BrandBastion discovered that hate speech, discrimination, bullying, and spam online were at an all-time high in 2020. Consumers in 2021 will not be tolerant of brands that fail to stand against racism publicly, fail to blend intention with action, and fail to create safe online communities where hate speech and bullying are not tolerated.
77.6% of respondents in a BrandBastion survey think that harmful comments should be removed from social media by the brand, the platform, or the users themselves.
Consumers have faced the political, personal, and economic repercussions of a pandemic, have seen a grassroots movement become a global movement on social media, and have participated in an election where hate speech became normalized. In 2021, they expect an online space created by brands where meaningful conversations can be had.
Source: Edelman’s study on systematic racism
Brand authenticity can be defined as the extent to which consumers perceive a brand to be honest and true toward itself and its consumers. Therefore, it is important to consider several factors when determining how your brand wants to create safe online communities for its followers and how it wants to respond in the current climate. Download BrandBastion’s free eBook to discover everything you need to know about managing comments online in 2021.
Consumers in 2021 can sniff hypocrisy from far away. They expect brands to react, not because it’s the trendy or cool thing to do, but because it’s the right thing to do. Before responding to hate speech online, consider the recommendations below.
Netflix is a prime example of a company that authentically and effectively took a stand against racism.
Netflix launched a Black Lives Matter collection, curating content that highlighted the Black experience.
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Consider BrandBastion's 4 R's when determining what kind of content can remain on your page and what kind of content is detrimental to your community's safety.
Remove
Comments that endanger your online communities or target individuals should be removed from your social accounts, as should comments that outrightly and unlawfully undermine the integrity of your brand. Hate speech and discriminatory speech cannot be tolerated online.
Respond
Consider replying to supportive comments, replying to questions as to what the brand is doing to promote inclusivity, or consciously replying to negative comments. It is important to respond to your followers to create a community and demonstrate your brand values.
Remain
Your brand's online communities should not feel free to cyberbully and discriminate, but they should be free to express themselves and their opinions respectfully. Open and civilized discussions should therefore remain on your brand's social accounts.
Report - While social media platforms are committed to removing harmful comments, certain comments on your social pages may go unflagged. Each platform also has standards for reporting comments that should be reviewed for legal and safety purposes.
We are taking a stance against hate speech to create a space on social media for productive and meaningful conversations to be had, and we ask you to join us. Let's unite to build safe social communities.
Download BrandBastion's ebook to:
I 01 Discrimination: From Covid-19 To BLM And The US Elections
I 02 Bullying
I 03 Other dangers: Spam, Scam, and PII
I 04 Industry-Specific Insights
I 05 What Should Your Brand Do?
