Navigating the Wild West of Social Media: Your Guide to Brand Safety
For a brand, nothing matters more than a squeaky-clean reputation. That’s why programmatic leaders are putting so much emphasis on brand safety, particularly in the new age of social media. The online space is crawling with risks and unknowns that could leave your brand unknowingly associated with harmful content or services.
To put this into perspective, a company could create a meticulously planned paid ad campaign that perfectly showcases a new product only for it to pop up next to a post that promotes offensive content.
The social media landscape is a constant evolution and for every opportunity for brand engagement, there are unique and uncharted challenges that follow. In this fast-paced environment, brand safety becomes paramount – a proactive approach to mitigating risks and protecting your online reputation. Having the right safety strategy in place allows brands to confidently take on a social-first world.
What is Brand Safety?
Imagine your carefully crafted ad appearing next to offensive content – a nightmare for any brand's image. Brand safety is about preventing such mishaps. It involves measures that shield your brand from appearing alongside inappropriate or harmful content, such as hate speech, violence, or misinformation. A recent study highlights the potential damage, revealing that 49% of consumers perceive a brand negatively when associated with offensive content.
Why is Brand Safety Important?
Like the saying goes, failing to plan is planning to fail. A proactive brand safety plan is crucial in the social media sphere. While platforms have basic safeguards, these often react to crises rather than anticipate them. Brands have learned the hard way the importance of foresight and planning. While adopting new social features holds immense potential, avoiding them due to risk concerns can leave you behind the competition and your target audience. The key lies in creating brand safety guidelines tailored to the social media landscape.
The Social Media Boom and Brand Safety
Social media advertising is projected to reach a staggering $219.8 billion in 2024. With increasing ad spend comes a rising potential for risks. From harmful ad placements to user-generated content issues, brands need to be aware of a diverse range of threats. However, social media itself offers a potent detection and prevention tool. Social listening allows you to proactively monitor brand conversations and identify potential controversies before they erupt.
Limiting Brand Safety Risks on Social Media
The first step? Comprehensive brand safety guidelines. But before diving in, familiarise yourself with existing safeguards on popular platforms like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, and TikTok. Each platform offers varying degrees of control over ad placements, allowing you to restrict content by topic, format, or source.
Building Brand Safety Guidelines
Documented guidelines empower everyone to contribute to risk prevention. Here's how:
1. Define Brand Standards: What constitutes "inappropriate content"? Discuss this within your team, define your risk tolerance and create an exclusion list for paid advertising.
2. Identify a Brand Safety Point Person: While everyone shares responsibility, designate one or two individuals to lead crisis response. Clearly identify who assesses risks and coordinates responses within your organisation.
3. Outline a Response Strategy: Even well-managed brands can face sudden crises. A clear response plan empowers your team to act swiftly and effectively. Create a crisis management plan outlining steps to take during brand safety incidents, including guidelines for public apologies.
4. Set Up Social Listening: Utilise social listening tools to monitor brand conversations, allowing you to proactively identify and address potential issues.
Remember, brand safety is not a one-time task. It's an ongoing process that requires continuous monitoring, adaptation, and collaboration. By following these steps and staying informed about evolving threats and solutions, you can navigate the social media landscape confidently, ensuring your brand thrives in a safe and sustainable online environment.
Closing Remarks
Brand safety is no longer a checkbox; it's a strategic imperative for programmatic and digital media leaders. By implementing these measures, you can move beyond basic brand safety and build a fortress that protects your brand reputation, maximises value, and fosters healthy collaboration within the digital advertising ecosystem. For on brand safety from the top industry leaders, join us in May at our Programmatic Pioneers Summit here!