More brands and individuals want to make sure social media apps are safe places to connect ๐- without being exposed to harmful content. Brand suitability describes the practice of determining a particular brandโs tolerance for advertising & safe, but sensitive, content. Brand safety on social media is all about removing harmful content that no brand would want to be associated with and determining what content should be monetized.
The Suitability Factor
Now, letโs give credit where credit is due; social media companies are making progress on security. In fact, in order to reduce the availability and monetization of harmful content online, they have implemented user and advertiser policies regarding what is โ and is not ๐ซ allowed on their platforms- holding every user accountable for those rules. These guidelines and the way social media companies deal with important issues โ such as disinformation and hate speech โ influence brandsโ decisions about where and how to advertise on social media when choosing to increase their brand awareness, reach and revenue in the best possible way.
However, it is important to make the distinction between brand suitability and brand safety from a social media perspective ๐ต๐ผ. Brand suitability is far more subjective and is determined on a brand by brand basis. Content deemed generally safe by a social platform may not be suitable for specific brands, especially if it is not relevant to their industry or values. Therefore, because the brand fit is very nuanced, it does not always meet the needs of all advertisers ๐คท๐ฝโโ๏ธ. For example, brands with a diverse audience are always looking for more granularity in adequacy checks, and brands looking to reach a specific audience want more control over the types of content they donโt want their ads to show.
Social Platforms Allow Advertisers to Acquire Technological Tools
Topic exclusion tools allow marketers to choose content-level exclusions for news, politics, games, and religious material. Publisher lists ๐ for in-stream ads have also given brands the ability to select a publisher list based on suitability guidelines and run campaigns exclusively on content from those publishers.
Soon, new topic exclusion controls for brands will be launched, including the ability to filter๐ต๐ผ audiences engaged in current affairs, news and politics, debates on social issues, crime and tragedy.
Advance on the Path of Brand Favorability
Going forward, all major social media companies should be held to the same standards when it comes to changing the safety and suitability standards for advertisers and users. This includes a call for social platforms to be more proactive in capturing and removing harmful content earlier, and to be more transparent in doing so.
Social media platforms could also hold themselves accountable โ๐ฝ by submitting to third-party security and transparency audits. Partnering with third party auditors ensures that platform data is accurately measured and reported correctly. The publication of audit results is also a key element in remaining transparent with advertisers and users.
In conclusion, the main takeaway of this article is that social media companies and advertisers need to keep working together ๐ค. As branding and consumer standards continuously evolve, social media platforms will also continue to develop, test and adapt content adjustment tools to improve campaign results for brands and overall user experience.