that can cause power and internet disruptions.
These can disrupt operations, lowering productivity and even impacting the business on a bigger scale. Such is the risk of outsourcing any process to the Philippines; but the same can be said even if you were to do content moderation in-house. There are bound to be disruptions due to unforeseen events.
The best prevention is preparation. Work with an agency that has redundancy measures in place to ensure uninterrupted services. This usually means they equip your offshore team with power stations and secondary internet sources to ensure productivity and that KPIs are met.
Initial Setup and Transition Costs
Most outsourcing companies have a fixed fee, and that includes the initial setup and transition costs already. However, it’s possible as well that these fees are not yet included. In the case of the latter, you can accumulate costs that are beyond your budget, nullifying the cost benefits of outsourcing to the Philippines to begin with.
To avoid this, you should ask your service provider early on about the costs. Be upfront about your budget and ask about any additional costs you may incur before signing any agreements to make sure you don’t pay more than you’re willing.
Top Content Moderation Companies In The Philippines
Finding the best companies that offer reliable and high-quality content moderation services can be challenging. That’s why we’ve done the heavy lifting and listed the ten most reputable, ranging from outsourcing companies to marketing agencies.
KDCI Outsourcing
KDCI Outsourcing is a premier BPO company in the Philippines, known for providing comprehensive outsourcing services. They offer robust content moderation services that include social media monitoring, community management, and user-generated content review, ensuring compliance with platform policies.
Moderation Asia
Moderation Asia is a Filipino company specializing in content moderation and digital community management. They offer real-time moderation, user-generated content review, and compliance enforcement to ensure safe and engaging online environments.
GetCRAFT
GetCRAFT is a Filipino content marketplace that connects brands with content creators and moderators. They provide content moderation services that include social media monitoring, community management, and user-generated content review.
Gaggle
Gaggle is a Philippine-based company that offers content moderation services, primarily focusing on educational institutions. Content Moderation Services: They provide tools and services for monitoring and moderating student-generated content to ensure a safe and productive learning environment.
Teleperformance
Teleperformance is a world-renowned BPO company with extensive operations in the Philippines, known for its exceptional customer service. Their content moderation services include comprehensive screening, user-generated content review, and compliance monitoring, utilizing advanced technologies to ensure platform safety.
Pure Moderation
Pure Moderation is a specialized content moderation and BPO service provider operating globally, including in the Philippines. They provide tailored content moderation solutions such as real-time monitoring, social media management, and AI-powered moderation tools to safeguard online communities.
Truelancer
Truelancer is a global freelance marketplace offering a wide range of professional services, including content moderation. They connect clients with skilled freelancers who provide various content moderation services, such as text, image, and video review, ensuring compliance with community guidelines and standards.
TrueLogic Online Solutions
TrueLogic Online Solutions is a leading digital marketing agency in the Philippines offering a range of online solutions including SEO, web development, and social media management. Their content moderation services include monitoring and managing user-generated content across various platforms to ensure adherence to community guidelines and maintain a positive online presence.
Piton-Global
Piton-Global is a renowned outsourcing provider in the Philippines that specializes in back-office support and customer service. They offer comprehensive content moderation services that leverage human expertise and advanced technologies like AI and machine learning to monitor and manage user-generated content effectively, ensuring compliance with local and international regulations.
Aegis Global
Aegis Global, now known as Startek, is a global customer experience management company with operations in the Philippines. They provide content moderation services as part of their customer experience management solutions, ensuring user-generated content is monitored and managed effectively.
Outsource Social Media Content Moderation To The Philippines
Ensuring your content adheres to community guidelines to provide the best experience to your audience plays a huge role in maintaining your brand’s reputation. With such high stakes, most companies choose to work with reputable service providers, with a proven track record of providing content moderation services that aren't just reliable, but are also cost-efficient and scalable.
At KDCI Outsourcing, we excel at building offshore marketing and social media management teams that specialize in content moderation. Not only do we vet all specialists to ensure they have the expertise and experience you’re seeking, but we also look for people who have the cultural fit with your organization, ensuring the best communication and the most seamless collaboration.
Learn more about marketing, social media, and content moderation outsourcing services.
Contact us today!
