# StrawberrySocial > Social Media Moderation Specialists ## Posts ### July 2025 Social Media & Online Safety Updates Here’s your July round-up of essential social media and online safety updates. This month, we’re tracking user concerns around Meta’s moderation rollbacks, and new features from LinkedIn, YouTube and Instagram. Plus, don’t miss this month’s free tools, including our new AI and moderation resource hub and a smart SEO caption generator to help your content get found. 🌱Community Building & Engagement Threads turns two and continues to gain momentum The platform is now up to 350 million active users, and its growth continues to accelerate. Bluesky engagement declining These Bluesky post count and author stats graphs show a slow but steady dip. How to stop the “AI voice” from taking over your charity’s comms Gabriella Poznansky at DSC explores the ethical, environmental, and practical concerns around using AI in charity communications, urging organisations to think critically and use these tools with care. How to boost your TikTok engagement rate Tips to help you drive more meaningful interactions. 🔐 Trust & Safety Harmful content on Meta’s platforms in the wake of rollbacks, according to users A new survey of 7,000 active users found evidence of increased harmful content, decreased freedom of expression, and increased self-censorship. Large language models are a bad replacement for human therapy, a new Stanford University study says It argues that chatbots like ChatGPT should not replace therapists because of their dangerous tendencies to express stigma, encourage delusions and respond inappropriately in critical moments. UK Survey reports 8% increase in the number of 9-17 year olds that have experienced harm in the last year The latest Internet Matters Pulse findings show that children continue to face a wide range of harms online. These include exposure to violent content, bullying and unwanted contact from strangers. 🔧 Platform Updates Meta Adds copyright check to the Reels Composer on Facebook Creators are now automatically alerted if their video content violates music rights—before hitting publish. X bans hashtags in promoted posts Advertisers on X can no longer use hashtags in paid posts. New YouTube analytics tools now available New audience segments, leaderboard for top fans, "most relevant" comment filter and more announced. LinkedIn adding video covers to articles and newsletters LinkedIn’s rolling out a new option to make your articles stand out in-stream, in line with its broader push on video content. YouTube increasing minimum age for live streaming Creators will need to be 16 or older to be able to live stream on YouTube. TikTok looks to gamify livestream engagement with Fan Clubs Fan Clubs allow LIVE creators to connect directly with eligible fans, providing a way for fans to support LIVE creators' popularity on TikTok. Instagram expands Google access to public posts to more regions Contrary to much of the recent coverage of this update, this isn’t actually a major shift as most public IG posts have been indexed by Google for some time. 🎁 Free Resources New AI and Moderation Resource Hub What's changing, and why it matters. Check out this new home for all the latest and most important updates on AI and social media moderation. Tech harms and injustices library A helpful resource for charities in need of up-to-date evidence of where technology creates injustice, for funding applications, research with communities, or future content. SEO Caption Generator for Social Media With consumers now treating social networks a lot like search engines, it’s time to start making social media content easier for users to find on social media. As always, we’ll continue monitoring platform, policy, and user behaviour changes, and what that means for those of us working on the front lines of digital communities. If you're looking for a trusted partner in moderation, safeguarding, or strategic online community support, get in touch with our team. Want to get these updates before everyone else? Join hundreds of social media professionals and get these updates delivered straight to your inbox every month. Subscribe to the StrawberrySocial newsletter here. ### June 2025 Social Media & Online Safety Updates Here’s a quick rundown of the latest social platform updates and online safety developments social media marketers need to know this month. Highlights include a mid-year social trends update, AI regrets and 15 examples of great social, picked by your industry peers. 🌱Community Building & Engagement 92% of social media marketers consider Instagram a priority platform Social media marketers open up in the Very Online Survey. Here’s what they say about the state of the industry right now. Insider video quality tips from Instagram’s Edit product manager Instagram’s own team shares what makes a video shine. 15 social media trends shaping 2025 [mid-year update] See which social media trends are holding strong, what’s changed, and what still deserves your attention Fintech company Klarna regrets replacing human workers with AI Two years after partnering with OpenAI to automate marketing and customer service jobs, financial tech startup Klarna says it's longing for human connection again. LinkedIn publishes new guide on influencer marketing for B2B brands LinkedIn’s newest ebook explores what’s changing in the world of B2B creators, and how leading brands are staying ahead. Safer Internet Day 2025 saw record-breaking engagement Safer Internet Day 2025 saw a record-breaking 57% of children and young people aged 8-17 in the UK hearing about the day. Pinterest users are looking to ditch the screens and literally touch grass this season Find out what else Gen Z is craving in Pinterest’s Summer 2025 Trend Report. Video posting best practices On LinkedIn, video viewing has increased 36% in just the last year. Here are 13 tips for compelling B2B video content on the platform. 🔐 Trust & Safety Facebook UK has a special form to report content that is illegal or harmful to children under the UK Online Safety Act Facebook sees rise in violent content and harassment after policy changes Meta says its content moderation mistakes have decreased by 50 percent overall. Former surgeon general says Congress has failed to protect children from social media's mental health harms Vivek Murthy, who worked for Obama and Biden, called for more data transparency from social media companies so researchers can study the internet’s effects on kids. Volume Muted Icon Scam websites imitating famous brands are luring in victims on social media Social media users are being tricked by false ads advertising fictitious sales – and consumers say the platforms must take action Meta Receives Approval for AI Data Usage in the EU Ireland’s Data Protection Commission releases statement on Meta AI. Google’s New AI Tool Generates Convincing Deepfakes of Riots, Conflict, and Election Fraud 🔧 Platform Updates TikTok lets you add links to Stories TikTok creators can share external links in their Stories, just like Instagram. LinkedIn now offers creators more detailed analytics Beyond basic metrics such as views, members reached, engagement, and demographics, users will be able to better understand the impact of their posts by seeing how viewers engage with them. LinkedIn remove option to add a hyperlink to your profile Custom website links will now only be supported via the custom button feature available through the Premium Business plan. Instagram is testing an in-app teleprompter feature for Edits Users will be able to adjust the speed at which the words are displayed before them, as well as the size of the text. 🎁 Free Resources Social Ads Study 2025: includes helpful performance and spend benchmarks for TikTok and Meta ad campaigns 15 examples of ‘great social’ according to social media pros 234 ChatGPT Prompts (& How to Write Your Own) Recommended social media image sizes 2025 guide As always, we’ll continue monitoring platform, policy, and user behaviour changes, and what that means for those of us working on the front lines of digital communities. If you're looking for a trusted partner in moderation, safeguarding, or strategic online community support, get in touch with our team. Want to get these updates before everyone else? Join hundreds of social media professionals and get these updates delivered straight to your inbox every month. Subscribe to the StrawberrySocial newsletter here. ### May 2025 Social Media & Online Safety Updates This month’s round-up brings you the latest essential updates for social media marketers, from proven ways to spark authentic engagement (especially on LinkedIn) to the critical new online safety measures you need to know. Plus, we’ve packed in more free tools and templates than ever to make your job easier. 🌱Community Building & Engagement Best Ways for Charities to Use LinkedIn in 2025 [With Examples & Tips] Real-world strategies to help nonprofit teams connect, build visibility, and engage meaningfully on LinkedIn this year. How to Find the Right Influencers for Your Brand Fresh advice for identifying influencers who genuinely align with your values. Quick reminder: finding them is one thing. But don’t forget to do your due diligence. Get help with vetting your influencers here. Want More Engagement on Your LinkedIn Company Profile? Get Less Robotic In what will surprise absolutely no one (and yet somehow still needs saying), it turns out authentic, conversational updates drive better results. 🔐 Trust & Safety New: IWF Annual Data & Insights Report 2024 Key findings from the latest Internet Watch Foundation report, offering vital insights into online harms and child protection trends. Online Safety Act Update: Ofcom Finalises Child Safety Measures Starting from July, platforms, online forums and tech firms will need to meet new child protection standards. Read more about the ‘safety-first’ approach that will affect how tech firms design and operate their services in the UK. Incidents Impacting Retailers – Recommendations from the NCSC The National Cyber Security Centre shares practical tips to help retailers (and any online service) tighten their resilience after recent cyber attacks on Marks and Spencer and The Co-Op. YouTube Tests Blurred Thumbnails for Mature Content A small but significant change aimed at reducing unintended exposure during YouTube searches. TikTok Announces New EU Data Centre TikTok will separate European user data into new regional hubs - amid growing pressure around data privacy and compliance. 🔧 Platform Updates Instagram Edits Released The long-awaited new video creation app by Instagram is finally here. Instagram Testing Lockable Posts Instagram’s trying out a new way to drive engagement with your followers, with lockable posts, that can only be unlocked with a code. TikTok Adds Location Reviews TikTok continues to blur the lines between social media and discovery platforms, now allowing users to review select places. Bluesky Adds Verification Checkmarks The decentralised social network adds a new layer of verification - a blue check. Pinterest Displays ‘AI Modified’ Labels on Pins New transparency tools are live, letting users know when AI was used to create or modify an image pin. Threads Tops 350M Monthly Users Threads’ steady growth continues. How the TikTok Algorithm Ranks Content in 2025 + Visibility Tips A look at TikTok’s latest algorithm tweaks and how marketers can adjust their content tactics to stay visible. 🎁 Free Resources Guide to Meta’s Nonprofit Ad Tracking Changes A practical breakdown of what's changing, and how to navigate new restrictions while maintaining campaign impact. Painless Productivity Tips from Seth Godin Simple advice to help marketers and community managers do more, without burning out. Content Moderation Simulation Module An interactive tool designed to prepare teams for the real-world challenges of moderation. Free 2025 UK Social Media Manager Calendar A handy downloadable calendar of key dates, campaigns, and awareness days. Free Community Engagement Canvas A practical one-page tool to help plan, build, and strengthen your online communities. As always, we’ll continue monitoring platform, policy, and user behaviour changes, and what that means for those of us working on the front lines of digital communities. If you're looking for a trusted partner in moderation, safeguarding, or strategic online community support, get in touch with our team. Join hundreds of social media professionals getting these updates first delivered straight to your inbox every month. Subscribe to the StrawberrySocial newsletter here. ### Best Ways for Charities to Use LinkedIn in 2025 [With Examples & Tips] Charities are continually exploring smarter, more effective ways to engage supporters, attract partners, and grow their impact. In 2025, if your organisation isn’t already making active use of LinkedIn, now’s the time to start. LinkedIn has evolved hugely since its early days as a digital CV platform. Since the great ‘X-odus’ from X (formerly Twitter) in 2022, LinkedIn has firmly established itself as the professional hub for networking, thought leadership, and connection. With over 1 billion users globally, including 260 million in North America and 304 million in Europe, the platform offers a powerful opportunity for charities to connect with a high-income, well-networked audience. Alongside LinkedIn Lives, newsletters, and visual carousels, new page features to look out for in 2025 include improved analytics, and easier collaborative posting. How charities can use LinkedIn to grow influence and impact For charities, LinkedIn strategy should centre around: Growing engagementwith potential prospects for corporate partnerships and your major donor team. Brand awareness and trust Positioning yourself as an excellent employer, making it easy to hire great people. Creating authentic community In February 2025, The Verge and Vox Media collaborated on a study exploring the future of online communities in an AI-driven world. Their conclusion? ‘the future of community is personal, intentional and built on trust’. LinkedIn offers a strong foundation for charities to build just that - a meaningful, purpose-driven community made up of sector peers, supporters, and potential partners. LinkedIn Live events An excellent way to bring charities and professionals together in real time, Live events get 24x more engagement than conventional posts. Networking Engage with content shared by your sector peers, supporters, and donors. Post as your charity page to offer your perspective and add value to the conversation. Newsletters Provide thought leadership and guide sector conversations with your own newsletter. Tips to create engaging content Use LinkedIn analyticsLinkedIn analytics provide detailed insights into post performance, follower growth, comments and profile visitors. Use this to guide your LinkedIn strategy as it’s key to understanding what resonates. The more engagement your content generates, the wider your reach becomes, helping you connect with new and relevant audiences. Show off your expertise Your organisation is home to experts in fundraising, marketing, admin, finance, and strategy. Enlist their help and ask them to create featured content for your charity’s LinkedIn presence. Highlighting their expertise will boost your charity’s reputation as a sector expert. It also shows the world that your charity is an employer that appreciates and respects its staff - helping with hiring efforts down the line. Live sessionsHost live sessions on topics relevant to your mission, featuring industry experts, beneficiaries, or thought leaders. These events encourage real-time engagement, and position your charity as a knowledge hub. Get staff, volunteers, and donors involved LinkedIn is an ideal platform to showcase the human side of your charity, and highlight the efforts of your staff, volunteers, and donors. Make your charity relatable Offering a transparent look behind the scenes, you build trust, and make your charity relatable to a wider audience. Candid footage from events, glimpses into daily operations, team-building activities - let your professional audience feel more connected to you and your team. Feature volunteer and staff stories Show the tangible impact that your donors and volunteers have made. This will foster a sense of community, give you an opportunity to show gratitude, and inspire new people to reach out and get involved with your charity. Tap into the network of people seeking new opportunities For companies with volunteer time-off policies, promoting such initiatives through LinkedIn can attract corporate partners. Individuals looking to develop their skills will also engage with your events, workshops, conferences or volunteer days. Charities doing a good job on LinkedIn MacMillan Cancer Support MacMillan uses LinkedIn to highlight the achievements of its staff and volunteers, promote events and initiatives relevant to a professional audience, and highlight collaborations across the sector. In 2024, they won the ‘Best Use of Social Media’ award at the Third Sector Awards with their impactful campaign, ‘We Need To Talk About Sex And Cancer’. Mind With a charity focus that is relevant to everyone, Mind is still strategic with their content. They respond to government policy and highlight different mental health problems, but also take the time to include positive messages to brighten up their followers' days. Blue Cross UK Blue Cross use their platform to highlight their work and campaigns. But they also find time to acknowledge the work of their business partners, staff and volunteers, highlight awards they’ve won, and promote jobs they’re recruiting for. Dementia UK Dementia UK uses LinkedIn to bring the conversation about dementia into the workplace. They shine a light on the realities of living with dementia, and provide practical guidance for employers and employees on how to create more inclusive, supportive work environments. LinkedIn for Charities: More Resources Check out more LinkedIn resources for charities. Amplify your charity’s impact on LinkedIn with our free social media platform strategy template. ### StrawberrySocial Turns 10 + April 2025 Social Media & Online Safety Updates We’re celebrating a major milestone this month – StrawberrySocial is 10 years old! A whole decade of helping organisations create safer, stronger, and more supportive online communities. Whether you’ve been with us from the start or recently joined, thank you for being part of our journey. Here are the latest developments in community engagement, trust and safety, and platform features, along with some free resources to support your work. Whether you're focused on social media strategy, safeguarding, or community building, here’s what’s worth knowing this month. 🌱Community Building & Engagement 📊 StrawberrySocial: 10 Years of Impact in Social Media [Infographic] Explore our journey and the positive impact we’ve made over the past decade in our new visual roundup. 📅 Best Times to Post on Social Media in 2025 New data reveals when your content is most likely to land well across different platforms. Helping you cut through the noise.📈 Reddit’s Rising Value in Niche Communities New research highlights how Reddit is becoming an increasingly valuable space for meaningful, topic-driven engagement, particularly around specialist subjects. 🔐Trust & Safety 🚫 Adolescence Co-Creator Calls for Under-16 Smartphone Ban A provocative new call for regulation sparks debate about the role of tech in young people's lives.😡 Deepfake Nudes Are a Growing Threat for Youth Recent studies reveal the alarming rise in AI-generated explicit imagery – and what’s needed to counter it.🧠 Content Moderation: A 21st Century Hazardous Job The psychological toll of content moderation is gaining more attention. Here’s why this work needs stronger protections and recognition.🇬🇧 Online Safety Act: New Rules for UK Tech Firms The UK government now requires platforms to act on illegal harms. What this means for social media teams and digital leads.🛡️ TikTok Adds New Teen Safety Features ‘Time Away’ and improved ‘Family Pairing’ options are rolling out to help teens manage their screen time and stay safer online. 🔧 Platform Updates 🔁 Instagram to Add Re-Posts Re-sharing is coming natively to help boost content visibility and engagement.🎥 X Introduces Video Reaction Replies A new way to engage with posts through video, aiming to enhance creator interaction.📉 Instagram Removes Notes from Feed and Reels A quiet rollback of a once-hyped feature – will anyone miss them?⏸️ YouTube Adds Break Options for Live Streamers Better wellbeing tools are coming to live broadcasting.📊 LinkedIn Campaign Manager Gets a Boost New features promise better control and reporting for advertisers.💬 Threads Rolls Out Follower-Only Replies & Quote Posts More tools for managing interactions and building focused conversations.👥 Facebook Reintroduces Friends-Only Feed Tab Back to basics – a shift toward closer-knit updates. 🎁 Free Resources 📚 Accessible Communications Library A handy starting point for making your social media and comms more inclusive.🛡️ Online Safety Resources Library Includes our free Online Safety Checklist to help protect your team and community.🔍 Free Instagram SEO Tool Optimise your profile and posts to get discovered more easily on Instagram.As always, we’ll continue monitoring platform, policy, and user behaviour changes, and what that means for those of us working on the front lines of digital communities. If you're looking for a trusted partner in moderation, safeguarding, or strategic community support, get in touch with our team. If you'd like these updates delivered straight to your inbox each month, you can sign up for the StrawberrySocial newsletter here. Here’s to the next 10 years of safe, engaged, and meaningful social spaces. ### Celebrating 10 years of social media moderation and online safety What better way to mark 10 years of leadership in social media moderation, online safety, and brand protection than with a new infographic highlighting the evolution of social media, and StrawberrySocial’s impact,  over the past decade. From moderating millions of harmful posts to supporting leading organisations like NHS England and NSPCC, this milestone reflects not just how far StrawberrySocial has come but the growing importance of safe, inclusive digital spaces. Check out the stats and timeline below. Read the full press release here. Download the infographic as a screen-reader friendly PDF StrawberrySocial: 10 Years of Impact (2015 - 2025) Infographic Transcriptio​n Celebrating a decade of brand protection and social media moderation​ Overview: Our dedicated team continues to safeguard vulnerable users, ensuring safe and engaged online spaces for charities, brands, and communities worldwide. All figures are approximate and based on internal data, industry averages, and reasonable assumptions. Key Impact Statistics:​ 7.2 million pieces of harmful content removed 1,250 projects delivered since 2015 67 brands, charities, and agencies supported 99% decrease in visible spam on managed charity social accounts 50+ social media platforms, forums, and branded online spaces protected 250 years of combined experience in online safety and community engagement 602,000 emails sent 72,000 cups of tea and coffee consumed Content Moderation Breakdown: Breakdown of types of content removed (estimated): Violent and distressing content: 25% Misinformation: 20% Sexual content 20% Hate speech: 20% Spam and scams: 15% 250 years of combined experience in online safety and community engagement Timeline of Social Media Change (2015–2025): 2015: Rise of online misinformation 2016: “Fake news” dominates headlines 2017: TikTok reshapes social media 2018: AI deepfakes emerge online 2019: Increased online child safety concerns amid rise of AI-generated CSAM 2021: UK introduces Online Safety Act 2022: Twitter acquisition impacts moderation 2023: Bluesky, Threads launch; private platforms grow 2024: EU tightens moderation regulations 2025: Facebook ends fact-checking program About StrawberrySocial: We are a global, multilingual team delivering social media moderation and community management in over 20 languages, working around the clock to keep online communities safe and engaged. Visit us: strawberrysocial.com ### Hear from the women driving positive change online I’m marking International Women’s Day by highlighting some of the inspiring women we collaborate with every day. This year, the theme is “For ALL women and girls: Rights. Equality. Empowerment.”, so we’ve gathered personal inspiration, insights, and visions for the future from clients, colleagues, and partners at the forefront of making the online world safer and more inclusive. As the CEO of a leading moderation agency, I believe it’s essential to celebrate the power of women-led businesses and amplify women’s voices. Success comes from fostering flexible working patterns and upholding a deep, mutual respect for equality. Women’s rights are human rights - and that includes the right to feel safe and respected online. Sadly, online abuse disproportionately targets women and girls, a problem that is only growing with advances in technology and AI. At StrawberrySocial, we take pride in our daily work to combat harmful, abusive, and misogynistic content, upholding those rights in digital spaces. It’s crucial that we work together to build a digital world where everyone feels respected, protected, and free to express themselves without fear.Rebecca Fitzgerald, CEO & Founder, StrawberrySocial Who inspires you?My mum is one of the kindest people I know and has often told me to 'kill them with kindness', which, when you work in social - is a really strong piece of advice. Social media, as we all know, can be a negative place and applying positivity can really throw the trolls which can be very satisfying.What's your wish for women and girls of the future?When hidden behind a keyboard, some men feel invincible, unleashing scathing and judgmental remarks that are deeply concerning. Fortunately for every sexist comment, there are women who fight back and stand up. Ideally, I'd want us to have a world of social media that's more positive and everyone was treated equally, but in the meantime, I want people to continue calling out the discrimination and standing up for women and diverse communities. It's 2025 after all.Rosie Chadwick, Social Media Manager, Blue Cross Who inspires you?The people who inspire me the most each day are those working tirelessly within the charities we support - especially the queer people, women, and people of colour who are dedicated to creating a more equal and liberated world. Their resilience, passion, and commitment to create change fuels my own drive to support them in whatever way I can.What do you love about the work you do?I love sharing opportunities and digital knowledge with charities and causes that might not normally have the access to training – and seeing it put into place and making a difference. There have been so many charities from the TikTok Charity Academy I’ve worked on that have been popping up on my For You Page spreading their message and reaching new people.What's your wish for women and girls of the future?My wish for women and girls of the future is liberation. I hope to that there is a future where no girl feels weighed down by gender expectations, limited by societal restrictions or harmed by gendered violence. I want them to be free to shape their own lives, make their own choices and exist on their own terms.Cassandra Buck, Project Manager, Media Trust What's your favourite piece of advice?There’s enough space for all of us! Society often gives us the impression that success is limited for women, like there’s only room for a few of us at the top. But the truth is, there’s enough space for all of us to thrive. Be kind to each other, celebrate differences, and lift one another up.What's your wish for women and girls of the future?My biggest wish for women and girls is simply that they have the freedom to choose. So often, the female experience is shaped by a lack of choices or control. I’m a firm believer that when women and girls have agency and control over their own lives, everyone benefits.Jodie Hoskin, Marketing Manager, Media Trust Who or what inspires you?I am inspired by people who manage to achieve their creative dreams while also working full-time jobs and being there for their friends and families. Truly fulfilling success comes from balancing all the elements that make up a life - it’s not easy.What do you love about the work you do? The best work I’ve ever done has always involved building teams - hiring individuals who are talented and motivated, and then linking them together with others who feel the same. I love watching a team become more than the sum of its parts, because the people working together care about each other as well as the goal they’re working towards.What's your wish for women and girls of the future?Everything I see Gen Z and Gen Alpha doing online gives me the conviction that the women and girls of future generations are going to be just fine. They’re loud, proud and inclusive, with the intelligence to question all that came before.Scarlett Cayford has worked in tech for over a decade, leading teams across beauty, gaming and social in companies including SuperAwesome, Epic Games and Coty. Who or what inspires you?I’m inspired by writers and academics who go deep on an issue and find ways to change, optimise or make it better. My Kindle library is littered with books by the likes of Dan Heath, Charles Duhigg, Brene Brown, Adam Grant and Laura Vanderkam.What do you love about the work you do?There are numerous competing crises in the world today, but working in education is transformative. Education is a foundational force that can drive real, large-scale change, whether that’s in gender equality, climate action, or simply creating a safer, fairer world for all. And we have the results to prove it.What's your wish for women and girls of the future?Working in and around the media for a couple of decades now, I still wish for a less toxic media landscape. Women and girls deserve to access information and entertainment without the burden of navigating content or individuals that make them feel afraid or less than. I include everything from mainstream media to digital environments in that.Darika Ahrens, Director of Communications, Theirworld What do you love about the work you do?I think working in the charity sector just gives you a really strong internal feeling of purpose and drive. You know that you’re making a positive impact on the world and that your role goes deeper than just a social media post or just a newsletter introduction.What's your wish for women and girls of the future?My wish(es) for women, girls, trans-people and marginalised groups in the world: Equal opportunities in education and the workplace, the certainty of safety everywhere, the right to choose, more medical and scientific research into hormonal health and contraception, a world where people can look how they want to look without judgement or discrimination... The list could go on and on, but basically my wish is true equality and the eradication of violence against women and girls.What's your favourite piece of advice?My favourite piece of advice for people in the charity sector is from our CEO Debra Allcock Tyler, a true leader and inspiration to the team at DSC, who says “If it feels hard, it’s because it is hard.” Working in the charity sector is difficult, if you find your role in comms hard to manage, it’s because it’s a difficult role, it’s got nothing to do with your capabilities. What you can do is make sure your bosses are doing everything they can to support you in your role, including providing you with personal development opportunities. You could even ask them to book you onto a DSC training course!Gabriella Poznansky, Senior Digital Content and Communications Officer, Directory of Social Change What do you love about the work you do?Working in the charity sector is incredibly fulfilling. My colleagues are all hard-working, like-minded and just generally lovely people. Working in social media means I often hear from people first-hand about how they have been supported by the charity, which is so rewarding.What's your favourite piece of advice?One of my favourite pieces of advice is to always write down all your small and big wins. I keep a folder on Outlook aptly named 'nice emails'. Whenever I am complimented on my work by a colleague or manager, I save it in this folder. If I'm having a bad day, or imposter syndrome is rearing its ugly head, I look in the folder and am reminded of all my achievements. This helps my self-confidence immensely and to recognise my worth to the organisation.Laura Mason, Social Media Manager, Dementia UK What do you love about the work you do?Supporting blind and partially sighted communities every single day. I take immense gratitude that my work allows me to be a voice for the community I’m so proud to be part of.Getting up every morning and knowing that me and my team will be helping to break down barriers faced by blind and partially sighted people through our creative, accessible social media content is a real driving force, both personally and professionally. I love how my work aligns with everything I believe in, and helps me to live my passion of making the world a more accessible place.What's your wish for women and girls of the future?Disabled women and girls are not the problem, the inaccessible society we live in is the problem. For them not to feel like a burden when asking for something to be made accessible, because accessibility should be the norm.Holly Tuke, Acting Social Media Manager, RNIBCheck out the RNIB guide to how to make your social media accessible > Who or what inspires you?The woman who has been my main inspiration was my mother, Annie Tyler. She was a poorly lady, who was disabled and needed a liver transplant. I am the youngest of four and we were quite a handful as children! Despite my mother’s illness she was the strongest and most positive lady I have ever known. The things this woman could achieve with her body acting against her was other worldly. She put everyone first and was the epitome of an Earth Angel. She inspired me to be grateful for my agility and health, to be kind and empathic, and to find the humour in life whenever you can.There are so many incredible women at IWF and I find inspiration from them. The women in our hotline see images and videos of children who are victims of sexual abuse and exploitation. There are scenes that we could not even imagine in our worst nightmares. Yet day in day out they spend their time searching for this content, assessing and categorising it, so they can have it removed swiftly to protect these victims. These women are exceptionally strong, dedicated and inspirational.What do you love about the work you do?I love our values and the sense of achievement I have working at IWF. It is so incredibly sad that such a mission of seeing an internet free from Child Sexual Abuse Material exists, but I am extremely proud of our work. I love that my work attracts people who genuinely care about children and want to make a difference in the world. I feel blessed that I have countless opportunities to meet and collaborate with exceptional humans, such as Heidi Kempster, COO of IWF for 13 years, Susie Hargreaves, CEO of IWF for 13 years, Emma Hardy our Communications director, Tamsin Mcnally our Hotline Manager, I could go on! There are so many incredible females at IWF who all share the same goal, to make the world a safer place for children and ensure they are protected.Penny Tyler, Development Officer, Internet Watch FoundationRemarkable women all. It’s a privilege to work with them to build a safer, more empowering digital space for women and girls everywhere. ### The Online Safety Act: progress update and what it means for charities Online Safety Act - latest updateIn 2025, Ofcom is shifting its focus to service providers and the actions they must take to comply with new legal duties.On 16 January 2025, Ofcom published new industry guidance on effective age checks and Children’s Access Assessments, requiring all user-to-user and search services to complete a Children’s Access Assessment by mid April 2025.Online Safety Act Timeline26 October 2023: Online Safety Bill received Royal Assent and was passed into law31 January 2024: Encouraging or assisting self-harm, cyberflashing, epilepsy trolling, intimate image abuse, threatening communications and sending false information intended to cause non-trivial harm introduced as new criminal offences under the Act8 May 2024: Ofcom propose measures to improve children’s online safety16 December 2024: Ofcom policy Statement for the Online Safety regime dictate that providers have a duty to assess the risk of illegal harms on their services, with a deadline of 16 March 2025.16 January 2025: Ofcom publish new industry guidance on effective age checks and Children’s Access AssessmentsSee all important dates for Online Safety compliance here >What is the Online Safety Act - a recapThe Online Safety Act 2023 is a set of laws that protects both children and adults online, holding social media companies and search services accountable for user safety. It requires platforms and service providers to prevent access to harmful content, quickly remove illegal material, and provide clear reporting tools for children and parents. Ofcom will have powers to take action against companies which do not follow their new duties.“The Online Safety Act makes businesses, and anyone else who operates a wide range of online services, legally responsible for keeping people (especially children) in the UK safe online.” - OfcomWho does the Online Safety Act apply to?The Online Safety Act applies to all user-to-user and search services, meaning any online platform that facilitates user-generated content or communication. This includes big tech companies, social media platforms, cloud storage sites and search engines as well as gaming platforms, review sites, forums and online communities where users can interact. There are some exemptions such as public bodiesWhat about charities?If a charity or brand owns or operates an online service that enables user generated content or interactions, they may fall under the scope of the Online Safety Act. This includes:Websites with comment sections or forumsBrands with dedicated online communities such as private member forumsCharities running interactive platforms or peer support spacesTo be clear, simply having a presence on social media does not bring a charity under the Act.The charity must own or operate the service itself to be affected. However, it’s important to remember that all organisations have a duty to comply with platform policies and follow moderation best practices to keep their communities safe.Still not sure? Check if the Online Safety Act applies to you with Ofcom’s handy tool >StrawberrySocial specialises in moderation and online safety for charities and we are proud to support many incredible charities including NSPCC, Samaritans and Sue Ryder. Our experienced team has worked relentlessly to protect high-risk and vulnerable audiences online for over 15 years. Get in touch to learn how we can help safeguard your online community today > ### How to get started on BlueSky: a guide for charities Social media platforms have always been rented space for their users, but recent events have seen rapid shifts in the landscape. Charities are being forced to re-evaluate their social media strategies as Meta and X (formerly Twitter) become bogged down in the removal of fact checking, decreased user safety, and increased hate speech and extremist views. Some charities have already decided this environment doesn’t align with their values and made the leap to pastures new. One of the fastest growing alternatives that charities are turning to is Bluesky, a town square style microblogging platform. Reminiscent of old-school Twitter, it was originally developed as an internal project at Twitter, but is now a stand-alone company.In contrast to the larger platforms, Bluesky is decentralised, meaning users have the option to host their data on servers other than those owned by the company. Bluesky has also committed to strong stackable moderation, user privacy and data control. Its open source nature has also allowed for some very innovative features with exciting potential for charity campaigning.Bluesky has pledged not to rely on paid advertising for revenue, a refreshing change which leaves room for charities with smaller budgets, and creates potential for organic content and engagement to flourish.With organisations and individuals flocking to the platform at a rate of 2 per second at the time of writing, we’ve put together this guide to help you take advantage of the engagement opportunities at Bluesky. Even if you are not yet ready to start posting, we strongly recommend that you secure your handle now.Setting up your charity profileSign up via your browser at bsky.app, or download from the App Store and Play Store. Enter your email address, date of birth and password, and then choose your account name / handle and upload a photo.To verify your account, set your charity domain name as your account handle. Go to account settings, select ‘change handle’ and ‘I have my own domain’. Bluesky instructions will walk you through the rest of the process. Read more about setting up a custom domain on Buffer’s guide here >Users familiar with Twitter will find Bluesky very intuitive. Posts are limited to 300 characters, with the option to add photos, gifs, and video and music clips under 60 seconds in length.Find people to follow with Starter PacksStarter packs are curated account collections that help you quickly find relevant users and communities. Scroll through starter packs and follow any accounts you find interesting.Take a look at this starter pack of charities on Bluesky. You can create your own starter pack, curating a list of users you’d recommend to your followers. This is a fun way to grow your online community, enabling you to introduce supporters to your charity and a community they’ll likely find valuable.Check out this Bluesky Network Analyser tool to find more people to follow. FeedsBluesky allows users to customise their feeds, making it easier to find the content they’re looking for. Feeds are generally subject based, showing a collection of posts from multiple accounts. If you’re interested in a feed, follow it. It will appear in your feed channel.Find custom feeds by clicking ‘#’ in your browser/app, or use the ‘feeds’ search box to investigate different topics or hashtags.As with starter packs, you can create your own feeds. For charities, this offers a practical way to track professional and public conversations that affect your charity.Building a communityOrganic engagement and community building are both vital for charities online. Done well, social media reaches new audiences and deepens conversations, generating significant long-term support and involvement. Engagement works. This charity client is seeing up to 169% audience growth and +300% engagement.Here are some tips to help you grow a vibrant, Bluesky community that supports your charities mission:Complete your profile. No-one wants to connect with a potential bot.Find and connect with your people. Use Starter Packs, custom feeds and hashtags to find accounts you want to follow. And don’t forget to reach out and ensure you’re listed in their starter packs too.Build relationships, contribute to conversations in a meaningful way, and be authentic.Use 2-3 hashtags in your post to increase your visibility. Also, consider creating a branded hashtag for your charity to encourage others to engage with your content.Invest in human moderation and engagement to make your audience feel welcome and help keep your community safe.Currently, you can schedule your posts using Buffer, CoSchedule or SocialBee.If you need engagement, community management or moderation support on Bluesky, our team at StrawberrySocial can help.Accessibility on BlueskyAccessibility is key for those of us wanting to create an inclusive space for everyone to enjoy and contribute to. Bluesky’s accessibility features include alt text, text-to-speech and a setting to require alt text before postingAn alt tag reminder appears automatically when you add a photo to your post. Simply tap it to open and complete the text box.To require alt text every time you post, head to settings > accessibility, and select ‘require alt text before posting’. Bluesky will then prevent you from sharing your post until you have added alt text to any photos.Moderation features on BlueskyOne of the big reasons for user discontent with X and Meta has been their increasingly dubious moderation practices, so it is good to see Bluesky prioritising this area. There are several parts to Bluesky’s moderation.Their team of roughly 100 human moderators reviews user reports, and runs alongside automated moderation systems. We will continue to monitor how Bluesky moderation develops. Click here to read the Bluesky Moderation Report.To report content or accounts that break platform guidelines, click the offending post, select ‘report’ and a reason, and the human moderation team will review the post. Lists help users find and mute/block accounts with hateful or extremist views. Unlike X, once you block someone they can’t see your posts any more. If your charity’s community would benefit from a list of unsafe accounts to block, you can create one.Labels form another part of Bluesky’s stackable moderation strategy. Labels are a way to categorise content and users on Bluesky. They are part of the moderation tools but they can also help to foster community. Recent use of labels to highlight corporate funding of US politicians illustrates the opportunity for creativity in campaigning on new open source platforms.Next stepsBluesky has grown at an incredible rate in 2024-5. If your audience is part of the demographic abandoning Meta and X, opportunities for organic engagement and creative campaigning are there for charities ready to take on the challenge.Grab our free 1 page social media platform strategy template to help you get started plotting out a Bluesky specific strategy >If you’re searching for tips on how to approach leaving Twitter (X), check our guide for charities looking to leave Twitter / X gracefully.StrawberrySocial offers tailored moderation and online safety services for brands and charities on Bluesky. Contact us to find out more > ### How to choose the right social media channels for your charity The dubious online safety provision and ongoing decline of the old guard, coupled with the rise of newer platforms like BlueSky and Threads, means it’s no longer practical to ‘be everywhere’ on social media. For charities, where budgets are often tight and teams are small, trying to cover multiple platforms can lead to mediocre engagement and missed opportunities. Even more concerning, social media platforms are increasingly undermining trust. Meta’s recent decision to move away from human fact-checkers raises serious questions about misinformation. No more spreading social media talent and limited resources too thin. It’s time to reassess and focus on the right platforms - those that align with your values and your audience - for more impact. So, how do you go about choosing the right social media platforms for your charity? Focus on value-aligned platforms Start by asking: Where are your target audience most active? Which platforms align with your charity’s mission and values? Where can your content thrive, without compromising user safety? Prioritise online safety Your audience’s safety should be at the heart of your social media strategy. Choosing platforms with strong moderation tools and transparent policies can help protect your community from harassment and misinformation. Engaging your supporters in safe, positive spaces will build trust and long-term loyalty too. We understand that navigating this shifting social media landscape can feel overwhelming. That’s where we come in. With years of proven experience helping charities build safe, thriving online communities, we’re here to guide you every step of the way. From expert advice on social media moderation best practice to powerful community management campaigns that ignite engagement and drive significant audience growth, we’ve got you covered. Get in touch with us to discuss a tailored social media package for your charity. It’s time for an audit Conduct a thorough audit of your social media channels: Evaluate performance: Review engagement rates, audience demographics, and conversions on each platform you currently use. Survey your audience: Ask your supporters where they prefer to interact with you. Their insights can help guide your decisions. Consider your values: If a platform continually fails to address misinformation or toxicity, it may be time to leave - even if it feels risky. Platforms you might not have considered As you rethink your strategy, consider alternative platforms that offer more control to help foster deeper connections. Decentralised platforms like BlueSky or Discord offer a space for creating highly engaged communities with tailored moderation tools. (Speak to us about building a safe and vibrant Discord community.) Paid community platforms like Circle and Mighty Networks offer greater autonomy over content and ensure your supporters are not at the mercy of algorithms or plagued by ads. Next steps (+ free strategy on a page template) The decision to leave platforms like Facebook or X can feel daunting, but it’s also liberating. By focusing your efforts on platforms that align with your mission and audience, you can amplify your voice and make a real difference - without compromising integrity or user safety. Your organisation doesn’t need to stay on platforms that no longer serve you. Use this moment to prioritise what really matters: your mission, connection, and impact. Once you’ve decided where to focus your social media efforts, remember to set clear goals and a strategy for each platform. We’ve created a free 1 page social media platform strategy template to help you set a clear strategy and goals for individual social media channels. The incessant changes in social media platforms and the online safety implications can feel destabilising. We’ve got you. Get in touch to find out how we can lighten the load on your social media team and keep your online communities secure, safe and deeply engaged. ### 7 social media predictions for 2025 It’s the most wonderful time of the year. Yes that’s right, the time of the year when digital and social media marketers like myself bust out their social media predictions for what lies ahead.Looking back, some of our 2024 predictions hit the proverbial nail on the head - TikTok has continued to grow as an effective storytelling platform for charities and gaming for giving has blossomed into a vital fundraising channel, with livestreaming platforms like Twitch and charity-focused gaming events driving new levels of engagement and donations. On a less positive note, the continued failure of big tech to prioritise the safety of their users, along with the rapid proliferation of AI-generated content, has made the social media landscape significantly more challenging.So, what can we look forward to in 2025? Here are our top social media predictions for the coming year.1. Balancing curiosity and caution in the age of AIAI has undoubted uses and potential but its pitfalls are impossible to ignore. Coca cola’s AI-generated Christmas ad and the Willy Wonka fiasco highlight its limitations, and downright creepiness, in creative contexts. Bots have caused significant issues for brands and charities in customer service scenarios and the alarming surge in AI-generated child sexual abuse material (CSAM) underscores the grave risks posed by unregulated AI.In 2025, we predict a mix of curiosity and caution as organisations work to develop strategies and plans for meaningful use of AI. AI tools can be helpful for increasing efficiency - through automating repetitive tasks or improving customer service - but human oversight will be critical to maintain trust and safeguard online communities.2. A return to human engagementAs AI becomes evermore ubiquitous, we will seek out and appreciate genuine human engagement. Online communities, especially those tied to charities or sensitive causes, thrive on empathy and trust and these are qualities only humans can offer.Your users don’t want to speak to a bot. If you’re not real, they will know. This is borne out by the evidence. This year, we’ve experienced a spike in requests for engagement and moderation by real humans from charities. In 2025, brands should prioritise building personal relationships with their audiences through real-time responses, live events, and human-centric storytelling.“StrawberrySocial has worked with Blue Cross since 2021, connecting, engaging and, in the case of Instagram, growing new audiences by 67%. The high level of engagement has made our audience feel enthusiastic and empowered to share updates on their pets with us and the rest of our community. It’s these organic conversations that make the most difference.”- Blue Cross Social Media Team3. Focus your efforts: the right platform, not every platformThe era of "be everywhere" is long over. With newer platforms like BlueSky and Threads gaining traction, spreading resources across every channel is unsustainable. Instead, it’s time to conduct a thorough audit of your channels, identifying where your target audience is most active and focusing your resources there. For charities, this could mean finally moving away from X to a less toxic, more value-aligned platform. It could mean doubling down on TikTok for youth engagement.4. Social SEOSearch behaviours are changing rapidly, with YouTube and TikTok growing as significant players in search, particularly among younger demographics. As social platforms refine their algorithms, hashtags are becoming less important, while keyword-rich content is key to discovery. In 2025, the focus will be on crafting SEO-optimised captions, video descriptions, and posts to make content more discoverable without relying on tags.This shift offers an opportunity for charities and brands to better connect with users searching for relevant causes or topics, optimising for intent-driven engagement.5. Hyper-focused micro-communitiesWhile mainstream platforms like Facebook and TikTok will remain dominant, 2025 will see the continued rise of niche, decentralised platforms and private spaces. Discord servers, WhatsApp groups, and specialised community forums will continue to grow to serve our appetite for hyper-focused interests.For charities, these smaller, often safer spaces present an opportunity to have more meaningful conversations and to foster trust. Building smaller, engaged communities can help cut through the noise and ensure messages resonate more deeply with an engaged, dedicated audience.6. Gaming for giving: livestreaming as a force for goodGaming and livestreaming continue to offer powerful fundraising opportunities. Events like NSPCC's GameSafe Festival show how chathe gaming world can be harnessed for giving. In 2025, expect more charities and brands to tap into platforms like Twitch, YouTube Gaming, and Discord to connect with younger, tech-savvy audiences in innovative ways.7. From passive scrolling to active participationAs the inimitable social media strategist Andy Lambert points out, there’s a growing divide between platforms where users passively scroll (TikTok, Instagram Reels) versus those fostering conversational engagement (BlueSky, LinkedIn). While this isn’t necessarily the endgame for passive content consumption - a.k.a the doomscroll - platforms that encourage more personalised and active engagement will be the ones shaping brand-consumer relationships on social in 2025.For any charities or brands still stuck in the rut of social media 1.0, this shift means a final move away from simply broadcasting messages to actually facilitating dialogue, once and for all.In conclusion, channel Maya for success on social mediaIn 2025, the key to success on social media will be in prioritising real connections and creating meaningful, engaging content. Charities and brands must focus on building trust through authentic storytelling, active conversations, and human engagement. For those that have the resources, investing time and effort in hyper-focused communities, optimising for evolving search behaviours, and exploring innovative opportunities like gaming for good, are all good routes to try. The future of social lies in less broadcasting and more listening and connecting - meet people where they are and make every interaction matter.As Maya Angelou famously said, "People will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel." This holds true on social media - it's not just about the content you post or the campaigns you run, but about the emotional connection you build with your audience. In such a crowded, frenzied digital space, creating experiences that leave people feeling valued, inspired, or understood will always stand out. ### 8 social media content ideas for UK charities in the run up to Christmas Creating engaging social media content for your charity’s social media channels in the run-up to Christmas requires a mix of creativity, compassion, and holiday spirit. But the real key to success is in the planning ahead. Here are eight content ideas to inspire your charity's social media campaigns this festive season: 1. Get ready for GivingTuesday For Charities, this year’s festive season starts with GivingTuesday on 3 December. Since its inception in 2012, GivingTuesday has become a highlight of the charity fundraising calendar. With a whopping £20 million in donations made on GivingTuesday in 2022, 3 December is the perfect date to jump-start your Christmas appeals. Head to the GivingTuesday website for a free workbook to help you plan a successful GivingTuesday campaign. 2. Seasonal impact stories  Share heartwarming stories of individuals or communities your charity has helped throughout the year to showcase the tangible difference donations have made. Give social media followers a glimpse of what goes on behind the scenes in the run up to Christmas, whether that’s getting donations ready for distribution or working on festive campaigns. 3. Countdown to Christmas with an advent calendar  Create a digital advent calendar on your social media platforms. Start by creating 24 days of content. Each day leading up to Christmas, reveal a different aspect of your charity's work, such as success stories, behind-the-scenes glimpses, or volunteer spotlights. You could also encourage email subscribers to sign-up to the advent campaign by donating a set amount (or a small amount every day up until Christmas) in return for a daily advent calendar email campaign. 4. Donor spotlights  Share your supporters’ stories and motivations for giving, and express gratitude for their contributions. This not only highlights the people behind your charity but also encourages others to join in giving. Tag donors into your thank you posts. (Check that they are happy to be named first.) 5. Festive fundraising campaigns  Launch holiday-themed fundraising campaigns. Whether it's a Christmas appeal or a holiday Facebook Group challenge, engage your audience by explaining how their contributions can make a difference during this season of giving. Team up with corporate partners or organisations that support matched funding for maximum impact. 6. Celebrate community collaboration Highlight and tag local volunteers, influencers, advocates and charity partners. 7. DIY fundraising ideas Share DIY fundraising ideas that supporters can do at home. Whether it's baking, crafting, or organising a virtual holiday-themed event, offer suggestions for creative ways to raise funds for your charity. The Big Knit is a great example of a fun, creative campaign that enlists the skills of 1000s of knitters in support of Age UK every year. 8. Holiday-themed content series  Create a content series with holiday themes. This could include posts on the history of your charity during Christmas, facts and statistics about the impact of giving during the season, or holiday-themed tips related to your cause. Key tips for festive social media campaigns Authentic, community engagement (by humans!) is crucial to the success of your charity’s social media efforts. Engage with comments and messages promptly, and express gratitude for the support your charity receives. The holiday season is a time of generosity and goodwill, making it a prime opportunity to build connections and support for your charity on social media.  Don’t forget to pin opening times or include details of out of hours cover so beneficiaries know how to reach you over the holiday period. Lastly, the StrawberrySocial team are here to support your charity’s online community 24/7, out of hours and at weekends. Ensure the success of your social media campaigns and maintain a safe, engaged community while your social media team enjoys a well-deserved festive break with our Christmas Community Management Cover package > ### How to support your online community managers Children's charities are battling to support more and more young people in the context of a record rise in online grooming cases. This is a sobering reminder that community managers and trust and safety professionals can be exposed to graphic imagery and challenging content, especially those on the front lines of content moderation. So what can charities do to protect and support the team members dealing with distressing online content first hand? Employee consent It's important that charity social media and community managers understand they might be exposed to challenging or distressing content. It’s not for everyone. Transparency in the interview process and offering a trial period up front for new employees is a great way to make sure it’s right for them. Prioritise mental health All organisations employing community managers and online safety professionals have a duty to prioritise their mental wellness. Access to support services is essential. This can include counselling, meditation, wellness workshops, targeted training, and more. Ensure your mental health support services are clear and easily accessible to all team members. Build a list of helpful mental health resources and share internally. Check out these self-care techniques from mental health charity Mind for example. Make sure your team takes breaks from work, and prompt them to clearly separate their working area from the rest of their house and everyday life, when working from home. Peer support Employees should have access to peer support from other employees who are also exposed to graphic content. This peer support can be informal, such as employees checking in with each other on a regular basis, or it can be more formal, such as through a buddy system or mentorship program. Make it easy to access peer support too. Have a central team chat where people can talk about something that has upset them. Safe environment Built-in breaks, mandated downtime, supportive managers, and an empathetic office culture goes a long way in promoting psychological safety for those tackling challenging work. Have someone in the HR department who can be approached anonymously when people need advice or support. At StrawberrySocial, we also have a 'no blame' culture whereby people are able to say that they can't work a project anymore as it's too upsetting for them. Regular check-ins It's important to check in with employees regularly to see how they're doing and if they're experiencing any distress from their work. This can be done through individual or group check-ins, or through anonymous surveys.  Don't forget to celebrate success This work is difficult but it leads to real-world outcomes that are incredibly meaningful and hopeful – for example, putting predators behind bars. Sharing these wins with your team bolsters a well-earned sense of pride.We are very proud to provide moderation and community management services to some amazing charities doing the important work of protecting and supporting children and vulnerable groups. Read more about how we work with the NSPCC. Subscribe to the SMOSletter Sign up for our Social Media and Online Safety newsletter for more community management and online safety best practice tips. Tips for community managers ### Turn followers into supporters with these proven community management tips Building and nurturing an engaged online community is not just a feel-good activity - it’s good for business. Research shows that active engagement within social media communities can boost brand loyalty, drive customer advocacy, and reduce costs associated with customer service. A recent study from Sprout Social found that 41% of marketers believe active engagement on social platforms fosters deeper connections with consumers, leading to increased brand loyalty and higher customer lifetime value.  Investing in community engagement is also a shrewd strategy while social media ad costs continue to rise. Active, engaged online communities result in increased visibility and organic reach on social media, meaning less reliance on paid advertising.  That’s the job, and we love it. At StrawberrySocial, our team of community managers specialise in fostering these kinds of engaged online communities through regular interaction, user-generated content, and personalised engagement to create a space where customers feel connected to both your brand and to each other. Community management tips from StrawberrySocial So - we’ve established that an engaged community is crucial to an organisation’s success, and ultimately, its bottom line. But what next? Read on for some handpicked practical tips from the community management experts here at StrawberrySocial. These tried-and-tested tactics will help you build and sustain real connections with your audience and help turn casual followers into loyal, passionate supporters.    Establish a consistent and authentic brand voice across all social media channels. Engage with your audience in a genuine manner that aligns with your brand's personality. We work with Blue Cross and they do this really well - every comment or question from their online community gets a thoughtful response from a real human, and their community is highly engaged as a result. - Liz M Ensure that anyone fundraising or has been involved in a Facebook challenge, campaign or volunteer for your charity is thanked. They have taken the time to raise funds for your cause. This can often turn into great community engagement and a lifelong supporter. - Dan H Make sure that the community is heard. They took their time to share a thought/problem/worry with the charity or are supporting. This should be treated with respect and the users should see that we are there. We are not computers, we are human beings reading and responding, taking care of what the community has to say, giving advice or just posting a "Thank you". - Denise B Show Your Heart: In your interactions with the community, lead with empathy and compassion. Recognize the challenges people face with genuine understanding, and create a supportive space where they feel heard and valued. It’s not just about the cause you champion, but about the individuals behind it. By showing empathy in your engagement, you can build a deeper sense of community and foster meaningful, lasting connections. Remind others that they are not alone, and together, you can navigate the difficult journey with care and solidarity. - Melinda V My top recommendation is always going to be... Authenticity. The most important way to grow a community is to show your own authenticity, welcome it from others and praise those that share it themselves. Community is about creating a safe space - whether in the digital world or offline. - Jen P Embrace Calm: When navigating discussions around sensitive topics within your charity's community, it's crucial to maintain a calm and composed demeanour, especially when faced with differing opinions. Understand that diverse perspectives are inevitable, and disagreements may arise. Instead of reacting impulsively, prioritise maintaining a peaceful and respectful environment for dialogue. Listen actively to opposing viewpoints, acknowledging the validity of each person's experience. Respond thoughtfully and empathetically, avoiding confrontational language or behaviour. By modelling patience and composure, you set a tone of civility and open-mindedness within your community, fostering constructive conversations even amidst disagreement. Remember, staying calm doesn't mean compromising your values; it's about approaching challenges with grace and understanding, ultimately strengthening the bonds that unite your community in its shared mission. - Melinda V Engage in a friendly and supportive manner. Try to give the information the user is looking for in a way that they feel listened to and understood. People feel valued when a large organization takes the time to respond personally. - Marie E "Smile from the wrists down":  Always remember that emotions can be hard to interpret through text, and what may initially seem argumentative or confrontational might simply be someone seeking understanding. It doesn't take much to respond with empathy, and that could be what diffuses the situation. - Teri M Embrace having fun! While rules and regulations are important, don't forget to prioritise fun and ensure everyone in the community is having a good time. Foster a welcoming and safe environment. Even harmless arguments or jokes can escalate, potentially making some community members feel uncomfortable or unsafe. Cultivate trust over time. Though it may not be immediately apparent, consistent moderation and attention to minor details contribute significantly to building a strong, enduring community. - Erik M Community engagement is what we do, 24/7 A growing number of our clients are investing in community engagement to boost income and impact. Find out more about our Community Management & Engagement packages here. References:  https://sproutsocial.com/insights/impact-of-social-media-on-business/ https://blog.hubspot.com/marketing/brands-social-media-communities ### Inspiring Charity TikTok Accounts for UK Nonprofits Thinking of taking your UK charity to TikTok? The short-form video app has exploded in popularity, boasting over one billion monthly active users worldwide. In the UK, millions scroll through TikTok daily, with a significant portion falling within the coveted 18-24 year old demographic. This presents a unique opportunity for UK charities to connect with a younger audience that might not typically engage with traditional fundraising methods. Check out these impressive examples of UK charities raising awareness and inspiring action through creative and engaging content on TikTok.Dog's Trust UKDog’s Trust uses a quick video format to introduce potential owners to each dog, and overlays the dog videos with personality traits for each one of them. Viewers can easily swipe through the videos to find a perfect match.Other short videos highlight the joy that comes from being a dog lover; bringing people together to feel good about their passion for animals.ShelterShelter UK uses TikTok as a political and activist platform and to support their fight for affordable housing for all. Their story-driven clips include personal testimonials with a political message, both getting the word out and inspiring people to speak up and vote.Cornish Seal SanctuaryThe Cornish Seal Sanctuary is a marine charity that rescues and rehabilitates seals in need of help. The sanctuary uses storytelling on their page, showing the progression of their seals from rescue to release. Their heartfelt stories show their donors how their money is spent on the seals but also tug at the heartstrings.Their “Fun Fact Friday” reel gives viewers a reason to return regularly.Anthony NolanThe Anthony Nolan charity’s focus on educating people about stem cell donations and how to sign up. By focusing on making it easy to understand, and easy to donate, their Tiktok videos work to spread the word and make the decision to donate easy. Their team creates quick, front-facing videos explaining what they do for the charity. They film while at work as well, making the spaces look less intimidating.Teach First UKTeach First works to end educational inequality for all. By using Tiktok content creation trends, Teach First spreads their message to a young audience, promoting the message that they speak the language of students, and want to meet them where they are, to educate, and make learning cool.The Hospice of St FrancisThe Hospice of St Francis uses TikTok to show a happier side to the hospice by sharing stories of resilience, celebrating life and highlighting the meaningful work they do.The Hospice of St Francis employs the scripted voice over method to great effect on their TikTok account.What is the scripted voice over method?The scripted voiceover method involves recording audio or dialogue based on a predetermined script, synchronised with video content. Users can speak over visuals, matching the script's timing and message. This is a great device for storytelling, especially if the subject is camera shy.Which?UK’s consumer champion Which? uses humour to make complex topics engaging. This lighthearted approach can be inspiring for UK charities looking to connect with younger demographics who might find traditional charity content dry.Which?' TikToks empower followers, offering them actionable tips on how to save money or make informed choices. This "how-to" approach is a good one for UK charities looking to provide practical guidance to their audience.RNLIThe RNLI launched with the aim of increasing visibility, and reached 153,000 followers in two months. Their content strategy blends informative elements – such as the "Float to Live" campaign highlighting crucial water safety techniques – with engaging and often dramatic behind-the-scenes glimpses into the work of their life saving crews. This includes showcasing boat launches, coastal rescues, and crew training, all interspersed with interesting facts about the RNLI itself. This blend of education and entertainment fosters connection and keeps viewers hooked.The RNLI cleverly integrates trending sounds and challenges into their content. This keeps their videos fresh and relevant, allowing them to piggyback on popular trends to reach a wider audience. For example, they might use a trending dance song to illustrate safe swimming practices or create a challenge around packing the essentials for a beach trip.WWF-UKWWF UK makes excellent use of the stunning visuals they have at their disposal on TikTok. They also use humour and interesting facts to inspire action and connect with the environmentally conscious Gen Z demographic.RSPBThe people at The RSPB understand the power of a good laugh. Their TikToks merge the inherent cuteness of birds with humour which essentially makes birdwatching cool and fun for younger audiences. Their weird and wonderful Bird of the Week series is an absolute delight.British Red CrossThe British Red Cross share a mix of lighthearted videos and hard hitting, serious factual content as well as showcasing the work of volunteers and staff behind the scenes on TikTok. They are quick to incorporate popular trends which helps them reach a wider audience, raise awareness and connect with younger audiences.Mind Charity UKMind challenge stereotypes and tackle the sensitive topic of mental health through relatable content. Their videos feature personal stories, uplifting vignettes and supportive advice.RNIBRNIB TikToks share powerful stories that humanise sight loss. Their videos feature individuals with visual impairments showcasing talents, discussing their daily lives and often challenging stereotypes with humour.The RNIB TikTok account prioritises accessibility, ensuring their excellent content can be enjoyed by blind and partially sighted viewers. This includes using text overlays to describe visuals, incorporating audio descriptions and partnering with visually impaired creators. Their commitment to inclusivity showcases the RNIB’s core values and demonstrates their dedication to empowering people with sight loss. This focus on accessibility makes the RNIB a standout on TikTok, where short, visually-driven content can often leave some viewers behind. They demonstrate how to create engaging content for everyone.Citizens AdviceCitizens Advice break down a range of complex issues like debt, housing, and consumer rights into bite-sized videos delivered with a playful and relatable tone. They embrace the unique features of TikTok by leveraging trending sounds, participating in challenges, and using creative visuals to keep their videos fresh and entertaining. Their TikTok features real people in the organisation, such as staff members offering advice or answering questions in a conversational style. This authenticity helps them connect with viewers on a personal level and establish themselves as a reliable source of information. TikTok for GoodFor more great examples and inspiration to boost your charity's impact on TikTok, check out the official hub showcasing amazing charity content from around the world - TikTok for Good. It's a fantastic resource for UK charities who want to leverage the organic reach of TikTok and make a bigger impact.Thank you to everyone who shared their recommendations for the best charities on TikTok, including Tereza Litsa, Sarah Man and the CharityComms team. Are there any other charities you think deserve a mention? Tell us on LinkedIn here and we will add them to this list. ### How to leave Twitter (X) gracefully: 5 key steps for charities Twitter's transformation into X under Elon Musk's leadership has led many charities to rethink their presence on the platform. As we predicted at the start of the year, content moderation cutbacks, coupled with ongoing concerns about brand safety has eroded trust in the platform. This has led to a decline in active usage among, charities, end users and brands alike.Many companies have opted to remove all paid advertising on the platform. Charities in particular opt for the benefit of consolidating ad spend for platforms that offer brand safety controls and guidelines to keep conversations respectful. However, it’s important to have a strategy in place before leaving any established online presence. Below we outline a strategic plan that you and your organisation can put in place before closing down your X account.Step 1: Set Clear ObjectivesReview and evaluate the social media strategy your organisation has for each social media platform: Why do you want to leave? What are the benefits/drawbacks to leaving? Was X just a place to be, or did it serve a specific portion of your community? If so, can this portion be moved to another platform and if so, how?Outline your reasons behind the decision, including company goals and objectives for how and when you plan to leave. For example: you may not be getting the reach you used to on X. Or, your organisation no longer wishes to be associated with the platform. Whatever your argument is, be sure it’s clear, and aligned with company objectives. Include possible negative consequences for leaving X and how you plan to address them. Share thoughts and provide tips to discuss concerns from followers and stakeholders. Consider the potential of filling the gap with another channel such as Threads or Tiktok.Step 2: Inform Stakeholders, and Create Messaging StrategyCommunicate the decision to leave X with your internal stakeholders. Be transparent with your message. Together, create the plan for notifying followers, donors, and partners through various channels, not just X.  Make sure all internal stakeholders have had the opportunity to inject their perspective into the plan. Step 3: Backup and Archive ContentDownload a backup of tweets, images, and engagement data. The content you created for X should not be discarded as it may contain golden nuggets of information for future campaigns, and ready made examples of how to share newsworthy company updates.Archive important conversations and interactions, and combine the information with your community data points and analysis. What worked best? When did you see the largest (and smallest) level of engagement? These conversations will help define your goals for future social media content - both what works and what to avoid. Step 4: Redirect to Alternative PlatformsMake sure the plan provides alternative ways to stay connected. By consolidating your communications to fewer, but more relevant, platforms, engagement will remain focused and effective. This should also include whether you plan to focus attention on different community spaces, such as a website forum or live chat. Have a bank of standardised FAQs and responses on hand so you can stay engaged with your community throughout the transition. Include welcoming messages for your other social platforms and new community spaces. Create a standard message pinned to the top of your official X page(s) for at least 30 days if not longer. This allows your followers to be informed in advance, and know where you find you elsewhere. Include hyperlinks to your other social media and community spaces. You could also encourage followers to stay up to date by subscribing to your newsletter in a pinned post.Update your website, corporate email signatures, and other online profiles with new contact information and encourage followers to transition to other platforms for continued engagement.Step 5: Close and Manage the Twitter AccountGive at least 30 days’ notice to your public before closing down your account.  Review and update all account settings for security and privacy reasons, and remove administrative access from anyone not directly managing the account. Post a final farewell message and thank followers for their support. Keep the account live for a transition period with redirection notices. Monitor the impact that leaving Twitter has an engagement and outreach throughout the closure and within your other communities. Lastly, we recommend keeping hold of the handle as long as possible in order to avoid impersonators and trolls from taking it over and compromising brand reputation. ConclusionIt’s always good practice to regularly review your Social Media and Community strategies. Social platforms come and go, and not every one is right for every brand. If you find your charity is ready to leave X, you should have the above plan in place before making sudden changes. Outline why you plan to leave; and include your goals and objectives. Share these with your internal stakeholders for their input and support. Get your online messaging done first, including standard responses you can use to help guide your community of users over to other platforms. Collect your Twitter account data and engagement content, and use this to evolve your community and engagement strategies. Shut down communications but continue to monitor your account. For more information and relevant social media insights and advice, subscribe to our newsletter here. ### How to protect your moderation team Keeping the internet experience enjoyable for countless people, cultures and points of view is tough work. Recent studies have revealed that moderation is a high-stress, high-stakes role – one which requires intense resilience and emotional strength.  Much of this work includes removal of content that we don’t want to think about, let alone experience. We know the internet can bring out the worst in humanity, and moderators are the ones we rely on to diffuse arguments, monitor conversations and report dangerous behaviour. In addition, moderators are also expected to keep calm and carry on. The journal of psychosocial cyberspace published their 2024 results from research with Community Managers and Moderators; and found that they experienced a range of symptoms similar to first responders such as social workers and EMTs and is consistent with experiencing repeated trauma. In particular, their evidence highlights the fact that frontline professionals such as first responders have revealed that exposure to other people’s traumatic experiences can lead to post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). In addition to PTSD, they found these workers may experience secondary traumatic stress (STS), vicarious trauma (VT) and burnout.  So, what can you do to protect your moderation team? As a leader, you genuinely want to do the right thing by your employees. Therefore, keeping them safe both physically, and mentally, is a top priority for you and your Human Resources department. Here are a few best practices to consider: Employ somebody in HR that understands the job – we suggest at least one nominated individual who will take on the responsibility, depending on the size of your company. Require the team to meet with the department on a regular basis. Create mandatory break times away from moderating content altogether, and only schedule moderation shifts for a maximum of 3 hours in a row.  Working on other projects is highly recommended; whether it’s handling customer service calls, writing content, engaging the community or helping out elsewhere. Have an ‘Employee Assistance Program’. It should offer anonymous, free, online psychological support including therapy 24/7. Support your Moderation Management team with special training on how to recognise somebody who may be experiencing PTSD, trauma, or compassion fatigue. Ensure your vendor has processes in place for their team. At StrawberrySocial, not only do we have special team training, but we also ensure management are able to recognise burnout and have a system in place to offer our team the support they require. This ensures we take necessary steps to protect our most precious asset – our moderators. When interviewing potential team members, be sure to explain the job in detail. They should be well aware of the risks, and be strongly resilient. This should not deter you from creating in-house safety procedures, but it can help with attrition. Remember – moderators and Community moderation as a profession should be valued throughout your organisation. This team not only protects your brand, but your customers as well. They deserve to be treated with the utmost respect and care so that they can deliver top quality performances for you, day in, and day out. Get in touch to find out more about how we look after our team of moderators or to learn more how we can support yours.  ### How to manage brand reputation on social media Now, more than ever before, there is so much more to think about when considering the reputation of your brand online. In today’s volatile landscape, where political unrest, ongoing conflicts and identity politics dominate the global discourse, managing your brand’s reputation on social media has never been more critical. This is particularly true when engaging with Gen Z, a generation known for its keen demand for authenticity and alignment with personal values. Research shows that Gen Z values brands that are transparent, socially responsible and genuinely committed to causes that matter to them. If you’re not real, they’ll know. We’ve all seen what can happen when a brand doesn’t take this into account. Some recent examples include Marks & Spencer, Zara and Bud Light, all of which upset their followers and struggled to address the backlash effectively. So how can you make sure you’re on top of all and ensure that your brand resonates with the values and expectations of today's discerning audience? Tip 1: Define your persona Your brand persona isn’t just your logo, colours, and website design – it’s the entirety of the face you show to the world. This includes your employees (and what they’re doing on social media), partnerships, suppliers, volunteers and any celebs or influencers that you’re working with. All this (and more) needs to be considered when defining how your brand appears online, and what to do when things don’t go to plan. Tip 2: Implement processes It’s vital to have defined processes in place, and include a crisis plan should your well-thought out campaigns go in a direction you didn’t predict.  What if you’re accused of something by a customer, or if your product’s failed or put people at risk or if your staff or management have been found to have behaved inappropriately? These, and a myriad of other possibilities mean that if you have a process in place, and someone to manage it, you won’t be caught in a panic if the worst happens. Tip 3: Working with influencers or celebs? Do your due diligence. If you are working with influencers or ambassadors, make sure you research them thoroughly before committing to an agreement. They will be the face of your brand, and it’s easy to miss things about people, even from years back, that could be at odds with what you stand for. StrawberrySocial can help you assess influencers’ safety and suitability with our tailored Influencer Due Diligence service. Tip 4: Make sure your risk assessment is up to date What could go wrong with each of your campaigns? Are you talking about sensitive topics (including political ‘hot potatoes’)? Are you a food brand who could be accused of causing food poisoning? In both cases, it’s vital to have approved statements ready to go, even if it’s a holding statement while you gather your response. And… make these statements human, not corporate. Are your products aimed at children? Make sure your community managers are up to speed on what they can and can’t say, on privacy and protection laws for minors.  Keep a thorough record of what could go wrong, and make sure it’s kept up to date and communicated with all stakeholders. Tip 5: Don’t overdo it on awareness days Awareness days can be a great hook, a genuine reason for talking to your followers about your business. But have you ever seen brands jumping on every awareness day or month going, with no genuine link to their product or service? It doesn’t make them relevant, it comes across as disingenuous bandwagoning. Be mindful when choosing any awareness campaigns that they are genuinely relevant to your brand and speak to your fans. Tip 6: Be consistent with content and community Don’t ignore your community engagement when you're between campaigns. Besides the obvious benefit of keeping your users connected to your brand identity, there is the bonus of not having to start your community from scratch each time you decide to do a campaign. Your brand advocates will be ready to like, share and promote your content from the get-go.  Remember, you can’t always be perfect, but you can be genuine and have a plan for the worst case scenario– it’s a lot of upfront work (we know!) but it’ll work hard for you in the long run. If you need any help with online reputation management and protection for your brand, get in touch Find out more about our services: Community Management and Content Moderation Charity Support Influencer Due Diligence ### Proven social media tips from experienced marketers If you find yourself juggling content calendars, managing multiple platforms, and trying to stay ahead of the latest trends, all while consistently engaging with and nurturing your online communities, rest assured - you’re not alone. We turned to our community of social media pros to ask them about their latest and greatest social media tips and tricks. So, take a beat, grab your notepad and soak up some inspiration from some of the best in the business. Here’s what they had to say:1 - Less is more'Less is more – whether it’s word count, template styles, frequency of posts and even analytics. Aim for concise and focused, rather than numerous and inconsistent.'Claire Brazington - Communications Coordinator at animal welfare charity Naturewatch Foundation. Claire's varied role includes social media, graphic design, writing, and proofreading. 2 - Know your audiences'Thoroughly research your target audience to build a strong understanding of how best to engage them. By analysing their platform preferences and user behaviour, you’ll have a good idea of how to tailor your content and approach to support what you’re looking to achieve.For example, TikTok continues to dominate as a preferred channel among Gen Z audiences, and while many brands are still nervous about venturing onto the platform, it’s undeniably a huge opportunity for reaching and engaging that younger demographic.'Jasmine Sia - Social Media Director at ThirtyThree. Jasmin has 12 years of experience in social media and digital strategy and leads the UK Social Media team at ThirtyThree. ThirtyThree is a creative advertising agency that specialises in employer branding and recruitment marketing. 3 - Experiment with your content'If you have a great content idea, try it out. If it doesn't work, repurpose it and try again. Don't be discouraged! As social media managers, we need to focus on creating great content that can be used across all platforms - with our target audience at the core - not forever chasing the algorithm. Explore what works for you and roll with it...!'Sarah Man - Social Media Manager at StrawberrySocialSarah crafts our colourful social media content and engages with our community online here at StrawberrySocial. 4 - Empower employees to share their voice'As automation becomes part of our routine, personal interactions are more important than ever. Since personal profiles get better reach and engagement, it's a great opportunity to expand your digital strategy to include your team's profiles. This is not about forcing them to reshare a post, it's about giving them the space to express their thoughts about the areas they are working on. Your company page won't be replaced, but you can gain additional visibility. 'Influencers' are not always outside your organisation!'Tereza Litsa – Freelance Marketing Consultant at Tereza Litsa. Tereza is a freelance marketing consultant specialising in social media marketing and LinkedIn training for nonprofits and purpose-driven individuals.5 - Schedule time to be creative'My tip to the charity comms folk out there is to schedule time in your calendar to be creative. Often as comms professionals, we’re constantly on the go and don’t have much time for thinking ahead. It’s a tough ol’ job, but if you can find one hour every week/month just to sit down and brainstorm, you’ll start to feel more excited about the content you’re producing.'Gabby Poznansky - Senior Digital Content and Communications Officer at the Directory of Social Change.Gabby specialises in social media, content creation and digital marketing.6 - Ensure your content adds value'My top social media tip is to always think about how your post adds value to the reader. Social media is a two-way street, you can't use it only as a promotional tool. It's a great way to build a community around your organisation.At Dementia UK, we find our social media followers engage best when we share something of benefit to the reader - this could be a personal story they can relate to, an educational tip or piece of advice, or asking them to answer a question or give their advice in the comments.'7 – Build a bank of ‘evergreen’ content'Make the most of your content, repurpose it, and ensure you have a bank of 'evergreen content' to reuse again and again.For example, if you have an information page on your website, you could create advice graphics for Instagram, a thought leadership piece on LinkedIn, five bite-size advice videos for TikTok, and a podcast-style discussion about the themes covered for YouTube.'Laura Mason - Social Media Manager at Dementia UK. Laura Mason is the Social Media Manager at Dementia UK. She is passionate about working with organisations that make the world a better place and combines her love of data and creativity to produce, manage, and deliver content and campaigns that help raise awareness and engage communities. 8 – Think quality not quantity 'Given how reactive social media can be, it's easy for communicators to spend their days endlessly scrolling, sharing, and posting. However, this practice can quickly become overwhelming. Instead, review your analytics and focus on what key aspects make your posts perform well. Build experimentation into your plans to continue to find what resonates most with your audience.' Adel Hanily - Communications and engagement officer at CharityComms. Adel is the social media lead for the charity, working on engaging content for charity communicators. Many thanks to all the talented social media professionals who shared their expert tips with us.Ultimately, every social media manager works differently, so it’s important to discover what works best for you. We hope these tips have been helpful. For the latest advice straight to your inbox, sign up for our monthly Social Media and Online Safety newsletter for exclusive tips, the latest insights, and bonus resources to supercharge your social media.  ### 7 signs your charity needs a content moderation service As our CEO and founder, Rebecca Fitzgerald explains in this blog, content moderation is:“the process of reviewing and removing [online] content that is inappropriate, illegal, or harmful. It is a critical part of online safety, and essential for brands and charities that want to create a positive and safe online experience for their users.”When we talk about content we are referring to content that is created by someone other than the owner of that online space - usually content that has been created and generated by a user, or a member of the public. Sometimes, the content can refer to news articles, disinformation or misinformation. Sometimes, user content can be offensive or even illegal. And clearly, safety is a top priority for charities, brands and non-profits. Most charities have a dedicated social media and community management team of rockstars to handle the moderation and removal of inappropriate content. But do you have a plan in place for any unforeseen changes to your team, or the community? If you have experienced any of the below scenarios, it may be time to start talking to an outside agency to support your internal team.Here are 7 signs your charity needs a content moderation service:1. Your team is struggling to cope and need a holiday. Moderation can be extremely emotionally and physically draining. Handling other people’s feelings can be daunting and it may be time for your team to take some well deserved time off.That being said, we all know the internet stops for nobody; so having an external team of experts in place allows your moderators necessary time to rest when they need to get away.2. Your social media accounts or groups are plagued by trolls, negative posters or spam comments and you need expert help to deal with them. Not only does the internet never sleep, virtually anyone and everyone has access to online communication. One day, your well-loved, supportive charity community is awash with spam, harassment, protests and negativity. Your internal community team can only do so much, and you need additional help to get rid of the junk and bring back the positive community front and centre.3. You provide advice and support to young people or vulnerable audiences. Specific groups have specific needs. This is something you and your charity live day in and day out. Some moderation agencies specialise in understanding the needs of high-risk, vulnerable groups such as under 13s, and marginalised communities. Partnering with an agency that keeps up to date with government policy changes related to vulnerable groups can be extremely beneficial to the success of your communities.4. You are about to launch a big campaign and your tiny social media team is stressing out about the impending uplift in activity. Fundraising and ad campaigns are an important part of charity work and may require an “all hands on deck” approach. With the goal of increasing your online presence through new subscribers and increased engagement, you may want to consider asking for help to manage the influx of users, content and activity.StrawberrySocial specialises in campaign and fundraising support - with offerings to coincide with the life of your campaign.5. Your community has started to take off, and members are growing at a rate faster than your team can keep up. What a great problem to have! However, you’ve noticed your moderation and community team are suddenly backed up under the pressure of handling excessive amounts of new content. This bleeds into other parts of their job which then begin to suffer under the pressure.An expert agency can take that burden off of your internal team - and transition time to get them up to speed will be quick, and satisfying. At StrawberrySocial, our Moderators and Support Specialists have acquired decades of experience and understand howTrust and Safety works. We’re adept at learning your internal guidelines and processes at a rapid pace, allowing your Social Media and Community team to focus on other important parts of the job. Read more about how we have helped charities like NSPCC with their increased traffic and 24/7 moderation needs.6. Incoming questions, engagement and activity is happening on weekends and evenings. Your charity’s community is engaged 24/7/365, which requires some form of presence in order to ensure topics stay relevant, questions are answered, and content remains clean. Having a team that works around the clock, weekends, and holidays (like StrawberrySocial) ensures that you get your downtime, and the community is in good hands.7. You've suddenly found yourselves in the middle of a brand reputation crisis and can't keep up with the negative comments. When press, or a public figure shares information that tarnishes the overall reputation of a brand it can cause your official social pages to explode with negativity. Too many times the organisation will not stop and take the time to think through a proper response, and just go silent, or worse, write something up that completely negates the public’s concerns. Users flood your forums and chat spaces, demanding recognition and a response.Outsourcing to crisis management experts allows your internal team to step away from the problem so you can discuss the best way to respond to the situation. Your StrawberrySocial team can swiftly remove the flood of negativity, report back the most vocal concerns, and work with you to develop the best methods for responding back to your community.Most people just want to be heard. By leaning on outside support who are ready to tackle the mountain of additional responses helps to create a calmer environment.Having a plan in place to help prepare for the unexpected changes that come with an online presence is part and parcel of social media. StrawberrySocial is an agency that specialises in brand crises, high-risk community challenges, and covering out of hours and holidays. We’re available 24/7/365; allowing your internal team their much-deserved rest times as well. Rest assured, StrawberrySocial is here to help you plan for the inevitable changes to your community. Get in touch with us here. ### Essential newsletters for charity social media marketers For charity marketers and social media managers, staying informed and inspired is key to driving impactful campaigns and nurturing community engagement. One way to stay ahead of the curve is to subscribe to newsletters and get the latest insights and practical tips from industry experts straight to your inbox. We’ve curated a list of essential newsletters that charity social media marketers love to save you time and keep your strategies fresh and effective. Enjoy!Media Trust newsletterRegular news, insights and updates from Media Trust.PersuasionA monthly dose of tips and helpful hints and get the most out of your Legacy fundraising campaigns.Fighting Talk by Ettie Bailey-KingA newsletter about inclusive and accessible communication by Ettie Bailey-King.Maybe laterBi-weekly email marketing tips and advice for people who work in charity.CatalystFortnightly newsletter about digital for charities, including funding opportunities, top tips and ways to use #TechForGood.Battenhall newsletterMonthly email with all the latest from social media, digital tech and mobile.CharityComms e-newsFortnightly newsletter featuring best practice guides, upcoming events and the latest articles and jobs from CharityComms.StrawberrySocial SMOSletterUnmissable monthly update on all things Social Media and Online Safety (SMOS). Every email features the latest social platform updates, online safety developments and free tools and tech to make social media managers' lives easier.DSC DailyGet daily email updates from Directory of Social Change on services, top tips, free stuff, commentary and policy updates.Charity DigitalUpdates on the latest trends, charity sector influences, articles and events.Third Sector Weekly BulletinLatest news, insights, and analysis from the nonprofit sector.Civil Society NewsFree daily UK charity sector email news bulletin from the folks at Civil Society.Social 3.0Trends, data, inspiration & guidance from Andy Lambert.Thank you to everyone who shared their newsletter recommendations. Are there any others you think deserve a mention? Tell us on X here and we will add them to this list. ### 30 online safety tips for community managers As a specialist content moderation agency, we understand the challenges community managers face in protecting their audience from harmful content and interactions. To help you navigate the complex landscape of online safety, we've compiled 30 essential online safety tips to help you to foster a secure, thriving community. Read on for strategies honed from years of experience, ensuring your online spaces remain positive and safe for everyone.1. Nominate online safety champions Give online safety a face by appointing key members of your Marketing, Social Media, IT and PR teams as champions. That way, people know who to contact and the public knows you take Safety seriously.  2. Publish your online safety policy Create a clear and concise online safety policy, then publish it somewhere highly visible. Make sure it’s written in plain English and is accessible for everyone. Review your policy on a regular basis and update it as needed.  3. Identify potential risks Does your audience include high-profile individuals, vulnerable adults or children? Consider problematic topics that could come up and create responses for each one. 4. Protect employees Share online safety tips and tools with employees so they know how to lock down their personal channels and avoid becoming victims of online harassment, a swatting attack or doxing.  5. Monitor activity Assign specific people to keep up to date with the news cycle and report back on any relevant conversations taking place online. Update your Moderation and Safety teams about any news pieces or cultural changes which may affect their day to day work.  6. Look out for language Keep a list of keywords of concern such as suicide, self-harm and violence. Search sites like Urban Dictionary for acronyms and slang terms, then set up alerts and monitor daily.  7. Seek help from professionals If you need help to spot signs of grooming, scamming or violence there are professional moderation agencies with online safety expertise like StrawberrySocial, who can provide assistance. 8. Set community guidelines Create a set of rules for community members and enforce them consistently. Be clear on what help you can provide and at what point you’ll signpost them to support elsewhere.  9. Follow through on policies Set policies around the removal of content and/or community members, and follow through on these. Always provide transparent explanations for the actions you’ve taken to maintain community trust. But honour user confidentiality.  10. Incident reporting  Establish clear procedures for reporting online safety incidents and ensure there’s a swift and coordinated response to minimise potential damage. Make employees aware of the process too. 11. Protect the privacy of your community members Advise against community members sharing identifying information where possible. Always encourage them to direct message you any personal details and explain why, so they know you value their privacy. 12. Get to know your community Keep an up-to-date list of your online advocates including celebrities, influencers and supportive community members. Set up alerts to monitor mentions of them on a daily basis. 13. Embed online safety in your campaigns Before launching a campaign or product, run it past your Online Safety team. They can share any concerns and prepare for possible comments. Ask colleagues to sense-check the content too. 14. Monitor audience behaviours After launching a campaign or product, monitor reactions and note if something provokes a response you weren’t expecting. Remember to allocate budget to customer engagement, conversation monitoring and safety. 15. Create an online safety hub Build a library of all your online safety resources including agreed messaging, guidelines and key contacts. Make sure it’s accessible for all employees and keep it up to date. 16. Review and inform Look back at past online safety incidents and capture any learnings. Log what response you posted and use that to inform the team in case of any future occurrences. 17. Stay up to date Stay on top of the latest online safety trends and best practices. Signing up to our newsletter is a great way to keep abreast of the ever-changing online safety landscape. 18. Teach digital literacy Educate your audience, especially younger users, about responsible online behaviour and critical thinking. Take a look at our jigsaw effect infographic for more info. 19. Use reputable sources Verify the authenticity of information you find before sharing it with your online community, to prevent the spread of misinformation. 20. Highlight success stories Share success stories and positive impact to inspire your audience. Focus on uplifting content to foster and maintain a positive online presence. 21. Monitor comments and messages Actively monitor comments and direct messages on your social media platforms to address any questions or concerns and filter out inappropriate content. 22.Educate your supporters Provide your followers with key, digestible online safety tips and encourage them to practise responsible online behaviour when engaging with your organisation's content. 23. Collaborate responsibly Assess organisations or influencers carefully to ensure they align with your values and principles before collaborating. Our Influencer Vetting service helps you make smart decisions about who you work with. 24. Build a supportive community Develop a supportive online community and foster a culture of positivity and inclusivity. Encourage your followers to respect each other, champion other members and report any inappropriate behaviour promptly. 25. Train and empower your moderators Provide your social media moderators with training on your community guidelines, moderation tools and processes, to equip them with the resources to effectively manage online interactions, including escalation procedures. 26. Use AI moderation tools with caution Social media moderation tools and AI can make things easier and more efficient for your moderation team. However, ensure the use of moderation tools and AI is always overseen by experienced, human moderation professionals.  27. Address misinformation and harmful content promptly Establish clear procedures for identifying, reviewing and addressing misinformation and harmful content on your social media platforms. Prioritise removing or flagging inappropriate content to protect your followers. 28. Collaborate with other organisations Partner with others in your field to address common online safety challenges. Share best practices and exchange information to promote a safer digital environment. Check out our Online Safety Resources. 29. Look after your moderators Moderating content on social media is a relentless, tough job. Some aspects of the job are likely to have a negative impact on your moderators' wellbeing. Giving them the support and recognition they deserve can really help. 30. Review your policies regularly It’s important to review social media policies and practices regularly so they remain effective. Keep an eye on emerging trends and threats, as well as feedback from followers. FREE ONLINE SAFETY CHECKLIST Grab your free online safety checklist and take action to protect your brand and communities online.  This free resource has been developed by online safety experts and professional moderators to help you:  Create welcoming, positive brand experiences Keep your employees, audience and online communities safe  Put online safety at the heart of your digital campaigns Download now ### 5 Tips for Communication through Crisis The emotional state of your community is changing at rapid speed – akin to riding a rollercoaster in the dark. The hive mind will change more often, sporadically, and have unexpected reactions to even the most basic content. Your online team needs to be not just prepared, but ready to change and adjust accordingly. Recent world events (Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the Israel-Gaza war, global socio-economic inequalities, inflation) have added to the anxiety and stress that began with Covid19 isolation and as a society we have not had the opportunity to fully understand, or heal, from Covid’s global effects. How your moderation and engagement team engage the community during times of crisis will not only shape the future of your reputation, but could also save lives. To quote Buzzfeed Tech News: “The comment moderator is the most important job in the world right now. [And] Human moderation is currently the best solution for policing harmful content.” And this New York Times article describes the role of Moderator as “...gatekeepers, but they’re also the welcoming committee. As well as the paramedics, the law enforcers, the teachers and the curators. And, sometimes, they’re friends.” Political unrest, war, constant negative new cycles, and even loss of income can take a toll on mental and emotional health. Social media and online community outreach becomes not just about like-minded individuals but a safe place to share intense emotional release. For some, it’s a real life necessity. It’s how many people can connect and keep their mental health in check. Organisations such as the British Medical Association reported Mental health services in England received a record 5 million referrals during 2023 (up 33% from 2019), with the number of people in contact with mental health services steadily rising. In a world recovering from post-Covid anxiety as well as the constant barrage of negative news cycles, your moderation and engagement team will have additional tasks to perform and need to perform them knowing that their tone, state of mind and tasks will change on a dime. People will need to be directed to the right places for answers to their issues. In fact, moderators will need to be quick to translate confusing, emotionally charged messages into understandable content to ensure they can quickly direct the user to the right place. Rebecca Fitzgerald, CEO and Founder of StrawberrySocial, on meaningful engagement during times of crisis: "Since the Pandemic, the world does seem to have been on a rollercoaster of emotions. Be aware of things that can directly affect the community (such as the cost of living crisis) so you can tailor responses in a more personal way. Make sure you have daily keyword alerts, check out what the news is saying each morning, have crisis scenarios scoped out and possible solutions and workflows in place. Remember that silence can be golden. In the digital age, what you do, how you behave, the partnerships you choose and the causes you get behind are all recorded for posterity. Think before you act. Decide ‘whether’ to reply rather than default to a hollow, pre-prepared statement by the CEO. Try to be human, encourage and reward your advocates, vet your influencers, prioritise child and online safety for you and your team - and know when to switch off." Below are 5 best practices to curating your community during an unexpected natural disaster or global crisis: 1. Emotional Preparation - Ensure the moderation team is in place and mentally/emotionally prepared to handle the increase in content. They MUST have backup and support. Provide them with a way to handle peoples’ expectations - be able to have timelines to feed back to the user.  2. Workload Preparation - Quickly prepare basic responses so the moderation team can respond in as close to real time with correct brand information, but broad enough to allow the team the freedom necessary to humanise each response. Trust they will handle things appropriately. 3. Robotic isn't going to work - Under normal circumstances companies can make great use of standardised responses; which are great for answering basic questions, showing positive support and directing people to the right place on your site. During a crisis, the amount of content will increase and people’s emotional stability will be sporadic. They will notice if the same response is slightly tweaked and sent over and over in the same thread.  Allowing moderators to adjust the messaging, make responses more personalised and unique will easily show your users that there is a human being behind each message. Check the existing conversation so as to avoid repetition. 4. It's okay to not know - and to say this to the community. And it’s okay for your community to be upset and share vulnerability. Your moderation team should be allowed a certain amount of vulnerability with the community as well. It’s all about connection.  5. Checking in - Schedule regular check-ins with your team, consider shortening shift lengths or additional shift rotations of team members are good ideas. This will be draining emotionally, mentally, professionally and there should be regular times set up to talk through things, give them space to breathe, and make suggestions to improve the overall online experience for your community. Talk to us about how we can help you keep your brand and online community safe and engaged during times of crisis. ### Ready, set, engage! Top tips for charity gaming success In January, we shared our top tips for how to get started with gaming fundraising. We shared UK statistics about online gaming, the benefits of fundraising with online games, and how your charity can get started. We are back with more gaming for giving advice and tips in this blog. Read on to maximise your charity’s chances of success and boost fundraising efforts with gaming.Leverage social media and influencersPeople love watching others play their favourite video games. They watch influencers in order to learn ways of advancing in the game. They may want to see more of the game before playing it themselves. They may even watch others play for the calming effect it has on their mental health. Gaming influencers can be extremely helpful for your charity as they will bring their own audience to the fundraiser - and help raise funds for your charity by participating in your events.Work with your Marketing team to get in touch with influencers who share a passion for your charity. For example, if you’re an animal welfare charity, you might create a fundraiser with an influencer who always has their pet next to them during sessions.If you’re a charity for disabilities, consider partnering with an influencer that discusses their own disability, and promotes how games help them with their unique situation.Build partnerships with gaming organisationsCross collaboration between a popular video game brand and your charity could be a game-changer in terms of reach. Online gaming organisations are now working hard to prioritise and promote online safety too. Counsellors have even found that Minecraft can help improve children’s mental health.Social platforms such as Discord (well known for its robust game communities) is in partnership with groups such as the Crisis Text Line in the United States and many other safety organisations - creating voluntary teen support channels.With a little bit of effort, partnering with a gaming brand can be mutually beneficial - they get to share their passion for user safety and you as a charity will increase visibility and funding - to a brand new audience.Create shareable content and challengesIn 2019, Fortnite hosted its first Summer Block Party event - a game-off competition which awarded donations to the winners’ favourite charities. The event was so popular that they have repeated the event annually ever since.New generations (such as GenZ) relate to creators who game - and these creators popularise their favourite charities at these events. Bridging the gap between newer creators, your charity, and a whole new generation of potential lifelong fundraisers.Incorporate live streaming and real-time interactionSet up coordinated areas on one of these live chat spaces for the audience, and invite your charity, gamers, the hosts and brand (if you’re partnered with one) so everyone can engage with each other.The live spaces can be used to broadcast live, and create special activities, challenges and cheering on your fundraisers together. This further solidifies the bond between the community, the fundraisers, and the charity which can lead to an increase in loyal fundraisers for the future.Check out the recent GameSafe Festival - co-hosted by NSPCC. The events were promoted as a new way to play safely, and included well-known gaming creators, tips for playing safely, and competitions highlighting the importance of safe playing while having a fun time. StrawberrySocial partnered with NSPCC, moderating and supporting the entire festival which ensured top-notch safety was front-and-centre of the entire event.The Festival proved to be a huge success, raising £7.5k for the charity.Create a sense of competition and community spiritLive event hosting is definitely not new to community building - but it does require specific skills which deliver different (and successful) results. YouTube, Twitch, Discord, or even Web3 (the ‘Metaverse’) are fantastic spaces for attendees to interact with you and talent. Compare listening to an artist on Spotify and going to their live concert. There is an emotional bond, a relationship amongst audiences that is built when everyone is invested in the same activity, in real time.For example, you want to assign hosts that attend the event(s) and are able to both engage with the audience in a positive manner, call out their accomplishments and also be a voice of reason, ensuring it’s a safe and fun environment.Ask around your office! Are any of your colleagues fans of the game, or fans of any creators you plan to work with? Make sure they’re a part of the event, regardless of what department they are in (e.g. if a member of your IT support is a gamer, bring them in, help them learn to engage and play along). They will bring a real sense of what the game community is about.Reward donors and participantsDepending on your costs, it would be a great opportunity to advertise your event, your charity and your mission if your marketing team, and the brand’s marketing team could come up with some fun swag as incentive to join the event and raise funds.Specially branded T-shirts and hats always work well, especially if you can swing the cost for something unique. (For example, adding a date and a year to make it memorable.)And, if the gaming company or brand can spare some, offering gift cards for their product would be a fantastic ‘special reward’ to those individuals who raise over a certain amount for the charity. Gift cards, or special items within the game itself (‘rare’ items, such as a special ‘skin’ in Fortnite, or a unique in-game badge) they can use in the game on their own time).Charity fundraising and online entertainment is a fast growing industry. Reaching out to a younger audience where they live can yield fantastic results for both raising funds, and creating lifelong volunteers and fans of your organisation.Foster trust and engagement with gaming moderationIt's crucial to create a vibe where everyone feels welcome and safe to join in, so make sure to keep an eye out for anything that could ruin the fun. Ensure you have robust gaming moderation professionals and tools in place to maintain a positive community, ensure people's safety, and prevent any toxic behaviour.Want to get started in gaming fundraising but worried about the online safety implications? We’ve got your back. At StrawberrySocial, we are proud to provide experienced, multilingual moderation and engagement support (including experienced gamers) to well-known brands and charities. Our primary focus is safety – especially where vulnerable audiences may be involved. We have vast experience in moderating youth-centric brands 24/7/365.Find out more about how our gaming moderation specialists help keep gaming and live streaming environments safe and enjoyable for everyone. ### 3 ways to supercharge social media community engagement In recent years brands and charities alike have accepted that online communities play a large part in the company’s success. During lockdown we all turned to online communities as a source of comfort, and built important relationships which continue to thrive today despite the world returning to ‘normal’.Previously we’ve written about online communities experiencing a resurgence - individuals like having a safe space to discuss thoughts and shared beliefs from the comfort and security that exists behind a screen. It’s important to keep the momentum going; and we recommend keeping a consistent presence in your digital spaces to build strong, long-lasting connections.But is there more that can be done? Are there any strategies for building a vibrant and healthy online community?Below we share 3 well-tested industry tips to supercharge your online community engagement. It’s easy to remember these tips by thinking of them in terms of the three C’s: Content, Connection and Collaboration.Create compelling contentIf you have a strong presence in your community you will know what it is that they are there for: what they like, what moves them and what motivates them to engage. Consider all of this when sharing new content with your community. You want your message to resonate with your community’s interests and values.Take for example the NDCS and their announcement about a new digital app created specifically to assist their user base. Messaging is clear, the users know what the app is for, and the tone is positive, designed with their specific community in mind.Incorporate storytelling, visuals, and multimedia elements for engagement. Mixing up your content keeps the space vibrant. When Blue Cross celebrated National Terrier Day, the social media team created specialised, positive visuals with compelling storylines. By sharing their own stories, the team reflect and empathise with their community and in turn, garner user engagement:If you’re looking for something new and coming up dry, try turning to your community (and your team!) for new content. As always, we recommend getting confirmation from your users before posting their content as something from the brand.And remember - it will be much easier to keep your content organised if you use a content calendar as your guide. There are many free versions online, or you could create your own with Google Sheets or Microsoft Excel. Many project management tools like Asana and Monday.com offer ready-made content calendar templates too. And then, get creative! Add upcoming content to your calendar for ease of use and distribution.Make connection a priorityRegularly schedule dedicated time into your work week focused on responding and engaging with your users within the community itself. This is where authenticity and emotional intelligence become key to connecting with your users. Invest your time by engaging in conversations and responding to comments with honesty. Authenticity goes far in showing them you truly are a community - bonded through the shared space.Have a bank of standardised responses which your community team can lean on for inspiration when they respond. These serve as the starting point for crafting unique and individualised responses so your community understands it’s you - not an AI bot - responding to their comments.Explore interactive features such as polls, quizzes, and challenges as another way to learn more about your community - sharing results can lead to real connection as well.Encourage and support user-generated content and participation. This NSPCC post is a good example of users participating in posts and also allows you to join in the fun through responses and connection. Because this post encourages learning and reading, it speaks to a part of the brand’s mission to empower and educate youth.Finding unique ways to engage the audience can bring out different members and create fun memories to strengthen community bonds. Hosting live events, Q&A sessions and virtual meetups go a long way for both your members and your team to create that relationship.Recently we partnered with SuperAwesome and NSPCC to moderate and support live gaming events. In both instances users were treated to special live viewings of competitions with their favourite players.The Gamesafe Festival in particular spoke to a specific yet substantial portion of the NSPCC community - allowing parents, teachers and young people the opportunity to have fun together and connect doing something they love, in a safe environment.Collaboration is keyIt is just as important to remember that collaboration needs to happen between your team and other internal departments that affect the future of your users. You and your team own the role of community advocate. It is important and vital for a successful online community to be heard by the departments that affect their experience the most.Be sure you have a seat at the table to discuss community feedback. Include regular data reporting and backup your data with actual commentary from your members. Ensure regular, open collaboration with Marketing, Production, Technology, Customer Support, and even Legal in order to make for a better overall experience.“We hear you - and we’re making changes because of what you’ve told us” tells your users they matter and that they too have a stake in the future of the online space that is grown together.ConclusionCommunity engagement can be a lot of fun - you get to learn from your members, and understand how each decision made improves on your brand and its goals. It is both an art and a science; establishing and reviewing engagement KPIs allows you to continuously adapt your vision for the group. Remain agile and flexible as you grow and change. This is what makes community building such an exciting part of the job.For more social media engagement tips and tools, subscribe to our monthly newsletter here > ### Happy birthday StrawberrySocial: celebrating 9 years of online safety, innovation and community engagement Happy Anniversary to us! This month StrawberrySocial will celebrate its 9th successful year supporting charities and businesses with their social media, online community and moderation needs. Partnering with well over 50 organisations (and counting!), we’re taking a moment to reflect on everything that’s happened over the last decade.  Trust and safety One of the most noticeable changes over the last 9 years has  been to Trust and Safety - namely policy and government oversight. Just last year the UK government passed the Online Safety Act with support from children’s charities like the NSPCC. This act works to provide safety measures not just for our youth but also includes language to safeguard vulnerable groups and adults, as well. The very fact that the Online Safety Act has received such widespread coverage means more government oversight and understanding that technology, social media and online communities are not a niche market, but have become a mainstay for all of society which requires real thought, research and real attention. What this means to StrawberrySocial is that our work is recognised now more than ever before. Growing the skills required to carry out this important work backed with support and understanding from government and society at large helps us remain diligent in our values of supporting our clients and their most vulnerable members. AI, tech and social media Alongside policy and recognition, the relentless march of technological advancement continues. We’ve seen an explosion of short-form video platforms like TikTok, and also the recent surge of Artificial Intelligence. Through our continued work in the field we’ve been able to share our findings and best use cases for charities and TikTok, and also share expert advice for AI integration requiring strategy.  Throughout the last decade not only has our team continued to adapt to changes in culture and language, but also remain passionate in our vision to ensure our clients’ communities thrive through empathy-driven community management. Above all else, humanity-based community building remains top priority. Where it all beganWe began StrawberrySocial with the intent of supporting our clients with their digital safety, such as being named the Gold Response Team for the Grenfell Tower Disaster. Since then the company has gained a reputation for excellence in the industry. We are proud to work with amazing clients such as the NSPCC, Blue Cross and NHS England, and have expanded our services to include specialities such as: tailored community management work,  live game support (including the recent GameSafe Festival), influencer risk assessments, crisis intervention and more. A growing teamOur team has expanded across borders and cultures, where we are proud to have expanded our organisation all over Europe, Canada and the United States. Our internal value of ‘mental health first’ has proven to ensure the team is healthy, happy and enjoy remaining with StrawberrySocial:“Congratulations on 9 years of wonderful service Strawbs! The last 18 months have been an amazing learning journey and I am so grateful I jumped on board. Excited for what's next!” Sarah V, Scheduler and Team Lead"I have worked with Strawberry Social for the last three years in a few different roles, and I appreciate everyone I’ve worked with! Strawberry has a great team, and it’s been very nice to work in an environment that, even while being international and remote, feels so checked in and connected. Happy Anniversary SS"Caroline S, Moderator and Child Safety specialist"Happy anniversary!  I joined the family in July 2023, I love the great team banter. We get amazing support and camaraderie at the company." Rene V, ModeratorA word from our CEOReflecting on 9 years in business, StrawberrySocial Founder & CEO Rebecca Fitzgerald said, “I am so proud of what we have accomplished as a business, and for our clients over the last nine years. The rate of change has been immense - new platforms, the impact of AI on online safety, charities working with the gaming industry, moderating influencers and live streamers. Nothing remains static in this exciting industry! As I reflect on the critical work of our moderators and community managers, it is baffling that their contributions continue to be under-valued and under-remunerated. As child safety issues online continue to explode, I will continue to champion the crucial role of the ‘human touch’ in keeping online spaces safe. AI and tech can only do so much without the depth of understanding that can only come from human expertise and empathy. I'm proud to support the brilliant work of the IWF and others in this area. Community management and engagement forms a huge part of not only fostering a sustainable audience base (therefore helping the marketing department) but also encourages people to behave better online, engage in constructive debate, and seek help when needed. Lastly, I want to send a big thank you to the selfless professional moderators and community managers who so believe in what they do and have to deal with distressing content. And, here’s a big prod to brands and organisations to do better. MUCH better.We’re extremely grateful to be a part of this ever-evolving industry. It’s an honour to work with our colleagues and our clients as we all work to make every digital experience worthwhile, safe and engaging. Here’s to the next 9 years!”Find out about StrawberrySocial’s community management, moderation and crisis support services.  ### Inspiration from 5 female leaders driving positive change This International Women's Day, we want to celebrate the inspiring women we work with, amplify their voices and turn the spotlight on the impactful work they are doing.  Read on for unique insights and advice from 5 female leaders driving positive change around the globe.Sarah Carr, CEO, Naturewatch FoundationWho inspires you?I'm inspired by people who are determined to make a positive impact on our world and improve lives for everyone. I am inspired by the yoga teacher and activist Adriene Mishler, who has shared thousands of free yoga and mindfulness practices at no cost to support and inspire people of all ages, ethnicities, and backgrounds across the globe. Her dog Benji is amazing too! On the political stage, I have been hugely inspired by Michelle Obama for her persistence, resilience, kindness and intellect. What do you love about the work you doI want to do my bit to make the world a kinder and fairer place, so I love being able to make a difference and help innocent animals and people through our work at Naturewatch Foundation. There is such a strong link between how people treat animals and people.What are you working on right now and how can people show their support? At Naturewatch Foundation we coordinate World Animal Day on October 4 around the world. We are so proud of our growing family of voluntary global Ambassadors connecting millions of animal advocates and successfully motivating people to take action and create a better future for all animals. We inspire people to get involved here.What’s your favourite piece of advice As Michelle Obama said  “Am I good enough? Yes, I am.”Sophie Edwards, Social Media Officer (Communities), SamaritansWhat do you love about the work you doI love that I work in a team of talented women. We all lift each other up and support each other through all the highs and lows. Each and every one of them inspires me to become a better person and I feel so grateful to be surrounded by a team of strong women.Lynn Snyder, Community Systems Lead, SuperAwesomeWhat inspires you?Younger people entering the workforce and pushing back against the status quo inspire me. They’ve shown us that collaboration works, that mental health matters, that leaders who prioritise relationships can make a huge difference, and that bottom lines can benefit from a more holistic approach. Favourite piece of advice:I don’t know where I saw this (a meme, a tee shirt?) but “Don’t believe everything you think” has stuck with me.. It’s a reminder that we have to go through a lot of bad ideas before we find the gem, that credit is meaningless without it being shared, and that good ideas are their own reward. This may seem as though it runs counter to self-advocacy for women in the workplace, but really, it just reminds us that it’s harder to listen to others when the voice in our own head is too dug-in. People do great work when they’re not feeling the need to constantly look over their own shoulder, and confidence is contagious.Kylie Petitt, Digital Engagement Lead, Dementia UKWho inspires you?My mum has been a huge inspiration to me. She has always been incredibly independent and constantly learning new skills, like French and expanding her work skillset. Her passion is contagious, and it’s made me realise the importance of setting challenging goals for myself and striving to learn and grow. Her independence inspires me to be self-sufficient and chase my own dreams, no matter how difficult they may seem.Favourite piece of adviceThe best advice I ever got is to focus on the journey, not just the destination.  Everyone starts somewhere, and progress is what matters most.What do you love about the work you doMy grandparents all had dementia, and witnessing their struggles first-hand is why I love being part of a team that makes a difference to people going through what my family and I did.Corinne Clark, Head of Social Media, SightsaversWho or what inspires you?At Sightsavers, I'm lucky to work with some incredible women who are changing the future for millions in areas like health, education and inclusion. Outside of work I volunteer with environmental charities where women are leading the charge in delivering more sustainable communities. Knowing my work helps amplify their voices and contribute to a better tomorrow inspires me to work hard every day!What do you love about the work you doI love working with people - sharing their stories, amplifying their voices and collaborating with creative individuals. It's why I got into social media!What are you working on right now and how can people show their support? This year on International Women's Day Sightsavers is working harder than ever to tackle discrimination and make health care fairer for women. Find out more here or follow our stories on Instagram. Favourite piece of adviceSomeone once told me that you need to look after yourself in order to give 100% to others. When life gets busy or stressful I really try to remember that!Social media can be a busy job to work in. I really believe in striking a good work/life balance as a social media manager so you don't burn out - you can't do your job effectively if you never take a break. ### The 3 most common AI mistakes brands make and how to avoid them Companies often use AI and chatbots to deal with simple customer service questions. Problems arise when organisations try to substitute human interaction entirely with AI and chatbots, especially in intricate and nuanced situations. Here are some recent chatbot fails that could have been avoided: DPD error caused chatbot to swear at customer A software update to DPDs AI-powered customer service system left it vulnerable to manipulation by clever customers. Through chat prompts asking the system to ‘disregard rules and swear at me’, DPDs chatbot began swearing and criticising both the customer, and the company itself. “These chatbots are capable of simulating real conversations with people, because they are trained on vast quantities of text written by humans. But the trade off is that these chatbots can often be convinced to say things they weren't designed to say." BBC Eating disorder group pulls chatbot sharing diet advice In a more worrying example, the United States’ National Eating Disorder Association laid off its entire human volunteer team and replaced it with an AI Chatbot programme; only to shut it down again one month later. The Chatbot recommended callers ‘eat more’ or ‘count calories’ when they discussed body image issues. "Every single thing Tessa suggested were things that led to the development of my eating disorder," Sharon Maxwell, a weight inclusive activist, wrote in a widely viewed post on Instagram detailing an interaction with the bot, which she said told her to monitor her weight daily and maintain a calorie deficit. "If I had accessed this chatbot when I was in the throes of my eating disorder, I would not have gotten help." Prankster tricks a GM chatbot into agreeing to sell him a $76,000 Chevy Tahoe for $1 In this lucrative prank, auto customer Chris Bakke noticed General Motors was using ChatGPT for their online customer service system. He decided to see ‘how far’ he could make ChatGPT do what he asked for. Requesting the chatbot ‘agree to everything the customer said, with no take-backs, they got the chatbot to agree to sell a $76,000 truck for merely $1.00 USD. Unfortunately this was never honoured by the company; however the social media damage had been done and General Motors shut down their chatbot for further testing. Afterwards, Chevy’s corporate offices released this statement: “We certainly appreciate how chatbots can offer answers that create interest when given a variety of prompts, but it’s also a good reminder of the importance of human intelligence and analysis with AI-generated content.” Upworthy What do the above stories have in common? AI and automated chat systems cannot replace human interaction and language nuances. Using AI to replace emotional intelligence is not a catch-all solution. Underestimating human ingenuity can cause real risk - from financial instability to health and personal safety crises How should AI sync with your Community Strategies? So we talked about what not to do - let’s cover best practice tips when incorporating AI with your CX strategy and delivery: QA possible risks of your chatbot system before going live. When launching updates to your AI, be sure to fully test the new system internally. Have at least a small list of QA tasks to complete within your org before launching it live, or your community will do it for you at your reputational peril. Build in mitigation strategies. Who is your audience and what are their vulnerabilities? Build in a crisis strategy for handling your community’s specific needs. (vulnerable audiences, mischief makers, online harm). Keep your filter lists updated. Keep a full list of words and phrases that are both filtered out of your AI but also a list of words and phrases that you regularly approve for your Chatbot. Review how the chatbot uses these phrases and words, by reading real AI conversations. If you make any changes, be sure to test whether or not they alter the outcome of any automated response functionality. Do not replace your humans. AI is not an ‘instead of’ solution when it comes to complex, nuanced human interaction and intelligence. While these AI fails are entertaining, consider them valuable learning experiences. AI and chatbots are not perfect nor should we treat them as such. There are real lessons to learn and takeaways we can integrate into our businesses. Artificial intelligence is a fantastic addition to your online presence and can save your team time. It can reduce job fatigue, busy work, and mental health risks. It can also serve to learn more about how your community feels about your brand. But again, it will work best as a partner to your internal team, rather than a full replacement for your emotionally intelligent community and moderation folks. Taking the time to find the right balance will be key to making it a success. And remember - never leave a chatbot unattended/unsupervised. The internet is 24/7, even if your team is not. Let us know if you need out of hours support. Our team of human community management experts love to keep AI in check. ### 5 Myths about Content Moderation & Moderators Debunked One of the best parts of our job is getting to know new and established businesses alike. We love finding out what their hopes are for their online community, and then working together to make those hopes a reality.Even more exciting is the number of companies that include trust, safety and online engagement as integral to their social media strategy - however we find that very few understand, let alone have heard of, Moderation and Community Management. Those of us that have spent our professional lives developing and working in the field know just how important this role is and the consequences of not taking it seriously enough.A while ago we highlighted one of our rockstar moderators, Becca. As a professional content moderator and community manager, she knows first-hand the work involved reviewing online commentary from all walks of life. Rarely does the public have a view into the ’behind the scenes’ reality of what it means to view every bit of online content and scrub out the bad stuff before it gets to the end user.It's important to note here that content removal is only a small part of our jobs. In addition to moderation of content, Becca’s (and all of our moderators’) time is spent crafting responses (according to client tone of voice) to ensure that outgoing messages are appropriate, on point and serve to cultivate their online communities. It’s exciting, but also challenging work which requires extremely talented individuals capable of ‘reading the room’, understanding context and responding on behalf of our clients. Here are 5 of the most common misconceptions about content moderation, debunked!1. Moderation is a mindless job. They don't think, they just do.While the profession does need a client or perhaps a legal department to dictate certain rules about what is allowed in a community, it’s the Moderator’s job to interpret each bit of content submitted within that community and make intelligent decisions about that content. Moderation is a profession of ‘grey areas’ - and it requires a LOT of thinking, studying, interpreting and understanding the nuances of language, context and intent.2. Anybody can moderate.Sadly, many companies believe that moderation is as simple as removing a few naughty words here and there, and are happy to have just anyone speak on behalf of their carefully thought-out brand voice. However, this rarely takes into consideration things like: culture, slang, tone of voice, nuance and many more subtle differences in language barriers. Besides, most companies already have a mechanism in place to remove the simple naughty stuff; leaving behind that more complex linguistic interpretation for a highly-skilled moderation team to manage.Plus - we’ve all seen what happens when someone ill-equipped to handle online social media is put in charge of a brand’s presence. Twitter, especially, loves to sit back and watch the horror roll out and contribute to the damage being done to the brand's reputation. Nobody wants any of these very public online nightmares to happen to them.3. Moderation is a ‘just’ a starter job, a means to an end.It’s true that many people begin their careers in Moderation, and then move into other related social roles (eg Trust and Safety, Social Media Management or Marketing). However, many others choose to remain in Moderation and enjoy the day-to-day challenges that come with the role. Sociologists, Linguists, Care Workers, people fascinated by culture changes or with a special interest in a particular charity etc., even criminal law experts continue to hone their understanding of the human experience through their work as Professional Moderators.4. All Moderators do is ‘play’ on social media and in video games.It is true that Moderators will spend much of their job logged into multiple platforms. However what they’re doing with this time is quite the opposite of ‘playing’. This team is combing your brands’ pages (or reviewing content via a 3rd party tool) for any content which requires intervention - be it a question from your community, a complaint or, at worst, a suicide threat by a user or a violent threat against your organisation (or one of its employees). The job may cause Compassion Fatigue, PTSD, Trauma, Depression and overall work stress.Every company wants to care for the wellbeing of their team regardless of the role. However, moderators have rarely received the respect they deserve in the past for having the strength of character to handle, what is at times, some extremely disturbing content with patience and professionalism. And if morality and ethics ain’t your bag, think about this: Facebook paid out millions in a settlement against former and current moderators due to the lack of support granted them in the role.5. Moderation doesn't pay.We pride ourselves on paying a Living Wage to our Moderators. The job is extremely challenging, can be stressful, and requires extremely talented, dedicated people if you want it done right. It's also a growing sector -  the Department for Digital, Cultural, Media and Sport released a report which found the job sector in trust and safety has grown 30% in the UK.Although, a cautionary note from our CEO, Rebecca Fitzgerald:"The role of covering online (child) safety, content moderation, crisis and brand engagement continues to be denigrated and misunderstood. Every day our team (and others out there) are exposed to distressing material in the ongoing battle to help keep the general public from seeing it as well as reaching out to people who need help. But, hourly rates haven't been able to increase for about ten years - due to organisations not prioritising the importance of the service and therefore being unwilling to pay what it's worth. Big budgets are allocated to marketing, paid ads, PR, etc. but where is the line item for online 'insurance' - child safety, combating fake news, dangerous posts, damaging information...? I can only hope that, by talking about it more, we can raise awareness of the many 'invisible' people who really care about doing the work of a Moderator. They're superheroes."What can a moderation agency do for you?Look after your online platforms, in multiple languages, around the clock - social media is 24/7.Remove, dissipate and report back on potential PR crises before they get startedReduce the likelihood of fraud and fraud casesRemove violent and threatening behaviourReduce the chance of illegal behaviourSpot where people may be in danger, need help or support (or are suffering)Ensure online safety when it comes to children and vulnerable adultsCarry out regular community engagement to ensure your customers keep a positive outlook of your brandIncrease time spent on your sites and nurture a healthy community of fans (and advocates who will often fight your corner).Why wouldn’t you pay a premium for those that are closest to your customers, taking care of your online reputation?We hope the above information clears up a few questions you may have had about Moderation and Moderators. We’re always excited when we get the opportunity to share more about the role with anyone that’s keen to learn and sees the value in Trust, Moderation and Reputation Management as a profession.For more information about how content moderation, user engagement and community management can serve your brand in a positive way, reach out to us anytime here. ### Gaming for Giving: How to get started with Gaming Fundraising  What is gaming for giving? Gaming for giving refers to the use of video games and the gaming community to raise money and awareness for charitable causes. It offers charities a way to raise funds that is similar to traditional fundraising events such as 5k runs and baking challenges but reaches an entirely new audience - gamers. Gaming for giving is gaining traction with charities looking to reach new, younger audiences eager to contribute to their missions.Examples of gaming for giving initiativesCharity-focused events: Organisations like Gamers for Giving host live streaming marathons or LAN (Local Area Connection) parties where gamers play and encourage viewers to donate to a specific cause. Charitable partnerships: Game developers or publishers directly work with charities by featuring in-game donation options, creating special fundraising bundles, or donating a portion of their proceeds.Individual initiatives: Gamers themselves can host their own fundraisers, like charity streams on platforms like Twitch or Youtube, or participate in existing campaigns like Extra Life, where they challenge themselves to play for 24 hours straight and fundraise for children's hospitals.In-game fundraising mechanics: Some games integrate specific mechanics that allow players to directly contribute to chosen charities within the game itself.What are the benefits of gaming for giving?Increased Awareness: Gaming for giving campaigns can highlight various causes to a large and engaged audience, potentially attracting new supporters. Engaging Fundraising: Combining gaming with charitable action can be a fun and interactive way to raise funds, motivating both players and viewers to contribute. Community Building: These initiatives can foster a sense of purpose and solidarity within the gaming community, uniting players for a common goal.The fundraising potential of gaming and live streamingGaming is a multi billion pound industry, with profits staying high post-pandemic when their profits soared. Just last year in the UK alone, the gaming industry was worth £7 billion and predictions are that the number will continue to grow. Gaming can be a perfect fit if you get the strategy right. Recent studies show very promising statistics about the gaming community, as seen below in information from USwitch and UKIE : 68% of all UK gamers play online31% of video gamers in the United Kingdom are aged between 30 and 39, making this age group the biggest video gaming audience in the UK.Gamers aged 20 to 29 years made up an additional 23% of the UK gaming population.Online games are popular with both men and women. 47% of gaming audiences in the United Kingdom (UK) were female, with the other 53% being male. In 2022, there were approximately 39.9 million gamers in the United Kingdom.With such a large potential audience, incorporating a gaming event into your annual fundraising strategy could be something to seriously consider. How to get started with gaming for givingHere are our suggestions for charities that may be interested in finding a way to introduce fundraising using live streaming and gaming:Choose the right gaming platform. Think about your charity’s mission. Are there any games that would have an emotional connection for your audience? For example, if your charity is about animal welfare, choose an aligned product such as Animal Crossing or even Pokemon. If this is your charity’s first time running a game fundraiser, try starting with an easy-to-use mobile app. It may have a shorter play time built in but is just as effective and fun.Create engaging and interactive gaming events. Utilise Instagram Live or YouTube Live to host an hour of “Dance Dance Revolution” with your colleagues and your fundraisers together and dance it out while raising funds. You can easily engage with the donors’ chat, and cheer them on as you dance together.Use popular games or create custom challenges. There are a host of games and virtual worlds available where your team can create a unique space designed just for your charity’s mission. Why not host a challenge whereby your fundraisers must complete the goal of finding all the ‘lost items’ related to the needs of your charity such as in Minecraft, Habbo, or Roblox. A charity for the visually impaired might choose to hide items such as glasses, colour-spectrum sunglasses, and a braille message to decode. Set fundraising goals and milestones. Create an event where your fundraisers can achieve goals throughout your fundraising challenge. Get your fundraisers to share their online activities, such as “Complete 5 Levels in 30 Days”, sharing their gaming experience on their social pages, garnering new donors.Gaming is something that is enjoyed by entire families and can help mobilise an entirely new demographic of life-long fundraisers. This is the future audience for the next 20, 30 years. The average age for a video gamer in Europe is 31, so even if you don’t talk to anyone under the age of 65 as a charity, you will talk to that person in a couple of years, and if you can start now being meaningful, gentle, on the same platforms as them, then you’re setting yourself up for the long term value of that supporter and that will be great.Georgia Paton, Gaming and Streaming Manager at British Red CrossAt its core, live streaming and gaming for giving is about harnessing the passion and engagement of gamers to make a positive impact on the world through fundraising and awareness campaigns. Gaming for giving offers a powerful way to combine play with purpose, making a positive impact through the shared passion of a vibrant community. ### The 4 Cs of online safety: tips to reduce risk, educate, and protect children online “With Meta’s decision to prevent the blocking of child sexual abuse imagery on Facebook’s Messenger service, and Apple opting to drop client-side scanning to detect the sharing of abuse, there really has never been a worse time to be a child on the internet”.  IWFOver time digital professionals have worked to clarify what it means to safely exist within the online social ecosystem. Extensive research has been an important part of this equation - especially when discussing young people as they often require specific online safety and digital education.  In this post, we lay out in easy to understand terms what the current risks are for young people on the internet, and offer recommendations for protecting and educating them about these risks. By sharing the 4 Cs of online safety, you will be better equipped to create digital strategies that identify potential harm and know how to protect children from risky behaviour. In addition, having an understanding of how the 4 Cs present themselves in the online world will equip young people with the knowledge and skills they need to be responsible, resilient, and respectful online citizens.When we put together our best practices for both clients and moderators, StrawberrySocial refers to frameworks such as the one set forth by KCSIE and adopted by UK educational bodies. They have identified these areas of potential risk: Content, Contact, and Conduct. As we work both within and outside the educational system, we expanded the areas of risk to include a fourth ‘C’ - Commerce, like many other organisations working in the online space such as the NSPCC.Here is a quick breakdown of what each of these risks might look like within the context of online activity:  RISKSCOMMERCIALAGGRESSIVESEXUALCONTENTChild as recipientAdverts, Spam, Sponsorship, Personal InformationViolent or hateful contentPornographic or unwelcome sexual contentCONTACTChild as participantTrackingHarvestingPersonal InformationBeing bullied, harassed, or stalkedMeeting strangers Being groomedCONDUCTChild as actorIllegal downloading HackingBullying or harassing another personCreating and uploading inappropriate materialCOMMERCEChild as customerGamblingFinancial ScamsTerrorismPhishingLure into TraffickingDepending on your organisation’s social media presence, some of the above risks may be more prevalent than others. It is important to recognise how each of these risks might present themselves within the context of your online environments. For example, if your organisation is a charity working with marginalised children, attempts to extract personal information may come in the form of promises for a better life, or an improvement to their situation. If your brand is an online entertainment site for kids, there may be a higher risk of children bullying each other through the use of any chat functions your site allows. By breaking down the top risks into easy to read categories you can put in place a variety of strategic safety processes to mitigate each one. Use the above table of information and identify which risks are more likely within your particular business model. By thinking ahead of time about potential risks and how to prevent and report them, you will be prepared to protect and educate your young audience. 4 Online Safety Tips to Implement NowOur professional moderators and community management specialists are online safety fanatics. Here are four crucial online safety measures they recommend for every organisation. Use a hybrid of online protection techniques. Use trusted technology to catch the easy stuff, and a well-trained human team of moderators to handle the difficult, challenging situations. Keep company safety policies and processes up to date. The Online Safety Act has been signed into law. Be sure your tech and legal teams are working together to ensure you’re following the policies set forth in the Act. In addition, it’s important to keep you and your company informed should any changes to the policies happen over time. Make guidelines and rules of conduct easy to follow. Make simple guidelines that anyone can understand. Many users will be new to online activity and not aware of the dangers. Also, English may be their second language. Make guidelines a part of your registration and log in process so it’s ever-present in their minds when accessing your online services or products. Report any shifts in activity within your community which may affect their safety. Moderators, community and social media managers, and leadership should have regular reports about the health and safety of your members. Any shifts in their activity, any cultural changes or new slang, should be included in these reports so that together you can update your guidelines and filters on a regular basis. Top tip: download and complete our free Online Safety Checklist for more actionable tips to help keep your online community safe.Whether you are in education, social services, charity work, sports teams, theatre groups, online entertainment platforms, parents/carers, or any other group that interacts with children, the 4 Cs outlined above, and subsequent recommendations are built to help you make their online experiences the best it can be. For other helpful information check out our Safety Resources hub, or check out our recent blog posts about online safety.We share the latest online safety tips and community engagement advice with 100s of other social media professionals in our free monthly newsletter. Subscribe here to get the next issue. ### 5 key social media predictions for charities in 2024 2024 promises to be another whirlwind year for charities on social media. With so many new tools, exciting tech and platform developments on the horizon, where should you focus your attention?We’ve done the research on what social media platforms and charities are planning to help you narrow it down. Here are the top 5 social media trends we predict will help your charity connect, inspire action and amplify its impact in 2024.It's clear that 2024 will be another year where communities pull together to tackle shared challenges and to support each other.David Knott, National Lottery Fund.Building community and deeper connections2024 will be another difficult year for charities, as people continue to struggle with the effects of the cost of living crisis. Charities should spend this year focusing on strengthening relationships in the communities you have right now. Take the time and opportunity to focus your strategy on turning your current follower user base into long-term, loyal supporters. Focus content on shared values to connect with your audience on social media. Shine a spotlight on your audience: celebrate your supporters and prioritise authentic, human engagement with followers. People remember how they’re treated and when the economy picks up again, and they won’t forget.Gaming for GivingCharities will continue to experiment with gaming and get younger generations involved in fundraising. Gaming for Giving demonstrates a willingness to understand what younger generations are looking for in online authenticity through community building and fun, with a live element ready to help offer real time support if needed. Charities will continue to reap the brand building and fundraising benefits that come from connecting with gamers doing what they love. Top tip: Don’t underestimate the importance of building Trust and Safety into Gaming for Giving campaigns. Find out more about Gaming Safety and Moderation.Our team has had the privilege to participate with charities and brands using online games to promote their mission(s) in a creative, safe manner.NSPCC’s Game Safe Festival taking place this January and February, combines digital literacy education, with virtual gaming and competition. The fundraising element, called “Press Play”, invites influencers and gamers alike to join the fun, live stream and raise funds for NSPCC.If you need support setting up a similar event, get in touch with us here.AI is here to stay but true connection needs a human touchEveryone’s new favourite topic is Artificial Intelligence. Using AI to predict what time of year a donor is most likely to give as well as how much they are likely to give has begun to pick up steam and is something to consider as part of your fundraising strategy. Basic customer service messaging, building and growing word filters are other good examples of how charities can use AI to help service online communities and keep them safe. However, many experts are finding issues with AI in practice, especially when it comes to emotional connection.Complaints about ‘robotic’ responses and inauthentic engagement are increasingly being reported across multiple industries. Our research confirms that charity supporters value human interaction over robotic standard responses. Your community members want to speak to a human being, not a bot. Relying on AI to support vulnerable audiences can cause real harm too. Therefore, we strongly caution against replacing your Human Moderation and Community Management people with AI.X - how to use it to your advantage as it’s changing, and dyingThe platform formerly known as Twitter continues to spiral out of control, in terms of safeguarding and misinformation. While personal users are likely to migrate to Threads, there is still no obvious alternative for news outlets, media commentators and government representatives. For charities, it’s worth sticking around on the platform while this is the case. However, using X as a primary space for marketing and advertising will reduce, giving charities the opportunity to put their social media resources to work on other platforms that can deliver a stronger sense of community and safety. Later this year, we will share best practices for exiting X altogether.Instagram will continue to be a force for charities, but TikTok will also gather pacePeople give with their hearts, and both Instagram and Tiktok are spaces built around visual authenticity and vulnerability. We polled our clients in November 2023, and the results were incredible. People want emotional connection, improvisation, and humanity from the organisations they follow. This is especially true when it comes to giving.Prioritise original, native content for both Instagram and Tiktok, rather than repurposing polished or branded national campaign content. Live stream fundraising events, share real life stories and glimpses of your team in action behind the scenes.Consider using Instagram Collabs in feed posts or Reels to reach new eyes and boost engagement. You can have up to 20 collaborators on a single post. You could team up with a value-aligned brand or join forces with other charities for a key event or campaign.It’s clear that 2024 is going to be the year of community building and authentic audience relationships for charities and brands on social media. Sharing authentic, value-based content and keeping it real will boost engagement and deepen those all-important connections with your teams and supporters. Here’s to a year of more meaningful engagement for your charity on social media.Need expert support from community managers who understand charity audiences? We’ve got you covered. Get in touch with us. ### 5 Things You Can Do Right Now To Stay Ahead Of Social Media Policy Changes If you’ve spent any time reading the news lately (quite frankly, if you’ve been avoiding it like the plague, we get it…) you will have noticed a lot has been happening around law, policy, youth and digital safety. Both here and in the United States, groups and governments are taking further steps to hold social media platforms responsible for the content they allow on their sites.  In the US, 41 states have banded together to file a lawsuit accusing Meta of intentionally serving dangerous information to minors (such as dieting/eating disorder posts) as a result of developed algorithms, with no regard for their safety, and in the name of profits. As a result, these states are seeking financial retribution for the damage to be used to invest in schools and mental health services. New York Attorney General Letitia James:  Meta has profited from children’s pain by intentionally designing its platforms with manipulative features that make children addicted to their platforms while lowering their self-esteem. Meanwhile the UK has passed the Online Safety Act which will focus on overall protection of children with a zero-tolerance approach to inappropriate content across the board, including the following action points:    Remove illegal content quickly or prevent it from appearing in the first place (Note: We’re unsure what “quickly” means at this point in time and will share more details once they’re available).  Prevent children from accessing harmful and age-inappropriate content  Strongly enforce age limits and use age-checking measures on platforms where content harmful to children is published.  Ensure social media platforms are more up front about the risks and dangers posed to children on their sites Provide parents and children with clear and accessible reporting mechanisms on their platforms, making it easier to remove and report inappropriate behaviour. Both the UK policy and the US lawsuits will eventually require changes to how platforms present, monitor and build their sites. We’ll need to wait and see how company developers decide to deliver on these requirements. In the meantime, we offer the following recommendations to ensure your content (and audience) don’t get unduly punished or manipulated. 5 key tips for safer online spaces Age-gate your closed groups and monitor the ages displayed by members on a regular basis (because we all know young people circumvent age restrictions at sign up and therefore, may end up becoming a part of your community).  Carefully review the content that you and your marketing team are sharing. This is especially true if your charity happens to cater to sensitive subject matters or polarising content. If it includes controversial tones it could be at risk of being reported as being inappropriate for younger audiences, or not reach as many individuals as in the past.  Create your own ‘zero tolerance’ policies for your pages, forums and groups. Make these statements clear, up front and centre. Then take immediate action if something is uploaded which goes against your policies. Moderate your social and community spaces 24/7 where possible - if your team is not big enough, hire an outside agency to assist with your moderation, or shut comments down for a certain period of time.  If you operate in the US, follow the Meta lawsuit closely, and make sure your organisation can benefit from any financial settlement to which you’re entitled.  We continue to keep a close eye on how the social media landscape is evolving and will keep you updated as we learn more about the changes, and what they mean for organisations.  In the meantime, check out our free online safety resources hub, download our free online safety checklist or read more about the online safety act. ### Give the Gift of Holiday Moderation Cover We’ve all been facing tougher times recently, while we adapt to new economic challenges. So it's more important than ever to have a proper break at the end of the year, but who can look after your online presence while you are away?You and your team shouldn’t have to worry about your social channels over the festive season. You need time to decompress and recharge. At the same time, when your customers, clients and followers are at home over the holidays and online more than usual, you don’t want to lose any opportunities to engage with them.Enter StrawberrySocialOur team of customer support gurus, moderation stars, online safety experts and engagement junkies are all on call, waiting to help you and your team to get some well earned rest.We have a long history of providing brands, agencies and charities with expert holiday moderation support out of hours, over weekends, Christmas and New Year’s Eve. We’ve helped with some incredible campaigns across many different industries. If you haven’t made any moves yet to sort out your holiday coverage, now really is the time.We’ve been fortunate enough to support both past and current clients in handling that extra content and those fun holiday campaigns.Our expert moderators love supporting NSPCC:“Having more people in place genuinely helps to lighten the load across the team; it lessens the need for us to constantly monitor outside the normal business hours. I really feel as if it’s helped the welfare of my team. StrawberrySocial has been a really great sounding board for creating an improved support strategy; with a team that is readily trained and available to work out of hours and weekends.” And Just Eat:“StrawberrySocial are a fantastic agency. They deliver above and beyond expectations and make the transition of using an agency very easy. Their onboarding time is quick and, as they’re Social Media and Crisis Management specialists, they only need to focus on learning our business processes. They have a very personal touch and overall really care about supporting their clients. I would definitely recommend them to anyone looking for Social Media Moderation support.”We absolutely love working with our clients during this time, as we get to experience some of the most rewarding and exciting campaigns on offer during this holiday season. Get in touch if you need to discuss some last minute help. Wishing you all a happy and healthy festive period!  From all the Strawberry team x The experienced moderation team at StrawberrySocial can help with:Christmas Community Management Cover >Holiday Moderation Cover Packages >Charity Support >Social Media Moderation >Community Management > ### The Online Safety Bill has been passed - what does it mean? After years of tireless efforts by online safety campaigners, the Online Safety Bill has been passed in parliament and will soon be made law.  The Online Safety Bill is a new set of laws to protect children and adults online, but what does it actually mean in practice? In this blog post, we explain the main aspects of the new law and what it means for social media companies and internet users. At a time when online grooming and child abuse image crimes are at an all-time high, this legislation will finally require tech companies to make their sites safe for children by design. The bill places the following new duties on social media companies: remove illegal content quickly or prevent it from appearing in the first place, including content promoting self-harm prevent children from accessing harmful and age-inappropriate content enforce age limits and age-checking measures ensure the risks and dangers posed to children on the largest social media platforms are more transparent, including by publishing risk assessments provide parents and children with clear and accessible ways to report problems online when they do arise The online safety laws will mean social media companies will have to keep underage children off their platforms. Social media companies set the age limits on their platforms and many of them say children under 13 years of age are not allowed, but many younger children have accounts. The new laws mean social media companies will have to say what technology they are using, and show they are enforcing their age limits. It also empowers adults to take control of what they see online. It provides three layers of protection for internet users which will: Make sure illegal content will have to be removed Place a legal responsibility on social media platforms to enforce the promises they make to users when they sign up, through terms and conditions Offer users the option to filter out harmful content, such as bullying, that they do not want to see online. The largest platforms will be required to offer adult users tools so they can have greater control over the kinds of content they see and who they engage with online. This includes giving them the option of filtering out unverified users, which will help stop anonymous trolls from contacting them. Platforms must also proactively offer tools to all their registered adult users, so it is easy for them to decide whether to use these tools or not. The tools must be effective and easy to access and could include human moderation, blocking content flagged by other internet users or sensitivity and warning screens.  Also added to the bill are new laws to tackle online fraud and violence against women and girls. Through this legislation, it will be easier to convict someone who shares intimate images without consent and new laws will further criminalise the non-consensual sharing of intimate deepfakes. The change in laws will make it easier to charge abusers who share intimate images and put more offenders behind bars and better protect the public. Those found guilty of this base offence have a maximum penalty of 6 months in custody. Under the bill, the biggest social media platforms will also have to stop users being exposed to dangerous fraudulent adverts by blocking and removing scams, or face Ofcom’s huge new fines. How will the Online Safety Bill be enforced?  Platforms will have to demonstrate they have processes in place to meet the requirements set out by the Bill. Ofcom will check how effective those processes are at actually keeping internet users safe from harm. There will be substantial fines for those who do not comply If social media platforms do not comply with these rules, Ofcom could fine them up to £18 million or 10% of their global annual revenue, whichever is biggest – meaning fines handed down to the biggest platforms could reach billions of pounds. Some of the biggest social media companies have already made changes ahead of the bill coming into force.  Snapchat has started removing the accounts of underage users TikTok has implemented stronger age verification As an online moderation agency, StrawberrySocial deals with the worst of the internet every day, working to keep our clients' online community members safe and protect them from the types of content no-one should have to see. We are very proud to work with the NSPCC, Which? and Barnardos, who were instrumental in making the Online Safety Bill a reality. This new law will radically change the landscape for children and other vulnerable groups online, and make the internet a safer, more inclusive place for all.  “At StrawberrySocial we’re hugely excited to see this bill finally make its way into law. Our core mission as a company is to protect vulnerable users online, to combat hate, abuse and bullying wherever we can. This is a daily battle.  We work with some incredible clients such as NSPCC, Samaritans and the NHS - people who work tirelessly, often unseen, to try to make the internet a safe, inclusive and enjoyable space for everyone.It cannot be under-estimated the amount of harm that is done online and the ever more advanced ways in which criminals and abusers use tech and loopholes in the law. I, for one, hope very much that the Online Safety Bill will play a big part in helping us all tackle what has become, sadly, a growth area. If the only way to bring these massive organisations into line is by hitting their bottom line, then so be it.”  Rebecca Fitzgerald, CEO & Founder, StrawberrySocial. Find out more about the Online Safety Bill. Are you a parent or carer concerned about keeping your children safe online? Visit Thinkuknow for helpful advice and resources. ### 9 Helpful AI Tools for Social Media Managers With the meteoric rise of Artificial Intelligence (AI), the online content industry is experiencing a significant shift. AI-powered tools and platforms enable content creators to streamline their content creation process, improve the quality of their content, and personalise content to meet their audience's needs. This blog explores 9 AI tools used by social media managers and the important things content creators need to consider when employing the help of generative AI.  Harnessing AI: 9 helpful content production tools Here are some examples of how AI can support social media managers and digital marketers to streamline workflow and save time. 1.   Copy.ai Copy.ai offers social media managers a powerful AI-driven tool for content creation. By inputting keywords, tone, and style, managers can produce captivating captions, hashtags, and posts tailored for platforms like X (formerly Twitter), LinkedIn, and Facebook. The platform provides multiple options for each campaign, allowing users to pick or modify the best fit. Additionally, Copy.ai facilitates team collaboration, streamlining the content creation process. It's a time-saving tool for consistent, quality posting. 2.   Promptdb Promptdb is an AI prompts database that gives you access to high-quality images. For example, you could search a prompt like "horse", and the app will return images from various AI platforms, including MidJourney and Stable Diffusion. It's great for when you need unique, copyright-free images for your campaigns. 3.   Canva Magic Write Magic Write aids social media professionals by proposing innovative content concepts, enhancing written content, and equipping them with tools for optimal post impact. This tool streamlines tasks, freeing managers to concentrate more on strategy and analysis. 4.   ChatGPT Perhaps the biggest name in AI right now, ChatGPT can be a powerful tool in a social media manager's arsenal. It dishes out real-time content ideas, clarifies industry jargon, and sparks creative inspiration. You can ask it to write copy, develop SEO titles, campaign ideas, and more. 5.   Feedhive FeedHive offers a comprehensive AI-powered suite for social media management. Its AI Writing Assistant generates unique posts, complete with emojis and hashtags. The platform also provides performance predictions to enhance post engagement. Its content recycling capability repurposes existing posts, while the conditional posting feature automates responses based on engagement metrics. FeedHive not only saves time but also refines content strategy. 6.   Vista Social You have to be where your customers are, whether that's Instagram, Facebook, X, TikTok, or anywhere else. Vista Social connects many platforms in one place, providing a high-level view of your social channels and allowing you to schedule posts, chat with your audience, track your reviews, and more. The AI can adjust the length and depth of your posts to fit your target audience across different channels. 7.   Flick Flick is an excellent tool for when you have one idea you want to turn into multiple posts but are unsure how or don't have the time. It generates four post ideas from your general idea and gives you tips on producing them for success (creating case studies, running interviews, and fleshing out the storytelling). Its AI also rewrites, tweaks, and lengthens posts for different social media platforms. 8.  OwlyWriter AI Hootsuite has long been a powerhouse in the social media management world, and it's no different today. Its OwlyWriter AI will write compelling captions, generate post ideas based on keywords, generate content based on a link, and more. 9.   Magic Studio Want to improve your visual game? Magic Studio's AI tool helps social media managers create product photos with sleek backgrounds in various themes. It generates compelling photos from your text prompts and lets you tweak them to craft the perfect image. You can even remove unwanted objects from the background! A Word of Caution While AI can save you time and effort in creating content that resonates with your target audience, it's far from perfect. All content must be carefully checked by a human for accuracy, tone, quality, and clarity. And you only have to read some news stories on ChatGPT to see why this is so important. For example, two New York lawyers were recently fired after submitting a legal brief with case citations totally fabricated by ChatGPT. Why does ChatGPT make up fake references? Like many AI tools, it's often more focused on giving you what you want than being accurate. Here are the things you need to check when creating AI-generated content: ●  Accuracy & Reliability: Always fact-check AI-generated content to ensure its truthfulness and consistency with reputable sources. ●  Bias & Fairness: Scrutinise the content for any implicit or explicit biases, aiming for the representation of diverse perspectives. ●  Clarity & Understandability: Verify that the AI's output is coherent, grammatically correct, and easy to understand. ●  Tone & Style: Assess whether the content's tone is consistent and appropriate for its intended platform or medium. ●  Originality: Determine if the content offers fresh insights and isn't merely replicating existing information. Why not give these AI tools a go and see their impact on your social media campaigns? ### What is the Jigsaw effect? [Infographic] From social media platforms to online gaming communities, our personal information is readily available for sharing. However, there's a dark side to this interconnectedness that we must acknowledge: the Jigsaw Effect. This unsettling phenomenon involves criminals piecing together personal information from various online sources to target and harm vulnerable individuals, often children. As community managers within brands and charities, it's crucial to raise awareness about this threat and equip our online communities with the tools they need to stay safe. Unveiling the Jigsaw Effect Imagine a puzzle where each piece is a fragment of someone's online presence – their social media posts, gaming profiles, shared images, and even location data. Criminals adept at the Jigsaw Effect exploit these fragments to create a comprehensive picture of their potential victim. This dangerous puzzle enables them to identify weaknesses, patterns, and opportunities for exploitation. Vulnerable Individuals at Risk The victims of the Jigsaw Effect are often vulnerable individuals, particularly children, who may not fully understand the implications of sharing personal information online. These criminals manipulate the data they gather to exert control, cause harm, or commit crimes such as fraud, abduction, or harassment in the real world. Empowering Online Communities for Safety As brand and charity marketers and community managers, you have a unique platform to raise awareness and empower individuals to protect themselves against the Jigsaw Effect. Here's how: Education: Share information about the Jigsaw Effect through blog posts, social media campaigns, and resources like our free infographic. Encourage safe online practices, such as being mindful of the information shared publicly and teaching children about online privacy. Privacy Settings: Advise your community to review and strengthen their privacy settings on social media and gaming platforms. Limiting the visibility of personal information can deter criminals from assembling their dangerous puzzle. Regular Checks: Encourage users to regularly review their online profiles and accounts. Delete or limit access to any sensitive information that might be used against them. Geo-Tagging Awareness: Remind individuals to disable geolocation features for images shared online. This prevents criminals from pinpointing their exact location. Free Infographic: Protect Yourself from the Jigsaw Effect To help spread awareness and keep online audiences safe, we've created a free infographic explaining the Jigsaw Effect. Feel free to share it with members of your organisation and your online community. In this digitally connected world, the Jigsaw Effect serves as a stark reminder of the importance of online vigilance. Download the Jigsaw Effect infographic as a PDF Sign up for our Social Media and Online Safety newsletter for more community management and online safety best practice tips. ### What Is Community Management? Community management is the process of building and cultivating a group of like-minded individuals around a brand, product, service, or cause within a virtual or digital space. It involves creating a space where people can connect, share, and learn, and then nurturing that space so that it thrives. In today’s digital world, it's never been more important to identify, build and maintain your online community of users. Both startups and established Fortune500 companies  are increasingly recognising the value of community. One 2021 study found that 88% of organisations surveyed have at least one dedicated community manager, up from 71% in 2017. Simply put, community management is about creating a strong connection between your organisation and the people who are interested in it. Think of it as having a friendly and helpful face for your brand. Why is Community Management important? Community management helps brands connect closely with their audience, build loyalty, gather insights, and enhance their overall reputation and growth. Let's break down why it's so important: Increased Audience Engagement: It helps spark and maintain conversations with your audience on social media platforms. Community Management helps develop a relationship with your audience through consistent communication between you, and your users. Brand Loyalty: A well-managed community fosters loyalty and deepens the connection between a brand and its customers. Customer loyalty also increases the size of your community. By having a strong and positive opinion of your brand, your loyal users will spread the word to their friends and family. Conflict Management: It ensures resolution of issues, maintaining a positive and respectful space and ties in to your brand reputation. Both of which your users will come to recognise and appreciate by remaining loyal, and spending more time within your community. Brand Reputation: Community management shapes a brand's public perception and reputation. Feedback Mechanism: Much like a paid focus group, online community management provides an efficient feedback loop, ensuring your brand stays aligned with customer needs, and able to refocus your business objectives swiftly. Advocacy: Effective community management turns satisfied customers into brand advocates, further amplifying your brand's reach and influence. Innovation: It encourages idea sharing, leading to innovation and improvement in products or services. What Is the Difference Between Social Media Management and Community Management? Social media management primarily focuses on creating and distributing content across various social media platforms to reach and attract an audience. It involves planning posts, running ads, and analysing data to measure success. Community management is about fostering engagement and nurturing relationships within that audience. Social media management is more focused on the content that is published on social media, while community management is more focused on the people who interact with that content. Social media managers are responsible for creating and publishing content, while community managers are responsible for engaging with and building relationships with community members. However, there is some overlap between the two disciplines, and many social media managers also have some responsibility for community management. Ultimately, the best way to distinguish between social media management and community management is to consider the goals of your social media presence. If the goal is to simply publish content and drive traffic to the website, then social media management is the primary focus. However, if the goal is to build a strong community of engaged users, then community management is the primary focus. What Is the Role of a Community Manager? Community managers are responsible for a wide range of tasks, including: Creating and managing the community's online presence. This includes setting up and moderating forums, social media channels, and other online spaces where community members can interact. Engaging with community members. This involves responding to questions, comments, and feedback, as well as starting conversations and fostering discussion. Building relationships with community members. This involves getting to know them, understanding their needs, and finding ways to help them connect with each other and the site owner(s). Overseeing the community's rules and guidelines. This involves managing the word filters, reviewing negative content, promoting positive interactions and ensuring that the community is a safe and welcoming space for everyone. Analysing and measuring the community's performance. This involves tracking things like engagement, growth, length of stay and satisfaction, so that the community can be continually improved. Community Management Basics Monitor: Also known as "social listening," it involves tracking online conversations about your brand using tools like Mention, Sprout Social, or Google Alerts. This includes searching for your brand name, products, or services. Engage: Actively respond to comments, resolve complaints, start conversations, thank satisfied customers, and reach out to potential followers. Creativity and personality are welcome. Moderate: Also known as "reputation management," it requires promptly addressing community issues and ensuring your profiles are spam-free, cultivating a positive and engaging environment. Measure: Evaluate your most engaged channels and understand audience sentiments about your brand. Determine if there is a need to steer conversations in a certain direction and solicit feedback through questions, polls and surveys. Report: Work as a team with other departments in the organisation such as Marketing or Production with the ultimate goal of sharing the community’s sentiment around the brand’s direction. Gathering feedback from the community through Monitoring, Engaging, Moderation, and Measuring helps the organisation to understand what their community of users wants and appreciates about the brand. Community Management Best Practices Define Community Guidelines: Create clear guidelines outlining expected behaviour and ensure new members review them upon joining. Brand Explanation: Include a concise brand description in all online profile bios and provide a link to your site for more information. Consistent Voice: Maintain a consistent brand voice across platforms, adjusting your conversation style to suit the platform's norms. Show personality and humour where suitable. Encourage User-Generated Content: Motivate satisfied customers to share product images on social media using a branded hashtag. Engagement: Engage with your community proactively, not just reactively. Drive interaction by initiating contests, challenges, or thought-provoking questions. Wrapping Up Community management is a vital strategy that directly influences your brand reputation, playing a crucial role in customer engagement, brand loyalty, and social media presence. If you want your brand to shine and people to love it, community management is where the magic happens. Sign up for our Social Media and Online Safety newsletter for more community management best practice tips. ### What is content moderation? Content moderation is the process of reviewing and removing content that is inappropriate, illegal, or harmful. It is a critical part of online safety, and essential for brands and charities that want to create a positive and safe online experience for their users. There are a number of different types of content that may be moderated, including:Hate speech: This includes content that promotes false information, violence or hatred against a particular group of people.Violence: This includes content that depicts or promotes violence, such as images of people being hurt or killed. The violent content can refer to both virtual or real world actions.Child sexual abuse: This includes any material - written, visual or other - that depicts or promotes child sexual abuse, the sexual grooming of children or hyper sexualisation of a minor.Illegal content: This includes content that is illegal in the jurisdiction where it is being hosted.Spam: This includes content that may be unrelated to the topic of a conversation, or is sent unsolicited, such as promotional emails or messages. Types of content moderation Manual content moderation involves a team of moderators who review content and make decisions about whether it should be removed. Automatic moderation uses software or AI to scan content for keywords or patterns that are associated with inappropriate content. Automatic moderation will automatically make decisions about the content which may report it up to a human for further review, or remove it altogether with no human intervention. While AI moderation tools can help to identify and filter out potentially problematic or inappropriate content, human oversight is critical for contextual analysis and accurate decision-making. AI still has many limitations when it comes to keeping communities safe online. The moderation team at StrawberrySocial are trained to spot content designed to evade AI moderation filters such as emojis, constantly changing trends, slang, cultural and linguistic nuances, and code words.There are different types of content moderation practices employed to manage user-generated content. Here are a few common types:Pre-moderation: In this approach, content is reviewed and approved by moderators before it is publicly displayed. It allows for strict control over what content is published but can cause delays in content visibility.Post-moderation: Content is published immediately and then reviewed by moderators after being made public. This approach enables faster content visibility but may require removal if it violates guidelines.When taking a post-moderation approach, there are two subtypes of moderation:Reactive moderation: Moderators intervene when content is reported or flagged by users or a technological reporting mechanism. They review the reported content and take appropriate action based on the platform's guidelines and policies.Proactive moderation: Here, moderators actively scan and monitor content without relying solely on user reports. They may actively review live content in real time, scroll through published content on forums or social media comments, use automated tools, AI, or keyword filters to identify and remove potentially inappropriate or harmful content. What type of content moderation does your business need? There are a number of different factors that brands and charities need to consider when deciding how to moderate content. These factors include:The type of organisation: Moderation activities vary according to the community and brand in question. For example, a gaming community might need live event ‘handlers’ to manage influencers in real time and ensure they stay on brand, whereas a children’s community may require Moderators to be on top of popular culture and understand young people and children’s policies around child safety. The size of the online community: The larger the community, the more likely it is to benefit from a professional moderation team of humans in combination with moderation tools and filters.The nature of the content: Some types of content, such as hate speech, are more likely to be reported than others.The resources available: Brands and charities need to consider the resources they have available to moderate content. StrawberrySocial offers flexible content moderation solutions for a range of leading charities, gaming companies and brands.  “Charity online communities, channels and forums require a different type of moderation and engagement. A subtler touch, an understanding of mental health and how it can affect people’s behaviour. A charity forum might need moderators to provide links and information to vulnerable people trying to access support.Each community is different, each user important. At StrawberrySocial, we have the experience to understand how charity communities and social media works. Our community managers are veteran professionals; they are flexible, empathetic, resilient and supported by Management. They are able to moderate emotive threads about sensitive topics, and are trusted to help ensure that our charity client communities make a huge difference to their members.” Rebecca Fitzgerald, CEO and Founder, StrawberrySocial. What are the benefits of content moderation? Creating a safe and positive online environment: Content moderation can help to create a safe and positive online environment for users. This can help reduce the risk of users being exposed to inappropriate or harmful content. Protecting users' privacy: Content moderation can help to protect users' privacy by removing content that could be used to identify or track users. Enhancing brand reputation: Brands and charities that are seen to be taking steps to moderate content can enhance their brand reputation. This can help to attract new customers and donors, and increase customer loyalty and longevity, resulting in a potential increase in donations and/or ROI . Understanding your user base’s needs in real time. Your community is a built-in focus group. By having the ability to review your community’s needs and fears in real time, you can adjust your internal product development more quickly and give your customers exactly what they’re looking for. Risk management and influencer due diligence: Reviewing potential influencers and moderating influencer content prior to and during a collaboration will significantly reduce the risk of trending for the wrong reasons.  What are the challenges associated with content moderation? The cost of moderation: Content moderation can be an expensive investment however, it IS an investment that pays off. It is far less expensive (both to your reputation and your budget) than dealing with the reputational damage or financial loss that can happen in the absence of a moderated community. The challenge of identifying all inappropriate content: It can be difficult to identify or catch all inappropriate content, especially if it is not explicitly stated. This is where our highly trained professional moderation team can support your internal marketing and communications teams.Despite the challenges, content moderation is an important part of online presence and it is crucial for any organisation intent on building a positive and safe online experience for their users. Content Moderation Tips for Brand Managers and Charity MarketersHere are some additional tips for brand managers and charity marketers on content moderation:Be clear about your content moderation policies. Let users know what types of content are not allowed, and how they can report inappropriate content. Use plain language and advertise your guidelines in a public space for all to see. Use a variety of moderation methods. This will help to ensure that all types of inappropriate content are removedTrain your moderators. Make sure that your moderators are familiar with your content moderation policies and are able to identify inappropriate content. We can help with this. Check out our Moderation Consultancy and In-House Training packages.Monitor your moderation efforts. Keep track of the types of content that is being removed and make adjustments to your moderation policies as needed.Get in touch with us today to find out more about flexible moderation options, including no obligation trial periods.. ### What safety and moderation features are available on Threads? First up, what is Threads? Threads is a new app, built by the Instagram team, for sharing text updates and joining public conversations. Essentially it is Mark Zuckerberg’s answer to Twitter. And Elon Musk isn’t happy.Meta's Instagram launched Threads on Wednesday, 5th July 2023, in about 100 countries. It’s not available in the EU yet, due to regulatory uncertainty about how the app will use personal data. Currently there is no desktop version. It is only available as a mobile app in Apple's App Store for iOS devices and in Google Play for Android. How does it work? Meta have made it very easy to create an account by using an existing Instagram account. Posts can be up to 500 characters long and include links, photos, and videos up to 5 minutes in length. What is it like so far? At the time of writing, there are already 68 million users on the platform so things are changing rapidly. Right now, it seems much friendlier than other social networks and there is a buzz of excitement around the untapped potential it offers. Many users are joyfully flocking to Threads from Twitter. There isn’t any way to curate your feed at the moment so it's chaos and a good idea to turn off notifications. What are the key moderation and safety features available on Threads? It’s only been a couple of days so things are still developing but here’s what we know so far:  There don’t seem to be many unique safety features on Threads yet. Instagram largely uses artificial intelligence to moderate content so Threads is likely to have a similar approach to moderation. Everyone who is under 16 (or under 18 in certain countries) will be defaulted into a private profile when they join Threads. Like on Instagram, you can delete comments, control who mentions you and mute people. You can add hidden words to filter out replies to your threads that contain specific words. These settings will also apply to Instagram once set. You can unfollow, block, restrict or report a profile on Instagram and any these settings will apply to both apps. Also, you can only deactivate an account. If you want to delete a threads account you have to delete Instagram too. A word on accessibility Very disappointingly, Threads has not included alt text yet. This is poor form from a company as big and powerful as Meta. Meta said “The core accessibility features available on Instagram today, such as screen reader support and AI-generated image descriptions, are also enabled on Threads.” but this doesn’t seem to be the case in reality. This post on Threads from RNIB explains how users will need to include a description of images in the main post. How are brands and charities using Threads? Mark Zuckerberg announced there will be no advertising on Threads until it reaches 1 billion users. Brands and charities are using humour to get noticed. There are also already some great examples of charities reaching out and offering support on the platform. It will be interesting to see how Threads develops and we’ll be keeping a close eye on the platform’s approach to online safety over the coming weeks.  ### Trust and Safety in the Metaverse — Part 3: Children Online So by now we have discussed the Metaverse and a variety of subjects that will be affected greatly without Trust and Safety guardrails in place; including Fraud, Impersonation, protected groups and hate speech.  At the heart of these pieces is of course, the Metaverse. For those of you who are considering a space in the Metaverse, or have kids that are already spending time in the Metaverse (Roblox anyone?) here's a recap explaining what it is: The Metaverse can be defined as a fully digital environment accessed through virtual reality technologies such as VR headsets. Essentially, the Metaverse is meant as a fully immersive experience within a digital space; and most of our personal faculties are engaged in the virtual world through the use of headsets (visibility), earphones (sounds and voices), vests and gloves (touch).Trust, Safety and Children in Web 3.0In our final instalment, we are tackling the wonderful world of Trust, Safety and a subject that is very near and dear to our hearts: Children and Web 3.0. In a way, the Metaverse has been a part of children's lives for quite some time. Think about virtual worlds like Club Penguin, or online games such as Wizard101. These immersive experiences allowed young people to express themselves, interact in a live environment with other players and create their own spaces and do what they wanted (with guidelines and moderators, of course). While these products aren’t as immersive as the future Web 3.0 purports to be (e.g. you don’t need headsets to enjoy Club Penguin per se), these games and virtual worlds provided an escape from reality for children that in many cases were the beginning structure that allowed for ideas such as the Metaverse to begin. Safety in the Metaverse Through natural progression children’s products have cropped up in the Metaverse and continue to thrive here. (Think: Roblox, Minecraft). And within these products exist branded spaces owned and run by real world organisations. Take for example the My Little Pony franchise. It has set up its own space located within Roblox, where kids can interact with their favourite characters, play games and generally become an integral part of the My Little Pony world. Other well known kids brands such as Lego, Nickelodeon and Nike have created Metaverse environments and in some cases partnering with real world events or creating Metaverse-specific products in which kids must log in and interact in order to participate, win or purchase. Whether it’s in spaces designed for kids or they are peeking into forbidden spaces, we know both children and parents want these spaces to be safe, fun and create a meaningful experience.  We’ve presented past blogs that outline current issues with safety in the Metaverse - and kids are and will continue to be exposed to these same dangerous issues. All the same topics that we discussed in earlier blogs linked above will definitely be affecting young users. Industry experts have been telling companies ‘...to lead with safety in mind’ or suffer the consequences. The Good NewsIn a positive light, we found that some brands are proactively working to ensure kid-related spaces are heavily focussed on safety, and in fact, are making it a part of their development strategy at the outset. Take My Little Pony again, as an example. Their space was created with safety in mind by removing the chat feature at the get-go, and they eliminated the Robux (Roblox’s currency system) altogether in order to keep their users safe from potential scammers and inappropriate conversations. This way users can focus more on self-expression, play the minigames for badges and not be inundated with harassing language and threats to their pocketbooks.  And other Web 3.0 worlds such as Minecraft create endless opportunities for socialising; or learning new skills like problem-solving, team building and exploring their interests in a new environment. Also, we discovered that Minecraft can be a positive learning environment to expose children to different cultures through the Metaverse.Discord Sets a Positive PrecedentOther companies have found great solutions to meet kids where they are with their mental health. At last year’s annual FOSI conference we got to learn more about how the partnership between Discord and the US Crisis Text Line has helped to save lives. While Discord isn’t part of the Metaverse, they have partnered with the US Crisis Text Line and made their support line widely available via the Discord platform. Since almost 22% of young people aged 16-24 are Discord users, and many of their channels are about the metaverse, online games and music, this makes their partnership all the more important. The Discord/Crisis helplines are supported by volunteers that have been trained by Crisis Text Line experts. And so far the results have been extremely successful. Imagine if there were similar offerings across the Metaverse - both anonymous and supported by peer volunteers? Active versus Passive time As well as safety, it’s important to talk about bringing value to their kids’ products - not just monetary or status value but also personal, social, educational and goal-based value. Not only will this make the product more substantial but parents will be more inclined to allow their kids time there. Parents are fully aware that in order to function in today’s society their children must have some education in the online space. The more active their time is online the more value a parent will find in their online experiences. Think of how much value would be placed on badges or certain items which are only earned through hard work, learning morals or values, or even accomplishing educational goals!  The Future The Metaverse isn’t necessarily widely popular - yet. But it is expanding at an alarmingly fast rate and not leaving us. In order for it to survive and thrive there will need to be a lot of checks and balances put in place. In the meantime, we have advice for the business owner and the parent in all of you: If you’re a parent you’ll want to follow these recommendations:Monitor not just where your children are spending online time, but how much time, and what they are spending their time doing:  Homework? Research? Passive or Active participation? Play with your kids - allow them to share their online entertainment with you so you learn alongside them. They won’t be so afraid to talk with you if something goes wrongConfirm your VR headsets are also set with proper restrictions depending on your child and their age - remove VOIP where possibleKnow who they’re friends with - In most cases they’re likely playing with school or real world friends, but remember half the fun is meeting new people from different backgrounds. Ensure these friends are of an appropriate age and not making uncomfortable demands on your child. If you’re a brand looking to invest in the Metaverse, you’ll want to consider the following:Ensure your real estate has its own guidelines and are following appropriate policies (including CARU, COPPA and GDPR)Ensure you are building safety in FROM THE START - including technology restrictions, reporting mechanisms, permanent removal of bad eggs, timers or shutting off your product after certain hours of the day Keep your technology and community knowledge front-and-centre at all times. Schedule regular updates to filters, your rules and your tools. Listen to your Moderation Agency when they report back on your community’s health and wellbeing. Has it changed over time? What is their new passion? How are they using your product? For good, or to get around your rules? Work alongside your Moderation Agency to keep abreast of industry news, cultural shifts and possible tech solutions on the horizon. Web 3.0 isn’t going to disappear - it’s only going to grow over time. If together we embrace the changes with a clear head and safety at the forefront of development, then we can all enjoy the adventure together. If you or someone you know is building out their metaverse real estate, we’re happy to come talk with you about Trust and Safety best practices. It’s always best to get these conversations going early on - so get in touch soon! ### Keeping Kids Safe Online in 2023 - Thoughts from an Industry Veteran Today we’re grabbing a cuppa to chinwag with one of the incredible people here at StrawberrySocial. Someone with a wealth of experience in the industry, who knows what it takes to be an outstanding moderator. Someone who knows how to hire, train, mentor and grow a moderation engagement team. A conversation with Shaz Collier Meet Shaz, our Chief Operations Officer (& Online Safety Mastermind). Shaz began her career online in 2000 at AOL. “We were hosting a chat room for 6-8 year olds,” she tells me on Zoom, “we thought it was innovative, but now I see it as naive. In those days we had no idea how the internet would go on to be used.” Shaz moved on in the noughties to work for Emoderation, took the CEOP Ambassador course, and studied digital safety. “I gained a new awareness doing the CEOP Ambassador course. It was certainly eye-opening, I didn’t realise the depths that some people would sink to in an online environment.” Online Safety in a Changing World I asked her how the online experience for young people has changed in the intervening years, “In those days there were no resources that kids could use to advise them on keeping safe,” she says, “how to ask for help, how to recognise people who aren’t honest and trustworthy. Nowadays no one would have a chat room for that age group,” she adds, “now it’s all games with pre-moderated phrases that they type in.” Shaz then went on to train as an educator on the “Thinkuknow” programme for online safety. She points out how far rules and regulations, training and education have come on over the years, something she has also seen through her work as a CEOP Ambassador. Children's Safety: Involving Parental Perspectives Shaz also has experience of children’s safety from a parent’s point of view. Shaz is an avid gamer and has four children; guiding them through their teens in the last decade she has seen many issues of child safety and parental involvement firsthand. She has watched as the opportunities for children online grows, alongside the dangers.     Thoughts On Moderators “What,” I asked her, “makes a good moderator?” “Everyone likes to think they’re an expert. But it’s such a fluid industry – things change so quickly. It only takes a couple of hours for things to snowball. So, attention to detail, ability to work without supervision, empathy and resilience are essential. Guidelines and policies and procedures can be learnt, but if anything unusual pops up it’s experience and natural ability that really matters.” “Only certain people are natural moderators. On an emotional level you’ve got to have good empathy, but also resilience because some of the things you see can be very distressing.” Managing Gender-based Pressures and Challenges  “One of the biggest challenges moderators face today is the subject of gender issues,” she says, and we agree that attitudes towards gender in social media content moderation can have far reaching repercussions, making it a thorny and difficult subject for everyone. With everything from bullying and intimidation (think of the flack female celebrities, politicians, etc. are subjected to online), to enforced stereotyping and threats of assault. Then there’s sexting and the ever-mounting pressure on young girls to look like they come from ‘planet porn’ - even whilst they’re then being ‘slut-shamed’. We can only wait and see how this plays out for both boys and girls - the first truly native generation. What effect will the things they have access to online and the environment on social channels have on them, their growth, their attitudes, their respect of others? Risk Management for Young People Online We then naturally move on to the subject of risk-taking – and the documented links between taking risks, seizing opportunities and personal safety. I ask her how she feels about young people taking risks on the internet. What strategies would she suggest to parents and schools? On this Shaz is firm: “The words internet and risk-taking shouldn’t be in the same sentence. So much can go wrong. The Thinkuknow series has resources for children of all ages - the tools are there, but whether parents know about them is another question. It was around when my children were in primary school but no one came and mentioned it. This does seem to be changing now with dedicated safety awareness training for youth groups and schools." We discuss the NSPCC (one of our clients), and their excellent campaigns. They educate teachers and parents on guiding kids as they navigate the online world, making sure they know how to keep themselves safe (definitely check out their 'Pants' initiative. “The companies I’ve come across follow the guidelines for keeping kids safe online in corporate terms,” Shaz says, “they limit the ability to chat freely. They offer human moderation rather than machine moderation. And, importantly, they make kids aware of how to report a problem if they come across one.” On the Agency-Moderator Relationship So what, I ask her, is the role of the agency in supporting the moderator? “It is vital that agencies offer their workers flexibility, extra resources, and an open door policy. Working remotely carries its own challenges and homeworkers need support.” At StrawberrySocial moderator support is a priority. Team leaders reach out to the moderators when they have had to escalate something of concern. “Moderators don’t always know how much they have been affected by distressing content, and can feel anxious about asking for support.” Shaz is available at most times for moderators wanting to talk something through. They can book her time, without having to contact her first (via Calendly), and some have done so in these difficult months. “A counselling service is becoming a vital part of the service offered to remote workers,” she tells me. “We have this for our moderators, all they have to do is come to me and we can organise sessions for them.” The online world is growing up, it is now addressing safety concerns more cohesively than in those first mad years of innovation and excitement. The Takeaways Children need to be educated in online safety continually. Online risks, opportunities and tech changes all the time Parents and teachers must learn alongside the children Companies offering access to children have a responsibility to be transparent regarding safety practices ThinkUKnow and the NSPCC offer excellent resources for families and educators alike The role of human moderation remains a vital part of protecting children online Organisations must support their moderators’ mental health ### 6 Female Digital Leaders on What Drives Them to Succeed When it comes to online safety and social media in the charity sector we are lucky to work with some of the best in the business. They work incredibly hard and it often goes unnoticed. Not today! Read on for some uplifting advice and inspiration from 6 women leading the way for the charities they work for, and helping to keep the internet safer for all of us.  Poppy Stalker - Comic Relief Poppy has been working in social media for more than 6 years. She is currently the Social Media and Content Manager for Comic Relief. Who or what inspires you?My mum is my biggest inspiration. She has always worked incredibly hard, in roles that focus on caring for other people, for example, palliative nursing, and the mental health sector. My mum is the most compassionate, strongest person I know, and has shown me there’s strength in kindness.What do you love about the work you do?It’s creative, strategic and fast moving. No day is ever the same and I’m always on my toes. But, I’m also working in a sector that’s making a difference to people, and that is really important to me. And, it’s cliché but the people. The people are all so kind, caring and dedicated and that really makes being at work that bit better.Favourite piece of adviceFake it till you make it. I realised a few years ago that most people (no one) knows exactly what they’re doing, and we’re all here slightly pretending…but walking in with confidence, speaking with confidence, and believing in yourself makes a huge difference to how others view you. Melissa Skinner - NDCS Melissa has been working in digital media for over a decade. She is a registered Sign Language Interpreter in BSL and currently works as Social Media Manager for NDCS. Who or what inspires you?My family is what drives me, what gets me up in the morning and what keeps me going. However my inspiration in work is the young people we work with. It’s so inspiring and motivational to see deaf young people so confident and engaged, meeting politicians and making positive change on a daily basis. It makes me want to work harder to achieve even more!What do you love about the work you do?I love the variety of social media, and that I have the opportunity to talk to and engage with such a diverse range of people. It makes my job very interesting and no day is the same! Also, social media changes almost on a daily basis so it’s exciting not knowing exactly which direction our social media campaigns are going to go.Favourite piece of adviceThe best piece of advice I was given is to focus on what you can control, and not to worry over things you can’t control. There will always be something that comes up you could never plan for or anticipate, so be in the moment and focus on what you can control. Seaneen Molloy - Sue Ryder Seaneen is a digital communications specialist, blogger, activist and podcast host based in Belfast. She is known for her work in mental health advocacy and is currently the Digital Services Manager in Online Community for Sue Ryder.What do you love about the work you do?I love seeing the impact of the support members give each other.  I manage a bereavement community, and our members are going through some of the most painful times of their lives.  Grief can be such an isolating experience, and it can be so powerful to hear someone say, "I understand, I have been there too".  I'm glad to play a role in facilitating that kind of connection and helping our community to be as safe and supportive as it can be. Rosie Chadwick - Blue Cross Rosie is a social media and digital communications professional with over 12 years of experience in the field. She is currently the Digital Engagement Manager for Blue Cross for Pets. What do you love about the work you do?What I love about my job is that when it comes to social media, no two days are the same - one day we’re finding a new home for a pet, the next we’re reacting to a new animal policy, it’s fast-paced and ever changing, but knowing that the work that we do can make a difference to real lives and real pets is really something special. Plus I get to combine my love of social media with my love for animals and that is a dream come true Caroline Dolan - Blue Cross Caroline has been working in social media and digital communications for over 4 years. She is currently the Social Media & Communications Officer for Blue Cross for Pets.What do you love about the work you do?One of the parts of my job I love the most is to use our social reach to help find homes for pets that have been with us for a long time or ones that have been otherwise overlooked. You can always rely on our wonderful supporters to share our content far and wide. And there’s always someone out there for every pet! Knowing we’ve helped to connect that pet to a potential new family and found a pet a loving new home is hugely rewarding. Kelly O'Hanlon - Help for Heroes Kelly is an experienced digital marketing professional who specialises in delivering engaging social media marketing campaigns. She has been with Help for Heroes for 4 years and is currently their Social Media Manager. Who or what inspires you?My work inspires me. I have been at Help for Heroes for 4.5 years and each year I am continually inspired and in awe of those we support and those who I work with. Last year I was lucky to attend the Invictus Games in The Hague with Team UK. Each and every participant at the Games inspired me in so many ways. I really took home the true meaning of strength and resilience. It will be a week that will remain with me for the rest of my life.My Mum. I have a very close relationship with my Mum, I am not quite sure where I would be without her. And from a young age, she always told me to believe in myself and just ‘go for it!’ Whenever there was a time where I felt unsure or lacking confidence in myself, my Mum would be there rooting for me and inspiring me to keep going and know that I can achieve anything I put my mind too.What do you love about the work you do?Our roles at Help for Heroes are far more than just jobs. We contribute to changing lives and there is no better feeling than that. Nothing compares to knowing that by the end of your working day or week, you might have just helped saved someone’s life or made them smile again. Working as the Social Media Manager at Help for Heroes is a fast paced role but I love it. I get to engage with our supporters, volunteers and the Armed Forces Community we support. Little old me gets to contribute to making a difference in society and that is priceless.Everyone at Help for Heroes goes above and beyond their roles. We love what we do and care so much for the Armed Forces community. There is no better place to work than Help for Heroes. It’s truly inspiring.Favourite piece of adviceMore like a favourite inspirational quote, from the legend that is Audrey Hepburn…"Nothing is impossible. The word itself says 'I'm possible!” ### Manage Your Twitter Account For Free: 5 Tools and Tips Managing and automating your Twitter presence doesn't have to cost an arm and a leg. Twitter is a valuable tool in the social media manager’s arsenal. There are plenty of services available to manage your Twitter presence, many of which we like and use here at StrawberrySocial. However, not everyone’s budget will stretch to these tools.  We’ve put together this list of helpful sites, built-in features and services that you can combine to up your Twitter game without spending a cent on a dedicated social media management suite.  1: Use Twitter's Built-in Scheduling Tool One of the simplest ways to manage your Twitter account is to use the platform's built-in scheduling tool. With this feature, you can create tweets and schedule them to be sent at a later time, just like you’d do in a more advanced scheduling tool. To use the scheduling tool, simply compose your tweet as usual, and then click on the calendar icon at the bottom of the compose window. From there, you can choose the date and time you want your tweet to be sent. You can schedule up to 350 tweets at a time, and your scheduled tweets will appear in your Tweet activity dashboard. 2. Preview and Schedule Threads with Typefully Threads are a great way to share longer-form content, but you can’t schedule them with the native built-in scheduling tool. Enter Typefully. This is a paid tool, but the free plan will allow you to schedule one thread at a time.  A bonus is that you can use Typefully to preview what your thread will look like, and share your tweet thread with colleagues for feedback before you send with the “share draft” feature.  Bonus: This is also a useful way to check your character count on tweets without the risk of accidentally hitting “publish”. Tweets in Typefully look very similar to the way they’ll actually display on the site, and unlike external character counting tools, takes Twitter's built-in URL shortening into account. 3. Schedule Quote Retweets with the Buffer Browser Extension for Chrome Quote retweets are a powerful way to add your own commentary to someone else's tweet. But, just like threads, the native scheduler can’t handle them for you. That's where Buffer’s browser extension for Chrome-based browsers comes in. Buffer is another paid tool with a free plan. If you have a Buffer account, you can use the Buffer browser extension to easily schedule quote retweets.  Simply load up the tweet you want to quote retweet, click on the Buffer icon, and then select "Quote Retweet."  From there, you can add your own commentary and schedule your quote retweet to be sent at a later time. 4. Check Your Website's Twitter Cards with the Card Validator Twitter cards are a type of meta tag that allows you to display rich media in your tweets. However, if your website's Twitter cards aren't set up correctly, your tweets may not display as intended. That's where the Twitter Card Validator comes in. The Twitter Card Validator is a free tool that allows you to check your website's Twitter meta cards and make sure they're set up correctly. Simply enter your website's URL into the validator, and it will check your site for any errors or issues with your Twitter cards, so you can be sure the right image will display when you link to your site in a tweet. 5. Find Exactly What You’re Looking For with the Advanced Search Searching Twitter can be a frustrating experience, but the advanced search features can really help narrow down your results. To do an advanced search without memorising the syntax, you can head to https://twitter.com/search-advanced/ or click on the three dots to the right of the search field. This will let you easily configure a customised query to return only what you’re looking for.  We hope you find these tips and tricks useful as you manage your Twitter presence, and if you have any questions, or want to learn more about our social media management services, get in touch! We’d love to hear from you. ### 12 Crisis Tips for Charities Is your charity ready to handle a crisis? By planning ahead of time, your charity can effectively weather any storm, and even emerge stronger when it's all over.These 12 crisis tips for charities can help you before, during and after whatever crisis may come your way.Read on to learn how you can best prepare your charity for a comms crisis. 1. Set up a Crisis HubStart with a list of all the important information, key contacts, links and workflowsthat should sit within this and make sure everyone knows where it is. 2. Nominate the Crisis TeamCompile a list of the key people from legal, PR, marketing, and management along with their contact information and availability. Spell out their roles within the crisis event so everyone knows who is responsible for what.  3. Choose your toolsInclude links to all social platforms, comms and admin apps, and logins. Use a password keeper! 4. Key messaging checkKeep your key messaging up to date, along with a brief guide to tone of voice and keywords to use (and not use). Don't forget to adapt messaging for different channels.  5. Get to know your communityKeep lists of online advocates, celebrities, influencers and detractors within easy reach and up to date. 6. Take a standRecord your positioning on known likely issues. Every charity will know what topics have the potential to cause conflict. Create fact-based education factsheets on key issues. 7. Words matterThe CEO statement should be reassuring rather than corporate. Empathise. Repeat the issue back and assure all that the CEO is personally invested in solving the issue. 8. Check the schedule Review all planned content. Does posting need to stop for now? 9. Monitor live reactionSet up an alert in your social media monitoring tool for relevant mentions and keywords related to the issue. 10. Team check inTalk to the team on the ground and review cover required. It may be time to activate other people in your organisation to help. Keep shifts dealing with negativity online short and make it clear that support is available. 11. Communication is keyOpen a dedicated comms channel for the team to use to guide their work. (Microsoft Teams, Slack or an internal tool.) 12. The aftermathReview the event and update your processes accordingly. Learn and be agile.  FREE DOWNLOADGet this list of 12 crisis tips for charities as a downloadable, printable infographic to share with your team!Want more expert advice on crisis management? Check out these other articles:5 Tips for Communication through CrisisThe dark side of social mediaHow to avoid common AI mistakes Looking for support with your charity's online presence, need a customised crisis management plan or something else? Get in touch today to find out how StrawberrySocial's crisis support services can help you. ### Social Media in 2023: 5 Trends to Watch For Social media and online communities are a part of daily life for many of us, and social media platforms are often the primary space we interact with brands. Research done by GWI found that 43% of consumers use social media to look for more information about brands, products and services. In light of this, it’s important for brands and organisations to have a solid strategy in place and always be looking towards the future. Here are 5 predictions from our team about what trends to expect in the world of social media and community management over the next year. 1. An increased focus on moderation and safety With the proliferation of online hate speech, misinformation, and other harmful content, social media platforms and businesses will need to place a greater emphasis on moderation and creating safe, inclusive environments for their communities. In 2022 we saw platforms change their approach with mixed results, some notable examples being Twitter’s new approach to verification getting off to a rocky start, in-house moderation teams shrinking and Meta’s internal oversight board found that policies were structured to protect the interests of business partners first. In this fraught climate, it will be important for brands to do whatever they can to ensure that their spaces and content are moderated effectively and efficiently. 2. Video content will reach new heights Video has been a dominant format on social media for many years, and this trend will certainly continue in 2023, with an emphasis on short and vertical formats in the style of TikTok. People watch an average of 19 hours of video every week, and 78% of users surveyed said that a video had convinced them to buy an app or a piece of software. The growth has been cross-platform, for example. YouTube’s “Shorts” format was launched in June of 2021, and one year later was pulling in 30 billion daily views from global users.  Instagram’s Reels feature also saw tremendous growth over 2022 and search interest compared to Stories makes a strong case for the feature, which reached its search peak at the end of the year: In 2022, Reels were the best-performing format on Instagram, with an engagement rate of 1.95% - at least double that of their other formats. PS - did you know that 20/20 of teams in the Premier League are using Reels in their social strategy? Businesses and organisations will need to find creative ways to incorporate video into their social media and community management strategies in order to engage and connect with their audiences. That also includes moderation of video content, something that can be a real challenge for automated tools. 3. An increased use of chatbots and AI technology Chatbots and other AI-powered tools can help businesses and organisations to manage their online communities more efficiently and effectively. We’ve already seen some providers like Sprinklr offering sophisticated, customizable AI tooling for tasks like sentiment analysis and algorithmic detection of trends, but the power demonstrated by the launch of generative AI projects like Stable Diffusion, ChatGPT and Lensa means it’s highly likely that other community management and moderation tools will continue to incorporate this technology, and users will make use of them to create and interact with each other. As these tools become more common and “professional” versions launch, operators will need specific training in order to use them safely and effectively. 4. Greater focus on customer service The unfortunate reality is that customer satisfaction and consumer confidence has been on a downward trend for some time. UK consumer confidence is at an all-time low and the picture is similar in the US. It will be crucial for  businesses and organisations to continue looking for new and more effective ways to deliver excellent service, particularly if they want to stand out and capture the attention of customers. Effective strategies will certainly involve the use of social media and online communities as channels for customer support and service—one survey found that 79% of consumers expected a brand to respond within 24 hours. To meet these SLAs and improve customer satisfaction, moderators and social media teams need to be operating at a very high level. 5. Influencer marketing grows, but becomes more personal Influencer marketing is now a $16.4 billion dollar industry, its highest level ever. That doesn’t mean it’s all positive, however. Influencer fatigue is very real and brands would be wise to keep that in mind when designing influencer marketing strategies. Influencers are posting more frequently, but engagement rates are going down. There is one exception, and that’s micro influencers; one survey found that micro influencers had an engagement rate 60% higher than macro influencers. TikTok is also continuing to demonstrate strength in this area, with 49% of users reporting making a purchase from the platform. That’s likely due to the emphasis on an authentic voice that’s quite different from the highly curated style often seen on Instagram, where brands are proscriptive with their influencers, often providing identical copy. Wrapping Up Looking at the above predictions, and the state of social media, based on our combined decades of experience in the space, it’s clear that “more, better and faster than ever before” will be the defining ethos of successful brands and organisations on social media in 2023.  Of course, putting together a rock solid strategy, supporting an existing community or running a successful campaign isn’t easy. If you’re looking for a helping hand with your social and community strategy, we’d love to hear from you. ### Trust and Safety in the Metaverse — Part 2: Violence In part 2 of our series on the Metaverse - we take a deeper dive into currently active Web 3.0 properties, the violence and hateful actions already happening across the metaverse, and what the owners are trying to do to tackle the issues. We also have recommendations for those of you looking into your own space in the Metaverse - what you should consider before setting up your own property and how you can avoid violent virtual crimes in your space. When I began researching for this particular blog, I was both horrified - yet not surprised - at the amount of violence that is already a large part of Web 3.0. What did surprise me was the lack of immediate moderation and actions available to combat this activity. We have had over 30 years of experience and research which confirms the need for strong policies, protection and functionality in place before any new digital community goes live. So what is going wrong and where are we falling short? What is the Metaverse?    Taking a quick step backwards I’d like to remind the room of the definition of the Metaverse; as a fully digital environment accessed through virtual reality technologies such as VR headsets. Essentially, the Metaverse is meant as a fully immersive experience within a digital space; and most of our faculties are engaged in the virtual world through the use of headsets (visibility), earphones (sounds and voices), vests and gloves (touch).  Recent examples of violence in the Metaverse This year alone has seen a multitude of research papers and articles about the rampant violence experienced across just about all of these spaces. In particular, it’s not just the acts of violence and hateful rhetoric, but how quickly it happens, and how common it is. The main forms of violence currently happening in the Metaverse - according to research and journalists - include: Sexual harrassment, sexual assault (rape) and Violent threats or rhetoric towards already marginalised communities (people of colour, female-presenting and LGBTQIA+ presenting avatars, eg people). In fact, one such researcher said that in less than 60 seconds she was invited into a ‘private’ room, and her avatar was sexually assaulted while other avatars looked on. What’s worse is the fact that she attempted to use existing safety features (report the incident) which did nothing to remove the attacker or the onlookers. At least, not while this was happening to her.  For those that have been lucky enough to live within a digital bubble, I can describe such an event as it happens across an internet space. This may feel not entirely ‘real’, but hear me out. You have spent time and energy building your physically-presenting avatar in the metaverse. You’ve named her, clothed her, and even tested out some of her abilities to move around, dance, kick, run, etc. You are then invited to join what looks to be a party or an event. Feeling confident, you enter that room, only to have other avatars move their bodies right up against your avatar’s body, make lewd, threatening, bullying comments at you. You try to run but because there is another avatar in your way, you’re stuck and cannot move. They spam chat bubbles which consist of more and more intense language.  What’s worse is that even simple solutions such as allowing the victim the ability to remove a violating avatar from their vision and spaces isn’t available. Or, it’s not been made clear how to do this. As of right now, users can report someone for their behaviour however a live content moderator must view the report, decide if the content is against guidelines, and then take action. And we all know there just aren’t enough moderators in the world to tackle this kind of reporting on a space as large as Meta. From my research the emphasis on personal safety continues to be placed on the victims of such events. Users are meant to extricate themselves from the vicinity and/or do all the reporting, while the perpetrators are allowed to carry on. “We want everyone to enjoy their time within our products” currently translates into “the victims must take action, and the harassers will eventually learn right from wrong”.  Don’t get me wrong - empowering users is something I have always supported, however, at some point there needs to be more accountability on the part of the offender, and it needs to be swift.  While lawmakers debate the ‘reality’ of such an attack, those of us that have lived in the digital sphere for any given time can in fact verify that there is an emotional, visceral, traumatic experience attached to these events - whether they happened to our physical bodies or not. These events cause PTSD, fear, anxiety, depression and aggression in the real world and to our real psyches.  What’s worse is that even tech giants are at a loss as to how to combat these issues. Andrew Bosworth, Meta’s Chief Tech Officer, admitted in an internal memo that moderation in the metaverse “at any meaningful scale is practically impossible.” [Read below for some advice brands can use to help remove this kind of behaviour from their particular ‘worlds’]. It’s important to note that there doesn’t seem to be a consensus as to who is responsible for setting and enforcing virtual crime policy; or even who defines what a virtual crime is. What should be the rules for violent, unwanted actions and what are the punishments? Who punishes the criminals and how? Banishment isn’t a catch all. Nor does it detract offenders from logging back in and creating a new avatar to repeat the activity. In addition it’s close to impossible to hire enough people to handle the amount of crime that exists virtually. That being said, we believe that a combination of human and technical solutions will always be necessary and the best way forward. "We believe that a combination of human and technical solutions will always be necessary and the best way forward." Companies responsible for creating and operating their Web spaces should have a huge say in what is and is not allowed in their spaces; but we know what happens when a platform wants ‘true open and free speech’ - they end up getting sued until they learn to employ a robust and intelligent Trust and Safety team, along with guidelines and even, permanent removal of repeat offenders of their rules’ Therefore if you are thinking about buying some real estate in Web 3.0 we offer up a few recommendations. Whether your brand is looking to open up a pop up restaurant/clothing store, host a live event with a brand influencer, or recreate a high-level armour shop for your RPG, make sure you and your leadership have considered and discussed the below with your legal team, your production team and most definitely your trust and safety agency (such as StrawberrySocial). If you want to create space in the Metaverse, consider:   Making your space Private (a la’ Facebook groups) Present your guidelines (rules of engagement) clearly, and visually everywhere. And include consequences for anyone breaking the rules Embed a robust filter and strong technology or AI system to track your users’ behaviour and history of behaviour.*   *Work with your legal team to understand limitations to data collection Ask the right questions when considering a moderation technology organisation, such as: What functionality is available to remove violators from your area quickly, or make it undesirable to stay, such as an ‘invisible’ or ‘silence’ function? Have strong, knowledgeable moderation, support, community engagement and T&S teams involved from the beginning.   Strong training should be in place for anyone moderating or supporting your Metaverse space. This should include VOIP training, live moderation and any possible real-time engagement you wish to offer your community. StrawberrySocial employ well-versed and highly experienced moderators in all of the above arenas. We recommend reaching out to your trust and safety agency who will be able to discuss possible issues at great length and can offer professional advice for training as well as technical setup Connect with local/federal authorities to share what and when needed Remember - these are not going to be the most fun conversations you’ve had, we get it. We’ve been having them for decades. But they are and will be necessary. Once you’ve had the conversations with the right folks you’ll be better able to discuss potential issues down the line should something happen. In addition, make sure your Content Moderation / Support Agency is one that can have these difficult conversations with grace, intelligence and maturity. They are the ones to help craft your processes and manage the technology you need. Once this is completed, you’ll be much less likely to end up at the wrong end of a lawsuit, or worse yet - responsible for potential real acts of violence upon your customers.  Find out more about StrawberrySocial’s work in Trust and Safety and Content Moderation and Online Support, or get in touch with us here. ### Trust and Assurance: Online Safety in an Uncertain World Industry experts, parents and teens at FOSI 2022 Annual Conference share their best practices for navigating digital safety. I recently attended one of my favourite industry events: The Family Online Safety Institute’s annual conference held in Washington, DC. For those of you unaware of this event, many of the biggest names in Youth and Family digital entertainment, Social Media, Online Communities, Technology development and Policymakers sponsor the event. Each year these individuals come together to discuss digital responsibility as it pertains to children, young adults, parents and organisations. This year’s focus was “Trust and Assurance: Online Safety in an Uncertain World”. The biggest takeaway from the event has to be:  that parents, kids and companies have become increasingly aware and savvy about digital safety and online responsibility, and how to get involved. The sheer number of parents and kids participating in the conference was a key indicator of the above points. Parents discussed the importance of digital parenting, teens at the conference talked about how they navigate technology, and educators shared how digital media is used for educational purposes, mental health support and community building. As a bonus, companies discussed the importance of having trust and safety as part of the overall blueprint for their products. While the information shared by industry researchers and corporations was excellent, it was a new and special treat to hear parents, influencers, and teens share their best practices for navigating digital safety in their own homes. Whose responsibility is it to keep kids safe?The day began with Experts React to New FOSI Research.According to this panel, kids tend to look at digital safety as ‘restrictions’ and what they cannot do whereas parents argue that they want more options when it comes to safety settings. Alumeda Lara from Google stated "It’s up to both parents as well as the companies themselves to present these measures as Protections [to ensure the end users have] an enhanced experience". And Julie Dawson of Yoti stated that[Users] have to have choices because different [young] people are ready for different levels and have different safety needs" The discussion ended with the all-important question: Whose responsibility is it to keep kids safe? Again, Alumeda from Google: "The saying 'it takes a village' still applies. Everybody has some responsibility [Tools, Companies, Policymakers, Parents]". Parents need to understand more about the risks and technology, companies and policymakers need to be better educators, and have open conversations with their users"  Sidenote: We here at StrawberrySocial agreewith this statement wholeheartedly. As veterans of this industry we agree there needs to be more thought put into the overall building, strategy, and development of safety measures at the very beginning of the product’s lifecycle as well as throughout the entire development process. Trust, Safety and responsibility should have a seat at the table and work in tandem with content developers, legal representatives and site owners.Not all time spent online is equalDuring the discussion “Modern Family: Today’s parents navigating kids’ digital livesAvi Greengart from Techsponential reminded the room that nowadays, parents understand the value of engagement within online communities.  "(We now know) that screen time varies greatly in terms of quality: is the time spent being active or passive? Is the child just watching, versus chatting and engaging their friends or community? Are they actively building something and/or levelling up?" Jarius Joseph (Of Terrell and Jarius fame - 2.1M followers on TikTok) shared one of his parenting best practices by looking at social media screen time differently: “We approach screen time differently and in a positive way. Asking: what are [our kids] getting from it? It could be spending time online w/their grandparents and connecting with family which is valuable. There could be teaching moments as well, there are many apps and sites to create beautiful things like art and reading”. Kerry Gallagher, Education Director for ConnectSafely shared one of her tips for managing screen time with her family: We “Assist our kids with discovering the amount of time they're spending on a platform and what they’re doing on that platform. Make it a report for the end of the week. Then we review, and ask: “Is this how you want to spend your time?" Each comment above highlights some truly savvy and creative thinking from parents that understand the importance of digital responsibility as part of their parenting roles. Benefits of Online GamingAt the  Mindful approaches to Online Gaming panel, we heard from representatives at Mattel, TenCent, GamesforChange, and the ESRB (Entertainment Software Rating Board). Across the board this panel argued (through data and findings) that games, and actual play itself, is value-added entertainment. Pat Vance from ESRB went so far as to say that "[Most] games have an educational component in one way or another, and overall they’re now widely accepted as positive experiences for children, who are able to learn in an engaged manner.” Arana Shapiro of “Games for Change” shared her experience: “In-game curriculums have had great success. Kids get engaged and are excited to learn when [it’s presented in gaming format]”Jennifer Ihegword of Mattel shared that her company is a firm believer in “Educating [families] about the world through play and toys” and they are testing out different methods to find out what works best for their community of fans, and in what capacity. For example, Mattel has begun to test the value of NFTs in the Metaverse related to their largest fan-based products: Barbie and Hot Wheels. Yan Perng of TenCent gave us details about the data they collected during the pandemic which furthers the above findings.  "Accessibility increased so much over the last few years; we have creators and parents engaging more w/their kids online” which is all really really great news. Safety By Design is the New NormalOverall, the message was clear and positive: Safety By Design is the new normal for companies engaging in youth-centric products and it is paying off. Parents AND users are more engaged in the conversation with game producers which in turn means the products are better equipped to support everyone, and encourage smart, and safe play for the good. For more highlights from FOSI check out their Youtube channel> StrawberrySocial provides expert strategy and advice to companies looking to enhance their online products for youth, kids and families. Collectively we have over 80 years’ experience supporting kid and family-friendly brands. If you’d like to learn more about how StrawberrySocial assists brands with their safety policies and guidelines, get in touch > The experienced moderation team at StrawberrySocial can help with:Holiday Moderation Cover Packages >Charity Support >Social Media Moderation >Community Management > ### How to Avoid Fraud in the Metaverse In Part One of our new blog series on the Metaverse, we’re going to focus on two industries that are extremely vulnerable to fraud and impersonation: the financial industry (Fintech) and the medical (physical and mental) industry. Cybersecurity firm Check Point reported a 50% increase in overall attacks per week on corporate networks in 2021 compared to a year earlier. It might surprise you to know that:  Ransom attacks on organisations happen almost every day, and  Cryptocurrency (THE method of currency in Web 3.0) fraud continues to happen due to shady investment practices and scam artists. This clearly raises a lot of red flags as most of us rely on our online transactions (be they personal, or financial) to be secure and confidential; we place a lot of trust in both the institutions, as well as the individuals working with the institutions.  The problem is - any virtual transactions can be vulnerable to attack. For example, some traditional banking institutions have even been caught illegally signing customers up for accounts in order to increase profits. How to Avoid Fraud in the Metaverse Currently Web 3.0 developers are proposing to decentralise financial transactions as a means to remove the potential for fraudulent behaviour (by putting full safety and control in the hands of the end-user).  Allowing the individual to control their security and finances sounds like the dream; but reality is, not everyone plays by the same rules of engagement and just one  bad scheme can throw off the entire ecosystem. And so, even cryptocurrency exchanges don’t come without safety risks. Virtually every conversation, every article about decentralisation of finances that I’ve seen, pose the same question: “How do we remove the potential for easy scams, and get people to trust us and understand the system?”  Similarly, the medical industry has taken big strides towards digital presence for both physical and mental health. Some traditional in-person services are now easily treated by speaking with a professional online.  Nevertheless, patient privacy and medical confidentiality continues to be a serious concern. Hackers have already found ways to infiltrate medical records and share extremely private patient information; so how easy will it be for a scammer to uncover patient login details, impersonate their avatar in the Metaverse, then fool the doctor during private sessions? How easy will it be for a therapist’s account to get hacked and impersonate them to a patient?  Anonymity is a wonderful tool but there needs to be a real solution to the above challenges. So what does all of this have to do with your organisation? If we’re all going to be using the Metaverse in the future, then every organisation will need to be prepared to tackle issues such as the above. If your organisation is looking to buy up some space in the Metaverse, here is a good set of questions to ask yourself (and your company), before venturing into the space: What tools have we put in place to ensure our customer’s information will remain confidential? Are we in position to produce our own proprietary technology? Who will monitor this technology and will it need to follow traditional regulatory policy?  How much responsibility for this confidentiality are we putting on the end user to keep their information confidential? Decentralisation is the buzzword for data protection in Web3.0 - are we prepared to help our customers understand how to protect their information?  Do current policies exist that we can adapt and adopt in Web 3.0? There will need to be some regulatory policy in Web3.0 - so what can we adopt and adapt from Web2.0? Customers may already trust and understand these policies which is an added bonus, creating a shorter barrier to entry.   How are we communicating to our users? Who is in place to help build trust and explain clearly how users’ information is protected? Have we created a strong moderation support team to support us and help clarify our safety policies in a clear and easy to understand manner? Are there any organisations which can help us bridge the trust gap, and how will that work? Trust and Safety Agencies, such as StrawberrySocial, are already primed to work with your customers and you - on ways to a) understand how you’re protecting them and b) communicate it outward, thereby building that much-needed trust. The metaverse is coming at us at break-neck speed, which in many ways is wonderful to watch. The benefits will likely far outweigh the challenges, but we should learn from past mistakes and use what we know to avoid problems like scammers, fraud and impersonation. Do you have any other questions about policy and governance in Web3.0?   Contact us so we can discuss and help your organisation better prepare for the inevitable Metaverse. ### Trust & Safety in the Metaverse - Web 3.0 Tips In October 2021, Mark Zuckerberg announced 2 things: 1: The organisation is rebranding, to be called “Meta” (an all-encompassing name to represent all owned platforms, not just Facebook)  2: That the Metaverse (aka Web 3.0) is going to happen sooner, rather than later. And that it was going to be huge. As described by The Guardian, Web 3.0 will be a virtual space “...where the physical and digital worlds come together. It is a space where digital representations of people – avatars – interact at work and play, meeting in their office, going to concerts and even trying on clothes.” Further, the learning platform Simplilearn predicts Web3.0 will be:  Open - Open-source software will be used to build content platforms. Trustless - Everyone will use Zero Trust, and network protection will reach the edge. Distributed - Interaction between devices, users, and services will be possible without a centralized (sp) authority's approval. Recent demonstrations (in particular the Zuckerberg-built metaverse, called Horizon Worlds) have received less than impressive feedback. Some industry veterans have referred to the spaces as nothing more than reconstructed virtual worlds a la’ There.com, SecondLife.com or even Roblox today.  Negative and damaging behaviour has already reared its ugly head in Web3.0 and so far, not much has been accomplished to reduce it. Those of us working in Trust and Safety are fully aware that both individuals and companies are watching closely to better understand when and how they should invest their time and money into Web3.0, safely. As we, at StrawberrySocial, see it there are 3 key areas for discussion which require ample time to ask the right questions up front. Risk comes with any online interaction; and now that we have a pretty basic understanding of what to expect from online behaviour, it’s important to include these discussions to ensure our future spaces are kept clean, safe and enjoyable. We’re presenting a series of blogs to discuss different topics important to brands looking to move into Web3.0. We call this blog series Trust and Safety in the Metaverse. We’ll discuss: Fraud and Impersonation  Violence and safeguarding (what does it mean to be digitally violated?) Children and the metaverse Follow us here for the first installment. Here we'll talk about Fraud and Impersonation in the Metaverse; and offer some recommendations to help your brand avoid both pitfalls before they even begin. ### Hispanic Heritage Month - Embracing Diversity in Social Media Hispanic Heritage Month in the USA runs from 15th September through 15th October. In honour of Hispanic Heritage Month, I decided to spend some time with my Latino friends and colleagues as well as do a bit of online research into their digital, and most importantly, social media experiences. An integral part of our jobs as Social Media Community Managers is to understand how different cultures and points of view participate in the digital world. It’s vital that we listen, observe, and understand what is important to others, and how best we can help make that experience better, and more enjoyable. Making up the 2nd largest demographic throughout the United States (62.6 Million as of 2021), Latinos spend on average more time on Social Media than any other demographic. So how come we’re not seeing more brands embracing this incredible group of cultures through social media engagement? In some ways Public Relations and Marketing are leading the way when it comes to growing  diverse online customer bases through their use of new campaigns which speak more directly to these consumers. But there is still so much more which can be done. As we’ve said before, building a lasting relationship with consumers is part and parcel of building a life-long customer. And the best way to do this is through post-campaign community building. I was curious to know what the online experience was for my LatinX friends and colleagues, so I started by conversing with my own community. This led me to research their use of Social Media, and to ask: what brands are embracing their rich backgrounds and cultural communities, and how can we do better? Most gratifying (and yet not at all surprising) is how much the Hispanic cultures overall embrace Social Media as a means to expand their relationships and share important information with family, friends and their surrounding community. Family, relationships and community are extremely important to the LatinX person and it’s easy to see this in practice throughout social platforms.  For example: in the absence of person to person activities, Hispanics flocked to social media in order to continue building and maintaining relationships within their communities, and within their families during the pandemic and lockdown. "Our personal and physical networks are the core of how our community has grown, adapted and it's how we stay informed," Stacie de Armas, senior vice president of diverse insights, at Nielsen told NBC News. "In the absence of those, Latinos filled that sort of void very quickly by leaning into digital content consumption to a greater degree than non-Latinos.” Many larger brands are starting to embrace their LatinX community (in the US), however many more are still unsure about whether this is a good use of marketing and advertising. Why is this? Like many others who spend millions on adverts and social campaigns, they either neglect or fear to complete the circle that is the online community (and consumer) relationship through ongoing engagement.  Data shows the U.S. Latino population, especially the youth, are craving to see advertising campaigns that embrace their cultures, their bilingual-ness, their heritages and values.  This is especially true when it comes to engagement and relationships with their favourite brands. As with all of us, building and solidifying trust and respect are vital in establishing brand loyalty but this is especially true for the Hispanic community - most importantly in digital media. To further quote de Armas: “Not only do Hispanics spend the most time on social media, but they are also five times more likely to share the content they consume in comparison to non-Hispanic Whites. This is especially true for U.S. Hispanics aged 18-49, who are more active when using YouTube, Instagram, Google+ and Snapchat”. Which brings me back to the question: where and how does a brand begin to even think about engaging online with their Latino consumers? While some answers might seem obvious, we know it can feel a bit overwhelming to start the thought process. Nobody wants to offend or misstep. So below we outline a few tips for you to begin embracing your Hispanic community of current (and future) consumers online, and work towards building that strong successful online community: Review your filters - Study the level and type of racism, extremism, and barriers to entry your Hispanic community must fight. Are you putting enough effort into your social media and chat filters to include all forms of inappropriate language, in all languages?  Learn culturally-specific Xenophobia Train your Moderation team to understand xenophobic messaging, hate speech and general disregard for Latino community members. Are we considering foul language and hate speech in Spanish, LAM, Portuguese? Can we help reduce their negative experiences? Ask questions. Like any other consumer poll, remember to ask the community what they'd like to see more of, and what can be left on the editing floor. Then - LISTEN to your Latin X community, and take action. What is their experience with your brand like for them? What do they want? What makes them excited to share information about your brand with their friends and family?  Communicate with understanding. How much are you engaging the LatinX communities, in their language? What about regional slang? Remember - the Spanish language is used across a myriad of cultures, countries and regions. Each one will have its own localised phraseology. It reminds me of when I started moderating in Queen’s English vs the US. Some innocuous words in the US are quite offensive in the UK and the same is true throughout the Spanish countries! This article helps explain the differences between Localisation, Translation and Transcreation. Make use of Spanish response templates If you’re unsure about your messaging, include Spanish templated responses to begin - showing that you’re at least willing to start the conversation! Being inclusive doesn’t mean throwing out a message and expecting a new, massive, vibrant set of cultures to immediately come running and staying. To truly embrace diversity it’s vital to listen to the needs of these cultures, respond and act with their communities in mind, and grow online relationships through ongoing engagement in a manner that respects their specific moderation needs. For more information about how StrawberrySocial can help you bridge the gap between your brand and global, culturally diverse communities (in many languages!),  contact:   US - jennifer@strawberrysocial.com UK - rebecca@strawberrysocial.com Email - info@strawberrysocial.com Contact form   Like that? Then try this - 5 Tips on Managing Multi-Lingual Social Media Campaigns ### How to Run a Facebook Challenge Group What are Facebook challenge groups and how can you use them to build an amazing fundraising campaign?  What is a Facebook Challenge Group? We’ve seen Challenge Groups explode in popularity over the last few years. Organisations of all types have had to scramble for new fundraising activities. With ever-changing restrictions on in-person events, creative replacements have become essential. A Facebook Challenge Group is a time-limited, closed, single-topic group. You can use them for fundraising, lead generation or any other creative purpose. For charities, they’ve been replacing in-person fundraising events with great success. The group provides a structure for deploying content over a fixed period of time. Savvy event planners and marketers can use this built-in format to divide up a big topic or group goal. The smaller, more digestible pieces of content go out over the duration of the challenge. How would you use one?  The only limit is your imagination. The better you can put that to use, the more likely your challenge group will be a success. The novelty of the format has worn off and so, the more interesting and creative the challenge, the better. As an example - a dog walking challenge may be a better choice than a solo walk.  A challenge group can take the structure of a course. Each day of the challenge, you can share written content, video, or go live.    Advantages of the Challenge Group format One of the advantages of Challenge Groups is the element of familiarity. The most active folks in your community are likely to be comfortable with Facebook. This makes interactions easy and low-friction for participants. They already know how to like, comment and post and will appreciate not needing to sign up for something new. There’s also the advantage of being able to pre-plan the entire challenge ahead of time. This gives you more time during the challenge to work with user-generated content (UGC) and create your own reactive content. The challenge structure also provides a built-in community. You'll be starting out with a group of people organised around a common interest and goal. This foundation always makes community management easier and allows for new members to be welcomed into the community, creating more followers for you. Being able to run an open registration period also gives you more time to promote and market your event.   What are some common issues with Facebook Challenge Groups? Moderation. You'll need adequate resourcing and training of your moderators. It's important to train them both in the running of the group and the correct use of standard response templates (SRTs). They need to be equipped to both enforce guidelines but also provide useful information and responses for the community. This prepares your moderators for success and prevents wasted effort. There's no need to write the same answers anew each time a question comes up. Time and effort. Much of the work must be done before the challenge beings. As you’re planning your challenge, think through each step from beginning to final day and everything in between. Look at everything from the participant's perspective. Make note of any potential issues or questions they may have. Prepare responses that address them, taking tone into account.  Ensure your group guidelines are clear and understandable. When moderating, the team can select a guideline as the reason for removing or hiding a user comment. This creates a clear reasoning (and ‘paper’ trail) behind actions and also helps the users to understand the rules. Put an emphasis on safety and protecting your community. As per usual, tech functionality can be glitchy. Facebook can struggle to handle more than one admin user sharing an account. If your team will be sharing accounts, scheduling and managing overlap is crucial. Centralise your credential sharing and make sure security and permissions are in order. This will prevent inconvenient downtime and login problems. Moderator burnout is a very real possibility. While your office work day may end at 6pm, the Challenge Group is likely to see activity around the clock. Contingency planning here is important so as not to overwhelm your team. Facebook Challenge Groups: Top Tips for Success Gauge community interest: Consider running a poll before choosing an activity to gauge member interest. Build a registration deadline into your strategy: Like a course, participants register ahead of time. Once registration ends, the group closes and the challenge begins. Only members who have signed up can participate once the challenge is underway. This can build excitement and momentum by having a set deadline. Call to action: Provide members with a call to action and an assignment to keep the momentum going. Include a suggestion to share the challenge with friends who might not be part of the community, but would be interested in the challenge itself. Share community content: As the challenge runs its course, share content on a regular schedule. Encourage, or even require participants to react and interact with the content. They can also post their own updates and progress towards the goal as the challenge goes on. How can we support your organisation's Facebook Challenge Group? We have supported several of our clients to run successful challenge groups. We can step in at any part of the process, from strategy and planning to last-minute emergency cover. The StrawberrySocial team comprises expert community and social media professionals. Together, we have decades of combined experience in social media, digital events management and online moderation. We hand-select team members, screening for sensitivity, emotional intelligence and empathic listening skills. We provide 24/7 coverage, with team members located all over the world. Team members also have online safety qualifications such as CEOP and NSPCC and all are Moderation Gateway certified and DBS checked. Check out our services: Community Management and Customer Support Charity Support Social Strategy Support ### 5 Signs You Need a Community Manager Community managers are well-and-truly the unsung heroes of social media management. Whether you have an in-house community manager, or you outsource your online community management to an agency, it’s important to remember that these individuals serve many purposes as they’re extremely close to your brand. They’re customer-focused, authentic and attuned to the complexities of managing and moderating online platforms in the way that is best for your organisation. Community managers are a crucial part of any digital strategy, so how do you know when your business needs one? The 5 Signs you need a Community Manager: 1. You’re struggling to attract new users and keep existing ones There’s nothing more unfriendly to a consumer than a brand that doesn’t engage. It should be a cornerstone of any marketing strategy not to simply broadcast your message, but to take the time to build relationships with your audience, and this could not be more important than in the social media space. Having a solid community manager in place you won’t miss any opportunities to have conversations, both public and private, and you’ll therefore have daily chances to strengthen those bonds. This both keeps your current audience engaged and shows new supporters that they’ll be acknowledged and listened to. 3. Your audience isn’t loyal to your brand Community Managers are trained to speak to your audience in your brand voice, and make your social media presence an extension of your head office - but in a natural, authentic way. Building trust like this is key to positioning your brand as someone that they know, like and trust, and it’s this that will keep them coming back, as well as building advocacy among them. 2. You want a deeper level of understanding of your users One of the keys to getting to know your users is listening to them - what do they complain about, what do they like about you, what are they requesting from you that you don’t already have? Proper community management is the perfect way to stay on top of these conversations, and to really be at the coalface with your customers. 4. You need to act fast in a crisis Problems can escalate SO quickly online, and if your business is at the centre of a storm, you’ll want trained professionals in the driving seat to remain calm, manage the situation, communicate externally and internally and guide you through the aftermath. Nobody wants to think that a crisis will happen to them; and we all hope we don’t have to put this plan in place - however as the saying goes, better to have someone and something in place and not need it, rather than the other way around. Of course, we all hope that we won’t have to have any of this in place - but as soon as it begins, you’ll be glad you did. 5. You need to keep your channels safe (and suitable for kids) It can’t really be overstated how important it is to keep your channels child-friendly and safe, ranging from being on top of abusive engagement and dealing with it, to flagging inappropriate usernames. This is illustrated perfectly by one of our team members, remembering a previous role: “I had to explain to my boss why 'banana hammock' was an unacceptable username in a kids virtual world, and I’ve also had to go into extreme detail about an escalation involving minors with the president of a company. The slang that was being used by the perpetrator was very particular, and this gentleman didn't understand the issue until I spelled it out to him." For the very real reason of protecting users, businesses need people who are on the ground, and understand cultural and subcultural nuances to ensure their spaces are kept clean no matter what! One last thing to consider; what’s the cost of NOT investing in high quality community management? Doing it in-house, doing it part time or sporadically, or not doing it at all means you’re infinitely less likely to be able to build a loyal following. When we operate in an online space that’s so crowded with competition and so open for anyone to contribute to, it’s vital both to stand out and to keep your brand and followers safe. If any of these points resonate with you or your team, get in touch for a chat about how StrawberrySocial can help. ### Social Media Competitions: 3 Top Tips A contest or competition can be an exciting and relatively easy way to juice engagement and extend the reach of your online community. Ensure you do the following: Know why you’re giving a prize away Make it worth your while by collecting useful data Be clear about the rules (and consistent in how you apply them) Top Tip 1: Define Your Goal You need to have a very clear objective in mind. Decide what success looks like as a first step. Some tactics to extend the reach of your contest: Require users to tag a friend (or two) in order to enter Use user-generated content as entries Run your contest like a campaign, with prelaunch, launch and post-launch phases Contests and competitions are great for promoting a new feature, building awareness of an existing programme, or collecting user-generated content. They’re also an ideal way to build engagement with your audience, so make sure you have some community managers in place, ready to leap in on comments and show your brand’s human side. Depending on your budget, some contests may even generate press and the opportunity to recruit new members or bring on staff. A successful contest is a campaign, so create pre-launch content that announces your contest, teases the prize and explains entry requirements. Then, have a big launch to open up acceptance of entries. During this phase, give your community periodic reminders, increasing in frequency as the entry window closes. Finally, enter a post-launch phase, where you’ll announce the winner and show off any user-generated content that’s been produced. Top Tip 2: Plan Your Data Collection Process The contest will provide you with an excellent opportunity to collect information, so decide how you will go about this and what you’ll do with that data once you have it. It goes without saying that you must observe data rules and regulations. Consider using only information you’ve already received consent to collect by restricting entry to existing community members. When you’re designing your entry requirements, this is the time to think about what you want to know about your community, and how best to ask. Do you need up-to-date information about member behaviour? Include a survey that asks pertinent questions, and use the answers as a requirement for a valid entry. A giveaway is also a great way to measure net promoter score (NPS) - a £100 prize budget for a short survey run every quarter can give you a valuable insight into how your product or service is being perceived over time. Top Tip Tip 3: Be Clear On Competition Rules Be explicit about the rules - who qualifies and how? Be clear about how you will pick the winner, how long the entry period is and what users need to do to have a valid entry. You should also specify when and how the prize will be delivered and what (if any) announcement you will make. Consider that not every winner will want to go public  with their win, especially if the prize is rather large. Have moderators and/or community managers on board to keep both engagement and behaviour on track. It important to allow for this in your campaign budget and be ready to set up clear moderation guidelines, engagement tone of voice and responses to likely questions, plus a contact workflow for escalations. Do a risk assessment beforehand to identify where issues could occur and have resolutions in place. This especially applies to online safety, underage users and product issues. Finally, we recommend that you run your contest like any other campaign - with clear pre-launch, launch and post-launch phases, pre-planned content and sufficient resourcing to cover the unexpected. Then, let the fun commence!   StrawberrySocial can help with all of this, just drop us a line. If you've got a competition campaign planned get in touch so we can help you include moderation in your budget - ready for sign-off. Check out our services: Community Management and Customer Support Charity Support ### To TikTok or not to TikTok. That is the question. I’ve recently become a pretty big fan of TikTok - their algorithm alone means that the more I’m on, the more I’m fed what I want to see, and on the flip side, what I don’t want to see is never in my preview. It’s a fluid algorithm that changes every time I’m logged in; gathering data about what I like and share, and what I don’t like and report. Two of the more unique features on the platform are stitching and duets. ‘Stitching’ This is when one creator downloads the content of another creator, and ‘stitches’ their own content to the end of the original piece. Think in terms of editing two pieces of recorded content together.  Check this out (one for you doggy owners out there) Duets These allow one creator to post a video alongside another creator’s video. Think: a musician plays the piano on one video while a singer performs on their video: Here's a fun (or slightly irritating if you're being a grump) example of a duet. In terms of safety features... TikTok uses a hybrid method of moderation (which is what we here at StrawberrySocial applaud!)  They use technology for reporting and AI learning to escalate content for review. They employ a team of human moderators to review and take appropriate action on the content they receive. In addition, many third-party support tool companies like SproutSocial currently offer moderation support for TikTok. But what has caught my attention is a method in which the content creators themselves have found a unique way to push back on harassment so that their channels and personal space remains safe and positive. Content creators on TikTok are stitching responses to their most vocal harassers with articulate arguments, in a calm demeanour. The visual of this action is extremely compelling. Watching the bravery these creators have to defend their authenticity in a quick, visual manner has strengthened my belief that empowering individuals to moderate their own pages can and should be part of a healthy, and vibrant community strategy. ⇐ LOVE this very smart example TikTok does employ traditional reporting mechanisms as well (reporting, privacy settings) - and their guidelines are thorough which is very encouraging. If you’re a brand wanting to reach as many fans as possible, TikTok should be a healthy part of your social media strategy. There are a variety of account levels you can create; however you’ll need a public, business account if you want anyone to interact fully with your content; and it goes without saying your moderation team will require specific training in order to understand how to monitor your content. Tiktok for business has a lot of support centre how-tos - and their Comment Management page outlines the list of basic moderation abilities you and your team can access “The Comment Management tool (located under the Ads Manager portion of your business account) allows you to view, reply to, like, block, pin, export, hide and filter the comments made on your ads directly on TikTok Ads Manager. You can use these features to manage comments individually or in bulk. You can also create a Blocked Word list, which the system will automatically use to hide comments that contain a Blocked Word.” How to get the most out of TikTok - 6 tips 1) Create Compelling Content Create content ... ... that is appropriate to your brand and tone of voice, but also make it compelling and attention grabbing. You want to think about creating something that will have an immediate impact on your audience. This is a fast moving platform, and you want to prevent viewers ‘swiping up’ to the next video. 2) Grab their attention straight away You have maybe three seconds to get someone to stop and watch for more. Start with the hook line, then hit them with your full message. 3) Keep your videos brief You have 60 seconds to share your message so maximise on your time. In addition, you only get 150 characters in the caption, including hashtags. The quicker you can create an emotional connection, the better. If you have longer content on say, YouTube, try editing some of them down to the best bits and link to your YouTube channel for those that wish to watch more. 4) Connect with your fans, influencers and followers Find others that have tagged you or similar topics in their videos - consider stitching content with your community members’ content. This can be especially impactful if you have influencers or fans that are competing in your fundraiser. Imagine the impact of a stitch between the fan and your team, giving a ‘high five’ or ‘shout out’ for their hard work raising funds! The ideas are endless if you’re creative. 5) Ensure your team is fully trained in TikTok Community and Safety Features While social platforms are pretty similar in their approach to safety, there’s more to unravel here. Because public videos can be stitched, your content may end up attached to creators that don’t have your best interests at heart. Your community and moderation teams need to be adept at following video edits where possible, and anyone sharing/stitching/dueting is doing so in a manner which is acceptable to you and your organisation. Your team can set who is allowed to stitch your content, and you should thoroughly read through the policies here. 6) Keep your Community and Moderation agency informed Your social content moderation agency will want to know when new content has been added so they can be extra diligent monitoring for community stitches, duets, and comments. By utilising either an integrated tool like SproutSocial, or using the TikTok Comment Management tools they're perfectly poised to moderate and comment on the best interactions straight away so you can remain present, current and positive with your community members. Overall, like all social media platforms, it’s vital that you and your brand continue to use these spaces to promote your products/services but should understand how the platform works, in order to ensure the safety of your followers and community of fans. You want your TikTok space to be positive, appropriate, fun and engaging whilst utilising all that it has to offer. So, what are you waiting for?! Grab us for help with your community management support. You can reach us here. ### 3 Top Tips for Social Media Marketing: paid ads are only part of the story... Social media marketing is one of the best ways to get your brand in front of a large number of people. Facebook for example boasts over 3 billion monthly active users, with an average of over 2 hours spent on the platform per day each. With that many potential consumers, it’s not a stretch to say that the vast majority of businesses will have customers engaging there in one way or another, and if not on Facebook then another platform. BUT. Like any form of marketing, it’s not as easy as popping an advert on your page and hoping they’ll come. You might consider what your ROI is, whether you’re reaching the right audience, how they’re interpreting your content and whether it’s all worth the effort. Why has your reach dropped, and why can’t you contact Instagram?! Social media marketing is getting a bad rap at the moment due to falling engagement and difficulty tracking results - it can feel like a hard slog, particularly compared to a couple of years ago. But it’s unfair to write it off without thinking through your understanding of social marketing, and how your brand can best use this fantastic method of reaching your audience. Constant and massive platform changes are regularly affecting reach. Tracking and attributing leads/sales accurately is almost impossible post iOS14 last year and results can be inconsistent. You have to be very much on your toes about new features and current metrics, and ensure your team is feeding back sentiment about your brand perception. But it’s not a lost cause - social media is still one of the most effective ways to get eyes on your content and engage both current and future customers. It will continue to be a key part of your marketing strategy. Whack-A-Mole for a new era It’s been said since the beginning of time (well, the beginning of advertising anyway) that customers need multiple touchpoints with your brand in order for the message to sink in, and for them to remember you when they come to order/buy/donate or whatever your goal happens to be. With such a wealth of constant information at our fingertips and all around us, this has become more important than ever, as we’re all more easily distracted than ever before. Given the challenges touched on above, it’s not necessarily realistic to put all your marketing eggs in the social media basket (especially without paid ads) and expect huge returns. But as part of your wider marketing strategy that takes into account every part of the user journey, social media can be the most incredible driver of community and loyalty (two-way engagement IS KEY). This is why it’s so important to a) be consistent, and b) make sure your social strategy (including moderation and community management) ties in with your wider brand and marketing activity. Everyone should be in on the process so that they can make smart choices when engaging your customers online - from removing the unwanted harassment to building positive relationships with your users. Make every touchpoint resonate, and it’ll be an invaluable step in the process. Top tips for making social media marketing work for your business 1. Know what you want from it With such versatility across platforms and such a huge variety of options, it’s easy to adopt  an ‘everything everywhere’ approach, and end up resonating with no-one. It will greatly help your chances of success if you know from the start what you want to achieve (e.g. brand awareness, web traffic, purchases) and steer every activity towards that goal. 2. Be consistent Don’t worry about being repetitive on social media - the only person that sees all your content is you! Keep that Whack-A-Mole popping up across your channels regularly, and your non-social channels too. Tell people why they need you - and make them think of you later. This won’t happen with a scattergun or inconsistent approach. 3. Be flexible Platforms change, consumers change and what works for you will change. Stay agile and willing to adapt, whether that’s trying a new platform if it’s where your audience is, utilising video more, changing how you engage your online customers or outsourcing your moderation. To chat to us about how we can help with strategy, execution, moderation and/or community management, get in touch here.   Check out our services: Community Management and Customer Support Charity Support Social Strategy Support ### Reputation is Everything! Oh and we've been featured in 'Your Business' Magazine Reputation is everything - it’s the trust your consumers have for your brand. If your reputation is damaged, it can be overwhelming and devastating. Nowadays, your company’s ongoing success is dependent on understanding what your consumers want and how it’s communicated online plus demonstrating best practice around online safety and trust. Taking time to review and prepare for potential risks can be the difference between success, or forking out the £££s to salvage your reputation. Online reputation management requires a deft hand when it comes to your digital brand persona. It involves strategically thinking through a multitude of areas including: messaging tone, engagement, support, safety and responsibility. You must take into consideration your people, your audience, current events, divisive topics, and more. And this isn’t something you present once and leave - it takes constant review, and improvement. In addition to managing brand reputation, history has proven how vital it is for every company - big or small, established or new - to understand and prepare for a potential brand crisis. Incorporating risk management and moderation as part of your business strategy should be considered just as important as your marketing and social media strategies. Every business executive understands the importance of having the best brand marketing team for its product, however, it’s equally important to cultivate your public-facing culture, behaviour and tone of voice; including how you plan to communicate with your audience in good times, and bad. Overall, we’ve found that the most successful online businesses all incorporate the same 5 key actions into their social and digital strategies. Below we outline our expert advice for a successful online social presence: Double-check your online marketing strategies with your online support vendor. This will help everyone better prepare for the inevitable customer questions and criticisms. Listen to your community team - they are the advocates for the people that are buying your products and know what they want, and don’t want! Know your rights and your audience. Moderation and guidelines for engagement shouldn’t be an afterthought. They’re there to protect you, and your customers. They should be fair across the board, and you will want to consider revisiting them regularly as society, and your product, changes. Have a crisis plan in place. Your social media moderation/community management agency are experts in crisis management - listen to them and work together to create ‘what if the worst happens’ best practices. This will likely reduce the amount of late night calls and freaked out staff feeling nervous about what to do. Leave the work to the experts. It’s taken us many years to understand the subtle nuances of online community and social media management. Not only that, but we work hard to ensure your teams can leave at the end of the day, trusting their work is in the right hands. How much time and attention do you give to what happens after your marketing plan goes live and you get actual feedback from your audience at large? And, what if something goes wrong and your brand is targeted? For more information about what StrawberrySocial brings to your brand protection table, check out this article in the most recent Your Business Magazine or contact us here. Check out our services: Community Management and Customer Support Charity Support Social Strategy Support ### Is UGC Working for Your Charity? Did you know?... The public believes UGC is 2.4 times more authentic than brand content.* *Business Wire analysis So, is it part of YOUR marketing and comms strategy? UGC can be an efficient, cost-effective way of reaching new people, and building relationships with current supporters. The Covid period has altered the marketing landscape, bringing UGC to the forefront of campaign strategy and changing the way consumers relate to brands. But what is user-generated content anyway? Put simply, UGC is content that’s been created by people outside the brand, rather than the brand themself. All the B's! The benefits of incorporating it into your strategy include: Budget-busting! Including a strong UGC element in a marketing strategy means fewer photoshoots and reduces the need for professional content creation. Particularly helpful in the current climate as the cost of living rises and budgets are stretched for businesses and consumers alike. Building authenticity - we're human! Content originating from a charity’s volunteers, beneficiaries or supporters is the strongest social proof out there, and can have much higher caché than brand content, even if it’s not as polished. This is something that particularly resonates as we try and reach younger generations, who have come of age among authentically-driven channels. Social media platforms are making ‘real’ content more important via a focus on short-form video for example, and brand campaigns are following suit for a reason. Blimin' great content! We all know that feeling of being stuck for ideas - having a bank of UGC is a great resource. Building community. Having a conversation with your audience is crucial for building relationships, and UGC is the perfect avenue. It also shows that you value your followers/supporters, and demonstrates to others that they could be featured in the same way. An increase in the big B! BRAND awareness - the more people getting involved and creating content, and then resharing that, the more people are talking about the brand. Take a look at these great examples If you’re yet to be convinced, have a look at cult campaigns such as Movember, which has funded 1250 men’s health projects globally and continues to gather pace annually, or the ALS Association’s Ice Bucket Challenge that raised $115 million around the world - all recent, memorable examples of incredible, large-scale UGC-based marketing. But it can also be as simple as sharing social media content - Marie Curie runs Instagram video diaries of their beneficiaries, whilst Support Dogs gets great reach via videos of fostered dogs, shot by the charity’s volunteers, for example Peggy’s Instagram. Even used in small, everyday ways, it’s a great way to shake things up and involve people in your brand. Our top 5 tips for utilising UGC in your charity social media marketing: Test your concept! If a UGC campaign is going to take off, it will need to appeal to a wide variety of people, so make sure you do your research beforehand, especially if it’s a big campaign. Hashtag hashtag hashtag! Set up a dedicated hashtag to track your engagement - it doesn’t have to be branded, but check who’s already used it before deciding. Process! Create a guide document. If it’s a certain form or style of content that you want, make sure to advise participants. For example, if you want to share lots of Instagram stories, tell them to shoot in good light, and use a portrait orientation. Ask permission from the bill payer :D Make sure you get permission to repost, and tag/give credit to the original creator. If you’d like to work with someone in particular, comment on their content, asking if you can contact them. And finally... 5. Keep it safe peeps! Be aware of safeguarding responsibilities when sharing people’s stories - it may be the case that you need signed consent, or need to be in touch with parents or key workers. For more information on UGC, charity comms and social media moderation, get in touch! Check out our services: Content moderation & community management Charity support Gaming moderation ### The Drum Recommends StrawberrySocial - oh yes indeedy! We’re incredibly proud to be recommended by one of our favourite global media platforms, which doubles as a fantastic marketing website and where we turn to for much of our industry news. So today we are shining the spotlight on The Drum, (Just in case you don’t already love it as much as we do!) About The Drum The Drum is a globally recognised media platform that shares industry news from all over the world. In addition, their monthly magazine showcases marketing that has changed the world. The Drum began in Glasgow circa 1980s where founders Gordon Young and Nick Creed began producing a magazine for their schoolmates. After launching several successful trade magazines, one, ScotMedia, outlived them all and later regenerated into The Drum as it is known today. In 1996, The Drum expanded its directorship to include Diane Young, and expanded its business portfolio as a result. Since the early years in Glasgow, The Drum has become the most widely read marketing website in Europe. What is “The Drum Recommends”? Part of what makes The Drum so unique is their belief in matching the right client to the right agency. At The Drum Recommends, you can search for agencies personally recommended by their team. The Drum’s recommendations don’t come easily - a thorough review of each vendor’s offerings and ratings is completed before they’re added to the list of recommended agencies. We’re proud to be able to say that StrawberrySocial is on The Drum’s prestigious list of recommended agencies, and you can check us out here. Learn more about how our cracking team of experts can help you sort your community management, moderation, customer service and social media strategies. We’re proud to work with many sectors including charities, online-delivery, telecom, high-risk industries and more. We highly recommend subscribing to The Drum to get up-to-the-minute marketing and social media information; and for more information about what we can offer your organisation, please visit us at here or you can contact us at Tel: 0203 8731092 / info@strawberrysocial.com Check out our services: Community Management and Customer Support Charity Support Social Strategy Support ### #MakeKindnesstheNorm on Random Act of Kindness Day Did you know we spend the equivalent of around 22 years, one month and four days of our lives online? Yes really! Adults typically spend around 59 hours per week using the internet: on social media, gaming and doing online admin (i.e. household bits ‘n’ bobs such as banking etc.). The internet, and particularly social media, offers endless opportunities to interact and engage with people globally but are these interactions always with the best intentions? And how likely are we, in a world when it has become the norm to passively scroll through feeds, to be proactively kind to others online? At StrawberrySocial we believe in using the internet for good and it’s important to us that we help keep the places where we spend so much of our time safe for individuals and brands alike. So, on Random Act of Kindness Day, what better way to spread cheer than amongst the online communities where we interact most. Let's start with 5 easy ways to be proactively kind today: 1. Leave a genuine positive comment on a post or blog instead of just hitting the like button. 2. Share a positive or inspiring story from another account. Make sure you tag them! 3. Share some accounts that make you smile. It’s lovely to show appreciation. And, because we know some of you are asking here are some of our faves (do share some of your’s in the comments, and keep em clean people) - Aldi on Facebook, any of Innocent Drinks’ channels quite frankly, bwb.artist on TikTok, Fesshole on Twiter, Becky Holmes Hates Spinach (and spammers it seems) and who doesn’t like someone who raps about cats? We purr in your general direction Iammoshow! oh and we have to include WorkInSocialTheySaid, just ‘cause. 4. Engage with others. If someone has taken time to comment on your post, respond to them in a genuine way and start chatting. 5. Spread awareness of a favourite charity by sharing one of their posts, blogs, or events. Charities do some really uplifting and fun things online, get involved! Kindness isn’t just for one day though and with this year’s RAK theme #MakeKindnessTheNorm, it’s important to consider your online community and the impact of your established routines. We asked our StrawberrySocial team of community management experts for some top tips on online kindness, and (not being a particularly quiet bunch) this is what they said: Lead by example If you are managing an online community, be abundantly clear from the start how the group will operate and encourage kindness and positivity in all your interactions and especially the posts you share. The rules and guidelines should be in a clear place for all new members to read and agree to. Make it a nice place to be. Invest time in your community Spend time connecting with your members, getting to know and understand them. Build relationships by chatting about life in general, sharing interests (such as pets, poems or weird and wonderful hobbies) or allowing members to share what they’re proud of. Promoting light-hearted and positive chatter helps establish a community with a kind ethos. Bring people together Sharing posts around themes that touch each person’s daily life can really help others to feel less alone and provide opportunities for your members to connect in a positive way. This has been really important throughout the pandemic when people have been feeling isolated and ended up turning more and more to their online communities for connection. Type Happy As a moderator, even if your day isn’t going well personally, it’s important to “smile from the wrists down” says our community manager Jo (now there’s an image). Smiling and keeping things upbeat on live feeds is infectious and it works wonders. A genuine compliment - ... no matter how small ... can change the course of someone’s day. If someone is honestly sharing with you and your community, a simple "That's amazing!" or "I'm so happy for you!" goes a long way. You get to display your incredible empathy, and they are rewarded knowing that someone not only listens to them, but truly cares about their feelings. And if you are a member of an online community, be friendly. It isn’t possible (or even human) to agree with everyone you meet online but friendly discussion is possible when it is approached in a kind, thoughtful way. And finally a word from our CEO, Rebecca: "Nowadays, when online cynicism is celebrated and where it’s the norm to ‘cancel’ anyone who shares a different view… it’s all the more important to remember that social media does not speak for everyone. The cynical may roll their eyes at ‘be kind’ as just another gimmick but ignore them. At some point we need to ‘take the internet back’ - amplify and encourage all that is good about it. Many of our clients are doing incredible work online, providing communities with a real place of safety and support (see NSPCC, Samaritans, NHS, Versus Arthritis). They prioritise ensuring that their platforms are monitored, moderated and provide trusted avenues of help to those who need it most. This approach promotes discussion and understanding of others. Yes, many of the topics can be hard to deal with as people share their feelings about disability or the abuse they may have suffered as a child (or are still suffering now), but the fact that they can share (without leaving their house) and that we can help our clients to point them towards help is a hugely positive thing. And, if the Twittersphere is getting too much for you, either bid it farewell or, remember that less than 30% (approx. my maths is not great!) of the UK actually have an account (and many of those may be duplications, dormant or bots). You can bet that it’s the very small percentage of people who are the ones who make the most noise. Social platforms are a good place to raise awareness of issues - in a positive online discussion/debate - and we are certainly onboard with that. However, when it comes to negativity and abuse, remember, social media does not represent the voice of everyone. As in daily life, those that shout the loudest often get the most attention and, unfortunately, social media has provided them with the amplification they crave. As the saying goes, "take it all with a pinch of salt." So, please surround yourself with the positive and stay away from the negative voices online. This Random Acts of Kindness Day, it’s important to do good for others but also, be kind to yourself." Check out our services: Community Management and Customer Support Charity Support Social Strategy Support ### 5 Tips on Managing Multi-Lingual Social Media Campaigns If you’re running a marketing campaign in several different markets, it can be complex to coordinate and manage different teams, project managers and translators. When it’s a social media campaign, the potential challenges multiply, as it’s not only the content that needs to be understood by the audience as intended, but the community management and moderation. Challenges faced in the public engagement part of campaigns, can include gross misinformation, fraudulent, offensive and even dangerous content, particularly when children often have such easy access to online campaigns. Content must be moderated for all this, whilst remaining authentic and on-brand. At StrawberrySocial, our team have worked on a number of high profile global campaigns, and to share with us some considerations of running campaigns on this scale, we spoke to StrawberrySocial’s Shaz Collier, who has over 20 years front-line experience specialising in crisis management and digital safety. Having previously worked for fast-paced social media agencies, online gaming companies and AOL, Shaz has trained and managed large, multi-lingual agency teams for a wide range of clients such ESPN, LEGO and Sony Mobile. “During my time at a previous agency, I managed a campaign for Don Cuervo (Dons of Tequila) and ran the Sony Mobile project. The Sony campaign ran in more than 10 languages. It’s not just the languages that need to be taken into consideration, it’s the wider cultural context. It’s vital that teams have a deeper knowledge, including dialects and slang for example, for a true understanding of what’s being said, as well as how to respond appropriately.” It’s certainly key to recruit content moderators up to speed in cultural differences and linguistic nuance. So can’t we just use Google Translate? Well, the short answer is no! It’s fine for the odd word when translating into your own language, but doesn’t take into account context or tone (which can vastly affect meaning in some languages), and as a brand, is likely to make you look amateur if you use it exclusively. We’ve certainly encountered the challenge of an unexpected languages popping up that needed resourcing, , but it’s always better to do that recruitment piece rather than trying to wing it on Google Translate.  Rebecca, StrawberrySocial’s Founder & CEO, has 17+ years of experience in online moderation and safety. She has worked on large global moderation accounts for brands such as Nokia, Diageo and Sony Ericsson (now Sony Mobile). She says, "With Nokia we were, at one point, working across 20+ Facebook channels in 15+ languages. For this we had to set up global contact details for reporting authorities (i.e. in different countries) as well as making clear, culturaly relevant notes where necessary. I.e. Some regions were culturally more sensitive to dress codes than others, this also was reflected in how the names of deities and holiday celebrations were treated. There are many ways to offend your audience in some regions so we worked hard to ensure that this didn’t happen and that the brand was protected. We also had to come up with large lexicons that required the help of our native language moderators to update with the latest ‘slang’. Discussions of these could be quite ‘enlightening’ for us all!” So what are the top 5 things to remember in order to get the best from your campaign? Expect the unexpected. Plan ahead and make sure you have enough resources in place to cover, whether it’s budget, languages or people to cover spikes in traffic. Be agile. Have clear and comprehensive guidelines for the moderation team to follow. Include as much detail as possible. This will save time in the long run as the team will be able to work quickly and will need to ask fewer questions. Ensure that multi-lingual teams are not only proficient in their languages, they also have a good cultural knowledge of a particular area or country. Have a very clear escalation path for each region, this should include workflows for the internal teams as well as where the brand is brought in and possibly local or global reporting authorities such as local hotlines and emergency services, CEOP, InHope, IWF, Interpol, NCMEC, VGT, etc.). Include screenshots and examples of where actions may need to be taken as well as instances of where cultural nuance is of vital importance. It's a great way to ensure the team completely understands what is required of them. At StrawberrySocial we currently cover moderation in English, French, Spanish (European and Latin American Spanish), German, Italian, Portuguese, Dutch, Danish, Swedish and Norwegian. We are also able to source other language teams due to our many years in the industry - we have a big network. For more info about how we can help you with multi-lingual campaigns, get in touch! Check out our services: Community Management and Customer Support Charity Support Social Strategy Support ### Social Media Managers Have Feelings Too   Meet our first client blogger Joe Freeman. Joe is an experienced digital lead, focussing on communications and engagement: "I’m passionate about how we can use digital for good, delivering better services and experiences. I currently lead social and digital media work for NHS.UK within NHS Digital, working across national health campaigns aiming to improve health and prevent long term health issues. For a while now, I’ve been wanting to share some experiences of managing large, public social media channels during the pandemic. There’s a lot to say, and I’ve not really been able to find the time or — to be quite honest — the motivation to put some words down. One thing that caught up with me in the latter part of 2021 was the sheer volume of negativity directed at us through our social channels. It crept up on me, and that took me a bit by surprise. "We manage social channels so we should just be used to all this, right?" The negativity and criticisms felt like they all increased dramatically as we moved into winter. The threats, the wild misinformation, the accusations. The racism, and the xenophobia. The all-round hideous takes about anyone and anything; from the NHS itself to doctors and even the people posting content to social media channels. Nothing was off limits. But it became sort of an addicitive vicious circle; watching the news or a PM’s press conference, publishing social content, watching the abuse roll in and deciding what to do about it... And it has been like this for nearly two years. "Turns out this will mentally take a toll on you." Funnily enough, despite being immersed in this darker side of the pandemic and social, it wasn’t purely COVID content that triggered my slight struggle to deal with what we were seeing. It was the backlash against the RNLI that caused me real pause for thought and the recognition of how I wasn’t quite handling things well. It all made me very angry and made all the negative engagement I was reading online as part of my own job that little bit harder to deal with. I got to thinking about tips on how to cope with managing social channels, because this anger and frustration at the abuse we were receiving wasn’t healthy. My team and I chatted about all this in a quite open and honest conversation, and I thought others might appreciate a handy reminder of not only some advice we came up with, but a reminder also that managing social channels is hard and should never be underestimated. Here we go… It’s ok to get upset You are human, and it doesn’t make you bad at your job. Just because you’re paid to manage social channels, that doesn’t mean you have a heart of stone or don’t care about people or the world. There are some really awful and offensive takes out there and being surrounded by them all day — seeing a side of the world outside of your carefully curated social media feeds — will obviously have some impact on you. Don’t pretend otherwise. Try to separate yourself from your organisation You may love — or at least have a close affinity to — where you work, but the problems and challenges you read on social are those of who you work for, not you. Your job is to understand what’s happening and choose to escalate or ignore these things as appropriate, using your excellent judgment in deciding what to do. Ultimately, your job is to be aware of what’s going on and in a lot of cases, share that so others have a better understanding of what’s happening in the world. Often, it’s not a social media manager’s job to decide what should be done about something; you are part of a team who can collaborate and understand the bigger picture of what’s happening. You are a valuable member of that wider team, not the person who’s solely responsible for handling issues. Report content I could write a whole blog post on reporting content and the failings of social platforms. But where you can, report the stuff that is abusive, false or offensive. This might make you more annoyed when Twitter come back and tell you the racist abuse you flagged doesn’t break their community guidelines. But every once in a while, it works. And makes you feel a little better… Follow accounts that bring you joy My Twitter feed is full of stuff relating to news and health, because that’s my job. It’s also full of wonderful people who do bring me joy, but will also talk about the stuff I would do well to avoid sometimes. To counter that, follow more accounts that bring you joy. Things that make you laugh, ideally. Or just things to cleanse your timeline, like cats doing stupid things I would highly recommend FessHole on Twitter as a good starting place for some joy and amusement. And yes, this is 100% an open invitation for you to share your joy-bringing social accounts in the comments or by @ ing me on Twitter… Recognise that for social managers, digital detoxing isn’t always possible I see a lot of this; people taking a break from social, or doing a digital detox. It’s a great idea, and more power to you. But for me, it’s hard. I do really love social media, generally. I like to be up to date and aware of what’s happening in the world — I just need to find better ways of handling the bad stuff. I struggle to switch off, and a lot of the time, I don’t actually want to. So as a social media manager, don’t worry if you don’t feel you can turn your phone off or detox from digital completely. That’s ok. But instead, do things to reduce the frustrations… Maybe commit to not using one app for a day, so you’re not always checking everything When you’re not working, check in less often. Say, first thing and in the evening? SHARE THE BURDEN. There might be others in your team or wider organisation who can do the checking in on socials for you. You are but one person, and you can’t do it all. Remember; social media is not representative of everyone The hideous words you read on social are from a relatively small (but annoyingly vocal) subset of people. They do not really represent the wider population or the most common opinion about a subject. It just seems that way because all these people are finding their way to your social feeds to share their unfunny, terrible takes on a subject that in truth, they probably know very little about. Social media can be a huge force for good and you are right to champion this, but recognise the bad points and how detrimental is can be for everyone, on many levels. Document your moderation guidance What is offensive? What comments should you hide or delete? Write up your processes and policy for managing social channels, and what constitutes abuse that you won’t tolerate. Provide clear examples for others to follow in their actions, and be open with these guidelines so people know what to expect. And deliver them consistently. Call it out This might be a tricky one, depending on where you work or what you’re allowed to do. And whilst I can’t always do this within my responsibilities for the NHS on social platforms, I 100% advocate calling out abuse and misinformation online. I want to work on how we can appropriately do this more. Start by talking to your comms team. Your organisation will have values that should be present in everything it does; so stand up for people, challenge the abusers and state that you won’t tolerate offensive comments on your social platforms. In the grand scheme of things, it might have little impact. But it will make you feel better, and rightly shows others what matters to your organisation. Walk away Not, like, forever. But take a break from the channels. Tell someone in your team you need a break for a while and share the load. This is ok. You cannot function if you’re always on, so manage your channels with the resource you have available. Definitely have an out-of-hours rota (note to self; write up formal out-of-hours rota). If you’re in a small team, or you’re the only one who manages your socials, you are entitled to help. Talk to your manager/s and get the support you need. So, that’s a list of some things that social media mangers might want to consider to help make their lives easier. In fact, this should be read by everyone who works in any organisation that uses social so that they can all understand the pressures that their social teams often come under. Do I do all these things? No. Did writing about them help and remind me about my own mental health and wellbeing when it comes to by job? Absolutely. As ever, this isn’t an exhaustive list and I recognise these tips won’t work for everyone. I would love to hear challenges on these and further advice of things that work for you. Comments are open, and you can find me on Twitter if that’s preferred. Hopefully I won’t reply immediately as I’ll be taking a break… :) Hat tip to Wunmi, Nicola, Cal and Eva for the conversations and listening to me moan. A big thank you to Joe for being our first guest blogger from our group of super clients. Our team can certainly identify with this blog topic...   ### StrawberrySocial Digs Out the Old Crystal Ball for 2022 What online safety, social media and brand marketing trends should community managers and brand marketers look out for in 2022? We asked the StrawberrySocial team for their predictions to help you plan for the coming year. Online Safety in 2022 “We can only hope that all social media platforms employ better online safety measures and much strong terms of service, so that decisions on reported content are made fairly and promptly. Their decisions on such content need to be crystal clear for the end user to clearly understand. I predict a major overhaul of some of the more widely used platforms for their reporting methods and online safety measures.” Jo – Community Manager & Moderator “Hoping that all forums are able to tighten up security and make online safety their number one priority.” Kola - Moderator “Facebook has made noises about ‘better moderation tools’ for 2022. I’m not sure whether to say ‘it’s about time’ or worry about what further hoops that will mean we need to jump through. Twitter will need to up it’s game around online hate as their channel has become increasingly toxic.” Rebecca Fitzgerald, Founder & CEO “Brands and communities will need to start taking a more aggressive stance with platforms and demanding their cooperation. In the interim, they’ll need to put together their own policies and action plans for every possible contingency, because I expect the platforms will continue to drag their feet.” Thomas - Social Media Manager Social Media in 2022 “Moderation is fast becoming the ‘in’ thing as more and more social media channels open up with hosts covering all sorts of subjects.” Kola – Moderator “I’m still hoping that the actual term ‘social media’ will morph into sub-sections that clearly describe all that the term involves. Saying we’re a social media company automatically means people think we’re a digital marketing agency. ‘Moderation’ is still not completely understood and appears to go under the term ‘community management’ but there are different aspects within that term too.” Rebecca Fitzgerald, Founder & CEO “I think we’ll see an even greater focus on short video and visual content and accounts will need to think even more creatively to stand out from the crowd. I also expect there will be a greater focus on social commerce with transactions happening natively on more platforms.” Rachel - Social Media Manager “People will start to move away from Meta owned platforms.” Andy - Moderator Brand Marketing in 2022 “I think there will be more socially conscious brands emerging in response to the increasing importance of sustainability among consumers and an economy that is slowly recovering from the ravages of Covid-19.” Kola – Moderator “We’ll see a lot more from brands around ‘green’ initiatives. There are a lot of changes that organisations have to make legally as the green agenda develops and I think this will reflect in the marketing they push out there." Rebecca Fitzgerald, Founder & CEO “The best campaigns in 2022 will be the ones that make great use of user generated content, especially if the idea starts with the public and brands jump into viral moments in creative and authentic ways.” Thomas - Social Media Manager What do you think will happen in 2022? Feel free to share your predictions with us in the comments.   Check out our services: Community Management and Customer Support Charity Support Social Strategy Support ### StrawberrySocial's Year in Review: 10 Highlights of 2021 As 2021 draws to a close, we look back on the key milestones achieved and celebrate the great work done by the StrawberrySocial team over the last 12 months. 1. The StrawberrySocial team is now 40 strong It's the people that make StrawberrySocial different; empathic and clever experts who always turn out great work. During the particularly challenging circumstances that came with a pandemic, we are proud to have built such a resilient, trusted and talented team while continuing to prioritise the healthy work-life balance and flexible working culture that StrawberrySocial was founded on. 2. We celebrated our 6th birthday in March Where does the time go? 3. Signed 7 new clients and worked on 13 new projects New clients this past year included the amazing SuperAwesome (of Epic Games) plus one we've always wanted to work with - Samaritans. And, 2021 has certainly been the year of the charity Facebook Challenge Group! It’s been crazy busy and client’s have seen some great fundraising results - plus very happy communities. Several of the StrawberrySocial team also took part in Challenge Groups, proving that we wholeheartedly support the work the charity sector does (and also had a lot of fun along the way). 4. 25% growth in professional training completed StrawberrySocial's team is made up of expert community and social media professionals. We hand-select team members, screening for sensitivity, emotional intelligence and empathic listening skills. Team members have online safety qualifications such as CEOP and NSPCC (all that work on sensitive/youth projects are put onto the NSPCC online safety course by us) and are Moderation Gateway certified and DBS checked. This year, our team continued to excel, with Amandine and Shane being promoted to Team Leaders on NHS Digital and Becca completing the National Crime Agency’s training course - Understanding Online Child Sexual Abuse. 5. CEO Global Today Award Win Every year CEO Today Magazine identifies and honours the most respected companies and their C-Level executives who lead the way on a global stage. This year, our CEO Rebecca Fitzgerald was recognised! 6. StrawberrySocial featured in the press We were delighted to receive coverage in some excellent publications and websites this year, including Legacy Club and Startup Magazine. 7. StrawberrySocial was a CharityComms Digital Conference headline sponsor We were incredibly proud to sponsor the stellar 2021 CharityComms Digital Conference in November. StrawberrySocial Founder, Rebecca Fitzgerald, shared her top online reputation and engagement best practice advice and tips at the event. Click here for a summary if you missed it and here. This excellent event is also now avaliable on demand from the CharityComms website. 8. Samaritans FB Challenge Campaign Mental health is a core value for us here at StrawberrySocial (and is one of the reasons Rebecca founded the company) so taking on Samaritans as a client this year was a huge boost. We now get the chance to work with Samaritans on their FB Challenge Groups and their social channels. We are incredibly proud to work with such a lovely bunch of people. 9. We celebrated our 1 year anniversary as a Living Wage Employer 2021 marks a year since StrawberrySocial was accredited as a Social Media Moderation Agency through The Living Wage Foundation. Trust is the number one answer when talent is asked why they stay with an organisation. When you are accredited by Living Wage this tells your team, and prospective new staff, that you’re an organisation that values employees and contractors enough to pay them a decent wage. The work of the moderator needs to be more highly valued throughout the industry and we strongly encourage that. 10. A record year of high growth at StrawberrySocial Our recent annual accounts showed that we have grown by approximately 50% as compared to the previous year! We are hugely excited about it all and also… a tad knackered! So, not a bad year, all in all! A HUGE thank you to our clients, partners and friends, and to our wonderful StrawberrySocial team for your dedication, expertise and hard work. Here’s to a productive and fulfilling 2022! Check out our services: Community Management and Customer Support Charity Support Social Strategy Support ### CharityComms Digital Conference 2021: Top Takeaways for Charity Marketers This year’s CharityComms digital conference - Putting People First in a Digital World - was packed with helpful advice and insider tips from a range of charity communication and marketing experts and leaders. Here’s a reminder of the impressive lineup: https://www.charitycomms.org.uk/events/2021-charitycomms-digital-conference Of course there was a wealth of valuable information and insights, but we’ve pulled together some of our highlights for those who may have missed it. Note, all sessions are available on demand here. Online Reputation & Engagement: The Dos and Don’ts StrawberrySocial’s CEO, Rebecca Fitzgerald, touched on the fear that some charities have around engaging on social media and shared actionable, best practice tips on how to protect your charity’s reputation online. “Everyone has an opinion and it’s often magnified and undiluted on social media, so - it helps to have a plan. Have a clear idea as to exactly what your organisation stands for and then list the reactions that may result. Have a line and an approach for each, and have it signed off in advance. Ensure that stance is clear when it comes to the content you post and your moderation.” Watch the recording. For more social media tips and advice from StrawberrySocial, check out 5 Tips for Communication in Times of Crisis Fireside Chat: Weathering the Storm - Dealing With Negative Media Coverage Rich Ward, Senior Social Media Manager at RNLI gave an insight in how to deal with negativity inthe press, following controversy surrounding the RNLI’s rescue of migrants earlier this year. His top tip: have a general community management crisis approach in place so that you're ready for whatever arises, and you know what your approach to putting out content is going to be. Rich also shared his advice on how to deal with trolls, including ensuring you have a published community policy. Have clear and robust social media lines ready so you can answer questions and genuine critique. Engaging and explaining to people can sometimes turn things around and promote understanding. He highlighted the importance of making the distinction between abusive comments and people who have genuine concerns. How do you take care of your wellbeing during a comms crisis? Crisis response is a real team effort, so teams need to make sure they’re supporting each other at all times. Rich suggested applying keyword filters to stop the most harmful comments even reaching the inbox. And share wins! Celebrate milestones or targets reached. Encourage regular breaks from community management and a rota so it doesn’t fall to one person. It’s a good idea to have various teams who are trained on community management so that if you are stretched you can call on other areas of the business to help. How To Use Games and Streaming to Engage Your Audience Georgia Patton from The British Red Cross gave a fascinating insight into how she used gaming in order to engage audiences, and make them feel part of fundraising, not just on one end of a single transaction. Gaming and streaming have been used in the US for years to drive charity donations, but we don’t do it so much in the UK. It can be an ideal way to reach the elusive Gen Z, who (as marketers will tell you) are not loyal to brands themselves. Gaming can take many forms, and should be unique to each organisation, fitting in with the cause, personality and resources of the charity. It’s a very unique situation to have both the fundraiser and donor live in the same space, and it’s crucial to use that interactivity to your advantage. An example of this would be streaming of content, with donors affecting what’s happening on screen. It’s a situation where influencers and celebrities can make an incredible impact, for instance ‘when we get to £5000, I’ll dye my hair pink, get to £10,000 and I’ll shave it off’. It makes viewers feel involved and part of the process, and that personal feeling is valuable. Georgia’s key tip for including gaming in your strategy was that charities don’t all need to follow the same approach (mass participation, corporate, social-based etc). Keep it authentic and genuine. Everyone talks in this space, and brands can do damage if they’re not real. Innovation: Tapping into The Cultural Zeitgeist The Samaritans Innovation team gave a fascinating insight into their new initiative this year, which was The Feel Good Book Club - a monthly book subscription box full of beautiful books to enhance wellbeing. The box was a brilliant way of engaging new and existing supporters of the charity, with an overarching theme of wellbeing and feeling good - a relevant overlap with Samaritans’ day to day work. The team ran an active Facebook group to accompany the subscription, which gave them a new method of engaging with subscribers in a way that’s relevant to them, and their interests. The chance to survey members each month means they keep up the conversation and can act on feedback - making people feel involved, and improving the product and service. It’s a great case study of how charities can give people a tangible experience and use that to then convert subscribers to Samaritans supporters in a wider sense and on a more long-term basis. Whilst here we’re scratching the surface of the value imparted across the two days, the above have been some of the key takeaways that we’ll be watching and implementing with our clients over the following months. Thank you, as ever, to the super team at CharityComms for an excellent event. See the wrap up from CharityComms - Putting People First in a Digital World.   Check out our services: Community Management and Customer Support Charity Support Social Strategy Support ### Online Reputation & Engagement: 5 Steps to Success for Charities StrawberrySocial Founder, Rebecca Fitzgerald, shared a phenomenal amount of best practice advice and tips on this important topic at the CharityComms Digital Conference recently. Here’s a summary of the key points for those who missed it. There are 5 key areas to cover when it comes to online reputation and engagement. Persona People Safety & Responsibility Politics & Divisive Topics Budget 1. Persona Your charity’s story is a huge part of its reason for existing and is its appeal but have you taken this story and translated it into not only what your online persona looks like but how it behaves? It’s important that your voice and the support you offer is consistent both on and offline. How do you want to be perceived and what help does your audience need? Invite some followers to a research session, ask them questions as to what they want to see and how they want you to approach them and share information. Ensure you have a clear stance on key topics such as #MeToo, #BLM and LGBTQ and have messaging agreed and in place. 2. People Think about all the people who represent your organisation, from employees and suppliers, to volunteers, celebrities and influencers. Do you have a clear social media policy in place for employees, volunteers and suppliers? Have you done due diligence checks on the celebrities and influencers you work with? Get ahead of any PR issues that may arise in future. Ensure you have social media policies, robust contracts, and DBS checks in place. Do a deep dive on the people who make up your organisation, with the help of your HR department. If you don’t, you can be sure others will. 3. Safety & Responsibility You have a duty of responsibility to your audience. Especially if it’s a vulnerable one. Consideration for mental health is key for many charity audiences – illnesses and disabilities place a huge strain on both sufferers and those around them. Your first escalation workflow and approach could focus on this. What type of posts might you see? Categorise them and then build a workflow around this – we use ‘Important’, ‘Serious’ and ‘Emergency’ to define different levels of approach. 4. Politics & Divisive Topics Everyone has an opinion and that opinion is magnified (and very often undiluted) on social.The good news is there are ways to spot issues coming and be prepared to deal with them and even cut them short. You need to have a clear idea as to exactly what your organisation stands for and, then, list the reactions that may result. Have a ‘line’, an approach for each one. And have it signed off in advance. Make a list of everything that you could see going wrong. Brainstorm this in a room with colleagues. think of everything from small everyday niggles up to the worst-case scenarios. Look at what you’ll allow users to discuss. If you set your rules out clearly and maintain them, useful conversations can take place. Be consistent with how you engage and monitor all conversations. This will help the audience know where you’ve set the limits and will know when they chose to break them. Make a list of the activist groups and individuals who are vocal and have an opposite view to you or have a history of causing trouble. You can set up a moderation tool to flag up potential trouble. Hootsuite is a good tool for monitoring keywords and isn’t expensive. Read our top 5 tips on dealing with the dark side of social > A word on workflows: Always have clear workflows for all risk elements and how they can be dealt with. Look at examples from other organisations. Review what they did and learn from them (the good and the not-so-great). Have these workflows maintained and updated regularly by a central person/team. Require regular reviews from all involved. You could set up a monthly quiz to refresh understanding and to keep the information top of mind. Log all outcomes and learn from them. 5. Budget Always have regular moderation coverage and a bank of emergency hours as a line items in your annual budget. It’s easier to have it pre-approved than it is to try to source it during an emergency. Look at your campaigns across the year and learn from them. What moderation support did you need and what did it cost? Build that in each year, allowing for planned campaigns, challenge groups or upcoming big events. Hungry for more helpful Online Reputation & Engagement content? Check out some of our other blogs: Our Top Tips on Brand Reputation Management Facebook Challenge Groups - Our Top Tips ...And stay tuned for a link to the video presentation! Check out our services: Community Management and Customer Support Charity Support Social Strategy Support ### Top Tips on Reporting for Online Communities When you’re working on a large, very active community or social media account, it can be easy to lose your place. Tickets are coming in, engagement is going out and then, there’s last minute tweaks and approvals. It can feel impossible to keep it all in your head, so we say, don’t try! Your campaign needs a reporting strategy. Well designed reports are invaluable, especially for shift-based moderation projects. The higher the volume, the more important reporting becomes. When the campaign topic is sensitive, or there's frequent escalations, they're crucial. Here's three tips from our own 16+ years of experience managing and moderating campaigns at scale. 1. Build the reporting into the workflow, and use templates Collect information throughout the campaign by building it into your workflows. Train new moderators and managers on how to collect, format and enter the information you need to know. Assign Team Leaders to spot check their contributions, and provide more training as needed. Provide as many templates as necessary, and revise them when needed. Templates are especially crucial for escalation procedures or other high-stakes situations. When the information collected could become a part of a legal matter, a template protects you. 2. Collect trends while they're top of mind If you're watching trends for qualitative analysis, capture this information in real time. Your team will not be able to remember everything they’ve seen if you're polling only weekly or even worse, monthly. For shift-based work, it's a great idea to place trend reporting at the end of the shift workflow. Capture when things are fresh. You never know when a campaign will take off, and not being on top of trends may mean losing out on valuable insights. 3. Use reporting for your team as well We all know that moderation and community management can be high stakes. But humans are adaptable, and we adjust to stress. That can be a good thing, but sometimes it allows us to burn out. You can get ahead of this by including space for your team's attitudes and feelings in your reporting. Provide an open field at the end of a report, where team members can give feedback on how the work is affecting them. If you don't ask, you may not know until it's too late, and your team member has to drop out. It’s especially important for challenging or emotionally fraught campaigns; your team needs internal support. Your reports can help you to provide targeted help that meets them where they are. You have a responsibility. Pulling together an approach to reporting that meets your needs can be difficult. You need to really think through your goals and objectives at every step. Do you need professional guidance? If you want to be sure you’re getting the most out of your campaigns and supporting your team with a carefully designed reporting strategy, we can help. StrawberrySocial’s offerings include social media strategy, community management and social media customer service, with an emphasis on effective, actionable reporting.   Get in touch today and find out how we can help you put together a world-class reporting strategy for your product or community.   And don't forget our Christmas cover! Check out our services: Community Management and Customer Support Charity Support Social Strategy Support ### Plan Community Management Cover for Christmas Now! It seems to happen every year, like clockwork - your team starts putting in their leave requests and suddenly it seems like everyone’s unavailable. And, don't mention the time suck that is the Christmas campaign... The holiday season is, without fail, the busiest time of year for StrawberrySocial. That’s because, well darn it, you're a hard working social media bod who deserves some time off plus you don’t want to be struggling with not enough hours in the day (or night) to cover your campaign/s. While you can plan your content and set your editorial calendar up to post on your behalf, there’s innumerable ways things can go pear-shaped. You need a hoo-man. We start gearing up for the holidays early - no doubt your team is already getting campaigns in order, editing assets and polishing copy to perfection. Oh and then there's a budget to wrestle with. We can help. After another stressful and unpredictable year, your team will be looking forward to taking a moment to exhale and reconnect with friends and family. The last thing you’re going to want to do is take on an unfolding social media crisis. You’ll want to have plenty of fabulously experienced and trained eyes on your content in the days leading up to the holidays. It's also crucial to have someone available to answer questions, as problems don’t take any days off and your users can (and will) reach out at any time. It’s important to maintain your quality control over the holiday period - that could mean having a fully trained team on hand to vet competition entries (check out our tips for running competitions), approve or reject user generated content, or reply to incoming queries. The holiday period is a HUGE time for campaigns - last year, Strawberry moderators processed tens of thousands of entries (in multiple languages!) for a wildly successful Christmas campaign promoting a well known children’s media property - it was magic... ✨ With time off, your customers are available for creative out-of-home campaigns too -- one memorable client experience hid prizes all over the country, and Strawberry moderators were there to screen photos, spot cheaters and give internal teams a much needed break. All this, without compromising the excitement and momentum of a great Christmas campaign. By planning ahead and resourcing all of your accounts and campaigns with StrawberrySocial moderators andcommunity managers, you can ensure that this holiday season, you’ll be nice and toasty with your feet propped up by the fire where they belong! Interested? Get in touch and we’ll come up with a custom holiday coverage for your business. And we’re blimin' good problem-solvers too and so are happy to chat through any bumps in the road when it comes to planning and budget.   Check out our services: Community Management and Customer Support Charity Support Social Strategy Support ### The Dark Side of Social Media Social media’s ‘dark side’ has been increasingly visible to us all during these difficult times. From Covid conspiracy theorists to the torrent of online hate aimed mainly at black football players at the World Cup. It certainly seems as if social media itself is providing a space for anger and hatred. According to a 2019 report by The Alan Turing Institute "...between 30-40% of people in the UK have seen online abuse (and) that 10-20% of people in the UK have personally been targeted by abusive content online." Online abuse can take many forms, from fake news to death threats - along with racism, homophobia, sexism, the politicisation of health, child abuse content… the list can seem endless. Online safety and brand protection professionals, such as StrawberrySocial, are becoming increasingly vital in the battle to keep social media a safe space for individuals and organisations alike. This topic formed the final panel discussion at the recent CharityComms conference - "Beyond the algorithm: social media for charities". It stirred up a lot of chat, so much so that we were inspired to put together our our five top tips for dealing with the dark side. 1. Risk assessment List any possible subject issues that do or might affect your organisation. How could that manifest online (what phrases might be used, or visual assets) and who would be the people or organisations that target you? Assess the potential risk of trouble coming from within your company, or charity – including branch closures, redundancies and scandals amongst your employees. Audit and sense check your social media presence regularly, across each channel and including your advertising - be very clear on what your aim is. Set up a supportive and collaborative working environment for your social media manager and/or team. It can be a stressful and unrewarding job at times so ensure they have avenues of support available to them including access to counselling. 2. A digital comms hub Construct a central ‘crisis hub’ that details your online presence, channel by channel, aim by aim. This can be on an internal company system or on a cloud-based platform. It should contain a clear social media policy and cover both external comms as well as providing guidance to all personnel when it comes to social media accounts and what they put out there in the public domain. Include all the information needed for the day to day work on each channel (processes, workflows and lists are great). Include all details from your Risk Assessment exercise, including what to do (how to react) in each situation - i.e. depending on the nature and the level of the crisis. Provide signed off responses. House them in the hub along with instructions for use. Include all contact information for everyone involved - both in the company and in any agencies working with you. Make this part of an escalation workflow - by issue and time of day. And, who has sign-off / ultimate responsibility. Articulate your company / charity’s moderation best practices. Who are you? What guidelines ensure your audience know that they are in safe hands? Provide clear guidelines from the top for good comms between the team members. Share escalation workflows with your team - take them through them regularly and continually update. Use proven social media tools to monitor your social channels (i.e. Conversocial, SproutSocial, Sprinklr, etc.). Create a 'papertrail' so that you can respond with evidence to any complaints or emergency disclosures. Have a ‘gatekeeper’ for the hub - all changes to the contents (plus all ongoing reviews) need to be approved by them. They will also be the one/s to make the edits. 3. Train your team. Talk to them about empathy and understanding - provide real examples of how well things can be handled, alongside showing them what not to do.  Clarify when it is better not to engage, when to hide content, when to block and when to escalate. Have effective internal comms for team members to ask for second opinions. Ensure they understand the social media policy and hub contents. Choose internal systems (Teams, WhatsApp, Google Chat) where everyone involved can chat and monitor issues. Detail how these comms channels should be used and by whom. 4. Protect your team's mental health. Have a clear support process that lists the help available to the team. This can range from recommendations on how to monitor and proect their own mental health (walking, regular breaks, talking with peers) to support available via counselling and other departmental resources.  Mental health charity Mind has a wide range of useful resources to choose from, one that kept cropping up time and again when we asked was its taking care of yourself advice. Our super clients at Samaritans have a useful wellbeing in the workplace online learning resource that’s worth checking out. Have someone on the team or in the HR department who can be approached anonymously when people need advice or support. Have a central team chat where people can talk about something that has upset them - working from home can be lonely so make sure there is always someone to reach out to. Make sure your team takes breaks from work, and prompt them to clearly separate their working area from the rest of their house and everyday life. 5. Campaign for change. The argument that social media platforms allow too much anonymity has really taken hold. It's time to join the campaign for greater transparency, responsibility and fit-for-purpose consequences. Let's work towards ensuring that social networks quickly are taking down content that breaks rules but are doing this in an accurate way too so as to avoid accusations of bias and criticism re incompetence. Do check that your team has all the contact information for each channel in use so as to be able to effectively raise reports with them. Safeguards for children’s rights to privacy and safety need to be improved, at government level. Press for improved accuracy in filtering of content. Finally: setting rules in such a rapidly changing world may not always be the right thing to do... it may not even be possible. But, discussing them constantly is vital. It’s only through talking about what isn’t working that we can strategise for our next stage. Frequently there is no straightforward right or wrong (despite what the ‘shouters’ say), but there is the constant need to assess, consider and improve. We all have the power to change things for the better but it needs to be done together - and this includes holding the large social channels to account. Let’s encourage them to do better, for us and for future generations.     Check out our services: Community Management and Customer Support Charity Support Social Strategy Support ### 5 Steps to Humanising your Brand Online Most brands want the same thing – loyal customers, a steadily increasing customer base and a healthy bottom-line, but not all achieve it. We think it’s pretty clear that people want to buy from brands that show their human side, that speak in ‘their language’ especially online. Social media hasn’t transformed our culture (despite what the drama llamas say) but it does mirror it to us in a way never seen before. So, what five steps can help you create a strong durable customer brand identity on social media that will help ensure customer loyalty and fend off the competition? No. 1: Capture connection Ensure that all content and messaging showcases your brand values in a clear, understandable and engaging way. This includes sharing info that enriches, not sells, being a ‘real’ person and creating (+ maintaining!) your online communities. People use association with brands to send social signals to each other and as a form of self expression, so consider what signals your brand is sending. No. 2: Listen to your customers Track what your customers are saying. Analytics and well-structured listening channels can really help with understanding your customers’ satisfaction in real time. This is vital to developing content ongoing that is in line with what your customers are saying and feeling. Use that data! No. 3: Find your own voice What is your tone of voice (TOV) and brand identity? Have you spent the time to do the research into your customers, work out why they like you/the product and how they want to speak? Use your personality, without jargon. Wit, humour and emotion give your brand character. Find your voice, and stay true to it. Authenticity and consistency connect to customers and draw them in. It’s important to craft your messaging to suit your particular cultural context and setting if you want to forge an emotional connection with your customers. No. 4: Connect through experiences Build experiences that are meaningful and true to your brand identity. Storytelling is a major part of how humans communicate so USE that. Be transparent - show the PEOPLE within the brand/organisation - with photos, stories and real faces. Utilise user generated content when it aligns with your brand values and showcases your customers as actual people. This also can help your brand in the future should a crisis occur, you will have built a following of advocates who can see the ‘face behind the company’. No. 5: Create conversation Don’t only engage with your customers when you have a campaign running. Speak with them regularly, throughout the year. Creating a big splash, with a fun campaign and then dropping everyone afterwards is a common issue that is usually related to internal budgets. However, the effect it has on your customers’ can be damaging... ... “(brand name) really doesn’t give a s**t about me unless it’s pushing me to buy something...” Build a consistency into your customers’ expectations and meet it. Send regular satisfaction surveys and share the results with your team, with an emphasis on actionable feedback they can use to make future interactions more personal. Train your team for empathetic listening, teach them to read between the lines and match emotional tone. Customise greetings, talk the way real people talk. Make conversation warm, friendly, personable and constructive. All in all, remember that ‘people do business with people’ - word of mouth recommendations, online advocacy and user loyalty can only enrich your brand and create a community that stands by you through thick and thin. Check out our services: Community Management and Customer Support Charity Support Social Strategy Support ### Do It Fast, Do It Right, Do It With a Realistic Budget. Recognise the Importance of Community. We've all experienced the frustration of being ignored by sales assistants. Sometimes we want to browse without being bothered - of course it can also be a question of culture. We may need to just accept a different level of service in some contexts. What about these customers and their cheeky condiment note? Their patience exceeds ours - 30 minutes is an eternity to sit at a lunch counter. In the real world, you can (hopefully!) assert yourself to get someone’s attention, but the online world is different. Once you've sent your comment, submitted your form or fired off your email, what comes next? Too frequently, you just wait. If the business you’re trying to get in touch with shuts down their community support after hours, it could be a long wait. We all aim to put our users first, but it can be hard to make this work. Consider an ongoing crisis - the global pandemic of 2020 gave us some pretty stark examples of the dangers of failure to communicate with audiences effectively. Your company/institution needs to first establish an acceptable response time for your customers/community members. Here’s some very interesting research done by Rich Millington and his team over at Feverbee. They found a direct correlation between the time it takes for a new user to receive a response, and whether or not that user will make a second contribution to the community. As an example, if your users are coming to you for mental health support, how might it impact their experience to have to wait for a reply? The challenges can seem daunting but we are here to help. If your team is falling behind and over-stretched, StrawberrySocial has the answer. We can guide you through establishing the level of service you want to offer online - whatever your industry. Our social media and community management professionals will ensure this level is maintained, accustomed as they are to tailoring their work to meet the unique needs of each client. We specialise in charity work where empathy is vital and our teams are trained in applying discretion to sensitive issues. Their work is regularly checked to ensure our clients receive the best possible service. Our efficient handover methods guarantee our clients comprehensive coverage, 24 hours a day. If you’re interested in learning more about how we can meet your unique needs, please get in touch!   Check out our services: Community Management and Customer Support Charity Support Social Strategy Support ### How Safe 2021 Conference: Takeaways This year, despite lockdowns, the NSPCC went the extra mile to ensure that their annual conference could still go-ahead - by moving it into the virtual space. The organisation's Learning 'arm' rolled up its sleeves, and created an incredible, functional, educational, inspirational two-day webinar workshop. It was jam-packed with an impressive array of child safety experts who discussed the topic from multiple perspectives. This year’s conference was titled “How Safe?” (sponsored by the super peeps at natterhub) - the topics included Protection, Education, Policy, Safeguarding, what things look like now, and where each industry is working to improve things in the future both off- and online. We're very proud to cite the NSPCC as one of our much-respected clients, and several of our team attended the conference - a super learning experience for all concerned. So, below we offer a digest of our team’s takeaways from the event. What intrigued us most and where we lay our hopes when it comes to future changes in Child Protection and Education in the digital environment. This past year, lockdown moved the majority of us into spending an increased amount of time online - something that put an ever more important focus on the topic of safeguarding children in a virtual space. Long considered to be separate from the ‘real world’, today’s experts now agree that no matter the industry, the online and the physical world are inextricably linked, and will forever be as such. Here are our top four takeaways from the event and how they relate to our work in Online Safety: The online environment is as much a part of the real world as being ‘offline’ and must be approached as such. A large disparity exists between different disciplines and their understanding of what children are doing online, the level of risk, and how to best service the child’s online experience. The protection of children online must be balanced with enough space for them to take healthy risks in a safe environment. The protection and wellbeing of the emotional labourer is just as (if not more so) vital to the overall success of your online community and social media as is the engagemet stats and the follower counts.   The highly-respected Sonia Livingstone - professor of social psychology at The London School of Economics, hosted the panel “Understanding Online Risks For Children” which brought together experts from Education, Legal, Policymakers, Criminology, Media Law and Communications working at the intersection of child rights and digital technology; and in particular the opportunities and risks in everyday life. The focus was to respond to the following question: "How do they, as experts in their chosen field (s), conceptualise online risk? What factors underpin it inside and out of the digital domain, plus what is the child’s role in relation to online risk as they see it?" In summary, each field of study agreed that the digital world is as much a part of a child’s reality as the real world. There is still much to explore and understand about how children interact online, how they utilise online communication and undertake risk. What does it look like to take risks safely, and how best to encourage positive behaviour whilst keeping themselves safe from others, and themselves. For example, Julia Davidson - professor of criminology at the University of East London, admitted that [traditionally] there has been very little focus on children’s online behaviour, it has mostly been about victim and perpetrator up until now. Criminal studies have spent more time with ‘after the fact’ research rather than exploring the concept that some risky behaviour may be a normal part of child development. And what could or does it look like to teach appropriate behaviour while allowing children to explore risk taking? And Elizabeth Staksud, Professor of Media and Communications shared the following: “Risk perception is more on the [current] agenda rather than risk assessment. Risk perception (eg the idea that a risk might happen) can give the same symptoms to the individual, affect a family dynamic or influence our overall society in terms of regulation the same way as actual risk can. But not understanding the ACTUAL risks might be unhelpful. Uncertainty infused by worry is a dangerous mix that might have implications on all levels; individual, social, societal, national.” Even when reviewing our (StrawberrySocial) clients’ online activity, while we moderate what feels like a significant amount of inappropriate behaviour, data shows that it’s a mere fraction of the total amount of activity within an online community at any given time (usually somewhere around the 10% mark). And this is where we believe future studies will need to take focus in order to better service a child’s overall development. In the meantime, those working on the front lines are still attempting to navigate what true risk, support and care can do over time to the emotional labour workers’ own mental health. This was delicately and respectfully explored in the panel “The Child I’ll Never Forget” hosted by Barbara Wren - Director at Wren Psychology Associates. The panel focussed on individuals working directly with children and the psychological effects of this work, however, it could easily be translated into Moderation and Community Management support. “This is the session that hit me hardest,” says Rebecca Fitzgerald (StrawberrySocial CEO), “it demonstrated the work that goes on behind the scenes, work that is not sung from the rooftops (but should be). The strength shown by the people who work in this field is, quite frankly, humbling.” The topic was explored through the lens of the following question: What is the psychological challenge of working to safeguard children? Staying in touch with meaning Without being overwhelmed by it While staying ‘in role’ And how does the burden of that complexity get managed? What happens to the experiences that need to be put aside in order to make good decisions on behalf of the child? Their answer, at least in part, is Storytelling. Dr. Wren goes on to say that “[what] struck me over time is that the burden of responsibility becomes commonplace, almost invisible unless there’s a very specific case that requires review. [And the] courage that it takes to work in this area that you’re working in needs to be recognised more greatly and more often. It might not even be known by the person themselves, that the very nature of this work is a thoughtful step into the dark, which often takes a lot of courage”. As I listened to each story told by very different individuals, working in different areas of child support, I recognised similar views and feelings that many of us have when running online moderation support. In particular, when escalating anything of concern, regardless of the scenario (whether child or adult), we usually don’t know how it will turn out. And Dr. Wren argues that there’s a realism in the ‘not knowing’... It’s a reminder that we operate in a world of uncertainties, and that’s okay. We can’t precisely calculate any outcome. Sometimes it’s good to explore the concept of helplessness, we do things, subtle things, will have more of an impact, and may be how we try to manage the feelings of helplessness. Having a safe space to explore these stories and concepts is not only helpful, but necessary to the long-term mental health of anyone working with children; be it online, or anywhere else. To find out more about the NSPCC's work - check out: The NSPCC website Online safety guidance NSPCC Learning Training “How Safe?” To find out more about our team’s expertise in moderating Kid-friendly products, get in touch here. Community Management, Moderation and Customer Support Charity Support Social Strategy Support ### The Future Is Female - Let’s Celebrate! Greetings readers! It’s International Women’s Day, and while we like to celebrate the female every single day, it’s important to share that joy and pride with others at least once a year. Women-owned businesses have always existed; however in recent years, especially after the “Me Too” movement, more attention has been focused on female leadership, women-owned business and the female entrepreneur. In addition, Black Lives Matter has brought new focus to minority female owned businesses. This year in honour of International Women’s Day we’d like to share some of the most recent statistics on women in business around the world. First, read below for how female-lead businesses are progressing – there is much to celebrate! 1. In 2017, women of colour accounted for 71% of the new female-owned businesses launched in the United States. According to SmallBizGenius, from 1997 to 2017, the number of firms owned by women grew by 467% in the United States. Over the past 20 years, US businesses owned by African-American women have increased by 259 per day. Latina-owned firms increased by 227 per day. Asian-American women-led businesses rose by 104 daily, Native American/Alaska Native companies increased by 15, and Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander by four. 2. Women own 46% of private businesses in Ghana. This is according to a report completed in August of 2020, and if you compare the statistics, that means that Ghana ranks first when it comes to female-owned businesses by country. However, Ghanaian women generally start their businesses out of necessity, rather than desire, and many of the organisations have family members connected to the business as well. 4. 62% of women business owners are between 40 and 59 years old. (Note from our CEO, “we’re in this awesome category!”) According to legaljobs.io, around 80% of these women have college degrees too. Maturity, experience, and gathering the knowledge necessary to build a successful business from the ground up takes time. This means that it takes years of dedication, commitment, and hard work to succeed in building connections, relationships, and capital to run a business effectively. In addition to the above stats, we wanted to take a moment to celebrate just a small fraction of women-owned companies making headway in a variety of industries traditionally lead by men (young entrepreneurs, women who have branched out of their established careers to start their own businesses, and female leadership teams proving that when they do it together, we all thrive). Carrie Rose’s agency Rise At Seven has been making big waves from the very beginning. They have recently offered uni students an incredible opportunity – take a gap year and learn on the job with a position at the company. Reese Witherspoon, Queen Latifah and other women in Hollywood have created their own Production Companies after seeing a lack of quality entertainment for women – overseeing award-winning films and TV series such as “Gone Girl, Big Little Lies”, “Scream” and “Beauty Shop”. Michelin-awarded chef Elizabeth Haigh. Elizabeth opened Mei Mei in London’s Borough Market in 2019 to rave reviews. Londoners love the Singaporean kopitiam food and drink, with the chicken rice regularly selling out. Mei Mei is going strong even during the COVID-19 pandemic, with pantry staples, meal kits and delivery available online. Jenny Stanley of Appetite Creative founded Femme Niche to inspire and empower women to achieve great things. This year, their Twitter account has been sharing many important women from history and honoring the achievements of the current generation as well. Appetite Creative is an award winning branding and creative technology agency. Jasmine Douglas – Jasmine started Babes On Waves, a business club that supports and empowers women in business to do big things, and with a special focus on inclusion in membership, BoW has a membership base that’s 80% women of colour. And a final message from us… ladies, keep doing what you’re doing stand tall, stand strong remember… Interested? Get in touch and we’ll come up with a custom holiday coverage for your business. Please enable JavaScript in your browser to complete this form.Name *Email *Phone *Company Name *Anything you’d like to add?Checkboxes *I have read the The Privacy statement and accept the Terms & Conditions. Submit ### It Takes An (Online) Village - Taking The Fear Out Of Kids' Games Hello readers, and we hope you had a successful Internet Safety Month. While we’ve moved into March we know that the importance of Online Safety lasts all year long. We realise that many of you not only work in social media and online communities, but are raising children in this digital age. For Internet Safety Month, we decided it would be a good idea to put our review hats on, and delve into the world of Children’s online games. We reviewed three highly popular kids’ online games, and got the chance to interview a couple of our own children who also happen to be big fans of the games. Check them out below... Roblox ...is quite an anomaly, because it’s not a game in and of itself, but rather it’s an online game platform and game creation system which provides users with the coding and programme tools to create their own games for others to play. Roblox is free-to-play, with in-game purchases available through a virtual currency called "Robux". You can also purchase game card certificates and as a parent, you’ve likely seen these for sale in your local markets. Why Roblox? At its heart, Roblox is a gaming programme which allows users to create their own games and virtual worlds. You can make Roblox just about anything you want it to be, and play in any world you want. If you’re interested in game development you can easily learn how to build your own game. Because of this, Roblox has an endless number of ‘worlds’ and games to play to please any palate, and each gamer only needs one avatar to play anywhere. Popular games/worlds are: “Tower of Hell” a par-cour style game which tests your ability to jump your avatar to new levels and physical challenges. ‘Royale High’ ...a virtual dress-up world with fashion contests and games. And ‘Piggy’ - a survival/horror game where your character must survive being chased by - you guessed it - a lifesize pig holding a baseball bat. These are but a small example of the available games and while they are free to play, if you want to customise your avatar and home, you will need to purchase ‘robux’ (see above). Signing up: sign up is very simple and there is a programme download required in order to play. Users must agree to the Terms of Use before engaging however, there are no guidelines or instructions on how to report something if need be. The Terms of Use are extremely thorough; however the language is ‘legalese’ which means that most young players aren’t going to read, or understand them. Safety: user friendly tools make it easy to ignore or report someone for being inappropriate; however, with no barrier to entry, and no instructions or rules of engagement at sign-in, the user must figure out how to find these tools themselves. WE RECOMMEND you sit with your children and go through the safety rules together so that they understand how Roblox expects its users to behave and what to do should they need help. Fortnite ... considered one of the most popular video games in the world, Fortnite is also free to download and free to play online. Originally Fortnite was a survival building game, however their newest venture, Battle Royale, has changed this to include a much richer, player versus player (PvP) aspect to the survival. As this is a massive multiplayer game requiring users to play with others, each match is different bringing an element of surprise and fun. And there is no sure fire way of winning. Why Fortnite? Fans of the game explain that it promotes strategic thinking and cooperation, and encourages communication and team building skills. While Fortnite advertises as a game safe for 13 years and older, if you scroll through comments on the site the ages tend to range from 8+ to 13+. Critics complain that the game is so excitable, that younger children may get ‘too amped up’ and the biggest issue is with the constant adrenaline rush. Signing up: The Sign-up process is pretty simple. All that is needed is an Xbox one, Playstation 4, Windows PC, a Mac or an iOS or Android device and the game can be downloaded and played free - all the player has to do is give an email address and a password. If parents have locked their children's devices with passwords they won't be able to, otherwise it is very simple for them to download it and play. Safety: Voice and text chat default to ‘On’ and can only be turned off via your console. In addition, parental controls must also be adjusted on the Epic Games (parent company) account settings, which is another barrier to play and not immediately available. Children say it is full of predators and “paedos”. Toxic behaviour and swearing is pretty typical within the game, and critics have concerns that the game play itself exacerbates OCD and ADHD and aggressive behaviour It’s encouraging to note that many children are savvy to the dangers of online predators, however the fact that it still exists means WE RECOMMEND this game for the more mature children in your household who have a better grasp on boundaries and reporting tools. Minecraft ...is more of a virtual world and building/architectural game. Mining for items during the ‘daytime’ such as food, minerals and the like, these help you to build your home and any other buildings you desire. You must also avoid running into dangerous creatures ‘at night’ who can threaten your player’s life and the items collected. The difficulty level is anything from very basic to advanced and you can choose how involved you decide to be. Why Minecraft? And we were lucky here, as we were able to interview a superfan, who we will call 'Thomas'... https://www.strawberrysocial.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/file.mp4 12 years old, bookish and very bright, Thomas absolutely loves the game. What he loves about Minecraft is that he can construct and build whatever he wants. As the architect, Minecraft allows him to be very creative and hone those skills in an online environment. ‘Thomas’ is an anxious child - who worries about pretty much everything, so having a space that he can control and be creative in a safe environment says a lot about Minecraft! When asked about Safety, our expert player was confused and unsure how to talk about it, and it’s not hard to understand why. When we created our Minecraft account, it took us quite some time to find the Parental Controls. We eventually found some information after scrolling through Player Support and down 6 different sections to find Parental Controls: It would appear that, because Minecraft is essentially a construction and architectural game platform which allows players to make their own world, communication and player to player connection isn’t vital to gameplay, nor is it hugely promoted. As a parent, you can adjust the player settings to allow your child to openly communicate with their friends and this article does explain how. WE RECOMMEND sitting with your young person while they play, both so that they can show you how it works, and you can also explain how to properly communicate in an online environment. All in all, we’re very much in favour of online games for young people. Most products are developed by people who enjoy educating, teaching and supporting their development in a positive environment. We’re fond of saying ‘If the game doesn’t take your safety seriously, then they’re not worth your time or your money’. Your children enjoy playing online, so ensure that they know, that you know, you can trust them to behave appropriately. Together, find the safety tools and rules, and discuss together. Then if anything happens they know they can come to you with the issue to help them solve the problem the right way. To find out more about our team’s expertise in moderating Kid-friendly products, get in touch here.   Check out our services: Community Management, Moderation and Customer Support Charity Support Social Strategy Support ### DC, Tweets and the Growing Power of Social *Trigger warning* Hello Dear Readers. Like many of you (especially those of you connected to the United States in some form), we’ve been glued to the news - grasping at any and every bit of information we can take in about what happened in Washington D.C. on 6th January. Investigations and arrests are ongoing and will continue likely for years. In addition this has resulted in the second impeachment trial of the former president of the United States. Some of the most distressing information may be that there appears to have been insider help (from law enforcement, on up to the Department of Defense and the Senate) but also that the relevant authorities were warned in good time, and decided against offering preemptive support.   What does this have to do with online safety? First and foremost, we know for a fact that much of the insurrection was cultivated, groomed and planned online. We also know that certain individuals in positions of power, such as the Mayor of DC, were begging for assistance and warning others of the potential dangers that would occur. We also now know that much of this was ignored and that additional support was rejected as ‘they didn’t like the optics’ of an overly fortified U.S. capitol during the ‘protest’. Perhaps much of what happened on 6th January could have been avoided had those in charge listened and taken action when they were warned, rather than waiting until something had happened. But we’ll never know for sure. As experts working in Online Safety, Trust and Responsibility for over 15 years, what we can tell you is that we weren’t entirely shocked at the initial reaction and subsequent rejection of additional support because this isn’t new. Many of us have asked organisations, over the years, “please take this seriously” only to end up with a discussion outlining “this is where we could have done better”. It is said that everyone should spend a year doing customer service and/or public service in order to better understand how to treat one another. In this day and age moderation needs to be included in this sentiment. Doing the work of a moderator means one more step towards understanding how online communication is used from all perspectives - good, bad, and the downright ugly. Right now, there is a disparity between those that are aware that the gap between virtual reality and the real world has closed, and those that are still very much unaware, for whatever the reason. This needs to change. What happened in the U.S. Capitol will be studied for years to come. It will change laws, and will put new restrictions on social and digital interactions. In addition, we believe both public and private businesses will be forced to think strategically about their own online guidelines and brand reputation strategies. So where to begin? What can you do starting right now, to ensure similar threats of real world danger don’t happen to your organisation, or to your teams? Keep the conversation open between your online safety team and those in positions of power who have to make the tough decisions. Ongoing training and discussion for anyone involved in your social media spaces - from the CEO to the newest member of your team. Continued training will be vital to understanding not only how healthy your community is, but will assist you in making quicker decisions if and when you need to shut something down Be clear with your policies and guidelines, as well as your escalation processes. Make them easy to find, and ensure they inform your community of the possible ramifications should someone attempt to break the rules. Know your aims, the tipping points, what needs to be deleted and when further action is needed. Then… Follow your own policies - and take appropriate action regardless of the optics. Listen, ask questions, and take necessary steps to keep you and your organisation safe. This may not always be the most popular option, and you may need to make some tough decisions; however, we ask you to consider the alternative. Consider building a relationship with authorities - depending on your business model, you may want to consider reaching out to your local and/or federal authorities and start building a relationship. Help them to understand what you do, and what you’re facing as an online business and how you can help each other. If your business is children, consider reaching out to organisations such as CEOP or NSPCC (or NCMEC in the United States). The internet is growing up fast. We have the tools It’s time we take the responsibility of a safe and respectful digital community seriously. If you believe you’ve been affected by the recent events, visit Mind in the U.K. or the The National Suicide Prevention Hotline in the U.S. for assistance and support.   Check out our services: Community Management, Moderation and Customer Support Charity Support Social Strategy Support ### Flu, Fake News and Filters - how 2020 has changed your community management team Greetings Digital Family, and happy holidays! As we round the final turn in this marathon year 2020 (woohoo!), we took some time to review how this very unique time has affected our front-line teams. Traditionally moderation and community managers are responsible for ensuring your online community is a safe and pleasant place for users to engage and share information with respect and dignity. Early on in the study of online communities, it became extremely clear that a significant part of the role included the need to both study, and curtail certain language - everything from vulgarity, to bullying, to the grooming of young people for political or sexual motives. Technology, industry and law makers have taken huge measures to ensure the online world is as safe as can be; but it's by no means a battle that's been won. Ongoing and frequent checks and balances on nomenclature, culture shifts, and changes to traditional language are part and parcel of the job. Further, once your team adjusts their technology to recognise and remove one new set of words, the community will immediately adjust and create new nomenclature. In recent years online communities have recognised that this phenomenon wasn’t only for the young but has been extended to almost every corner of online communities and social media. What does this have to do with 2020? As you know (and have likely experienced in varying degrees yourselves) this year has been unique and unprecedented in many ways; in this case, we’ve found that our clients (and by definition, our internal team) have spent a significant amount of time reviewing the language and information shared by our clients’ community members. https://www.strawberrysocial.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/giphy-3.mp4 To provide context, remember that the largest social networks, Facebook and Twitter, have gone so far as to implement new policies and new technology which will review content and either include a warning message, or remove the content altogether, especially after the 2016 US elections. It had become apparent that at least to some extent, there was interference in the campaigns which lead to misinformation being shared on a massive scale through hashtags and keyword searches. This led to a real public outcry about how social media and private companies are collecting not just user information, but keywords, hashtags and language use. Then selling it to the highest bidder, and presenting how that information can be used to manipulate real world actions. Across Europe, the European court of justice ruled that European countries can order Facebook to remove content worldwide, and not just for users within their borders. Also the European Audiovisual Media Services Directive requires online video services to take appropriate measures to protect viewers from harmful or illegal content, including setting up age checks. Both Facebook and Twitter stepped up to the challenge, devising new tools to protect the integrity of the critical vote. During the electoral campaign new ad transparency measures were put in place, and in the immediate aftermath Facebook kept users updated on the latest polling information by adding prominent banners to feeds, reminding that votes were still being counted. https://www.strawberrysocial.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/giphy-2.mp4 Facebook is constantly measuring how far it can push things, and when it needs to slow trends up, in order to avoid them spilling over. Facebook is also reportedly looking to add more friction to sharing of political posts in order to slow the momentum of conspiracy-fueling content. However, technology can only do so much and the need for live human assistance will always remain part of the equation. Fast forward to 2020 - and between Covid-19, Black Lives Matter, another US Election and more, brands are jumping on the same bandwagon as the platforms themselves; working diligently to ensure both their technology and their teams are well equipped to recognise and take action against any potentially damaging misinformation. How they react after this has been varied: Removal - Moderators have kept a close eye on live threads; ready to hide, delete or request certain words be filtered out of action. Reporting - depending on the severity of the language and it’s overall message, moderators have been escalating more content as incendiary or ‘fake news’. This year has seen very particular language adjustments to almost every kind of community that can be traced through almost every kind of online space. Because our moderators and community team are already familiar with how to spot new phrases, they’ve been instrumental at finding new phrases around Covid-19, politics, and social movements. In particular, we’ve found that companies are focussed on the reporting and sometimes, removal of words and phrases such as “Plandemic”, “Covidiots”, “Libdem” and “Anti-vaxx”. Some clients may wish to highlight (eg create reports on) the above so that they’re better able to format their messaging. Others are adding these, and others, to their filters straight away so as to avoid the spread of potentially dangerous fake news. In addition, our team members have been asked to stay vigilant and report back any new, potentially controversial phrases so that they may be studied and filtered out. Our moderators and community teams have spent more time than usual this year honing their ‘spidey-senses’ through the ongoing review of potentially controversial or dangerous language. The importance of their work cannot be taken lightly as it’s been an integral part of keeping the right messages present, and the wrong ones from spreading like a virus. Let us know what words and phrases you’ve been dealing with this year; and get in touch so we can work together to keep your communities open to all!   Check out our services: Community Management and Customer Support Charity Support Social Strategy Support ### Embracing The C Word... Let’s face it. We’re all looking forward to shutting the door on 2020. But before we move forward, we need to prepare for the festive Christmas season - both personally and for our organisations. And while this year may look different from past holiday seasons, your online support team will be working to ensure that a friendly face and constant sense of security is present at all times, even when your social media activity increases. We know the holiday season is always busy for online deals; Emarketer in the UK reported that “Ecommerce represented 28.2% of all holiday retail sales, surpassing the 25% mark for the first time. Total retail sales for the season amounted to £99.26 billion ($132.33 billion).” And The New York Post reported “E-commerce sales spiked 18.8 percent from last year and accounted for 14.6 percent of all holiday retail” in the United States in 2019. This year we predict those numbers will SKYROCKET due to the pandemic and lockdowns - with more and more stockings will be filled with game cards, online gift certificates, online subscriptions and more. You and your team shouldn’t have to worry about your online presence over the festive season. This year your community and social media teams have worked extra hard through massive changes to the digital space. They’ve put in extra hours since your public has turned to online for their entertainment, bonding, engagement, support and understanding of the world… as well as their main place to rant, vent and complain! https://www.strawberrysocial.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/giphy-5.mp4 It’s important to recognise your team will need time to decompress and recharge - more than ever. Our expanded team includes customer support dudes, moderation stars, online safety experts and engagement junkies that are all on call, waiting to help you and your team to get some well earned rest. In the past, our team of experts have helped clients cover during out of hours, weekends, holidays and NYE. We’ve helped with some incredible campaigns across many different industries. And now really is the time to start sorting out your holiday coverage. We’ve been fortunate enough to support both past and current clients handle that extra content and those fun holiday campaigns. Here's what our clients say: "The organisation isn’t just a helpful resource and service but one we find very approachable and very personal, which means it’s extremely easy to get something done, and done efficiently, and swiftly. Having more people in place genuinely helps to lighten the load across the team; it lessens the need for us to constantly monitor outside the normal business hours. I really feel as if it’s helped the welfare of my team. StrawberrySocial has been a really great sounding board for creating an improved support strategy; with a team that is readily trained and available to work out of hours and weekends. " "StrawberrySocial are a fantastic agency. They deliver above and beyond expectations and make the transition of using an agency very easy. Their onboarding time is quick and, as they're Social Media and Crisis Management specialists, they only need to focus on learning our business processes. They have a very personal touch and overall really care about supporting their clients. I would definitely recommend them to anyone looking for Social Media Moderation support. " We absolutely love working with our client partners during this time as we get to experience some of the most rewarding and exciting campaigns. As our team says: “Last year I got to work over both Christmas and New Year’s as additional support for one of our non-profit clients. I really love that I was there to help anyone struggling with the holidays. To me, it’s giving back at a time when many people need someone there to listen and help.” [In the past we] worked a Christmas campaign for one of our clients. The company ran a ‘treasure hunt’ all over the country. Some of the winners took part in full Christmas fancy dress, and posted images all over social media dressed as Santa, reindeer and even snowmen. Seeing grown men and women in an array of Christmas costumes in the middle of city centres/around landmarks was hilarious!” What special holiday campaign is your brand running this year? Get in touch and let us know, so we can work together and give your team the gift of relaxing this holiday season. We wish you and yours a safe and happy Christmas festive season. https://www.strawberrysocial.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/giphy-6-1.mp4   Check out our services: Community Management and Customer Support Charity Support Social Strategy Support ### The Future of Community is NOW Welcome back everyone - we do hope you’re finding ways to enjoy the last of the Summer; even if it’s a small BBQ with you and your cats on your balcony. We've certainly had some time to think about how social media and community management have changed in recent months. In particular, we've been looking at how the pandemic and quarantine will change the future of not just our industry, but others as well. Change is here - this we can agree on. Your business strategies will require change as well. The more prepared your online social and community strategy is, the easier it will be to reap the benefits of a strong online community. And we have a few predictions that should help you, and your organisation, with your transition to post-lockdown business success. One of the biggest observations we’ve made has come when watching positive changes unfold within traditional media. For example, This article from The Drum points out, and asks: In recent weeks racial inequalities have not only been emphasised by instances of police brutality in the US, but also by data from both the UK and North America which has shown ethnic minorities to be at much greater risk of contracting (and dying) from Covid-19. Amid this urgent public health emergency, what part can ad agencies – and healthcare clients – play in enacting meaningful change? To achieve change, pharmacologist and health economist, Claire Gillis, shares the following recommendations, which have already begun to take root: “...agencies and brands need to bring stark, uncomfortable data “back to the fore” to understand the impact this is having on individuals and build their strategies around that. Only then, Gillis argues, can brands educate and support populations who might be at a “disadvantage” and potentially put pressure on governments and corporations to change the way they deliver healthcare. As we looked at our immediate media consumption, we began to see shifts in traditional advertising related to Covid-19 safety precautions and inclusionary public service announcements on Television. While we haven’t seen this kind of change put into large, actionable content in online communities just yet, we predict that in the future the need for large-scale online content and engagement strategies will be necessary in order for a brand’s online environment to thrive. Below, we outline our predictions for the future of Online Communities and what that means to you and your business. What will this look like within your organisation, where your focus should be and how these changes will bring a much needed new life in this brave new world: Diversity in teams - Community Managers and their teams are the experts in translating and telling the stories of your entire community. Your support and moderation teams will naturally become more diverse as well as a direct result of changes to the community itself. In addition, in order for these vital roles to speak the language of your community, the communication will need to be as inclusive, diverse, relatable and understandable as your diverse community. Online Communities won’t replace real world interactions, but they will become much more integrated. Quarantine meant a surge in computer purchases at the beginning of lockdown. As more and more socioeconomic and culturally diverse individuals were forced into online as their means of communication, they will have found valuable relationships built within the online space. They won’t give these up just because they’re able to go out again.This will increase the need for Community Management experts to nurture the relationships. And it will be a necessary addition to traditional brands not well-versed in online engagement, as well as those already well-established with an online presence. Community Management as Executive. This is long overdue. Community Management will need a seat at the Director’s table, next to and alongside Marketing, rather than being represented by your Marketing head. This may sound like too many cooks spoiling the broth, however the community will require a paradigm shift in your strategy from the top on down. Ensuring your members’ voices are heard at the executive level is best translated by the team living in that community every day...which will be best represented by your Chief Community Officer. Traditional Industries long suspicious of an online presence will adapt, or lose out. We know it can be somewhat scary and you’re a little bit apprehensive with the thought of speaking directly to your public online; which is why we’re here to help ease those concerns. Having a strong online presence which includes support, engagement and evangelism isn’t something to be put off for the future. The future is now, and having a strong team of experts in Online Community Management will help make this transition easy and pain-free.. The thing with online communities is that, even when there is a return to a somewhat ‘new normal’, and the general public is out socialising again, it won’t mean they abandon their online communities. People inherently become emotionally attached to these groups because they invested a lot of time and energy into building their online relationships. Therefore, the need for Online Community Management won’t be a phase, it will be a necessary department for brands, organisations and traditional businesses to include in their business strategies. Learn more about how our cracking team of experts can help you sort your community management, moderation, customer service and social media strategies. We’re proud to work with many sectors including charities, online food-delivery, telecom, high-risk industries and more. Contact us ### Spotlight on: The Living Wage Foundation Hey everyone! This week marks another in our 'spotlight on' series - taking a step back from the regular thought leadership pieces. Last time it was all about The Drum and how we're now a recommended agency on their The Drum Recommends programme. This time, we're talking about our accreditation with The Living Wage Foundation. Read on...   What is The Living Wage Foundation? The Living Wage Foundation supports the idea that a hard day’s work deserves a fair day’s pay. They work to publicly celebrate and recognise the leadership of responsible employers who choose to go further and pay a real Living Wage based on the cost of living, not just the government minimum. They offer accreditation to employers that pay the independently-calculated Living Wage rates to all staff in London and the UK, or those committed to an agreed timetable of implementation, by awarding the Living Wage Employer Mark. In addition, The Living Wage offers a Service Provider Recognition Scheme for third-party contractors who ensure their own staff are earning the real Living Wage rates and always offer a Living Wage option when submitting tenders. Each November, they announce the latest Living Wage rates across the UK and London, based on the best and latest available evidence. They also provide advice and support to employers and service providers implementing the Living Wage rates. This includes best practice guides, case studies from leading employers, model procurement frameworks and access to specialist legal and HR advice. The Living Wage even works with Principal Partners who bring financial and strategic support to their work and they coordinate the ‘Living Wage Week’ each November, celebrating the Living Wage movement across the United Kingdom. Get in touch with the Living Wage team to find out what's happening in your area: Contact them.   What are the benefits of becoming part of the Living Wage, and what will I get for my contributions? 93% of businesses say that their employers benefitted from the accreditation 86% of businesses say it enhanced their general reputation And 80% saw an increase in the quality of work from their teams. Your business has a space on their website and searchable map so that consumers, prospective employees, students and funders can easily see who pays a real Living Wage that meets the cost of living. Among other benefits listed above, Living Wage offers valuable and insightful information to businesses and individuals alike so that your organisation can move towards a better future and a respectful wage for the work that your team does.   What does it mean to your employees and contractors when you become accredited by The Living Wage? 58% have said it improved relations between management and staff, and 75% said it increased motivation and retention rates for employees. Happy staff, better output, increased productivity and overall better company reputation! Trust is the number one answer when talent is asked why they stay with an organisation. When you are accredited by Living Wage this tells your team, and prospective new staff, that you’re an organisation that values employees and contractors enough to pay them a decent wage. https://www.strawberrysocial.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/giphy-7.mp4   How does The Living Wage work for me as a 3rd Party Service Provider? Living Wage accreditation ensures that all subcontracted staff are also paid enough to live on, ensuring that low pay can't just be outsourced. We highly recommend that every organisation - regardless of size, reputation or industry, work towards becoming an accredited Living Wage company. It’s good for business and great for the economy. This year, StrawberrySocial became an accredited Social Media Moderation Agency through The Living Wage and we’re already reaping the benefits: “Becoming accredited was a natural step for us. Our business ethos is firmly based on being able to provide flexible working to some of the most experienced people in the industry. This includes a range of contractors that work with us. Many have businesses of their own and family responsibilities and so need to be able to work flexibly with a company that not only respects them but also pays them a decent wage. And yes, this can hit profits but we don’t compromise - we find a way and therefore ensure that we all have work that ‘works for us’ ongoing.” Rebecca Fitzgerald, MD and Founder. Jennifer Puckett, Content Lead and member of the Key Team at StrawberrySocial says: “I’ve known Rebecca for many years now; and the one thing that I can count on is the respect she has for her team. She values everything that we do, and the fact that she’s gone the extra step to ensure each person is paid a living wage is proof that she means what she says. I recently had the opportunity to recruit some very talented individuals, and because StrawberrySocial pays a living wage, these experts were excited to join the team” Prue Watson, Social Media Manager shares: “I work with StrawberrySocial across both community management and content creation projects, alongside studying a MSc in Gender History. Being a student often means that you have to scramble to make your way through each month, yet working with SS not only offers me the flexibility to work around my studies, I also have the comfort in knowing that I can pay my bills each month and have some money left over. It’s both a huge relief and privilege and it comes from the fact that StrawberrySocial understand and respect the landscape that we all live in.” Dan Horrell, Community Manager says: "I have been working remotely for the past 10 years and since working freelance at StrawberrySocial, I have been able to guarantee that my regular outgoings are covered. The flexibility of working the hours I want for a decent wage has helped me achieve goals in my other business, taking away any stress of not being able to pay the monthly bills. When Covid-19 happened and lockdown commenced, I increased my hours at StrawberrySocial as my other business could not operate as efficiently, yet I was still able to make a decent wage, not seeing a drop in earnings. Flexible hours, decent pay, trusted to work remotely, working with a great team, what more do you want in a career! It's never a chore going to work!" Learn more about how our cracking team of experts can help you sort your community management, moderation, customer service and social media strategies - visit us at here or you can contact us at Tel: 0203 8731092  We’re proud to be an accredited Living Wage member. And we work with many sectors including charities, online-delivery, telecom, high-risk industries and more. Check out our services: Community Management and Customer Support Charity Support Social Strategy Support ### Spotlight on: The Drum Recommends Hey everyone! This week we’re taking a step back from the regular thought leadership pieces. Instead we’re highlighting one of our favourite global media platforms (which doubles as a fantastic marketing website), and where we turn to for much of our industry news: The Drum. About The Drum The Drum is a globally recognised media platform that shares industry news from all over the world. In addition, their monthly magazine showcases marketing that has changed the world. The Drum began in Glasgow circa 1980s where founders Gordon Young and Nick Creed began producing a magazine for their schoolmates. After launching several successful trade magazines, one, ScotMedia, outlived them all and later regenerated into The Drum as it is known today. In 1996, The Drum expanded its directorship to include Diane Young, and expanded its business portfolio as a result. Since the early years in Glasgow, The Drum has become the most widely read marketing website in Europe. What is “The Drum Recommends”? Part of what makes The Drum so unique is their belief in matching the right client to the right agency. At The Drum Recommends, you can search for agencies personally recommended by their team. The Drum’s recommendations don’t come easily - a thorough review of each vendor’s offerings and ratings is completed before they’re added to the list of recommended agencies. https://www.strawberrysocial.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/giphy-8.mp4 We’re proud to announce that StrawberrySocial has been added to The Drum’s prestigious list of recommended agencies, and you can check us out here. Learn more about how our cracking team of experts can help you sort your community management, moderation, customer service and social media strategies. We’re proud to work with many sectors including charities, online-delivery, telecom, high-risk industries and more. We highly recommend subscribing to The Drum to get up-to-the-minute marketing and social media information; and for more information about what we can offer your organisation, please visit us at here or you can contact us at Tel: 0203 8731092 / info@strawberrysocial.co.uk   Check out our services: Community Management and Customer Support Charity Support Social Strategy Support ### Managing your Brand Community in a World Gone Mad You’ve heard it said before. We’re currently living through an historical shift with not one, but multiple worldwide events which will shape the course of our future. This may sound a tad melodramatic, however, if you speak to anybody working in online communities today you will realise it’s not an overstatement. We're all asking ourselves, "when will the crazy end?!" In the past month there has been a surge in online conversations around the following: #Blacklivesmatter #Pride Month The #Metoo movement Police Brutality and reformation Eradication/removal of controversial historical monuments And, of course, a little thing called a global pandemic which is just gearing up for its second round of infection, has led to a worldwide quarantine, and resulted in a shift of our main source of communication and connection - online communities. Traditionally, the role of the online community manager is to encourage connection and collaboration. Part of this role is to remain as objective as possible when conflicting opinions emerge within the community while keeping within the parameters that have been set by the organisation. This is a lot easier said than done when you’re managing conflict. Usually just one of the polarising topics I mentioned above will prove the worth of your community manager and her ability to not just maintain, but grow your audience in a positive direction. Having multiple topics with naturally conflicting opinions could mean the death knell of your community. So - exactly what should your community manager do in an unprecedented time, facing multiple, controversial conversations thrown into the mix all at once? Below, I outline some of the best practices for managing your community during not one, not two, but many difficult conversations.   1. Keep to your guidelines, no matter who is speaking I can’t stress that enough!! Maintain that clear line that must not be crossed. The more that language and behaviour deteriorates on your threads, the more the ‘troublemakers’ will think it’s okay to behave in such a way. You need to be strong and consistent - set the standard - but use a reasonable and neutral tone. https://www.strawberrysocial.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/giphy-12.mp4 I’m a fan of sharing company guidelines within a thread from time to time. It can be a good way to remind the community that this is a safe space for discussion but it's not meant to be a free for all. Don’t allow the loudest to ‘frighten’ the quieter users into silence or leaving the community (coming away with a negative view of you, your brand, your ethos). 2. Allow space for discussion Before your community manager and her team begin hitting that moderation button, take a step back, and allow for emotions to flow. Remember that everyone is different at handling their frustrations and may just need a space to vent. 3. Continue to be a part of the overall conversation, know your limits If you’re known within your community at all, it’s important to keep yourself present. That level of normalcy can be a huge comfort in a chaotic time. But learn to keep a certain level of distance to allow your community members who wish to share their stories to have the floor. It’s not always necessary for you to share, but rather give the community its voice. It’s a balancing act. 4. Keep vigilant and present As above, allow a modicum of space for discussion but ensure it remains civil. Knowing when to stop a conversation before it degrades into a flame war is something that comes with time, and practice. Simply keeping yourself present and reviewing the conversations many times in your day can help you determine where and when to step in. Knowing the difference between a disagreement in opinion versus judgement and ‘I’m right, you’re wrong’ comes with time, and ongoing review of intention, interpretation and tone. If/when you have to remove someone or something, it's a good idea to answer some questions but NEVER discuss that particular removal or ban. 5. Check yourself before you wreck yourself Some opinions will differ greatly from your own - if you find yourself getting heated or suffering from content overload, ask a colleague for a second opinion: Am I taking this too personally? Is this triggering me emotionally? Is the conversation crossing a line, or simply sharing an opinion I disagree with? Checking in with your colleagues is NEVER a bad idea. Online community management is the work of many individuals coming together to ensure the betterment of the overall group. Make sure your entire organisation and leadership team are kept aware of what’s happening These times are going to challenge the entire organisation from the top on down. The best way your leadership team can make the right decisions is by being informed. Don’t shy away from sharing the community sentiment - good, and bad. Share how you’re handling things, or if you’re unsure how to handle certain things and make sure they know how best to support your hard work. And if I may, I’d like to sign off this piece by sending out a huge, heartfelt “THANK YOU” to all of you community managers doing your very best for your communities during this very challenging time. You rock! For more information on how we can help, contact us using our online form or email info@strawberrysocial.co.uk - call 020 3873 1092. ### Hang On In There! We're Here To Help With Online Comms & Crisis - #KeepTalking To avoid information overload we recommend sticking with the WHO’s page on Covid-19 as it is updated regularly. We understand how narrow your 'mental bandwidth' may be at the moment - ours is too! That's why it's so important to keep those lines of communication open, both internally with your team and also externally with your customers/audiences. We're a small company but our dedicated people are veterans of the online industry. We've seen many things out there, good and bad, and are keen to help should your organisation need support. We're flexible and can offer monthly rolling contracts during this unprecedented time as well as a bit of advice. In this blog we go through some things you may find useful to know before contacting us: Answers to your concerns about bringing in an outside vendor - oh and it's free to talk! What we offer as immediate, and if necessary, long-term online support solutions How we address tech and security concerns - keeping you and your brand safe How to get in touch Most companies are prepared for a brand crisis - and there have been countless articles about how to be and stay prepared (several of which we’ve penned ourselves). However, this current crisis is not based around a brand or specific to one industry... it's everywhere. Now, more than ever, it's so important that you communicate with your customers and audience in a clear and responsible way - as well as being a human-being rather than trotting out the corporate line. Everyone is worried and we're all more likely to take things personally and/or leap online to express our concerns. Now is the time for your company to be online and transparent with your audience. It's the perfect time. StrawberrySocial is here and ready to help - contact us. https://www.strawberrysocial.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/giphy-10.mp4 Below, we answer all your immediate concerns toward bringing in a vendor to help during this uncertain time: Hours and availability - Perhaps your brand is one that is experiencing an uptick in supporter care questions at this time - are you a supermarket or food supplier? Our expert team members are located around the globe - and ready to offer whatever additional support you need at whatever times you require - 24/7/365. We have a dedicated customer service team who can take calls and also are experienced community managers that can engage authentically with your audience. Specialised and high-risk industries - Our team (lead by Rebecca Fitzgerald) has over 20 years experience managing brand risk and escalation protocols for specialised, high-risk industries including children’s brands, fast moving consumer goods such as food and alcohol, pharmaceutical, child safety, and non-profit/charity health and mental wellness supporter groups. Equipment - Our team members are seasoned telecommuters who have been working remote for years. We use our own laptops and are prepared to set up client tools and technology quickly. We can also use laptops provided by clients (and securely set up by their Tech dept) - this we currently do on at least one of our projects. We can also advise. Supporter care technology - StrawberrySocial’s team uses all the latest and most effective social media technology, CRM tools and customer care solutions so there is no need for excess training upfront. We’re also comfortable quickly ramping up with your internal, home-grown support and social media solutions. Communication - Is your team prepared to switch the majority of their team communication to an online experience? Can your team engage with audiences too? Since we work remote, we know how best to keep the lines of communication open and we use different communication tools to ensure we're available to you, and to each other, on a moment's notice. Security - this is MOST vital and we know it’s the issue that worries you the most. StrawberrySocial uses a password keeper programme which ensures the safety, security and privacy of all our clients’ information. What about the risk of working in a public locale? Our internet connections are recorded and protected to ensure we’re working from a secure line in a private location. Whether you're looking for some quick consultancy to help you prepare your in-house team, or you find yourselves needing experts to handle the day-to-day management of your social support, we’re here for you. And, don't just take our word for it, hear from Preena Kamle, Social Media Customer Service Manager at Just Eat: "StrawberrySocial are a fantastic agency. They deliver above and beyond expectations and make the transition of using an agency very easy. Their onboarding time is quick and, as they're Social Media and Crisis Management specialists, they only need to focus on learning our business processes. They have a very personal touch and overall really care about supporting their clients. I would definitely recommend them to anyone looking for Social Media Moderation support. " For more information on how we can help you during this health crisis, contact us using our online form or email info@strawberrysocial.co.uk - call 020 3873 1092. ### Crisis Coverage - Top Tips For Remote-Working And How We Can Help To avoid information overload we recommend sticking with the WHO’s page on Covid-19 as it is updated with the latest news and advice. In this article we provide you with immediate solutions to your online supporter care during this crisis, including: Answers to your concerns about bringing in an outside vendor What we offer as immediate, and if necessary, long-term online support solutions How we address tech and security concerns How to get in touch Most companies are prepared for a brand crisis - and there have been countless articles about how to be and stay prepared (several of which we’ve penned ourselves). However, many places won’t have a health crisis plan in place. At this time there may be a level of uncertainty, especially around the company watercooler. Information is coming out at record speed and may cause further confusion; especially if the information is conflicting. This can make processing, and planning, a challenge and can lead to unwanted delays in decision-making. While this may be the case, your plan for ongoing online support doesn’t have to wait; or worse, come to a halt. We’re keenly aware that most companies offer some form of remote or telecommuting option for management and above however in many cases the social support and customer care teams may not be as well equipped. In this time of uncertainty there’s no need for this side of your business to suffer, and you can still keep your staff healthy and safe. So don’t worry that your online support may suffer in this short-term health crisis, StrawberrySocial is here and ready to help ensure there is no break in your online team’s work - contact us. Below, we answer all your immediate concerns toward bringing in a vendor to help during this uncertain time: Available Equipment - Do you have enough laptops for your team to successfully continue offering customer support, and are they set up with the necessary tools? Our team members are seasoned telecommuters who have been working remote for years. We use our own laptops and are prepared to set up client tools and technology quickly. We can also use laptops provided by clients (and securely set up by their Tech dept) - this we currently do on at least one of our projects. Supporter care technology - StrawberrySocial’s team uses all the latest and most effective social media technology, CRM tools and customer care solutions so there is no need for excess training upfront. We’re also comfortable quickly ramping up with your internal, home-grown support and social media solutions. Communication - Is your team prepared to switch the majority of their team communication to an online experience? Since we work remote, we know how best to keep the lines of communication open and we use different communication tools to ensure we're available to you, and to each other, on a moment's notice. What about Security - this is MOST vital and we know it’s the issue that worries you the most. StrawberrySocial uses a password keeper programme which ensures the safety, security and privacy of all our clients’ information. What about the risk of working in a public locale? Our internet connections are recorded and protected to ensure we’re working from a secure line in a private location. Specialised and high-risk industries - Our team (lead by Rebecca Fitzgerald) has over 20 years experience managing brand risk and escalation protocols for specialised, high-risk industries including children’s brands, fast moving consumer goods such as food and alcohol, pharmaceutical, child safety, and non-profit/charity health and mental wellness supporter groups. Hours and availability - Perhaps your brand is one that is expecting an uptick in supporter care questions at this time. Our expert team members are located around the globe - and ready to offer whatever additional support you need at whatever times you require - 24/7/365 Whether you're looking for some quick consultancy to help you prepare your in-house team, or you find yourselves needing experts to handle the day-to-day management of your social support, we’re here for you. And, don't just take our word for it, hear from Preena Kamle, Social Media Customer Service Manager at Just Eat: "StrawberrySocial are a fantastic agency. They deliver above and beyond expectations and make the transition of using an agency very easy. Their onboarding time is quick and, as they're Social Media and Crisis Management specialists, they only need to focus on learning our business processes.​ They have a very personal touch and overall really care about supporting their clients. I would definitely recommend them to anyone looking for Social Media Moderation support. " For more information on how we can help you during this health crisis, contact us using our online form or email info@strawberrysocial.co.uk - call 020 3873 1092. ### It's 5 o'clock Somewhere... (or) Managing Remote Teams Let’s face it. The world revolves around the internet - 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, in over 27 time zones (how does that work?!). Heaven knows you could close your eyes, point, and you’d land on an article about the disadvantages of being ‘far too connected’. What we don’t hear about quite so often, are the advantages that being connected has brought; most significantly, to the workforce. Read the interview in Growth Business UK with our Founder Rebecca Fitzgerald. In it she explains how she has made a business out of using remote working as a key component to the online provision of brand protection. Recent studies found that as of 2019, 16% of all companies are fully remote, and 40% of companies now employ some form of remote workforce; be it creating a customer service base in another country, or contracting out certain parts of the organisation to a third-party vendor. In fact, many departments are successfully managed by individuals without ever having met face to face. There are a lot of positives to managing a remote team. For example: No location restrictions - studies show that workers are less stressed and tired when there isn’t a commute involved. Plus, there is far less absenteeism and fewer late starts when the commute is removed. Hiring right - the talent you need may not live nearby; and by hiring remotely you can guarantee you’re hiring the right person for the job. Follow the sun - in a 24/7 world, hiring in different time zones means less turnover with a graveyard shift team. What is considered undesirable hours for one country may be the perfect work schedule for another, depending on the time zones. Administrative savings/less overhead - surveys show that workers are willing to take a pay cut to work from home; while offices can reduce their overall administrative costs; no need to keep the lights on, so to speak. https://www.strawberrysocial.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/giphy-11.mp4 With all of these advantages, you would imagine that more companies would embrace the telecommuting culture, and we are certainly seeing an overall shift. However there are obviously some challenges to managing a remote workforce (espcially in some of the more 'traditional' industries)... but, these issues can easily be addressed. Read our top tips below... MANAGING A REMOTE TEAM - THE PITFALLS AND HOW TO AVOID THEM Lack of team spirit - while it sounds great to work from your own home, it can get lonely, and isolating. Make sure you have regular team meetings, using web meetup systems such as Skype, Whatsapp, or Google Hangouts. There are numerous other programmes just as useful. These meetups should include work conversations (company or project updates) but also allow for some time for the team to chat, get to know one another and share their thoughts so the team feels motivated, connected and part of the organisation Out of sight doesn’t mean out of mind - it’s expected that in-house decisions will be made, sometimes in hallways, or across the room. Make sure these decisions are shared with your entire company, including your remote team members. There are loads of programmes you can use to ensure that changes to the work or organisation are well-documented and properly communicated. Basecamp, Trello, even Dropbox make great virtual project management systems. The fear of trust - i.e. micromanaging - we hear this one quite often. “How can I trust that my team is actually doing the work if I can’t see them?” Frankly, if you have to ask yourself that question then you haven’t hired the right team. This is a classic symptom of micromanagement and can be incredibly detrimental to your organisation. People can tell when they’re not trusted, regardless of where they do their jobs. Simple shifts in management style can eliminate this mistrust, and you’ll be amazed at the increased productivity once you’re able to step back, and trust. And, as Steve Jobs once said... Setting due dates, having regular check-ins that include updates to assigned tasks are a good start. Schedules can be set and communicated in Planday plus, enlist a project management tool and use it as intended. This will help you not only trust your team but will allow them to feel trusted to get the job done and done right. Support tools such as Zendesk, Sprout Social, Conversocial, and others should record all tasks completed during a shift as well. Quick checks into completed work make things super easy to quality check your hourly staff’s work as well. Team communication - Not only does the organisation need to be communication-vigilant, but your team members should also learn how to be incredibly mindful with their communication to the organisation. Enforce policies such as: public availability calendars, live chat systems (see: WhatsApp, Gchat, Skype, Campfire) and, have a Social Media Policy! With small changes, your organisation will reap the benefits that a remote workforce provides. StrawberrySocial has cracked that particular code when it comes to enlisting a 100% remote workforce - read more (via an interview in Growth Business UK) from our Founder Rebecca Fitzgerald. Our fabulous team works across different time zones and different cultures, bringing with them enthusiasm, smarts and personality in abundance! Jennifer Puckett, Content Lead for StrawberrySocial, has managed remote teams for over 10 years. “The biggest benefit to having a distributed workforce has got to be the level of passion and care that my team members bring to their day. Because teams have the opportunity to choose their hours, and are working in a field they feel passionate about, they're able to work at times when they can bring their very best. Watching them learn about new people, in different parts of the world also brings a sense of community, and I love seeing them learn and connect with people they’d never normally get a chance to meet." You can contact us using our Contact Form or, drop us a line at info@strawberrysocial.co.uk. More articles on remote working: #thrivingatwork: the StrawberrySocial Way Moderating the Moderators - The future of emotional labour ### "Can We Build It?" vs "Should We Build It?" The New Code To Protect Children's Privacy Online Recently, the Information Commissioner’s Office released new policies required for all tech/digital-based companies. Tech-based businesses will be required to enhance their coding in such a way which will ensure the protection of children’s rights and privacy are integral to the overall user experience. In their words, [the] “Best interests of the child must be a primary consideration when designing their services”. In general terms, this means that any organisation which has a digital presence must comply with the following: Assess and mitigate risks to children’s rights and freedoms when designing and developing their services, and they must take into consideration different ages, capacities and development needs. All rules of engagement, including the steps taken to protect a user’s privacy must be concise, easy to find, and in a language which is appropriate to the child’s age. All user access settings default to “high privacy” Only the minimum amount of PII (personally identifiable information) required in order to use the service should be collected and retained, and can only be shared if a reasonable reason for sharing can be shown. Personal data must not be used in ways that have been “shown to be detrimental to their wellbeing, or that go against industry codes of practice, other regulatory provisions or Government advice”. Geolocation tracking features should default to ‘off’, provide an “obvious sign for children when location tracking is active”, and default back to ‘off’ after each session has ended. Parental controls must provide an “obvious sign to the child when they are being monitored”, and all parental controls will be written in the user’s age-appropriate language. Profiling must default to ‘off’, and only be allowed if there are “appropriate measures” in place to protect the child from any harmful effects, such as content that is detrimental to their health or wellbeing. All of the above must be upheld at all times according to policy, and regular community standards In The News - from the BBC "New 'transformational' code to protect children's privacy online." These changes are meant for any kind of technological program which involves data collection and online presence; and includes: Social Media platforms Mobile apps Connected toys and smart home devices (Alexa, Hey Google) Online games, inc. gaming machines (Xbox, Playstation, hand-held) Educational Websites Streaming services While no organisation wants to be known as an unsafe place for its users, many are struggling to come to terms with this new policy. For some, this will mean a very big, very real shift in priorities. For decades, multi-billion pound organisations have been operating under the philosophy of “Can we build it?” rather than thinking “Should we build it” for far too long. Andy Burrows, the NSPCC's head of child safety online policy, said the code would force social networks to "finally take online harm seriously and they will suffer tough consequences if they fail to do so". He said: "For the first time, tech firms will be legally required to assess their sites for sexual abuse risks, and can no longer serve up harmful self-harm and pro-suicide content.” By forcing businesses to think more about the end-user experience and consequences of their actions, there will be more than a few boardrooms struggling to change their overall company mission and philosophy. “For me, and more broadly, for [Instagram], and also for the industry this has translated into a lot of concrete changes in policy, in to what shows up where on IG more investment in finding people who might be at risk, and those affects are real and they’re important” - Adam Mosseri - Head of Instagram At StrawberrySocial, much of what we offer is brand risk-management. This includes the active removal of inappropriate, potentially harmful and illegal content from the sites of our clients. We are excited about these changes, and look forward to seeing how they will impact our day to day work and yet, we’re also very aware that the need for human intervention (eg our moderators) will never go away. Rebecca Fitzgerald, Founder and MD of StrawberrySocial: "We have a combined experience of over 30 years working with kid friendly, global brands, assisting web brands, online games, and social platforms with everything from child safety training, to product development, moderation, risk management and support." "What this new policy means is that companies will need to take a hard, long look at their overall business structure, and ensure the safety of children is now integral to every conversation - even before development begins. And this is where we can be a tremendous help - to both burgeoning companies and established brands." For more information on the DPIA and New Code policies you can visit the official website for the Information Commissioner’s Office https://ico.org.uk/about-the-ico/news-and-events/news-and-blogs/2020/01/ico-publishes-code-of-practice-to-protect-children-s-privacy-online/ ### A Match Made In Heaven - when Customer Support & Community Management fall in love... Over the years I have worked for a variety of organisations; each brand bringing with it a unique vision for their support teams. Some have been more successful than others, and some have changed their policies so often my head would spin. But one thing successful companies had in common was their focus on combining Community Management with Customer Support. In many cases, Community Management and Customer Support were one and the same - but not always. Some companies like to have one team work on email and phone support while another handled online engagement and communications. Regardless of your company’s structure, what is vital to the overall customer experience is that these departments work together cohesively. What does this mean in practical terms for your company?  Read on... Tantamount to a successful support team is to ensure Consistency in Training. Both Community Management and Customer Support must be trained using the same materials and in the same manner. Ideally they are trained at the same time, and each individual taught both customer support, and community management platforms. Knowing what each department is dealing with will help each person know who to send what issues to, and how the other department is handling issues. Inducting the teams together creates camaraderie, mutual respect and support through ‘the trenches’. It provides structure; creating a deep understanding of division of labour. Knowing who to go to when you’re stuck can provide consistency, and get the job done quickly for the customer - this is even more important when your company also has an outsourced out-of-hours team. For more information get in touch: here's our Contact Form or call 020 3873 1092.   Tone of Voice is Everything and should be consistent regardless of the medium. It takes different skills to project empathy with a voice than with the written word; and intonation plays a big part in getting your word across. Community Management teams engage with customers in the written word more often than with their voice; yet they should be able to mirror the support team’s vocal empathy whenever responding to a customer via social. When building out your tone of voice guidelines, consider the following: Clear language The old rule still applies: Keep It Simple Stupid. Explaining your company’s policies should be simple to read for the team, and for the customer. Be concise and clear. Empathy - this seems obvious however it is one of the hardest skills to teach. Listen and absorb everything a customer shares; then mirror it back. Showing you understand and appreciate their feelings about a situation goes a long way. Be thorough - do not just address one of the items on a customer’s list of issues. If they write in with three different concerns, make sure you address each issue in your response. There is a reason each item has been brought up; and if they are not all resolved with your reply, your customer will simply feel unheard and unappreciated. And they’ll write back perhaps even more upset than before. Added bonus: consistent messaging increases team member confidence and quality of work. If everyone is speaking the same language there is little room for confusion. This translates to a happy customer who knows exactly what to expect from your support and engagement teams. Customer Support and Community Management are two sides of the same coin. You want Support and Community running like a well-oiled machine. One side needs the other in order to complete the job at hand. So consider scheduling the teams at the same time, on the same days. Not only does this provide consistency and allow the teams to work together but also tells the customer when they can expect results. If a customer tries the support department first and doesn’t get the answer they want, they may try to contact someone on social media for a different result. If the support team is available for conversation at the same time community is working, they provide a united front when explaining things to the customer. It also makes things much easier for each department to get the entire story, without misunderstandings. StrawberrySocial has a team of expert support and community professionals (skilled in tools such as Conversocial and Zendesk) ready to work with your brands 24 hours a day, seven days a week whenever needed. When Community Management and Customer Service work together you encourage open communication, trust, internal support and brainstorming. Building relationships ensures harmonious teamwork; which translates to customer satisfaction and happiness.   For more information on how we can help, get in touch  with the StrawberrySocial team. Here's our Contact Form or call us on 020 3873 1092. ### Lost in the Social Triangle?! Discover Our Top Tips for Building Customer Communities In our last blog post we shared the argument for the re-branding of Social Media; recommending that organisations recognise the distinction between marketing/advertising online and a fully recognised social engagement team. Social Media needs to get back to its roots. The best method for having a successful online presence is to ensure all disciplines are utilised and part of your overall success strategy. This is an important distinction... Social Media Community Management is a three-pronged approach - one in which no one part is more important than the other: Engagement and support Marketing and Advertising (Information sharing) Reports, Data and sentiment analysis Companies would do well to create their Social Media Community Management team utilising each of the three disciplines equally; allowing the department to work cross-functionally with outside departments including tech, product development, recruitment, advertising and others. Below, we define each discipline so you can understand what to look for in your team; and how each section works together for ultimate success: Engagement and Support are a necessary and vital part of the puzzle. Once you publish new advertising and product marketing, your community engagement and support team will need to be on hand and well-informed as to how to keep the public conversation lively, positive and active. They will also be imperative should there be any consumer issues, and can quickly detect a potential crisis in the making. Digital Marketing and Online Advertising will always be considered part of the equation, however this is only one part of three - they all require care, attention and responsibility. Marketing and Advertising should work closely with Engagement and Support as they will know not just what campaigns had the highest engagement stats but also provide information on why they were successful and what needs improvement. What is it that your audience loved about the latest campaign? How can Marketing and Advertising give the community more of that? Reports, Analysis and Insights are the ideal way to present how successful each of your online campaigns are performing - both financially, and emotionally. You will easily be able to discover which projects resonate with your core audience, how successful your engagement and support teams are relating to your current audience, and how to improve your online reputation with new and existing consumers. Both the Engagement team and Marketing team will benefit from developing reports and analyses together so as to present a well-rounded proposal to everyone from Product Development, to your C-suite. By taking this approach you will find your customer base to be more loyal, last longer, and your organisation will be so much better prepared to service your fans for life. StrawberrySocial’s team of online community veterans are well-versed in successfully setting up and managing social community teams, as well as running insight reports and analysis. Hit us up for more details on how we can bring this to your organisation! ### Why 'Social Media' is an Outdated Phrase When I started researching for this blog, one of the first questions I wanted answered was “who coined the term Social Media, and what exactly does it mean’?” Ironically (or maybe not so much), there are multiple individuals taking credit for the phrase (although you’d think that since ‘nothing disappears on the internet’ it would be easy to find out who said it first… ) While the debate continues, the question remains: What exactly do we mean when we are talking about Social Media? Dictionary.com defines Social Media as the following: websites and other online means of communication that are used by large groups of people to share information and to develop social and professional contacts And Wikipedia.org defines Social Media as: ...interactive computer-mediated technologies that facilitate the creation and sharing of information, ideas, career interests and other forms of expression via virtual communities and networks In other words, Social Media involves multiple individuals sharing experiences, content, and information in order to create a positive, communal experience. Yet recent watercooler chats have our team debating the difference between Social Media as it is defined versus how it appears in practice today. We concluded that what began as a virtual place where like-minded individuals commune holistically to share information, is today treated as a place for marketing and advertising to share brand content in the form of campaigns, click-throughs and commercials. In other words, Social Media has become 10% social and 90% media. While Marketing and Advertising will always have its place online, it needs to rebrand and call itself what it really is: Digital Marketing and Online Advertising. Social Media should return to its roots in order to become what it was meant to be. This is not to say that Social Media Online Communities have gone the way of the dodo - quite the opposite. Forums, Facebook Groups and other private spaces continue to build positive online communities through cultivation, engagement and genuine support with the help of specific organisations doing it right. Non-Profits, Private Support groups and Health & Well-being communities have all found a great way to bridge the gap between engagement and community building while allowing marketing and advertising to co-exist as a part of the whole experience - Social, and Media. The nature of this kind of organisation lends itself quite well to traditionally successful Online Communities. Next post we will share our insights on how to create a truly successful, fully realised Social Media Community space - whether a forum or closed groups on channels such as Facebook (examples - those hosted by Prostate Cancer UK, National Deaf Children’s Society, Help for Heroes and the NSPCC) which any brand will be proud of. And, by engaging, sharing info and supporting your community, your organisation will reap the benefits. Stay tuned!   Find out what we do: Brand protection - community management, moderation, advice Charities - closed communities, public platforms, forums Social Strategy ### Be A Strawberry Superhero! Join us! We're looking for an experienced freelance social media moderator/community manager to support our growing team. The role will require you to review and moderate user-generated content on various social network sites. The role is primarily out of hours (GMT) so may be best for a US, Australia or Asia based person - or a Europe-based night-owl. Key Responsibilities Monitoring UGC on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and other social media channels. Posting client-written content using FAQs and Standard Response Templates. Producing detailed shift reports and feedback to senior management and clients. Attending regular (online) team meetings. Skills, Knowledge and Experience An outstanding knowledge of online user habits and idiosyncrasies. Confident use of social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Instagram. First-class interpersonal skills, both verbal and written. Spot-on spelling and grammar. A passion for all things social media. Highly motivated and confident, with a strong work ethic, an eye for details and a pride in what you do. Must be available to work from midnight-2am GMT weekdays, some weekends and the occasional early morning. Hours will vary considerably. Home-based – does not have to be UK based. To apply, send your CV and an email to Shaz Collier (shaz@strawberrysocial.co.uk) Closing date 2nd February, 2019 ### The Perils of Community Management Over the Festive Period Fact: the average person spends 135 minutes a day on social media. And that’s just an ordinary day. A Monday, say, mid-June, when the sun is out, the mood is carefree, and there’s plenty of things to be getting on with both in and out of the office. A time when the world is otherwise distracted... One hundred and thirty five minutes. Eight thousand, one hundred seconds. Are you picturing it? OK, now imagine it’s Christmas day. The turkey has been gobbled up, the presents torn open, and everyone is vegged out watching festive flicks they’ve already seen a million times. How much time do you think people will spend on social media on these lazy days, made up almost entirely of things to brag about online (because, basically, most of consumer social media is a big ‘ole #HumbleBrag come December 25th.) OK …now imagine a number of those social media users are feeling annoyed at your brand (or a brand that​​​ you’re responsible for) and decide to fire out an angry message. You’re tagged. People start to respond. The message (a tweet, say) goes viral. And before you know it, Twitter is going crazy about something you’ve allegedly done wrong, customers are getting increasingly irate at a lack of pick up from your end because – shock horror – you’ve given your social media team the holidays off (you monster). And now, The Daily Mail is running a double page spread on your irresponsible approach to online customer service. You’re at home with your family, you don’t even know this is happening. The empire is crumbling, and all you’re doing is cosily noshing on mince pies and watching Doctor Who. What will the people at the top think of you now? Where can your brand (or your client’s brand) go from here? WILL YOU OR YOUR BRAND EVER RECOVER? … Aaaand breathe. Come back into the room. Have a sip of your tea and try to calm your beating heart as you realise that the harrowing fantasy isn’t reality… yet. But don’t let that make you complacent - if it can happen to other brands, it can happen to yours.   You can also use our Contact Form Not convinced? Read on...     When social media goes wrong: handpicked horror stories   The case of UPS ‘ruining Christmas’ and then ‘rubbing it in’ In 2013, delivery company UPS ran late on a lot of their Christmas orders. And while they didn’t disclose quite how many were late, the cries of ‘you ruined Christmas’ that rang out online were pretty darn loud. To add insult to injury? A scheduled post was then pushed live on Christmas day referring to the service as ‘Santa’s helpers.’ The backlash was… well you can imagine… This was a very blunt reminder of the importance of rethinking your scheduled messaging if you have very recently failed to – mind the pun – deliver. With a risk assessment and community managers in place UPS could have if not avoided the issue (mistakes are made, after all), at least minimised the fallout. The case of Poundland’s misguided Elf on the Shelf campaign We’re throwing this one in because it was huge last year, though we’re still not certain if the brand in question predicted the outcry that would come to accompany their controversial images. Regardless, Poundland’s crude take on a children’s toy upset and astounded social media users this time last year, with a lot of negativity directed at the brand. We can’t be certain if there was a workflow set up to deal with negative feedback – it didn’t seem so when the storm first broke – but this year, with the return of the elf, there appears to be a team of community managers on hand to respond to comments. Only time will tell if their crisis management team is fully briefed and ready to go. Judging by last year’s reaction, they certainly need to be And the case of Dove’s ‘racist’ Facebook post Not a Christmas campaign, but an important one. In late 2017, popular personal care brand Dove made a ‘ouch, that’s gotta hurt’ faux pas with their social media marketing. Cutting down an extended advert that showed women of all colour removing t-shirts to reveal women of another colour underneath – as a part of a campaign aimed to highlight beauty in all women, regardless of age, colour, shape. Dove shared a 2 second clip on Facebook that showed a black woman removing a t-shirt to reveal a white woman underneath. As this was an advert for body wash, the implication attached to such a clip was clear to everyone except, apparently, the social media team that pushed it live. And with said implication being a racist one, the internet went wild. Dove issued an apology, and the advert was removed – but the damage was done. The message had gone viral, and Dove had changed in the eyes of previously loyal followers. In the marketing sphere, we were all left asking - as we’re certain their internal team was - where the social media experts were, and why hadn’t they conducted a risk assessment in advance? Where were their community managers, who should have spotted issues first, and gone into escalation/crisis mode? Why had this been allowed to happen at all? … You get the point. Contact: Rebecca, 07741848738. You can also use our Contact Form Still pondering? Read on...     Key considerations for managing your social media at Christmas Active social media accounts are part and parcel of running a business in 2018 but, as outlined above, this customer centric element of your marketing mix is not without peril. You think a bit of arm-twisting to get a couple of your staff to ‘pop online’ from time to time to keep an eye on things will do the job. And, hey, so what if that cover has had a few bevvies or is having a nap. Ahem… so, although online crisis can happen all year around, Christmas is a particularly tricky time. Why? Allow us to explain... 1. Your usual team is at its busiest, people are on holiday, and then, on the crucial day, chances are your regular account manager is not online. For you, this could spell disaster. Without monitoring, a single irate query can spiral into a viral hate campaign if sent out by the right person – especially since 47% of customers want fast replies to their messages. Nothing fuels the online fire more than being ignored (studies even show that 66% of consumers will rethink their loyalty to your brand if they experience bad customer service). 2. Fake news can kill your brand if not nipped in the bud. Without a community manager on hand to dispel rumours ASAP, fake news about one of your products or your brand can become ingrained in the public consciousness before you even know there’s a problem, with negative feedback seriously impairing your chances of making a killing in the boxing day sales (80% of shoppers do their research online before buying – do you want that research to turn up bad reviews?). 3. Bad reviews result in loss of sales. As above, but with reviews rather than fake news. We really can’t stress enough – your community needs to be managed! Without monitoring, you can’t be sure how you’re performing. Good or bad, you need to know what is being said about you. And not just tagged mentions – do you know what’s being said without inclusion of your profile? We can guarantee your customers do. 4. Handing your accounts to a junior team member, without proper training, could do more harm than good. We know it’s tempting, and you wouldn’t be the first to do it… Or the first to regret doing it, either. We can’t stress how important it is to have the right triage process in place – often brands will categorise positive and negative sentiment and forward on negative sentiment to customer care teams. However, the types of comments could include complaints, queries about products or frequently asked questions. Each category requires a different response and potentially a different skillset, therefore understanding the correct triage and reputation management process is key. So, you're ready to contact us now, right? You’ve certainly ‘stayed the course’ and read what is a pretty lengthy blog post. Nice one – see below…   So what’s the good news? There is a silver lining to all of this, and that is that we’re here to help. Our team of highly experienced social media experts and reputation managers are on standby to give their full attention to your brand, interacting with your clientele and troubleshooting any looming dangers before they have the opportunity to ruin your chances in 2019. Have a think, read through our service offering, and get in touch. Oh, and obviously we can work direct with brands too.   We’ll be online and holding the fort quicker than you can say ho ho ho…w many notifications??? Contact: Rebecca, 07741848738. You can also use our Contact Form ### Under The Influence I caught a clip last night from a BBC TV show looking at Fake News. What caught my eye was the business about internet personalities, and how many of them create these artificial versions of themselves in order to become that highlight of the internet age – the social media ‘influencer’. In case you have escaped this phenomenon, an ‘influencer’ is some bright young personality who looks good on Youtube or on Instagram (it’s largely a visual thing) essentially flogging product to others who aspire to be like them. You may not have the stamina to follow their diet regime or exercise programme, but you can buy the citrus-coloured top they’re wearing (don’t forget the special discount code!), or play the game they’re playing, and be Just Like Them. Look, I know that in the age in which people wear red baseball caps to show their allegiance to a perma-tanned man they will never be like (and never should want to be), adopting the mannerisms of someone who has 250,000 subscribers on YouTube is hardly the greatest sin. We’ve all dressed a little bit like a favourite pop star at some time or another, which is why so many of us have to hide every photo taken of us in the ‘80s. It’s harmless, right? Equally, brands and campaigns latching onto these people, and sending them some free kit (soon to be on eBay), that’s not bad either, right? It’s no different to Gary Lineker flogging crisps, or having at least two All Blacks appearing on every single advert that airs on New Zealand TV. Endorsements are just the sparkly end of reviews, and no-one thinks they are a bad thing, right? I have been endorsed by just one celebrity in my life, when my Young Adult football novels carried an endorsement line by one of England’s finest (and my eldest son’s favourite) footballers. I was touched by how much he liked the first book, and amazed that he liked it so much bearing in mind I hadn’t handed it in to the publisher. It was fake news, just like it’s fake news half the time when a movie or theatre poster contains a line from a review. Just like the majority of the “this is the greatest game I have ever played” plugs plastered all over the advertising for new mobile games. It’s just how it’s done. But out here in social media land, I’d like to think we’d want to be a little more careful in our use of endorsements and influencers. Personally, I’d like to put each one through the kind of grilling I like to think happens when someone is on the verge of becoming a spy, or a counter-spy, or something. Clearly, I mean the rigorous version, and not the one where MI5 basically used to just ask if another chap was a good chap. I digress. In an era in which celebrities can crash and burn in an instant because of a Tweet they made in 2002, this is no time to attach your brand to anyone you don’t know inside and out. This particularly applies to the use of influencers, because you really don’t have all that much control over what they say or do while wearing your campaign t-shirt. If a K-Pop band can manage to offend an entire country with a t-shirt, your brand is not invulnerable. I think it’s a little lazy in any case. Everyone hopes their post, meme or cat picture will go viral, and so the first thing a lot of people in the biz go for is getting the message out to a bunch of people they believe will then repost/retweet/waffle on about it. Those people will reach a zillion other people, so the brand doesn’t have to. It’s all part of the numbers game, the ‘metrics’ that fool so many people into thinking they know what is happening to their brand’s campaign. But in trying to please a tiny fraction of the audience, eggs can get placed in a very small number of very flimsy baskets. I know a PC game that regularly sends out pre-release versions of its games to a handful of influencers, partly to get reviewed, but also in the hope that they’ll play the game out of ‘love’ on their Youtube channel with it’s 50,000 subscribers, and that then a decent chunk of those 50,000 are sales. This doesn’t always pay off, as in their own desire to be ‘edgy’, these guys can associate the game with some undesirable opinions. It’s all a bit thin-ice for me. Know your audience has been a useful and tested axiom for a long time. Know your influencers needs to catch on just as well, or suddenly you’ll find your message is swallowed up in a storm about blackface or an inappropriate t-shirt. ### Trollz - and your brand When we partner with a brand or agency, we offer an assurance that the job will be done right. Our reputation lies in the protection of your reputation, and so we guard your brand (and/or client) like...well, a guard dog... Find out more and contact Rebecca. I was prompted to think about trolls the other day. If you’re a fantasy role-play nerd, this might excite you to contribute your anecdote about “that time when I…”, but no. We are, of course, talking about internet trolls. Amazingly, less cute and more trouble to get rid of. There’s been some interesting research about internet trolls, where they come from and why they exist, the psychology, the sociology, the pathology. Having recently read a history of the French Revolution (Eric Hazan’s “A People’s History of the French Revolution”), it struck me that there was probably a conversation at Versailles where the King asked “Is this Marat trolling me?” Different era, different technology, same deal. So, there’s perhaps nothing new about ‘trolling’ as such, save that we have handed the 21st century Marat a much larger printing press. One day, we are going to find our first cave painting where the comments section still exists, and we’ll see that right from the start there have been people yelling “Wake up, Sheeples!” after screaming their version of the truth. The subjects may change, but the message is always the same: “You’re wrong, I’m right… the Earth is round!” (as they started trolling 500 years ago). What a lot of this academic study doesn’t cover is the question any brand is going to ​​know the answer to. Namely: “Why is this happening to us?”, which will be closely followed by “What can we do to get rid of it?” Trolling is both mind-numbingly predictable, and baffling random. One second you’re talking about maps – boom! – now you’ve attracted a troll who wants to derail your discussion into a diatribe about Palestine. Sometimes, your brand is naturally affiliated with a position that draws hostile comment, such as cosmetic brands, or people who offer around the world cruises. Sometimes, you’re pretty much troll-neutral as a brand, but a tweet or a clever meme gets out of hand. The bottom line is that you can’t avoid trolls, even if you censor yourself to the point of anonymity. Somewhere out there is someone who doesn’t like your toothpaste, and is going to link it to the loss of wildlife habitat in Antartica. If you’re online (and who isn’t), they will find you eventually. So, what to do about it? First, I want to emphasise that trolls are a different version of humanity who don’t respond to the normal rules of discourse. If you say something, and another (normal) person doesn’t like it, they might say “I don’t like this” on your feed, but then that’s it. You respond or you don’t, but it’s done. A troll, though, has an agenda. And nothing you can do will deflect or calm that sense of mission they have to educate the misguided. When a troll latches onto you, they stick around like that ugly jumper you bought when it was fashionable for twenty minutes. Every time you look in your wardrobe, there it will be. One quick caveat here: there are people who act like trolls, but who don’t have this limpet-like quality. They are fire-and-forget trolls, who wreak their havoc but don’t even hang around to see how anybody responds because they are off to a new venue. You still have to deal with the effects of their passing, but they’re not going to completely overturn your stall. Sensible moderation practices will catch them as easily as you get read of someone who F-bombs your Facebook page. But how do you avoid getting dragged into the swamps wherein the real trolls reside? Well, there are really only three methods. Ignore, delete, respond. They all have their difficulties, but there’s only one method that can have a good outcome for you, long term.​ Ignoring the problem is a hideous mistake. Some brands believe they can rely on their advocates, their community, to police the problem. But even well-meaning amateur ambassadors for your brand will make the key mistake of expanding the discussion. You started by posting, let’s say, a positive remark about research into, oh, I don’t know… peanut allergies. The troll picks up on this, and now your community is singing the chorus to the verse the troll added, leaving your original post at the back of the room, waving its hand and calling out: “Excuse me!” A little later, and you find yourself deleting a post from a well-meaning advocate who misrepresented your position accidentally, and now the whole thing has imploded. It’s your page, your thread, your account. Own it: don’t leave it to others to defend. Deleting can work, especially if you catch the original trolling remark early, and especially if you’ve got lucky and the troll is of the fire-and-forget kind. Good moderators can develop a really good ‘ear’ for when a conversation is about to derail, and they kill the remark that’s going to do that before the storm develops. Do it fast, and acknowledge the fact you did it, and then be ready for the sub-set of trolls who may now bombard you with accusations about censorship vs free speech. Have a line you are ready to defend with regard to your moderation policies, and why you delete some comments, and deploy when necessary. If the troll comes back, delete again and again, explaining why. Don’t let it get personal; stick to your principles. And finally, there’s respond. “Actually, sir (it’s nearly always an anonymous sir), our view is that peanut allergies…”. Haul the discussion back to the original subject, make it clear that you’re not going to allow further discussion or digression. Ask a question that’s a sub-set of the original post; commission a poll. Now your advocates should be responding to you, and not the troll. Good moderation is always about owning the discussion. I worked on a UK national newspaper, and our guidelines started with “Our house, our rules.” Long term, the more you frame the tone of your interactions with commenters consistently in line with the brand values you espouse, the less of a viable target you become. Trolls attract trolls, like a broken window invites the next thrown stone. StrawberrySocial believes in helping you create a safe, invigorating, valued space where your brand (or, if you're an agency, your brand clients) and your customers can interact. We listen hard to your brand values, and make them our own, and then work with you to keep the trolls at bay. If your house looks well-protected, the trolls are going to look for someplace else to break into. That may not be the message the academics who look at trolling would want to end with, but for brand managers everywhere, that’s the goal for now. When we partner with a brand or agency, we offer an assurance that the job will be done right. Our reputation lies in the protection of your reputation, and so we guard your brand (and/or client) like...well, a guard dog... Find out more and contact Rebecca. ### Case Study: Working with Mind Mind, the mental health charity, provide advice and support to empower anyone experiencing a mental health problem. They campaign to improve services, raise awareness and promote understanding. They won't give up until everyone experiencing a mental health problem gets support and respect. Find out how we can help with your organisation's forum and/or channel-based communities. Or, contact: Rebecca. Mind’s digital forum Friends in Need is a way for people affected by depression to meet and chat, both online and in their local area. The community can help members to maintain recovery, share their experiences and make a difference. Friends in Need has over 56,000 members and more than 2,000 groups. StrawberrySocial specialise in keeping charity communities safe and have moderated Friends in Need during evenings and weekends for over two years now. A major part of the role is to monitor discussion, as light-touch as possible, allowing people to answer each other’s questions, providing peer support. It is also to monitor for crisis situations, such as violence, eating disorders, alcohol or drug abuse, child safety, self-harm or suicide, and sometimes need to hide these posts to keep the community safe. The moderator will email the forum member (as well as notifying the community that the member is being supported) to explain why the comment/s were removed, to check if they are OK and to provide links to places they can get help, such as NHS, Sane, Samaritans and the Mind Infoline. If necessary, and with their permission, the moderator will pass on information to emergency services on their behalf. The StrawberrySocial team is meticulous about following escalation workflows and also have clear and robust processes in place to ensure the safeguarding of children and vulnerable adults. Another part of the role is acting as greeter to help new members feel welcome and supported. The core of the forum is to enable users to help each other but, should a new member not receive a response from the community within a couple of hours, the ‘greeter’ will post as a greeter to help guide them as to how to use the forum. The whole team have online safety qualifications such as CEOP and NSPCC as well as being Moderation Gateway certified and DBS checked. Find out more about how we can help with your organisation's forum and/or channel-based communities.   Abbie Nichols, Digital Programme Manager for Friends in Need, says: “Our peer support communities Elefriends and Friends in Need provide a safe and anonymous space for anyone with a mental health problem to share their experiences, create meaningful and long-lasting connections, give support and receive it in return. Peer support, whether delivered face to face through our network of Local Minds, or online via our communities is a vital and valuable part of Mind's service offer, and something we're committed to developing and growing in the years to come. We quickly came to value StrawberrySocial’s understanding of the needs of the users of our Friends in Need community. We trust the team at StrawberrySocial because they are friendly, professional and reliable. They’re always willing to work with us to accommodate our requests, and are interested in the wider work that we’re doing and how it influences and impacts the way they moderate and manage our online community. This gives us reassurance that they really do care about what they’re doing. For them, it’s all about the people they’re supporting and keeping safe when we’re not in the office. Our working relationship with StrawberrySocial is open, relaxed and flexible. It’s great to know that they’re available and responsive when we need to rearrange moderation shifts, or just run through some feedback about our processes. They are great at welcoming new members and encouraging a positive atmosphere where people feel they can share their experiences, and give and receive support. It would definitely be worth talking to the team at StrawberrySocial about your project. They have lots of expertise and are very open to working in new ways, or contributing their own knowledge and ideas to existing projects.” Rebecca Fitzgerald, Managing Director at StrawberrySocial, says: “Charity forums require a different type of moderation to other forums and communities. A subtler touch, an understanding of mental health and how it can affect people’s behaviour. Each community is different, each user important. At StrawberrySocial, we have the experience to understand how charity forums and social media works. Our community managers are flexible, empathetic, resilient and supported by Management. They are able to moderate emotive threads about sensitive topics, and are trusted to help ensure that the Friends in Need community continues to make a huge difference to its members.” ### The Write Tools For The Job This is a blog about ContentCal (as well as containing some darn useful info.) Feel free to contact us and we can make an introduction or, talk you through how we use it. Plus, check out the work we do for agencies - out of hours support (moderation and community management). Thanks! Rebecca. A couple of days back, stressed for time, I made a mistake. I tried to post an image directly into the Twitter tool. I know, I know, it was a rank amateur mistake, and in my defence this was only a cartoon uploading to my personal account, but still. I should have known better. So, once I was on the train and realised that it hadn’t uploaded, I did the job again, checked it, and moved myself back up the ranks to semi-semi-pro. I don’t consider myself all that savvy when it comes to the technical side of Twitter, or the toaster, if I’m honest, but I’ve been in the game long enough to know that when I’m working on a social media post for a client, I need a good tool. Now, over the years, I have to admit I have been serially monogamous to various tools, and plenty of them have had their problems. Usually this comes down to issues with Facebook’s, etc.'s API, especially whenever said API would change and the tool would no longer work. Well, we all need these little adrenaline fixes now and then, right? But a fix would be made, or new tools would roll around, and things would be groovy once more. To me, the most important thing about any content tool is that it should make for easy collaboration. Take this blog for example. I woke up this morning at 4am due to a small error with the alarm clock (see my earlier note about technical prowess), drafted it while inhaling coffee, sent if off to the grown-ups at Strawberry, who snorted their coffee out of their noses, made 712 invisible corrections, researched some images and Shazam! Remembering back to that media client, there was me, my team, my boss, my opposite number client-side, their team, their bosses etc., etc. Along the way, every one of them wanted to point out their personal preferences... The tools at the time, which they weren’t even using you'll remember, weren’t great at organising stakeholder sign-off or creating any kind of audit trail. So, whoever was in charge would be deluged with emails, phone calls and general PITAs. Good times. All this is to introduce the thrilling information that Strawberry are starting a partnership arrangement with a new tool provider called ContentCal. The goal, as always at Strawberry, is to make things better and easier for our clients, so that we can work collaboratively to get the perfect messaging out there every time. The big plus as we see it with ContentCal is that it makes forward planning and sign-off easy, allowing the bare bones of a social media campaign to be worked out, added to, developed and delivered seamlessly. I’ve barely begun fiddling around with it, and I’m a convert. Naturally, it has all the metrics and analytics our industry loves, but as a content creator it’s that ability to float an idea, kick it around, work on it and refine it, all within the tool that will eventually publish it to various platforms that I like. No system is entirely fool-proof, but so long as it is decently Paul-proof I feel happier.   So far, we have been using ContentCal on our own social media and also, introducing clients to it. We're especially keen on its clean layout and the flexibility of the channel option, which allows you to use the calendar to bring all your marketing avenues (including SEO) into one place via designated channels. And, the tool is always improving. The good folks at ContentCal are always keen to hear ideas and feedback – if they are not yet blocking my calls, I’d suggest that they need built in moderation tools, but this always seems to be the last thing bolted on with social media tools. ContentCal is free to get started with one user, and then very competitively priced... give it a play around, and see what you think. Feel free to contact us and we can make an introduction or, talk you through how we use it - and can use it on your projects. Contact: Rebecca. ### Case Study: Working with Prostate Cancer UK Prostate Cancer UK is a charity that campaigns for men with prostate cancer to receive the best treatment and care wherever they live in the UK. By 2030, prostate cancer is set to become the most common cancer overall in the UK and, in the last 20 years, the charity has invested over £37 million into ground breaking research. Their goal? To stop prostate cancer being a killer within the next 10 years. Find out how we can help with your organisation's forum and/or channel-based communities. Or, contact: Rebecca. Every month, thousands of people use Prostate Cancer UK’s online community, posting more than a thousand messages in hundreds of active conversations. Members of the forum are free to discuss whatever they want, from diagnosis to dealing with treatment. The conversation is usually frank and open and the community supports each other by sharing their experiences. The forum is a fundamental part of the charity’s commitment to those who have been diagnosed as well as their relatives and carers. StrawberrySocial specialise in keeping charity communities safe and several of the team have worked with Prostate Cancer UK since 2012, moderating the community during evenings and weekends. The aim is to keep members safe and supported whilst also ensuring they have a space to be themselves and share what they need to. As part of this, we worked with the charity to compile clear community guidelines and put in place intricate escalation processes to resolve or escalate any issues Our whole team have online safety qualifications such as CEOP and NSPCC as well as being Moderation Gateway certified and DBS checked. Sue Boyes, Peer Support Manager at Prostate Cancer UK, says: “We feel reassured that when we leave the office, StrawberrySocial carry on the job of supporting men and their loved ones. They are friendly and approachable with a light touch and are very good at flagging issues and solving challenges. They understand the context of highly complex conversations involving medical treatment, and side effects. We would recommend StrawberrySocial because they took the time to understand who we are and what we are about, and are always there when we need to get hold of them. They also save us significant costs.” Rebecca Fitzgerald, Managing Director at StrawberrySocial, says: “Charity forums require a different type of moderation to other forums and communities. A subtler touch, an understanding of the issue and/or illness and how it can affect people’s behaviour. Each community is different, each user important. At StrawberrySocial, we have the experience to understand how charity forums and social media works. Our community managers are flexible, empathetic, resilient and supported by Management. They are able to moderate emotive threads about sensitive topics, such as end of life discussions, and are trusted to help ensure that the Prostate Cancer UK community is a welcoming and supportive place where men and those close to them can openly seek and offer support, ask questions and share information." Find out more about how we can help with your organisation's forum and/or channel-based communities. ### After the Asoccerlypse... I’m sure it’s down to all the shouting at the TV I have been doing for the last month or so, but my throat is raw. My fingers probably could so with a rest too, so after a last few thoughts on the World Cup, I’m going to lie in a darkened room for a while, as opposed to watching football in one. It’s just as well these things only come around every four years... The final was a glorious affair, a great game to round off a tournament of great games. Only one match finished 0-0, and there have been more twists and turns than Chubby Checker’s fans at a rave (ask your parents). In the end, France were worthy, if not wholly loved champions. Antoine Griezmann epitomised what the French did best, quietly orchestrating the team and ensuring they were always a step ahead of the opposition, no matter who that was. There were plenty of more eye-catching midfielders in Russia, but few who did as much. And in Kylian Mbappé they had a player who is going to be the next GOAT, as the cognoscenti like to call it. The way he skinned a world class defender in Vida was just scary. What will be your enduring memory of the tournament? Personally, I am still suffering from the interminable delay in getting two bouncy castles and a dozen dignitaries out onto the pitch to present the trophy and medals, during which we were firmly reminded what a hell-spawned aberration Euro-pop can be. Plus, Putin with the only umbrella, which is as close to a sight gag that speaks to the state of world politics as anything you could dream up. But I digress. The final was a microcosm of the tournament, with all of our favourite topics of conversation illustrated. Own goals. Why did they become a thing this time around? Presumably there have been sufficient changes in the laws of the game that defenders are being pressurised into making last minute interventions with toe or bonce that haven’t always paid off. It’ll be interesting if this is something that continues in domestic leagues this coming (oh-so-soon) season. Much less enjoyably, we have seen an increase in penalty kicks (which may account for why there were fewer 0-0 matches), along with their allies among the Four Midfielders of the Asoccerlypse, diving/feigning injury/going down because a defender was three inches away, haranguing the ref, and sumo wrestling as a sport-within-a-sport at corners and free kicks. Pestilence may well turn out to be the Visual Assistant Referee, which has completely improved the situation with regard to subjective decisions, by taking around ten minutes to produce a different subjective decision. It seems to have worked much better in the Bundesliga this last season, but in Russia it added very little positive. If subjective decisions are going to be taken away from the official closest to the action, and given to a panel of chaps in a hotel room in Vladivostok, then why not go even further with this kind of democratic decision-making, and allow the crowd to determine what happened? It would improve attendances at games, it would give stewards more to do (“did I count your vote already? No, not you, the other guy in the Juventus shirt. STOP MOVING AROUND!”), and it would stop TV pundits having much to say, other than to agree with the 8,000 baying fans outside the press box. Sure, it would cement home field advantage, but I think it’s the future. In fact, let’s go one stage further. I read that over 200,000 fans from S America signed a petition that the England-Colombia game should be replayed because of perceived referee bias. Given how long VAR takes, I think penalty decisions and the like should immediately be referred to social media, and if the ref’s original decision gets enough downticks, then the decision/scoreline/result should be reversed. If Facebook can be held responsible for the outcome of elections, then I think we can trust them with delivering an instant FAR decision on the last minute winner in the 2022 final between the Faeroe Islands and China. I’ll give you that idea for free, FIFA, unless you actually use it, in which case I want oodles of cash. On THAT note, I think we can wrap up the StrawberrySocial Guide to Russia 2018. Please vote for this blog in any category you think applies, although Young Player might be a stretch. I’m sure we’ll meet up again for Euro 2020’s We Fly All The Teams To All The Locations banjangle, or possibly at the Olympics, in which FAR will be applied to the winner of the 100 metres. Put some money down now on Putin before the odds drop. You’ll thank me for it later... ### Sliding Tackles In 1998’s hit movie Sliding Doors, the premise of the thing is that there is a moment when time bifurcates. Gwyneth Paltrow’s character misses a tube train or doesn’t, and from there her life is wildly altered. I forget now what caused it – did she trip or something? It doesn’t matter; the point is that it was something incredibly small that made profound changes to everything else in her life. Now imagine that HARRY KAAAANE (sorry, I must have started using the Sky commentary style guide by mistake) had put his big chance in, or England’s marking had been just that little bit sharper, or… or… Yes, people, here we are. The weekend nobody wanted. Instead of breathless anticipation and a long Sunday in the pub, we have the irrelevant 3rd Place Final and a Sunday spent watching two teams who aren’t England in the darkened living rooms of our own homes, feeling that we could have beaten either France or Croatia, if only we’d actually beaten Croatia. Coming Home has definitely morphed into the negative cousin of If Not, Now When?, or even the dark, sour We Weren’t Good Enough, We Were Just Lucky. If the earlier part of the World Cup was a period of permutations, this is the time of increasing recriminations, as more and more teams are beaten and sent home, wondering what might have been if only Gwyneth Paltrow had stayed at work and taken all the chances life offered her, instead of depending on Fate. Or something. Column miles have been spent in the newspapers and on social media, and endless, endless hours spent with TV pundits, all trying to unpick what went right and what went wrong. Has this been a very close run thing, with an England team of callow youth producing the second/third best England performance of all time at a World Cup (who said that game on Saturday was pointless, eh?)? Or were England in danger of complete over-hype, having just about got past Tunisia and Panama, stuffed it up against Belgium B, needing penalties to get past Colombia (etc). Were they on their way to winning the World Cup via a series of games that might not have daunted the five-a-side team you turn out for when it’s not too cold? Opinions, it seems, have sliding doors of their own. Well, here at StrawberrySocial, we’ve dusted ourselves down, thrown out the empties and washed up the glasses, so we’re ready for What’s Next? After all, as we’ve been bleating about since Russia started the whole thing off, there was always likely to be a time when we’d have to change tack dramatically. It has been instructive to watch professionals (and Ian Wright) do it, but it’s rarely my advice that you should follow the precedent of English media, and I don’t propose to start now. Accept that England’s race is run, and move on. It’s never too early to break out predictions for 2022 after all. Sunday’s final will still be a fantastic event, and hopefully will give us a game to remember, assuming France manage to remember that sport is a form of entertainment. Normally, I would expect a lot of people in the UK to support Croatia, following the principle of backing the plucky underdog, but – and here’s a social media tip for Dejan Lovren – you can’t be both the plucky underdog and the greatest in the world. Amazingly, France, who have glorious form when it comes to imploding at tournaments, have maintained tight discipline for the most part, and kept their collective digits off Twitter and the like. Here in New Zealand, for various reasons, it’s impossible to support France no matter what the shape of the ball, and I still feel it would be fitting to have a new name on the trophy this time around. I’m actually, in the end, pretty ambivalent about who wins the Final, so long as it’s a half-decent game. My fear is a 1-0 lead to France at half-time, after an edgy and directionless first half from Croatia, followed by 45 minutes of France looking to kill the game stone dead. We’ll know soon enough. Just this last weekend to get through, people, and we can lean back in our office chairs and wonder what we are going to write about for the rest of the summer. What about the tennis? Wait, that’s been going on while the football was on? Why didn’t anybody tell me? In another dimension another (actual) writer isn’t typing these words in his PJs at the breakfast table after England’s exit. No, he’s filing his copy and smiling beatifically at his wife, Gwyneth Paltrow, and remembering the time when he almost missed the bus. He’s really struggling to contain himself, in hopes of an England win against Saudi Arabia in Sunday’s final (it was a very weird World Cup where he is). I pity him for how he’ll struggle for words on Monday morning, but you can’t have everything. ### #GarethSouthgateWould... Run An Epic Social Media Campaign... And then there were four. It was over in a blink of an eye, it felt. The quarter-finals almost demanded a bigger stage, more time to reflect, more time to gawp and gape at the quality on offer, and to revel in the drama of – well – three amazing games and one completely professional, workmanlike performance. If ever there was a case for not developing a narrative in advance, the Russian team provided the evidence. Not just the team, in fact, but the country as hosts. A veteran BBC radio commentator, Alan Green, refused to travel to Russia because of what he had seen on previous visits there, and there were all those alarm stories about Cossacks patrolling the streets and what might happen to LGBT fans. But all reports paint a picture of an incredible welcome extended to all who came, and let’s not forget that England fans have some history with their Russian counterparts, and there’s the current state of tension over novichok. And yet it has all been sunshine and smiles in Russia. As for the national team, little was expected of them, and I was one of those who saw their automatic qualification as hosts as likely to unbalance one part of the draw, and then felt certain they would get dumped out (assuming they got out of their group) by Spain or Portugal. Well, they confounded all those expectations, and in Denis Cheryshev supplied a one-man Goal of the Tournament machine. His strike against Croatia in the quarter-finals was a thing of beauty, but that’s it for Russia now… undone by the coin toss that is a penalty shoot-out. I can’t say I would sooner have seen them rather than Croatia in the semis, especially since the guys in the checker-board shirts have gone massively off the boil since the knock-out stages began, but they have been fun while it lasted. In the top half of the draw, France continued on their way with a tense, fraught game against Uruguay, which confirmed that les bleus will have earned their prize if they lift the cup, courtesy of the quality of the teams they have dispatched. If Brazil had conquered Belgium, France would have been set up to bounce a third South American team from the 2018 World Cup. As it was, Belgium did the job for them in the pick of the ties. Woe betide any French-speakers planning a vacation to Rio or Montevideo any time soon. Belgium vs Brazil was an amazing game, one of those destined to be remembered for… days, at least up to whatever happens in the semis. Belgium seem to have it all, and are peaking perfectly. France vs Belgium could be a classic, notwithstanding my fears that semi-finals are often too tense to be fantastic matches. Let’s hope I am wrong again. And, I hear, things are getting a little… excitable in England. Football may not yet be Coming Home, but it has consulted an airline schedule and booked time off work. If nothing else, England, along with the other three semi-finalists, get to stay in Russia until the end now, because the losing semi-finalists will be thrilled to participate in the 3rd/4th place play-off a couple of days after missing out on the Big One. Technically, I suppose five teams get to hang around, since Russia are already home, but that’s just quibbling. That was a perfectly solid performance to remove Sweden, even if it never hit the heights as a game. If very little England football would make a highlights reel, no-one is going to know or care if they have two more wins in the tank. Of course, the more we ratchet up the play count on “Three Lions”, ensuring that David Baddiel becomes richer than Bill Gates, the more we have to be ready for either outcome come Wednesday. Can you walk the tightrope of ensuring your social media coverage isn’t too Eng-er-land! without looking like you are one of the only six people in the country unaware of what’s going on? Will your writers and moderators be ready to switch gear if the unthinkable happens? Will they even come to work? If viewing figures for the last two games are anything to go by, good luck finding a train, bus, hospital bed or policeman for two hours on Wednesday. The M1 is already planned to be closed for a street party, and that’s just if England beats Croatia. We’re past pretending that you can run a social media campaign without getting caught up in the hype by now. Your grocery brand ought to be campaigning for Gareth Southgate to be knighted, sainted or both, or at least given free vegetables for the next ten years - see the phenomenen that is #GarethSouthgateWould... Will Harry Kane win the golden boot? Will your next door neighbour’s footie mad kid, Jordan Pickford be named ‘keeper of the tournament? Will Thingy who plays for Wotsisname be the guy you always said would come good? See you Thursday. ### Don’t Say It’s Coming Home... Blimey. The last eight. After all the drama of the last few weeks, we’re down to the last eight games, or seven, if you agree that one of them is a pointless irrelevance. And I don’t mean England vs Sweden (boom, boom). I love the quarter-finals of these things. The last 16 is often still littered with teams who squeaked through their groups, but who are hardly lighting up the tournament with their play; the semis can be tense, nervous affairs, with four teams all dreading going home one step from the Big Show. But the last eight, that is where giants collide and anything can happen. Now, we have had plenty of giant-collision-based greatness already, starting with the second game of the group stages, and I have to say this was the best Round of 16 I can remember (and my memory goes depressingly deep into the past, thank you). Tension? Plenty of it, and not just in the contrived drama of penalty shoot-outs. I give you Japan vs Belgium, and a game destined to be the Greatest Shock Of All Time (all rights reserved) until it was shifted by the mercurial genius of Marouane Fellaini’s elbows. It has even been tempting to wonder if there might be a new name written on the trophy after the final is done. I put the kiss of death on Croatia before their last match, but I’m onto Fate’s game now, and offer no predictions, except maybe to use some reverse psychology on her and suggest that Sweden are nailed on to beat England. Anyway, either Russia or Croatia will be in the meat and drink of the semi-finals, up against either Sweden or England, and therefore one step away from the dessert course. Any one of those four teams (and I am not forgetting that England did manage to win the old Jules Rimet Trophy back in the days when Residents’ Parking Spaces were not a thing) could go all the way. In fact, one of them almost certainly will do, if All The Way only means as far as the last day in Moscow. However, and I say this with true humility given what I have predicted before, it’s hard to look past previous winners France or Brazil now. They are doing what champions do in these tournaments: keep under the radar in the early stages, but then boss the knock-out games. It’s what Italy and Germany do best, though I hasten to note that both made a bit of a meal of slow starts this time around (including not starting at all, eh, Italy?). Uruguay are going to be really hard to eject from the World Cup, like the guy being asked to leave your local who insists he left his mobile phone on the bar. If Edinson Cavani can’t play, though, they might not have the strength up front, even against a French team who let in goals like they are determined to give the other team a head start. Brazil vs Belgium... well, it has to be a cracker, doesn’t it? Unless it turns into some anxiety-fuelled bore-fest only noted for providing additional footage for memes of Neymar rolling around in agony because a butterfly flapped its wings in Fiji. Hope for the best, but prepare for the worst, I say. I’ve looked at a lot of predictions in the last few days, from fans, from commentators, from pundits. My dog barked twice when an image of Harry Kane came up, and if that doesn’t mean he’ll score a brace, then I don’t know what. The end result of all that sooth-saying is that no-one knows where we’ll be in two days time, other than tired (well, we will be in New Zealand, with those kick-off times), emotionally strung-out and four games closer to knowing who might win the 2018 World Cup (and definitely knowing four teams that won’t). By now, if your social media hasn’t succumbed to a bout of They Could, Couldn’t They?, with associated symptoms of If Not Now, When? and the often fatal Football’s Coming Home, then you’re a bigger fan of the tennis than most. My daughter-in-law was at a concert (Flight of the Conchords) that stopped when the last penalty went in and the crowd roared in triumph as England’s triumph came in through a few thousand text alerts. 24 million tuned into ITV’s (ITV!) coverage of England vs Sweden! The people are with you, in all their flag-draped, face-painted glory. Now, just like any player or coach, you can revel in the glories of the quarters, knowing that if your team lose (and any attempt at impartiality must be gone by now) the acceptable “We only expected to make the quarter-finals” excuse is a reliable go-to, but that if your team win... oh, my. Enjoy this next couple of days, I say. It really ought to be a feast of the best football imaginable. Plus England vs Sweden. Priceless. ### Crystal Balls and Schadenfreude.. Regular readers of this renowned blog will know that we at Strawberry Social pride ourselves on having our finger on the pulse of social media, being able to watch the trends and judge where the best interests of our clients lie. Pity none of that forecasting malarky works for us when it comes to the football, eh? But that’s the joy of sports, and especially a tournament like the World Cup. Things can go off on a tangent in an instant. Our counterparts at Schadenfreude Social in Germany knew all along that Die Mannschaft would – and I quote them directly – “Ein kropper gekommen”, but they predicted Poland for the QFs, so what do they know? All of which is my slick way of glossing over the painfully poor prediction I made before the tournament, and repeated in the most recent of these blogs, four days ago, that Germany were the ones to beat. And didn’t Mexico and S Korea do just that? Priceless. Germany in Russia, eh? The quips just write themselves. Moving along then, we have now finished with all the group fun and games, and will shortly commence the knock-out phase of the tournament. Yes, those 48 games we have had so far only eliminated half the competitors, but we are about to get rid of another 16 teams in the next four or five days. A day off, first, to contemplate all that has happened, and to salivate over some choice match-ups in the last sixteen, but then two games a day for four days, starting with Uruguay vs Portugal and France vs Argentina, both of which are more than enough to make your mouth water. It’s a weird biz, this tournament football. All around the world, fans of the competing nations have had the last couple of weeks to gorge themselves on hours and hours of footie, and to follow the fortunes of their team. But now the World Cup rolls on without some of its most fervent followers. The 95% of the population of Iceland who followed every twist and turn of their campaign, presumably closing down minor aspects of their national life like air traffic control and surgery, must now return to a tragic, bereft normality. And what about all those guys and gals from Peru, who spent a fortune travelling halfway around the world, only to find their tickets for the quarter-finals taste like shoddily gilded cardboard. For those of us trying to work the World Cup into our writing schedules, we all have to face the fact that at some point, if not already, the team whose colours we nailed to our laptop will be queuing at the airport gift shop for one last souvenir matryoshka. For social media types, there must come the inevitable moment in a World Cup themed campaign when things go a little pear-shaped, and It’s All Over. Well, I suppose one country dodges that one, but you know what I mean. A few countries, and I’m looking at you Argentina, have had a taste of near-failure already, so they might be better-placed to cope with an actual exit. But, and I’ll be a little parochial here for a moment, what about the English, eh? We’re not used to doing well in the early stages of the World Cup, which means we rarely get to see the later stages. The whole point of the World Cup, for an England fan, is to raise unrealistic expectations and then dash them into the dust. I reckon Belgium just did us a favour, because now we can return to badly managing expectations, extolling the “I never expected us to get out of the group” retrospectives that England do best. At some point, conceivably on 3rd July, we English commentators, bloggers and Tweeters are going to have to find the words to express the resigned shrug that is the lot of an English football follower. Normally, your social media calendar is planned out carefully weeks in advance, with due care and attention to the tone you are striving for to match your company or charity’s current campaign. But at the moment of bitter, bitter defeat, your carefully thought out pun-a-day will lose its shine, and its ability to raise a smile. At election time, politicians are wont to write (or have written for them) both a victory speech and a concession – I know this for a certain fact because it was on The West Wing. We should all have at least those two ready to post, with plenty of variety depending on whether we go out to Colombia on Tuesday (hard to spin that as “our brave lads...) or hold out to the last. If you are looking for fresh predictions as to when It Might Happen from us here, you’re out of luck, because our crystal ball was only ever a cheap knock-off. But, somehow, you’ll need to continue to praise the virtues of your brand’s BOGOF campaign even when the national mood is one of misery. “At least we did better than the Germans” isn’t going to cut it. They were rubbish, just like everybody (else) said they would be. ### I'm Gonna Make A Prediction - It Could Go Either Way... Welcome back to LIVE! coverage here on StrawberrySocial’s World Cup Russia 2018 blog, and all the latest news now that the second round of group games has concluded with Poland being shown the door by Colombia. I hear there was another game that finished 6-1 earlier, but I can’t be bothered looking up who that was. Just to define a key term here: LIVE! means I was alive and awake when I typed this, but that’s not a given for the rest of the tournament. Has it been mentioned before that I am part of StrawberrySocial’s international band of roving social media reporters? Well, I’m telling you now that this World Cup is full of stay up to 2am, get up at 5:45 “nights” here, and I need a rest day far more than any of the players. We are now in the ‘permutations’ part of the tournament, where pundits will talk endlessly over a graphic of the standings in Group Z, and suggest that if only West Korea can beat Shropshire by two clear goals, but not 3-1, then England might just qualify if they can beat a combined Germany-Brazil side (all 22 of them on the pitch at the same time) by six clear goals. But what’s this? No, instead of the usual desperate hope that England can navigate a path to the last 16, Our Boys have made it with a game to spare! Well, huzzah! But England are still in permutation heaven, whereby said pundits can pore over the group table and the various criteria used to separate teams, and fill air time on a daily basis until they play their final group game. England and Belgium are tied at the top of Group G, level on points, goals scored and the number of replica shirts sold. Should they draw on Thursday, then it will come down to who has garnered the fewer yellow and red cards. I realise I am about to stray into the territory best left to panels of former players who couldn’t get a coaching gig, but the intriguing aspect to the whole “who will finish first/second” debate is what happens later. There are permutations (that word again) in other groups that could mean the winner of Group G ends up facing the winner of Germany/Brazil in the last eight, assuming everyone mentioned negotiates the Round of 16; meanwhile, the team second in Group G might wander into Mexico or Switzerland at that point. If your immediate reaction to that is “I know who I’d rather face”, then join the many thousands of people who have said the same thing in the last thirty minutes in just one Wetherspoon’s. England and Belgium will know the outcome of all the relevant groups before they kick off against each other, allowing for the intriguing prospect of either or both deliberately playing to lose, or - better still - finding themselves deadlocked at 0-0 with three minutes of stoppage time left, trying to accumulate enough cautions to drop below the other. “Ref! Ref!! That was a clear foul, show him a red card at least!” “Isn’t he one of your teammates?” Thus, today’s salutary advice, brought to you by DoAsISayNotAsIDo.com. Stay clear of all of the “if this happens and this happens, then this could happen, so England should...” discussions, at the very least until Thursday. Be-suited pundits behind a glowing desk will do this job far better than you can, and have more time and space to fill. Find another angle. Personally, I am loving how just about every team is playing free, attacking football for most of the 90 minutes of each game, which is the kind of thing that can come to a screeching halt once permutations becomes the key talking point. And the goals! Goals will be the concluding motif of today’s talk. Statistics show that Harry Kane is right in the mix for the Golden Boot (you’d think the prize would be a pair, right?), having just scored the first England World Cup hat-trick this century. Gasp. If England can keep conjuring up penalties and lucky deflections, he could, conceivably end up scoring - oh, I dunno - eighteen by the time Gareth Southgate is being interviewed after England have lifted the trophy. But, so far, none of them have lit up the tournament, which has featured a magnificent array of “I’ll have a pop from here” moments. Quality before quantity, I say, and will continue to say right up to when Kane knocks in his fifth tap-in in the Final. And what did I say about Germany last time? Never write them off. Though if I had started typing this five minutes before the end of their game against Sweden, I might have needed to walk back from my earlier prediction. Stay on your feet, everyone, because there’s still a lot of World Cup 2018 to go. I’ll see you after England-Belgium, and the inevitable end where eight players get themselves sent off for time-wasting, deliberate handball and removing their shirts (and those of team mates). You read it here first. ### What Was That You Said? Today, in a spectacular example of “do what I say, not what I do”, I want to talk about listening. In the modern lexicon of communication skills, listening has been largely over-shadowed by things like “engagement”, but for those of us of a particular vintage, there was a time when listening was one of the jewels in the crown of social media. The great thing about social, we were told, was how it was going to democratise communications. Instead of a one-way flow of information, which was how it had been since forever, we were going to share. Governments would listen to people; brands and suppliers would listen to customers. Celebrities… OK, it breaks down with celebrities, but anyway… I don’t know how long that state of optimism lasted, but it felt like about half an hour. Two things went wrong with the Brave New World, and while they both seem like prime examples of the That Was Always Going To Happen genre, they really did catch the fledgling industry by surprise. First, there was what I broadly categorise as People Can’t Be Trusted. The chief offenders here are any kind of website or service that is powered by reviews, but it’s a broad rule you can apply more widely. I’ll quickly say that I don’t mean everyone can’t be trusted, but that when you are dealing with a catchment area of thousands or millions, a small percentage is still a decent number. Reviews just couldn’t be trusted. Venues or vendors would get great reviews – as provided by their friends and family. Or, as I experienced on Amazon, they would wheedle and manipulate to get 5-star reviews. Note, they wouldn’t do anything to actually merit those 5-star reviews, like, you know, improve customer service… The inverse was just as true. Consumers started giving bad reviews in the hope of attracting some kind of bribe to withdraw or reverse it. Or, more commonly, people just went to extremes – everything was either 5-star great or 1-star awful. Ratings became pointless. Comments and reviews went in the same direction, only at least there a little effort has to be made to complain/praise, which weeds out the lazy folk. The second problem is best summarised as People Can Be D***s. Not all d***ery is bad; some of it is quite funny. This is why we have Boaty McBoatface and a surprising number of non-food pictures showing up in a promotion called Show Us Your Pizza (think about it…). Again, it’s not everybody, not even close, but it’s enough. The moderating industry exists because of them. All right. Now, it may seem that this blog has gone in a somewhat cynical direction that is about to suggest that you shouldn’t listen at all. Nothing could be further from the truth. It’s just that listening is hard, and you can’t fit it on a message calendar, or achieve it via a tweet. It takes time and effort. Good brands and good agencies soon learned that investing in good listening pays off. It’s that old saw about knowing your customers; before you can start enhancing your reputation, you need to know what it is. And what I’d suggest is that trotting out a ratings mechanic or a survey is mostly going to generate noise, not answers. We all need to post a lot less, and listen a lot more. And to those who suggest that someone who blogs 600 words about listening might not be following their own advice, I can only say: Yeah, you got me. Luckily, the guys at StrawberrySocial aren’t all me, and they do put their customers first, listening to the brand, and then listening to who the brand should be listening to. It may be that, especially with all the revelations about the misuse of data, that the good ship Brave New World has long sailed. But there is still huge value to be had from good social, so long as you listen, and see past the sound and fury of modern consumer relations. Thank you for listening. ### Instagram And Spotify - A Match Made In Heaven... When Instagram commissioned a Neilsen report on its influence within the music industry back in 2015, stats showed that listeners who use Instagram generally spend 42% more on music related items than those who don’t. Read into this what you will, the report also states that 83% of social media users will head to Instagram over other networks when documenting music related events and moments. With stats like these, it’s no surprise that Instagram’s latest partnership is with music streaming service, Spotify. As a social network that was originally built on static, silent photos, it’s interesting to see how Instagram has developed to be such a key influencer within music, and we really shouldn’t be surprised. Just like music, Instagram allows people to tell a story, connect directly with fans and share a moment with friends. Instagram made the move to support video and therefore sound in 2013, opening the way for more creative ways to use the platform, in particular for record labels and artists. Instagram’s next move will see them launching integration with Spotify, this will allow users to share what they’re listening to in Instagram Stories and; in the near future, Facebook Stories as well. The new integration works within the Spotify app, connected with the share button, which should make it a simple and seamless addition. Users can now share a song, album or playlist to Instagram Stories alongside the usual editing, filter and sticker options. The integration also welcomes the possibility of custom editing tools created to compliment specific music genres, artists or launches. The Instagram Stories, will also include links back to Spotify, allowing your friends to listen along with you and thus increasing traffic for Spotify significantly. This is a very exciting step forward for the music industry, with a social media promotion method designed specifically for them via this partnership. The Instagram and Music Neilsen report states that Instagram users are 90% more likely to use online music streaming services and twice as likely to pay for a music related product or subscription than non-Instagram users. The 2015 report, had networks like Soundcloud and YouTube performing far ahead of Instagram in terms of music discovery, so it will be interesting to see how this new Spotify integration will change the dynamic. With the powers of Facebook behind Instagram, this move is sure to be super valuable for trend-predicting and advertisers too. With Instagram Stories hitting 300million daily users at the start of the year, brands of many categories need to get on board and see how this feature can be used for their business. These new features are game changers for those in the music industry as well as for trend predicting and bringing some music into your Instagram stream, whatever niche you work in. Need some inspiration on how to use Instagram Stories for your business? Get in touch with the StrawberrySocial team. ### Will World Cup 2018 Be A Win For You? While watching some ice hockey on the box at a friend’s house last weekend, Sky TV was at pains to remind me (every 15 minutes) that the Football World Cup starts soon. ‘Soon’, at least, in Sky terms, meaning weeks from now. Sky chunters about these things like some shops talk about Christmas: you think it’s just around the corner, but it’s because they put their decorations up in March Anyway, this blog will likewise try to pre-empt the competition by talking today about the World Cup and social media. Specifically, should brands try and incorporate some soccerball into their social calendar? A few touchline warm-ups first. Realistically, if you are going to do this kind of thing justice, you should have been planning to do so for a little longer than this timely blog implies. It might be really tempting to jump in at the last minute, but I’d suggest a little bit of consideration wouldn’t go amiss. I mean, I’ve been planning this blog for about a week… The other thing – and this one really matters – is that if you really want to push the boat out, you’re much too late. International football’s governing body, FIFA, guards its IP jealously, all the better to flog the rights for some hapless brand to be the Official Pet Food of the 2018 World Cup. If you haven’t inflated their coffers with a large wad of marketing budget, and then try to get too cute with your marketing (“It’s semi-finals sales day down here at Biggo Carpets”), FIFA might respond by sending on their lawyers in a late tactical substitution. You’ll find the same thing is true the further down the budget aisle of sporting events you wander, but FIFA and the Olympics are pretty notorious. Fair warning, you know? In fact, let’s park the bus a little further back, and ask ‘why?’ Why are you playing the game in the first place? Yes, the tournament will blot out just about every other conversation for an interminable period this summer, but should your brand pull on an England shirt and join the throng? Some brands have a natural affinity with this kind of thing, but not all. If you are the social media manager for a chain of Funeral Homes, for example, this shouldn’t be your bag, unless you take a particularly pessimistic view of England’s chances. So, even if your marketing department are all in the Office Sweepstake (a feature of the workplace that demands even more planning time than a social media calendar), it doesn’t follow that you should hitch your messaging to the World Cup. Perhaps the next FIDE World Chess Championship? Tonally, too, there’s a lot to think about, assuming that you truly do feel you have to play along. It’s easy to drop into a kind of blokey bantz voice for the length of the tournament, but that’s going to sound really false if your normal tone is a little less Cro-Magnon. Beers, pub chains and snack foods will drown you out in any case. This is why you should turn to the sort of professional help (of the social media kind, not the other thing) StrawberrySocial can offer. For the month of the tournament, all kinds of brands are going to be trying to skew their conversation towards Eng-er-land (other football teams are available), and it’s going to be hard to make your contribution stand out. It will be even harder to cope if you haven’t planned for the possibility that your beloved Three Lions might not be enjoying Russia’s hospitality after the end of June… One last caution. Sport is unpredictable. I’ve spoken about the need for planning in this blog, but even more important is the ability of your messaging to be nimble and reactive. If the player you’ve chosen to highlight scores two own goals and gets red carded for nutting the opposition keeper, you may need to walk back on your “Player of the Tournament” predictions. If you aren’t ready to post/tweet every day, and particularly during every game, then stay clear. Sport is great, and it both unites and divides audiences. That’s not something that most brands should factor into their messaging (for example, how will your pro-England cheer-leading go down north of Berwick?). Done right, it can lead to some great engagement, and put a smile on your audience’s faces. That’s the win we should all be aiming for. I got Senegal in our office sweep, by the way. If they win, this will be the last blog I ever need to write… ### LinkedIn vs Facebook: What You Need to Know About the Future of Professional Social Networks It’s common knowledge that there are some things that you keep on Facebook and some you probably shouldn’t put online at all. LinkedIn has always been a place for professionals, especially when compared to the personal connection focus of Facebook. Since Microsoft bought LinkedIn back in 2016; adding to their tech and communications portfolio, there’s been many changes as the platform tries to take a piece of Facebook’s pie, whilst battling to stay relevant. It is standard practise for social media platforms to be inspired by (or 'borrow') features or concepts from their competitors. If they don’t make their own version of a competitor’s features, they just buy the entire platform instead; yes, we’re looking at you Facebook. Whilst LinkedIn was once a place for professionals only, a handy place to network and showcase your CV online, the lines between LinkedIn and more casual social media platforms, like Facebook, are blurring. Video continues to lead the way for engaging social media content Video has been a key player in successful social media content for a good few years now. However, it was only in 2017 that LinkedIn added video functionality. Early this year, LinkedIn opened video up to Company Pages and Advertisers, including the addition of auto-playing videos for all. Whilst the addition of video to LinkedIn opens up great opportunities for professionals and brands with the budget and smarts to create quality video content, it’s also opened the floodgates to a more casual way of operating on LinkedIn. LinkedIn claims that video content is shared 20x more than any other post type, so there’s no surprise that it’s being so heavily adopted and often with a real person’s face to front the content. Snapchat style photo filters for LinkedIn’s Conference Frames Towards the end of 2017, LinkedIn introduced Snapchat inspired Conference Frames, a way for users to brand their photo updates in accordance to industry events they are attending. The feature act like a Snapchat Filter, overlaying a pre-designed banner or graphic provided by the conference organisers. Although access to the Frames is currently limited, it’s another indicator that LinkedIn is moving more towards a Facebook aesthetic and business model. LinkedIn opens up Analytics to target businesses and advertisers Over the past few years, LinkedIn has been working hard on growing its user base and encouraging businesses and advertisers to use the world’s largest B2B social network. For Company Pages and Advertisers, LinkedIn now grants access to the same level of analytics as Facebook. Whether you want to see the industry breakdown of your website visits or reach of a specific post, it’s all possible now. This is incredibly valuable for everyone, allowing us to better adapt our content to our audiences. LinkedIn Groups to make a comeback to compete with Facebook LinkedIn recently notified Group Admins that they hoped to make a bigger feature of Groups in 2018, flagging that they are looking to recapture the potential of this community led feature that has proven so popular on Facebook. LinkedIn Groups aren’t new, but in recent year’s features like LinkedIn Publishing and Video content has taken over in terms of user priority, so it will be interesting to see how this changes the dynamic once again. Will Facebook Job Postings Tool cause problems for LinkedIn? At the start of the year, Facebook opened up its Job Postings Tool to 40 new countries, naturally with ambition to compete with LinkedIn. With Facebook’s 2.2 billion users versus LinkedIn’s 450 million, it comes as no surprise that the Microsoft owned professional network will have to continue to evolve in order to survive. Is a shift towards more casual content on LinkedIn the right move? Additionally, is Facebook being a job site a smart choice? Facebook identifies that its large, data driven platform is ideal for connecting small and medium businesses with local candidates, as it offers an affordable and highly targeted promotional and search route. Facebook highlights that they think this feature will be particularly useful within the service industry to cater to the lower income job market. Whereas LinkedIn with its significantly smaller user base and therefore, smaller data pool may continue to cater to various industry niches that have chosen to adopt the platform. Professional networking is becoming more casual It’s common for many users to keep Facebook targeted towards friends and family, whereas platforms like LinkedIn, Instagram and Twitter are more suited to presenting a curated professional feed. With questions of privacy and data protection at the forefront of public conversation, do users really want to open up their Facebook profiles to possible employers? Either way, this change in dynamic is sure to impact B2B businesses, recruiters, hiring managers and job seekers alike. A shift towards video content, long-form content publishing and photo filters for LinkedIn has opened up more opportunities to share engaging, informative content with personality. Going beyond the conventional CV of standard job titles and responsibilities, these changes require professionals and brands to continuously publish quality content in order to remain relevant on multiple platforms and in various formats, with added benefit if you have a great story to tell. Social recruiting is nothing new, if you want to be seen and found on the internet, it is essential to play along with the algorithm to achieve success and visibility. Likewise, if you’re a B2B service, likely to have potential customers on social media, it’s imperative that you keep up to date with social media changes and find the right way to use them to your advantage. If you need help harnessing the power of LinkedIn or Facebook for your business, get in touch to find out how the Strawberry Social team can help. ### Can Facebook Regain Users’ Trust After The Cambridge Analytica Scandal? Like it or loathe it, social media advertising uses our personal data to target and shape behaviours. This is how Facebook earns sky-high ad revenues, through registering the likes and dislikes of billions of users across the planet. With great power, comes great responsibility - but Facebook has failed in its duty to protect us. It’s announced that the data of up to 87 million people may have been improperly shared with Cambridge Analytica. The political consulting firm is alleged to have used this data to predict and influence voters in UK and US elections. Facebook found out the data was harvested in 2015, but failed to tell anyone, or ban Cambridge Analytica. Now the social media giant is embroiled in a huge corporate scandal and people are deleting their accounts. Can we still trust Facebook? What Mark Zuckerberg has done so far After an explosive scandal comes the need for good PR and it seems Zuck is paying lip service to the the three great tenets of reputation management - recognise, regret, resolve. After staying silent for five days, Zuck has now had said sorry via major news networks and shared a post on Facebook (where else?) acknowledging that the policies which allowed the misuse of data were a “breach of trust between Facebook and the people who shared their data with us”. The post was shared by Sheryl Sandberg, chief operating officer, who added: “We know that this was a major violation of people’s trust, and I deeply regret that we didn’t do enough to deal with it.” Facebook is taking action to redress the situation. It is placing messages on the newsfeeds of users who were caught up in the data breach. The Guardian reports that ‘all 2.2 billion Facebook users will receive a notice titled “Protecting Your Information” with a link to see what apps they use and what information has been shared with those apps. They will be able to shut off apps individually or turn off third-party access.’ A new Facebook help page allows people to find out if their data was harvested. Most users will see a message saying that “neither you nor your friends logged into ‘This Is Your Digital Life’”, the personality quiz that Cambridge Analytica used to gather its data. Facebook has also published a post describing how it is cracking down on platform abuse. Zuck has been hauled in front of senators to give Congressional testimony and admitted his data was among the 87 million users whose information was compromised. Is this enough to rebuild trust in Facebook? There is some hope that things can get better. Stronger regulation could be on the way. At the Congressional hearings, senators are asking if Facebook could open the door to GDPR-style regulation. Facebook will probably simplify its privacy guidelines which are notoriously hard to navigate. Could this be enough to reverse the #DeleteFacebook trend? Zuck says he is not stepping down and despite the Cambridge Analytica controversy, it appears that advertisers have not lost faith in Facebook. In fact, they seem to be spending more than ever. It seems that for now, at least, paid-for content is still king. ### Paul’s Chunky Meat (and a bit about Facebook) Confidence in social media is at a low ebb right now, and there’s a mood amongst some brands to diversify their online marketing plans. It’s possible we’ll see some Q1 and Q2 uptick in older media, like print or TV. My local cinema chain seems very upbeat about big screen advertising at the moment, so here’s a quick blast of the Pearl & Dean sting just to get us in the mood… Ba-ba-ba-ba-ba-ba-ba-ba-ba-ba-ba… Clearly, Facebook, when it thinks about its core business, isn’t going to take this wave of sentiment against it lying down - although the cynic in me feels they almost could. Just how far is the #deletefacebook movement going to go? Not far, you feel. But faced with possible legislative backlash, and the general turning of the tide (because even if people aren’t deserting the platform, they are using it less, and that’s specially true of kids), Facebook is going to do something, and I don’t just mean offer apologies and assurances to government agencies. It’s worth reminding ourselves of the basics of what Facebook is. As individuals, we want to share pictures of cute puppies. As a brand selling puppy food, I want to position Paul’s Chunky Meat (for puppies) as the best thing your dog can eat. Facebook enables this. The individual gets to post their pictures for free; the brand can set up a page to show how healthy all our dogs could be if only we chose… etc. So far, so innocuous. But in addition, Facebook knows exactly how many people post pictures of their puppies, and who they are, and it can say to brands “want to advertise directly to people’s feeds, and only to people who like/own dogs?”. Nice. Why waste any of your spend advertising on people who only have cats, right? Those people are freaks… Now, let’s put aside that a lot of these “powerful algorithms” are junk. ‘This guy likes Arsenal, so he likes football, so let’s target him with stuff about Tottenham Hotspur.’ Stupid. No, Facebook needs to restore credibility in three areas. First, some people have complained about Facebook’s micro-targeting, as if there were something sinister about showing people brands and subjects they (might) like. Personally, I’d prefer it if Facebook did that job better, and didn’t just saturate me with ‘age-appropriate’ advertising. I don’t need a standing bath just yet, guys. Advertising is part of the deal: it’s why we get all the cute stuff, and keep in touch with mates who have moved overseas. I’d suggest they are over-doing it a bit, but that’s just a business call for them to make. Their bigger problem here is ad-blocking, which we can definitely talk about another day. Second, people are worried about privacy settings and all that, and Facebook seems very minded to do something about that. Easier, more intuitive controls… more opt-in rather than default permissions… this is all tweaking the system to make it work better, or in a way that is perceived to be better, at least. Facebook will still know every like you like, every share you make, every page you visit (I feel like Sting could have put that better). Facebook isn’t promising to stop capturing data on its users… how could it? I’m somewhat cynical about Facebook promising improved actual privacy for individual users, when its whole model is based on gathering information. It will, of course, tighten up enormously on how and why that data is shared. I can’t see them handing over reams of user data to a third-party quite so casually again. And there’s the third area Facebook will be looking at, and looking at hard. It has remarkable power. Not only will it make Paul’s Chunky Meat the best-selling brand out there, but it can influence any other area of our lives it chooses to, and some of those areas – like the political process – really should be ‘hands-off’ to the likes of Facebook. Plenty of people want to suggest this isn’t a problem, that they, certainly, are immune to being swayed by dodgy memes or poorly photo-shopped scandals. But none of us are wholly immune, or there would be no such thing as advertising. So, I can see Facebook being much more of an editorial custodian, vetting pages, removing ‘Fake News’, clamping down further on extremism. I can see Facebook, generally, being a more wholesome marketplace for brands to operate in. Wholesome enough? We’ll see. YouTube is struggling at the moment, because brands complained about their advertisements appearing alongside unsavoury videos (and their associated comments!) that didn’t reflect their personality or ethos. Facebook will need to be very careful to ensure that it doesn’t go the same way – after all, none of us want to be associated with pages that promote intolerance, bigotry or even Tottenham Hotspur. Anyway… you wanna see a picture of my dog? I know: he looks great, doesn’t he? It’s the food we give him. ### Musings on Facebook & Data Privacy from an Agency Bod It was always my intention to complete this little triptych of blogs for my good friends at Strawberry Social with a look at the hidden downsides of social media. There was worrying research appearing concerning how our children are developing all kinds of addictive behavior traits through their consumption of online media. I admit to finding it interesting how many senior people working in the tech and social fields heavily restrict the amount of time they allow their families (and themselves) to invest in online social activity. Never get high on your own supply, right? And then along came Cambridge Analytica. I won’t rehash the story here, but the bottom line is that we happily entered into a Faustian bargain with Facebook in which we got to share grumpy cat pictures, and they got to gather a crud-ton of data about us, our buying habits, and our connections. What the current crisis shows us is that they were then, at the very least, rather cavalier with that data. It appears that the privacy of 50 million Americans may have been sacrificed in the name of providing political parties and other groups with the means to subvert the democratic processes we rely on for a decent, open society. So suddenly, for brands, there is an element of complicity in something quite dark. When we ask for likes and shares on our latest online marketing campaign, are we just feeding the beast? I’m not suggesting for a moment that your snack brand’s social activity is going to bring down democracy but, let’s just take a breath for a moment. Everything we do on Facebook, as brands, as individuals, has been contributing to this moment, and there is a backlash coming. Facebook’s share price is in freefall; people are deserting the platform (I’m considering doing the same); there’s even a hashtag that you can share on… well, Facebook, among others. #deleteFacebook, since you ask. I’ll take a moment here to make the obvious points. There isn’t a credible alternative to Facebook for an awful lot of what we do. The company may make changes, either voluntarily, or because governments make them, to their whole business model, that takes a lot more account of privacy. And who knows what might come out about any and all of the other platforms – goodness only knows we always seem to be just an hour away from another Twitter scandal. So, what can we do, as professionals working in this industry? Falling on our collective swords might be a little over-the-top, but it’s time to consider where our energy goes on social, and where it might be better deployed. At the very least, we have to not be part of the problem. We should all stop publishing activity that relies on likes and shares to measure success (that was always a fool’s game in any case), and be a lot more selective and less needy about what we publish. Talk less, listen more. And demand change. You are Facebook’s lifeblood. You may think you need them, but they need you more. Use that power to insist that the data your social activity generates is held securely, and used responsibly. And, as I was going to conclude in the original draft of this blog, speak to CEOP and others (Strawberry’s own Shaz Collier is NSPCC certified in Keeping Children Safe Online, a CEOP Thinkuknow Trainer and a CEOP Ambassador.) about the negative aspects of social media before you do anything with kids. We’re going to look back on March 2018 as the moment when the internet started to change. You’ll definitely want to be up-to-date with everything that is going on. ### Everyone's Talking about Voice Clips and Micropodcasting... Apparently... Here’s a new word for your digital marketing vocabulary, micropodcasting. Just as Twitter made microblogging famous, Facebook is ready and waiting to make micropodcasting the hot new trend. Micropodcasting isn’t a new concept, creators have been using audio tools like Soundcloud and Clammr to make their audio content social media friendly for a while. There’s even been a sprinkling of attempts to launch audio focused social network, but none have hit the mainstream just yet. It is difficult for small developers to compete with the mighty powers of Facebook, Google and Twitter when it comes to innovation and setting new trends. So, without giving Facebook too much credit for the original concept, there is a new voice clips feature coming to the social network. This feature takes the audio from private messages and open them up the News Feed. The voice clips feature has been designed as another way to help users create native content that is unique to Facebook, something the platform has been pushing for a long time and can be seen in the way they currently give priority to native video. Facebook wants users to stay logged in and engaged for as long as possible, so if you publish content that helps them do that, you can reap the rewards. The new voice clips status update feature for Facebook is currently being tested in India, as a way to break down language barriers in a country that speaks over 22 different dialects. Facebook hopes that users will find it easier to share and interact on Facebook if given the choice to record quick audio clips rather than the struggle to switch keyboards, type and translate which takes longer. With over 200 million voice messages being sent daily already on WhatsApp, it’s no surprise that Facebook wants part of that audio action for its main platform. As Facebook develops its reputation as an outlet for life milestone announcements, cat photos and low quality viral videos, they have a big job to recapture the engagement that keeps users happy. In Q4 2017, Facebook saw its biggest drop in daily active users with a drop of 700,000 in the U.S and Canada, attributed to the lowered priority of poor quality viral video. Facebook needs to keep innovating if they want their audience to stay interested and their advertisers satisfied. The voice clips status update, will appear in the same format currently available for uploading a video, photo or note and audio clips will be visualised into a simple waveform graphic, helping them to stand out from a timeline. Facebook has been working on ways to make sharing personal content easier, that’s what their VR masks are for, anonymity. So, it’s believed that the audio clip feature will further break down the obstacles that could be stopping some users from sharing on Facebook. A spokesperson from Facebook told TechCrunch, “We are always working to help people share and connect with their friends and family on Facebook in ways that are authentic to them. Voice Clips gives people a new medium through which to express themselves.” It should be interesting to see if it takes off and, if there's some nice opportunities for brands. ### Facebook Groups - New Features, New Approach? In June 2017, Facebook took big steps towards improving the sense of community on its platform by hosting their first ever, Facebook Communities Summit in Chicago. The event saw Facebook group power users and admins from around the world meet up to collaborate on new ideas for the platform, whilst being introduced to useful new features by Zuckerberg and his team. Since June, the Summit has also landed in Europe allowing Facebook to continue to collaborate with its existing global communities to help make the future of Facebook Groups a bright one. Facebook is currently dedicated to making improvements that benefit the mental health and wellbeing of its users, after facing backlash from mainstream media and healthcare professionals. Facebook aims to shift its focus to community over advertising messaging for users in recent algorithm changes. A huge part of this focus shift will be seen in the expansion on the Facebook Groups feature. If you’re not already using Facebook Groups, you’re missing out. There’s a Facebook Group for pretty much every niche. Following on from the old school vibe of the forum, Groups are a great place to engage with a community and get advice. From a brand point of view, Facebook Groups can be a great place to research and connect with your audience on a one-to-one basis or as a way to aggregate fans around a related topic or theme. Whatever your past experience with Facebook Groups, there’s a number of new features that are super-charging these community building spaces that you just have to check out. One of the most welcome additions to Facebook Groups, live right now is the access to Analytics. This suggests that Facebook has cottoned onto the fact that brands and business have been using Groups to their advantage for quite some time, are Facebook preparing to take a piece of that pie from Facebook Group Admins and Owners? Perhaps this is in preparation for some new Group monetisation features? Maybe, Facebook genuinely wants to help Facebook Group Admins create better content, we will have to wait and see. Admins will also breathe a sigh of relief when they spot the new integrated dashboard, which conveniently places everything in one place. The new dashboard also includes a streamlined version of the member requests panel, allowing admins to batch approve/decline request by filtering them by parameters like locations and gender. Group announcements, colour personalisation options, post scheduling, group-to-group linking and new section rules options have also joined the Facebook Group Admin panel. At the Facebook Communities Summit Europe in London earlier this month, Facebook’s Head of Groups and Communities, Jennifer Dulski, also announced the arrival of the Facebook Community Leadership Programme. The new programme from Facebook promises to “commit tens of millions of dollars” to initiatives aimed at building communities on Facebook, so if you have a bright idea this could be your opportunity to get funded by Facebook to make it happen. You can visit the Facebook Communities microsite to find out more about applying for a residency or fellowship with Facebook or get involved via Community Leadership Circles. There’s big money on offer for great ideas, so one to check out for any enterprising community champions! For many people, Facebook Groups are a welcome escape from the algorithms that make other areas of social media a challenge. Groups create an online destination targeted at engagement and interaction rather than just the scrolling through a stream plagued with shameless self-promotion and adverts. With this in mind, it makes total sense that Facebook would shift its focus onto improving Facebook Groups in a bid to retain users and reward them with a real sense of digital community and the social element that is essential to a positive future of the medium. We shall look forward to seeing what big ideas the Community Leadership Program will sow. ### Facebook Messenger for Kids – The Lowdown Facebook is supposed to be closed to under 13s, just like many other social media platforms. But it doesn’t stop children from using them anyway and with an increasing number of online abuse cases involving children, it’s no surprise that they’ve all been under pressure to make their platforms safer. Back in December, Facebook launched its latest product, Facebook Messenger for Kids. A secure messenger platform aimed at under 13s, created after 18 months of research in collaboration with National Parent Teacher Association and Blue Star Families from the military. The end product is fully compliant with Children’s Online Privacy Protections Act (COPPA) law and opens up a child-friendly edit of Messenger that parents can control. Facebook’s Loren Cheng, explains, “when we heard about the need for better apps directly from parents during research and conversations with parents, we knew we needed to develop it alongside the people who were going to use it, as well as experts who could help guide our thinking.” At first glance, Facebook seems to have thought of everything, they’ve done their research and they’ve created a product they genuinely think will help connect children whilst protecting them from the risks of a complete Facebook profile. Facebook Messenger for Kids will work for under 13s if set up alongside an active profile from a parent, the parent then becomes the admin allowing them to approve who their children can talk to on the platform whether that be family members or school friends. Facebook have also manually filtered GIPHY to ensure that only child friendly GIFs are available and have implemented a strong network for efficiently delaying with any reports, automatically filtering certain key words. However, although the app gives parents control over their children’s contacts and restricts the amount of content that children will access, parents will not be able to see the content of messages, relying fully on trust. It seems that Facebook thought of almost everything, but it has not protected them from criticism. By the end of January over 110 children’s health advocates had asked Mark Zuckerberg to remove the app, “at a time when there is mounting concern about how social media use affects adolescents’ wellbeing, it is particularly irresponsible to encourage children as young as pre-schoolers to start using a Facebook product,” writes Susan Greenfield from Boston-based Campaign for Commercial-Free Childhood. British Health Secretary, Jeremy Hunt publicly attacked the Facebook app, taking his outrage to Twitter stating, “Facebook told me they would come back with ideas to PREVENT underage use of their product, but instead they are actively targeting younger children. Stay away from my kids please Facebook and act responsibly!” at the time of publishing, Mark Zuckerberg had not given a statement in response to the international backlash. It’s easy to worry about how children will misuse the Messenger for Kids app just as they do other platforms already, with increasing concerns around cyber-bullying and failing social skills, are we just presenting more obstacles for young people? Although a parent’s interaction is required to set up a profile, there is still a lot relying on good parent to child communication, which is never guaranteed to be perfect across the board. Josh Golin from the Campaign for Commercial-Free Childhood sums it up, “it’s galling to see Facebook target young children at a time when evidence is mounting that excessive social media use negatively impacts kids and teens’ wellbeing,” By encouraging children to interact more online and via virtual reality lenses, are we just making it more difficult for many children to learn how to interact in real life? All eyes are on Facebook right now, as they continue to receive backlash over the new app. A recent report from Wired revealed that many of the experts Facebook consulted had previously benefited from financial gain from Facebook, "at least seven members of Facebook 13-person advisory board have some kind of financial tie to the company", which makes you wonder, do they really care about connecting people? Or are they just in it for the money? We are ready and waiting to hear what Zuckerberg and his team will say next when it comes to child safety, well-being and the future of Facebook products. ### Musings on Social Meh-dia This is an awkward time for any of us who work in social media. The last year or so has seen a gradual turning of the tide away from what we thought we knew: that you had to be on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Snapchat et al to be noticed, either as personal or marketing brand. I’m not suggesting that the era of social engagement is over, but I am wondering if its irresistible rise is. After the 2016 election in the USA, there came a growing concern that our very democracies were being eroded by fake news, Russian bots, and the siloing of our opinions. In just the last week, we have seen stories in The Guardian about how the very creators of social media don’t use it because of its inherent dangers, the American tennis player with the appropriate name who went from feel-good story to alt-right pariah in about an hour, and hardly a day goes by without somebody deleting their Twitter account because of harassment, or because they were doing the harassing. And, in the background, largely because of issues like these, the major platforms are changing how they work. YouTube is under-going a minor crisis over how content creators are paid, because too many advertisements were ending up embedded in inappropriate content, and Facebook is heading towards a major tweak which may see promoted content and brand pages getting fewer eyeballs as the algorithms get shifted in favour of family, friends and pictures of cats. So, if a major part of your brand’s marketing, PR and/or customer service strategy revolves around social media, should you be worried? Well, yes and no. Clearly, the ubiquity and reach of Twitter and Facebook aren’t going to go away – if for no other reason than brands are their bread and butter too. However, it’s possible that Happy Hour is over, and we are all going to have to work a fair bit harder to get our message out there. And by harder, I mean smarter. If, for example, Facebook’s issue is that they fear losing users leaving the platform because they see too many ‘witty’ commercial posts, and not enough pictures from Auntie Irene’s holiday, then brands are going to have to work harder to get users to come to them. People are going to need better reasons to Like and visit brand pages, because they are going to appear in Newsfeeds less often. And merely spamming out more content to try and attract attention almost certainly isn’t going to work. Content is going to have to be better. That way it stands a better chance of being shared. Realistically, I think, this means you need to have something to say. Don’t be a slave to a message calendar just because you’ve been told in the past how often you need to post to keep people engaged. Give people a better reason to Like, share and visit your page; run attractive competitions and give-aways; be witty, not controversial; worry a little bit less about your brand’s voice, and more about how and when your consumers listen to it. Oh, and be ready for more of this change. Now, more than ever, you need to be working with creative agencies who don’t just understand social media as it has been, but who get where it might be headed. The disruptors are about to be disrupted, and the social media landscape could be very different by the end of 2018. ### A Different Take on Facebook's News Feed Change: Will it Improve Users' Mental Health? Facebook started 2018 with a big announcement in terms of how they will be changing the news feed. There is plenty of evidence out there that shows that users are not enjoying Facebook as much as they used to. They’re tired of the constant adverts and many are leaving all together. So, in a bid to draw back its user base and to create a happier Facebook, news feed’s will soon be prioritising posts from friends and family over anything else. Will this improve our mental health? In December, Facebook acknowledged that too much Facebook, or Facebook used badly, is negative for mental well-being, so it’s only right that the company take action. Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Facebook, stated; "We feel a responsibility to make sure our services aren't just fun to use, but also good for people's well-being," With this in mind, the news feed change is clearly one of the steps Facebook has put into place to combat criticism and to further increase the value it has to users. The proposed changes to the Facebook news feed take the platform back to its roots, focusing on human interaction over brand messaging. After all, we originally joined Facebook as a place to stay in touch with friends and family, over the year’s this has been diluted by the increase of branded messaging and advertisement on Facebook. In addition to the news feed priority changes, we should also be seeing a reduction in spam and fake news content as Facebook continues to clean up our feeds. Naturally, this should see us all experiencing a more authentic stream of content tailored to us. New content guidelines also suggest that anyone looking to publish content with good organic reach on Facebook should be aiming for increasing shares and comments over other metrics. So, what does this change mean for brands and businesses that rely on Facebook as a customer service and advertising tool? According to Zuckerberg, the change will require publishers to focus on creating more content that “sparks engagement." Brands and businesses will also have to become Facebook Ad savvy to secure their future on the valuable social media platform. https://www.youtube.com/embed/Qpl_kA8K_BM?autoplay=0&mute=0&controls=1&origin=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.strawberrysocial.com&playsinline=1&showinfo=0&rel=0&iv_load_policy=3&modestbranding=1&enablejsapi=1&widgetid=1 What hasn’t been addressed yet is how the Facebook news feed will impact small business owners and service providers who may have built their incomes on social media referrals and interaction. It’s easy to keep up to date with Facebook Algorithms when you have the budget and people-power, but how will this impact the millions of small businesses who don’t have the spare cash for expensive, skilfully put together advertising campaigns? Don’t panic just yet, Facebook says it will take a few months for the changes to take place, so there’s still time to rethink your 2018 Facebook content strategy. Need a hand getting your head around the new Facebook algorithm changes? Get in touch to find out how Strawberry Social can help your business or agency with social media. ### What is a Tweetstorm and how can I use Twitter Threads? Tweetstorms have been around for a long time, it’s nothing new. But what exactly is a Tweetstorm? It’s really quite simple, a Tweetstorm is a thread of tweets, often used to tell a story or report on live events. As with many of Twitter’s features, Tweetstorms were not invented by the platform, but an adaptation of the technology inspired by user patterns. Did you know that the retweet and the @mention were both features inspired by users as well? After years of users naturally writing threads on Twitter using a variety of methods, the platform gave us an early Christmas present at the end of 2017 with the launch of their Threads feature. Now many die hard tweeters protested, particularly as the Threads launch followed so closely behind the extended 280 character limit; both of these features were considered anti-microblogging; the essence of Twitter’s creation. However, with Twitter increasingly being used to break news, call out foul play and as an entertainment platform, the expanded boundaries come as a welcome addition for many, opening up new ways to deliver content and be creative. So, how can we use this shiny new feature to our advantage? And what rules have Twitter put into play to protect us from Twitter Thread spam!? Threads now appear as an option in your compose box, you can add up to 25 consecutive tweets which will publish instantly as a thread. Remember, these can now have up to 280 characters each and include GIFs, images, videos and links too. This is perfect for live reporting an event or telling any kind of complex story. This can also be a great tool for summarising information into one place and can be optimised for humour too. To ensure our timelines don’t become overloaded by lengthy rants, followers are only shown the first few tweets of a thread, represented by a line to show that they are connected. Users can then select to read more if they’d like to follow the entire thread. On the plus side, users are already reporting that content produced in Twitter Threads have seen an increased level of engagement, so maybe it’s time to start embracing the new, lengthier version of this micro-blogging platform. Just don’t waste those characters, a lot can still be said via strong, snappy copy and the right visuals. What do you think of the Twitter Threads feature - do you have any good examples to share? If you need some help getting your head around it, you know where we are. ### It's Been 25 Years Since the First Text Message... Where Does the Time Go?! Since it’s the week after Christmas and we’re revving up to face the imminent arrival of 2018, we thought it would be fun to have a nostalgic look back at some of the festive text message traditions of the past and what they mean to modern communications. Did you know that the humble text message celebrated its 25th birthday this December? With the first text ever sent being “Merry Christmas”. British software engineer Neil Papworth sent this festive greeting to a Vodafone co-worker on the night of their Christmas Party. Little did Neil know that, at just 22 years old, he would be transforming communications forever. Remember the time before emoijs when we used to create faces and increasingly elaborate things using nothing but the limits of an alphanumerical key pad? :-0 Were you the owner of a little book of plain text emoticons? Said to have been invented in the 80's for use in online forums, these simple icons quickly developed into a mass craze. Did you ever find yourself sending something like this in a text or email, or maybe it was your MySpace bio at some point? When MSN Messenger, Myspace and other social platforms gained mainstream popularity in the late 90's, we saw the humble text message take a new digital form beyond email and mobile. The humble semi-colon, bracket smiley face evolved into tiny icons, close to the emojis we know today. You could even download special Christmas emoticons and GIFs to share with your friends, something that we can now see on Facebook Messenger too. Early text messages had limits on how many characters and words you could use per message, hence the invention of “txt tlk”. With this in mind it’s easy to see how this mobile phone innovation went on to inspire the creation of platforms like Facebook, Tumblr, Twitter and WhatsApp. So, let’s raise a glass to the text message on its 25th birthday and sprinkle a little emoticon magic to add some cheer to our written words. Resources http://mashable.com/2011/09/20/emoticon-history http://www.chris.com/ascii/index.php?art=holiday/christmas/other https://www.cnet.com/news/omg-texting-is-25-years-old/ http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/mobile-phones/9718336/Text-messaging-at-20-how-SMS-changed-the-world.html https://www.forbes.com/sites/larryalton/2017/05/11/how-do-millennials-prefer-to-communicate/#28ac8c3f6d6f ### Social Media Done Right - Our Top 5 Brand Wins With social media taking over the world, like a conquering hero, it is increasingly important that big brands have dedicated teams set up to respond to their audience as quickly as possible. Some brands now give their teams fabulous nicknames - Xbox’s Elite Tweet Fleet, we’re looking at you! - to help them appear more approachable and human. We all love a bit of a giggle now and again, so let’s take a look at some of our favourite social media wins from the last few years. 1. Tesco - William the Worm - 2016 When Wes Metcalfe found a worm in a cucumber, he took to Tesco’s Facebook page to complain. ‘Upon opening my cucumber I discovered a worm inside the wrapping.’ he wrote, ‘I thought - at last, finally Tesco have come up with something to beat Aldi's free spider with bananas offer.’ Rob from Tesco’s customer care team quickly jumped in on the action and replied to the tongue-in-cheek complaint with his own ‘heartfelt’ reply and a witty poem to celebrate William’s life and death, An Ode To William. 2. Reactions to the Luis Suarez World Cup Biting Incident - 2014 Seconds before Uruguay scored the only goal of the match, Luis Suarez reportedly bit Italian defender Giorgio Chiellini’s shoulder. Within minutes, brands such as Snickers, 2014 FIFA World Cup sponsors Listerine, Cinnamon Toast Crunch and Nando's UK took to Twitter in response, mentioning and tagging him in their hilarious responses. We’d personally rather have a burger! 3. Skyscanner’s 47 Year Layover - 2016 In 2016 James Lloyd posted a screenshot of a recommended journey on Skyscanner’s Facebook page, showing a 47 year layover in Bangkok. Instead of just rectifying this and apologising as he probably expected, Skyscanner’s customer service agent, Jen, instead suggested some fun activities that Mr Lloyd could undertake to fill his time (as well as passing it to the tech team to look into). 4. Southern Rail - #AskEddie - 2017 July 2017 saw Southern Rail gaining a lot of good publicity when they handed over the Twitter reins to Eddie, a 15 year old boy who was on work experience. The Twitter community quickly came to love him after his hilarious quick-witted responses, and when another member of the team, Neil, jumped in to reply, users quickly questioned where Eddie had gone. All in all it was a fabulous thread to follow, and some really good experience for Eddie. 5. Sainsbury’s - Giraffe Bread - 2012 In 2012 Sainsbury’s officially changed the name of it’s tiger bread after receiving a letter from 3 ½ year old Lily Robinson saying that it looked like the bread had the markings of a giraffe and not a tiger. A couple of weeks later she received a reply from the Customer Manager, Chris King (age 27 & ⅓) agreeing with Lily that the original creator of the loaf might’ve been ‘a bit silly’. And, after the letters went viral, Sainsbury’s did indeed change the name to giraffe bread. Take the pressure off your full-time team and spread the workload by outsourcing your community management, moderation and engagement to us. We can't promise that our content will go viral, but we have been told that we're pretty good at this social media malarky...;) Contact us for chat if you’d like to know more: https://www.strawberrysocial.co.uk/contact ### 5 of the Best Creative Christmas Social Media Campaigns of All Time Christmas is coming and excitement is all around. As we roll out campaigns for our clients (and, of course, provide plenty of moderation/engagement back-up for them too), we're looking back at some of our favourite branded social media based Christmas campaigns. A super reminder that creating interesting, interactive content, rather than constant sales pitches, can often be the best way to make an impact. 1. Tesco #pullacracker – 2012 Back in 2012, supermarket giants Tesco embarked on their first ever Twitter based giveaway campaign for Christmas. The #pullacracker campaign allowed Twitter users to pull a virtual, animated cracker with a chosen Twitter friend for a chance to win a prize, many of which could be redeemed via a print-out voucher in their nearest Tesco store. The simple microsite based mechanic was a great way to encourage interaction whilst driving traffic to Tesco online and in store - as well as trending on Twitter. 2. Budweiser UK #jumper4des – 2013 What do you get when you combine robots, Christmas jumpers, social media and the need to drive awareness of drink driving? You get the Budweiser Knitbot - a Twitter powered robot that knitted festive jumpers for designated drivers to wear during the Christmas period. The jumpers were then used as giveaway prizes across social media. This is a great example of how to make a PR story and social campaign by creating something physical - not all digital campaigns need to be 100% digital. 3. Nick Offerman Yule Log for Lagavulin Whiskey - 2015 If you haven’t delved into the obscure regions of Netflix just yet, you may not be aware of the phenomenon of the Yule Log video, a little television tradition dating back to 1966 and originating in the States. Christmas 2015 saw whiskey brand, Lagavulin, recruit Parks and Recreations actor, Nick Offerman, to sit in a leather chair, next to a burning log fire, drinking whiskey for 45 minutes in silence. It’s obscure, it’s niche, but it works. Combining humour, a relevant celebrity and a traditional format, Lagavulin created a piece of content that will go on to add value to the brand for years to come. 4. Three #ColdTurkey – 2016 Last year, we saw mobile network, Three, jump on the digital detox trend with their social video campaign to encourage people to enjoy the holidays without being glued to their phones. With the creatives behind James Corden’s Carpool Karaoke onboard, the campaign held an important message about living in the moment whilst creating awesome branded, evergreen video content. Ensuring the campaign had a strong comedy hook, allowed Three to influence audiences without being a hard sell. This gentle approach is a great way to increase brand loyalty and recognition. 5. Google Santa Tracker – Yearly Although not quite the same as some of the product focused campaigns mentioned before, it wouldn’t be right to ignore the digital tradition of checking in on Google’s adorable Santa Tracker. If you’re not familiar, this is a Google microsite that contains a countdown to Christmas, facts about holiday traditions around the word and, a live tracker of Santa’s journey on Christmas Eve. Sometimes your Christmas campaign doesn’t have to sell products to have a massive impact on your brand image. Family friendly, well designed, interactive content like Santa Tracker is a fantastic way to get people talking about Google whilst also offering up entertaining and educational content that can be enjoyed by a wide audience. If you need inspiration on how to bring some sparkle to your brand this Christmas, or... you have campaigns ready to rock for your brand clients but, need some remote moderation and engagement support... do get in touch. There's still time and our team is here to help. ### Social Media and Suicide Prevention: What’s being done and who’s responsible? With the light speed saturation of social media into a world of billions of real people, it’s no wonder that its influence is having an impact on our mental health. We’re developing new technologies and learning new things everyday across all fields of research, moving forward faster than any other time period before us. It’s a Brave New World, some might say. To avoid writing a book on the topic, let’s hone onto the topic of suicide prevention since it’s recently been highlighted again via World Mental Health Day and a number of trending hashtags on social. We all probably have a story to tell around this sad topic and know that more needs to be done to help those in need. With this in mind, what can be done via social media to help protect and help those in need at their darkest times? With a number of high profile cases of suicides taking place live on Facebook, suicide notes being widely shared on social media platforms and a variety of other worrying incidents involving digital as a tool or catalyst; it would be dangerous not to pay attention to this issue. Is it the responsibility of the social media platforms to prevent suicides or is it the responsibility of us as friends, relatives and human beings to ensure we take care of the people in our lives? Since the mainstream integration of social media as a communication tool, it’s also eliminating the need for real life, face to face interaction for many as well. Yes, social media at its best can help connect people across the globe and give you instant access to people you care about, but social media at its worst is a lonely and strange place to be. We aren’t all using social media at its best and it is impacting our mental health whether you’ve realised it yet or not. Each social media platform now has in place a suicide prevention policy on how to help users who are posting content that suggests they may be at risk. There’s linguists, scientists and AI out there right now, analysing data and creating algorithms to improve how these suicide prevention policies can be used via extremely in-depth research. You can even donate your personal social media data to a charity to help in this fascinating and valuable research. Most social media platforms offer an automated system or online form that allows people to report content that appears to be representing a suicide risk. The reported content is then sent to a real life moderation team who will contact the user at risk to let them know that someone is worried about them and how they may be able to seek help. This help email from the social media platform often includes links to relevant suicide prevention charities. Facebook even offers up pre-written personal messages that the worried friend could send to check in one to one with the at risk person. But, is this good enough? Doesn’t it make you wonder why you wouldn’t just send that friend a personal message without prompt to see if they’re ok instead? It seems more human and kind to take the personal approach instead of hoping that some strangers sat in an office in the States, being paid a salary will make sure your friend is ok. It’s our responsibility as people to care for each other, it the most natural thing there is. The group of people you care about might be small or large but we can’t really live without them. That group of people might be your family, your school friends, your partner or friends you met on MySpace 10 years ago. If you’re what they class as a millennial it could quite likely be any combination of the above and it varies for each individual. Whoever you care about, make sure you check in on them regularly one on one and in real life if you can. If you can’t see them in real life for whatever reason, a quick WhatsApp message or direct message on social media is all it takes. Be kind to yourself and others by using social media wisely. ### Are YouTube Kids' New Security Features Enough? Did you know that YouTube provides a special version of its app designed especially for children? Initially launched in 2015 to cater to toddlers and younger children, the latest app updates see YouTube broaden its age range. New features include homepage screens that adapt to the age of your child, individual passcodes to cater for siblings sharing a device and new parental controls to allow greater control over the type of content that children can view on the app. However, YouTube openly admits that their child filters are not flawless, so parents need to familiarise themselves with the new security features. To ensure parents have the ability to filter what their children view on the YouTube Kids app, new security features have been added to allow the ability to switch off standard search. In addition, parents can now securely login to the YouTube Kids app using their own personal Google Accounts, allowing them to personally curate the content of the platform. So, if you have children using the app, be sure to check out the new features and tailor them as you see appropriate. With content from top creators like Dreamworks, Jim Henson and National Geographic Kids available on the app, parents are sure to continue to see the appeal as an educational and entertainment tool. However, are these new security features enough to protect young minds from the inappropriate content that we know is on full view in various areas of the Web? Any child with access to a smartphone now has access to a store full of social networking apps, games and endless articles and videos. Of course, there are many Kids apps and platforms tailored at safely educating and entertaining children, however, it still remains the responsibility of parents and carers to ensure a child’s digital experience is a safe one. Apps, websites and social media remain a relatively new technology, plus they are changing constantly. To ensure continued appropriate use of these platforms by children, we need to rely on human intervention rather than just technology. What do you think of parental control for the web? What methods do you use? Join the conversation and get in touch if you think Strawberry Social can help you get to grips with your latest social media challenge. ### How Outsourcing Your Social Media Could Save You Time, Money & Stress With Christmas just around the corner and New Year a-calling, there’s no better time to consider how outsourcing your social media could help you free up some time and money. There are many ways in which outsourcing some of your social workload can benefit your business (and/or your clients), let’s just look at a few of them! Short term back up in busy period Christmas is coming and with it comes increased pressure from your audience to deliver services on time and with a sparkling smile. Too much to handle? Getting extra pairs of hands on board during busy festive periods is never a bad idea. Take the pressure off your valued full time team and spread the workload by outsourcing things like community management, moderation and engagement to a team who can get things done without any handholding - our peeps are very experienced in the industry. Deliver great results to your audience, whilst allowing your team the breathing space they need in these busy times. Up your game with 24/7 cover Tired of the post-weekend catch up? Bored of missing awesome opportunities due to not being online? Take your social media game to the next level by offering your audience 24/7/365 interaction, content and reactions. Ideal for ecommerce, customer service and entertainment networks who want to keep their fingers on the pulse. It’s not always possible to cover evenings and weekends with your core team, outsourcing is here to help you keep up with what’s trending and ensure a flawless digital experience for clients and customers. Less time recruiting, more time creating! By heading straight to an experienced social media agency, you can cut out the need for recruiters and interview time, what’s not to love about that? Tick off essential digital marketing tasks with confidence by working with skilled workers who can hit the ground running with minimal management time needed from you. So that’s less time searching for the right people and more time spent on your most crucial tasks. Everyone's a winner! Staff cover without the commitment Whether you’re down half your office due to flu season or have a valued team member heading on maternity or paternity leave, outsourcing could be your ideal staffing answer. The flexibility of outsourcing allows you to assign workloads big, small, short term and long term without the commitment that comes with hiring a new full time team member. Get all the experience and more with less paperwork and less worrying, sounds good right? Streamline your processes Who doesn’t want to make work more straightforward? Whether you don’t have time to manage social media yourself or you’re simply looking for more productive ways to work, it’s always a good idea to get a professional second opinion on your work. Outsource to an experienced social media team and we’ll have you streamlined and winning in no time. We can take tasks off your hands or help you train your team to be the stars you deserve! Did we convince you yet? Go on, you know it makes sense. ;) Whether you’re looking for remote help or an extra bod in the office, get in touch and we can chat about how StrawberrySocial could be the perfect solution for you. And remember, an agency is for life... well, kinda... not just for Christmas. ### Do you have Christmas cover in place? Talk to us and see how we can help: https://www.strawberrysocial.co.uk/contact ### Four Reasons Why One Billion Dollars For Instagram Was Such A Massive Bargain Instagram was just two years old, with only 13 employees and bringing in no revenue, when Mark Zuckerberg bought it for one billion dollars. As Facebook headed for its first IPO, the tech markets wobbled. Pundits wondered if Harvard genius and 27-year-old Zuck was impulsive and imprudent. But five years later, even with its eye-watering price tag, there’s no question: that deal was the sale of the century. Here are four reasons why you might want to listen to Mark Zuckerberg next time you need a good return on $1 billion. 1. Mobile first: Facebook was floundering, with a mobile app so dire that most people accessed it via desktop or simply went elsewhere. Instagram, on the other hand, has remained defiantly mobile-only since day dot. And its youthful demographics have hauled Facebook out of grandpa’s party into hipster heaven. 2. Explosive growth: In the space of five years, Instagram has rocketed from 30 million to 700 million active monthly users. The Motley Fool says: “What's notable about Instagram's growth is that it is occurring at an accelerating rate recently. It took Instagram about nine months to grow from 400 million to 500 million users, six months to grow from 500 million to 600 million users, and approximately four months to grow from 600 million to 700 million users.” 3. Revenue, baby: One analyst thinks Instagram alone will double Facebook's revenue in the next four years - maybe even hit $22 billion by 2021. It’s well-known that teens engage best with advertisers on Instagram. So most Facebook advertisers buy ads on Instagram as well. And when your client roster includes Nike and General Motors? Win-win. 4. Trusted funds: Mark Zuckerberg has proved he can buy out the competition and let them get on with the job. His hands-off approach means he is trusted by the people he wants to invest in his next venture, whatever that will be. Will it be Snapchat? Not for want of trying. Right now, Snapchat seems to be the one that got away. Not only did it rebuff a reported Facebook buy-out of $3 billion in 2014, it’s built a number of genius features so cool that others can only copy them. Instagram Stories is a very close relative of Snapchat’s main USP - messages that disappear without trace. However, according to David Eisenman, co-founder and CEO of advertising agency Madwell, Snapchat is still stealing a march on the Facebook/Instagram onslaught. One example of this is the function that allows Snapchat advertisers to place their ads next to publisher content on Snapchat Discover. Only time will tell if Instagram proves to be the golden goose or cash cow that Mark Zuckerberg realised five years ago. One certainty is this: Facebook will keep buying up the opposition or copying its features, until something bigger than Facebook evolves. Watch this space. ### Freelance Moderator – Evenings/Weekends Home-based with occasional travel to London (UK-based only) 10-15 hours a week during evenings/weekends. StrawberrySocial is looking for a freelance social media moderator to support its growing team. The role will require you to have a proven track record in managing creative content, community engagement and moderation. Key Responsibilities: Daily monitoring of social channels.Engaging with audience using brand tone of voice and messaging.Posting client written content, working from FAQs and Standard Response Templates.Moderation of social media content based on client guidelines.Encouraging discussion within online communities. Skills, Knowledge and Experience: An outstanding knowledge of online user habits and idiosyncrasies.Confident use of social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Instagram.Knowledge of market trends and best practices.First-class interpersonal skills, both verbal and written.Spot on spelling and grammar.A passion for all things social media.Highly motivated and confident, with a strong work ethic and pride in what you do.Strong analytical skills, including familiarity with reporting tools such as Google analytics and Facebook insights.A flexible approach!Some knowledge of PPC/paid media or a love for the latest online tools would be nice but are not must-haves. A practical written test will be given to all applicants selected for an interview. If you are interested in applying for the role of Freelance Moderator send your CV and a covering letter to Shaz Collier at shaz@strawberrysocial.co.uk. Closing date for applications is Monday 7th August 2017. ### Snap Maps And Safeguarding - What Parents Need to Know Snapchat’s in the middle of a big child protection row after releasing a map function that shows people where you are and what you’re doing. Snap Maps were introduced last month. The feature allows people to see where their contacts, or friends, are - even down to within a matter of metres. It also shows what exactly what they are doing, whether that is on a plane, sitting down, or at school. This video of Loose Women presenter Nadia Sawalha discussing Snap Maps with her 14 year old daughter has gone viral. The pair voiced concerns that Snap Maps goes too far with the new ‘Stalk Your Friends’ call to action. They also say the function was automatically enabled without notifying users that it had gone live. (Not having logged on to my Snapchat for a while, I tapped the app and didn’t see any notification on my phone. When I went into Settings, I found that the maps function was already switched on as default. THIS MAKES ME FEEL WEIRD. It’s like FourSquare met Tinder met Pokemon Go). So, has Snapchat just made stalking easier? Can strangers pinpoint exactly where our kids are at any time? Even young people are worried about the consequences, describing it on Twitter as ‘creepy’. The NSPCC' NetAware says Snap Maps could put children in danger and the police have described Snapchat as a ‘tempting place for groomers’, adding that the new map function allows paedophiles to browse and see where children are. Schools are warning parents to disable the app. Anyone can disable Snaps Maps by going into Ghost Mode. Here’s how. If you’re a parent or carer, you can learn more about Snapchat with this guide from CEOP, the Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre. Of course, Twitter is buzzing about other ways the Snap Map function can be a blessing, as well as a curse. It’s good news for journalists seeking real time news. Advertisers are rubbing their hands. And it makes your Bitmoji look cute. But it seems it’s not just kids at risk of falling foul of Snap Maps. Maybe you are bunking off work. Maybe you are leading a double life. Maybe you’re trying to ignore your friends. Whatever your views, it seems Snapchat has put a foot wrong and misjudged public mood on the issue of real time tracking. This is sure to be one of their features that Facebook won’t be copying. ### The End Is Not Nigh - But Online Brand Protection Is Still A Good Idea... How often do you think about online brand protection? If your answer is "not so often, I'm too busy", it's a good thing you've found time to read this article. Grab yourself a cuppa and a biccie... So, you've put a lot of effort, time (let's say that word 'time' again) and resources into building a reputation for your brand. But, do you have a plan that will protect it in case something happens? Many business owners consider that such threats or attacks can't or won’t happen to them. Or, don't have the time to devote to putting together a plan. However, in order to ward off a possible apocalypse (we love a zombie reference), you need to believe that 'prevention' is a priority over 'cure'. Something that Rick Grimes would certainly give his approval to. Just how Vulnerable Are Brands Online? While the internet offers many exciting opportunities and advantages, such as global reach and accessibility, it's also hides a general lack of control. The truth is threats or attacks can happen at any time, and can come from anyone, anything (!), anywhere in the world. The effects can be felt in many ways: Financially - According to MarkMonitor, brands lost more than $350 billion in 2015 because of online brand abuse. Being exposed to threats can cost a brand heavily. For example, a US-based company will spend on average $2.9 million when a cyber attack occurs. Reputation wise - When a company is made vulnerable by an attack, their reputation can take a real bruising. A brand IS its name – an embarrassing online incident will not be overlooked by partners, sponsors or clients. Customer trust - When people choose to do business with your company, it implies trust – often hard earned and over a prolonged period of time. If your brand is attacked, then all this good work is compromised, your clients will have doubts as to whether it's safe to continue working with your organisation. Exposure to legal liability - Nowadays, hackers can find smart ways to access sensitive information, such as legal documents or credit card details. What's worse, they often then choose to disclose it to the public. Counterfeits - This is a significant risk, especially for eCommerce websites. Fakes are everywhere. The majority of counterfeits are products copied from big brands. How to Protect Your Brand Online 1. Register a Trademark This is a yummy no-brainer. It will allow you to take legal action against anyone who uses your brand without your permission. However, this only applies to the area where you hold the trademark. A timely trademark registration can protect more than just the name of a brand. It can even go as far as protecting the iconic colour of a brand. You're probably familiar with Cadbury's chocolate, Dairy Milk, and its distinctive purple wrapping. The company adopted this colour in 1914 as a tribute to Queen Victoria. A few years back, they wanted to trademark the colour Pantone 2865c, which is the exact shade of purple they use. Unfortunately, Cadbury lost this right in court against Nestle. This means that every brand can now use that exact colour for their products if they wish to and Cadbury can do nothing about it. 2. Secure Domain Names The easiest way a brand is attacked is usually through its domain name. Protect against this by registering all the domains that can be even slightly associated with your company. For example, yourcompany.com plus the other extensions such as .net, .name, .cc, or so. New domains are added from time to time so, keep on top of trends (.uk, .tv, .co). You can also register domains by adding negative words next to the company name, such as "sucks" or "scam". Another important thing to be aware of is typosquatting or cybersquatting. People can easily misspell your website's name, and this can lead them to a website that's not yours. Make sure you register the most common variations that are used when misspelling your company's name.You obviously won't be able to keep up with every new extension or buy all the domains, so you need to combine this with other strategies - perhaps some social listening around keywords? Lastly, make sure that you use rooting-tooting security for your primary domain. 3. Ensure Policy Compliance All business partners, including employees, need to be aware of your company's policy. Think of them as an extension of your brand - a member of your survivor's pod. Have a compliance policy in place – make it clear, succinct and shareable. It will help your audience, and your customers spot suspicious activity and promotes your company as a trusted pair of hands. 4. Brand impersonation is a big trend right now Use social media listening tools to stay up-to-date with what people say about your company. This type of tool will be able to tell you whether there's suspicious activity on your social media accounts. There are a variety of great tools out there, including Falcon.IO (one of our faves), SocialBakers, Hootsuite and Buffer. Setting up alerts means that your company will be able to see the zombie hoards coming, well before they get to you. 5. Create a Crisis Plan You know what they say: "Hope for the best, prepare for the worst". And, to many brands, a social media moderation or community management company will come across as the ‘voice of doom' - we've certainly been called that on many occasions. However, (we) they know their stuff, are battle-hardened and have seen it all happen before! Any damage to your brand can be minimised as long as there’s a firm plan in place. The success to any plan is to ensure that everyone knows what it is, where the information is kept and who is responsible for what action/s. Who is your champion? Your best negotiator, peace-maker, soothsayer, gunslinger...? Therefore, the first step is to include all stakeholders from the start – including your employees.They represent your company, so they need to know what to do in case a crisis arises. Plus, they can act ahead of time by figuring out if there are any vulnerabilities. Here are a few pointers: The team - Obviously, it would be ideal if you could appoint a team to 'surround the perimeter' and monitor your brand 24/7. This includes monitoring social media, Google alerts and basically any channel that your company uses to communicate. However, often cost/human resources makes this impossible. Therefore, an online tool can be the answer. The leader - If a vulnerability occurs, the team needs to have a kick-ass leader that has the authority (company, PR, legal, etc.) and confidence to sign-off any official statements. This person will also coordinate with the other employees and make sure that information as to how to behave is clear. Urgency – You will need to decide what your customers should be told. The team will need to be fully tooled-up so as to address facts in a transparent manner. Your clients don't have to be worried, but rather informed that you're doing your best to solve this issue. Time is of the essence here, contact them as soon as you can so that they continue to have trust in your brand. Make Online Brand Protection Your Priority Brands are susceptible and vulnerable to attacks if they don't protect themselves. Even if you aren't in the office when a crisis takes place, having a plan will help minimise the damage and head off the apocalypse. The help is out there and not all solutions have to be costly or time-consuming. Drop us a line and let us be your champion! ### Social Media Christmas Cover – Do You Have A Safety Net In Place? According to Social Media Today, businesses can see a 73% increase in lead generation and a big surge in activity over the holiday season. But while your tinsel and turkey preparations might be in full swing, have you given a thought to who will take care of your clients’ or brand’s digital channels and audience while everyone is away from the office? We’re not even talking engagement here… what if a PR issue hits? What can you do to keep your digital channels open while your office door is closed? Outsource No matter how big or small the query, no customer likes to be ignored. Keeping a two-way dialogue open between you and your customers will increase loyalty—and could even gain you a few more. With a consistent online presence during the holidays, your brand will continue to provide excellent customer service. We can help – let us manage your online customer service and engagement over the festive period. Plan Ahead The extra time away from your digital work could also help you decide whether or not outsourcing your digital marketing needs. Tell us about your company’s future gaps in resources. Flexibility of support provision can be a real life-saver! Get Rich Content So, let’s say you get that lovely team onboard – what do you ask them to do? Treat your audience to engaging content. It’s the season for giving – some organisations like to donate to their favourite charity/brand as part of their giving – storify it. Does your brand have some special offers that you’d like to share? Your interim team should have sufficient experience in social media to ensure your brand voice doesn’t go into hibernation for the winter. Formulate a short-term strategy plan as a guide. Reassure It’s not just your brands and audience who could benefit from holiday coverage. Christmas time can be a lonely and difficult time for some people. Charities, especially those with forums, can increase trust by ensuring their vulnerable members aren’t left unheard. With many years experience in charity forum moderation and community management, our team will concentrate on fully understanding your users and provide sensitive, empathetic engagement. Measure Conducting a social media audit before the holiday season will help determine your target audience interests, which campaigns could potentially go well and help to budget for advertising. Talk to us about carrying out an audit or competitor analysis of your social media channels. Strategise You’ve put in a lot time and resources into building your brand’s social media presence and reputation, but do you have a strategy in place to manage your brand’s reputation during a social media crisis? We’ve all seen it happen—a seemingly innocuous comments on social media goes ignored, then snowballs into a public relations nightmare. While that might sound grim, the good news is that any damage to your brand can be minimised as long as you have a firm crisis management plan in place. Talk to us to find out how. Let StrawberrySocial take away the stress of covering your social media channels and forums over the holidays. We have top-notch people available, highly experienced in social media management, that can step in to provide interim support while your staff are away. Drop us a line: info@strawberrysocial.co.uk www.strawberrysocial.co.uk 07791 454808 ### Facebook: 13 Off-The-Top-Of-My-Head-Tips In my work not only do I get to mess around with… ahem… enhance and invigorate organisations’ social channels, I also meet lots of interesting people. Both of these avenues enable me to pick up all manner of tips. So, here’s a really quick Facebook starter for 10 – well 13 actually. I hope you’re not superstitious? Keep your profile image and channel bio fresh and interesting. Change it regularly, use the space well – promote seasonal news, latest offers or content…Use the page description to highlight offerings. Again, keep it fresh and also tie in with your prime keywords.Your cover image should change regularly and reflect the varied offerings of the company. Use that real estate, grab some attention, keep people coming back.Both the profile picture and the cover image should have the website in the description. Click the photo, then click edit and put in the description box.Use inspiring content – showcase great stories and pull readers through to your website. Plan your content before promoting it, that first impression is what leads to second and third visits… give it some oomph!Make sure your post makes it clear what benefit will be gained from clicking the link. Also, invite people to comment on the story, “we want to hear what you think.” Less sell, more human.If your post contains info from a big organisation, tag them!Use Milestones to feature key events such as product launches, business anniversaries, awards, new partners/customers (welcome them), etc.Milestone images are set at 843 x 403 pixels.To highlight posts you want to give prominent placement to (they’ll take up the full width of your timeline), access your activity log and select ‘Highlight on Timeline’.Actually read (yes, really) some of the content from the pages your page follows. Check the page feed for items to comment on other organisations’ pages – join the conversation.I heard somewhere (I’d love to say where but I forget) that brands that post outside of business hours have 20% higher engagement rates. Give it a shot and try scheduling posts for those hours. Plus, it seems Sundays at 9 am have good traction.Most of all… you’re going to have to invest your time… ### Are You A UK Social Media Bod? Freelance Community Manager/Moderator Home-based with occasional travel to London (UK-based only) StrawberrySocial is looking for a freelance social media professional to support its growing team. The role will require you to have a proven track record in managing creative content, community engagement and moderation. Some work will be regular, other work project-based, (please note that this is not a full-time role and hours will vary considerably). Key Responsibilities: Daily monitoring of social channels and social listening. Engaging with audience using brand tone of voice and messaging. Posting client written content, working from FAQs and Standard Response Templates. Writing original content for social media channels, planning and scheduling in content calendar, guiding engagement, liaising with influencers and writing reports. Moderation of social media content based on client guidelines. Encouraging discussion within online communities. Skills, Knowledge and Experience: An outstanding knowledge of online user habits and idiosyncrasies. Confident use of social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Instagram. Knowledge of market trends and best practices. First-class interpersonal skills, both verbal and written. Spot on spelling and grammar. A passion for all things social media. Highly motivated and confident, with a strong work ethic and pride in what you do. Strong analytical skills, including familiarity with reporting tools such as Google analytics and Facebook insights. A flexible approach! Some knowledge of PPC/paid media or a love for the latest online tools would be nice but are not must-haves. A practical written test will be given to all applicants selected for an interview. If you are interested in applying for the role of Freelance Community Manager/Moderator send your CV and a covering letter to Shaz Collier at shaz@strawberrysocial.co.uk. ### 12 Things To Check Before You Hit Send! As Ferris once said, “life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around for a while, you could miss it.” Or, as we like to say on a more practical note, “social media moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and take a moment, you could make an annoying mistake.” Not as much fun as Ferris, granted, but then we’re not dancing on parade milk floats in the 80’s anymore (not that we ever did, sadly). So, it’s the usual scenario – another mad day at work. You’re talking to a client on the phone whilst juggling a cup of coffee; not that you’ve managed to take a sip yet. You’re frantically scribbling notes and trying to blank out the noise of the office behind you but, some idiot is ignoring the fact you’re on the phone and is trying to get your attention. And, to top it all off, you’re behind with your social media schedule and just HAVE to press send on that update you’ve been writing – asap. STOP! Here’s a quick and dirty checklist to use before you hit that key. Call to action. Have you made it clear (really, really clear) what it is you want people to do? Length. Is it too long or too short? Sense check. Read it through, out loud – will your audience get it? Emotion. C’mon, be honest – is it boring? Can you possibly make it more helpful, amusing or brand-boosting? On brand. Does it comply with your tone of voice? Does it sound like the YOU your followers have come to know and love? Timing. Does it suit your usual posting schedule? Or are you trying something new? Spelling and grammar. Aaarggh! Enough said. (Well, not enough actually – we like Grammarly). Signposts. Have you included the relevant tags, handles, hashtags, etc.? Links. Does the URL work? What content does it pull in from the source? Is that correct? Do you need to overwrite the image/change the text? Facebook or LinkedIn. Have you removed the URL from the post copy (once you’ve checked the info has pulled in ok)? Asset/s. Have you checked sizing for each channel? Does the click start play? Is the image appropriate/interesting? No brainer. Finally, are you signed into the right account?? Honestly, do always check. If you’ve scored a 12/12, then go on… press SEND. Now, perhaps go find that parade – it’s time to boogie :) ### Why The World Needs More Online Charity Community Forums The was a time, once long ago, when forums were the prevailing option when it came to online presence for an organisation. In those early BFB (before Facebook) days where Bebo and MySpace reigned supreme, company-hosted forums were the best way for brands (such as Nokia or Disney) to engage with their customers and audience. Now, a decade later, times have changed. With the advent of channels such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube and LinkedIn, brands can now be right in the heart of where their audience is. It’s a busy world out there. Forums have mostly become the preserve of membership organisations, sports clubs, gamers, tech-heads, Yahoo! (who hasn’t Googled an excel issue and ended up in a whole pile of Yahoo! forums) and… charities. The reasoning for much of this is very clear – highly defined audiences with specific interests wanting to chat in a less ‘transient’ way. They want to discuss, continue discussing, seek help or advice, have access to historical solutions and… actually belong to a community. Many forums also have that added security of being closed to others, i.e. the user has to fill out their details to gain entry via a password. This is where it works incredibly well for those users who need a charity’s help – providing a supportive and relatively private safe haven. So why aren’t there more of these online charity forums? The practicalities I believe the main barriers to entry, as it were, is the cost and the planning involved. We’re talking about the small to medium sized charities here – not the large ones. Why they don’t set up forums is probably a subject for another day… Setting up a user-friendly forum can be a costly business. Note I say ‘user-friendly’ – there are many ‘quick and dirty’ forums set up on impractical structures out there. That may work very well for different sectors but would not provide the ease of use and welcoming nature that a charity forum would need to have in order to attract, and retain, their audience. So welcome the tech design and build company. The choice of provider here is where it can all be absolutely fabulous or go horribly wrong. During my time working with both commercial and non-profit organisations, I was involved in liaising with many build companies on behalf of my clients. These companies ranged from pretty good, down to horribly obtuse and money-grabbing. The latter were more common than one would hope unfortunately. These were the kind of people who would take a charity’s hard raised funds and squander them on clunky and impractical builds that could only be tweaked by the provider and therefore incur a cost each and every time. It was heart-breaking. However, let’s focus on the good news story – now that online knowhow is more widely shared and readymade tools are in abundance, organisations are no longer held to ransom by the unscrupulous. There are now more enlightened tech providers and more affordable options. A super example of this is the Friends in Need forum, run by Depression Alliance. A success story Depression Alliance has been around for almost 40 years and is the leading UK charity for people affected by depression. In November 2013 it launched a project called Friends in Need. It’s aim? To help people maintain recovery from depression and to end the loneliness and isolation that comes with depression. This was not only an online forum but also provided a way for users to connect and establish support groups in the ‘real’ world. They worked with an agency called Ideas Made Digital who helped them not only build the forum but also redesign their website as a whole. This was carried out in an affordable and fully collaborative way. They build a user-friendly forum with a CMS that the DA team could easily use in order to fully monitor and keep safe the users. The forum is for over 18’s only and contains many topics, from carers asking for help to threads about particular medications and their side effects. The DA team take a light touch with the moderation, getting to know the ‘regulars’ and being fully aware that medication can provoke out-of-character actions. They also went through a risk assessment and put in place a thorough escalation process for when users needed help – perhaps threatening suicide. On the whole, the community support each other when in desperate need and DA very rarely has to intervene. When they do have to, it’s to direct users to 24 hour hotlines run by organisations such as The Samaritans and SANE. The forum now has almost 20,000 registered users. It is a shining example of how a charity can provide a tangible, practical and lasting difference to their community. Says one user, “Friends in Need is a place you can be yourself without fear you’re being judged or told how you should act when you’re feeling depressed” I’ll leave you with three top tips from Erin Hedger, DA’s Digital Manager: Listen to your community and develop easy ways to maintain a conversation with them. Your community should grow and develop at their own pace and organically, don’t try to artificially expand it. Your community should always be steering and in control of the direction of the forum, the organisation’s role is to provide a framework for them to do so. Allow your community to feel empowered, not stifled by over moderating. Have staff/volunteers on the site to welcome, help and nudge but never interrupt or take control of a conversation Has your charity thought of setting up a forum? If not, why not? Your supporters will thank you. My next blog will expand on Erin’s comments above by discussing the practicalities of running the forums day-to-day (and night)! ### Short & Sweet - Best Practice As To Hours Of Availability Your organisation’s online presence should manage customer expectations regarding response times. Users don’t mind waiting for answers if a) you are clear and consistent as to when you’re available, b) you provide contact details in case of emergencies. On Twitter and Facebook, clearly list your hours of availability in the description. It is also worth reiterating them in your daily greeting and sign off. SouthWest Trains (@SW_Trains) are a great example of both managing expectations and efficient response times. Post an emergency contact email address or link for out of hours (should your company deal in anything that is time dependent). If it’s just a case as to someone asking some advice, then users can wait until the next working day. Ensure your users know that they can DM you if required, monitor your DM channels regularly. ## Pages ### AI and Moderation Updates Hub AI aND MODERATION hub Key AI and moderation updates for digital teams protecting online spaces. The latest in AI and social media moderation. What’s changing, and why it matters. Curated by our team of content moderation experts, the AI and Moderation Hub brings together the latest news, platform updates, policy shifts (including the Online Safety Act), and practical resources, all in one place.Whether you a charity marketer working with AI and navigating risk or a brand social media manager keeping online communities safe and engaged, this hub is here to help you make informed decisions and confidently manage your digital spaces. AI and Content Moderation News VPNs top download charts as age verification law kicks in Tue 29 Jul 2025 As of Monday morning, half of the top ten free apps in Apple's app download charts in the UK appeared to be for VPN services. What Guess’s AI model in Vogue means for beauty standards Sun 27 Jul 2025 It is the first time an AI-generated person has featured in the magazine. TikTok content moderators in Germany strike over AI taking their jobs Wed 23 Jul 2025 Workers at the social media company ByteDance, TikTok's parent, are on a one-day strike today in Berlin to protest the replacement of staff with artificial intelligence (AI). Reddit rolling out age verification in the UK Tue 15 Jul 2025 The platform may also soon start checking if users are human or AI. AI-generated child sexual abuse videos surging online Tue 15 Jul 2025 The IWF verified 1,286 AI-made videos with child sexual abuse material (CSAM), compared with two in the same period last year. YouTube prepares crackdown as concern over AI slop grows Wed 9 Jul 2025 YouTube Partner Program (YPP) Monetization policy update features more detailed guidelines around what type of content can earn creators money and what cannot. MrBeast removes YouTube AI tool after backlash Fri 27 Jun 2025 MrBeast has removed a YouTube thumbnail generator that used artificial intelligence (AI) after a backlash from creators. Meta Says It Fixed an Issue That Led To Erroneous Facebook Group Suspensions Wed 25 Jun 2025 Thousands of Facebook groups have been suspended, with many blaming faulty AI-detection for incorrectly tagging them as violating the platform’s rules. ChatGPT May Be Eroding Critical Thinking Skills, Study Finds Mon 23 Jun 2025 Does ChatGPT harm critical thinking abilities? A new study from researchers at MIT’s Media Lab has returned some concerning results. BBC threatens AI firm with legal action Sat 21 Jun 2025 The BBC is threatening to take legal action against an AI firm whose chatbot the corporation says is reproducing BBC content "verbatim" without its permission. Accounts peddling child abuse content flood some X hashtags as safety partner cuts ties Wed 18 Jun 2025 Thorn, a nonprofit that provides detection and moderation software related to child safety, said it canceled its contract with X after the platform stopped paying it. Meta AI searches made public Fri 13 Jun 2025 The BBC reports that 'One internet safety expert said it was "a huge user experience and security problem" as some posts are easily traceable to social media accounts.' Meta plans to replace humans with AI to assess privacy risks Sat 31 May 2025 According to internal company documents obtained by NPR, up to 90% of all risk assessments will soon be automated. More than half of top 100 mental health TikToks contain misinformation, study finds Sat 31 May 2025 Guardian investigation reveals promotion of dubious advice, questionable supplements and quick-fix healing methods. Treating Online Abuse Like Spam Wed 21 May 2025 How platforms can reduce exposure to abuse while protecting free expression More Social Media Moderation and AI news and updates AI chatbots and TikTok reshape how young people get their daily newsSocial justice charities considering leaving X due to ‘misinformation’, survey finds Meta Announces Plans to Use Facebook and Instagram Posts to Train AI AI chatbots and TikTok reshape how young people get their daily newsSocial justice charities considering leaving X due to ‘misinformation’, survey finds Meta Announces Plans to Use Facebook and Instagram Posts to Train AI Online Safety Act Updates Me, myself & AI: Understanding and safeguarding children’s use of AI chatbots’New report reveals how risky and unchecked AI chatbots are the new ‘go to’ for millions of children.New rules for a safer generation of children onlineIn July 2025, the Protection of Children Codes (“Codes”) are expected to come into force.Rising harms, new rules: Why the Online Safety Act matters23 June 2025Online harms survey of 2,000 adults and 1,000 UK children found an 8% increase in the number of 9-17 year olds that have experienced harm in the last 12 months. Important dates for Online Safety complianceThe Online Safety Act makes companies that operate a wide range of online services legally responsible for keeping people, especially children, safe online. If you provide an online service, there are actions you must take when duties come into force. More Online Safety Act Updates and Resources Check if the Online Safety Act applies to you: Free toolThe Online Safety Act: progress update and what it means for charities Check if the Online Safety Act applies to you: Free toolThe Online Safety Act: progress update and what it means for charities Online Safety Resources and Downloads Online Safety Checklist Safety Resource Hub Free Social Media and Online Safety Newsletter ### White Label Content Moderation for Agencies WHITE LABEL CONTENT MODERATION FOR AGENCIES Offer clients 24/7 best-in-class content moderation with a fully brandable, scalable service, tailored for digital agencies. Enterprise-level moderation for your agency, without the overhead Tap into our resources and proven processes whenever you need them - no long-term contracts required.We handle setup, training, and governance; you simply choose the hours or campaigns.Scale seamlessly as clients’ needs growBoost campaign ad spend ROIMaintain your agency’s look and feel with fully custom brandingTake pressure off your in-house social media team, especially out of hours Your plug-and-play, white label moderation solution FLEXIBLE AND SCALEABLE Need us for a one-off product launch stream? Scaling up for a major competition with thousands of entries? Client caught in a sudden social media storm? We’ve got you.With years of experience supporting top brands, we have the expertise and agile workflows required to handle campaign pressures and fluctuations effortlessly.Adapt to changing traffic levelsFlexible SLA Options: choose from 24/7 coverage, extended-hours support, or campaign-only bursts. No long contracts required.Sprints, campaign, holiday cover, and short-term trials available  HUMAN-LED MODERATION, SUPERCHARGED BY TECH For truly safe, engaged and positive online spaces, you need humans at the helm. Our community managers are highly skilled and completely tech-agnostic. They are adept at leveraging existing in-house platforms, AI-powered filters, and third party tools, to protect your clients’ audiences from harmful content in real time. They are experts at swiftly de-escalating potential crisis and  providing responsive, consistent moderation – nurturing authentic engagement and brand loyalty with every interaction. CERTIFIED ONLINE SAFETY EXPERTS ON HAND StrawberrySocial are the online safety experts. We supply best practice safety services alongside audience engagement as standard.Over 60 collective years of social media experienceA global, diverse, multi-lingual teamWell versed in safeguarding, procedural and house rules implementationsNSPCC/CEOP trained in online safetyDBS checked (enhanced)On the UK Government’s Directory of UK Safety Tech ProvidersModeration Gateway certifiedIWF member CREATOR AUDITS & INFLUENCER VETTING Protect your clients’ brand reputation and assess influencers’ safety and suitability with Influencer Vetting by StrawberrySocial.Our influencer investigators are professional moderators and certified online safety experts and highly trained to spot problematic content in context.We can review influencer content for:Brand sensitive topicsControversial topicsNotable brand mentionsInteractions with competitorsCopyright infringement‘Cause’ affiliations BACK-OFFICE MODERATION Let us handle the logistics to keep campaigns and competitions running smoothly, so you can focus on strategy and creative.Competition terms & conditions review Verify every entry against T&Cs and flag issues. Competition managementProcess entries, notify winners, and handle prize fulfilment logistics.Real-time compliance audits Continuous checks to ensure regulatory and brand guidelines are met.Data reporting & insights Custom dashboards and post-campaign reports on engagement, sentiment, and trends. Tagging & categorisation Organise comments and entries with metadata for easy retrieval and analysis.Multi-language support Moderate and review entries in multiple languages to serve global audiences and localised campaigns.Crisis response co-ordination Dedicated incident management workflows to de-escalate and resolve urgent situations.   Why choose StrawberrySocial as your white label content moderation partner? Join the top agencies protecting their clients' brand reputations and boosting social media campaign ROI with our proven, white-label moderation service. Best-in-class moderationStrawberrySocial is trusted by leading youth-focused brands, mental health charities and regulated industries where precision and care are critical.Rapid integrationAdd expert, human-led moderation services to your agency in days, not weeks. Our professionally trained moderators, industry experience and proprietary, field-tested onboarding process eliminates lengthy training or complex system integrations, so you’ll be up and running with StrawberrySocial’s seamless workflow in just a few days.Expertise across regulated industriesFrom pharma and banking to alcohol, telecoms, and FMCG, we know the rules, and we keep your clients compliant and protected.Tailored to your requirementsOur team of experts have the knowledge and skills to protect and engage your clients’ online audiences in 20+ languages 24/7/365. We pride ourselves on being able to tailor our services to each of our clients’ requirements, whether it be short-term campaign support, projects, gap filling, multi-lingual cover or out of hours support. TRUSTED BY leading agencies and high-stakes clients More About Us More About Us Add Your Heading Text Here +169% overall audience growth +308% LinkedIn engagement +90% Instagram engagement +169% overall audience growth +308% LinkedIn engagement +90% Instagram engagement +169% overall audience growth +308% LinkedIn engagement +90% Instagram engagement We’ve had someone tell us that seeing RNIB repeatedly stand up for the cause on social media meant they were delighted to sign up for a regular donation when a face-to-face fundraiser knocked on their door. StrawberrySocial has worked with Blue Cross since 2021, connecting, engaging and, in the case of Instagram, growing new audiences by 67%. The high level of engagement has made our audience feel enthusiastic and empowered to share updates on their pets with us and the rest of our community. It’s these organic conversations that make the most difference. “Rigorous, professional, friendly, approachable, confident and knowledgeable – all adjectives I use to describe the service we receive from StrawberrySocial. And beyond this, they are always just lovely to work with. The quality of thinking, the outputs and the drive to deliver outstanding social content – event when working on a short-term contract – has always stood out for me. I don’t think twice about giving Rebecca and the team a call if we ever need additional support, and they always deliver.” Ben Nunn, Blackbridge Communications “Flexible and proactive in their approach to partnership collaborations. Hit the ground running and deliver results for client accounts across a variety of industries.” Stefan Evans, Social Chain “I wanted to say a HUGE thank you for all your help on our projects – it has been such a game changer to have you on board, and a genuine pleasure to work with you on each live stream!” SuperAwesome “SuperAwesome is lucky to be partnered with StrawberrySocial. They have continually provided us with custom solutions for classification and moderation, and have some of the best and most insightful moderators and managers in the business. Their depth of knowledge and willingness to get things solved is unmatched.” Lynn Snyder, Community Systems Lead, SuperAwesome We just wanted to say how amazing the social media team are! It’s been a massive boost having your messages, comments and emails of support. Keep up the good work. - Dementia UK Community Member Talk to us about expert content moderation on-demand, branded for your agency Get in touch Case Studies Explore our work with agencies and brands in high-pressure environments. Browse Case Studies SuperAwesome Fortnite Live Stream Moderation Combining high levels of user engagement and visibility, with an appreciation for the specific needs of live, branded safety, StrawberrySocial’s crack team of live stream moderation experts were crucial to the success of this large-scale, fun, and interactive influencer-run gaming event; attracting thousands of community members eager to get involved with the games, and the brand. Read More NSPCC Game Safe Festival 2024 Case Study “The number one goal of hosting a gaming festival was to prove that Gaming could be both entertaining, and safe, for children. With 18 hours of live streamed gaming, featuring over 200 gamers, and reaching an audience of over 370,000, having the support of online safety and moderation experts StrawberrySocial was crucial for us.” - NSPCC Read More Facebook Fundraising Crash affects UK Charities Facebook Fundraising Crash affects UK Charities “We have built a real, honest relationship of trust since starting with the team. There have been times that we have had to have really difficult conversations during a crisis or escalation and we’ve bonded through these conversations. We’ve become real friends through these difficult times.” Lizzie Carse, Social Media Manager, NSPCC PROJECT StrawberrySocial partners with multiple charities and nonprofits across the UK. Many of these partners are running simultaneous Facebook Challenges to help raise needed funds for their work. We are involved in the support and facilitation of their efforts. CHALLENGE On 19th … Read More Supporting NDCS: Enhancing Community Engagement and Safeguarding with Out-of-Hours Moderation “The Leadership’s biggest issue was our mental health and they wanted to make sure that we had a break and not have to think about work outside of hours. Without StrawberrySocial, my mental health and wellbeing would be through the floor." Kate English, Senior Social Media Officer - NDCS Read More Browse Case Studies Social Media Moderation Specialists We provide expert moderation and community management across all social media platforms including: Facebook Instagram Linkedin Pinterest Youtube Reddit Tumblr Twitch ### London Marathon Social Media Cheer Squad LONDON MARATHON CHEER SQUAD Boost your charity’s impact on race day with our virtual cheer squad The London marathon has been described as the world’s largest one-day fundraising event, with over 53,000 finishers and £73.5 million raised for charity last year.When the London Marathon kicks off on Sunday 27th April 2025, your charity’s fundraisers deserve to be in the spotlight. Our social media moderators are here to amplify their hard work, engage with supporters, and share encouragement throughout the day.What we offerLive social media moderation and community management coverage during peak race hours.Proven expertise and reputation in the charity sector. We are trusted by leading charities, including Blue Cross, Dementia UK, NSPCC, RNIB, Samaritans and many more.Comprehensive coverage across all social media platforms, forums and branded online communities.Our specialist community management approach is proven to build trust, engage communities and support fundraising efforts. See the stats.Let's tailor your marathon cheer squad packagePlease enable JavaScript in your browser to complete this form.Name *Email *PhoneCompany name *Message * Submit TRUSTED BY. charities you know, respect and love. ### Free 1 page social media platform strategy template Free social media platform strategy template Interested? Get in touch and we’ll come up with custom holiday coverage for your business. Grab your free 1 page social media platform strategy template and amplify your charity’s impact on the platforms that matter.This free template has been created by our social media engagement specialists to help you:Set clear, actionable plans for each social media platform to engage supporters and raise awarenessStrengthen your charity’s voice and build a community around your cause on the platforms that matter mostTrack and measure the success of your campaigns on individual platformsDownload your template now and start creating a platform-specific social media strategy that drives impact. Please enable JavaScript in your browser to complete this form.Email *Name *FirstLastCompany name *newsletter opt inSend me free social media and online safety tips.Checkboxes *I have read the The Privacy Statement and accept the Terms & Conditions. Download now ### Homepage Jan 2025 Your social media moderation partner KEEPING ONLINE GAMING SOCIAL MEDIA BRANDED VULNERABLE CHARITY YOUNG COMMUNITIESSAFE AND ENGAGED 24/7 CONTACT US Spark conversations. Ignite fundraising. Our Community Management drives results for charities like yours. Find out how we work with RNIB to boost impact, engagement and grow their audience by +169% Find Out More What We Do. Flexible & experienced content moderation services for charities, brands and agencies Services include: Social Media Moderation, Gaming Moderation, Content Moderation & Online Safety, Community Management, Social Media Engagement, Risk & Reputation Management, Influencer Due Diligence & Strategy.24/7/365. Find Out More OUR SERVICES COMMUNITY MANAGEMENT & MODERATION CHARITY SUPPORT GAMING MODERATION TRUSTED BY brands and charities you know, respect and love More About Us More About Us Social Media Moderation Specialists We provide expert content moderation, community management and online safety across all social media platforms including: Facebook Instagram Linkedin Pinterest Youtube Reddit Tumblr Twitch Bluesky FREE ONLINE SAFETY CHECKLIST Grab your free online safety checklist and take action to protect your brand and communities online.  This free resource has been developed by online safety experts and professional moderators to help you:  Create welcoming, positive brand experiences Keep your employees, audience and online communities safe  Put online safety at the heart of your digital campaigns Download now Case Studies Find out how we support forums and channel-based communities. Browse Case Studies Prostate Cancer UK and StrawberrySocial: Ensuring Safe and Supportive Online Communities "We would recommend StrawberrySocial because they took the time to understand who we are and what we are about, and are always there when we need to get hold of them. They also save us significant costs.” Sue Boyes, Peer Support Manager - Prostate Cancer UK Read More NSPCC and StrawberrySocial: Enhancing Social Media Safeguarding and Crisis Management "Because our services are both unique and may, at times, contain sensitive material, we had a real need for a team that could be available 24/7 but also had the training and fortitude to effectively manage online spaces, and know when to escalate anything immediately which would require review by the Helpline team." Lizzie Carse, Social Media Manager - NSPCC Read More Spare “The Leadership’s biggest issue was our mental health and they wanted to make sure that we had a break and not have to think about work outside of hours. Without StrawberrySocial, my mental health and wellbeing would be through the floor. I think it’s extremely valuable because if StrawberrySocial weren’t providing ROI, the Leadership team would never have bought into the value of having a partnership.” Kate English - Senior Social Media Officer, NDCS Read More Which? and StrawberrySocial: Delivering Trusted Community Engagement and Social Media Moderation Support "What impressed me most was how StrawberrySocial was able to pick up our community needs so quickly; during our initial briefing I spent hardly any time explaining the technology because everyone already understood the mechanics of using our systems." Jon Stricklin-Coutinho, Community Manager - Which? Read More Mind "We trust the team at StrawberrySocial because they are friendly, professional and reliable. For them, it’s all about the people they’re supporting and keeping safe when we’re not in the office." Abbie Nichols, Digital Programme Manager - Mind Read More Supporting NDCS: Enhancing Community Engagement and Safeguarding with Out-of-Hours Moderation “The Leadership’s biggest issue was our mental health and they wanted to make sure that we had a break and not have to think about work outside of hours. Without StrawberrySocial, my mental health and wellbeing would be through the floor." Kate English, Senior Social Media Officer - NDCS Read More How StrawberrySocial Strengthened Blue Cross’ Community Engagement and Facebook Fundraising Efforts “The StrawberrySocial team are hard-working, approachable and passionate about the subject matter, which really comes across in their community engagement not only to us but our followers as well. I wouldn’t hesitate in recommending them as a moderation agency.” - Caroline Dolan, Blue Cross’ Social Media & Communications Officer Read More Facebook Fundraising Crash affects UK Charities Facebook Fundraising Crash affects UK Charities “We have built a real, honest relationship of trust since starting with the team. There have been times that we have had to have really difficult conversations during a crisis or escalation and we’ve bonded through these conversations. We’ve become real friends through these difficult times.” Lizzie Carse, Social Media Manager, NSPCC PROJECT StrawberrySocial partners with multiple charities and nonprofits across the UK. Many of these partners are running simultaneous Facebook Challenges to help raise needed funds for their work. We are involved in the support and facilitation of their efforts. CHALLENGE On 19th … Read More NSPCC Game Safe Festival 2024 Case Study “The number one goal of hosting a gaming festival was to prove that Gaming could be both entertaining, and safe, for children. With 18 hours of live streamed gaming, featuring over 200 gamers, and reaching an audience of over 370,000, having the support of online safety and moderation experts StrawberrySocial was crucial for us.” - NSPCC Read More SuperAwesome Fortnite Live Stream Moderation Combining high levels of user engagement and visibility, with an appreciation for the specific needs of live, branded safety, StrawberrySocial’s crack team of live stream moderation experts were crucial to the success of this large-scale, fun, and interactive influencer-run gaming event; attracting thousands of community members eager to get involved with the games, and the brand. Read More Dementia UK Social Media Moderation and Engagement Training Dementia UK social media Moderation training Bespoke moderation training for specialist charity Specialist dementia nursing charity, Dementia UK enlisted StrawberrySocial to design and deliver bespoke online training for five internal teams focused on strengthening best practice moderation skills, engagement techniques, and wellbeing awareness. The challenge As Dementia UK’s fundraising and community-building activities expanded online, many staff found themselves: Moderating ad comments and Facebook Group discussions without formal moderation training Navigating difficult or sensitive conversations in real time Balancing proactive engagement with safeguarding and brand risk management Managing their own emotional wellbeing amid potentially distressing content Key objectives Ultimately, the client sought to … Read More Browse Case Studies ### Community Management for Charities COMMUNITY MANAGEMENT FOR CHARITIES Drive donations and boost impact with specialist charity community management from StrawberrySocial. Spark conversations. Ignite fundraising. These days, community engagement isn't an optional add-on. It's the whole point. A growing number of our charity clients are investing in our specialist charity community management support to boost fundraising efforts and impact. Ensure a thriving, positive and active community 24/7 through daily community building and unique customised engagement activity. Reach and engage more donors Take pressure off your in-house social media team, especially out of hours Keep your online community safe Why choose StrawberrySocial as your community management partner? Our team are experts in the art of community management for charities. We have vast experience keeping vulnerable audiences and youth-centric communities safe and engaged. We can cover all hours of the day, and night, weekends, bank holidays and staff holidays at short notice, 24 hour client cover. We are proud to provide expert community management support to  leading charities including RNIB, Blue Cross and RSA. What's included FLEXIBLE OPTIONS We can support your internal team during office hours, or take over during evenings, holidays and weekends. Work with our experienced team to layer community management and engagement over moderation for a blended approach. Adapt to changing traffic levels No long contracts Sprints, campaign and holiday cover and short-term trials available EXPERT ENGAGEMENT BY REAL HUMANS For truly safe, engaged and positive online spaces, you need humans at the helm. Your online community does not want to talk to a bot. Human interaction is even more critical for charities, whose communities often include vulnerable or at-risk members. Our team of human community managers maintain positive, safe online spaces, ensuring your communities are protected from harmful content while fostering healthy engagement. We provide responsive, consistent, authentic community engagement which helps build trust and ultimately boosts income. SAFE BY DESIGN StrawberrySocial are the online safety experts. We supply best practice safety services alongside audience engagement as standard. Over 60 collective years of social media experience A global, diverse, multi-lingual team Well versed in safeguarding, procedural and house rules implementations NSPCC/CEOP trained in online safety DBS checked (enhanced) On the UK Government’s Directory of UK Safety Tech Providers Moderation Gateway certified IWF member engagement works Our clients agree +169% overall audience growth +308% LinkedIn engagement +90% Instagram engagement We’ve had someone tell us that seeing RNIB repeatedly stand up for the cause on social media meant they were delighted to sign up for a regular donation when a face-to-face fundraiser knocked on their door. StrawberrySocial has worked with Blue Cross since 2021, connecting, engaging and, in the case of Instagram, growing new audiences by 67%. The high level of engagement has made our audience feel enthusiastic and empowered to share updates on their pets with us and the rest of our community. It’s these organic conversations that make the most difference. “We’ve seen 169% overall audience growth since starting regular engagement with StrawberrySocial. We’ve had someone tell us that seeing RNIB repeatedly stand up for the cause on social media meant they were delighted to sign up for a regular donation when a face-to-face fundraiser knocked on their door.” Head of Social Media, RNIB “We just wanted to say how amazing the social media team are! It’s been a massive boost having your messages, comments and emails of support. Keep up the good work.” Dementia UK community member “StrawberrySocial has worked with Blue Cross since 2021, connecting, engaging and, in the case of Instagram, growing new audiences by 67%. The high level of engagement has made our audience feel enthusiastic and empowered to share updates on their pets with us and the rest of our community. It’s these organic conversations that make the most difference.” Blue Cross Social Media Team We just wanted to say how amazing the social media team are! It’s been a massive boost having your messages, comments and emails of support. Keep up the good work. - Dementia UK Community Member Get in touch Have you got a campaign in mind, or simply looking for that extra back-up? Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Ut elit tellus, luctus nec ullamcorper mattis, pulvinar dapibus leo. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Ut elit tellus, luctus nec ullamcorper mattis, pulvinar dapibus leo. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet consectetur adipiscing elit. Ut elit tellus, luctus nec ullamcorper mattis, pulvinar dapibus leo. Get in touch Join the charities driving more donations through community engagement with StrawberrySocial. Get in touch Case Studies Explore our recent work to see how we’ve helped charities grow and inspire their communities. Browse Case Studies NSPCC Game Safe Festival 2024 Case Study “The number one goal of hosting a gaming festival was to prove that Gaming could be both entertaining, and safe, for children. With 18 hours of live streamed gaming, featuring over 200 gamers, and reaching an audience of over 370,000, having the support of online safety and moderation experts StrawberrySocial was crucial for us.” - NSPCC Read More How StrawberrySocial Strengthened Blue Cross’ Community Engagement and Facebook Fundraising Efforts “The StrawberrySocial team are hard-working, approachable and passionate about the subject matter, which really comes across in their community engagement not only to us but our followers as well. I wouldn’t hesitate in recommending them as a moderation agency.” - Caroline Dolan, Blue Cross’ Social Media & Communications Officer Read More Which? and StrawberrySocial: Delivering Trusted Community Engagement and Social Media Moderation Support "What impressed me most was how StrawberrySocial was able to pick up our community needs so quickly; during our initial briefing I spent hardly any time explaining the technology because everyone already understood the mechanics of using our systems." Jon Stricklin-Coutinho, Community Manager - Which? Read More Prostate Cancer UK and StrawberrySocial: Ensuring Safe and Supportive Online Communities "We would recommend StrawberrySocial because they took the time to understand who we are and what we are about, and are always there when we need to get hold of them. They also save us significant costs.” Sue Boyes, Peer Support Manager - Prostate Cancer UK Read More Browse Case Studies ### Experienced Social Media Moderation for Charities EXPERIENCED SOCIAL MEDIA MODERATION FOR CHARITIES StrawberrySocial are the charity community management and content moderation experts. For over a decade, we’ve been dedicated to creating a safe and supportive digital space for those who need it most. TRUSTED BY charities you know, respect and love More About Us More About Us We keep charities and their online communities safe 24/7 We provide expert social media moderation tailored for charities, covering community management, paid-ad campaigns, organic content, Facebook Challenges, and out of hours support. With over 15 years experience supporting charity communities, we specialise in risk assessment crisis escalation, signposting help, and safeguarding vulnerable audiences and children. Safety is at the heart of everything we do. Why charities choose StrawberrySocial for social media moderation We are proud to provide expert, tailored community management and engagement, content moderation, emergency cover and crisis escalation to incredible charities and key public sector organisations including NHS England, Samaritans, Which?, RNIB, NSPCC, Prostate Cancer UK and Blue Cross.Charities choose us for our:Online safety expertise (All of our community managers and moderators are CEOP and NSPCC trained).Around-the-clock protection and engagement, including weekend and emergency cover.Flexible packages, short term trials and charity discountsProven expertise and reputation in the charity sector. We are trusted by leading charities, including Blue Cross, Dementia UK, NSPCC, RNIB, Samaritans and many more.  CONTACT US OUR moderation SERVICES WEEKEND & EVENINGS MODERATION COVER Enjoy true peace of mind with access to 24/7/365 human moderation cover and support.Your social media team can actually switch off and enjoy their evenings, weekends and holidays, confident that your online community is in safe hands. CONTENT MODERATION AND COMMUNITY MANAGEMENT We can support your in-house social media team with:Content moderation and standard template responsesCommunity engagement for charities. Our specialist approach is proven to build communities and support fundraising and marketing efforts. See the stats.Working either alongside your internal team during office hours, or as your secondary team taking over during evenings, holidays and weekends.Lightening the load to give your team more time to concentrate on strategy, creative and campaign planning or just time off!Comprehensive coverage across all social media platforms, forums and branded online communities. ONLINE SAFETY SUPPORT For truly safe, engaged and positive online spaces, you need humans at the helm. And our humans are online safety experts. We have vast experience in moderating youth-centric brands and vulnerable audiences 24/7/365.Our moderators are:CEOP Ambassadors and NSPCC trained.DBS Enhanced certified (or non-UK equivalent).Experts in safeguarding, managing escalations, and enforcing procedural and community guidelines. SEAMLESS COMMUNITY INTEGRATION We become an extension of your team, seamlessly adapting to your charity’s voice and community needs.As Moderators, we uphold your guidelines, provide safeguarding support, and signpost critical resources during crises. We also specialise in crafting response templates and FAQs that reflect your charity’s tone of voice, ensuring clear, compassionate messaging in emergency situations. As Greeters, we warmly welcome new members, fostering a sense of belonging and guiding them to relevant discussions.As Admins, we actively engage your community, sparking meaningful conversations and ensuring members feel valued and heard. SOCIAL MEDIA MODERATION CONSULTANCY & TRAINING We offer flexible, tailored consultancy and training options, whether you need best practice advice, a one-off workshop or ongoing consultancy support. Some examples:Strategic workshops to enhance community engagement.Consultancy on reviving a quiet forum or constructing  complex, strong escalation workflows.Training your team in best-practice moderation and engagement techniques for forums and social channels.Drop us a line to discuss your requirements and budget. We’ll listen and create a tailored support package that fits your needs.  CRISIS & RISK ASSESSMENT No organisation is immune to online risks or brand crises. With extensive experience supporting high-risk, sensitive communities, our team of veteran social media moderators is highly skilled in the tactics needed to:Proactively mitigate risks and protect your charity’s reputation.Moderate out harassers, trolls, spammersIdentify troubling scenarios before they get out of hand.Diffuse online threats and controversial conversations.Apply best-in-class methods for safeguarding.Escalate risky content to the right people. COMMUNITY MANAGEMENT FOR CHARITIES Drive donations and boost impact with specialist charity community management from StrawberrySocial.Ensure a thriving, positive and active community 24/7 through daily community building and unique customised engagement activity.Reach and engage more donorsTake pressure off your in-house social media team, especially out of hoursKeep your online community safe FIND OUT MORE Find out more FACEBOOK CHALLENGE SUPPORT Run a successful Facebook Challenge campaign with expert support from your StrawberrySocial team. Build a tailored Facebook Challenge package and choose from:Concept, strategy, planning and creative24/7 moderation and engagementProfessionally certified online safety supportOrganic and paid marketing supportReporting, insights and optimisationPost-campaign analysis and evaluation FIND OUT MORE Find out more “We have built a real, honest relationship of trust since starting with the team. There have been times that we have had to have really difficult conversations during a crisis or escalation and we’ve bonded through these conversations. We’ve become real friends through these difficult times.” Lizzie Carse, Social Media Customer Service Manager, NSPCC Outsource your content moderation to experts who understand the unique needs of charities so you can focus on making an impact. Get in touch Case Studies Learn more about the charities we work with and how we keep their online communities safe and engaged 24/7. Browse Case Studies Prostate Cancer UK and StrawberrySocial: Ensuring Safe and Supportive Online Communities "We would recommend StrawberrySocial because they took the time to understand who we are and what we are about, and are always there when we need to get hold of them. They also save us significant costs.” Sue Boyes, Peer Support Manager - Prostate Cancer UK Read More NSPCC and StrawberrySocial: Enhancing Social Media Safeguarding and Crisis Management "Because our services are both unique and may, at times, contain sensitive material, we had a real need for a team that could be available 24/7 but also had the training and fortitude to effectively manage online spaces, and know when to escalate anything immediately which would require review by the Helpline team." Lizzie Carse, Social Media Manager - NSPCC Read More Spare “The Leadership’s biggest issue was our mental health and they wanted to make sure that we had a break and not have to think about work outside of hours. Without StrawberrySocial, my mental health and wellbeing would be through the floor. I think it’s extremely valuable because if StrawberrySocial weren’t providing ROI, the Leadership team would never have bought into the value of having a partnership.” Kate English - Senior Social Media Officer, NDCS Read More Which? and StrawberrySocial: Delivering Trusted Community Engagement and Social Media Moderation Support "What impressed me most was how StrawberrySocial was able to pick up our community needs so quickly; during our initial briefing I spent hardly any time explaining the technology because everyone already understood the mechanics of using our systems." Jon Stricklin-Coutinho, Community Manager - Which? Read More Mind "We trust the team at StrawberrySocial because they are friendly, professional and reliable. For them, it’s all about the people they’re supporting and keeping safe when we’re not in the office." Abbie Nichols, Digital Programme Manager - Mind Read More Supporting NDCS: Enhancing Community Engagement and Safeguarding with Out-of-Hours Moderation “The Leadership’s biggest issue was our mental health and they wanted to make sure that we had a break and not have to think about work outside of hours. Without StrawberrySocial, my mental health and wellbeing would be through the floor." Kate English, Senior Social Media Officer - NDCS Read More How StrawberrySocial Strengthened Blue Cross’ Community Engagement and Facebook Fundraising Efforts “The StrawberrySocial team are hard-working, approachable and passionate about the subject matter, which really comes across in their community engagement not only to us but our followers as well. I wouldn’t hesitate in recommending them as a moderation agency.” - Caroline Dolan, Blue Cross’ Social Media & Communications Officer Read More Facebook Fundraising Crash affects UK Charities Facebook Fundraising Crash affects UK Charities “We have built a real, honest relationship of trust since starting with the team. There have been times that we have had to have really difficult conversations during a crisis or escalation and we’ve bonded through these conversations. We’ve become real friends through these difficult times.” Lizzie Carse, Social Media Manager, NSPCC PROJECT StrawberrySocial partners with multiple charities and nonprofits across the UK. Many of these partners are running simultaneous Facebook Challenges to help raise needed funds for their work. We are involved in the support and facilitation of their efforts. CHALLENGE On 19th … Read More NSPCC Game Safe Festival 2024 Case Study “The number one goal of hosting a gaming festival was to prove that Gaming could be both entertaining, and safe, for children. With 18 hours of live streamed gaming, featuring over 200 gamers, and reaching an audience of over 370,000, having the support of online safety and moderation experts StrawberrySocial was crucial for us.” - NSPCC Read More SuperAwesome Fortnite Live Stream Moderation Combining high levels of user engagement and visibility, with an appreciation for the specific needs of live, branded safety, StrawberrySocial’s crack team of live stream moderation experts were crucial to the success of this large-scale, fun, and interactive influencer-run gaming event; attracting thousands of community members eager to get involved with the games, and the brand. Read More Dementia UK Social Media Moderation and Engagement Training Dementia UK social media Moderation training Bespoke moderation training for specialist charity Specialist dementia nursing charity, Dementia UK enlisted StrawberrySocial to design and deliver bespoke online training for five internal teams focused on strengthening best practice moderation skills, engagement techniques, and wellbeing awareness. The challenge As Dementia UK’s fundraising and community-building activities expanded online, many staff found themselves: Moderating ad comments and Facebook Group discussions without formal moderation training Navigating difficult or sensitive conversations in real time Balancing proactive engagement with safeguarding and brand risk management Managing their own emotional wellbeing amid potentially distressing content Key objectives Ultimately, the client sought to … Read More Browse Case Studies ### Christmas Community Management Cover CHRISTMAS COMMUNITY MANAGEMENT COVER  Plan your Christmas community management cover now with StrawberrySocial Amplify the excitement and momentum of your winter campaigns Keep your brand safe and communities engaged over the Christmas period Benefit from a full team of expert moderators and community managers Explore a range of flexible options tailored to your business, including short-term (campaign length) contracts Run successful campaigns in different languages with our multilingual campaign support Take advantage of our exclusive six-week festive contract Please enable JavaScript in your browser to complete this form.Name *Email *PhoneCompany name *Message * Submit ### Case Studies Case studies We are proud to have empowered many leading brands and charities to build thriving online communities while safeguarding their digital spaces. Read a selection of case studies from clients including Blue Cross, NSPCC, and Which? below.  Dementia UK Social Media Moderation and Engagement Training SuperAwesome Fortnite Live Stream Moderation NSPCC Game Safe Festival 2024 Case Study How StrawberrySocial Strengthened Blue Cross’ Community Engagement and Facebook Fundraising Efforts Facebook Fundraising Crash affects UK Charities NSPCC and StrawberrySocial: Enhancing Social Media Safeguarding and Crisis Management Which? and StrawberrySocial: Delivering Trusted Community Engagement and Social Media Moderation Support Prostate Cancer UK and StrawberrySocial: Ensuring Safe and Supportive Online Communities Mind Have you got a campaign in mind, or simply looking for that extra back-up? Get in touch ### Critical Incident Report Template Free Critical Incident Report Template Grab your free Critical Incident Report Template to help record online safety incidentsRecord online safety incidents clearly and consistentlyDemonstrate assurance of good governance and safetyAvailable in PDF and editable word documents formatsGet the templatePlease enable JavaScript in your browser to complete this form.Email *Name *FirstLastNewsletter opt inSend me free social media and online safety tips.Checkboxes *I have read the The Privacy Statement and accept the Terms & Conditions. Download now Subscribe to our monthly Social Media and Online Safety newsletter and get a new, free template every month. Subscribe ### Free online safety checklist Free online safety checklist Interested? Get in touch and we’ll come up with custom holiday coverage for your business. Grab your free online safety checklist and take action to protect your brand and communities online.This free checklist has been developed by online safety experts and professional moderators to help you:Create welcoming, positive brand experiences for allKeep your employees, audience and online communities safePut online safety at the heart of your digital campaignsGet the online safety checklistPlease enable JavaScript in your browser to complete this form.Email *Name *FirstLastCompany name *newsletter opt inSend me free social media and online safety tips.Checkboxes *I have read the The Privacy Statement and accept the Terms & Conditions. Download now ### FAQs FAQs Browse our frequently asked questions section for helpful definitions, explanations and examples of everything from AI moderation to GDPR. Moderation What training do StrawberrySocial moderators undertake? StrawberrySocial moderators receive a range of training, depending on the requirements of the projects they are assigned to. We combine our own customised training materials with the latest industry-standard certifications and specialised educational courses. This combination of internal training and external certifications means our moderators are fully prepared and capable of delivering the highest quality service in any situation.    Escalations and Crisis management trainingModeration Gateway certification Our moderators are seasoned professionals however, having basic understanding and certification in the basics of the business is key to their progress.  NSPCC Online Safety certification is required for any moderator working on Family Friendly projects  What is content moderation? Content moderation is the practice of reviewing and managing the visibility of user-generated content to ensure it complies with platform or community guidelines and legal requirements. It plays a vital role in maintaining a safe and positive online environment by filtering out harmful or inappropriate content.Read more about this topic in our blog article: What is Content Moderation?  What is AI content moderation? AI content moderation is the use of artificial intelligence to automate and assist in monitoring and moderating user-generated content. It helps identify and filter out potentially problematic or inappropriate content, but human oversight is still critical for contextual analysis and accurate decision-making. What are the different types of moderation? There are different types of content moderation practices employed to manage user-generated content. Here are a few common types:Pre-moderation: In this approach, content is reviewed and approved by moderators before it is publicly displayed. It allows for strict control over what content is published but can cause delays in content visibility.Post-moderation: Content is published immediately and then reviewed by moderators after being made public. This approach enables faster content visibility but may require removal if it violates guidelines.When taking a post-moderation approach, there are two subtypes of moderation:Reactive moderation: Moderators intervene when content is reported or flagged by users. They review the reported content and take appropriate action based on the platform’s guidelines and policies.Proactive moderation: Here, moderators actively scan and monitor content without relying solely on user reports. They use automated tools, AI, or keyword filters to identify and remove potentially inappropriate or harmful content. What is chat moderation? Chat moderation involves monitoring and managing messages and conversations in chat-based platforms to ensure compliance with guidelines and prevent inappropriate or harmful content. Chat moderation can involve the use of AI tools, simple filtering to block certain words and other automated approaches in combination with human review. Moderators can remove messages, but also manage the user’s ability to participate with the use of warnings, timeouts and bans. What is live moderation? Live moderation, also known as real-time moderation, refers to the practice of monitoring and moderating content or interactions in real-time as they occur in a live setting, such as live streams, live chats, or real-time discussions on social media platforms.During live moderation, moderators actively monitor the content being generated or the conversations happening in real-time to ensure compliance with platform guidelines, community standards, and legal regulations. They may review and remove inappropriate, offensive, or harmful content, address user concerns or questions, and enforce rules to maintain a safe and positive environment. What is Social Media Moderation? Social media moderation is the process of monitoring and regulating user-generated content on social media platforms to maintain a safe and respectful online environment, respond to incoming inquiries and protect the reputation of the brand or organisation that owns the accounts. Moderators enforce brand and community guidelines, review and respond to posts and comments, and remove any content that violates the platform’s rules. What skills do you need to become a Moderator? To succeed as a moderator, one needs a range of skills such as strong communication abilities, excellent judgement, an attention to detail, critical thinking, empathy, and a thorough understanding of platform and/or community guidelines and policies. Online Safety What is COPPA? COPPA is the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act, a U.S. law that safeguards the online privacy of children under 13. It requires businesses to obtain parental consent before collecting their personal information. Compliance with COPPA is essential for businesses targeting or collecting data from children to avoid legal issues. What is GDPR? GDPR stands for General Data Protection Regulation. It is a comprehensive data protection law that applies to businesses operating in the European Union (EU) or handling the personal data of EU residents. Compliance with GDPR requires meeting strict obligations regarding the collection, storage, and processing of personal data. What is CARU? CARU refers to the Children’s Advertising Review Unit. It is a self-regulatory program in the U.S. that promotes responsible advertising to children. By following CARU guidelines, businesses can ensure their ads aimed at children are truthful, fair, and appropriate. What is online safety? Online safety refers to the measures and practices aimed at protecting individuals and their personal information when using the internet and engaging in online activities. It encompasses various aspects of digital security, privacy, and responsible online behaviour.Online safety involves safeguarding against potential risks, such as cyberbullying, identity theft, scams, malware, and unauthorised access to personal data. It includes implementing strong passwords, using secure and updated software, being cautious of sharing sensitive information, and understanding the privacy settings of online platforms.Additionally, online safety encompasses promoting digital literacy and educating users about online threats, recognising and avoiding online scams, and fostering responsible online behaviour, especially for children and young individuals.  What is the jigsaw effect? This is when criminals (terrorists, thieves, fraudsters, child abusers) gather personal information about potential victims from a variety of online sources (gaming, social media, online community accounts.) Through online conversations, posted images, public information shared, and geo-location, the criminal can piece together a full picture of the target (often a vulnerable person or child), to find and cause harm to the person in the real world. Community Management What is the difference between Social Media Management and Community Management? Social media management focuses primarily on content for, and engagement on, social media platforms. This generally includes curating and/or creating content, working on paid advertising campaigns, analysing metrics, and engaging with followers. Community management is concerned with nurturing and fostering relationships within online communities. While these communities are sometimes gathered around social media platforms, they are just as likely to occur on dedicated community platforms or forums.Community managers focus on building a sense of belonging, facilitating discussions, resolving conflicts, and maintaining a positive and supportive environment. They often act as the liaison between a brand and its audience.  While social media management deals with the overall presence and strategy for how a brand or organisation makes use of social media, community management concentrates on fostering relationships and creating a sense of community in a broader range of online spaces. Social media management is more focused on the content that is published on social media, while community management is more focused on the people who interact with that content. What is community management? Community management involves building relationships and engaging within a community of individuals who share common interests. Community managers facilitate discussions, address concerns, and foster a sense of belonging within the community to promote loyalty and advocacy for the brand or organisation. ### Gaming Moderation GAMING MODERATION Keeping gaming and live streaming environments safe and enjoyable for everyone 24/7. Live gaming moderation, engagement and safety experts at your service We are proud to provide experienced, multilingual moderation and engagement support (including experienced gamers) to leading names in the gaming industry. Our team of veteran gaming moderators can help to prevent spam, hate speech, harassment, bullying, cheating, and other negative behaviours that can ruin the gaming experience.  Our primary focus is safety - especially where vulnerable audiences may be involved. We have vast experience in moderating youth-centric brands 24/7/365. Why choose StrawberrySocial as your gaming moderation partner? Our gaming content moderation team are certified online safety experts. We are also gamers. And as gamers we are passionate about maintaining a positive community and preventing toxic behaviour.  Here are some of the things we can do for you: Moderate visual, chat based content and live streaming activity Review videos, fan art, fan fiction, content creation, freeform drawings, and photography. Vet influencers and their content Act as live-streaming 'handlers' for talent in games and branded game events Keep collaborator conversations on track and on brand for promotional events. Our team can embed themselves within your gaming culture to become company-represented 'experts'; Increasing new user acquisition and satisfaction Moderate out harassers, trolls, spammers Review and report back on new gaming slang, acronyms and pop culture, which can change on a day-to-day basis   gaming content moderation services AT A GLANCE CHANNELS AND ENVIRONMENTS COVERED Gaming forums and communitiesLive gaming and eventsLive chatVideo streamingOfficial fan forums, message boards and communitiesFan communities on Twitch, Discord, YouTube, Steam and moreVoIPChildren’s games and apps LANGUAGES Danish, European Spanish, French, German, Italian, Latin American Spanish, Norwegian, Swedish. All English dialects (Au, UK, Ca, SA, US) BRAND VALUE ALIGNMENT Our comprehensive influencer risk assessment and vetting service enables organisations to identify which influencers are a good fit and which ones to avoid. We can review influencer content for:Brand sensitive topicsControversial topicsNotable brand mentionsInteractions with competitorsCopyright infringement‘Cause’ affiliations INFLUENCER DELIVERABLES Our gaming moderators will review influencer live appearances, actions and engagement in real time to ensure they are delivering against your objectives and brief.Multilingual influencer content monitoring and live content auditsMonitor live video, audio and chat for specified brand or product mentions CONTACT US “I wanted to say a HUGE thank you for all your help on our projects – it has been such a game changer to have you on board, and a genuine pleasure to work with you on each live stream!” SuperAwesome “SuperAwesome is lucky to be partnered with StrawberrySocial. They have continually provided us with custom solutions for classification and moderation, and have some of the best and most insightful moderators and managers in the business. Their depth of knowledge and willingness to get things solved is unmatched.” Lynn Snyder, Community Systems Lead, SuperAwesome Get in touch FULL INFLUENCER PROGRAMME SUPPORT Our expert team can provide support at every stage of your influencer marketing programme.Finding suitable influencersRisk assessing and vetting influencersManaging brand reputational riskManaging and evaluating influencer campaignsOur live moderation experts can also vet and review live-streaming content (in real-time) for brands. Find out more about our Gaming Moderation Services. Get in touch Give players the ultimate live gaming experience and keep your branded spaces safe with our gaming moderation experts. Get in touch ### Free online safety checklist Free online safety checklist Interested? Get in touch and we’ll come up with custom holiday coverage for your business.  Grab your free online safety checklist and take action to protect your brand and communities online. This free checklist has been developed by online safety experts and professional moderators to help you: Create welcoming, positive brand experiences for all Keep your employees, audience and online communities safe Put online safety at the heart of your digital campaigns Get the online safety checklist Please enable JavaScript in your browser to complete this form.Email *Name *FirstLastCompany name *newsletter opt inSend me free social media and online safety tips.Checkboxes *I have read the The Privacy Statement and accept the Terms & Conditions. Download now ### Influencer Due Diligence INFLUENCER VETTING SERVICE Protect your brand's reputation and assess influencers' safety and suitability with the help of our influencer investigation experts. PARTNER WITH THE RIGHT INFLUENCERS Influencer Vetting by StrawberrySocial is a comprehensive, tailored service that provides you with the information you need to make smart decisions about who to work with. Our team of experts will research your chosen influencer's audience, their engagement with the brand and similar brands, their content creation history (including past posts about other brands), and their overall online reputation.Why choose StrawberrySocial as your influencer due diligence partner?Our influencer investigators are professional moderators and certified online safety experts and highly trained to spot problematic content in context.Unlike using AI influencer tools alone, our comprehensive influencer vetting service includes a manual deep dive by online safety experts who can:Thoroughly review video, audio and image content (Not just hashtags and subtitle text as AI tools do)Uncover content designed to evade AI moderation filters such as emojis, constantly changing trends, slang and code words.Review content in foreign languages, including localisation and cultural relevanceProvide expert insights and recommendations based on many years of real-world experience. All our moderators are well-versed in UK and US online safety policies (COPPA, GDPR, CARU.) What's included BRAND SAFETY CHECK Our expert team will review the influencer and their content for:ProfanitiesChild safety concernsHate speechFake news and misinformationCompliance (related to COPPA, GDPR, CARU) BRAND VALUE ALIGNMENT Our comprehensive influencer risk assessment and vetting service enables organisations to identify which influencers are a good fit and which ones to avoid. We can review influencer content for:Brand sensitive topicsControversial topicsNotable brand mentionsInteractions with competitorsCopyright infringement‘Cause’ affiliations INFLUENCER PERFORMANCE REVIEW Review and assess the quality of an influencer’s output including:Overall online reputationContent quality and historyPost frequencyAudience reach and engagementFake followers CHANNELS COVERED TikTokInstagramYouTubeTwitchTwitterFacebookLinkedIn CONTACT US “Rigorous, professional, friendly, approachable, confident and knowledgeable – all adjectives I use to describe the service we receive from StrawberrySocial. And beyond this, they are always just lovely to work with. The quality of thinking, the outputs and the drive to deliver outstanding social content – event when working on a short-term contract – has always stood out for me. I don’t think twice about giving Rebecca and the team a call if we ever need additional support, and they always deliver.” Ben Nunn, Blackbridge Communications “Flexible and proactive in their approach to partnership collaborations. Hit the ground running and deliver results for client accounts across a variety of industries.” Stefan Evans, Social Chain “We’ve seen 169% overall audience growth since starting regular engagement with StrawberrySocial. We’ve had someone tell us that seeing RNIB repeatedly stand up for the cause on social media meant they were delighted to sign up for a regular donation when a face-to-face fundraiser knocked on their door.” Head of Social Media, RNIB “We just wanted to say how amazing the social media team are! It’s been a massive boost having your messages, comments and emails of support. Keep up the good work.” Dementia UK community member “StrawberrySocial has worked with Blue Cross since 2021, connecting, engaging and, in the case of Instagram, growing new audiences by 67%. The high level of engagement has made our audience feel enthusiastic and empowered to share updates on their pets with us and the rest of our community. It’s these organic conversations that make the most difference.” Blue Cross Social Media Team “I wanted to say a HUGE thank you for all your help on our projects – it has been such a game changer to have you on board, and a genuine pleasure to work with you on each live stream!” SuperAwesome “SuperAwesome is lucky to be partnered with StrawberrySocial. They have continually provided us with custom solutions for classification and moderation, and have some of the best and most insightful moderators and managers in the business. Their depth of knowledge and willingness to get things solved is unmatched.” Lynn Snyder, Community Systems Lead, SuperAwesome “Basically, I know the level of communication, I know the level of service is going to be top notch, reliable, and on time. Communication from their team is ongoing and clear.” Jon Stricklin-Coutinho, Social Media Customer Service Manager, Which? “We have built a real, honest relationship of trust since starting with the team. There have been times that we have had to have really difficult conversations during a crisis or escalation and we’ve bonded through these conversations. We’ve become real friends through these difficult times.” Lizzie Carse, Social Media Customer Service Manager, NSPCC “We would absolutely recommend StrawberrySocial. What is great, is that even though the proposal to expand our moderation and engagement services was approved quickly for us, StrawberrySocial was so helpful to talk about our needs, our barriers, and how best to use their support.” Kate English, Senior Social Media Officer, NDCS “We feel reassured that when we leave the office, StrawberrySocial carries on the job of supporting men and their loved ones. They are friendly and approachable with a light touch and are very good at flagging issues and solving challenges. They understand the context of highly complex conversations involving medical treatment and side effects. We would recommend StrawberrySocial because they took the time to understand who we are and what we are about, and are always there when we need to get hold of them. They also save us significant costs.” Sue Boyes, Peer Support Manager, PCUK “StrawberrySocial are a fantastic agency. They deliver above and beyond expectations and make the transition of using an agency very easy. Their onboarding time is quick and, as they’re Social Media and Crisis Management specialists, they only need to focus on learning our business processes. They have a very personal touch and overall really care about supporting their clients. I would definitely recommend them to anyone looking for Social Media Moderation support.” Preena Kamle, Social Media Customer Service Manager, Just Eat Get in touch FULL INFLUENCER PROGRAMME SUPPORT Our expert team can provide support at every stage of your influencer marketing programme.Finding suitable influencersRisk assessing and vetting influencersManaging brand reputational riskManaging and evaluating influencer campaignsOur live moderation experts can also vet and review live-streaming content (in real-time) for brands. Find out more about our Gaming Moderation Services. Get in touch Weed out the risky influencers, find the right fit for your brand, and avoid #trending for the wrong reasons Get in touch ### Free Social Media Reporting Free Social Media Reporting Template Grab your free Social Media Reporting Template and start measuring what matters today. Identify what's working and what's not at a glance Make data-driven decisions to improve your social media strategy Easily communicate social media results with your team Get the Social Media Reporting templatePlease enable JavaScript in your browser to complete this form.Email *Name *FirstLastnewsletter opt inSend me free social media and online safety tips.Checkboxes *I have read the The Privacy Statement and accept the Terms & Conditions. Download now Subscribe to our monthly Social Media and Online Safety newsletter and get a new, free template every month. Subscribe ### Newsletter Inbox treats for online safety and social pros Interested? Get in touch and we’ll come up with custom holiday coverage for your business. Get the 5-minute newsletter keeping social media and community managers in the loop.Subscribe today and we’ll help you keep your online community safe with Content moderation industry news Free online safety advice Community building and engagement strategies Brand protection tips New tools and templates to make your job easier Social Media & Online Safety NewsletterPlease enable JavaScript in your browser to complete this form.Email *Name *FirstLastCheckboxes *I have read the The Privacy Statement and accept the Terms & Conditions. Sign up ### Test Blog Posts [searchandfilter slug="blog-posts"] ### Work with us WORK WITH US Join our crack team of community managers and moderators. We are always on the lookout for talented people who are passionate about content moderation and community engagement. Current vacancies We are always looking for new talent. We are always looking out for experienced moderators and community managers, even if we’re not advertising a role at the moment, so feel free to send us a CV. ### Holiday Cover HOLIDAY COMMUNITY MANAGEMENT COVER  Plan your holiday moderation cover now with StrawberrySocialAmplify the excitement and momentum of your summer campaignsKeep your brand safe and communities engaged over the summer monthsBenefit from a full team of expert moderators and community managersExplore a range of flexible options tailored to your business, including short-term (campaign length) contractsRun successful campaigns in different languages with our multilingual campaign supportTake advantage of our exclusive six-week holiday contract Please enable JavaScript in your browser to complete this form.Name *Email *PhoneCompany name *Message * Submit ### Safety Resources Online Safety Resources Protect your brand, workforce and communities online with our comprehensive collection of online safety resources. ONLINE SAFETY, MENTAL HEALTH AND WELLBEING RESOURCES For nearly a decade, the team at StrawberrySocial has been keeping a wide variety of online spaces safe and positive. Protecting your organisation and communities online is a huge task so arming yourself with knowledge, training and the right tools can make a big difference to your personal mental health and the safety of your team, community or organisation. This page contains a variety of links to helpful resources, guides, training materials, apps and organisations to protect yourself, your brand and your online community.https://youtu.be/FNSXxf-luKM Free Online Safety ChecklistGrab your free online safety checklist and take action to protect your brand and communities online. Download the checklist RESOURCES DIGITAL SAFETY - AN OVERVIEW Digital safety is essential for a healthy online environment, regardless of the brand or subject matter. It’s crucial to understand your community’s expected behaviour and implement it to protect yourself and ensure your users’ understanding. It’s not just about children and youth; people of all ages deserve respect, care, and protection online. We firmly believe that if a website doesn’t clearly and proudly state how they prioritise your safety, they are not worthy of your trust, time, or money. Our experts have extensive experience in digital safety and are trained in the latest policies and procedures to oversee your customers’ online wellbeing. CHILD SAFETY ORGANISATIONS UNITED KINGDOMCEOPNSPCCUK Safer Internet CentreChildnetChildlineThinkuknowConnectSafelyInternet MattersUNITED STATESFOSINetSmartzINTERNATIONALICMECIWF ONLINE SAFETY & REPORTING - PLATFORMS SOCIAL PLATFORMSDiscord Safety PortalFacebook Youth PortalInstagram SafetyTikTok Safety CentreTwitter SafetyYouTube Creator Safety CentreSnapchat Safety CentreGoogle’s Be Internet AwesomeRESEARCH GROUPSCO:RE – Children Online: Research and EvidenceNetFamilyNewsRESOURCE LIBRARIESTrust and Safety Professional AssociationJournal of Online Trust and Safety FACTSHEETS & INFORMATION IWF – Professional Guides: Understanding and Responding to AI-Generated Child Sexual Abuse MaterialThinkuknow – Factsheets for ParentsCEOP – Resources for ProfessionalsKeeping Kids Safe Online in 2023 – Thoughts from an Industry VeteranHow We Help Keep Kids Safe OnlineDigital Trust & Safety Partnership – Best Practices Framework TRAINING NSPCC – Training in safeguarding and child protectionTSPA Trust and Safety Curriculum MENTAL HEALTH “…the burden of responsibility becomes commonplace, almost invisible unless there’s a very specific case that requires review. [And the] courage that it takes to work in this area that you’re working in needs to be recognised more greatly and more often. It might not even be known by the person themselves that the very nature of this work is a thoughtful step into the dark, which often takes a lot of courage.” -Dr. Barbara Wren, Wren Psychology AssociatesFREE SUPPORT – UKMind – Get Help NowSamaritans – Get Help NowPapyrus – Get Help Now FREE SUPPORT – US7Cups – Emotional Support USEFUL ARTICLESSamaritans – Wellbeing in the WorkplaceMental Health Foundation ServicesNHS – 5 steps to Mental WellbeingMind – Explore Mental Health A-ZMental Health at Work – Supporting Staff Mental Health in the Volunteer SectorSocial Media Managers Have Feelings Too by Joe Freeman of NHS Digital WELLBEING WELLBEING RESOURCESPhysical Fitness & WellbeingYoga | Down Dog (App)HIIT | Down Dog (App)The Body Coach – Get fit with Joe Wicks (App)Dance Fitness Lite (App)One Minute Desk Workout (App)Emotional and Mental WellbeingCalm (Meditation and Sleep App)Chill Panda (App)Aura (App)Colony Virtual Colouring Book (App)Jigsaw Planet (Website)Social WellbeingSound of Colleagues (Website)Kast (Website)Digital Wellbeing Guide from Google OTHER RESOURCES  CEOP – The Dark Web ExplainedThe Dark Side of Social MediaTrust and Safety in the Metaverse: Avoiding Fraud and ImpersonationTrust and Safety in the Metaverse: ViolenceHow to keep your charity’s personal information safe from cyber attacks A note on mental health and wellbeing...Looking after our wellbeing in each one of these areas is really important to support all other areas of our personal health and contribute to better overall happiness and fulfilment. How do we support our team members, and yet ensure they’re in the right mental state to continue their work when each day is so challenging, and the content keeps coming? By ensuring we properly support our emotional labour workforce. We have shared several simple options above; when it comes to wellbeing, different things work for each of us so we’ve tried to give you choices to pick the ones that suit you. ### Terms of Use Terms of website use This page (together with the documents referred to on it) tells you the terms of use on which you may make use of our website https://www.strawberrysocial.com/ (our site), whether as a guest or a registered user. Please read these terms of use carefully before you start to use the site. By using our site, you indicate that you accept these terms of use and that you agree to abide by them. If you do not agree to these terms of use, please refrain from using our site.   Information about us https://www.strawberrysocial.com is a site operated by StrawberrySocial Ltd (“We”). Our main trading address is StrawberrySocial Ltd, 71-75 Shelton Street, Covent Garden, London, WC2H 9JQ, UK. Accessing our site Access to our site is permitted on a temporary basis, and we reserve the right to withdraw or amend the service we provide on our site without notice (see below). We will not be liable if for any reason our site is unavailable at any time or for any period. From time to time, we may restrict access to some parts of our site, or our entire site, to users who have registered with us. If you choose, or you are provided with, a user identification code, password or any other piece of information as part of our security procedures, you must treat such information as confidential, and you must not disclose it to any third party. We have the right to disable any user identification code or password, whether chosen by you or allocated by us, at any time, if in our opinion you have failed to comply with any of the provisions of these terms of use. When using our site, you must comply with the provisions of our acceptable use policy. You are responsible for making all arrangements necessary for you to have access to our site. You are also responsible for ensuring that all persons who access our site through your internet connection are aware of these terms, and that they comply with them. Intellectual property rights We are the owner or the licensee of all intellectual property rights in our site, and in the material published on it. Those works are protected by copyright laws and treaties around the world. All such rights are reserved. You may print off one copy, and may download extracts, of any page(s) from our site for your personal reference and you may draw the attention of others within your organisation to material posted on our site. You must not modify the paper or digital copies of any materials you have printed off or downloaded in any way, and you must not use any illustrations, photographs, video or audio sequences or any graphics separately from any accompanying text. Our status (and that of any identified contributors) as the authors of material on our site must always be acknowledged. You must not use any part of the materials on our site for commercial purposes without obtaining a licence to do so from us or our licensors. If you print off, copy or download any part of our site in breach of these terms of use, your right to use our site will cease immediately and you must, at our option, return or destroy any copies of the materials you have made. Reliance on information posted Commentary and other materials posted on our site are not intended to amount to advice on which reliance should be placed. We therefore disclaim all liability and responsibility arising from any reliance placed on such materials by any visitor to our site, or by anyone who may be informed of any of its contents. Our site changes regularly We aim to update our site regularly, and may change the content at any time. If the need arises, we may suspend access to our site, or close it indefinitely. Any of the material on our site may be out of date at any given time, and we are under no obligation to update such material. Our liability The material displayed on our site is provided without any guarantees, conditions or warranties as to its accuracy. To the extent permitted by law, we, other members of our group of companies and third parties connected to us hereby expressly exclude: All conditions, warranties and other terms which might otherwise be implied by statute, common law or the law of equity. 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This does not affect our liability for death or personal injury arising from our negligence, nor our liability for fraudulent misrepresentation or misrepresentation as to a fundamental matter, nor any other liability which cannot be excluded or limited under applicable law Information about you and your visits to our site We process information about you in accordance with our privacy policy. By using our site, you consent to such processing and you warrant that all data provided by you is accurate. Transactions concluded through our site Contracts for the supply of services formed through our site or as a result of visits made by you are governed by our terms and conditions of supply. Uploading material to our site Whenever you make use of a feature that allows you to upload material to our site, or to make contact with other users of our site, you must comply with the content standards set out in our acceptable use policy. You warrant that any such contribution does comply with those standards, and you indemnify us for any breach of that warranty. Any material you upload to our site will be considered non-confidential and non-proprietary, and we have the right to use, copy, distribute and disclose to third parties any such material for any purpose. We also have the right to disclose your identity to any third party who is claiming that any material posted or uploaded by you to our site constitutes a violation of their intellectual property rights, or of their right to privacy. We will not be responsible, or liable to any third party, for the content or accuracy of any materials posted by you or any other user of our site. We have the right to remove any material or posting you make on our site if, in our opinion, such material does not comply with the content standards set out in our acceptable use policy. 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We will not be liable for any loss or damage caused by a distributed denial-of-service attack, viruses or other technologically harmful material that may infect your computer equipment, computer programs, data or other proprietary material due to your use of our site or to your downloading of any material posted on it, or on any website linked to it. Linking to our site You may link to our home page, provided you do so in a way that is fair and legal and does not damage our reputation or take advantage of it, but you must not establish a link in such a way as to suggest any form of association, approval or endorsement on our part where none exists. You must not establish a link from any website that is not owned by you. Our site must not be framed on any other site, nor may you create a link to any part of our site other than the home page. We reserve the right to withdraw linking permission without notice. The website from which you are linking must comply in all respects with the content standards set out in our acceptable use policy. If you wish to make any use of material on our site other than that set out above, please address your request to Rebecca Fitzgerald rebecca@strawberrysocial.com Links from our site Where our site contains links to other sites and resources provided by third parties, these links are provided for your information only. We have no control over the contents of those sites or resources, and accept no responsibility for them or for any loss or damage that may arise from your use of them. Jurisdiction and applicable law The English courts will have exclusive jurisdiction over any claim arising from, or related to, a visit to our site although we retain the right to bring proceedings against you for breach of these conditions in your country of residence or any other relevant country. These terms of use and any dispute or claim arising out of or in connection with them or their subject matter or formation (including non-contractual disputes or claims) shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the law of England and Wales. Variations We may revise these terms of use at any time by amending this page. You are expected to check this page from time to time to take notice of any changes we made, as they are binding on you. Some of the provisions contained in these terms of use may also be superseded by provisions or notices published elsewhere on our site. Your concerns If you have any concerns about material which appears on our site, please contact Rebecca Fitzgerald rebecca@strawberrysocial.com Thank you for visiting our site ### Contact Us Let’s talk 71-75 Shelton Street,Covent Garden,London, WC2H 9JQ UK: +44 (0)203 8731092 US: +1 626 414 4885 Want to send us a message? Complete the form below and we’ll be in touch Please enable JavaScript in your browser to complete this form.Name *Email *Subject *Company name *Message *How did you hear about us?Word of mouthEventSocial mediaGoogleOtherCheckboxesSend me free social media and online safety tips. Submit ### Press Releases Press releases The latest press releases from StrawberrySocial ### Our Blog Our blog Insights and strategies for building safer online communities and stronger brands ### Who we are WHO WE ARE StrawberrySocial is youroutsourced, flexible & experiencedreputation management team. Specialising in community management, customer support, content moderation, online risk & due diligence strategy and engagement. Have you got a campaign in mind, or simply looking for that extra back-up? Get in touch OUR KEY TEAM Rebecca FitzgeraldCEO and FounderRebecca set up StrawberrySocial after working at a large social media agency for several years, culminating as Director of Client Operations. She has over 17 years’ experience and has also worked in media, training, theatre and events. Throughout her career, she has managed moderation and community management projects for clients such as SuperAwesome, Sony Mobile, Nokia, HSBC and BBC Worldwide. She is also incredibly proud that StrawberrySocial is currently the moderation agency for NHS Digital - a real honour. She also has a special interest in charities and the public sector, on Grenfell Gold Response, with Dept. for Education plus Samaritans, Which?, Help for Heroes, NSPCC, Prostate Cancer UK and Blue Cross. Linkedin-in Envelope Shaz CollierCOOShaz has over 20 years experience in project management and specialises in fast start-ups, crisis management, digital safety and online communities. Having previously worked for fast-paced social media agencies, online gaming companies and AOL, she has trained and managed large, multi-lingual agency teams for a wide range of clients such as ESPN, LEGO, and Sony Mobile. She has also, more recently, worked on NHS Digital, Just Eat, SuperAwesome and several charity projects. Shaz also has an interest in children’s online safety and has undergone CEOP training as well as being a Thinkuknow Trainer. Linkedin-in Envelope Dan HorrellSenior Production ManagerDan has over 15 years of experience in social media moderation and community management. He specialises in building safe and engaged online communities for youth centric audiences, charities and brands. Working with 100+ clients, from large multi-national brands like ESPN, Nintendo, EPIC Games, SONY, Luis Vuitton, which?, Oprah Winfrey networks, Chanel, LEGO, to charities like Samaritans, CALM, RNIB, NSPCC, NHS, Prostate Cancer UK, Dementia UK, Blue Cross and many others over his time in online community management there is not much he hasn't experienced in his career. To complement his strong social media background, he is also well-versed in a vast amount of social media moderation tools and platforms, from X to Bluesky and Spout to Sprinklr, he knows them all. Linkedin-in Envelope Liz Malone-Johnstone Fractional Marketing DirectorLiz is a digital marketing specialist with 15 years’ experience in digital marketing, specialising in strategy development, web development project management, social media, SEO and content marketing. She is passionate about continually improving the user experience and has led successful digital transformation projects and devised and managed large scale successful digital campaigns, both agency and client-side, across a range of industries. She also has extensive education sector experience, building brand awareness, launching influencer programmes and thriving online communities for schools and edtech startups. Linkedin-in Envelope OUR KEY TEAM Rebecca FitzgeraldCEO, Founder & Digital Consultant20+ years experience managing global, multi-lingual moderation, content and community management projects for household names including Nokia, NHS England, SuperAwesome, Just Eat, NSPCC and BBC Worldwide. Linkedin-in Envelope Shaz Collier - COOOnline Safety Lead20+ years experience in online crisis management, gaming, live chat and event moderation. She has trained and managed large agency multilingual teams for brands such as ESPN, ITV, LEGO, and Sony Mobile. Leads on safety and was a CEOP Ambassador. Linkedin-in Envelope Blaise Grimes-viortFractional MD20+ years experience in social media strategy, content production and moderation. He has helped build social media global operations for major brands including Nissan, HSBC, Sony PlayStation and Diageo. Linkedin-in Envelope Dan HorrellEngagement SpecialistAn experienced veteran in online safety, moderation and community management. Specialising in charity clients and gaming organisations. Dan runs some of our biggest (and most successful) engagement projects, such as Blue Cross. Linkedin-in Envelope Sarah Van Der Linden Engagement SpecialistSarah provides engagement consultancy, audits and training to clients. She has 15 years of experience in safeguarding for education and family services, working within the public and charity sectors. Linkedin-in Envelope Outsource your content moderation and community engagement and let us manage your risk strategy. ### Community Management & Moderation COMMUNITY MANAGEMENT, CONTENT MODERATION & CRISIS SUPPORT Nurture, engage and protect your online audiences 24/7 with specialist social media moderation and community management. Your Expert Content Moderation Partner Our social media moderation and community management specialists have been protecting leading charities and global brands online for many years. We maintain positive, safe online spaces, ensuring your communities are protected from harmful content while fostering healthy engagement. We provide consistent, authentic engagement with your customers which helps build brands and supports marketing, retention and fundraising activities. Get in touch Why outsource community management and content moderation to StrawberrySocial? You’ll be in good company. We partner with leading agencies, brands and charities who prioritise online safety and positive community engagement, including Blue Cross, NHS England, SuperAwesome, NSPCC, Samaritans and Which?. Our team of experts have the knowledge and skills to monitor, moderate and engage with your online audiences 24/7/365. We pride ourselves on being able to tailor our services to each of our clients' requirements, whether it be short-term projects, gap filling, multi-lingual cover or out of hours support. Online safety experts (All our community managers and moderators are CEOP and NSPCC trained). Expertise in diverse content types. Scalability for fluctuating content volumes. Flexible options available, including short-term (campaign length) contracts StrawberrySocial is your brand's guardian online, ensuring your digital spaces are not only safe but thriving. our services in detail CONTENT MODERATION & COMMUNITY MANAGEMENT We can support your in-house Social Media or Community Managers with: Around-the-clock content moderation, in 20+ languages Community engagement activities, tasks, unique responses. Working either alongside your internal team during office hours, or as your secondary team taking over during evenings, holidays and weekends. Lightening the load to give your team more time to concentrate on your brand, campaign events and strategic requirements. Working with you AS you. Peace of mind that your online communities are being monitored and taken care of. TRUST AND SAFETY For truly safe, engaged and positive online spaces, you need humans at the helm. And our humans are online safety experts. We have vast experience in moderating youth-centric brands and vulnerable audiences 24/7/365. CEOP Ambassador and NSPCC trained team. DBS Enhanced (and non-UK equivalents). Well versed in safeguarding, procedural and house rules implementations. CUSTOMER SERVICE & SUPPORT Our team will partner with your Support Management Department ensuring we provide a clear, authentic and consistent experience for your customers. We help: Provide ongoing, consistent and quick responses for your customers. Offer speedy ramp-up time. (We are tech agnostic and familiar with most support tools.) Clear those big increases in tickets during busy seasons. Support your teams after-hours and during weekends and holidays. CRISIS & RISK MANAGEMENT No organisation is safe from online risk or a brand crisis. As veteran social media support for high-risk, sensitive communities, our team is well-versed in the tactics necessary to: Proactively mitigate risks and protect brand reputation. Identify troubling scenarios before they get out of hand. Diffuse online threats and controversial conversations. Apply best-in-class methods for safeguarding. Escalate risky content to the right people. INFLUENCER DUE DILIGENCE Protect your brand’s reputation and assess influencers’ safety and suitability with Influencer Vetting by StrawberrySocial. Our influencer investigators are professional moderators and certified online safety experts and highly trained to spot problematic content in context. We can review influencer content for: Brand sensitive topics Controversial topics Notable brand mentions Interactions with competitors Copyright infringement ‘Cause’ affiliations WHITE LABEL Traditional marketing agencies need help, too. We’re happy to step in and work with your agency, privately and seamlessly integrating our team with yours so you can focus on what you do best. We: Provide confidentiality and anonymity (white label) for brands, charities and agencies. Work with you to understand your client’s campaigns. Provide clear, authentic and consistent brand voice. CONTACT US “I wanted to say a HUGE thank you for all your help on our projects – it has been such a game changer to have you on board, and a genuine pleasure to work with you on each live stream!” SuperAwesome “SuperAwesome is lucky to be partnered with StrawberrySocial. They have continually provided us with custom solutions for classification and moderation, and have some of the best and most insightful moderators and managers in the business. Their depth of knowledge and willingness to get things solved is unmatched.” Lynn Snyder, Community Systems Lead, SuperAwesome “Basically, I know the level of communication, I know the level of service is going to be top notch, reliable, and on time. Communication from their team is ongoing and clear.” Jon Stricklin-Coutinho, Social Media Customer Service Manager, Which? “We have built a real, honest relationship of trust since starting with the team. There have been times that we have had to have really difficult conversations during a crisis or escalation and we’ve bonded through these conversations. We’ve become real friends through these difficult times.” Lizzie Carse, Social Media Customer Service Manager, NSPCC “We would absolutely recommend StrawberrySocial. What is great, is that even though the proposal to expand our moderation and engagement services was approved quickly for us, StrawberrySocial was so helpful to talk about our needs, our barriers, and how best to use their support.” Kate English, Senior Social Media Officer, NDCS “We feel reassured that when we leave the office, StrawberrySocial carries on the job of supporting men and their loved ones. They are friendly and approachable with a light touch and are very good at flagging issues and solving challenges. They understand the context of highly complex conversations involving medical treatment and side effects. We would recommend StrawberrySocial because they took the time to understand who we are and what we are about, and are always there when we need to get hold of them. They also save us significant costs.” Sue Boyes, Peer Support Manager, PCUK “StrawberrySocial are a fantastic agency. They deliver above and beyond expectations and make the transition of using an agency very easy. Their onboarding time is quick and, as they’re Social Media and Crisis Management specialists, they only need to focus on learning our business processes. They have a very personal touch and overall really care about supporting their clients. I would definitely recommend them to anyone looking for Social Media Moderation support.” Preena Kamle, Social Media Customer Service Manager, Just Eat Outsource your community management and content moderation to the experts. Let us help you keep your brand and online communities safe. Get in touch Case Studies Learn more about how we can help moderate and engage your online communities. Browse Case Studies Prostate Cancer UK and StrawberrySocial: Ensuring Safe and Supportive Online Communities "We would recommend StrawberrySocial because they took the time to understand who we are and what we are about, and are always there when we need to get hold of them. They also save us significant costs.” Sue Boyes, Peer Support Manager - Prostate Cancer UK Read More NSPCC and StrawberrySocial: Enhancing Social Media Safeguarding and Crisis Management "Because our services are both unique and may, at times, contain sensitive material, we had a real need for a team that could be available 24/7 but also had the training and fortitude to effectively manage online spaces, and know when to escalate anything immediately which would require review by the Helpline team." Lizzie Carse, Social Media Manager - NSPCC Read More Spare “The Leadership’s biggest issue was our mental health and they wanted to make sure that we had a break and not have to think about work outside of hours. Without StrawberrySocial, my mental health and wellbeing would be through the floor. I think it’s extremely valuable because if StrawberrySocial weren’t providing ROI, the Leadership team would never have bought into the value of having a partnership.” Kate English - Senior Social Media Officer, NDCS Read More Which? and StrawberrySocial: Delivering Trusted Community Engagement and Social Media Moderation Support "What impressed me most was how StrawberrySocial was able to pick up our community needs so quickly; during our initial briefing I spent hardly any time explaining the technology because everyone already understood the mechanics of using our systems." Jon Stricklin-Coutinho, Community Manager - Which? Read More Mind "We trust the team at StrawberrySocial because they are friendly, professional and reliable. For them, it’s all about the people they’re supporting and keeping safe when we’re not in the office." Abbie Nichols, Digital Programme Manager - Mind Read More Supporting NDCS: Enhancing Community Engagement and Safeguarding with Out-of-Hours Moderation “The Leadership’s biggest issue was our mental health and they wanted to make sure that we had a break and not have to think about work outside of hours. Without StrawberrySocial, my mental health and wellbeing would be through the floor." Kate English, Senior Social Media Officer - NDCS Read More How StrawberrySocial Strengthened Blue Cross’ Community Engagement and Facebook Fundraising Efforts “The StrawberrySocial team are hard-working, approachable and passionate about the subject matter, which really comes across in their community engagement not only to us but our followers as well. I wouldn’t hesitate in recommending them as a moderation agency.” - Caroline Dolan, Blue Cross’ Social Media & Communications Officer Read More Facebook Fundraising Crash affects UK Charities Facebook Fundraising Crash affects UK Charities “We have built a real, honest relationship of trust since starting with the team. There have been times that we have had to have really difficult conversations during a crisis or escalation and we’ve bonded through these conversations. We’ve become real friends through these difficult times.” Lizzie Carse, Social Media Manager, NSPCC PROJECT StrawberrySocial partners with multiple charities and nonprofits across the UK. Many of these partners are running simultaneous Facebook Challenges to help raise needed funds for their work. We are involved in the support and facilitation of their efforts. CHALLENGE On 19th … Read More NSPCC Game Safe Festival 2024 Case Study “The number one goal of hosting a gaming festival was to prove that Gaming could be both entertaining, and safe, for children. With 18 hours of live streamed gaming, featuring over 200 gamers, and reaching an audience of over 370,000, having the support of online safety and moderation experts StrawberrySocial was crucial for us.” - NSPCC Read More SuperAwesome Fortnite Live Stream Moderation Combining high levels of user engagement and visibility, with an appreciation for the specific needs of live, branded safety, StrawberrySocial’s crack team of live stream moderation experts were crucial to the success of this large-scale, fun, and interactive influencer-run gaming event; attracting thousands of community members eager to get involved with the games, and the brand. Read More Dementia UK Social Media Moderation and Engagement Training Dementia UK social media Moderation training Bespoke moderation training for specialist charity Specialist dementia nursing charity, Dementia UK enlisted StrawberrySocial to design and deliver bespoke online training for five internal teams focused on strengthening best practice moderation skills, engagement techniques, and wellbeing awareness. The challenge As Dementia UK’s fundraising and community-building activities expanded online, many staff found themselves: Moderating ad comments and Facebook Group discussions without formal moderation training Navigating difficult or sensitive conversations in real time Balancing proactive engagement with safeguarding and brand risk management Managing their own emotional wellbeing amid potentially distressing content Key objectives Ultimately, the client sought to … Read More Browse Case Studies Social Media Moderation Specialists We provide expert moderation and community management across all social media platforms including: Facebook Instagram Linkedin Pinterest Youtube Reddit Tumblr Twitch ### Privacy Policy Privacy and Cookie Policy 1. Introduction1.1 Our website www.strawberrysocial.com is owned and operated by StrawberrySocial Ltd which is a company incorporated in England and Wales with company number 9517797 whose registered office is at 71-75 Shelton Street London WC2H 9JQ. We are committed to safeguarding the privacy of our website visitors and service users.1.2 This policy applies where we are acting as a data controller with respect to the personal data of our website visitors and service users; in other words, where we determine the purposes and means of the processing of that personal data.1.3 We use cookies on our website. Insofar as those cookies are not strictly necessary for the provision of our website and services, we will ask you to consent to our use of cookies when you first visit our website.1.4 In this policy, "we", "us" and "our" refer to StrawberrySocial. For more information about us, see Section 13.2. Credit2.1 This document was created using a template from Docular (https://docular.net).3. How we use your personal data3.1 In this Section 3 we have set out:(a) the general categories of personal data that we may process;(b) in the case of personal data that we did not obtain directly from you, the source and specific categories of that data;(c) the purposes for which we may process personal data; and(d) the legal bases of the processing.3.2 We may process data about your use of our website and services ("usage data"). The usage data may include your IP address, geographical location, browser type and version, operating system, referral source, length of visit, page views and website navigation paths, as well as information about the timing, frequency and pattern of your service use. The source of the usage data is our analytics tracking system. This usage data may be processed for the purposes of analysing the use of the website and services. The legal basis for this processing is our legitimate interests, namely monitoring and improving our website and services.3.3 We may process your account data ("account data"). The account data may include your name and email address. The source of the account data is you or your employer. The account data may be processed for the purposes of operating our website, providing our services, ensuring the security of our website and services, maintaining back-ups of our databases and communicating with you. The legal basis for this processing is our legitimate interests, namely the proper administration of our website and business.3.4 We may process your information included in your personal profile on our website ("profile data"). The profile data may include your name, address, telephone number, email address, profile pictures, gender, date of birth, relationship status, interests and hobbies, educational details and employment details. The profile data may be processed for the purposes of enabling and monitoring your use of our website and services. The legal basis for this processing is our legitimate interests, namely the proper administration of our website and business.3.5 We may process your personal data that are provided in the course of the use of our services ("service data"). The source of the service data is you or your employer. The service data may be processed for the purposes of operating our website, providing our services, ensuring the security of our website and services, maintaining back-ups of our databases and communicating with you. The legal basis for this processing is our legitimate interests, namely the proper administration of our website and business.3.6 We may process information that you post for publication on our website or through our services ("publication data"). The publication data may be processed for the purposes of enabling such publication and administering our website and services. The legal basis for this processing is our legitimate interests, namely the proper administration of our website and business.3.7 We may process information contained in any enquiry you submit to us regarding goods and/or services ("enquiry data"). The enquiry data may be processed for the purposes of offering, marketing and selling relevant goods and/or services to you. The legal basis for this processing is consent.3.8 We may process information relating to our customer relationships, including customer contact information ("customer relationship data"). The customer relationship data may include your name, your employer, your job title or role, your contact details, and information contained in communications between us and you or your employer. The source of the customer relationship data is you or your employer. The customer relationship data may be processed for the purposes of managing our relationships with customers, communicating with customers, keeping records of those communications and promoting our products and services to customers. The legal basis for this processing is our legitimate interests, namely the proper management of our customer relationships.3.9 We may process information relating to transactions, including purchases of goods and services, that you enter into with us and/or through our website ("transaction data"). The transaction data may include your contact details, your card details and the transaction details. The transaction data may be processed for the purpose of supplying the purchased goods and services and keeping proper records of those transactions. The legal basis for this processing is the performance of a contract between you and us and/or taking steps, at your request, to enter into such a contract and our legitimate interests, namely the proper administration of our website and business.3.10 We may process information that you provide to us for the purpose of subscribing to our email notifications and/or newsletters ("notification data"). The notification data may be processed for the purposes of sending you the relevant notifications and/or newsletters. The legal basis for this processing is the performance of a contract between you and us and taking steps, at your request, to enter into such a contract.3.11 We may process information contained in or relating to any communication that you send to us ("correspondence data"). The correspondence data may include the communication content and metadata associated with the communication. Our website will generate the metadata associated with communications made using the website contact forms. The correspondence data may be processed for the purposes of communicating with you and record-keeping. The legal basis for this processing is our legitimate interests, namely the proper administration of our website and business and communications with users.3.12 We may process any of your personal data identified in this policy where necessary for the establishment, exercise or defence of legal claims, whether in court proceedings or in an administrative or out-of-court procedure. The legal basis for this processing is our legitimate interests, namely the protection and assertion of our legal rights, your legal rights and the legal rights of others.3.13 We may process any of your personal data identified in this policy where necessary for the purposes of obtaining or maintaining insurance coverage, managing risks, or obtaining professional advice. The legal basis for this processing is our legitimate interests, namely the proper protection of our business against risks.3.14 In addition to the specific purposes for which we may process your personal data set out in this Section 3, we may also process any of your personal data where such processing is necessary for compliance with a legal obligation to which we are subject, or in order to protect your vital interests or the vital interests of another natural person.3.15 Please do not supply any other person's personal data to us, unless we prompt you to do so.4. Providing your personal data to others, where we store your data and advertising4.1 We may disclose your personal data to our insurers and/or professional advisers insofar as reasonably necessary for the purposes of obtaining or maintaining insurance coverage, managing risks, obtaining professional advice, or the establishment, exercise or defence of legal claims, whether in court proceedings or in an administrative or out-of-court procedure.4.2 We may disclose your enquiry data to one or more of those selected third party suppliers of goods and services identified on our website for the purpose of enabling them to contact you so that they can offer, market and sell to you relevant goods and/or services. We will only pass your personal data to third parties where we have obtained your consent to do so. Each such third party will act as a data controller in relation to the enquiry data that we supply to it; and upon contacting you, each such third party will supply to you a copy of its own privacy policy, which will govern that third party's use of your personal data.4.3 In addition to the specific disclosures of personal data set out in this Section 4, we may disclose your personal data where such disclosure is necessary for compliance with a legal obligation to which we are subject, or in order to protect your vital interests or the vital interests of another natural person. We may also disclose your personal data where such disclosure is necessary for the establishment, exercise or defence of legal claims, whether in court proceedings or in an administrative or out-of-court procedure.4.4 We will store or transfer your personal data within the UK and/or EEA. This means that it will be fully protected under the Data Protection Legislation.4.5 We may store or transfer some or all of your personal data in countries that are not part of the UK and/or EEA. These are known as “third countries” and may not have data protection laws that are as strong as those in the UK and/or the EEA. This means that we will take additional steps in order to ensure that your personal data is treated just as safely and securely as it would be within the UK and under the Data Protection Legislation as follows:We use specific contracts with external third parties that are approved by the European Commission and/or ICO (in the UK) for the transfer of personal data to third countries. These contracts require the same levels of personal data protection that would apply under the Data Protection Legislation. More information is available from the European Commission and/or the ICO (in the UK).4.6 The security of your personal data is essential to us, and to protect your data, we take a number of important measures, including the following:limiting access to your personal data to those employees, agents, contractors, and other third parties with a legitimate need to know and ensuring that they are subject to duties of confidentiality;procedures for dealing with data breaches (the accidental or unlawful destruction, loss, alteration, unauthorised disclosure of, or access to, your personal data) including notifying you and/or the Information Commissioner’s Office where we are legally required to do so.4.7 We use Facebook for advertising. Facebook may receive Business Tool Data as part of our advertising campaigns which includes:"Contact Information" is information that personally identifies individuals, such as names, email addresses and phone numbers, that we use for matching purposes only. We will hash Contact Information that you send to us via a Facebook JavaScript pixel for matching purposes prior to transmission. When using a Facebook image pixel or other Facebook Business Tools, you or your service provider must hash Contact Information in a manner specified by us before transmission."Event Data" is other information that you share about people and the actions that they take on your websites and apps or in your shops, such as visits to your sites, installations of your apps and purchases of your products. While Event Data does include information collected and transferred when people access a website or app with Facebook Login or Social Plugins (e.g. the Like button), it does not include information created when an individual interacts with our platform via Facebook Login, Social Plugins or otherwise (e.g. by logging in, or liking or sharing an article or song). Information created when an individual interacts with our platform via Facebook Login, Social Plugins or otherwise is governed by the Facebook Platform Terms.See sections 8-11 below for more information on cookies used by us and third parties.5. Retaining and deleting personal data5.1 This Section 5 sets out our data retention policies and procedure, which are designed to help ensure that we comply with our legal obligations in relation to the retention and deletion of personal data.5.2 Personal data that we process for any purpose or purposes shall not be kept for longer than is necessary for that purpose or those purposes. 5.3 Notwithstanding the other provisions of this Section 5, we may retain your personal data where such retention is necessary for compliance with a legal obligation to which we are subject, or in order to protect your vital interests or the vital interests of another natural person.6. Amendments6.1 We may update this policy from time to time by publishing a new version on our website.6.2 You should check this page occasionally to ensure you are happy with any changes to this policy.6.3 We may notify you of significant changes to this policy by email.7. Your rights7.1 In this Section 7, we have summarised the rights that you have under data protection law. Some of the rights are complex, and not all of the details have been included in our summaries. Accordingly, you should read the relevant laws and guidance from the regulatory authorities for a full explanation of these rights.7.2 Your principal rights under data protection law are:(a) the right to access;(b) the right to rectification;(c) the right to erasure;(d) the right to restrict processing;(e) the right to object to processing;(f) the right to data portability;(g) the right to complain to a supervisory authority; and(h) the right to withdraw consent.7.3 You have the right to confirmation as to whether or not we process your personal data and, where we do, access to the personal data, together with certain additional information. That additional information includes details of the purposes of the processing, the categories of personal data concerned and the recipients of the personal data. Providing the rights and freedoms of others are not affected, we will supply to you a copy of your personal data. The first copy will be provided free of charge, but additional copies may be subject to a reasonable fee.7.4 You have the right to have any inaccurate personal data about you rectified and, taking into account the purposes of the processing, to have any incomplete personal data about you completed.7.5 In some circumstances you have the right to the erasure of your personal data without undue delay. Those circumstances include: the personal data are no longer necessary in relation to the purposes for which they were collected or otherwise processed; you withdraw consent to consent-based processing; you object to the processing under certain rules of applicable data protection law; the processing is for direct marketing purposes; and the personal data have been unlawfully processed. However, there are exclusions of the right to erasure. The general exclusions include where processing is necessary: for exercising the right of freedom of expression and information; for compliance with a legal obligation; or for the establishment, exercise or defence of legal claims.7.6 In some circumstances you have the right to restrict the processing of your personal data. Those circumstances are: you contest the accuracy of the personal data; processing is unlawful but you oppose erasure; we no longer need the personal data for the purposes of our processing, but you require personal data for the establishment, exercise or defence of legal claims; and you have objected to processing, pending the verification of that objection. Where processing has been restricted on this basis, we may continue to store your personal data. However, we will only otherwise process it: with your consent; for the establishment, exercise or defence of legal claims; for the protection of the rights of another natural or legal person; or for reasons of important public interest.7.7 You have the right to object to our processing of your personal data on grounds relating to your particular situation, but only to the extent that the legal basis for the processing is that the processing is necessary for: the performance of a task carried out in the public interest or in the exercise of any official authority vested in us; or the purposes of the legitimate interests pursued by us or by a third party. If you make such an objection, we will cease to process the personal information unless we can demonstrate compelling legitimate grounds for the processing which override your interests, rights and freedoms, or the processing is for the establishment, exercise or defence of legal claims.7.8 You have the right to object to our processing of your personal data for direct marketing purposes (including profiling for direct marketing purposes). If you make such an objection, we will cease to process your personal data for this purpose.7.9 You have the right to object to our processing of your personal data for scientific or historical research purposes or statistical purposes on grounds relating to your particular situation, unless the processing is necessary for the performance of a task carried out for reasons of public interest.7.10 To the extent that the legal basis for our processing of your personal data is:(a) consent; or(b) that the processing is necessary for the performance of a contract to which you are party or in order to take steps at your request prior to entering into a contract,and such processing is carried out by automated means, you have the right to receive your personal data from us in a structured, commonly used and machine-readable format. However, this right does not apply where it would adversely affect the rights and freedoms of others.7.11 If you consider that our processing of your personal information infringes data protection laws, you have a legal right to lodge a complaint with a supervisory authority responsible for data protection. You may do so in the EU member state of your habitual residence, your place of work or the place of the alleged infringement.7.12 To the extent that the legal basis for our processing of your personal information is consent, you have the right to withdraw that consent at any time. Withdrawal will not affect the lawfulness of processing before the withdrawal.7.13 You may exercise any of your rights in relation to your personal data by written notice to us in addition to the other methods specified in this Section 7.8. About cookies8.1 A cookie is a file containing an identifier (a string of letters and numbers) that is sent by a web server to a web browser and is stored by the browser. The identifier is then sent back to the server each time the browser requests a page from the server.8.2 Cookies may be either "persistent" cookies or "session" cookies: a persistent cookie will be stored by a web browser and will remain valid until its set expiry date, unless deleted by the user before the expiry date; a session cookie, on the other hand, will expire at the end of the user session, when the web browser is closed.8.3 Cookies do not typically contain any information that personally identifies a user, but personal information that we store about you may be linked to the information stored in and obtained from cookies.8.4 Before Cookies are placed on your computer or device, you will be shown a pop up box requesting your consent to set those Cookies. By giving your consent to the placing of Cookies you are enabling Us to provide the best possible experience and service to you. You may, if you wish, deny consent to the placing of Cookies unless those Cookies are strictly necessary; however certain features of our website may not function fully or as intended.8.5 In addition to the controls that we provide, you can choose to enable or disable cookies in your internet browser. Most internet browsers also enable you to choose whether you wish to disable all Cookies or only third party Cookies. By default, most internet browsers accept Cookies but this can be changed. For further details, see section 11 below.9. Cookies that we use 9.1 We use cookies for the following purposes: (a) authentication - we use cookies to identify you when you visit our website and as you navigate our website. (b) status - we use cookies to help us to determine if you are logged into our website. 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Approval14.1 This policy has been approved by the undersigned and will be reviewed at least annually.NameRoger FitzgeraldJob TitleDPOApproval Date18 January 2024Review Date18 January 2025 ## Case Studies ### Dementia UK Social Media Moderation and Engagement Training Dementia UK social media Moderation training Bespoke moderation training for specialist charitySpecialist dementia nursing charity, Dementia UK enlisted StrawberrySocial to design and deliver bespoke online training for five internal teams focused on strengthening best practice moderation skills, engagement techniques, and wellbeing awareness.The challengeAs Dementia UK’s fundraising and community-building activities expanded online, many staff found themselves:Moderating ad comments and Facebook Group discussions without formal moderation trainingNavigating difficult or sensitive conversations in real timeBalancing proactive engagement with safeguarding and brand risk managementManaging their own emotional wellbeing amid potentially distressing contentKey objectivesUltimately, the client sought to empower staff to tackle difficult conversations online, develop moderation and engagement skills, raise awareness of the particular challenges faced by moderators and equip them with practical self-care strategies to safeguard their wellbeing while moderating.Our approachOur experienced moderation trainer, Sarah, delivered a series of two engaging, interactive 2-hour sessions to a total of 22 participants across five staff teams (Individual Giving, Legacies, Virtual Events, Community and Challenge Events and Marketing and Communications), throughout the spring 2025.Modular, tailored sessionsFour core modules were flexibly adapted to each group’s needs:The Social Media Landscape & Role of the ModeratorEscalations, Risk Management & SafeguardingEngagement Techniques & Community BuildingCompassion Fatigue, Wellbeing & BoundariesInteractive, real world scenariosThrough interactive exercises, group discussions and role-plays, participants put best-practice moderation into action. Group discussions on grey-area comment moderation (remove, escalate, respond)Role-plays to practice tone, empathy, and escalation protocolsBreakouts focused on Facebook Group community nurturing exercisesOngoing collaborationStrawberrySocial and Dementia UK worked together throughout the project, through the use of shared planning documents, pre-training briefs to cater to differing skill levels, and flexible scheduling to fit around the client’s event-driven workloads.Key outcomesFollowing the moderation training, Dementia UK teams reported clear benefits in three key areas:Increased confidence: All 5 groups reported feeling better equipped to handle difficult or negative comments and to identify when to escalate.Practical takeaways: Feedback from the teams highlighted the value of clear escalation guidelines and real-world practice scenarios.Wellbeing awareness: Participants left with personalised strategies to manage compassion fatigue and maintain boundaries.Participant feedbackIn the post-training survey, participants praised the interactive format for clarifying moderation decisions and delivering actionable engagement tips.“It was an interesting session—very thought provoking to explore which discussions to allow to continue, and which to moderate. Also good to keep up with how quickly language and use of emojis changes with the generations.”“The session on creating engaged communities was particularly helpful.”“I found the moderation training very useful; it helped answer a lot of unanswered questions I had about social media moderation that I will take on board going forward. I also liked that it was interactive which made it more engaging."“I’ll be putting the engagement techniques into practice right away, and I feel confident to deal with any difficulties.” It was a great experience working with StrawberrySocial. The team has been supporting us with the day-to-day moderation of our social channels for the past few years, so they already had a great understanding of how we work. The training was bespoke, meaning we worked with StrawberrySocial to tailor the modules to our objectives, and base them on what our staff would find most beneficial. With so many staff involved, scheduling can be tricky, but StrawberrySocial were very flexible and accommodating. Laura Mason, Social Media Manager, Dementia UK StrawberrySocial Trainer Sarah Van Der Linden said, “All the groups really got involved with discussions and activities. It was a pleasure to deliver to such a great group of professionals. The discussion and ideas allowed everyone to learn and reflect, which was a wonderfully positive experience.”ConclusionBy delivering a tailored, modular, interactive training programme, StrawberrySocial empowered Dementia UK staff to moderate thoughtfully, engage proactively, and safeguard their own wellbeing online - ensuring each team returned to their roles with fresh confidence and practical skills.  Find out more about our tailored moderation and engagement training packages Contact Us ### SuperAwesome Fortnite Live Stream Moderation SuperAwesome Fortnite Live Stream Moderation IntroductionIn partnership with SuperAwesome, well-known gaming creators Kreekraft, and Nick EH 30,) hosted a live stream event to highlight the release of the newest product developed by a globally-recognisable toy company. The live event included 2 large-scale influencers who streamed their playtime on YouTube, beginning their online activity in Roblox, and making their way over to Fortnite to showcase the toy brand’s new product release. The final event was 2 hours long and the audience tally was over 7.7k viewers engaging in real-timeUser safety is a key part of SuperAwesome’s business. For the event to be a success, it was crucial that live moderators were in place to ensure the chat stream remained clean and safe and kept to the toy brand’s vision for a fun and safe environment. SuperAwesome enlisted the support of StrawberrySocial, their go-to moderation experts, to help with the safety portion of the event.How it workedThe toy brand was eager to share its new product and immediately understood the power of bringing it to virtual life. Fortnite was brought in to create an impactful new world/map dedicated to the brand. SuperAwesome were hired as experts to coordinate live events, including finding the right influencers. StrawberrySocial was then enlisted to ensure the highest level of safety for the live event.Project approach and implementationOur signature quick-start workflow included project setup, live event moderation, expert team selection, and project training. Was there any influencer due diligence required?To prepare the live moderators, we first made sure they understood the creators. Given the limited time, the top priority was for moderators to review the influencers' social pages, personalities, and communities.This helped the team determine what behaviour was appropriate and ensured the live moderation mirrored the online culture of the influencers, and the brand’s standards for quality and safety were for the live stream.ResultsBecause of our expert live event processes, workflows, and team of human specialists, the event was kept clean and safe. Negative commentary was expertly squashed in real-time. "We noticed the live comments began to take a heated turn towards recent global events; which were not only political, but irrelevant. Our first concern was that if this continued, it could potentially put everyone at risk, causing a full event collapse. Together with SuperAwesome we flagged this immediately to the brand who agreed to have certain words added to the live filter for the duration of the event.This immediately changed the tone of the conversation back to the influencers, and the fun, and made for a very happy client."  - Dan Horrell, Senior Production ManagerProactive, live moderation by StrawberrySocial’s experienced team allowed the brand, and the influencers, to focus on fun engagement and positive interaction. All in all, it was a hugely successful, coordinated event that had over  7.7 thousand concurrent viewers. And viewership continued long after the event was over. Statistics show that “The stream’s views after 7 days were 300k, and 64.5k live stream chats showed an engagement rate of 3.4%, over 3x SuperAwesome’s benchmark of 1%.” Even the audience expressed their gratitude: ”This was the first time I ever watched an entire stream””This was a great stream. Do more like this!””This STREAM WAS AAAAAAMAZINGGGGG””This will go down in history” We were impressed with the level of professionalism that StrawberrySocial provided for the project. They accommodated our last-minute request and delivered excellent and stress-free support. It was a great event; we will gladly continue partnering with StrawberrySocial for live events. Lynn Snyder, Community Systems Lead ConclusionCombining high levels of user engagement and visibility, with an appreciation for the specific needs of live, branded safety,  StrawberrySocial’s crack team of event experts were crucial to the success of this large-scale, fun, and interactive influencer-run event; attracting thousands of community members eager to get involved with the games, and the brand. Speak to our live gaming moderation experts about how we can help you keep your gaming environment and community safe. Contact Us ### NSPCC Game Safe Festival 2024 Case Study NSPCC Game Safe Festival 2024 Case Study The number one goal of hosting a gaming festival was to prove that gaming could be both entertaining, and safe, for children. With 18 hours of live streamed gaming, featuring over 200 gamers, and reaching an audience of over 370,000, having the support of online safety and moderation experts StrawberrySocial was crucial for us. NSPCC The National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children  (NSPCC) is the largest UK charity that campaigns and works in child protection across the UK and the Channel Islands. As a non-profit organisation, NSPCC relies on donations and fundraising to keep these vital services current and working 24/7/365. One of NSPCC’s goals is to reach new audiences with the mission of both raising awareness to their causes and reaching new communities interested in helping raise the funds needed to educate children and families on how to have a fun, safe online experience.We partnered with NSPCC for their Game Safe Festival - offering support and moderation for the duration of the events, eSports tournament, parent workshops and social media channels. StrawberrySocial moderated 18 hours of live streamed gaming, featuring over 200 gamers, culminating in 16 live finalists streamed on Twitch. The Festival raised over £130,000 for the NSPCC in financial and gift in kind income thanks to generous donations from corporate partners as well as people who signed in to watch the Game Safe Cup; the safeguarding workshops for parents and professionals who work with children; and the creators who streamed for us as part of the Press Play campaign. We spoke with our partners at NSPCC who helped orchestrate the entire festival, including David Smith, Catriona Boyle (Head of Social) and Lewie Procter (Head of Gaming Partnerships) to find out how our partnership for the festival resulted in its success.What is the Game Safe Festival all about? The Game Safe Festival was NSPCC’s event to explore ways to play and act to keep children safe online. [NSPCC] celebrated everything that’s best about the world of gaming: The community, collaboration and creativity.With the help of their community, [NSPCC] took action to make gaming safer for children.89% of children in the UK play video games, but online harms are increasing.The organisation brought together key players to make sure children have positive gaming experiences, while helping the adults in their lives have the knowledge, confidence and tools they need to help keep children safe when they game. Their first tournament focused on eSports gaming. What were the primary goals or objectives of the Game Safe Festival?The number one goal of hosting a gaming festival was to prove that Gaming could be both entertaining, and safe, for children. Primarily, NSPCC wanted to highlight celebrity gamers while they competed in real time, while simultaneously hosting eSafety events where parents and children could engage in their favourite eSports games and learn about keeping safe while playing.What were the online safety requirements for the duration of the Game Safe Festival?Ongoing moderation of the NSPCC Game Safe Discord Server while all events were happening live. Ensure any content that was inappropriate would be flagged or removed as quickly as possibleRemove and report content that breaks community guidelines.Escalate potential disclosures to the NSPCC Helpline.Escalate PR or other issues to the NSPCC within the parameters of current government policies. Ensure all instances of Live Chat and streaming were opened and/or closed during scheduled times. What specific challenges or problems were you facing when you approached us?As part of our Game Safe Festival, we were launching the NSPCC on two new platforms - Discord and Twitch, and wanted to ensure that we could do so with the same high standard of moderation across our other platforms. With limited knowledge of the functionality of Discord and Twitch, we looked to StrawberrySocial to advise on how we could implement our current moderation processes into these new platforms. What were your main goals or desired outcomes for addressing these challenges?Our main goals were to have robust moderation processes for these new platforms, bringing together all the relevant teams including Social Media, Helpline and the Project team, and successfully implementing them as part of our inaugural Game Safe Festival. How did you come to the decision to work with us?We workshopped several solutions and processes before coming to a decision. We knew whatever we decided, we would have StrawberrySocial’s help and support to implement it, which indeed we did, and this was particularly beneficial when it came to the out of hours support. Our conversations and discussions with you throughout made us feel confident in taking forward the solution, as well as our experience of currently working with you. Can you describe the process of implementing the solution or project?Because of the number of teams involved, the main part of implementing the solution was focused on communication and training. This included ensuring all teams were happy with the solution proposed, as well as delivering the training to other teams to allow them to implement it. Again we had StrawberrySocial’s support on this which really helped us get it up and running.Were there any obstacles or difficulties encountered during the implementation phase?With an organisation as large and complex as NSPCC, most of our obstacles centred around getting the right people together at the same time, and ensuring everyone who needed to be involved, was. How did our services or products contribute to addressing your challenges or achieving your goals?Being able to launch these platforms meant we were able to use them as part of our Game Safe Festival, working with creators, reaching new audiences and building new partnerships. Looking back, what do you feel were the key factors that contributed to the success of the project?Having external expertise on the platforms themselves, combined with current moderation knowledge. Thorough discovery and scoping processes also helped to ensure we had all eventualities covered.Are there any aspects of the project that you would approach differently in hindsight?As is often the case, timings were tight for the project and as it was all new ground for us, it was difficult to effectively plan for what needed to be put in place. However our learnings from this year puts us in a good stead for the future. What advice would you give to other charities looking to experiment with Gaming for Giving as a fundraising or brand awareness strategy?It’s a really exciting area to be involved with, with lots of opportunities and things to explore. I’d suggest immersing yourself in it as much as possible – get on Twitch, join Discord, see what other people are doing, and this will really help. How do you plan to build on the success of the Game Safe Festival in the future?We’re continuing to expand our gaming strategy in a variety of different ways. Partnering with a variety of games companies on different fundraising initiatives, developing resources to help the games industry improve its approach towards child safety, and exploring further ways to connect with the public via game streaming.Are there any additional projects or initiatives that you are considering in light of the results achieved?We heard from several folks in the games industry during the festival that there is a real appetite for having us enter the space and advocate for child safety, so we’re definitely motivated and inspired to continue along those lines.Do you have any final thoughts or reflections on the project as a whole?We also used it as an opportunity to start a conversation with companies in the sector about how we can work together to keep children safe; equip parents, carers and professionals who work with children with the tools and knowledge they need protect young players; and introduce the NSPCC and its services to the gaming and creator community. To this end, we were delighted that over 100 sector organisations attended the festival; 2,600 parents, carers and professionals signed up to safeguarding workshops; and our Game Safe Cup and creator streams were viewed over 370,000 times. Speak to our live gaming moderation experts about how we can help you keep your gaming environment and community safe. Contact Us ### Facebook Fundraising Crash affects UK Charities Facebook Fundraising Crash affects UK Charities "We have built a real, honest relationship of trust since starting with the team. There have been times that we have had to have really difficult conversations during a crisis or escalation and we’ve bonded through these conversations. We’ve become real friends through these difficult times." Lizzie Carse, Social Media Manager, NSPCC PROJECT StrawberrySocial partners with multiple charities and nonprofits across the UK. Many of these partners are running simultaneous Facebook Challenges to help raise needed funds for their work. We are involved in the support and facilitation of their efforts. CHALLENGE On 19th April 2023 Meta’s Facebook fundraising tool stopped collecting funds. Any user attempting to donate funds received the following message: “The Charity that you've chosen is no longer eligible for fundraising.” At 8:00am:The Moderator on duty for one of our charities currently running a Facebook Fundraiser began noticing a trend of comments which sounded as if they were having issues donating to the charity. Multiple community members were posting concerns that they had been scammed, that the charity had closed down, that it was a fake campaign, and that they had lost all the money raised. ACTION The Team Lead was informed straight away, and immediately began to take screenshots of these comments to flag up to the client contacts. Because of the internal escalation processes developed with our clients, we were able to message them using multiple channels including mobile phones and various online channels. Within the hour, after multiple attempts at contact, we were able to connect with clients and work together to develop an appropriate directive which included immediate responses to share with their community of users.  By 9:21am:The community of donors and volunteers were messaged, alerting them to the fact of the Facebook Fundraising issue. The community’s reaction was of relief and gratitude: It was at this time that we made the decision to contact all of our charity clients as this was an issue that could affect many of them at once. We shared this article in our escalations, which includes a message from Meta they were aware of the issue and working to correct it. OUTCOME By taking immediate action we were able to restore the community’s trust in their chosen Charity, and saved the Charity from losing thousands of pounds in much-needed funds.  In addition, because StrawberrySocial took the immediate initiative to contact our other charities we helped ensure they kept their strong level of trust with their own communities of donors without interruption.The clients were extremely happy with how the entire situation was handled. Their message back to us was one of extreme gratitude we had our eyes (and our brains!) so focussed on their communities.  A strong, clear escalation process is vital for any business. We can help. Contact Us ### How StrawberrySocial Strengthened Blue Cross' Community Engagement and Facebook Fundraising Efforts Blue Cross CASE STUDY "The StrawberrySocial team are hard-working, approachable and passionate about the subject matter, which really comes across in their community engagement not only to us but our followers as well. I wouldn’t hesitate in recommending them as a moderation agency." Caroline Dolan, Blue Cross’ Social Media & Communications Officer Case Study and interview with Caroline Dolan, Blue Cross About Blue Cross Blue Cross is a charity that has been helping sick, injured, abandoned and homeless pets since 1897. Pets help us in so many ways and they depend entirely on us. That’s why Blue Cross believes in helping pets because pets help us.We help thousands of pets in need every month, providing veterinary care, expert behaviour help and find them loving happy homes, as well as advice and education for current or future pet owners and pet bereavement support. Blue Cross develops lifelong relationships with pets and owners, providing quality care that is accessible and non-judgemental.With your support we can give back to more pets in need.Pets change lives. We change theirs.StrawberrySocial has partnered with Blue Cross since 2021, providing engagement, safety, and support to every member of their social media communities. We work alongside the dedicated Blue Cross team during the charity’s Facebook Challenge fundraising endeavours, and in between these events we support their efforts to make all pet lovers receive the Blue Cross experience of excellence whilst participating on their Social Media platforms.  We spoke with Caroline Dolan, Blue Cross’ Social Media & Communications Officer about her experience working together. What is Blue Cross’ main goal for your social media platforms? Our main goal for our social media is to educate people about pet welfare issues and build a community of animal welfare advocates who can help us at Blue Cross change the lives of pets. Our key to this is engaging with those who visit our social media pages, building that trust and helping them understand more about what Blue Cross stands for and how they can do more for us. Historically, what have been the pain points for Blue Cross’ social media? Having the time and resources to engage with the community has been a struggle inhouse, and when it comes to animals, some posts can really blow up (both positively and negatively!) and that’s when we need to be on the ground the most.It’s key to show there’s an actual person reading the comments and messages, and taking on board what’s being said, however finding the time to respond to individuals proved tricky and it meant we were losing the attention of our community who could go on to do more for us. How has StrawberrySocial managed and helped to overcome those pain points for Blue Cross? StrawberrySocial now provides the resource in regular shift patterns meaning our community is responded to in a timely, efficient manner and ensures everyone gets a response, where appropriate. Because of this, they have been able to deepen our community engagement - asking questions and encouraging supporters to share their own content. How has the relationship with StrawberrySocial grown since starting with us in September 2021? Having a dedicated BX team member and the StrawberrySocial Senior Production Manager overseeing the relationship greatly helps the success of the project and the team.An increase in shifts and hours means not only will supporters be responded to more quickly but we can ensure everyone is responded to, where appropriate.Alongside this, we are now using the tools necessary to be effective and timely with our communications and to brief or query anything, resulting in quick and prompt responses. Being a non-profit organisation, Blue Cross naturally must depend quite a lot on fundraisers. How has StrawberrySocial’s engagement tactics helped grow your Facebook Challenges? Having StrawberrySocial able to support by answering individuals and thank and encourage them with their fundraising activities shows that we really value our fundraisers.It also means that if there are any problems e.g. individuals  not able to access donation links, or not receiving their packs in time - StrawberrySocial have picked up these queries in good time which helps us resolve them in a timely manner, avoiding any elongated problems, and any disappointed fundraisers! Please share the results of your favourite / most successful Facebook Challenge where StrawberrySocial was a part of the work. During our “Sign up and get a free face mask!” challenge, supporters were sent a free Blue Cross face mask which was only available to those who signed up via our Facebook adverts. The challenge actively drove 27 million impressions and 81.9k leads  (vs. the 24,829 planned) resulting in a highly efficient CPL of £1.72 (vs. £3.00 planned).The demand for these face masks exceeded expectations and supplier/postage delays meant supporters were unhappy that they hadn’t yet received their masks. StrawberrySocial were integral in not only replying to users, placating them and updating them on delivery times but they had to ask users to DM their details so our Supporter Care team could follow up. Without them keeping on top of this, I don’t know how we would have managed! Anything else you would like to mention about the project? In addition to this, the StrawberrySocial team fed back on copy for the first round of adverts where they felt the CTA wasn’t clear enough and which initially received a lot of confusion from some of our supporters who ended up needing additional help. StrawberrySocial not only helped guide us towards improved communications, they were the team that helped to point our supporters in the right direction. Would you recommend StrawberrySocial to other companies? If so, why? Absolutely! The StrawberrySocial team are hard-working, approachable and passionate about the subject matter, which really comes across in their community engagement not only to us but our followers as well. I wouldn’t hesitate in recommending them as a moderation agency. Lastly - is there anything else you would like to share about your experience working with StrawberrySocial? The team takes great pride in responding to our community and I feel confident in their ability to use not only approved templated messages but their own judgement and expertise. Their passion for animal welfare shines through and it’s so encouraging to see conversations opening up as supporters respond to the engagement, especially when asking for help or guidance.Thank you to Dan and all the team! Find out more about how we can help with your organisation's forum and/or channel-based communities. Contact Us ### Supporting NDCS: Enhancing Community Engagement and Safeguarding with Out-of-Hours Moderation National Deaf Children's Society Case Study “The Leadership’s biggest issue was our mental health and they wanted to make sure that we had a break and not have to think about work outside of hours. Without StrawberrySocial, my mental health and wellbeing would be through the floor. I think it’s extremely valuable because if StrawberrySocial weren’t providing ROI, the Leadership team would never have bought into the value of having a partnership.”   Kate English - Senior Social Media Officer - NDCS The National Deaf Children’s Society provides expert support on childhood deafness; the charity raises awareness and campaigns for deaf children’s rights so they have the same opportunities as everyone else. The vision of the NDCS is a world without barriers for every deaf child.Founded more than 70 years ago, society has come a long way. But deaf children are still falling behind at school and being let down by vital services. And they still don’t have the same opportunities as hearing children. Their international arm, Deaf Child Worldwide, supports deaf children in developing countries who are missing out on education and family life.StrawberrySocial and NDCS realise with proper investment, Social can be a wonderful tool for engaging positively, building relationships and fostering trust. 97% of parents who give birth to deaf children are hearing themselves; and require special support and a strong community who understands their particular challenges. For the first time in their history NDCS is using Social Media as a fully-recognised, fully engaged space dedicated to parents of deaf children to have a secure and positive community to share, get support and feel safe 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.The NDCS Facebook page is massive; which isn’t surprising because the demographic is primarily mums between 25 and 45 years of age. The Society promotes news stories, parliamentary campaigns, and give extra attention to questions raised so that the entire community can see the responses. Social is also used to feature special awards each weekend in the form of “Superstar Saturday” - where parents get to award their children for milestones of all sizes and kinds.NDCS expect to launch their own online community forums shortly where they will focus on instilling the same confidence to young people as they have done with parents throughout their Social Media platforms. Contact Us "We would absolutely recommend StrawberrySocial. What is great, is that even though the proposal to expand our moderation and engagement services was approved quickly for us, StrawberrySocial was so helpful to talk about our needs, our barriers, and how best to use their support." Kate English - Senior Social Media Officer - NDCS StrawberrySocial specialise in keeping charity communities safe.  The team have been working with NDCS since December 2018 - moderating and engaging the community during Out Of Hours and Weekends. The goals are to ensure the members receive responses to their questions in a timely manner and to escalate any potential risks to the NDCS team as soon as possible. In addition to ongoing support, Strawberry Social helped refine internal processes which now allows multiple moderators to work at the same time, across all social channels. This delivered a huge return on investment to the charity’s budgetary team.  Daily shift reports offer clear, easy to read information on what needs immediate attention, and how to improve their process as the communities grow.  Find out more about how we can help with your organisation's forum and/or channel-based communities. ### Mind Mind CASE STUDY "We trust the team at StrawberrySocial because they are friendly, professional and reliable. They’re always willing to work with us to accommodate our requests, and are interested in the wider work that we’re doing and how it influences and impacts the way they moderate and manage our online community. This gives us reassurance that they really do care about what they’re doing. For them, it’s all about the people they’re supporting and keeping safe when we’re not in the office." Abbie Nichols, Digital Programme Manager - Mind Mind, the mental health charity, provide advice and support to empower anyone experiencing a mental health problem. They campaign to improve services, raise awareness and promote understanding. They won't give up until everyone experiencing a mental health problem gets support and respect.Mind’s digital forum Friends in Need is a way for people affected by depression to meet and chat, both online and in their local area. The community can help members to maintain recovery, share their experiences and make a difference. Friends in Need has over 56,000 members and more than 2,000 groups. (Note: in 2018 FiN was closed due to CMS issues).StrawberrySocial specialises in keeping charity communities safe and have moderated Friends in Need during evenings and weekends for almost three years. A major part of the role is to monitor discussion, as light-touch as possible, allowing people to answer each other’s questions, providing peer support. It is also to monitor for crisis situations, such as violence, eating disorders, alcohol or drug abuse, child safety, self-harm or suicide, and sometimes need to hide these posts to keep the community safe. The moderator will email the forum member (as well as notifying the community that the member is being supported) to explain why the comment/s were removed, to check if they are OK and to provide links to places they can get help, such as NHS, Sane, Samaritans and the Mind Infoline. If necessary, and with their permission, the moderator will pass on information to emergency services on their behalf.The StrawberrySocial team is meticulous about following escalation workflows and also have clear and robust processes in place to ensure the safeguarding of children and vulnerable adults.Another part of the role is acting as greeter to help new members feel welcome and supported. The core of the forum is to enable users to help each other but, should a new member not receive a response from the community within a couple of hours, the ‘greeter’ will post as a greeter to help guide them as to how to use the forum.The whole team have online safety qualifications such as CEOP and NSPCC as well as being Moderation Gateway certified and DBS checked. "They are great at welcoming new members and encouraging a positive atmosphere where people feel they can share their experiences, and give and receive support." Abbie Nichols, Digital Programme Manager, Mind Rebecca Fitzgerald, Managing Director at StrawberrySocial, says:“Charity online communities, channels and forums require a different type of moderation and engagement. A subtler touch, an understanding of mental health and how it can affect people’s behaviour. Each community is different, each user important. At StrawberrySocial, we have the experience to understand how charity communities and social media works. Our community managers are flexible, empathetic, resilient and supported by Management. They are able to moderate emotive threads about sensitive topics, and are trusted to help ensure that the Friends in Need community makes a huge difference to its members.”  "Our peer support communities Elefriends and Friends in Need provide a safe and anonymous space for anyone with a mental health problem to share their experiences, create meaningful and long-lasting connections, give support and receive it in return. Peer support, whether delivered face to face through our network of Local Minds, or online via our communities is a vital and valuable part of Mind's service offer, and something we're committed to developing and growing in the years to come. We quickly came to value StrawberrySocial’s understanding of the needs of the users of our Friends in Need community." Abbie Nichols, Digital Programme Manager, Mind Find out more about how we can help with your organisation's forum and/or channel-based communities. Contact Us ### Which? and StrawberrySocial: Delivering Trusted Community Engagement and Social Media Moderation Support Which? CASE STUDY AN INTERVIEW WITH WHICH? "Basically, I know the level of communication, I know the level of service is going to be top notch, reliable, and on time. Communication from their team is ongoing and clear." Jon Stricklin-Coutinho - Community Manager for Which? Who and What is Which?Which? is the UK’s consumer champion, providing in-depth reviews and information about the products, goods and services people use every day. Which? has been championing the cause for consumers since 1957, asking probing questions of businesses and manufacturers, and pursuing the answers that put you in the driving seat.​In addition, Which? campaigns on behalf of the consumer, encouraging companies to change their practices for the betterment of the customer. Which? continues to be a not-for-profit charitable organisation and all of their profits made from commercial operations are used to support the activities within the Which? group. Which? is the trading and brand name for the Which? group, wholly owned by the Consumers’ Association.Which? has an active online presence both within social media platforms as well as their own passionate community that engages with the Which? Blog posts. The Which? community team can be found engaging their community members through the day, and work with StrawberrySocial during out of hours to ensure the community is positive, engaging and protected around the clock.We spoke with Jon Stricklin-Coutinho, Community Manager for Which? To find out what their Community and engagement content mean to them, and how StrawberrySocial has helped them achieve both. Q: What is Which’s goals for its community and social presence? Our main goal for Which? is to stand up for what’s right for consumers , and our community helps us get closer to the heart of consumers’ everyday experiences. We aim to reduce as much consumer harm as possible and ensure we’re giving them the space to freely discuss their opinions and support for their fellow community members. While social media is focussed on building brand affinity through helpful content shared across platforms, community is more about inviting them into our home and getting them to meet with like-minded individuals; and share their thoughts and beliefs.Nearly every start of a conversation [in our community] is a question, and that’s because we don’t always have the answers. We want to have a discussion to find out the answers from the consumers and translate it into a story which we can share and hopefully make the consumer more aware and empowered to make the right decisions for themselves. Since Which? is a not-for-profit charitable organisation  we also may enlist the help of our community members when it becomes clear that there may be a public issue where we can advocate on behalf of the public. For example, during ‘Cash Week’ we were able to deliver a booklet directly to Downing Street which contained over 1,000 comments from our community that fought for the rights to protect access to cash and cash institutions (ATM machines, bank buildings) throughout the UK.  Q: Can you describe the various hard and soft skills required for the work, and how StrawberrySocial were able to quickly pick these up and deliver? When it comes to the hard skills of community management it’s extremely important to ensure that anyone working with our community has the innate understanding of how communities work: this includes basic understanding of platforms, dynamics and methods to engage. In addition, by its intrinsic nature, empathy is a must. Possessing the soft skills of understanding your particular community culture and understand them QUICKLY is vital. What impressed me most was how StrawberrySocal was able to pick up our community needs so quickly; during our initial briefing I spent hardly any time explaining the technology because everyone already understood the mechanics of using our systems. We have a very detailed manual which outlines everything we need for our community team to follow. It took about an hour [for StrawberrySocial] to understand what was needed and then run with it. The breadth of understanding was simply not a problem and I was able to walk away knowing that I’d entrusted my community to the right people.  It’s very refreshing to work with folks that want to understand the audience and what kind of people are here and what they’re talking about. We haven’t had much of a problem with moderation anyway, and when [StrawberrySocial] came in, it was smooth sailing from the get go. It was rare there were issues, but when there were, the team picked them up immediately. This meant I was able to reduce the amount of paperwork and reporting back because you don’t need that level of paperwork when everybody is on the same page. I trust the decisions that the StrawberrySocial team has been making.  Q: Historically, what have been the pain points experienced by you with regards to community and support? We have a very small, very vocal set of regular community members and the Which? Community is extremely important to them. They are extremely passionate about what they feel a consumers’ organisation should be doing . In some instances, their responses might fall outside of our guidelines for keeping a strong and positive community for everyone, including our people watching in the background or members new to the community.  Q: How has the StrawberrySocial team worked with Which? Community Team and resolved those pain points? StrawberrySocial has minimised the issues we have with those people - in particular, they’re extremely adept at knowing when a conversation is about to go pear-shaped. The team knows the right moment of when to remove the vitriol before things get out of hand. Q: Can you describe the importance of trust, when building out your community team, and how StrawberrySocial has built that trust? Can you share a story that describes why you entrust your forum to StrawberrySocial? Basically, I know the level of communication, I know the level of service is going to be top notch, reliable, and on time. Communication from their team is ongoing and clear.Historically we’ve come from a place where moderation support was very unreliable unfortunately, and we had to spend a lot of time and effort just to have an open conversation with everyone involved. This included a basic understanding of what is needed to do basic moderation. In addition, getting any reporting details about the day-to-day work of the team was extremely challenging.  With the StrawberrySocial team, I know that they know what they’re doing, and if a question comes up they don’t hesitate to ask.   Q: Is there anything else you’d like to share about the relationship between Which? Community Team and StrawberrySocial and how it has improved your overall community and social support? Reputation has been a really big win. I would be remiss as a consumer not to mention that they're excellent value for their money. I had to go through an extensive procurement process which for a magazine that interviews products for value, took about 4 months to finally onboard the Strawberry Social team.  At the end of the process, our procurement manager gave me a shout out that we’re actually saving the company money overall and bringing incredible value to the company!It’s been a really good onboarding process as well and I wouldn't hesitate doing more work together in the future as we’re moving towards a larger community responsibility across more platforms! And finally... what would you say to another brand looking to bring in an agency like StrawberrySocial? "Bring them in! Just go for it! They’re incredibly clear on their objectives, they think strategically about what a good level of service is going to be for you - as they’re aware it’s going to be different depending on your department, on your organisation, what your needs are and what your specific community needs are." Find out more about how we can help with your organisation's forum and/or channel-based communities. Contact Us ### NSPCC and StrawberrySocial: Enhancing Social Media Safeguarding and Crisis Management NSPCC CASE STUDY "We have built a real, honest relationship of trust since starting with the team. There have been times that we have had to have really difficult conversations during a crisis or escalation and we’ve bonded through these conversations. We’ve become real friends through these difficult times." Lizzie Carse, Social Media Manager, NSPCC Case Study and interview with Lizzie Carse of the NSPCC What is the NSPCC? The National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children  (NSPCC) is the largest UK charity that campaigns and works in child protection across the UK and the Channel Islands. Their most important programmes are their Childline services, which offer immediate support for children in need, and their Speak Out Stay Safe assemblies which educate and empower young people and schools to keep themselves safe.  As a non-profit organisation, NSPCC relies on donations and fundraising to keep these vital services current and working 24/7/365. We spoke with Lizzie Carse, Social Media Manager at NSPCC, about the importance of building a relationship of trust between the organisation, a strong moderation support team and their social media community. What are the NSPCC’s goals for their Social Presence? First and foremost the NSPCC, as a safeguarding charity, uses their social media platforms as a safe, confidential space for anyone to report or discuss anything which falls under the umbrella of youth and family crises. In addition, the NSPCC takes advantage of the power and reach of social media to promote fundraising efforts, share new industry findings, and provide educational programmes to the public. Historically, what have been the pain points experienced by NSPCC on their social media? The most challenging part about social media is that it is 24/7/365 - it never turns off. Neither does the need for help and support. The Helpline and Childline teams spend their shifts answering phones and having one-on-one conversations with callers; which means that there aren’t enough resources to properly oversee all of the content that comes in through our social media platforms. Because our services are both unique and may, at times, contain sensitive material, we had a real need for a team that could be available 24/7 but also had the training and fortitude to effectively manage online spaces, and know when to escalate anything immediately which would require review by the Helpline team. In addition, the NSPCC has a very large following, and at times the positions the charity takes on sensitive subjects can be polarising. It can be a challenge to stay on top of controversial debates and ensure people can share their voice, but remain civil. Ensuring we had enough social media presence outside of normal working hours meant my team was exhausted, and at risk of losing their work-life balance. How did StrawberrySocial work with NSPCC to resolve those pain points? Our social media campaigns have gotten bigger and bigger in recent years and as a result, the charity has become a lot more visible. So the overall demand for a general online presence was through the roof. It was pretty early on when we became aware of the need to increase our time on social media to match the overall increase in content. In addition, we were aware of the real possibility that certain online content could quickly spin out of control; and we realised we didn't have the right framework in place to handle it. StrawberrySocial were quick to help us put something in place that not only worked immediately, but allowed our team to return to their work-life balance. Having more people in place genuinely helps to lighten the load across the team; it lessens the need for us to constantly monitor outside the normal business hours. I really feel as if it’s helped the welfare of my team. StrawberrySocial has been a really great sounding board for creating an improved support strategy; with a team that is readily trained and available to work out of hours and weekends. We track everything, and the StrawberrySocial team helps us do just that. Now that there is an expert group of people in place working through the evenings and weekends we have a clearer sense of whether or not something is a real problem. StrawberrySocial has brought a level of objectivity to our social listening and we’re much better equipped to identify a troll, for example, versus a legitimate crisis.  How has the relationship between NSPCC and StrawberrySocial grown since the beginning? We have built a real, honest relationship of trust since starting with the team. There have been times that we have had to have really difficult conversations during a crisis or escalation and we’ve bonded through these conversations. We’ve become real friends through these difficult times. We have to deal with some really difficult stuff sometimes, and having that bond of trust and knowing that we’re going through it together, has been extremely important. It’s quite a unique experience, when we go through a real crisis. Everyone is going through the same emotions, and adrenaline is rushing, and we work so closely together that the trust and bond has naturally grown into a really positive relationship. Would you recommend StrawberrySocial, and why? While larger, traditional agencies have, out of necessity, required a certain amount of layers for change to happen, Rebecca Fitzgerald, Founder and Managing Director, has created a level hierarchy within the organisation which means that communication is approachable and solutions/challenges are quick to resolve. The organisation isn’t just a helpful resource and service but one we find very approachable and very personal, which means it’s extremely easy to get something done, and done efficiently, and swiftly. Find out more about how we can help with your organisation's forum and/or channel-based communities. Contact Us ### Prostate Cancer UK and StrawberrySocial: Ensuring Safe and Supportive Online Communities Prostate Cancer UK CASE STUDY “We feel reassured that when we leave the office, StrawberrySocial carries on the job of supporting men and their loved ones. They are friendly and approachable with a light touch and are very good at flagging issues and solving challenges. They understand the context of highly complex conversations involving medical treatment and side effects.We would recommend StrawberrySocial because they took the time to understand who we are and what we are about, and are always there when we need to get hold of them. They also save us significant costs.” Sue Boyes, Peer Support Manager - Prostate Cancer UK Every month, thousands of people use Prostate Cancer UK’s online community, posting more than a thousand messages in hundreds of active conversations. Members of the forum are free to discuss whatever they want, from diagnosis to dealing with treatment. The conversation is usually frank and open and the community supports each other by sharing their experiences. The forum is a fundamental part of the charity’s commitment to those who have been diagnosed as well as their relatives and carers. StrawberrySocial specialise in keeping charity communities safe and several of the team have worked with Prostate Cancer UK since 2012, moderating the community during evenings and weekends. The aim is to keep members safe and supported whilst also ensuring they have a space to be themselves and share what they need to. As part of this, we worked with the charity to compile clear community guidelines and put in place intricate escalation processes to resolve or escalate any issues Our whole team have online safety qualifications such as CEOP and NSPCC as well as being Moderation Gateway certified and DBS checked. ## Press ### StrawberrySocial appoints Blaise Grimes-Viort as Managing Director to accelerate growth Industry veteran joins StrawberrySocial to expand social media and content moderation services in agency’s 10th yearLondon, 5 August 2025 StrawberrySocial, a specialist UK moderation agency, today announces the appointment of Blaise Grimes-Viort as Managing Director. He brings more than 15 years of senior leadership experience in social media management and user-generated content (UGC) moderation.Previously, Blaise Grimes-Viort served for 10 years as Chief Services Officer at The Social Element (formerly eModeration), where he built and led a global team of more than 300 specialists and helped transform the business from a content moderation outfit into a full-service social media agency. His client experience includes Nissan, HSBC, Sony PlayStation, and Diageo. Most recently, he worked as Marketing Director at Shadow Robot Company and as a Growth Consultant for a number of agencies. “I’m thrilled to join StrawberrySocial at such an exciting time for the agency, as it celebrates its 10th successful year of operations,” says Blaise Grimes-Viort. “Having spent much of my career developing UGC moderation and social media services, I see tremendous potential to build on the company’s strong foundation. I’m especially pleased to renew my working relationship with Rebecca. I look forward to working with the talented team here to enhance our service offerings and deliver exceptional value to clients.”“Blaise’s appointment represents a significant milestone for StrawberrySocial,” says Rebecca Fitzgerald, CEO and Founder of StrawberrySocial.“His experience in scaling social media operations and his deep understanding of what works across sectors make him the ideal leader to drive our next phase of growth. We’re confident his strategic vision will strengthen our position as a leading social media moderation agency.”About StrawberrySocial: StrawberrySocial is a leading social media moderation agency specialising in brand protection and online safety. Its 30+ strong experienced team provides expert, tailored customer support, moderation, community management, crisis and online support services to agencies, brands and charities including SuperAwesome, Social Chain, Just Eat, NHS, NSPCC and Samaritans. Find out more at www.strawberrysocial.com. ### StrawberrySocial Celebrates 10 Years of Protecting Online Communities London, UK, 3 April 2025 - StrawberrySocial, a specialist in social media moderation marks 10 years of supporting safer online spaces for charities, brands and gaming organisations worldwide. Over the past decade, StrawberrySocial has safeguarded over 67 organisations across 50 social media platforms, gaming apps and branded online spaces, removing millions of pieces of harmful content. Reflecting on 10 years in business, StrawberrySocial Founder & CEO Rebecca Fitzgerald said, “I am incredibly proud of what we have achieved as a team and as a business for our clients over the past decade, navigating unprecedented challenges, including the Covid-19 pandemic, global conflicts, growing online inequality, and the rapid rise of AI-generated content. Our experienced team has worked tirelessly to protect millions of vulnerable users from online harm. We remain dedicated to creating safer, more inclusive online spaces for everyone, to stepping up where major platforms fall short, and to supporting our clients and partners to lead positive change into the future.” StrawberrySocial was founded by Rebecca Fitzgerald in 2015 to provide brands and charities with the resources to protect, moderate and engage audiences 24/7. The social media moderation agency has a global team providing comprehensive moderation and engagement services in over 20 languages. Over the last 10 years the company has gained a reputation for excellence in the industry, and has built up a diverse roster of well-known clients.“As a company, our biggest achievement has been working with organisations such as NHS England, NSPCC, Blue Cross, Sue Ryder and Samaritans. The work they do is hard, often traumatic and incredibly important. The fact that we have built such amazing working relationships with our clients is hugely rewarding.”To mark the 10 year milestone, StrawberrySocial has released a new infographic illustrating the evolution and impact of social media over the past decade. About StrawberrySocial: StrawberrySocial is a leading social media moderation agency specialising in brand protection and online safety. Its 30+ strong experienced team provides expert, tailored customer support, moderation, community management, crisis and online support services to agencies, brands and charities including SuperAwesome, Social Chain, Just Eat, NHS, NSPCC and Samaritans. Find out more at www.strawberrysocial.com. ### StrawberrySocial celebrates 3 years as a Living Wage employer Leading UK social media moderation agency renews commitment to paying the real Living Wage as an accredited Living Wage Employer. London, UK, 21 July 2023: Moderation and online safety agency StrawberrySocial celebrates 3 years as an accredited Living Wage Employer today. Their Living Wage commitment means everyone working for StrawberrySocial receives a minimum hourly payment of £10.90, higher than the government minimum for over 23s, which currently stands at £10.42 per hour.StrawberrySocial was founded by Rebecca Fitzgerald in 2015 to provide brands and charities with the resources to moderate, protect and engage audiences 24/7. Since then, the company has built up a client roster of household names, gaining a reputation for excellence in the industry, and now boasts NHS England as one of its biggest clients. “Being an accredited Living Wage employer is important to us. Our business ethos is firmly based on being able to support flexible working for some of the most experienced people in the online safety and moderation industry. Many have businesses of their own too and family responsibilities and so need to be able to work flexibly with a company that not only respects them but also pays them a decent remuneration.”said Rebecca Fitzgerald, CEO and Founder of StrawberrySocial.Katherine Chapman, Director, Living Wage Foundation said: “We’re delighted that StrawberrySocial is part of the movement of over 12,000 responsible employers across the UK who voluntarily commit to go further than the government minimum wage.“They join thousands of small businesses, as well as household names such as Burberry, Barclays, Everton Football Club and many more. These businesses recognise that paying the real Living Wage is the mark of a responsible employer and they, like StrawberrySocial, believe that a hard day’s work deserves a fair day’s pay."Dan Horrell, Community Manager at StrawberrySocial said: “I have been working remotely for the past 10 years and since working freelance at StrawberrySocial, I have been able to guarantee that my regular outgoings are covered. The flexibility of working the hours I want for a decent fee has helped me achieve goals in my own business too, taking away any stress of not being able to pay the monthly bills. Flexible hours, decent pay, trusted to work remotely, working with a great team, what more do you want in a career!”About StrawberrySocialStrawberrySocial is a leading social media moderation agency specialising in brand protection and online safety. Its team of experienced moderators and community managers provide expert, tailored content moderation, engagement, child safety, reputation and other online support services to agencies, brands and charities across the UK, including NHS England, NSPCC, SuperAwesome, Which and Samaritans. Find out more at www.strawberrysocial.com  About the Living WageThe Living Wage Foundation is the organisation at the heart of the movement of businesses, organisations and individuals who campaign for the simple idea that a hard day’s work deserves a fair day’s pay. The real Living Wage is the only rate calculated according to what people need to make ends meet. It provides a voluntary benchmark for employers that choose to take a stand by ensuring their staff earn a wage that meets the costs and pressures they face in their everyday lives.The UK Living Wage is currently £10.90 per hour. There is a separate London Living Wage rate of £11.95 per hour to reflect the higher costs of transport, childcare and housing in the capital. These figures are calculated annually by the Resolution Foundation and overseen by the Living Wage Commission, based on the best available evidence on living standards in London and the UK.